May 17, 2025 • 61 mins
Where Colin was right and wrong
5-time National Champion and former Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski joins the show to tell Colin what type of prospect Cooper Flagg is and how to navigate today's era college athletics featuring NIL
Colin wants to remove the "America's Team" label from the Cowboys as we prepare for the full release of the NFL schedule and why it's time to stop putting Dallas in the premier time slots
Colin talks to new Bears head coach Ben Johnson about his vision for Caleb Williams and Chicago's offense
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noone Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sportsradio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app
by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening
to the Herd podcast. It is a Monday live in
(00:22):
Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and
however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part
of your day. Nice to be in today. Jmac. The
NBA Ping Pong Ball Draft lottery tonight. Very exciting, very
exciting weather. It was so amazing out of here all weekend.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
I forgot to ask you get your sun little suns out,
guns out for you.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
No beach.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I worked out, had a great time, Sadhu. Watched a
lot of NBA stuff, a lot of bad NBA basketable yesterday,
went and had a beer with a buddy.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
That Celtics Knicks game Saturday was unwatchable, kind of watchable.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
To be honest with you, why if I had, you know,
I think Boston's gonna win this ser well, not if
the Knicks win tonight. If the Knicks win tonight, I think.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
They got a great chance to win the series as well, nickl.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
If the Knicks win tonight, they're gonna win the series.
By the way, Celtics have led every game by twenty
second of the seven games this year. That's not great.
It's their formula, all right, it's a Monday right wrong
as oh was plenty of both. Here we go where
Colin was right, Jannis, according to Shams, is going to
explore the best fits outside of Milwaukee. We've been saying
(01:27):
this for the last year to year and a half.
You got a trophy, you don't control your first picks.
You're not close to being in Indiana, a Cleveland, a Boston,
an ok C. And you're not close to being a
San Antonio in Houston. Potentially after the draft lottery tonight,
it's time to reboot. And according to Shams, that's what
(01:48):
Milwaukee and Yanni's plan to do.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Where Colin was raw.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
If you'd have told me the Knicks would beat Boston
both times in Boston, I'd have said you're crazy. If
it had told me Boston was lead by twenty in
both games or more and still lose. I'd to say impossible,
but the impossible happen. Hard to explain. What I watched
in Boston is the Knicks currently lead two to one.
(02:12):
Again very clearly, one roster has eight guys who can shoot, pass,
and handle the ball. New York is not that roster.
But if they win tonight, Boston's in big trouble. Where
Colin was right, I said teams didn't want to draft
Shanor Sanders once he got out of the first round
because they didn't want to Tim Tebow's circus. And sure enough,
(02:36):
even though he was the second quarterback taken by the
Cleveland Browns. What were the questions about from the Cleveland
media at camp?
Speaker 5 (02:46):
This will probably fall in deaf ears, but don't look
too much into it. There's plenty of reps. There's a
lot of time between now and September, so we'll have
a plan. But it's an all encompassing evaluation. It's not
something that it's just based on the the practice reps.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
There's a lot that goes into first questions, why is
Shadu or not getting the starting reps? You knew it
was coming. It's t bow two point zero. Where Colin
was raw Derek Carr retired. I listen. I always liked him.
A four time All Pro during the bad al Pro
(03:20):
bowler during the Al Davis Kruddy years, which is hard
to do. He was a life preserver for a terribly
run franchise. Third season in the league, he was third
in the MVP vote, second round rout of Fresno State.
I liked him a lot, but there's not much you
can do. The Raiders were a mess when he was there.
And then Dennis Allen is not a head coach, He's
more of a coordinator. I thought he was going to
(03:41):
have a Philip Rivers career where you didn't maybe watch
a ton of them in college, but you're going to
look at the end of his career and there'd be
some Hall of Fame votes. And he retired yesterday and
it never transpired.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, The Athletic is reporting that NFL teams laughed at
the Cowboys for giving up a third round pick for
George Pickens, the very talented but an incredibly vollied a
wide receiver. And as we said, when Mike Tomlin moves
off a drama filled offensive playmaker, they do not recover.
(04:17):
I can give you about seven examples. This is also
Jerry Jones once again. As the NFL front offices have
gotten younger and shrewder, the Cowboys are giving away draft
picks like skittles. The Cowboys, to me have one of
the weaker rosters overall in the league. Where Colin was
wrong Julius Randall. Where did this come from? I always
(04:41):
kind of liked him, but his assist totals have gone
through the roof. He has led Julius Randall has led
the tea Wolves and assists and by the way, with
New York, they wanted him to be a one pre
Jalen Brunton, and that's not what he is. But I
never saw him as a two. I saw him as
a three. He was great against the Lakers, been excellent
in this series. He had a triple double Saturday, And
(05:03):
we just got to be honest. Here is it late developing? No,
it's probably this staff Chris Finch has assembled knows how
to use him. I don't think he's a better player.
I think he is used more efficiently in Minnesota. And
good for Julius Randall.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
I did not buy the odds makers who had OKC
at minus eight hundred to bury the Nuggets. I said
this is gonna be a six or seven game series.
Jokich is the best player in the world, and even
though I love Okc's roster construct and depth, I would
take the Nuggets starting five if he gave me a
quarter to play for the championship. Again, OKAC is built
(05:43):
to win the entire thing, and maybe Denver with no
bench isn't. But it was disrespectful the odds had this
thing being a four or five game series, and I'm sorry.
Denver's got three great playoff veterans who have been a
lot of these close, big games.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Well, the Steelers enter twenty twenty five as the only
team in the league without their top quarterback, running back,
wide receiver, and left tackle from last year. I have
said this for years. They don't take offense seriously. Once
again third year in a row. They are among the
league leaders in defensive spending. I'll get to this later,
(06:26):
but they become opposite of the Rams with an offensive
coach and offensive spending and no drama. But it is
remarkable there's only one team in this league quarterback, running back,
wide receiver, left tackle, gone gone, gone gone in an
offensive league. I like Mike Tomlin, respect the Rooneyes, but
they just feel out of touch. For twenty twenty five
(06:50):
NFL Football.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well, there's no basketball coach ever. I'm reading the accolades
the most wins by any head basketball coach in men's
basketball history. That's pretty good. That seems like that'd be
near the top of my resume. Five natties, forty two
years at Duke, the gold Standard program twenty four to zero.
(07:20):
Is an Olympic coach and now a public speaker with
grandkids in the area. What a life for Mike Krzyzewski,
who's now joining US Live. You know you told me
years ago, you said, Colin, I start recruiting guys six
to seven years before you you see me sign them.
So let's talk Cooper Flag. Basketball is a very unique
(07:42):
sport where you can see at ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen,
you can see special. Do you remember the first time
you saw Cooper Flag?
Speaker 6 (07:51):
You know I do not because.
Speaker 7 (07:55):
I'm three years retired so Shire must have seen him
when he was fourteen team, but I did see him
when he was at Mont D. Yeah, like, yeah, they
have Actually they have four from his high school team.
They have four kids are going to be first round
draft picks. And I knew he was special, but because
(08:20):
they had so much talent, I didn't realize how special
he is. And this kid plays every play hard and yes,
every play, every play.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Yeah, people have compared him, I think almost favorably to
Jason Tatum. When I watch him, he feels a little
more aggressive than Jason, and he's an aggressive attacking player.
Do you think that comp is fair and realistic?
Speaker 6 (08:48):
I don't.
Speaker 7 (08:49):
I think they're two different players. They're both six eight. Actually,
I think Cooper grew about an inch here. You know,
he's still only eighteen years old, so he's still growing
end up being sixteen. Uh, but uh, I think offensively,
you know, Jason really has developed into a great shooter.
(09:12):
H We're waiting to find out about his injury. But
uh uh, he's really developed differently than I think Cooper
will develop.
Speaker 8 (09:23):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
Cooper is.
Speaker 7 (09:27):
Just unique, you know, like he he's Yeah, he's so strong,
his legs are so strong and athletically, he's gifted, but attitude,
and when you add his athletic ability and his competitive attitude,
(09:48):
you have a very special guy. And Uh, he can
really score the ball. I think he's a good shooter, uh,
trying to become a really good shooter, whereas Jason, Jason
is that shooter.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
I read Ian O'Connor's book about you, which I thought
was fascinating on so many levels, and it's so funny
John Wooden in you. You know, you're obviously the all
time greats. But John Wooden, it took a long time
for him to win at UCLA. And as Ian O'Connor
pointed out, there was a meeting or two about Mike
Krzyzewski in about your fourth year and people are like,
(10:25):
we don't know if this kid from Army is gonna work.
You endured for a lot of reasons. You're smart, you're collaborative,
you were a grinder. There's a lot of reasons. But
when I look at college basketball today, do you like
the place we're in? Tom Izzo's a survivor, but a
(10:45):
lot of the big ones have left. Sometimes college football
I think is too impatient. Do you think college basketball
is good to coaches because the NBA, I could argue,
is not a great place to coach. Is college basketball today?
Speaker 7 (11:01):
Actually, I think the NBA is a better price to coach.
I think college basketball now is pretty much like the NBA,
except there's no transparency. In other words, you're at one
school on at another. I don't know what you're doing
for a player. You don't know what I'm doing for
(11:22):
a player. And it's really professional right now or college basketball,
but the product is outstanding and kids are staying longer
because of n IL. You're getting older teams, the influx
of international, young international pro players to college. There you
(11:45):
can win quicker in college now. And there's by John
Shire has done a great job here at Duke replacing me,
and I've told him, I said, I think you've done
a better job than I would have done in the
last three years with all the changes, because I would
(12:07):
have always been saying stuff, well, it used to be
this way, it used to be that way, and for
you you're just starting out, it wasn't used to be it
is and right now. I just think people should put
their arms around college sports, especially college basketball, in my opinion,
(12:28):
and run it like a business because it is a
business and the product is great. Though there's so much
talent out there.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You know, there's an argument people have made. I don't
know if I concur with it, but it's an interesting
argument that JJ Reddick is smart, he's very tightly wound.
That in the NBA, in big games, he kind of
he's a teeth clencher a little bit. He's very very intense.
And in the NBA as a coach, he was very intense.
And people say, boy, it's not about that, it's it's
(13:00):
more Steve Kerr, you got to be part psychologist, part
schematic guy. That maybe JJ is is just too intense.
When you watched I mean and listen, it's a good
quality to have. What do you make of I mean,
you were intense. I watched you write officials for several years.
Is what do you make of those discussions about JJ
(13:24):
that maybe he's wound a little tight.
Speaker 7 (13:27):
Now you know he he wants to win and his
preparation to win is outstanding. You know, there's a learning
curve in every profession. I thought he had a great,
great uh season and uh, his players, he went over
his players. His players know how hard he works. And yeah,
(13:49):
he was a terrific player. He uh, you know, I
think he's he's learned a lot from this year. You know,
he'll critique himself and have you know, as a veteran staff,
uh where those guys will take a look at what
they did and uh how they were doing it and
(14:11):
make adjustments going into into next year. But he had
a great uh, he had a great first year. And
they played a team in the first round that was
deeper and more athletic. Yes, and and the the n
B a uh has scotten more physical, which I think
is good. But it's really physical in the playoffs and
(14:33):
that lent itself to uh given the Timberwolves a little
bit more of an advantage.
Speaker 6 (14:40):
And they're a good team. You know, they they're a
really good team.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
You Steve Kerr, Mark few Beheim, you guys all have
done a very good job coaching professional players, uh as
college coaches. Obviously Kerr played at Arizona, but he's a
pro coach and is there coaching is coaching at Duke
because you have so many pro players is a little NBA.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
Ish, Yeah, it is?
Speaker 1 (15:08):
It is. It is. Do you think did you ever
take anything from the pros and bring it back to
Duke to help you.
Speaker 7 (15:17):
Oh yeah, you know, I coached the US team for
eleven years, in three Olympics and two World Championships, and
I brought back a lot, you know, you know, the
sports science. You know, how guys prepared language, not cussing
in that but different although probably picked up a few
(15:39):
words there too. Uh now, just how their defensive coverages,
you know, but they're one of the main things is
how hard they prepared and the excellent shape they kept
themselves in. And I brought that back where we really
increased our sports medicine science and and uh but it
(16:03):
also helped me uh X and O wise. You know,
I had Jim Beheim was with me eleven years, but
I had Mannie Williams and uh Thibodeau. You know, these
guys who are uh, you know, terrific pro coaches and
and I learned a lot from them, But I learned
(16:25):
from the players because they really Yeah, these are great players.
Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, all these guys. Uh, they they
really understand the game. People uh don't realize how smart
they are and how much preparation that that they give.
(16:45):
So uh, those were eleven amazing years for uh, for me,
and I was very lucky to have that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You know, Christian Latner was so dominant when he played,
and he was part of that Kentucky win. You just
years and years ago, maybe it was Jay Billis was
sharing a story about the first time you had seen
Lebron and he took two steps at half court and
dunked it, and you turned to Billis, what in the
world am I watching? Go back to your college career.
(17:17):
I'm going to test your memory. Was there a moment
when you obviously coached your team hard, but you allowed
players to go off script the Grant Hill players. Was
there ever a moment in college you went back and
you turned to an assistant and you're like, this player
is better than I thought he would be. This like
you were actually as a coach, you turned an assistant
(17:39):
and said, I never imagined he would be this good,
this this player.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
Now a number of times I can remember when we
had Bobby Hurley yep, and he was just good at
point guard that's ever played a college and one practice
he's playing defense. And I will to Tommy Amaker, who
was one of my assistants then in it, I said
I've never seen anybody play that hard. And then at
(18:07):
times with grand Hell, you know, if grand Hill had
not been injured five years since his pro career, he
would have ended up being one of the top ten
players of all time. But he was very humble, and
there are times at timeouts I would say, you know,
for every four minutes, I'd say, okay, every time you
(18:29):
touch the ball, I don't want you to pass it.
I just want you to do whatever you want with it.
He said, what do you mean. I said, no, just
do something where someone says, you know, how did coach
k teach you how to do that?
Speaker 6 (18:46):
I'm not lying. I mean this is true.
Speaker 7 (18:49):
And because there are players, there's certain players that you
have to be careful not to overcoach. You have to
give them the room to become what their talent can
can show. And uh, you know, Zion was was that
(19:12):
uh uh you know really even though he's an outstanding athlete,
but he wasn't that like those two guys Zion and
Grant Beattier was like that. He was very humble too,
and uh, let's say, come on, man, you know, let
it out, you know, let it out. Like we were
(19:33):
talking about JJ earlier, JJ did Colin. He did some
stuff that I I could not imagine. You know, in
hostel arenas. You know, guys were pulling on his shirt.
He was trying to run him into the ground. And
he enjoyed putting up forty on the road or thirty
(19:56):
eight or thirty six.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
He was.
Speaker 7 (19:59):
He was so damn cocky and good. No, he he
really was.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
I love my place worked better worth I'll tell you that.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
That's what Nick Saban says. Yeah, those plays better when
I get a great pass rush from a five star guy. Finally,
there's a lot of reasons I like NIL. One of
the reasons I like it is because I like kids
having a little money and before they have a lot
of money, because a lot of athletes don't have it.
So I like a guy having a couple hundred thousand
(20:34):
and maybe blown it on a you know, close and
before he gets twenty million. And I do think it's
instructive that before you get you know, it used to
be no money college, you make a fortune. And I
think that's tough on anybody, regardless of your background. Is
have you found there are some things with NIL that
(20:55):
that I think it's keeping more kids in college. I
like college basketball over gage. I like that. But are
there things about nil beyond just a kid making money
that you think are instructive or you like about it?
Speaker 7 (21:09):
Well, it is what it is, and so we should
put our arms around it and figure out how to
make it the very very best. I will say that
one of the things you just mentioned, it's not right
with all all these kids where you make a lot
of money now and then you're going to make a
lot of money later. Most of the kids, remember there's
(21:31):
there's not as many are going to make it into
the MBA are going to be making more money in
college than they will after college.
Speaker 9 (21:42):
Wow.
Speaker 7 (21:42):
And that's the thing. I mean, their kids make. There
are a lot of kids making seven figures now, not
all if you've counted all those kids up around the
country making half a million to three or four million,
depending on the school. And there are a lot of
(22:04):
kids and they're you know, what's the lottery got fourteen guys.
The first round has thirty picks, and so they're going
to be guys who there are kids now, they're kids
that have not been invited to the combine who were
making seven figures last year in college. You know, so
(22:27):
you're going to have to deal with that. However, if
they're smart, they have a right to make that money,
just so they use it wisely and they're able to
transition to the next phase of their playing career. You know,
the guys who are lottery picks and that they don't.
That's the normal thing. That's the normal thing. But it's
(22:51):
all changed, Colin. It's it's changed, and it doesn't mean
that it's bad. It just means that we have to
get better control over it and make sure make sure
that these kids are well taken care of. You know,
right now, if you're a college coach at a high
level program, you know you're dealing more with agents than
(23:13):
you are with coaches, and that's why you have general
managers and it's run like a professional team, except there
are no contracts, which that might change depending on where
the hell this SOLI is going.
Speaker 6 (23:30):
But it's just in.
Speaker 7 (23:32):
A state of flux right now. But God blessed. The
kids should make as much as they can. They should
transfer just like any other student whenever they want. But
that's going to run out, and hopefully when it runs
out in college, they're able to go to a level
of playing basketball that is really good for them.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Coach k forty two years Ambassa are now in the
speaker circuit. Love to hear some of his stories. Nobody's
ever won more basketball games and men's basketball, and that
is saying something. There's been unbelievable coaches. You can turn
the TV on every night. It can be Rick Carlisle
or Chris Finch. There are great coaches everywhere. My buddy
Tom Izzo. Uh, basketball has got great coaches everywhere, and
(24:19):
you're at the very top of that coach, And I
appreciate you stopping by.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (24:23):
No, I've always enjoyed being on and thanks for not
forgetting me. Yeah, it's just that was you know, I
don't even know why I said that. I shouldn't have
said that.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
I liked it. He listened race, he raced.
Speaker 6 (24:42):
That, you're you're you're capable of anything.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
He raced that just go right into the ether. Nobody
heard but you and me. That's it. That's the only
people that heard it.
Speaker 6 (24:51):
All right, all right, good seeing Thanks for having me out.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
You're at the great Mike Krzyzewski. Yeah, it's uh, I mean,
like I I think what it took Mike A couple
of years to embrace one and done. But I think
with nil, you can complain about stuff, like Rick Carla
or Rick Patino said, you can complain about stuff or
you can embrace it and try to figure it out.
It's like anything. I mean, I almost look at NIL
(25:15):
as a new tax code. All right, got a new
tax code. An accountant's job is to figure out how
to use it best for his clients. I mean, in
the end, you can you know, I don't like what
it is. It. By the way, every year the wild
wild West will get a little less wild, and everybody
will get their arms around it and we're gonna be okay, Nick, Right,
(25:37):
Coach k good guest today as I get ready to
get on a plane with a few others and head
to a beautiful city. Some of us are staying behind,
others are taking the big swing.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
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Speaker 9 (25:58):
Hey Steve Cavino and I'm Rich Da and together we're
Covino and Rich On Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 10 (26:03):
You could catch us weekdays from five to seven pm
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Speaker 9 (26:10):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 10 (26:12):
We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on
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Speaker 9 (26:16):
We have a lot of fun talking about the stories
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Speaker 10 (26:25):
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Speaker 1 (26:28):
I mean that says something, right, So check us out.
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Speaker 1 (26:56):
Here we go. It is a Wednesday, nfl A schedule
release Wednesday. We are live. It's the herd. Wherever you
may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for
making us part of your day, j Mac, I'm gonna
let you, throughout Herdline News today announce a lot of
the schedules that are coming out, So tonight's gonna be great.
(27:18):
I know you're enamored with the Bears schedule. I understand it.
I'm really interested in the forty nine Ers schedule, but
I you know, it's funny and we'll get to the
NBA here in a second. But it's funny that, you
know how the NBA they're struggling to move off Lebron
at Christmas. Right, It's like I'm watching these playoffs you
(27:40):
know who's not involved Lebron, and I'm glued to the
TV set like the NBA needs to next Christmas. I
don't need Lebron anymore. And I thought I thought i'd
start the show with that. I think the NFL, and
because it's so powerful, the media hates power being concentrated
in one business or a few hands. The media has
always been tougher on the NFL and more congratulatory and
(28:06):
softer on the NBA or baseball. They're tough on the NFL.
Roger Goodell. Roger Goodell's really smart. It's a really well
run league. I thought they made a rare scheduling mistake.
Cowboys are in the opener at Philly, a game they
never win. In fact, if you go look at those games,
the Cowboys are one in five in their last six
(28:27):
against Philadelphia. And this is the best Eagles roster in
the long time, and it's the worst Cowboys roster in
a long time. I don't need to see that game.
That feels like November. I do not need to open
the NFL now. Now there are games you could open with.
Then they have the Cowboys against Kansas City on Thanksgiving.
I don't need to see that either. Andy Reid and
(28:47):
Mahomes against dak Off a second surgery and Brian Schottenheimer
doesn't scream fascinating. Listen, there are traditions like Thanksgiving, I'm
not going to bail on. And then there are traditions
the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. We can bail on. No
more Lebron on Christmas. Frankly, I'd rather watch Tyrese Haliburton, Okay, see,
(29:14):
and I'm sorry, I would the Knicks Boston of Tatum
comes back. I'd rather watch those teams. I really would.
So it's a quarterback league. We all know Buffalo, Cincinnati,
Kansas City. You know, the Bills are just more interesting
to watch. And not only do the Cowboys have a
(29:36):
second tier head coach, maybe third tier. Dak's off a
second surgery, and so Dak has become much less dynamic
as an athlete. He's a little bit like Aaron Rodgers.
Now you know the name. The paid check is more
fascinating than the player. DA's kind of boring. Great guy,
great leader. Dak's kind of boring. The Cowboys are kind
(29:57):
of boring. And I was looking at the numbers last year,
and I've been saying this now for two years. Kansas
City is America's team. Everywhere I go, I see chief stuff.
So last year, the most watched team in the NFL
was Kansas City. The second most watched team in the
NFL was Detroit, and then the Cowboys are now tied
for third with San Francisco, Buffalo, and Baltimore. Those teams
(30:19):
this year will surpass the Cowboys because they'll be in
more big games, and so the Cowboys will be the
fifth most watched NFL team by the end of this year,
maybe sixth. And the only thing keeping the Cowboys TV
numbers up is networks putting them on and the NFL
putting them on more it's really the NFL. What's the
(30:41):
netw're gonna do? You jam them on Thanksgiving, you jam
them in the opener. There's nothing NBC can do. So
this is one of these things. The Cowboys were not
a top twenty team last year offensively, and they were
thirtieth defensively. And I think the NFL is usually incredibly proactive,
but the openers should have been maybe Detroit and Philadelphia,
(31:02):
the two best rosters in the NFC. Get Lamar Jackson
Josh Allen somewhere on that the idea that Dallas has
earned that spot. It's Lakers on Christmas? Who cares? At
some point, you've got to introduce people, because I understand
those one o'clock games, there's a lot of games on
(31:23):
simultaneously in the NFL. You got to start introducing people,
and not only that but marketing, pushing and promoting Lamar
Jackson and Josh Allen every opportunity. By the way, I'm
not even mentioning Jaden Daniels, who I'm fascinated to watch
much more than Dak. And you know what this felt
like by the NFL. Remember when Apple inserted the U
(31:48):
two album on your iPod and you didn't want it
and you couldn't get rid of it, and there was
a backlash. That's what I feel about the Cowboys. They're
going to get beat Byhiladelphia. They're going to get beat
on Thanksgiving. I went and looked at their Thanksgiving numbers.
Of the last twelve games that Dallas Cowboys have played
(32:08):
on Thanksgiving, five of them have been double digit losses. Okay,
that does not scream get this team on television. Same
with the Lakers. There's just better products out there. One
more Herd. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd
(32:29):
to listen live or on demand whenever you like. Here
we go. It is a Thursday, our post NFL schedule
release show. The Warrior season is now officially done live.
It's the Herd. Wherever you may be, however you may
be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Well,
(32:52):
you know, J Mack, there are certain things in sports
that I get weird over years ago. People used to
think it was a weird o twenty years ago because
I love the draft so much, But everybody's coming around
on that. The schedule release is another one of those
that I do think it does matter, especially most teams
in this league are playing on the margins. They're not
Baltimore or Philadelphia where they've got better personnel and star
(33:14):
quarterbacks and they're winning by ten to twelve points. A
lot of teams those you know, TUA playing up north
in December is a disadvantage for the Dolphins. You have
to look at that right, huge.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Yeah, And I got to thank the NFL for giving
my Jets a one or zero start to the season.
We get the Steelers that hold open and makes it
Rudolph not Airy.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Well, let's start with this. So my one takeaway the
NFL schedule, and it's a fairly obvious one. Kansas City
that is rough. So Kansas City does not have a
great O line and they're going to try to figure
it out. And they're using a backup at left tackle
that hasn't really started and been the man from the Niners.
(33:55):
So and it's a hard unit to create cohesion. And
if you look at their first ten games, even the
teams that we view as weaker teams like the Giants,
good pass rush Jacksonville pass rush Raiders Max Crosby. So
even the Wu's could create problems for them. Forget Denver
that led the NFL in sacks, you face them. Conversely,
(34:18):
the Chargers. Jim Harball look at his career in year two.
Everywhere he goes. Chargers revamped run game, high end, left
and right tackles, have a cookie dough soft schedule in
the middle of the season to gain momentum. So my
(34:39):
prediction that the Chargers win this division with a weaker
schedule really plays in the middle of the season. You're
starting to get dinged up, you're not playing with full rosters.
It is really soft for the Chargers. And I again,
we've watched We've watched the Chiefs and Mahomes get blown
out in two Super Bowls. It's always been the same reason,
(35:00):
O lines not right. Well, I think they're going into
a season where the old line's not right. Add another thing,
Kansas City opens in Brazil. They have the most seven
prime time games. That's what the NFL does once you're
the star attraction. They have the Lions on a short week.
Oh that's not good. They have the Buffalo Bills on
(35:22):
a short week. Yeah, that's not good either. Remember that
Brazil game last year, Philadelphia went to Brazil and beat
Green Bay. The Eagles came back groggy and the next
week lost to the Atlanta Falcons. So that'll take some
that'll take some air out of the sales. Here's what
we know. Andy Reid and Mahomes are as good as
(35:42):
anybody in the world at what they do. But again,
this team played on the margins last year, okay, and
I think with this old line, the kryptonite to Kansas
City in their two Super Bowl blowout losses has been
the O line this going into a season, the U
Joe Tooney is their weakest on line. Little bit of
(36:03):
finger crossing here. Last year's was okay going into the season,
a bit of a mess at the end of the season.
So this is not a team like Baltimore, Detroit Philadelphia
with stacked rosters that are not playing on the margins.
They're getting seven or eight blowout games a year when
margins shrink, everything counts. This team had the third lowest
point in differential in the AFC West, so in their
(36:25):
own division, Denver and the Chargers had more blowout wins,
and I think Denver and the Chargers will be noticeably better.
Bo Nicks now into a second year with Peyton. They
had some interesting draft picks at running back and wide receiver.
So the downside to becoming America's team is that the NFL,
this is what they do. And I can remember after
(36:46):
the Giants would win a Super Bowl in Coffin and
Eli and they'd put them on Sunday Night and they'd
flex them in and everybody loved it except the Giants
and the older players. So here is Travis Kelcey on
his podcast New Heights talking about that opener in Brazil.
Speaker 11 (37:04):
I'll be there, not to do a yeah, I'll be
there pretty in the heat. If it's human, I'm gonna
be miserable. I'm gonna make I'm gonna be.
Speaker 6 (37:15):
Just surrounded by the Amazon rainforest.
Speaker 11 (37:17):
This is a good point. If it's hot and humid
and kind of what I'm expecting, I'm gonna be miserable.
But we're going to find a way to get a win.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Hip hip hooray. So my number one take Kansas City
going into a season with an offensive line I don't love.
I mean, when you start looking last year at the
teams at the end of the season that are really
formidable and leaning on people, a lot of them. Washington
was an exception, had really really buttoned up o lines.
(37:50):
All right, So the Warriors lost. The oldest interesting team
in the league is out Minnesota that's got some age,
but much deeper, bigger roster, prevails pretty easily. Jimmy Butler
only took eleven shots. Some of that is energy, some
of that was Kaminga had a lot of energy. Minnesota
got great looks. All you had to do is look
(38:12):
at the box score and it tells you Golden State
was tired. Minnesota shot sixty three percent, dominated in the paint,
had almost double the assists. They were moving very well.
Julius Randall thirteen of eighteen Bullyball. The three best Warriors Butler, Steph,
and Draymond all out of their prime. Two thirty five
(38:34):
year olds and a thirty seven year old, and they're
only getting older. So all it took was a popped
hamstring and the house collapses. It's interesting Jonathan Kaminga, who
just doesn't work with Butler and staff. He's great. He
was great when Steph got hurt, so they'll be able
to show that off. And he raised his market value
(38:55):
because everybody has sort of understood that the Steph offense
that ecosystem that's not friendly the young players. James Wiseman
never got it going. Cominga can't be on the floor
with Butler and Steph. It just doesn't work. But he
was the one guy last night that jumped off the TV.
He was the one guy you looked at and thought, oh,
he can go toe to toe with Minnesota's athletic bigs.
(39:16):
So they'll have a market for him. And Pods is
a guy you have to keep. He's got a market
as well, but you're going to have to move off
at least one of your really good young players. So
the Warriors to some degree have become an antique store.
And okaysee is the Apple store right next door? And
(39:36):
I think the Warriors are going to get worse every
year unless they pull off a big, big deal for Kaminga.
People are gonna want Pods and Cominga. They'll keep Pods.
They view him as sort of a Steph, an emerging
shooter that works with Steph. But I will say this,
you know what, it really reminds me of watching last night.
(39:56):
So and Belichick took the hit for all of the
shortcomings for the New England offense right before Tom left.
But just consider New England and Belichick and Brady, the
Warriors staff and Steve Kerr. They built a very high intellect,
(40:18):
sophisticated offense, both Kerr and Curry and Draymond. It's very sophisticated.
Young people struggle and for years everybody always said, well,
why can't New England, why can't they draft the wide receiver. Well,
some of it was most of it was Belichick wasn't
a good drafter. Some of it was Tom didn't want
a babysit them. And so what you have. You have
(40:40):
the benefit of the brilliance of Belichick and the brilliance
of Steve Kerr. You have the benefit of Brady and Steph.
But these are so high functioning, almost academic offenses. They
don't play with kids. Well, New England didn't. That's why
New England got old and slow, really fast. Brady went
(41:00):
young down in Tampa, and that's why it look when
you watch Okathy and you watch Indiana, and you watch
these young teams Houston and then you watch Golden State,
some of it is on this offense that just doesn't
play well with others under the age of twenty three
years old. That's what New England became. So I just
(41:21):
think they're just getting a year older. I think all
these Houston's, Indiana's maybe some degree in New York still
got some youth Cleveland. I think those teams are getting better.
I think the Warriors are getting older. But Steve Kerr
is still a believer.
Speaker 12 (41:40):
I know we had a shot. I know we could
have gone the distance. Maybe we wouldn't have, but it
doesn't matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who
stays healthy and who gets hot. You know, are you
playing well at the right time, do you have multiple
guys step up in key game make shots, and do
(42:01):
you have good health? And you know, you see it
every year in every series, and so there's a there's
there's a little bit of luck involved, you know, and we,
like I said, we've been on both sides of that
and it's just part of it.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
But I will say this, and I love Steve Kerr.
Older teams get hurt more often and older teams recover
more slowly, and the Warriors are just getting older. There
is a little bit of luck involved. But when you
got when you got Steph Curry running two miles per
(42:37):
game on that treadmill for that offense, and he is
so valuable without it, they're not even the same looking
watching team. Warriors are a hard watch without Steph. So
I I you could say there's there's luck involved, but
remember we all know this. The NBA, and it's helped ratings,
is allowing more physical basketball. What does that mean more injuries?
(43:02):
My guess they will come to the older teams, not
the younger ones. And I really do believe the NBA
used to be go get three great players the heatles KD,
Steph Clay. I don't think that's it anymore. I think
the new CBA and the new Aprons, it's all about
roster construction. I mean the Celtics are often weirdly as
(43:26):
good or better without Tatum. I mean, like like Oklahoma
City's roster. I think San Antonio's is going to get
very deep. Houston's already is. They just don't have a
second dominant great score. So I just Steve kerstill believes it.
You can talk yourself it's into luck. But the new
(43:47):
style of playoff basketball is not going to aid. It's
not going to aid the older rickety teams two thirty
five year olds and a thirty seven year old so
j mac it is. I got into this discussion last night.
Lebron's out of the playoffs, Steph Curry's out of the playoffs.
The Celtics brand, I think we'll lose to New York,
They'll be out of the playoffs. Do you think Knicks Pacers?
Speaker 6 (44:09):
I do.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
I think it's compelling. Do you think Oklahoma City Minnesota? Like?
I think these are really good series. But I'm more
NBA die hard than the casuals. This whole thing about
the NBA being rigged, you wouldn't have OKAC and Minnesota
in and Stephan Lebron out. What do you make of
what potentially is our final four? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (44:28):
The way I look at as I talk to buddies
and they're like, hey, hey, let's go out to hang out.
And I'm like, well, there's an NBA Finals game and
Lebron's in it. I'm not missing that. I would be
okay missing a conference semi conference finals matchup between and SGA, Like, it's.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Not mandatory viewing. I mean it's a great matchup, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
I'm gonna watch the games, but if something comes up,
you know you want to go to a Dodgers game. Sure,
I'll go to a Dodgers game, but Colin, it's just
it's not the sexy matchups that we want. Right if
Curry's playing, I'm glued to the TV. Lebron, I'm glued,
but Sga, I'm just not there yet.
Speaker 1 (45:02):
I'm sorry. I hope that doesn't make me an elitist. Yeah, no,
I think I think this is the transition. I think
when Michael Jordan left, the league lost fifty percent of
its numbers. But I do think I do think there's
a little Lebron fatigue where stylistically, Curry is still a
great watch. But I do think Lebron is an older player.
(45:25):
I'm more fascinated I am with Luca than Lebron because
I've seen all Lebron's game, Luca's growth, his cardio, lack
of defense a bit controversial part of a trade. So
I don't think you're going to see a massive drop off.
I just I don't think the Warriors are what Steve
Kerr believes, just bad luck away from advancing. I think
(45:45):
they're just going to be a year older. And I
think Oklahoma City, with all this experience Indiana, they're just
going to be better. Don't forget to love hate the polarization.
If you really love or hate Lebron and that's what
he is, you're gonna watch.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
I just don't feel like anybody hates sga hey, but
he hates it. They haven't done anything to be hatable.
Lebron's won a lot, moved around teams. People just dislike him.
But I do believe, you know, maybe there's that element
with the Knicks, but they still have to pull it out.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Colin, Are you sure they're a lock to win this series?
All the pressures on them? Yeah, I'm not good points.
Speaker 4 (46:18):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in newon Easter not a em Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (46:27):
I thought Chicago's old line would get better last year,
it golt worse. He completed sixty two and a half
percent of his throat as running for his life, twenty
touchdown passes, only six picks. Now, he was sacked sixty
eight times, but the numbers aren't you know? I mean
only six picks, sixty two and a half percent completion.
Persige running for his life in a division that had
(46:47):
Detroit Green Band Minnesota all really good teams. So I
don't think Minnesota's going to be as good this year,
and I think Caleb's got a much better quarterback. Also,
the story coming out today Seth Wickersham had talked to
Caleb's father, Carl Williams, and reporting that Karl did not
want his son initially to play in Chicago, and Albert
Breer addressed that an hour ago.
Speaker 13 (47:08):
And his dad's a very smart and accomplished businessman, and
you know, taught his son to think differently. And the
reality is like, this is something that all teams were
looking into, and anybody that was going to be in
a position to draft him was concerned about this. You
can understand his concerns certainly.
Speaker 7 (47:26):
You know.
Speaker 13 (47:26):
I think this is something that more and more athletes
think about, and you know, it's something we heard about
with Shadur a lot, you know, going into his draft
a lot of times. You know, I think these guys
were able to take a bigger picture view of it,
and the bigger picture view of it would show that
going to the right place isn't more is absolutely more
important than the game.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
Drafted as high as he can.
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Yeah, I think I think listen, I never had a problem.
I reported this a year ago. I said, you know,
his dad had some misgivings about it, but Caleb's like,
you know what, I'm going to go to Chicago. It's
a great American city and I'm going to be first
great quarterback. So I always like Caleb. I got along
with him great, He's very respectful. I saw I went
to the Notre Dame USC game and I told the
story is I saw his dad said hi to his dad,
(48:11):
and Caleb was sitting in the front row with friends,
and I came down and just out of respect, I
just tapped him on the shoulder. I said, hey, buddy,
just great seeing you. He got up, made a point
and I'm like, you don't have to get up. I
just wanted to say, hey, keep kicking butt. You're going
to do great, and very respectful got up, came up
the stairs. Caleb did, and I was like, I just
think he's a really I really like him. And I
(48:32):
also think it's sometimes it's unfair that you know, all
these quarterbacks now the nil they are stars coming out
of college. Bill Parcells, a brilliant guy, used to say,
do not draft a celebrity quarterback. Well, Baker Mayfield was
a star. Sam Darnold, you know he was a star.
Caleb's a star. I mean, yeah, it's just the reality
of it. I mean, bow Nicks into Oregon. I mean
everybody knew bow Nicks for the last five years. So
(48:53):
I think we the world's changed. These kids make money
in college. Take a deep breath with that. Ben john
Now is joining us, the new Bears coach at joining
us live. So you know, it's funny we forget about
this coach. Is that you know I was looking and
people forget Tua came out of college, didn't have a
(49:13):
great fit with the staff. You know, he and the
Brian Flora struggle. Got Mike McDaniels, Pro Bowl, Jared Goff,
got a defensive coach, get a great Scott Boom. Here
comes McVeigh Popps. So listen, we all said last year,
I said, it's just easier to get an offensive coach.
Go ask Bo Nixon, Sean Baiton.
Speaker 2 (49:31):
It just helps.
Speaker 1 (49:33):
Did you feel when we first sat down with Caleb,
I gotta build this kid's confidence up like a Tua.
Like a golf it's rough, it's a hard sport. Did
you feel that was part of your process. I want
to make sure this kid knows we really believe in him.
Speaker 8 (49:47):
Yeah, well, he does know that we believe in him,
there's no question about that. But Caleb Steal has never
been a confidence issue. He knows he's a high level player.
He's been that way since middle school, high school, college,
and it's going to continue to be that way here
in the NFL. But what we're trying to do is
we're trying to support him, give him some clarity on
(50:07):
what our expectations are on and off the field, and
help him grow and develop. And so far we've only
had call it six weeks now the off season program.
Speaker 3 (50:17):
It's going really well.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
So you got two new coordinators, you're on a first
time head coach, Caleb's in the year two. Who do
you lean on in that locker room? Ben? What player
or maybe unit is it Tony? Is it Dolman? Who
do you lean on in that offense?
Speaker 8 (50:35):
We've got a number of players offensively and defensively that
have Pro Bowls under their belt, that have playoff game experience,
win experience, and so I think when you look at that,
those are the guys not just.
Speaker 3 (50:48):
For Caleb, but for the entire team.
Speaker 8 (50:50):
That we're leaning on to show us what good football
looks like, what good teams do, and to establish that
standard for the rest of us to fall into line.
And so Toney's a great name on I mean, I
don't know that anybody's had quite the level of success
on our entire roster that he's had. Call it six
super Bowls and he's won four of them. I mean,
it's outstanding. And then you go over to the Phase
(51:10):
two drill workout on the field and he's busting his
rear end and he just had a Super Bowl that
he was in a few weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (51:16):
So I mean, it's it's pretty outstanding. And it doesn't take.
Speaker 8 (51:19):
Long for somebody that first time these rookies coming in,
they turn and they see how he goes about his business,
and pretty quick they understand, well, if I want to
last a long time, I need to just do what
he does.
Speaker 1 (51:32):
So I asked a GM, a very very good GEM
in the NFL recently about you, and he said, you know,
he goes most coaches we hire CEOs now it's a
CEO job. He said, you get occasionally lucky with a
Shanahan or Andy Reid that they're scheme geniuses and they
can do CEO. That's really hard, And he said Ben
has a chance to do that. Ben's excellent on scheme
(51:53):
and he has the personality. A lot of guys in
the league think Ben has the chance to be the CEO,
but most it's a CEO job now more than it
is x's and o's. So is the difficulty with you? Ben,
You're gonna be on that headset? How do you manage
yourself to go, oh, no, no, I'm the CEO here
because there are things that happen on a sideline in
(52:13):
game where you've got to put the CEO hat on
and you can't be a mile deep on calling plays?
Will that be hard on the first call? You disagree
with coming to the headset?
Speaker 3 (52:24):
Well, shoot, I mean yeah, everything that Everything I'm.
Speaker 8 (52:27):
Doing right now springtime training, it's my first time doing it,
so there'll be some things that pop up that I
got to work through and find the best process for
not only myself, but what's best for the team.
Speaker 3 (52:37):
That's the most important thing.
Speaker 8 (52:39):
And the fortunate thing is the way this staff has
been constructed is with that in mind. A lot of
my blind spots or the areas that I could use
the most help in We've got some really good experienced
coaches with Dennis Allen or Richard high Tower on defense
and special teams on offense. We've got Eric the Enemy
that's coordinated this league, Press teeler ord in this league.
(53:00):
So there's there's a lot of high level experience throughout
this coaching staff that they're going to help help foresee
any any bumps in the road and help me navigate
on game day. We got a great game management guy
of the name Harry Freed. He's done it for a
long time and he's going to be able to help
me stay ahead of that that because I really haven't.
As a play caller, you have to be exposed to
(53:21):
that and understand those situations. But now it's a little
bit different moving over to the defensive side of the
ball and being on the headset with them when they're up.
Speaker 1 (53:29):
So one of the things I liked about Jayden Daniels
and Caleb Williams coming out of college, they move a lot.
You get all the upside, not a lot of picks.
It's a little mahomes. Aaron Rodgers in his prime didn't
throw a lot of picks. Most great quarterbacks lway manning
far they throw picks. That's Andrew Luck, It's part of
the deal. Caleb doesn't. Now some have said, well he
(53:50):
holds the ball along whatever. I mean, he's a playmaker.
The criticism I heard out of college from GMS with
rings was he is so gifted. And we saw a
little bit of this with Mahomes. Sometimes you got to
just give him layouts, just take what the defense gives you.
How do you coach that, because it's a strength, it
(54:14):
can be a little bit of a burden, that great athleticism.
How do you coach that? Well?
Speaker 8 (54:20):
I think it starts with what we're doing right now
in the springtime is establishing the intent of every play call.
And that takes time, and it takes a number of reps.
But the more time we spend together with myself with
Declan Doyle or our offensive coordinator, with JT. Barrett, our
quarterback coach, in that room with the quarterbacks, the more
it comes to light and why we're.
Speaker 3 (54:42):
Calling plays and where that ball should go.
Speaker 8 (54:44):
And the more the quarterback understands the why the quicker
he is to see the defense and deliver the ball
to the primary or the secondary targets. So that's what
we're working through right now. At the end of the day, though,
Caleb was taken as a high draft pick because that
playmaking ability that you're alluding to, and so we don't
want to newter that as well. So there's a fine
(55:05):
line of understanding what we're doing and how we're doing it.
But at the same time, when things don't go maybe
to plan, we're not going to discourage his playmaking ability
and his.
Speaker 3 (55:16):
Ability to create outside of the pocket as well.
Speaker 8 (55:19):
So that's gonna be a fun balance for us to
go through both spring and training camp.
Speaker 3 (55:23):
I mean, we can't we.
Speaker 8 (55:24):
Can't get enough reps right now really as a team,
and so we're looking to maximize those going forward.
Speaker 1 (55:32):
So offensive line is to me the most underrated unit
in the sport, but it's also the hardest to create cohesion.
You've got a young guy, you got a rookie, You've
got Drew Dolman, You've got Joe Tooney, You've got a
lot of moving parts here. I think potentially it could
be great, but I've seen a bit of a trend
over the last five to six years that veterans aren't
playing preseason football, So you're going to have to September,
(55:53):
You're going to get a lot of the work in
for the tuonies. You don't want to put him out
there and get banged up. What is a I looked
at your schedule and I said, well, the office part
of their schedules late. They're gonna have until Thanksgiving to
get that puppy rolling. You don't want to face the
toughest part in the first four weeks. Not that your
early schedule is easy, but at the end you're facing
defensive front that can be substantially tough. How long what
(56:16):
is realistic to say okay, Dolman, Tony the rookie. What
is a realistic time to go okay, we are a
cohesive top ten unit.
Speaker 6 (56:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (56:27):
I think that's going to be the challenge there during
training camp is how quickly can we come together. I
mean they're really bonding as a unit right now communication wise,
but we don't have the pads on. I think we
need the pads on before we truly start gelling together.
Speaker 3 (56:41):
So training camp is going to be critical for us.
I actually like where that bye week is.
Speaker 8 (56:46):
Because it usually takes about four weeks into the season
to find out who you are as a team and
what you do well and which you don't do well,
and then that's at a good time so that we
can reflect on that as a coaching staff to really
hone in on what we want to be for the
remaining three quarters of the season. I would say my
experience has been when you when you get a new
(57:07):
group together, it could take up to half the season
before they really start to mesh in and come together.
In terms of the run game more so than pass pro,
I think we should be a pretty good pass pro
unit right off the jump.
Speaker 3 (57:21):
But that run game, the communication, the angles with which.
Speaker 8 (57:25):
We're all going trusting each other, particularly in the wide
zone scheme that we're installing right now in Otas's that's
something that we want to make sure that we get
plenty of time on task on.
Speaker 1 (57:38):
So all human beings are the same in one aspect.
If you're afraid of flying and you're on a plane
and the minute turbulence hits, where does your mind go
back to your fears? So I reported a year ago,
seth Wickersham reported it today that Caleb was worried about
the history of the Bears offense, and so you didn't
(57:58):
inherit it. That's not your issue. I don't care about that,
but there is a psychology, Ben that's true. He goes
into a two week losing streak and it's turbulence on
a plane that he was scared to fly anyway, How
do you ensure that when there are bumps in this
division and there are bumps for him, that those fears
that are now reported of oh Man, this organization and quarterback,
(58:23):
he's had those, that's okay, some installed by his dad, whatever,
How do you ensure during the turbulence of this season,
and there will be your divisions too good, there's too
many good teams on the schedule, how do you ensure
he doesn't lose faith, faith and belief in your system.
Speaker 8 (58:40):
Well, you talk about fears, and I don't see it
quite the same way.
Speaker 3 (58:45):
I see.
Speaker 8 (58:46):
This is what a great opportunity we have to do
something that really has never been done. There hasn't been
a four thousand yard passer here in this franchise, and
I think Caleb is going to be the first one,
and one of many years, many seasons to come where
he's able to accomplish that feat. So I see a
chance for greatness here for him. He's been communicated that way,
(59:08):
and he feels the same way. I don't know what's
going on prior to him joining the organization, but he
is very proud to be a Chicago Bear. That's what
our conversations have included. And he's really excited to get
to work right now and be the best version of
himself for twenty twenty five. There's no question we're gonna
(59:28):
face adversity. Both he will, he's not gonna We want
to see growth from here to here over the course
of the season, and it's not gonna be linear growth.
It's gonna be a little bit of ups and downs
and stair steps along the way. But we want to
see from Game one the game seventeen that we're getting better.
Speaker 3 (59:45):
As a whole.
Speaker 8 (59:45):
And that's not just him, that's us as a team
as well. So I'm excited. That's what makes coaching fun
is when the hiccups occur, when the adversity strikes, how
do we respond to it.
Speaker 3 (59:57):
That's when you find out who you are as a man.
Speaker 1 (01:00:01):
Was there a moment in your practices and seeing Caleb
it could have been a throw, it could have been
something that you went, oh, oh, that's pretty good, Like
what have you had one of those moments yet where
you were just like, yeah, no, no, I I I
see it. I see the number one pick.
Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
That's every day.
Speaker 8 (01:00:21):
That's every day we're out there routes versus air. We're
changing maybe some footwork and some coaching points with what
we're working through right now. But today it was a
post route that he just he probably threw a sixty
yards right on the money.
Speaker 3 (01:00:35):
A few days ago it was a it was a keeper.
Speaker 8 (01:00:37):
He's out of the pocket going to the left and
he just able to flip his hips and fling that
thing right on the money.
Speaker 3 (01:00:42):
So he's got he's got such.
Speaker 8 (01:00:44):
Great god given ability that we're looking to tap into.
Speaker 11 (01:00:48):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:00:48):
You see it every day right now.
Speaker 8 (01:00:50):
And like I said, it's gonna be more fun once
we get the competitive nature of offense versus defense a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (01:00:56):
O Tas coach, it is great seeing you. All I
see is a smile. All you coaches smile so much
during this period. Keep the smile through the sea. Don't
let the league beat you down. As a head coach,
it's great seeing you
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noone Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sportsradio dot com,
or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app
by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening
to the Herd podcast. It is a Monday live in
(00:22):
Los Angeles. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and
however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part
of your day. Nice to be in today. Jmac. The
NBA Ping Pong Ball Draft lottery tonight. Very exciting, very
exciting weather. It was so amazing out of here all weekend.
Speaker 2 (00:39):
I forgot to ask you get your sun little suns out,
guns out for you.
Speaker 3 (00:41):
No beach.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
I worked out, had a great time, Sadhu. Watched a
lot of NBA stuff, a lot of bad NBA basketable yesterday,
went and had a beer with a buddy.
Speaker 2 (00:52):
That Celtics Knicks game Saturday was unwatchable, kind of watchable.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
To be honest with you, why if I had, you know,
I think Boston's gonna win this ser well, not if
the Knicks win tonight. If the Knicks win tonight, I think.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
They got a great chance to win the series as well, nickl.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
If the Knicks win tonight, they're gonna win the series.
By the way, Celtics have led every game by twenty
second of the seven games this year. That's not great.
It's their formula, all right, it's a Monday right wrong
as oh was plenty of both. Here we go where
Colin was right, Jannis, according to Shams, is going to
explore the best fits outside of Milwaukee. We've been saying
(01:27):
this for the last year to year and a half.
You got a trophy, you don't control your first picks.
You're not close to being in Indiana, a Cleveland, a Boston,
an ok C. And you're not close to being a
San Antonio in Houston. Potentially after the draft lottery tonight,
it's time to reboot. And according to Shams, that's what
(01:48):
Milwaukee and Yanni's plan to do.
Speaker 4 (01:50):
Where Colin was raw.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
If you'd have told me the Knicks would beat Boston
both times in Boston, I'd have said you're crazy. If
it had told me Boston was lead by twenty in
both games or more and still lose. I'd to say impossible,
but the impossible happen. Hard to explain. What I watched
in Boston is the Knicks currently lead two to one.
(02:12):
Again very clearly, one roster has eight guys who can shoot, pass,
and handle the ball. New York is not that roster.
But if they win tonight, Boston's in big trouble. Where
Colin was right, I said teams didn't want to draft
Shanor Sanders once he got out of the first round
because they didn't want to Tim Tebow's circus. And sure enough,
(02:36):
even though he was the second quarterback taken by the
Cleveland Browns. What were the questions about from the Cleveland
media at camp?
Speaker 5 (02:46):
This will probably fall in deaf ears, but don't look
too much into it. There's plenty of reps. There's a
lot of time between now and September, so we'll have
a plan. But it's an all encompassing evaluation. It's not
something that it's just based on the the practice reps.
Speaker 1 (03:00):
There's a lot that goes into first questions, why is
Shadu or not getting the starting reps? You knew it
was coming. It's t bow two point zero. Where Colin
was raw Derek Carr retired. I listen. I always liked him.
A four time All Pro during the bad al Pro
(03:20):
bowler during the Al Davis Kruddy years, which is hard
to do. He was a life preserver for a terribly
run franchise. Third season in the league, he was third
in the MVP vote, second round rout of Fresno State.
I liked him a lot, but there's not much you
can do. The Raiders were a mess when he was there.
And then Dennis Allen is not a head coach, He's
more of a coordinator. I thought he was going to
(03:41):
have a Philip Rivers career where you didn't maybe watch
a ton of them in college, but you're going to
look at the end of his career and there'd be
some Hall of Fame votes. And he retired yesterday and
it never transpired.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (03:54):
Well, The Athletic is reporting that NFL teams laughed at
the Cowboys for giving up a third round pick for
George Pickens, the very talented but an incredibly vollied a
wide receiver. And as we said, when Mike Tomlin moves
off a drama filled offensive playmaker, they do not recover.
(04:17):
I can give you about seven examples. This is also
Jerry Jones once again. As the NFL front offices have
gotten younger and shrewder, the Cowboys are giving away draft
picks like skittles. The Cowboys, to me have one of
the weaker rosters overall in the league. Where Colin was
wrong Julius Randall. Where did this come from? I always
(04:41):
kind of liked him, but his assist totals have gone
through the roof. He has led Julius Randall has led
the tea Wolves and assists and by the way, with
New York, they wanted him to be a one pre
Jalen Brunton, and that's not what he is. But I
never saw him as a two. I saw him as
a three. He was great against the Lakers, been excellent
in this series. He had a triple double Saturday, And
(05:03):
we just got to be honest. Here is it late developing? No,
it's probably this staff Chris Finch has assembled knows how
to use him. I don't think he's a better player.
I think he is used more efficiently in Minnesota. And
good for Julius Randall.
Speaker 4 (05:19):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (05:21):
I did not buy the odds makers who had OKC
at minus eight hundred to bury the Nuggets. I said
this is gonna be a six or seven game series.
Jokich is the best player in the world, and even
though I love Okc's roster construct and depth, I would
take the Nuggets starting five if he gave me a
quarter to play for the championship. Again, OKAC is built
(05:43):
to win the entire thing, and maybe Denver with no
bench isn't. But it was disrespectful the odds had this
thing being a four or five game series, and I'm sorry.
Denver's got three great playoff veterans who have been a
lot of these close, big games.
Speaker 4 (06:00):
Where Colin was right.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Well, the Steelers enter twenty twenty five as the only
team in the league without their top quarterback, running back,
wide receiver, and left tackle from last year. I have
said this for years. They don't take offense seriously. Once
again third year in a row. They are among the
league leaders in defensive spending. I'll get to this later,
(06:26):
but they become opposite of the Rams with an offensive
coach and offensive spending and no drama. But it is
remarkable there's only one team in this league quarterback, running back,
wide receiver, left tackle, gone gone, gone gone in an
offensive league. I like Mike Tomlin, respect the Rooneyes, but
they just feel out of touch. For twenty twenty five
(06:50):
NFL Football.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Well, there's no basketball coach ever. I'm reading the accolades
the most wins by any head basketball coach in men's
basketball history. That's pretty good. That seems like that'd be
near the top of my resume. Five natties, forty two
years at Duke, the gold Standard program twenty four to zero.
(07:20):
Is an Olympic coach and now a public speaker with
grandkids in the area. What a life for Mike Krzyzewski,
who's now joining US Live. You know you told me
years ago, you said, Colin, I start recruiting guys six
to seven years before you you see me sign them.
So let's talk Cooper Flag. Basketball is a very unique
(07:42):
sport where you can see at ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen,
you can see special. Do you remember the first time
you saw Cooper Flag?
Speaker 6 (07:51):
You know I do not because.
Speaker 7 (07:55):
I'm three years retired so Shire must have seen him
when he was fourteen team, but I did see him
when he was at Mont D. Yeah, like, yeah, they
have Actually they have four from his high school team.
They have four kids are going to be first round
draft picks. And I knew he was special, but because
(08:20):
they had so much talent, I didn't realize how special
he is. And this kid plays every play hard and yes,
every play, every play.
Speaker 1 (08:30):
Yeah, people have compared him, I think almost favorably to
Jason Tatum. When I watch him, he feels a little
more aggressive than Jason, and he's an aggressive attacking player.
Do you think that comp is fair and realistic?
Speaker 6 (08:48):
I don't.
Speaker 7 (08:49):
I think they're two different players. They're both six eight. Actually,
I think Cooper grew about an inch here. You know,
he's still only eighteen years old, so he's still growing
end up being sixteen. Uh, but uh, I think offensively,
you know, Jason really has developed into a great shooter.
(09:12):
H We're waiting to find out about his injury. But
uh uh, he's really developed differently than I think Cooper
will develop.
Speaker 8 (09:23):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (09:23):
Cooper is.
Speaker 7 (09:27):
Just unique, you know, like he he's Yeah, he's so strong,
his legs are so strong and athletically, he's gifted, but attitude,
and when you add his athletic ability and his competitive attitude,
(09:48):
you have a very special guy. And Uh, he can
really score the ball. I think he's a good shooter, uh,
trying to become a really good shooter, whereas Jason, Jason
is that shooter.
Speaker 1 (10:04):
I read Ian O'Connor's book about you, which I thought
was fascinating on so many levels, and it's so funny
John Wooden in you. You know, you're obviously the all
time greats. But John Wooden, it took a long time
for him to win at UCLA. And as Ian O'Connor
pointed out, there was a meeting or two about Mike
Krzyzewski in about your fourth year and people are like,
(10:25):
we don't know if this kid from Army is gonna work.
You endured for a lot of reasons. You're smart, you're collaborative,
you were a grinder. There's a lot of reasons. But
when I look at college basketball today, do you like
the place we're in? Tom Izzo's a survivor, but a
(10:45):
lot of the big ones have left. Sometimes college football
I think is too impatient. Do you think college basketball
is good to coaches because the NBA, I could argue,
is not a great place to coach. Is college basketball today?
Speaker 7 (11:01):
Actually, I think the NBA is a better price to coach.
I think college basketball now is pretty much like the NBA,
except there's no transparency. In other words, you're at one
school on at another. I don't know what you're doing
for a player. You don't know what I'm doing for
(11:22):
a player. And it's really professional right now or college basketball,
but the product is outstanding and kids are staying longer
because of n IL. You're getting older teams, the influx
of international, young international pro players to college. There you
(11:45):
can win quicker in college now. And there's by John
Shire has done a great job here at Duke replacing me,
and I've told him, I said, I think you've done
a better job than I would have done in the
last three years with all the changes, because I would
(12:07):
have always been saying stuff, well, it used to be
this way, it used to be that way, and for
you you're just starting out, it wasn't used to be it
is and right now. I just think people should put
their arms around college sports, especially college basketball, in my opinion,
(12:28):
and run it like a business because it is a
business and the product is great. Though there's so much
talent out there.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
You know, there's an argument people have made. I don't
know if I concur with it, but it's an interesting
argument that JJ Reddick is smart, he's very tightly wound.
That in the NBA, in big games, he kind of
he's a teeth clencher a little bit. He's very very intense.
And in the NBA as a coach, he was very intense.
And people say, boy, it's not about that, it's it's
(13:00):
more Steve Kerr, you got to be part psychologist, part
schematic guy. That maybe JJ is is just too intense.
When you watched I mean and listen, it's a good
quality to have. What do you make of I mean,
you were intense. I watched you write officials for several years.
Is what do you make of those discussions about JJ
(13:24):
that maybe he's wound a little tight.
Speaker 7 (13:27):
Now you know he he wants to win and his
preparation to win is outstanding. You know, there's a learning
curve in every profession. I thought he had a great,
great uh season and uh, his players, he went over
his players. His players know how hard he works. And yeah,
(13:49):
he was a terrific player. He uh, you know, I
think he's he's learned a lot from this year. You know,
he'll critique himself and have you know, as a veteran staff,
uh where those guys will take a look at what
they did and uh how they were doing it and
(14:11):
make adjustments going into into next year. But he had
a great uh, he had a great first year. And
they played a team in the first round that was
deeper and more athletic. Yes, and and the the n
B a uh has scotten more physical, which I think
is good. But it's really physical in the playoffs and
(14:33):
that lent itself to uh given the Timberwolves a little
bit more of an advantage.
Speaker 6 (14:40):
And they're a good team. You know, they they're a
really good team.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
You Steve Kerr, Mark few Beheim, you guys all have
done a very good job coaching professional players, uh as
college coaches. Obviously Kerr played at Arizona, but he's a
pro coach and is there coaching is coaching at Duke
because you have so many pro players is a little NBA.
Speaker 6 (15:07):
Ish, Yeah, it is?
Speaker 1 (15:08):
It is. It is. Do you think did you ever
take anything from the pros and bring it back to
Duke to help you.
Speaker 7 (15:17):
Oh yeah, you know, I coached the US team for
eleven years, in three Olympics and two World Championships, and
I brought back a lot, you know, you know, the
sports science. You know, how guys prepared language, not cussing
in that but different although probably picked up a few
(15:39):
words there too. Uh now, just how their defensive coverages,
you know, but they're one of the main things is
how hard they prepared and the excellent shape they kept
themselves in. And I brought that back where we really
increased our sports medicine science and and uh but it
(16:03):
also helped me uh X and O wise. You know,
I had Jim Beheim was with me eleven years, but
I had Mannie Williams and uh Thibodeau. You know, these
guys who are uh, you know, terrific pro coaches and
and I learned a lot from them, But I learned
(16:25):
from the players because they really Yeah, these are great players.
Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, all these guys. Uh, they they
really understand the game. People uh don't realize how smart
they are and how much preparation that that they give.
(16:45):
So uh, those were eleven amazing years for uh, for me,
and I was very lucky to have that opportunity.
Speaker 1 (16:56):
You know, Christian Latner was so dominant when he played,
and he was part of that Kentucky win. You just
years and years ago, maybe it was Jay Billis was
sharing a story about the first time you had seen
Lebron and he took two steps at half court and
dunked it, and you turned to Billis, what in the
world am I watching? Go back to your college career.
(17:17):
I'm going to test your memory. Was there a moment
when you obviously coached your team hard, but you allowed
players to go off script the Grant Hill players. Was
there ever a moment in college you went back and
you turned to an assistant and you're like, this player
is better than I thought he would be. This like
you were actually as a coach, you turned an assistant
(17:39):
and said, I never imagined he would be this good,
this this player.
Speaker 6 (17:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (17:44):
Now a number of times I can remember when we
had Bobby Hurley yep, and he was just good at
point guard that's ever played a college and one practice
he's playing defense. And I will to Tommy Amaker, who
was one of my assistants then in it, I said
I've never seen anybody play that hard. And then at
(18:07):
times with grand Hell, you know, if grand Hill had
not been injured five years since his pro career, he
would have ended up being one of the top ten
players of all time. But he was very humble, and
there are times at timeouts I would say, you know,
for every four minutes, I'd say, okay, every time you
(18:29):
touch the ball, I don't want you to pass it.
I just want you to do whatever you want with it.
He said, what do you mean. I said, no, just
do something where someone says, you know, how did coach
k teach you how to do that?
Speaker 6 (18:46):
I'm not lying. I mean this is true.
Speaker 7 (18:49):
And because there are players, there's certain players that you
have to be careful not to overcoach. You have to
give them the room to become what their talent can
can show. And uh, you know, Zion was was that
(19:12):
uh uh you know really even though he's an outstanding athlete,
but he wasn't that like those two guys Zion and
Grant Beattier was like that. He was very humble too,
and uh, let's say, come on, man, you know, let
it out, you know, let it out. Like we were
(19:33):
talking about JJ earlier, JJ did Colin. He did some
stuff that I I could not imagine. You know, in
hostel arenas. You know, guys were pulling on his shirt.
He was trying to run him into the ground. And
he enjoyed putting up forty on the road or thirty
(19:56):
eight or thirty six.
Speaker 1 (19:59):
He was.
Speaker 7 (19:59):
He was so damn cocky and good. No, he he
really was.
Speaker 6 (20:05):
I love my place worked better worth I'll tell you that.
Speaker 1 (20:12):
That's what Nick Saban says. Yeah, those plays better when
I get a great pass rush from a five star guy. Finally,
there's a lot of reasons I like NIL. One of
the reasons I like it is because I like kids
having a little money and before they have a lot
of money, because a lot of athletes don't have it.
So I like a guy having a couple hundred thousand
(20:34):
and maybe blown it on a you know, close and
before he gets twenty million. And I do think it's
instructive that before you get you know, it used to
be no money college, you make a fortune. And I
think that's tough on anybody, regardless of your background. Is
have you found there are some things with NIL that
(20:55):
that I think it's keeping more kids in college. I
like college basketball over gage. I like that. But are
there things about nil beyond just a kid making money
that you think are instructive or you like about it?
Speaker 7 (21:09):
Well, it is what it is, and so we should
put our arms around it and figure out how to
make it the very very best. I will say that
one of the things you just mentioned, it's not right
with all all these kids where you make a lot
of money now and then you're going to make a
lot of money later. Most of the kids, remember there's
(21:31):
there's not as many are going to make it into
the MBA are going to be making more money in
college than they will after college.
Speaker 9 (21:42):
Wow.
Speaker 7 (21:42):
And that's the thing. I mean, their kids make. There
are a lot of kids making seven figures now, not
all if you've counted all those kids up around the
country making half a million to three or four million,
depending on the school. And there are a lot of
(22:04):
kids and they're you know, what's the lottery got fourteen guys.
The first round has thirty picks, and so they're going
to be guys who there are kids now, they're kids
that have not been invited to the combine who were
making seven figures last year in college. You know, so
(22:27):
you're going to have to deal with that. However, if
they're smart, they have a right to make that money,
just so they use it wisely and they're able to
transition to the next phase of their playing career. You know,
the guys who are lottery picks and that they don't.
That's the normal thing. That's the normal thing. But it's
(22:51):
all changed, Colin. It's it's changed, and it doesn't mean
that it's bad. It just means that we have to
get better control over it and make sure make sure
that these kids are well taken care of. You know,
right now, if you're a college coach at a high
level program, you know you're dealing more with agents than
(23:13):
you are with coaches, and that's why you have general
managers and it's run like a professional team, except there
are no contracts, which that might change depending on where
the hell this SOLI is going.
Speaker 6 (23:30):
But it's just in.
Speaker 7 (23:32):
A state of flux right now. But God blessed. The
kids should make as much as they can. They should
transfer just like any other student whenever they want. But
that's going to run out, and hopefully when it runs
out in college, they're able to go to a level
of playing basketball that is really good for them.
Speaker 1 (23:56):
Coach k forty two years Ambassa are now in the
speaker circuit. Love to hear some of his stories. Nobody's
ever won more basketball games and men's basketball, and that
is saying something. There's been unbelievable coaches. You can turn
the TV on every night. It can be Rick Carlisle
or Chris Finch. There are great coaches everywhere. My buddy
Tom Izzo. Uh, basketball has got great coaches everywhere, and
(24:19):
you're at the very top of that coach, And I
appreciate you stopping by.
Speaker 6 (24:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (24:23):
No, I've always enjoyed being on and thanks for not
forgetting me. Yeah, it's just that was you know, I
don't even know why I said that. I shouldn't have
said that.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
I liked it. He listened race, he raced.
Speaker 6 (24:42):
That, you're you're you're capable of anything.
Speaker 1 (24:45):
He raced that just go right into the ether. Nobody
heard but you and me. That's it. That's the only
people that heard it.
Speaker 6 (24:51):
All right, all right, good seeing Thanks for having me out.
Speaker 1 (24:53):
You're at the great Mike Krzyzewski. Yeah, it's uh, I mean,
like I I think what it took Mike A couple
of years to embrace one and done. But I think
with nil, you can complain about stuff, like Rick Carla
or Rick Patino said, you can complain about stuff or
you can embrace it and try to figure it out.
It's like anything. I mean, I almost look at NIL
(25:15):
as a new tax code. All right, got a new
tax code. An accountant's job is to figure out how
to use it best for his clients. I mean, in
the end, you can you know, I don't like what
it is. It. By the way, every year the wild
wild West will get a little less wild, and everybody
will get their arms around it and we're gonna be okay, Nick, Right,
(25:37):
Coach k good guest today as I get ready to
get on a plane with a few others and head
to a beautiful city. Some of us are staying behind,
others are taking the big swing.
Speaker 4 (25:49):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in noon eastern non am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 9 (25:58):
Hey Steve Cavino and I'm Rich Da and together we're
Covino and Rich On Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 10 (26:03):
You could catch us weekdays from five to seven pm
Eastern two to four Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and
of course the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 9 (26:10):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 10 (26:12):
We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world.
Speaker 9 (26:16):
We have a lot of fun talking about the stories
behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture,
stories that well, other shows don't seem to have the
time to discuss.
Speaker 10 (26:25):
And the fact that we've been friends for the last
twenty years and still work together.
Speaker 1 (26:28):
I mean that says something, right, So check us out.
Speaker 9 (26:30):
We like to get you involved too, take your phone calls,
chop it up. As they say, I'd say the most
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Speaker 10 (26:38):
Most interactive show on planetar.
Speaker 9 (26:40):
Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app from five to
seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific, And if you
miss any of the live show, just search Covino and
Rich wherever you get your podcasts, and of course on
social media that's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 1 (26:56):
Here we go. It is a Wednesday, nfl A schedule
release Wednesday. We are live. It's the herd. Wherever you
may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for
making us part of your day, j Mac, I'm gonna
let you, throughout Herdline News today announce a lot of
the schedules that are coming out, So tonight's gonna be great.
(27:18):
I know you're enamored with the Bears schedule. I understand it.
I'm really interested in the forty nine Ers schedule, but
I you know, it's funny and we'll get to the
NBA here in a second. But it's funny that, you
know how the NBA they're struggling to move off Lebron
at Christmas. Right, It's like I'm watching these playoffs you
(27:40):
know who's not involved Lebron, and I'm glued to the
TV set like the NBA needs to next Christmas. I
don't need Lebron anymore. And I thought I thought i'd
start the show with that. I think the NFL, and
because it's so powerful, the media hates power being concentrated
in one business or a few hands. The media has
always been tougher on the NFL and more congratulatory and
(28:06):
softer on the NBA or baseball. They're tough on the NFL.
Roger Goodell. Roger Goodell's really smart. It's a really well
run league. I thought they made a rare scheduling mistake.
Cowboys are in the opener at Philly, a game they
never win. In fact, if you go look at those games,
the Cowboys are one in five in their last six
(28:27):
against Philadelphia. And this is the best Eagles roster in
the long time, and it's the worst Cowboys roster in
a long time. I don't need to see that game.
That feels like November. I do not need to open
the NFL now. Now there are games you could open with.
Then they have the Cowboys against Kansas City on Thanksgiving.
I don't need to see that either. Andy Reid and
(28:47):
Mahomes against dak Off a second surgery and Brian Schottenheimer
doesn't scream fascinating. Listen, there are traditions like Thanksgiving, I'm
not going to bail on. And then there are traditions
the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving. We can bail on. No
more Lebron on Christmas. Frankly, I'd rather watch Tyrese Haliburton, Okay, see,
(29:14):
and I'm sorry, I would the Knicks Boston of Tatum
comes back. I'd rather watch those teams. I really would.
So it's a quarterback league. We all know Buffalo, Cincinnati,
Kansas City. You know, the Bills are just more interesting
to watch. And not only do the Cowboys have a
(29:36):
second tier head coach, maybe third tier. Dak's off a
second surgery, and so Dak has become much less dynamic
as an athlete. He's a little bit like Aaron Rodgers.
Now you know the name. The paid check is more
fascinating than the player. DA's kind of boring. Great guy,
great leader. Dak's kind of boring. The Cowboys are kind
(29:57):
of boring. And I was looking at the numbers last year,
and I've been saying this now for two years. Kansas
City is America's team. Everywhere I go, I see chief stuff.
So last year, the most watched team in the NFL
was Kansas City. The second most watched team in the
NFL was Detroit, and then the Cowboys are now tied
for third with San Francisco, Buffalo, and Baltimore. Those teams
(30:19):
this year will surpass the Cowboys because they'll be in
more big games, and so the Cowboys will be the
fifth most watched NFL team by the end of this year,
maybe sixth. And the only thing keeping the Cowboys TV
numbers up is networks putting them on and the NFL
putting them on more it's really the NFL. What's the
(30:41):
netw're gonna do? You jam them on Thanksgiving, you jam
them in the opener. There's nothing NBC can do. So
this is one of these things. The Cowboys were not
a top twenty team last year offensively, and they were
thirtieth defensively. And I think the NFL is usually incredibly proactive,
but the openers should have been maybe Detroit and Philadelphia,
(31:02):
the two best rosters in the NFC. Get Lamar Jackson
Josh Allen somewhere on that the idea that Dallas has
earned that spot. It's Lakers on Christmas? Who cares? At
some point, you've got to introduce people, because I understand
those one o'clock games, there's a lot of games on
(31:23):
simultaneously in the NFL. You got to start introducing people,
and not only that but marketing, pushing and promoting Lamar
Jackson and Josh Allen every opportunity. By the way, I'm
not even mentioning Jaden Daniels, who I'm fascinated to watch
much more than Dak. And you know what this felt
like by the NFL. Remember when Apple inserted the U
(31:48):
two album on your iPod and you didn't want it
and you couldn't get rid of it, and there was
a backlash. That's what I feel about the Cowboys. They're
going to get beat Byhiladelphia. They're going to get beat
on Thanksgiving. I went and looked at their Thanksgiving numbers.
Of the last twelve games that Dallas Cowboys have played
(32:08):
on Thanksgiving, five of them have been double digit losses. Okay,
that does not scream get this team on television. Same
with the Lakers. There's just better products out there. One
more Herd. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd
(32:29):
to listen live or on demand whenever you like. Here
we go. It is a Thursday, our post NFL schedule
release show. The Warrior season is now officially done live.
It's the Herd. Wherever you may be, however you may
be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Well,
(32:52):
you know, J Mack, there are certain things in sports
that I get weird over years ago. People used to
think it was a weird o twenty years ago because
I love the draft so much, But everybody's coming around
on that. The schedule release is another one of those
that I do think it does matter, especially most teams
in this league are playing on the margins. They're not
Baltimore or Philadelphia where they've got better personnel and star
(33:14):
quarterbacks and they're winning by ten to twelve points. A
lot of teams those you know, TUA playing up north
in December is a disadvantage for the Dolphins. You have
to look at that right, huge.
Speaker 2 (33:25):
Yeah, And I got to thank the NFL for giving
my Jets a one or zero start to the season.
We get the Steelers that hold open and makes it
Rudolph not Airy.
Speaker 1 (33:34):
Well, let's start with this. So my one takeaway the
NFL schedule, and it's a fairly obvious one. Kansas City
that is rough. So Kansas City does not have a
great O line and they're going to try to figure
it out. And they're using a backup at left tackle
that hasn't really started and been the man from the Niners.
(33:55):
So and it's a hard unit to create cohesion. And
if you look at their first ten games, even the
teams that we view as weaker teams like the Giants,
good pass rush Jacksonville pass rush Raiders Max Crosby. So
even the Wu's could create problems for them. Forget Denver
that led the NFL in sacks, you face them. Conversely,
(34:18):
the Chargers. Jim Harball look at his career in year two.
Everywhere he goes. Chargers revamped run game, high end, left
and right tackles, have a cookie dough soft schedule in
the middle of the season to gain momentum. So my
(34:39):
prediction that the Chargers win this division with a weaker
schedule really plays in the middle of the season. You're
starting to get dinged up, you're not playing with full rosters.
It is really soft for the Chargers. And I again,
we've watched We've watched the Chiefs and Mahomes get blown
out in two Super Bowls. It's always been the same reason,
(35:00):
O lines not right. Well, I think they're going into
a season where the old line's not right. Add another thing,
Kansas City opens in Brazil. They have the most seven
prime time games. That's what the NFL does once you're
the star attraction. They have the Lions on a short week.
Oh that's not good. They have the Buffalo Bills on
(35:22):
a short week. Yeah, that's not good either. Remember that
Brazil game last year, Philadelphia went to Brazil and beat
Green Bay. The Eagles came back groggy and the next
week lost to the Atlanta Falcons. So that'll take some
that'll take some air out of the sales. Here's what
we know. Andy Reid and Mahomes are as good as
(35:42):
anybody in the world at what they do. But again,
this team played on the margins last year, okay, and
I think with this old line, the kryptonite to Kansas
City in their two Super Bowl blowout losses has been
the O line this going into a season, the U
Joe Tooney is their weakest on line. Little bit of
(36:03):
finger crossing here. Last year's was okay going into the season,
a bit of a mess at the end of the season.
So this is not a team like Baltimore, Detroit Philadelphia
with stacked rosters that are not playing on the margins.
They're getting seven or eight blowout games a year when
margins shrink, everything counts. This team had the third lowest
point in differential in the AFC West, so in their
(36:25):
own division, Denver and the Chargers had more blowout wins,
and I think Denver and the Chargers will be noticeably better.
Bo Nicks now into a second year with Peyton. They
had some interesting draft picks at running back and wide receiver.
So the downside to becoming America's team is that the NFL,
this is what they do. And I can remember after
(36:46):
the Giants would win a Super Bowl in Coffin and
Eli and they'd put them on Sunday Night and they'd
flex them in and everybody loved it except the Giants
and the older players. So here is Travis Kelcey on
his podcast New Heights talking about that opener in Brazil.
Speaker 11 (37:04):
I'll be there, not to do a yeah, I'll be
there pretty in the heat. If it's human, I'm gonna
be miserable. I'm gonna make I'm gonna be.
Speaker 6 (37:15):
Just surrounded by the Amazon rainforest.
Speaker 11 (37:17):
This is a good point. If it's hot and humid
and kind of what I'm expecting, I'm gonna be miserable.
But we're going to find a way to get a win.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
Hip hip hooray. So my number one take Kansas City
going into a season with an offensive line I don't love.
I mean, when you start looking last year at the
teams at the end of the season that are really
formidable and leaning on people, a lot of them. Washington
was an exception, had really really buttoned up o lines.
(37:50):
All right, So the Warriors lost. The oldest interesting team
in the league is out Minnesota that's got some age,
but much deeper, bigger roster, prevails pretty easily. Jimmy Butler
only took eleven shots. Some of that is energy, some
of that was Kaminga had a lot of energy. Minnesota
got great looks. All you had to do is look
(38:12):
at the box score and it tells you Golden State
was tired. Minnesota shot sixty three percent, dominated in the paint,
had almost double the assists. They were moving very well.
Julius Randall thirteen of eighteen Bullyball. The three best Warriors Butler, Steph,
and Draymond all out of their prime. Two thirty five
(38:34):
year olds and a thirty seven year old, and they're
only getting older. So all it took was a popped
hamstring and the house collapses. It's interesting Jonathan Kaminga, who
just doesn't work with Butler and staff. He's great. He
was great when Steph got hurt, so they'll be able
to show that off. And he raised his market value
(38:55):
because everybody has sort of understood that the Steph offense
that ecosystem that's not friendly the young players. James Wiseman
never got it going. Cominga can't be on the floor
with Butler and Steph. It just doesn't work. But he
was the one guy last night that jumped off the TV.
He was the one guy you looked at and thought, oh,
he can go toe to toe with Minnesota's athletic bigs.
(39:16):
So they'll have a market for him. And Pods is
a guy you have to keep. He's got a market
as well, but you're going to have to move off
at least one of your really good young players. So
the Warriors to some degree have become an antique store.
And okaysee is the Apple store right next door? And
(39:36):
I think the Warriors are going to get worse every
year unless they pull off a big, big deal for Kaminga.
People are gonna want Pods and Cominga. They'll keep Pods.
They view him as sort of a Steph, an emerging
shooter that works with Steph. But I will say this,
you know what, it really reminds me of watching last night.
(39:56):
So and Belichick took the hit for all of the
shortcomings for the New England offense right before Tom left.
But just consider New England and Belichick and Brady, the
Warriors staff and Steve Kerr. They built a very high intellect,
(40:18):
sophisticated offense, both Kerr and Curry and Draymond. It's very sophisticated.
Young people struggle and for years everybody always said, well,
why can't New England, why can't they draft the wide receiver. Well,
some of it was most of it was Belichick wasn't
a good drafter. Some of it was Tom didn't want
a babysit them. And so what you have. You have
(40:40):
the benefit of the brilliance of Belichick and the brilliance
of Steve Kerr. You have the benefit of Brady and Steph.
But these are so high functioning, almost academic offenses. They
don't play with kids. Well, New England didn't. That's why
New England got old and slow, really fast. Brady went
(41:00):
young down in Tampa, and that's why it look when
you watch Okathy and you watch Indiana, and you watch
these young teams Houston and then you watch Golden State,
some of it is on this offense that just doesn't
play well with others under the age of twenty three
years old. That's what New England became. So I just
(41:21):
think they're just getting a year older. I think all
these Houston's, Indiana's maybe some degree in New York still
got some youth Cleveland. I think those teams are getting better.
I think the Warriors are getting older. But Steve Kerr
is still a believer.
Speaker 12 (41:40):
I know we had a shot. I know we could
have gone the distance. Maybe we wouldn't have, but it
doesn't matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about who
stays healthy and who gets hot. You know, are you
playing well at the right time, do you have multiple
guys step up in key game make shots, and do
(42:01):
you have good health? And you know, you see it
every year in every series, and so there's a there's
there's a little bit of luck involved, you know, and we,
like I said, we've been on both sides of that
and it's just part of it.
Speaker 1 (42:16):
But I will say this, and I love Steve Kerr.
Older teams get hurt more often and older teams recover
more slowly, and the Warriors are just getting older. There
is a little bit of luck involved. But when you
got when you got Steph Curry running two miles per
(42:37):
game on that treadmill for that offense, and he is
so valuable without it, they're not even the same looking
watching team. Warriors are a hard watch without Steph. So
I I you could say there's there's luck involved, but
remember we all know this. The NBA, and it's helped ratings,
is allowing more physical basketball. What does that mean more injuries?
(43:02):
My guess they will come to the older teams, not
the younger ones. And I really do believe the NBA
used to be go get three great players the heatles KD,
Steph Clay. I don't think that's it anymore. I think
the new CBA and the new Aprons, it's all about
roster construction. I mean the Celtics are often weirdly as
(43:26):
good or better without Tatum. I mean, like like Oklahoma
City's roster. I think San Antonio's is going to get
very deep. Houston's already is. They just don't have a
second dominant great score. So I just Steve kerstill believes it.
You can talk yourself it's into luck. But the new
(43:47):
style of playoff basketball is not going to aid. It's
not going to aid the older rickety teams two thirty
five year olds and a thirty seven year old so
j mac it is. I got into this discussion last night.
Lebron's out of the playoffs, Steph Curry's out of the playoffs.
The Celtics brand, I think we'll lose to New York,
They'll be out of the playoffs. Do you think Knicks Pacers?
Speaker 6 (44:09):
I do.
Speaker 1 (44:09):
I think it's compelling. Do you think Oklahoma City Minnesota? Like?
I think these are really good series. But I'm more
NBA die hard than the casuals. This whole thing about
the NBA being rigged, you wouldn't have OKAC and Minnesota
in and Stephan Lebron out. What do you make of
what potentially is our final four? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (44:28):
The way I look at as I talk to buddies
and they're like, hey, hey, let's go out to hang out.
And I'm like, well, there's an NBA Finals game and
Lebron's in it. I'm not missing that. I would be
okay missing a conference semi conference finals matchup between and SGA, Like, it's.
Speaker 1 (44:42):
Not mandatory viewing. I mean it's a great matchup, no doubt.
Speaker 2 (44:46):
I'm gonna watch the games, but if something comes up,
you know you want to go to a Dodgers game. Sure,
I'll go to a Dodgers game, but Colin, it's just
it's not the sexy matchups that we want. Right if
Curry's playing, I'm glued to the TV. Lebron, I'm glued,
but Sga, I'm just not there yet.
Speaker 1 (45:02):
I'm sorry. I hope that doesn't make me an elitist. Yeah, no,
I think I think this is the transition. I think
when Michael Jordan left, the league lost fifty percent of
its numbers. But I do think I do think there's
a little Lebron fatigue where stylistically, Curry is still a
great watch. But I do think Lebron is an older player.
(45:25):
I'm more fascinated I am with Luca than Lebron because
I've seen all Lebron's game, Luca's growth, his cardio, lack
of defense a bit controversial part of a trade. So
I don't think you're going to see a massive drop off.
I just I don't think the Warriors are what Steve
Kerr believes, just bad luck away from advancing. I think
(45:45):
they're just going to be a year older. And I
think Oklahoma City, with all this experience Indiana, they're just
going to be better. Don't forget to love hate the polarization.
If you really love or hate Lebron and that's what
he is, you're gonna watch.
Speaker 2 (45:57):
I just don't feel like anybody hates sga hey, but
he hates it. They haven't done anything to be hatable.
Lebron's won a lot, moved around teams. People just dislike him.
But I do believe, you know, maybe there's that element
with the Knicks, but they still have to pull it out.
Speaker 1 (46:11):
Colin, Are you sure they're a lock to win this series?
All the pressures on them? Yeah, I'm not good points.
Speaker 4 (46:18):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in newon Easter not a em Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (46:27):
I thought Chicago's old line would get better last year,
it golt worse. He completed sixty two and a half
percent of his throat as running for his life, twenty
touchdown passes, only six picks. Now, he was sacked sixty
eight times, but the numbers aren't you know? I mean
only six picks, sixty two and a half percent completion.
Persige running for his life in a division that had
(46:47):
Detroit Green Band Minnesota all really good teams. So I
don't think Minnesota's going to be as good this year,
and I think Caleb's got a much better quarterback. Also,
the story coming out today Seth Wickersham had talked to
Caleb's father, Carl Williams, and reporting that Karl did not
want his son initially to play in Chicago, and Albert
Breer addressed that an hour ago.
Speaker 13 (47:08):
And his dad's a very smart and accomplished businessman, and
you know, taught his son to think differently. And the
reality is like, this is something that all teams were
looking into, and anybody that was going to be in
a position to draft him was concerned about this. You
can understand his concerns certainly.
Speaker 7 (47:26):
You know.
Speaker 13 (47:26):
I think this is something that more and more athletes
think about, and you know, it's something we heard about
with Shadur a lot, you know, going into his draft
a lot of times. You know, I think these guys
were able to take a bigger picture view of it,
and the bigger picture view of it would show that
going to the right place isn't more is absolutely more
important than the game.
Speaker 3 (47:47):
Drafted as high as he can.
Speaker 1 (47:49):
Yeah, I think I think listen, I never had a problem.
I reported this a year ago. I said, you know,
his dad had some misgivings about it, but Caleb's like,
you know what, I'm going to go to Chicago. It's
a great American city and I'm going to be first
great quarterback. So I always like Caleb. I got along
with him great, He's very respectful. I saw I went
to the Notre Dame USC game and I told the
story is I saw his dad said hi to his dad,
(48:11):
and Caleb was sitting in the front row with friends,
and I came down and just out of respect, I
just tapped him on the shoulder. I said, hey, buddy,
just great seeing you. He got up, made a point
and I'm like, you don't have to get up. I
just wanted to say, hey, keep kicking butt. You're going
to do great, and very respectful got up, came up
the stairs. Caleb did, and I was like, I just
think he's a really I really like him. And I
(48:32):
also think it's sometimes it's unfair that you know, all
these quarterbacks now the nil they are stars coming out
of college. Bill Parcells, a brilliant guy, used to say,
do not draft a celebrity quarterback. Well, Baker Mayfield was
a star. Sam Darnold, you know he was a star.
Caleb's a star. I mean, yeah, it's just the reality
of it. I mean, bow Nicks into Oregon. I mean
everybody knew bow Nicks for the last five years. So
(48:53):
I think we the world's changed. These kids make money
in college. Take a deep breath with that. Ben john
Now is joining us, the new Bears coach at joining
us live. So you know, it's funny we forget about
this coach. Is that you know I was looking and
people forget Tua came out of college, didn't have a
(49:13):
great fit with the staff. You know, he and the
Brian Flora struggle. Got Mike McDaniels, Pro Bowl, Jared Goff,
got a defensive coach, get a great Scott Boom. Here
comes McVeigh Popps. So listen, we all said last year,
I said, it's just easier to get an offensive coach.
Go ask Bo Nixon, Sean Baiton.
Speaker 2 (49:31):
It just helps.
Speaker 1 (49:33):
Did you feel when we first sat down with Caleb,
I gotta build this kid's confidence up like a Tua.
Like a golf it's rough, it's a hard sport. Did
you feel that was part of your process. I want
to make sure this kid knows we really believe in him.
Speaker 8 (49:47):
Yeah, well, he does know that we believe in him,
there's no question about that. But Caleb Steal has never
been a confidence issue. He knows he's a high level player.
He's been that way since middle school, high school, college,
and it's going to continue to be that way here
in the NFL. But what we're trying to do is
we're trying to support him, give him some clarity on
(50:07):
what our expectations are on and off the field, and
help him grow and develop. And so far we've only
had call it six weeks now the off season program.
Speaker 3 (50:17):
It's going really well.
Speaker 1 (50:19):
So you got two new coordinators, you're on a first
time head coach, Caleb's in the year two. Who do
you lean on in that locker room? Ben? What player
or maybe unit is it Tony? Is it Dolman? Who
do you lean on in that offense?
Speaker 8 (50:35):
We've got a number of players offensively and defensively that
have Pro Bowls under their belt, that have playoff game experience,
win experience, and so I think when you look at that,
those are the guys not just.
Speaker 3 (50:48):
For Caleb, but for the entire team.
Speaker 8 (50:50):
That we're leaning on to show us what good football
looks like, what good teams do, and to establish that
standard for the rest of us to fall into line.
And so Toney's a great name on I mean, I
don't know that anybody's had quite the level of success
on our entire roster that he's had. Call it six
super Bowls and he's won four of them. I mean,
it's outstanding. And then you go over to the Phase
(51:10):
two drill workout on the field and he's busting his
rear end and he just had a Super Bowl that
he was in a few weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (51:16):
So I mean, it's it's pretty outstanding. And it doesn't take.
Speaker 8 (51:19):
Long for somebody that first time these rookies coming in,
they turn and they see how he goes about his business,
and pretty quick they understand, well, if I want to
last a long time, I need to just do what
he does.
Speaker 1 (51:32):
So I asked a GM, a very very good GEM
in the NFL recently about you, and he said, you know,
he goes most coaches we hire CEOs now it's a
CEO job. He said, you get occasionally lucky with a
Shanahan or Andy Reid that they're scheme geniuses and they
can do CEO. That's really hard, And he said Ben
has a chance to do that. Ben's excellent on scheme
(51:53):
and he has the personality. A lot of guys in
the league think Ben has the chance to be the CEO,
but most it's a CEO job now more than it
is x's and o's. So is the difficulty with you? Ben,
You're gonna be on that headset? How do you manage
yourself to go, oh, no, no, I'm the CEO here
because there are things that happen on a sideline in
(52:13):
game where you've got to put the CEO hat on
and you can't be a mile deep on calling plays?
Will that be hard on the first call? You disagree
with coming to the headset?
Speaker 3 (52:24):
Well, shoot, I mean yeah, everything that Everything I'm.
Speaker 8 (52:27):
Doing right now springtime training, it's my first time doing it,
so there'll be some things that pop up that I
got to work through and find the best process for
not only myself, but what's best for the team.
Speaker 3 (52:37):
That's the most important thing.
Speaker 8 (52:39):
And the fortunate thing is the way this staff has
been constructed is with that in mind. A lot of
my blind spots or the areas that I could use
the most help in We've got some really good experienced
coaches with Dennis Allen or Richard high Tower on defense
and special teams on offense. We've got Eric the Enemy
that's coordinated this league, Press teeler ord in this league.
(53:00):
So there's there's a lot of high level experience throughout
this coaching staff that they're going to help help foresee
any any bumps in the road and help me navigate
on game day. We got a great game management guy
of the name Harry Freed. He's done it for a
long time and he's going to be able to help
me stay ahead of that that because I really haven't.
As a play caller, you have to be exposed to
(53:21):
that and understand those situations. But now it's a little
bit different moving over to the defensive side of the
ball and being on the headset with them when they're up.
Speaker 1 (53:29):
So one of the things I liked about Jayden Daniels
and Caleb Williams coming out of college, they move a lot.
You get all the upside, not a lot of picks.
It's a little mahomes. Aaron Rodgers in his prime didn't
throw a lot of picks. Most great quarterbacks lway manning
far they throw picks. That's Andrew Luck, It's part of
the deal. Caleb doesn't. Now some have said, well he
(53:50):
holds the ball along whatever. I mean, he's a playmaker.
The criticism I heard out of college from GMS with
rings was he is so gifted. And we saw a
little bit of this with Mahomes. Sometimes you got to
just give him layouts, just take what the defense gives you.
How do you coach that, because it's a strength, it
(54:14):
can be a little bit of a burden, that great athleticism.
How do you coach that? Well?
Speaker 8 (54:20):
I think it starts with what we're doing right now
in the springtime is establishing the intent of every play call.
And that takes time, and it takes a number of reps.
But the more time we spend together with myself with
Declan Doyle or our offensive coordinator, with JT. Barrett, our
quarterback coach, in that room with the quarterbacks, the more
it comes to light and why we're.
Speaker 3 (54:42):
Calling plays and where that ball should go.
Speaker 8 (54:44):
And the more the quarterback understands the why the quicker
he is to see the defense and deliver the ball
to the primary or the secondary targets. So that's what
we're working through right now. At the end of the day, though,
Caleb was taken as a high draft pick because that
playmaking ability that you're alluding to, and so we don't
want to newter that as well. So there's a fine
(55:05):
line of understanding what we're doing and how we're doing it.
But at the same time, when things don't go maybe
to plan, we're not going to discourage his playmaking ability
and his.
Speaker 3 (55:16):
Ability to create outside of the pocket as well.
Speaker 8 (55:19):
So that's gonna be a fun balance for us to
go through both spring and training camp.
Speaker 3 (55:23):
I mean, we can't we.
Speaker 8 (55:24):
Can't get enough reps right now really as a team,
and so we're looking to maximize those going forward.
Speaker 1 (55:32):
So offensive line is to me the most underrated unit
in the sport, but it's also the hardest to create cohesion.
You've got a young guy, you got a rookie, You've
got Drew Dolman, You've got Joe Tooney, You've got a
lot of moving parts here. I think potentially it could
be great, but I've seen a bit of a trend
over the last five to six years that veterans aren't
playing preseason football, So you're going to have to September,
(55:53):
You're going to get a lot of the work in
for the tuonies. You don't want to put him out
there and get banged up. What is a I looked
at your schedule and I said, well, the office part
of their schedules late. They're gonna have until Thanksgiving to
get that puppy rolling. You don't want to face the
toughest part in the first four weeks. Not that your
early schedule is easy, but at the end you're facing
defensive front that can be substantially tough. How long what
(56:16):
is realistic to say okay, Dolman, Tony the rookie. What
is a realistic time to go okay, we are a
cohesive top ten unit.
Speaker 6 (56:27):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (56:27):
I think that's going to be the challenge there during
training camp is how quickly can we come together. I
mean they're really bonding as a unit right now communication wise,
but we don't have the pads on. I think we
need the pads on before we truly start gelling together.
Speaker 3 (56:41):
So training camp is going to be critical for us.
I actually like where that bye week is.
Speaker 8 (56:46):
Because it usually takes about four weeks into the season
to find out who you are as a team and
what you do well and which you don't do well,
and then that's at a good time so that we
can reflect on that as a coaching staff to really
hone in on what we want to be for the
remaining three quarters of the season. I would say my
experience has been when you when you get a new
(57:07):
group together, it could take up to half the season
before they really start to mesh in and come together.
In terms of the run game more so than pass pro,
I think we should be a pretty good pass pro
unit right off the jump.
Speaker 3 (57:21):
But that run game, the communication, the angles with which.
Speaker 8 (57:25):
We're all going trusting each other, particularly in the wide
zone scheme that we're installing right now in Otas's that's
something that we want to make sure that we get
plenty of time on task on.
Speaker 1 (57:38):
So all human beings are the same in one aspect.
If you're afraid of flying and you're on a plane
and the minute turbulence hits, where does your mind go
back to your fears? So I reported a year ago,
seth Wickersham reported it today that Caleb was worried about
the history of the Bears offense, and so you didn't
(57:58):
inherit it. That's not your issue. I don't care about that,
but there is a psychology, Ben that's true. He goes
into a two week losing streak and it's turbulence on
a plane that he was scared to fly anyway, How
do you ensure that when there are bumps in this
division and there are bumps for him, that those fears
that are now reported of oh Man, this organization and quarterback,
(58:23):
he's had those, that's okay, some installed by his dad, whatever,
How do you ensure during the turbulence of this season,
and there will be your divisions too good, there's too
many good teams on the schedule, how do you ensure
he doesn't lose faith, faith and belief in your system.
Speaker 8 (58:40):
Well, you talk about fears, and I don't see it
quite the same way.
Speaker 3 (58:45):
I see.
Speaker 8 (58:46):
This is what a great opportunity we have to do
something that really has never been done. There hasn't been
a four thousand yard passer here in this franchise, and
I think Caleb is going to be the first one,
and one of many years, many seasons to come where
he's able to accomplish that feat. So I see a
chance for greatness here for him. He's been communicated that way,
(59:08):
and he feels the same way. I don't know what's
going on prior to him joining the organization, but he
is very proud to be a Chicago Bear. That's what
our conversations have included. And he's really excited to get
to work right now and be the best version of
himself for twenty twenty five. There's no question we're gonna
(59:28):
face adversity. Both he will, he's not gonna We want
to see growth from here to here over the course
of the season, and it's not gonna be linear growth.
It's gonna be a little bit of ups and downs
and stair steps along the way. But we want to
see from Game one the game seventeen that we're getting better.
Speaker 3 (59:45):
As a whole.
Speaker 8 (59:45):
And that's not just him, that's us as a team
as well. So I'm excited. That's what makes coaching fun
is when the hiccups occur, when the adversity strikes, how
do we respond to it.
Speaker 3 (59:57):
That's when you find out who you are as a man.
Speaker 1 (01:00:01):
Was there a moment in your practices and seeing Caleb
it could have been a throw, it could have been
something that you went, oh, oh, that's pretty good, Like
what have you had one of those moments yet where
you were just like, yeah, no, no, I I I
see it. I see the number one pick.
Speaker 3 (01:00:20):
That's every day.
Speaker 8 (01:00:21):
That's every day we're out there routes versus air. We're
changing maybe some footwork and some coaching points with what
we're working through right now. But today it was a
post route that he just he probably threw a sixty
yards right on the money.
Speaker 3 (01:00:35):
A few days ago it was a it was a keeper.
Speaker 8 (01:00:37):
He's out of the pocket going to the left and
he just able to flip his hips and fling that
thing right on the money.
Speaker 3 (01:00:42):
So he's got he's got such.
Speaker 8 (01:00:44):
Great god given ability that we're looking to tap into.
Speaker 11 (01:00:48):
Uh.
Speaker 3 (01:00:48):
You see it every day right now.
Speaker 8 (01:00:50):
And like I said, it's gonna be more fun once
we get the competitive nature of offense versus defense a
little bit.
Speaker 1 (01:00:56):
O Tas coach, it is great seeing you. All I
see is a smile. All you coaches smile so much
during this period. Keep the smile through the sea. Don't
let the league beat you down. As a head coach,
it's great seeing you
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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