The Herd with Colin Cowherd - What's Wright - Best Of - Fernando Mendoza & Ty Simpson DEBUTS, Jalen Hurts CONCERNS? Texans HELD BACK by Stroud?

Episode Date: August 23, 2026

Damon Bruce and Ty Butler fill in for Nick Wright as they react to our first look at Fernando Mendoza and Ty Simpson with the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Rams in the NFL preseason. Is Mendoza the savior the Raiders have needed at QB? Later, the guys discuss how concerning Jalen Hurts' three interception training camp day is for the Philadelphia Eagles, if Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will return to their old form, and if C.J. Stroud is holding back the Houston Texans from Super Bowl contention. #VolumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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get your podcasts welcome to the best of the week for what's right with nick right the best takes and moments from this week on the show enjoy number one pick fernando mendoza 10 for 16 97 yards a touchdown he did take a sack and so damon you're a guy fernando mimosa what should fins expect this season from him and also just recap what you saw this past weekend. They should expect nothing short of miracles. He's already done the football equivalent of walking on water, turning water into wine.

This man made me happy on a Saturday for the first time in my life. I went to Indiana University. I am an IU alumni. And I've known nothing but pain and suffering on every single Saturday before Signetti came to town. and changed everything. And if you don't mind me saying,

there were two Indiana quarterbacks playing preseason football this past week with Curtis Rourke playing for the 49ers. He is, you know, a year removed from his rookie year. He was hurt. But it was just crazy to see two Indiana quarterbacks in the NFL actually playing well. May we all live in interesting times.

I am personally ready to have Fernando Mendoza's baby if he asked me to have it. I love the guy. I am completely biased. And I will tell you, that what Raider fans can expect is just one of the most hardworking, dedicated to the craft, never going to go out and get in trouble on the strip. He's just, he's almost too good to be true Boy Scouty.

And I don't know when it happened because my wife went to Cal. So I watched a lot of Mendoza at Cal and when he transferred to Indiana, I thought, oh, good. But I didn't think, oh, Heisman, undefeated national title. So he's done the impossible for me. And if you can win at Indiana, as far as I'm concerned, you might even be able to be the guy who can turn the Raiders around, who have been lost in the woods for decades. And the move to Vegas did not exactly reboot the greatness of the Raiders.

As a matter of fact, they've experienced some of their worst seasons ever since reaching Las Vegas. I think Mendoza, again, as we were talking about, situations matter. He's in a good situation behind a veteran quarterback. He's in a great situation, I think, with a very good first-year head. head coach who was going to get an awful lot out of him. And then to have Tom Brady be the entire, you know, consiglieri of the team. And he can just go to Brady with any and all concerns.

Mendoza is set up, I believe, to do well. And I thought he was impressive. He made those tight window throws, which sort of defined his Heisman campaign. He is a less is more quarterback. He doesn't need to put the ball in the air 38 times in a game to be incredibly effective and dangerous. You know, his mobility, obviously, is something he's got, you know, like, look, don't take those hits. You've got to figure out a way to keep yourself healthy.

We'll get to Jackson Dart in a little bit. But, you know, I'm excited for Mendoza. Having said all that, it is a rebuilding Raiders year. It's hard to see them at more than seven wins in any scenario. But I think it will hopefully be a year where he proves the franchise pointed in the right direction. All right. So the last six quarterbacks to go number one overall were all week one starters. Last one that wasn't was Baker Mayfield. And just to find like a comp, I was like, all right, how about Baker's rookie here?

Now, we obviously don't know how many games Mendoza's going to play. Baker that year started 13. And I remember him making his debut because it came against my team on Thursday night football when the Jets knocked tie rod out of the game. but 27 touchdowns, 14 interceptions. Obviously, this is dependent on how many games he actually plays. Do you feel like this is a fair expectation for him to hover around that touchdown interception ratio? I think that that's probably a little bit too much. I mean, I don't like the Raiders receiving core right now.

I don't know if he's got the talent around him. I'm glad that they started protecting him with a very highly paid center in Linderbom. I mean, that offensive line has got to get right. There's a lot that the Raiders need before we can say all systems are really go for Mendoza to have a big year. I think that it's hard to say, man, the Browns were a lot better. It's a weird way to start any sentence. But I think the Browns team that Baker Mayfield came into might have had more weapons than Mendoza has to play with outside of Brock Bowers. Maybe Gentie, we'll see.

But it's, look, I think that he is, I think he's going to be a reason why the Raiders are stopping. being laughed at year after year. It was easy to laugh at the Raiders. I think Mendoza is going to provide some stability when it eventually gets to him. It is, I think, a little bit of a blessing that he is not going to be thrown right into the fire. Look, the Raiders could start two and six trade Max Crosby and the whole thing is different right away. Let's see how this starts. But I think it's good. And whenever you got a little bit of patience on your side as a rookie quarterback, it's a nice thing to have.

So you just hit on something that I find to be interesting. You look at the Raiders schedule. So they're home to start the season against Miami. They didn't go to L.A. to play the Chargers. Then they're in New Orleans. And now New Orleans is dealing with the tough injury to Jordan Tyson. And so it's not like crazy to think the Raiders could start two and one. And so when you try to map out what's the perfect spot to drop in Mendoza, typically it's like, you know, a relatively easy game or if the team falls off a cliff.

They start two and one, then maybe, maybe, you know, maybe just maybe that's not the right place to put them, especially if, you know, you got to play for the other 52 guys on that roster and benching their starting quarterback who just won them two of the first three games, not going to sit well. But then you look, weeks four, five, six, and seven, home for Kansas City, in New England, home for Buffalo, home for the Brams. Like, what do you think is the perfect spot or is the best spot? I shouldn't say perfect because maybe there's no perfect spot. What do you think is the ideal spot to put Fernando Mendoza in this year? All right. Look, I'm opening up the schedule right here.

Let me look at this. Coming out of the buy week is week 13. So that's way late in the year. That's December, right? You're not going to like this answer. But I do want to ask, so here's the thing. You got an Indiana Hoosier to be excited about as well in Omar Cooper Jr. With the Jets, the Jets are a great team to make a debut against.

They always are. Absolutely. The Jets are always the right team. Whatever's wrong with you, the Jets usually fix that. They're the cure. Yes, they really, really are. I talked about it with Baker. Baker made his debut against the Jets.

Here's the thing. You don't want to roll Mendoza out. against Kansas City, New England or Buffalo, or probably the Rams. So that Jets, that November 1st, week eight game in New York at the Jets, that could be Mendoza time. How about so then after that, and I agree with you, but the counter is that, all right, now you're in San Francisco the next week. You're home for Seattle, the defending champs.

And then you're up against maybe the best defense in football, week 11, Denver. So the next three matchups are brutal. Welcome to the NFL kid. That's the way it goes. That's the way it goes. There's not a lot of Northwestern on the schedule in the NFL. And there's no way around face. Again, you can't be afraid of what's going to be a division opponent.

So you've got to start tasting that lack of oxygen in Denver eventually. I think that there's no right time to get thrown into an NFL game. They're all hard. even the New York Jets. I will respect the New York Jets. You stop taking shots at my team? We just met. I know, I know.

But, you know, it's just easy. It's low hanging. But seriously, though, Omar Cooper Jr. is a reason to be excited. Let's not crush the audience's ability to pay attention. But please, give me 30 seconds on why I should take the Jets seriously at all. Oh, I like this. Oh, I thought you were, I thought you were making a case.

No, you give me 30 seconds. Yeah, you're on top of them. You know. So I don't think the Jets are going to be good. And news just came out, Breece Hall, maybe the best or second best player on that offense. He's going to be out two to three weeks dealing with a groin injury. And so when you got the quarterback, Gino Smith, missing the opener, because he's dealing with the left. ankle injury. You've got the running back who days later gets hurt with the growing injury.

It's hard to look at this offense that already had a bevia question marks because of the quarterback and say they're going to be good. And so with the head coach who might have the hottest seat in the league, you've got a quarterback who's 35 years old. And the reason why the Jets don't have Mendoza is because Gino Smith was so bad. The Raiders got the number one pick. I can't. blueprint how they win more than five or six games. I wish I could, man. I wish I was coming into this season with more optimism. But the defense, Aaron Glenn's going to call it.

So maybe they take a step in the right direction. How about, yo, they went an entire year without an interception. How is that possible? They have four total takeaways. They could barely rush the passer. And so I guess if you're looking for optimism, Gino is better than Justin Fields. You got Garrett, Omar Cooper, Jr., who actually didn't play with the first team, played with the second team.

Sadiq, who I like is a tight end. The offensive line is great. Did you think that Robert Sala got a raw deal and should have been given more time? I'm not saying he's a great coach, and now he's going to get his second chance in Tennessee, and I'm actually rooting for him. But to fire him in week five coming off of a loss where you lost because of your kicker, that that's just the sign of an organization that's just not well run. It's the sign of an organization that has symptoms of not being properly run.

And so as we were talking to, yeah, that's just what it is. As we were talking about earlier, attach yourself to good ownership. It does matter. Moving on. Oh, this is right up Nick Wright's alley because the Chiefs, the Rams beat the Chiefs. But it was a Super Bowl preview as far as Nick Wright is concerned, right? in preseason week one there. L.A. currently a Super Bowl favorite.

Kansas City tied for the fifth best odds in the NFL. And, you know, the gap between these two teams right now probably isn't as big as some people think it is. It's probably a little bit more narrow. And let me just say this about the Chiefs. The problem for them is the same kind of problem that the Warriors are having. You're aging out and teams are getting better around you. You know, the division is rising faster than the Kansas City Chiefs are able to tread water and just maintain.

Travis Kelsey is not who he used to be. He's living that billionaire life, getting married at MSG, living, you know, I can't believe he hasn't walked away from the game already. He's got a billion reasons to just never play football again. So this is his swan song, I'm guessing. I don't believe that we should count Mahomes out ever. until he tells us and shows us he's not him anymore he still has the potential to be that

but it's just there is no running rough shot all over the AFC West anymore there is no running rough shot over the AFC the chiefs are going to have to fight and scrap for everything they could still get it Spagnolo is a defensive genius but they're in a little bit of trouble

for sure and I will also say this about the Rams That schedule is enough to take whatever your expectations of the Super Bowl are and crumple them up and throw them. The Rams schedule is one of the most brutal slogs through football you could ever see. So I think anointing them the clear favorites right now is a big ask. I want to start with the Chiefs. So I feel similar to you that we can't, was it, a year and a half ago, the question was, is Patrick Mahomes about to do something that we haven't seen in modern NFL history, and that's March his team to a three-pe.

And now he solidifies himself as the goat, and then now act like he's some scrub. Yes, he tore his knee up. But I do expect Patrick Mahomes, who I still feel like is the best quarterback in football, to be Mahomes at some point this year. But to your point, and I think Kelsey, Kelsey's going to be 37. The reason why he doesn't walk away last year, in my opinion, is because you can't leave like that. That's a bad, tasty amount. They lost Jalen Watson, lost Trent McDuffie, so they've got a bunch of question marks on that defense.

I am here to say that as much as I believe in Patrick Mahomes, you know, Eric Bion to me, I like bringing him back. And Andy Reid, obviously, is one of the greatest coaches of all time. I wouldn't be surprised if they missed the playoffs. It just wouldn't shock me. Well, look, right now that's not predicting that, but it's. just wouldn't shock me. It wouldn't shock me either. Look at it this way. There could be one team that might actually be interested in Brandon Ayuk, who is just a disaster. I don't even know if he's going to file his, you know, reinstatement paperwork. He doesn't have an agent.

He's lost in the woods. I'm worried about Brandon Ayuk's future. I don't think that guy's all there right now. And when the noise dies down, I think that's when we're going to have to put a little safety watch on Brandon I, you. But look at how bad the Kansas City Chiefs wide receivers are. I mean, beyond Xavier worthy and Rashi Rice, who feels like he could get arrested at any moment, I don't see a lot of names. There are reasons to believe. Now, Patrick Mahomes is a great equalizer.

We will find out, but look, people have caught on to Andy Reid a little bit. They're not running an offense that is bewildering anyone anymore. And again, you got the Denver Broncos. You've got the Chargers, who I think have one of the more interesting addition wrinkles that nobody, I think

Mike McDaniels joining the Chargers joining the Chargers as an offensive coordinator could finally unlock Herbert in a way where the Herbert detractors will have less to laugh at this year. So it's getting tougher. It's getting tougher to swim. And it's also why, like when we see those graphics of Mahomes versus the rest of his division, it's a little bit misleading because the Broncos are way better than they used to be. They were in the AFC championship game last year.

And I actually think they might win the Super Bowl. The Bullnicks doesn't get hurt. The Chargers, at some point, Justin Herbert has a win the playoff game, but at least during the regular season, that they have become, you know, one of the legit teams in the AFC. And so when I look at, like, here are the teams I know, without question,

are better than Kansas City. Buffalo, New England, Baltimore, and Denver. That's four. The AFC South is going to get a division winner. So that's the fifth playoff spot. And then you throw in, like you said, the Chargers. what happens with the Bengals?

Do they get their acts together? And then Pittsburgh, with Mike McCarthy there. So, look, again, I'm not predicting they'll miss the playoffs, but it's certainly on the table because since they got their doors blown off by Philadelphia, they don't have this air of invincibility. Like, you're terrified of Mahomes late in games. He gets the ball back, no question. But I just think overall as a team, they've got.

and worse clearly. And coming off of a six-win season, it's just hard for me to just have them leapfrog all of these other teams that accomplished more. Like, the games have to matter, right? I just got a text from Nick over in Europe saying, let's make sure Ty's not on the show over the next two weeks. He's talking bad about the Kansas City Chiefs.

You know what, though? You were talking about rookies and first looks, and let's look at some of the rookie reactions from around the league and some of the debuts. you know, Drew Aller, who it's a pick I didn't really like. He is a player coming out of Penn State. I really wasn't that enamored with. He looked very good, 10 of 13, 153 yards, two touchdowns, a rushing touchdown.

I mean, if you're a Steelers fan, you watch that and you're saying to yourself, why do we have old man Aaron Rogers still around, have Mike McCarthy groom this guy? Everyone needs to calm down just a little bit. It's preseason week one. I mean, the truth is the correct answer to what do you think of this preseason week once that. What do you think of that one? What do you think of that? The answer is I don't think much. None of this is really telling of what is about to happen. But you can only hope to look good. Ty Simpson certainly looked very good. He was criticized for being a surplus pick for a team that's

trying to win right now. What are you drafting a quarterback for when you got the league MVP at the position? It feels like it's a little too early to start thinking about the succession plan. 21 to 25, a buck 92 touchdowns. Jeremiah love on 14. Unfortunately, dealing with a high ankle sprain. Everyone on the Arizona Cardinals right now has a high ankle sprain, apparently. Casey Concepcion in Cleveland, a player that, you know, they compared a little bit to Debo coming out of the draft. He put up some Debo-like numbers. Three catches, 27 yards, a rush, 14 yards, a rushing touchdown.

Punt returns. He seems like a do-it-all kind of Swiss Army knife guy. Jacoby Lane, a few catches, a touchdown in Baltimore. What rookie are you looking at here in the preseason? and going, huh, okay, there could be something there. Well, it's not that he's the best rookie, but he is won on a team that I expect to contend for a Super Bowl. And so I'm dialed in on him, and that's Jacoby Lane.

Because here's the deal. I have no idea what version of Lamar we're getting this year, as far as his play style. Like, we've seen the numbers the last couple of seasons. He's just not running as much. And last year, he obviously dealt with a bunch of injuries. Like every week he was on the injury report and it was a different injury he was dealing with. And so if he has decided he is going to become more of a pocket passer, which by the way, people get this wrong.

Like you look at his passerating. Like he is one of the best in the NFL throwing from the pocket. And so that is not the demerit people pretend it is. But if that's what he's going to become and he's running less, he's obviously going to need his receivers to make some plays. We saw Zayflowers just get paid. Bateman's still there. And now you have Jacoby Lane who can be factored into that equation too. I still believe in the Ravens.

I understand they missed the playoffs last year. And there's a lot of pressure on Lamar. It's got the contract coming up, first year head coach. But Jacoby Lane, to me, can be a vital part of a team that I do expect to be significantly better than they were last year, assuming they're not hit with the rash of injuries that they were a season ago. So only because I'm out here at training camp and watching them all the time, let me tell you, especially fantasy players, he's still on that board. You're in a keeper league.

Dejaun Stribling, somewhere in those mid-rounds in a keeper league, might make an awful lot of sense. This rookie for the 49ers might be the first wide receiver as a rookie that Kyle Shanahan actually leans into and asks to do something in the regular season. Normally, Shanahan has nothing but utter contempt for the rookie receivers that he drafts himself and he figures out ways to not play him rather than play him. Stribling has a size to him. He's got a speed to him and he has got some serious hands.

I mean, this guy is just making over the helmet catches everywhere, every single time I'm looking at him. He's catching something over his head. Look out for him to be a little bit of a factor in the NFC web. this year. You ever notice everything keeps going up, rents going up, streaming services going up, even your favorite burrito spots charging you extra for soles? It's outrageous.

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Visit bell.ca for details and to check availability. Bell, connection is everything. Hey, this is Hayes Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast, Hollywood Handbook on the Big Money Players Network. Our show is extremely accessible to first-time listeners. Each week, we talk to someone in show business, aka the biz, and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time, and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show.

We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman, not that great. Actually, can you help me shape this? How about we flip it on his head, right? How about we flip the script? What is the surprise woman? Actually, you think is the straight man is actually the one who's acting weird. Adam Scott, this entire time you've been expecting Adam Sandler to come to visit the show. I would never expect.

I have. I would never set expectations for something like that to happen. If the universe allows for something like that to happen, I'm open to it. I'm always going to accept. You know, Danny McBride, fine. Yeah, it's all this fragile masculinity exuding. I could smell it walking down the hallway, to be honest with you. I was like, is that weed? Nope, it's fragile masculinity. Ben Stiller, no. Because a lot of times out of context, people don't get it or even know it is circle is. You know what I mean? They're like, oh, what's just a state.

Everyone's so dumb except for you. And fake. Right, fake and also not interested or just like, oh, I've got my life. I don't care about your life. And a lot of other big shots that wouldn't be where they are without us. Oh, and by the way, Will Ferrell told us personally he loves the show and he wants to be a guest on every episode, but he's just so busy. Listen to Hollywood Handbook on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Nick Tutto. You probably know me for. from NYPD Blue, the longest yard, or Spike Lee's Black Klansman.

But I'm also from Queens, which means I know pizza. And on my new podcast, delivering happiness with Nick Totoro, I deliver pizza from Prince Street pizza to a new guest. Are you delivering pizza now? Then we sit down for a real conversation. I've shared a slice with everyone from Seth Rollins. What are you doing, my belt? To Alex Rodriguez.

Just to let you people know, we're talking to one of the goats here. To Bill Burr. I don't think I've ever met somebody so exactly out of the. Mind is, I am. And now we even have more great guests coming up, including the great John Tituro. It's called Happiness, delivering happiness. Mariano Rivera.

Oh my God. And many, many more. Open your free High Heart Radio app. Search Delivering Happiness with Nick Tudorough. And listen now. Jalen Hertz. Back into crosshairs after a joint practice where he's what, picked off three times.

Oh my goodness. Philadelphia and New England. joint practice ahead of their preseason game on Saturday. And Jalen Hertz, 19 to 27, no touchdowns, three interceptions, one of them being a pick six. And, you know, immediately somebody in Philadelphia says, you know, in the 2024 training camp, he went 305 straight passes without an interception.

Okay. All right. Here we are. Wait, can I say something about that real quick? Yes, yes. Because we're filling in for Nick. and I remember Nick's take about that training camp where he didn't throw any interceptions and Nick actually found that to be a bad thing.

I remember Nick saying this is bad news because it feels like, and I'm paraphrasing so I apologize Nick if I'm getting a little bit of this wrong, but I remember something along the lines of it means he's not being aggressive enough. You would like to see more interceptions because you want him to take chances. You want him throwing the ball down the field. You want him spreading it around. You want him throwing it across the middle of the field, which we know he has a propensity not to do. And so two years ago, Nick found this to be slightly concerning.

So I would be curious what's Nick's take now seeing it yesterday. He threw three interceptions, one, which, you know, came on a tip pass. So give him a little bit of, you know, courtesy there. But yeah, man, it's got some hiccups. Okay. So I guess I have to say the words. I don't like saying these words. I agree with Nick.

I think interceptions have been so publicly vilified and they shouldn't be. Sometimes an interception deep down the field is as good as a punt on special teams. Not all interceptions are created equal and interceptions are the price of doing business aggressively as a quarterback. I don't think interceptions are the single worst thing that can happen in a football. You know, where, when, where on the game clock, where on the scoreboard, where on the field it all happens. Not all interceptions are created equal. And among the most benign interceptions in the history of football are all the ones that you throw in training camp, which is just practice. It doesn't matter.

Let me ask you a question here, Ty. Do you know how many interceptions Dan Marino through in 1998 in Dolphins training camp? it's going to be a high number. No one knows because we didn't have Twitter and we weren't suffocating ourselves with the NFL's information 24 hours a day. It didn't matter. It didn't matter.

I care about three training camp interceptions as much as I care about three training camp touchdowns. It doesn't mean anything. It's training camp. It's practice. Go ahead. Make your mistakes in practice. You'll learn from mistakes.

We are sitting there trying to box score practice. It's ridiculous. We're crazy. So I'm excited because this might be the first time where we legitimately have a disagreement on the show. And here is where I will push back. So I don't typically care about training camp practices and joint practices unless you've had significant changes in your offseason. Like, I don't know, a new offensive coordinator, like losing your best weapon, like bringing in new guys like Mackay Lemon and, you know, having Devonce Smith, he's elevated

on the depth chart. And those two receivers have not been present because they're dealing with hamstring issues. And so in a year where you've got massive pressure, your head coach is on a hot seat, people are ready to run you out of Philadelphia. And we're asking you to run a new offense where we want to see you under center more. We want to see you throw the ball over the field more. We want to see you be a guy that can lead the team back to the Super Bowl. I do care a lot about some of the struggles because a lot of the situation has changed around him and he's coming off of a very, very disappointing year. And so while it might not be the biggest deal in the world, the actual intercepted passes, I think the circumstances,

surrounding it would have you on high alert if you're an Eagles fan. Okay, so we do agree on this. We're not really disagree. We're sort of kind of veering off on what we do. Because Jalen Hertz's biggest problem is not those interceptions. It is all the moving parts. This is his sixth offensive coordinator going into his seventh NFL season. That's a bigger problem for him.

The fact that a relationship with an A plus receiver deteriorated and he wasn't able to salvage that through either. drinking gallons of coffee together or going out to dinner together or going to the club together or going to Bible study together or just doing whatever it takes to repair an important I'm your quarterback, you're my wide receiver relationship with AJ Brown. That's Jalen Hertz's problem as much as the moving coordinators around him. And of course, it's all nestled in the always comfortable sports city of Philadelphia, which apparently is dying to forget.

And here's a thing, I'm a little older. I'm officially old enough to remember the 2024 season when Jalen Hertz went four and oh in the playoffs and won the Super Bowl. Yes. I mean, by the way, LeBron, this is what you're signing up for, dude. But this guy won a Super Bowl and they are just knives out for him. Still not good enough for us, even though the offensive line isn't what it used to be. This defense isn't what it used to be. new coordinator every five minutes around here.

It's nuts how a guy reaches the mountaintop and then they're just looking for ways to disregard you. I think Jalen Hertz is a pretty darn good quarterback. So I agree with you. And I have argued that he is maybe the most disrespectful quarterback in football. And it's based a lot on like how it looks. Like, it's not the prettiest thing to watch. The tush push.

Is he really good? Or is it a product of all of the talent around him? We give Howie Roseman all the credit. No one wants to get. You know what's so funny? So apparently Nick Siriani isn't any good. Jalen Hurts isn't any good. But all they do is win 70% of their games.

They go to two Super Bowls and win one. So somebody's got to be good. Like the two most important positions, somebody's got to be good. You know how many NFL teams would kill for that level of failure? Absolutely. It's just that in Philly, when it's bad, it's real bad. Like the end of season, losing five of six and getting dusted in the playoffs by the bucks.

And then the way last year went, obviously was overwhelming. And so, again, while I agree with you that I think there is a bit of an unfair standard when it comes to Jalen Hertz, I tend to treat the preseason and training camp a little bit more seriously when there are a bunch of moving parts knowing that this is, and we were supposed to talk about Nick Siriani, like your coach is on the hottest seat in the league.

And if you guys don't deliver, like there are going to be massive changes that happen next off season, a year after massive changes happen this past off season, that we can directly link back to you. and your inability, as you just pointed out, to repair the relationship with your stud receiver. And especially if he goes on to New England and him and Drake May are cooking and they're lighting it up. Think about what the headlines are going to be then.

They'll be loud. We do know that. We do know that. By the way, AJ Brown caught a team high seven passes with the starting offense on Wednesday. So I'm guessing that just ratcheted everything up a little bit too, right? And then the quote when AJ's asked about, like, oh, you know, going up against really, he's like, you have spoken to my teammates. And they're like, how about Jaylon Hertz? And he's like, nah, I haven't really spoken to him yet.

There is. There's the problem. This is how we got here, right? Yeah, absolutely. But it's a fun storyline. Listen, Eagles go out there and win the Super Bowl again. We'll be having the same conversation about Jalen Hurts. You and I will be defending him and then the media will be saying, oh, he's not that good.

It feels like people think that, you know, a player eventually reaches his Madden rating. And then there's never going to be a backslide. Like they reach the peak of their super prime. And then nothing is going to knock them off that super prime at all. And everything is going to go forward. Progress is not linear. Even the good ones take step backwards in sometimes in some ways. And, you know, I guess this kind of brings us to C.J. Stroud.

Yeah. And moving on. And you want to talk about how situations dictate careers. Here's a career that when we first saw it in his rookie year, we were all sort of blown away by how, you know, duck to water. He just looked like he was ready to take over football. Then things started changing around him, you know, coaching changes. We've got an awful lot of injuries to his wide receivers. He developed early chemistry with Tank Dell.

Tank Dell, bad injury. Nico Collins, bad injury. Then the injuries came to the offensive line, and there was just massive regression, and progress isn't linear. I still think C.J. Stroud is a pretty good quarterback, but the situation around him, as good as that defense became under Domeco, Ryan's,

they haven't been able to just walk that tightrope of nothing to worry about on this offense, not at all. And that is what is leading to the source. Spotlight on Stroud, again, a very good young player who is dedicated to the craft. You don't hear about him being in the club. You hear about him being in the film room. He's studying. He's doing all he can.

But you got to ride in with the horses that brought you there. And the Houston Texans, their horses keep getting hurt around him. I like Stroud. But the situation isn't what it used to be. Yeah. And the problem for him is a couple of things. One, he hasn't gotten his contract yet. The second thing is, I still believe C.J. Stroud can be a really good quarterback, but the longer time elapses between what we now see, which is not good, and his rookie season, you then question, was that an aberration?

And if you're the Texans, whether it's the organization or if you're a fan, you have to be looking. that last year as a wasted opportunity because it's like, man, Mahomes wasn't there in the playoffs, no Lamar. The AFC, for all intents and purposes, was wide open, but our quarterback had seven turnovers in two playoff games, and we were cooked. And by the way, you know who else struggled at quarterback during the playoffs last year? Drake May, and yet they ended up in the Super Bowl. But he just wasn't. wasn't as bad as CJ Stroud. And when we look at the overall rosters, I'd say Houston's was better than New England,

but CJ was as bad as you possibly could be. Especially in that game of New England. That was terrible. We've got the yips. And then despite having like a dominant defense, you ended with disappointment. And so look, I don't want to pretend it's all CJ, offensive line. He keeps getting hit. Receivers going down, Miss Teng Del for an entire year last year.

And now he's got another receiver that's hurt. But it's like, man, like we could have been the Seahawks last year. Like that could have been us. And yet it wasn't because you were terrible. And now we've got to pay you this big contract. And so it's like you're at a crossroads if you're the Texans. It's every single quarterback is like running two races at once. How quickly can you figure out how to play in this league before your body gives out on you?

because this is the ultimate injury sport and your body is going to give out on you or someone who you need desperately his body is going to give out on them and then things change. When that turns into offensive linemen and valuable receivers and again, this all started, you know,

we decided to talk about this today because of the Jaden Higgins tearing his ACL man and that just, that changes things. And it's I don't think he is responsible for the struggles of the Houston Texans as much as some people want to label it to him in circumstances, man. And nobody wants to, again, no one wants any nuance. They just want black or white, good or bad.

Yeah, but you almost become a victim of your own success. And like, when we look back at what he was his rookie year, like before Jaden's rookie season, it was like, oh, CJ, that's the best we've ever seen. And since he has not been anything close to that, Damon, it's like, all right. All right. Are you going to, and what also, and this is going to sound odd, what also hurts him is how tremendous their defenses. Because as I just pointed out, like, they should be a contender.

And yet none of us think that they are because of the quarterback being the weak link. And, you know, this year he's got an opportunity to change the narrative. But the further we get removed from what we saw his rookie year, the less you believe. if he can tap back in today. By the way, did you hear about the Aziz al-Shayir vegetable hoarding story? Have you heard about this? No, I haven't. Put me on.

What's going on? The Texans defense has just become ultra competitive. Like, who can take the fastest shower? Who can put their socks on the fastest? Who can walk to the meeting room, the fastest? You have to be like a mall walker. You're not allowed to break the pace of a walk. Who can walk to the meeting fastest?

who can acquire the most vegetable points in the weekly nutrition plan? And apparently Aziz al-Shayr has been stealing sweet potatoes and vegetables from the commissary so he can acquire the most vegetable points at meal time. So that's what I love about football. What I don't love about preseason football is counting interceptions as like, oh, my God, this is what's going to matter. No, the Texans defense bonding over vegetable points. That is probably going to matter more in the regular season than interceptions.

You'd rather count pieces of vegetables than, you know, total interceptions. I get it. I think I would. I think I would. Hey, everyone watching, leave us questions, comments in the chat. We're going to be taking viewer questions at the end of the show. Let us have it. We got thick skin.

We're big boys. What could we be doing better when we come back? on Tuesday, Thursday next week. We're looking forward to that, maybe even throw a topic suggestion out there for the coming NFL season. You can do that too. Shall we move on down the board, Ty?

Let's do it, man. We've got a lot to get to. I'm looking at the clock. I'm seriously. We're talking way past the clock here. Overtime is going to be a lot of overtime unless we pick it up and start putting it down. Let's do it, man.

Let's talk some Travis Hunter. So if I'm, to be honest, well, first, of all, it's ridiculous to question if this guy's a bust. I mean, he just got into the league. But I always felt like he was best suited to play one side of the ball. And look, as a sports fan, it's cool, right? If you can play both sides, we see what's going on with Shohei O'Tani. It's fantastic. But even with Shohei, he's not pitching right now because he's always dealing with some arm elbow issue. And with Travis Hunter coming off of a, uh, a season where it was cut short because of a knee injury, you do have to wonder if he is just

best suited to play one side of the ball and maybe just be a gadget player on offense. And that's how I feel. Now, what I also find to be most interesting and maybe a little bit instructive is when you watch and you read about what's going on in training camp, he's mostly being used predominantly on defense. And when you read like the why, it's like, hey, it's a, We need high IQ, high IQ defensive-minded players, so it requires more attention, and we want most of the reps to go there, and we need you to get a little bit of a mental break. And so I think that the expectation of your Jacks fan is to see him be most utilized on defense and then come into some special packages on offense, and that'll set them best up for success. they were a top, I believe it was top seven on both offense and defense. And so I think this would work fine.

But if you're questioning whether or not he's a bust already, I think that's ridiculous. Yeah, we're way too early to get into that. The guy hasn't played 20 professional games yet. So everyone take a breath on that. I don't think people understand. And this is the privilege that we get by having credentialed lives and we get around athletes and we see the dedicate. Everybody's got talent. how much technique and detail goes into your talent is what really separates these guys.

Travis Hunter, to come up with the technique and the detail it takes to be a shutdown cornerback in the NFL is a full-time job. To then add the technique in detail that comes with being an X, Y, or Z receiver in this league, that is a full-time job. To ask anybody to have two full-time jobs, when you're competing against the best in the world everywhere around you on the field, it's a big ask. And Travis Hunter's got more talent in his thumbnail than I have in my entire body. But learning the techniques or not learning the techniques will be the difference between sinking or swimming in this league.

I would just go up to Lawrence. I would go up to the quarterback. And I would just ask him, is there some sort of profound connection? that you have with this guy that means he needs to spend 30% of every day working with you offensively, or just can we make him a corner 100% of the time?

If there is indeed, it asked for by my franchise quarterback, agreed to by my pretty successful right off the rip, head coach and Liam Cohn, if those guys are just, you know, completely ready to die on the hill, that he must play. wide receiver too, then I guess he must.

But that's such a big ask. And he'll be a better corner if they don't ask him to do it. I just wonder, like, is there a way to satiate him by, like I said, special packages? Gadget him up. Yeah. Yeah, that gadgets. Like, yo, you want some tuddies? Like, all right, we'll give you the ball in the red zone and, you know, make it happen for us.

But I just, listen, like, I understand. coming in and I can't say I understand because I'm not a football player I'm not an athlete I get that coming in he wanted to do both because it's an amazing feat and what a tremendous story it would be but play defense man be the best version of yourself on one side of the ball focus and lock in on that and if y'all somehow go on and run you win the super bowl that to me is better than you getting hurt, you being known for playing two sides. Like there is a bigger prize than you playing offense and defense. And we'll reward you.

Like I said, we'll give you a couple gadget plays and packages. So I think that's the best way to attack this. If I'm the, if I'm the Jags. That's definitely a way to keep the player happy. Sometimes, you know, you want to keep players happy. Sometimes the player's happiness has to take a backseat to team priority.

So again, Trevor. Do you have a profound connection? Is there something that we just can't afford to bring it? Because if we can't afford to break it up, let's just put them on one side of the ball and get them really good over there. Let's let this guy get the ball back to you by making plays defensively. And let's go about winning games normally. It is so hard to be good at any one thing in football,

much less any two things in football. Hey, this is Hayes, Davenport. And Sean Clements. We host the podcast, Hollywood Handbook. Each week, we talk to someone in. show business and try to help them with their careers and see what they have to offer us. Everyone has a good time and no one gets mad at their publicists for letting them do our show. We've had a lot of great guests like Sarah Sherman, Adam Scott, Danny McBride, Ben Stillard,

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