May 21, 2025 • 41 mins
Colin discusses the NFL's decision to not ban the Tush Push
Thoughts on the Timberwolves getting blown out in game 1 of the Western Conference Finals
Colin looks at Pro Football Focus' starting QB rankings
Guest: Chris Simms
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Here we go. It is a Wednesday, and there is
actually a lot to talk about.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you
may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day,
So Jmak. We learned again today that the NFL owners
run everything. Doesn't matter what committees say, it doesn't matter
what the commissioner says, it doesn't matter what coaches say.
(00:56):
It is an owner run lead. And we got another
exam pull that to day with a toush push.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
I think you and I are pretty much on the
same page with it, right.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
We're fine with this.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I don't love it, but here's the very latest. The
NFL's Competition Committee said you should get rid of it.
The NFL's Health and Safety Commission Committee said you should
get rid of it. And the NFL owners said, eh,
we're going to keep it.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
It was close.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
They needed twenty four votes to get rid of it.
It was twenty two. I think Jason Kelsey, former Eagle
Center podcaster, apparently spoke to owners and that, in my opinion,
was the difference. They're not going to ban it for now. Hey, listen,
clever coaches are like good accountants. They find loopholes schemes
(01:50):
right to benefit their clients, and sometimes the league rules, Nope,
we gave it to you for three years, We're not
going to give it to you for four. I've always
said the NFL, the TV show, and the two things
they really care about are entertainment and safety, in no
particular order. They care about entertainment and safety, and to me,
(02:10):
the Tush push kind of violates both. It looks dangerous
and it's ugly. Optics on TV aren't good. It's an
ugly play and it almost failed twenty two votes needed
twenty four. I think Jason Kelsey speaking on behalf of it,
a very respective player who was not you know, some
(02:32):
five star recruit. He was a grinder. He's classic NFL family.
The Kelseys have been great for the league. He spoke,
and I think he tush pushed it into not being banned.
I think his ability to create that play and to
keep it from being banned. The Eagles have already posted
it on social media, the push stays on. I'm a
(02:55):
little surprised. I mean, we see this all the time.
Remember years ago, Chancellor would jump over the line and
block kicks for the Seahawks, and the NFL felt it's
a little dangerous. Looking now, there wasn't a ton of
data that showed, you know, there was a lot of
guys getting hurt. But the NFL didn't like it, and
they said, I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
The horse collar tackle they got rid of it.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
The kickoffs they look all funky now they think it's
too dangerous, But I think what helps the toush push.
There is no current data that a bunch of guys
are getting hurt with it, although I'm not sure a
bunch of guys were getting hurt when Chancellor was jumping
over a line to block a kick either, But there's
no data that shows that it's hurting people. And the
(03:42):
second thing is Jason Kelsey's powerful. He is respected. He
made a plea to keep it, and I think it
probably flipped one or two owners so the Competition Committee,
they and the Health and Say Committee recommended the league
(04:02):
ban it. We don't like it, and usually those recommendations
get something banned. But in this instance the owners and
they control it. They control Goodell's salary, Roger Goodell's trying
to get a raise here. They control that, They control
the length of the schedule. It's the only sport in
America where the owners control the TV networks, not vice versa.
(04:23):
They tell them what they will pay, and then they
can they can blow those TV contracts up in the
middle of them and renegotiate it if they want.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
The NFL owners are all powerful.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
You got a lot of NBA Baseball owners, NBA owners,
MLS owners selling stuff. You own an NFL team, just
keep it, just keep it, and so the owners win again.
Here's Dion Dawkins, great left tackle for Buffalo. His opinions
are like a lot of players' opinions on it.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
You don't love it.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
But it's Philadelphia's what do we do with it?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Here's on Dawkins.
Speaker 5 (05:01):
It's a very hard play for a player. It's a
very hard play for a player. You know you're down there,
your your head is down. You just have to kind
of just drive your legs and hit three people at
one time.
Speaker 6 (05:14):
Like it's very.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Hard thing to do.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
But it's so weird because we play a game of inches, right,
like what's the best player to get an inch?
Speaker 6 (05:26):
The touch push?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
What's the best player to get a yard?
Speaker 5 (05:29):
Maybe a QB sleek And it's hard to take it
out or it's hard to change it because it's so
necessary in the game because sometimes you just need to
fall forward and get the first down.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
And to the Philadelphia Eagles credit, they do it well.
I mean, Buffalo got to the AFC Championship and they
looked unprepared when they had Superman Josh Allen trying to
jump in the air and the lean for a yard.
It looked it really looked like they didn't practice it.
Philadelphia practices it. They add decoys to it. I thought
(06:06):
when Kelsey left it wouldn't be as successful it is.
It does look a little dangerous, but so far, I
don't think there's any data that shows that it is.
And Philadelphia does it better than anybody else. That's their
best argument. We created it, we do it better than
everybody else. It's available to the entire league. Why are
you banning it. As of now it survives, but it
(06:28):
was close. And again I think Jason Kelsey highly respected
him speaking to owners. Probably push pushed it in Okay,
Game one of the Western Conference Finals is in the books,
and it feels like the series is in the books.
So Oklahoma City rolled through the NBA's regular season historically
(06:50):
one by an average of twelve point nine points.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
That like Jordan's Bulls didn't do that.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
And then they rolled Memphis in the first round, and
then they rolled Minnesota last night. The only team and
actually only player to give him real trouble is Jokis
Nikola Jokich, the Joker gave him trouble. They even wore
him down and Okase, like the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles,
are not really built on a player. They're built on
(07:15):
a general manager. Howie Roseman GM of the Eagles, Sam
Presty GM of the Thunder. They have built such insanely
deep and flexible rosters you think the coach is good,
but is he necessary? They forced the te Wolves to
only score from the outside. In fact, Minnesota only had
twenty points in the paint. That's their lowest total. And
(07:36):
there are big team since twenty fifteen. Julius Randall kept
him in the game in the first half, shot the
ball well, hit a bunch of threes. Once that dried up,
the offense dried up. This is a team that they're
not necessarily huge. But you ever watch a football team
like you'll watch college football when Alabama was in its
prime and the defense was just crushing people, and you're like,
(07:57):
do they have thirteen players on the field, Like it
looks like they have extra pla. Oklahoma City's defense looks
like they're playing seven guys. So Jokic could get his,
but Murray didn't get his, Porter couldn't get his. They
just shut off lanes and avenues and just think about this.
So Oklahoma City against a much better West was thirty
(08:18):
nine and thirteen. So they dominated the West. They were
twenty nine to one against the East. See you're asking yourself,
are the Pacers and the Knicks which starts tonight? Are
they just playing for second place? So aunt Edwards didn't
have a great night, didn't get a lot of shots.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Sometimes invisible.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
I think he's gonna have to have four or five
games where he scores thirty plus, and I'm not sure
you can do this. This is just the defense where
a lot of these guys are are just entering their
athletic prime. Long, twitchy, fast, and Jokich is a great example.
They really cut Jokic's passing lanes so the Joker could score,
(08:59):
but the passing lane got cut down, and Yokich is
a much more totally refined offensive player than Aunt Edwards.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Here's what's scary.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Oklahoma City's average age is twenty five for a team
that won sixty eight games by an average winning total
of thirteen points. So it's by the second half. Once
Julius Randalls threes didn't drop, this looked like a total mismatch. Younger, quicker,
(09:29):
better defensively with a lot of levers to pull. Here's
Aunt Edwards after.
Speaker 7 (09:35):
I definitely got to shoot boards on ten thirteen shots,
but I'll say probably just get off the ball a
little more. Play without the ball. I think that'd be
the answer, because playing on the ball, he's so double
and the sitney gaps all day. They clawed the paint,
that's what they do. They don't got massage down there.
So Ky bankamers and I make a shots on this
(09:59):
because every time I go to the Rams like four people.
Speaker 6 (10:01):
At the paint.
Speaker 7 (10:01):
So yeah, I guess they just be clogged in the paint.
They put like five four bodies in a paint and
make you kick it out. So just keep making the
right play.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Now, here's the good news for Minnesota. They'll eventually go
to go play at home where they're really good. Chris
Finch and his staff have been excellent at shifting around
to second and third gears and figuring out ways to
get the most out of the offense. But if you
watch the second half, they were just overwhelmed. Memphis got overwhelmed,
the West got overwhelmed. The East beat him one time
(10:32):
in thirty games. Oklahoma City looked really good led by defense.
Of course, a SGA is excellent, he gets the whistle.
But I think the core of this thing is the depth,
the roster, construction, the aggressiveness of the defense. You know,
generally in sports, a great defense slows down a great offense.
If you were the Bulls and MJ you had both.
But this looked like a mismatch last night. In the
(10:54):
second half, it looked really really ugly. All right, so
jam something else came out this morning. I love this
so pff they do this. Every year they come out
with a tiers of quarterbacks, and it was interesting.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
I've got a lot of thoughts on it.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
In my lifetime, there's always been one thing that's true
with the quarterback position. And once again with PFF's quarterback rankings,
they ranked everybody in the league. I think, once again,
this happened since I was a kid. It happened during
the Lway years, the Montana years, the Brady years, and
now during the Mahomes years. There is something that always
is the case and I'll talk about that coming up.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in neon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Really interesting thing happening.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
I'm going to get to it about fifteen minutes with
college basketball. College basketball is getting some really good news.
I'm gonna talk about that in fifteen minutes. Chris Simms
will be around the corner as well. If you have
not heard, it was a very close voice, very close vote.
The Tush push by a couple of votes has survived
again Philadelphia. They created it. Their argument is it's not
(12:11):
a loophole, it's just the quarterback sneak modified amplified, and
the owners did not take the recommendation of the Rules
Committee or the Health and Safety Committee. They both said Bannett,
the NFL Owners close vote, said now we're going to
keep it. We'll vote in it again next year. So
(12:32):
this is interesting. PFF.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
They do this every year.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
They take every starting quarterback in the NFL, all thirty
two ahead of the season, and they ranked them. They
put them in tiers tier one, two, three and four,
five and six. I don't care about the middle bottom ones.
So their Tier one, which I totally agree with, is Mahomes, Jackson,
Josh Allen, and Burrow.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I have no problem. That's what I would do.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
They're Tier two. I don't disagree with that, Jalen Hurts,
Jaden Daniel, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert. They're Tier three, which
is Jared Goff, Gino Smith, and brock Perty.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I think C. J.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Stroud is more talented than all those guys, although I
think it's close. I do think it's interesting. Sam Darnolds
in Tier five and in Tier three is Tua and
Trevor Lawrence. I disagree with that, but again, in my
entire life, I've always had this thing we've talked about.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
There's always about seven.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Quarterbacks maybe eight, at any one time in the NFL,
in any era that you just don't pick up the phone.
Somebody calls with Elway, you're not picking up the phone.
If you go back to Elway in his prime, there
were seven or eight guys, You're not picking.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Up the phone.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
John Elway, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Jim Kelly, Steve Young,
Troy Aikman, and Warren Moon. They were just really, really
good players. There's no reason to get on the phone
and initiate conversation like those are the seven guys. If
you go to Brady's era, it was Brady and Breeze
and Peyton Manning and Big Ben. I'd say Eli Manning,
Aaron Rodgers and maybe Philip Rivers.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Their gms loved them.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
They won a lot of games, and they were highly productive,
and you got him every week. I think right now
PFF got the eight right now.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I CJ. Stroud is the one.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
To me. I think he either has to be the
number one, tier two quarterback or he's darn close.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
I think he's really good. He did pull.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Back last year, but his offensive line was atrocious. He
lost two of his three best receivers and he still
got into the playoffs and won a playoff game. So
other than that, I've always felt it's about seven or
eight guys at any one time in the NFL that
are somebody calls about him, you're not really interested. I
don't think Houston would take a call on CJ.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Stroud.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
I think he is a Tier two guy, maybe barely,
maybe the first guy out. We could argue that it
doesn't really matter because historically the guy's in Tier one
and occasionally Tier or two win all the Super Bowls.
So I think PFF got it right. And UH don't
don't have a problem with any of the greats. I
think clearly in the league. Now mahomes, Lamar, Josh and
(15:10):
Burrell have separated. I don't think there's any question that's
the first group. J. Mickle the news, Turn on the news.
This is the Herdline News.
Speaker 8 (15:22):
All right, call a big, big game tonight in the
Eastern Conference Pacers Mixed Game one.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
I know you're excited. Obviously.
Speaker 8 (15:30):
Back in the nineties, this was a phenomenal UH series
back and forth memories of Reggie Miller's Spike Lee, Patrick
Ewings Finger.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Roll a lot of stuff. Well, tonight we get Jalen
Brunson versus Tyree's Halliburton.
Speaker 8 (15:43):
Runson is praising Halliburton, who's become a star.
Speaker 9 (15:48):
He's done a lot, He's quieted a lot of people.
He's obviously their engine, and they go as he goes,
and he does a lot for their team.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
So it's gonna be tough cask, But.
Speaker 9 (16:02):
I think as a team, he's got to sit together
and do what we do in control we can control,
but uh iby obviously for success. But this is, like
I said, this is new John Truss.
Speaker 8 (16:16):
Yeah, that Pacers team in the nineties that went at
the Knicks a lot. They had Reggie Miller, who was
kind of hated a villain. I don't think that Halliburton's
a villain. Yet he's giving signs that he could be right,
you know, taking bows and getting into it with Giannis
and some other players.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
I don't.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
I just feel like this isn't going to be a
good series.
Speaker 8 (16:35):
There isn't like a genuine hate from Knicks Pacers.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
No. And I think what the most interesting part of
the series is that the Pacers the last three years
have the fastest pace in the league. Yeah, And Tibbs
and the Knicks have the slowest pace in the league,
so whoever gets to play at their pace wins the series.
And Indiana has done a great job to force Cleveland
and Milwaukee to play their style. Can they force the
(16:59):
Knick to play faster than the Knicks want to? Tibbs's
whole style half court? I mean, Knicks have been great
shot making in the fourth quarter. They're a great half
court team. They're the opposite of the Houston Rockets, who
are atrocious in the half court but good in transition. Well,
when you get to the playoffs, it's very rare that
you're allowed to just be a you know, OKC in Indiana.
They're up and down, up and down the floor. That's
(17:21):
not usually the case. Usually the better teams can slow
it down, get the ball to their big or their stars.
They want to play half court basketball, that's what you
want to do if you're the Knicks against Indiana. Not
that Indiana is a bad half court team, but that's
really the nixt strength and Indiana does not allow you
to do that.
Speaker 7 (17:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (17:38):
I do like how the Knicks have multiple guys who
are long defenders to throw at Halliburton Bridges was not
there last year. He is excellent, one of the premier
different wing defenders in the league.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
I think we'll see some.
Speaker 8 (17:49):
Ananobi on Halliburton. I don't think we'll see Brunson on him.
You know, people want to attack Brunson. He did foul
out of that game in bust and I believe it
was Game four. But overall, I think the Nicks had
the series. They're a favored by four to four and
a half to.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Night who you got, I would take Indiana in the points.
I think it's going to be a great series.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
I think the dog last night it did not quite
work out our way.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Well, it was a good first half, but I mean
I said, you know, there's something to be said about
styles make fights like sometimes you have to watch. I
thought we knew what Boston was against New York, and
then the NFL swallowed the whistles and the series changed
and the games changed. So like last night, Minnesota Oklahoma City.
My take was by the second half, Minnesota is going
(18:35):
to have to really really pull some levers because they're
at a major disadvantage. I mean, Oklahoma City's defense is
going to give Ant trouble. Ant is not a refined
offensive player. He can shoot threes and he's dynamic, but
he doesn't have the layers to his game like Sga
or Jokic.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
He doesn't.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
And so the bottom line is OKC has not struggled
with anybody except Jokic, and even the Jolkic. They cut
down his passing lane so we couldn't get it to Murray.
So like An's gonna have to do stuff vertically horizontally
o case he just shuts down passing lanes.
Speaker 8 (19:10):
Well, they hit so many threes early last night, They're like, oh,
we'll just keep taking threes, and they took fifty one,
which was insane. I don't see the Knicks for Pacers
falling into that track. I like the Knick Tonight to
cover and set the tone for this series.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
I'm very excited for it, Colin.
Speaker 8 (19:23):
Next up is to the NFL, where AJ Brown and
the Eagles coming off a Super Bowl win. He made
a weird comment in light of the George Pickens signings
in Dallas.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Remember last year Philly destroyed Dallas.
Speaker 8 (19:36):
By a combined seventy five thirteen.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
We both don't think Dallas is very good this year.
Speaker 8 (19:40):
But AJ Brown on the Pickens signing is like, whoa,
wait a minute, here we go.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
We're gonna have to worry about him for sure.
Speaker 10 (19:48):
We're gonna have to worry about him.
Speaker 9 (19:52):
No, I like the trade.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
I do like the tray.
Speaker 10 (19:54):
I like the competition, you know, and I like I
like I like Geor Piggins, I like Ceedee Lamb and
that cause you know, and it's gonna be. It's gonna
be a signed to wise Bro because all that does
is bring the best out of us.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I think wide receivers value wide receivers more than everybody else.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
We're worried about the Cowboys at.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
The Philadelphia is winning super Bowls not because of coaching.
They fired Doug Peterson. We don't know if sirianis week.
Some of it is because of quarterback play, but overwhelmingly
they're lines. Their defensive line shredded Kansas City and their
offensive line dominated Kansas City. So, I mean, if you
look at Philadelphia, the wide receivers are good, but it's
(20:37):
not what the soul of the team is. They're not
built around like Cincinnati is built around Burrow and his sideline.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Guys, that's not what Philly is.
Speaker 8 (20:45):
Yeah, how is aj Brown not saying like, well, Actually,
the Cowboys offensive line stinks and they're rebuilding it. We're
gonna annihilate them in the trenches.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
He looks at wide receivers. Just bizarre stuff.
Speaker 8 (20:54):
Anyways, final story is WNBA Caitlin Clark. Last night in
the Fever. They lost at home the Atlanta Dream. Kind
of a tough loss for them, but Clark was very good.
Not her fault twenty seven and eleven, Colin, how about this.
Clark is now tied with someone named Courtney Vanderslut for
the most career games of twenty points and TENNISI is
in WNBA history. Vander Slut did it in four hundred
(21:17):
and thirty games.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
Clark's done it in forty two.
Speaker 8 (21:20):
She's setting WNBA records in year two. We know she's
setting them off the court with ratings, but Jasey's setting
them on.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
The court with stats. That to me is absolutely wonder.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
You can tell when a sport arrives because people start
complaining about officiating, and that shows people care. Everybody was
complaining about the officiating last night. You have arrived as
a league. When we are mad at the Zebras, I'm
not gonna losk what you're getting. Yeah, WNBA games Now,
people are furious with the officiating. That's the greatest compliment
(21:51):
you can give the lead. People care about outcomes, not
just Caitlin Clark's merch. They care about the outcomes of game.
Speaker 8 (21:57):
How many officiating controversy do we have in the WNBA
the last I don't.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
Know, twenty years.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
None. None.
Speaker 8 (22:02):
Last night, Fever and listen, they did kind of good job,
a lot of questionable calls on the interior. Clark missed
a shot in the last like twenty seconds, it could
have gave him the win.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
But overall, I'm watching Fever games. I tuned in. I'm
not gonna lie.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
J McK with the news, Well that's the news, and
thanks for stopping by the Heard Line News.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Chris Sims played in the NFL for eight years. His
Texas Longhorns are going to be playing, arguably against Ohio
State and the opener in the biggest college football regular
season game in a long time, and Chris is now
joining US live NFL analysts.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Okay, let's talk Tush push. It's very interesting.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
So the the Health and Safety Committee said ban it,
the Rules Committee said ban it, and the NFL owner said, yeah,
we're going to keep it to me. That tells you,
and we've always known this. The owners run the league.
Weren't you surprised though they did not listen to the
rules can or the healthon Safety Committee.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
I am a little surprised.
Speaker 11 (23:03):
I won't lie, I really am, because usually when we
get to this point and right you hear all things
that some of the powers to be the commissioner, everybody
wants it banned. Usually when you get to that point
in the NFL, everybody kind of gets the memo and goes, Okay,
we gotta do this.
Speaker 6 (23:19):
This is for the best of the game. The commissioner
wants that and all that. But there was some pushback here.
Speaker 11 (23:25):
There was and I think there's still a lot of
old school people in the NFL. And I know I
have friends and I've interviewed Mike Vrabel and Jim John
Harbaugh and they all took the side of like, man,
it seems a little odd to take the play that
the best team in football has been known for the
last three years. We're gonna take that away from them
because we can't stop it. And then also, I think
(23:47):
here's the other aspect of it, too, Colin, Because one,
there's no injury data yet on it.
Speaker 6 (23:52):
So that's like just.
Speaker 11 (23:54):
It's a bunch of bs made up by the NFL
just to help their argument. The other thing in this
too is j what is what did the tush really
have the push part of it really have to do
In a lot of the plays I just watched you
do it right there and the highlights we showed on
Fox Sports, there's a number of plays where the push
from behind does nothing with the actual play. The play itself,
(24:15):
if you want to even talk about the danger of
it or the beauty of it, is the wedge created
by the biggest offensive line we've seen in football since
the Cowboys of the nineties.
Speaker 6 (24:26):
And so it didn't really fix anything.
Speaker 11 (24:27):
And I think some of the old school people in
the NFL said, we're going to try to stop it
before we ban it.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
So you know, it's the broad pretty contract is interesting.
So I was not a fan of the Dak contract,
and I wasn't a fan of the Tua contract, And
I think I've been validated.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I think Pretty is the NFC is the NFC. TA
We got.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Injuries arms Okay, not great, there have been against playoff teams.
Sometimes he looks like he needs a lot of help,
either coaching or players. I don't think it's an egregious contract. Okay,
it doesn't because if you start really breaking down the numbers,
it's not fifty eight million, it's not Dax. But I
(25:11):
do think here's the problem, though, Chris and we all
love John Lynch. They're missing on too many draft picks,
so they have to pay McCaffrey, Kittle, and Warner linebacker,
tight end, running back top of the market. Those are
usually positions. The Rams don't pay any of those positions,
right who won the division? So my take is the
(25:33):
combination of missing on a lot of draft picks, also
gave up three for Trey Lance and a B quarterback
paid closer to an A. I think what it makes
San Francisco, like Dallas, is dangerously top heavy.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
And that's my take.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
There'll be a good team, but they're a Crent Williams
Knees sprain from being a bad team.
Speaker 11 (25:57):
No, I hear you there, And I think they're in
the process of transitioning away from that, right. I think
that's the big thing. That's why Javon Hargrave's not there anymore.
That's why they didn't sign Drake Dre greenlaw back. There's
been some other guys that they have let go, you know,
throughout the years, or Eric Armstead before last year, because
I think they realized how top heavy they were. I mean,
(26:20):
you were paying Brandon Ayuk like you said, you're paying
Deebo Samuel, You're paying Kittle.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Like a top guy.
Speaker 11 (26:25):
McCaffrey, the top running back, the top left tackle, one
of the top d tackles.
Speaker 6 (26:30):
The top d N, the top middle linebacker. Right.
Speaker 11 (26:33):
So yeah, I think they're in the process of, like, look,
listening to what you're saying and going, wait, we got
to spread the wealth here, we got to build a
little more depth on their football team. But yet within that,
they're not ready to give.
Speaker 6 (26:46):
Up on some of these guys.
Speaker 11 (26:47):
Kittle's still really damn good, right, fred Fred Warner still
the best middle linebacker in the game. McCaffrey's good. But
also I think within the party contract, I agree with
a lot of what you said there.
Speaker 6 (26:58):
Okay, I like Brock Purty a lot.
Speaker 11 (27:00):
Is he the type of guy though that I look
at and go, oh, he can carry the team through
injuries or a bad spot. No, I mean we're talking
about a guy that just lost eight out of his
nast nine games of the season last year was six
and eleven as a QB starter, and and of course
they didn't go.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
To the playoffs.
Speaker 11 (27:19):
It's rare in that fact, just at all, that we're
talking about a big contract like this off of that
type of year.
Speaker 6 (27:25):
So that's a strange in itself. Right. I'm with you
in that it's not as egregious as Dak.
Speaker 11 (27:30):
I mean, Dak's the highest paid quarterback in football, and
I would say Dak is not one of the ten
best quarterbacks in football.
Speaker 6 (27:35):
So that's egregiously bad.
Speaker 11 (27:37):
Your point with Tua, you can't be the highest paid
guy on your team and then in every big game
you're the main question about whether you can perform. Right,
That to me is a bad contract. Now, brock Perty
doesn't quite get to that category.
Speaker 6 (27:51):
He doesn't.
Speaker 11 (27:51):
Yes, I think we wonder how much is Shanahan and
how great he makes quarterbacks look all the time, and
how much is him And that's where he got to prove.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
I think you and me wrong.
Speaker 11 (28:01):
In that department, because I think we think it's more
Shanahan right now than the other way around.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
All Right, I like tiers and I like rankings, I'm
a sucker for it. PFF annually does their six tiers
of quarterbacks. I said about twenty minutes ago, in my lifetime,
go to the l Way years, there were about seven
quarterbacks that were great. If you go to Brady's years,
Aaron Breeze, Peyton, Ben Eli, Tom Seven. I think PFF
(28:27):
got it right with their eight best quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I think C. J. Stroud is the only quarterback.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
I look at he's Tier three and I thought, okay,
he's a little lower than I would put him. Let's
put it on the screen for our television audience.
Speaker 6 (28:41):
I have I relie sing it.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Okay, So tier one I think is pretty indisputable. Mahomes
Lamar Burrow Allen, do you have a problem with that?
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Not at all.
Speaker 11 (28:51):
They're in a stratosphere by themselves right now, They're ball
by themselves, special group right there.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Okay, then it goes Jaden Daniels, I'm comfortable with that.
Jalen Hurts, Matt Stafford, and Herbert. That's the one I
think I would put CJ. Stroud in. But are you
comfortable with's tier two? I'm pretty comfortable with it. I
would put C. J.
Speaker 11 (29:15):
Stroud in front of over there in front of Jalen Hurts.
That would be mine right there. Okay, I like Jalen Hurts.
I would say he's a top ten quarterback. I don't
think I would put him in the top eight. I
think he'd be nine or ten for me. Again, I
think with Jalen Hurts and what I look at too,
we have a little bit of a revisionist history here.
(29:36):
He won the Super Bowl and everybody just forgot about
the ten weeks before that that we were like, wait,
the passing game in the quarterback was the issue.
Speaker 6 (29:44):
All right.
Speaker 11 (29:45):
He had a good NFC Championship game, I know that,
But Divisional game we were like man, the quarterback in
the passing game. Wild Card game, we were like man,
the passing game and the quarterback not looking good. The
last seven or eight weeks of the year. His top
receiver said, what's wrong with the team? The passing game?
So how can now you be one of the best
quarterbacks in the game. That's what this is what I
(30:05):
fight with with Eagles fans all the time. I got
a lot of respect, but I think I would have CJ.
Stroud in his place on that tier.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Yeah, by and large, you and I agree. By the way.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
I want to throw this at you because you're a
Texas Longhorn. I have seen and read stories about arch Manning.
I thought last year he was better than quin Ewers,
I said. I didn't think Quinn Ewers was was a
first three or four round quarterback.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
I didn't.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
I thought arch Manning was the better quarterback. I thought
he was classy, he was quiet, he was a team guy.
Did not transfer. I think that plays very well an
owner and NFL GM rooms and he will benefit greatly.
There are stories now that he's added weight. I still
think he's a bit reckless when he runs, but he does.
I think my take was, is he big enough, strong enough?
What are you hearing about arch Manning, who now now
(30:51):
year ago Quinn Yours was a first round guy? What
are you hearing about him?
Speaker 6 (30:56):
Yeah, like it's it's awe. They love him. I talk
to enough people down there to.
Speaker 11 (31:02):
Know I knew at the end of the college season
last year how excited they were behind the scenes about
the possibilities and the potential and what the team will
look like with Archer Manning at the helm. You're saying
it right. He's a phenomenal athlete. I mean he's more
like his granddaddy. And the way he runs because some
of that stuff, the arm pops.
Speaker 6 (31:23):
I like his motion.
Speaker 11 (31:25):
It's explosive, it's a quick release, like he's got all
the trades.
Speaker 6 (31:29):
To be a superstar. And then of course the team
around him's damn good too.
Speaker 11 (31:33):
And college football is going to change the rules about
this nil stuff because they know Texas and Notre Dame
and Michigan and Ohio State have unlimited pockets, so they're
not going to be able to compete, especially with Texas,
and they're spending what forty million dollars this year. But
here's my other thing. I'll just say with arch I
think he's awesome. He's on the trajectory, the number one
pick in the draft and all that. I don't know
(31:55):
if it happens this year, though. I mean, you know
as well as I do the Mannings. They believe in
school and prepare themselves and getting the reps in college.
And I could see him having a really awesome year
this year and staying one more year after that just
to get a little more groomed for the NFL.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Yeah. No, I mean Andrew Luck did that as well.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Okay, great stuff, Chris Simms NFL analysts, it looked great
as whole.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
His buddy, I appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (32:18):
Hey you're the man, Colin. I'll talk to you, buddy.
Be good.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I think a lot of times with these NFL quarterbacks
in college, you just watch them. If you turn the
sound down, you look at it and you go. I
remember when I watched CJ.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Stroud and I was.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Always like eh, and then I watched them against Georgia
and he's running all over the field and I'm like, okay, okay, okay, yeah,
I get it now. I remember Justin Herbert, a lot
of people didn't get it. He goes to the Rose
Bowl against the best Wisconsin defense in forever. He's running
all over the field making linebackers miss. And I had
like two gms that were on the field. They were like,
oh well, well okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a first
round quarterback. So arch Manning, he can run, takes too
(32:52):
many hits for my taste, but he's put on some weight.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
When you watch.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Him play, and he hasn't played a lot, I think
you will say at some point, turn the sound down, size, arm, movement, accuracy.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
That's a first round quarterback coming up.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Next.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
This is really a thing.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
There are some If you love college basketball, and I
think this is good for the NBA.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and neon eastern non am Pacific.
Speaker 12 (33:18):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together We're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. 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 6 (33:30):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 12 (33:32):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. 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. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together.
Speaker 6 (33:48):
I mean that says something, right.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
So check us out.
Speaker 12 (33:51):
We like to get you involved too, take your phone calls,
chop it up.
Speaker 6 (33:55):
As they say, I'd.
Speaker 12 (33:56):
Say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe
the most interactive show on Be sure to check out
Cavino 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 Kovin on Rich wherever you get your podcasts,
and of course on social media that's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
Knicks.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Pacers have the fastest pace in the NBA the last
three years, Knicks have the slowest in the NBA the
last two years. To me, that series comes down to
which team can force the other to play their style.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
And their pace.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
I think Indiana is the better team, but I think
the shot making by the Knicks in the fourth quarter
against Boston and Detroit it was really, really impressive. These
are two point guard led teams. It's my kind of basketball.
I always told you I like the magic, the Chris Paul.
I like guard play. I got nothing against centers, but
I like good pace. I like analytics over analytics. I
(34:52):
don't want a parade of three point shots, So I
think the Pacers and the Knicks are not reliant on
the three point shot. I think they're both capable of
winning the championship, or at least winning the East. I'm
not sure if anybody can get through the buzzsaw known
as Okay, see what we'll find out this is interesting.
So Stefan Castle was a great player on that Yukon
team two years ago that won the title and blew
(35:14):
everybody out. It's one of the best college basketball teams
in twenty years. But college basketball's had a weird thing
going on for the last twenty five years, which is
a lot of the great players at a high school
went to the G League, or they went overseas, or
if they did go to college, it was one and done.
So college basketball has been watered down for about twenty
(35:36):
five years. Where the college player of the year a
Doug McDermot at Creighton.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
He's just a bench guy.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Like you didn't know if a guy, if he was
great in college, was he necessarily great When I was
growing up, Tim Duncan, growing up, Patrick Ewing, he was
great in college, he was going to be a great
NBA player. Like if you saw a guy Christian Latner
may not have been a great NBA player, but Grant Hill,
Bobby Hurley, Larry Johnson, if a guy was dominating in college,
(36:03):
he was going to be at least a good NBA player.
There were always outliers, but over the last twenty years
it could be fools gold. I mean Jim Or for
Debt is crushing college basketball, and you're like, he's an
overseas player, So this is interesting. Stefan Castle was on
that Yukon team a couple of years ago. He got
All Rookie Team. Also, Zach Edy did, and there were
(36:26):
a lot of questions about Zach Edy. Remember we were
here and he can't play in the NBA because I
think when a culture changes or a sport changes, it's
hard to be on the forefront of it. So Zach
Edy makes the All Rookie team and he was a
very effective player who's just every the last four years,
every time I watched him, he's better college or pro.
(36:46):
So I think college basketball is roaring back because of
the NIL. The NIL is keeping more good players like
Zach Edy in college basketball another year, and it's taking
some G League guys.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
They say, well, I can make more money in college,
I'll go college.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
The NIL payments are now potentially affecting Europe. A story
out today that Barcelona and Real Madrid are considering considering
shutting down, not yet, but shutting down. They're considering it
their youth academies. Why because so many Spanish players are
coming over to college basketball because college basketball can now
(37:26):
pay him.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
So the NIL is making college basketball healthier. Zach Edy
can go pro.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Now just stay at per New You're getting this all
over the place. So that Yukon team that dominated college basketball, well,
are they really any good?
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Well?
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Two of their guys, Donovan Klingen and Stefan Cassel, made
All Rookie teams.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Yeah, it was that good.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
That Yukon team historically was one of the better college
basketball teams in the last thirty years. Zach Edy was
an NBA player, so it was college basketball was fool's gold.
You see a guy dominate college basketball and he's best.
He's like an overseas or a rotational guy.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
Not anymore.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
And by the way, the first two rounds of the
NCAA Tournament this past March highest TV ratings than thirty
two years, so America catches on the quality pretty quickly.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
So I think this is really good.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
I know everybody's afraid of college at the NIL and
the transfer portal, but I was looking at guys Doug McDermott,
Luka Garza, Tyler Hansborough who were players the year in
college and really dominating, and then you watch them in
the NBA, and you're like, they're just rotational guys. And
it felt like years and years and years ago, in
the seventies, the eighties, the nineties, the early two thousands.
(38:45):
If you dominated college basketball, like Ralph Sampson, you're going
to go be a good pro a Keema lajah on,
Charles Barkley. And then there was this string where so
many guys went to Europe, or it's one year of college,
or it's the G League where it's so watered down.
Speaker 6 (39:01):
You don't know who's good.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
A guy can score twenty five a game in college,
he's a rotational guy. He may play overseas, so it's officials.
Zach Edy can play in the NBA. And that Yukon
team two years ago was really really good. I also
think I saw this. And by the way, Jay Mack,
you are the biggest college basketball fan I know, and
I do think you and I talked about Zach Edy.
There was an amazing pushback, and then Mark fu came
(39:25):
on my show and said, if he can't play in
the NBA, he goes. I coached the Olympic team right like,
we can't stop it. We've never faced a player at Gonzagio,
we can't defend. And then remember Hurley came out and said, yeah,
like if he can't play in the NBA, the NBA's
got a problem. He's a dominant player. So I really
do think that's fun for the fans. It legitimizes college basketball,
(39:46):
and that's the sport. I would say that's your second
favorite sport aftball, football.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
No, no football, NBA, then college basketball.
Speaker 8 (39:51):
But Colin, I will say shout out to the staff
member who found this story.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
I just texted to find out. This is a great story.
So think about this.
Speaker 8 (39:58):
Duke just had a super team basically of high school freshmen.
Florida won the national championship almost exclusively with transfers. The
new move is to go get Europeans and Illinois Brad Underwood.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
I'm not sure if you have followed him.
Speaker 8 (40:12):
He has built up a stacked roster of like a
bunch of talented European players. They're going to make a
run at the national championship next year. I just love
you and I talk about this all time. Building a team.
There's so many different ways in the NBA, NFL and
what's happening now this European trend this is going to
be a big one.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
I love that you're on top of this. It's a
fascinating story.
Speaker 6 (40:32):
Colin.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
The American economy. I mean, let's face it, Oisle State
spends twenty million dollars for one year of NIL and
winsdon Natty. There's reports Texas could spend forty million dollars
for one year. That's the American economy. So eventually, when
NIL came out, the traditionalists were like, this is bad
for sports.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
No.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
No, college basketball had been in like a twenty year
cycle of being a diluted water down product where you
were watching it and there would be games that are
like fifty two to fifty six and you're like, this
is terrible. Nobody can make a shot when you're watching
players now for Florida, for Yukon, for Houston, and they're
flourishing and call it gone Zaga. Guys, these are real pros. Now,
(41:15):
now I do wonder real quick.
Speaker 8 (41:17):
You know, we saw the European Way is thriving in
the NBA. What happens when you remove the European teenagers
and bring them to America and they're no longer playing
the European Way? Is that going to change basketball going forward,
so many great layers to that story.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Con Hour two coming up on a Wednesday,
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 noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Here we go. It is a Wednesday, and there is
actually a lot to talk about.
Speaker 1 (00:33):
It's the Herd. Wherever you may be and however you
may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day,
So Jmak. We learned again today that the NFL owners
run everything. Doesn't matter what committees say, it doesn't matter
what the commissioner says, it doesn't matter what coaches say.
(00:56):
It is an owner run lead. And we got another
exam pull that to day with a toush push.
Speaker 4 (01:01):
I think you and I are pretty much on the
same page with it, right.
Speaker 2 (01:04):
We're fine with this.
Speaker 1 (01:07):
I don't love it, but here's the very latest. The
NFL's Competition Committee said you should get rid of it.
The NFL's Health and Safety Commission Committee said you should
get rid of it. And the NFL owners said, eh,
we're going to keep it.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
It was close.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
They needed twenty four votes to get rid of it.
It was twenty two. I think Jason Kelsey, former Eagle
Center podcaster, apparently spoke to owners and that, in my opinion,
was the difference. They're not going to ban it for now. Hey, listen,
clever coaches are like good accountants. They find loopholes schemes
(01:50):
right to benefit their clients, and sometimes the league rules, Nope,
we gave it to you for three years, We're not
going to give it to you for four. I've always
said the NFL, the TV show, and the two things
they really care about are entertainment and safety, in no
particular order. They care about entertainment and safety, and to me,
(02:10):
the Tush push kind of violates both. It looks dangerous
and it's ugly. Optics on TV aren't good. It's an
ugly play and it almost failed twenty two votes needed
twenty four. I think Jason Kelsey speaking on behalf of it,
a very respective player who was not you know, some
(02:32):
five star recruit. He was a grinder. He's classic NFL family.
The Kelseys have been great for the league. He spoke,
and I think he tush pushed it into not being banned.
I think his ability to create that play and to
keep it from being banned. The Eagles have already posted
it on social media, the push stays on. I'm a
(02:55):
little surprised. I mean, we see this all the time.
Remember years ago, Chancellor would jump over the line and
block kicks for the Seahawks, and the NFL felt it's
a little dangerous. Looking now, there wasn't a ton of
data that showed, you know, there was a lot of
guys getting hurt. But the NFL didn't like it, and
they said, I don't think so.
Speaker 3 (03:15):
The horse collar tackle they got rid of it.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
The kickoffs they look all funky now they think it's
too dangerous, But I think what helps the toush push.
There is no current data that a bunch of guys
are getting hurt with it, although I'm not sure a
bunch of guys were getting hurt when Chancellor was jumping
over a line to block a kick either, But there's
no data that shows that it's hurting people. And the
(03:42):
second thing is Jason Kelsey's powerful. He is respected. He
made a plea to keep it, and I think it
probably flipped one or two owners so the Competition Committee,
they and the Health and Say Committee recommended the league
(04:02):
ban it. We don't like it, and usually those recommendations
get something banned. But in this instance the owners and
they control it. They control Goodell's salary, Roger Goodell's trying
to get a raise here. They control that, They control
the length of the schedule. It's the only sport in
America where the owners control the TV networks, not vice versa.
(04:23):
They tell them what they will pay, and then they
can they can blow those TV contracts up in the
middle of them and renegotiate it if they want.
Speaker 3 (04:31):
The NFL owners are all powerful.
Speaker 1 (04:35):
You got a lot of NBA Baseball owners, NBA owners,
MLS owners selling stuff. You own an NFL team, just
keep it, just keep it, and so the owners win again.
Here's Dion Dawkins, great left tackle for Buffalo. His opinions
are like a lot of players' opinions on it.
Speaker 3 (04:54):
You don't love it.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
But it's Philadelphia's what do we do with it?
Speaker 3 (04:59):
Here's on Dawkins.
Speaker 5 (05:01):
It's a very hard play for a player. It's a
very hard play for a player. You know you're down there,
your your head is down. You just have to kind
of just drive your legs and hit three people at
one time.
Speaker 6 (05:14):
Like it's very.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Hard thing to do.
Speaker 5 (05:16):
But it's so weird because we play a game of inches, right,
like what's the best player to get an inch?
Speaker 6 (05:26):
The touch push?
Speaker 3 (05:27):
What's the best player to get a yard?
Speaker 5 (05:29):
Maybe a QB sleek And it's hard to take it
out or it's hard to change it because it's so
necessary in the game because sometimes you just need to
fall forward and get the first down.
Speaker 1 (05:43):
And to the Philadelphia Eagles credit, they do it well.
I mean, Buffalo got to the AFC Championship and they
looked unprepared when they had Superman Josh Allen trying to
jump in the air and the lean for a yard.
It looked it really looked like they didn't practice it.
Philadelphia practices it. They add decoys to it. I thought
(06:06):
when Kelsey left it wouldn't be as successful it is.
It does look a little dangerous, but so far, I
don't think there's any data that shows that it is.
And Philadelphia does it better than anybody else. That's their
best argument. We created it, we do it better than
everybody else. It's available to the entire league. Why are
you banning it. As of now it survives, but it
(06:28):
was close. And again I think Jason Kelsey highly respected
him speaking to owners. Probably push pushed it in Okay,
Game one of the Western Conference Finals is in the books,
and it feels like the series is in the books.
So Oklahoma City rolled through the NBA's regular season historically
(06:50):
one by an average of twelve point nine points.
Speaker 3 (06:52):
That like Jordan's Bulls didn't do that.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
And then they rolled Memphis in the first round, and
then they rolled Minnesota last night. The only team and
actually only player to give him real trouble is Jokis
Nikola Jokich, the Joker gave him trouble. They even wore
him down and Okase, like the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles,
are not really built on a player. They're built on
(07:15):
a general manager. Howie Roseman GM of the Eagles, Sam
Presty GM of the Thunder. They have built such insanely
deep and flexible rosters you think the coach is good,
but is he necessary? They forced the te Wolves to
only score from the outside. In fact, Minnesota only had
twenty points in the paint. That's their lowest total. And
(07:36):
there are big team since twenty fifteen. Julius Randall kept
him in the game in the first half, shot the
ball well, hit a bunch of threes. Once that dried up,
the offense dried up. This is a team that they're
not necessarily huge. But you ever watch a football team
like you'll watch college football when Alabama was in its
prime and the defense was just crushing people, and you're like,
(07:57):
do they have thirteen players on the field, Like it
looks like they have extra pla. Oklahoma City's defense looks
like they're playing seven guys. So Jokic could get his,
but Murray didn't get his, Porter couldn't get his. They
just shut off lanes and avenues and just think about this.
So Oklahoma City against a much better West was thirty
(08:18):
nine and thirteen. So they dominated the West. They were
twenty nine to one against the East. See you're asking yourself,
are the Pacers and the Knicks which starts tonight? Are
they just playing for second place? So aunt Edwards didn't
have a great night, didn't get a lot of shots.
Speaker 3 (08:36):
Sometimes invisible.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
I think he's gonna have to have four or five
games where he scores thirty plus, and I'm not sure
you can do this. This is just the defense where
a lot of these guys are are just entering their
athletic prime. Long, twitchy, fast, and Jokich is a great example.
They really cut Jokic's passing lanes so the Joker could score,
(08:59):
but the passing lane got cut down, and Yokich is
a much more totally refined offensive player than Aunt Edwards.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
Here's what's scary.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Oklahoma City's average age is twenty five for a team
that won sixty eight games by an average winning total
of thirteen points. So it's by the second half. Once
Julius Randalls threes didn't drop, this looked like a total mismatch. Younger, quicker,
(09:29):
better defensively with a lot of levers to pull. Here's
Aunt Edwards after.
Speaker 7 (09:35):
I definitely got to shoot boards on ten thirteen shots,
but I'll say probably just get off the ball a
little more. Play without the ball. I think that'd be
the answer, because playing on the ball, he's so double
and the sitney gaps all day. They clawed the paint,
that's what they do. They don't got massage down there.
So Ky bankamers and I make a shots on this
(09:59):
because every time I go to the Rams like four people.
Speaker 6 (10:01):
At the paint.
Speaker 7 (10:01):
So yeah, I guess they just be clogged in the paint.
They put like five four bodies in a paint and
make you kick it out. So just keep making the
right play.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
Now, here's the good news for Minnesota. They'll eventually go
to go play at home where they're really good. Chris
Finch and his staff have been excellent at shifting around
to second and third gears and figuring out ways to
get the most out of the offense. But if you
watch the second half, they were just overwhelmed. Memphis got overwhelmed,
the West got overwhelmed. The East beat him one time
(10:32):
in thirty games. Oklahoma City looked really good led by defense.
Of course, a SGA is excellent, he gets the whistle.
But I think the core of this thing is the depth,
the roster, construction, the aggressiveness of the defense. You know,
generally in sports, a great defense slows down a great offense.
If you were the Bulls and MJ you had both.
But this looked like a mismatch last night. In the
(10:54):
second half, it looked really really ugly. All right, so
jam something else came out this morning. I love this
so pff they do this. Every year they come out
with a tiers of quarterbacks, and it was interesting.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
I've got a lot of thoughts on it.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
In my lifetime, there's always been one thing that's true
with the quarterback position. And once again with PFF's quarterback rankings,
they ranked everybody in the league. I think, once again,
this happened since I was a kid. It happened during
the Lway years, the Montana years, the Brady years, and
now during the Mahomes years. There is something that always
is the case and I'll talk about that coming up.
Speaker 2 (11:32):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in neon Easter nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (11:44):
Really interesting thing happening.
Speaker 1 (11:46):
I'm going to get to it about fifteen minutes with
college basketball. College basketball is getting some really good news.
I'm gonna talk about that in fifteen minutes. Chris Simms
will be around the corner as well. If you have
not heard, it was a very close voice, very close vote.
The Tush push by a couple of votes has survived
again Philadelphia. They created it. Their argument is it's not
(12:11):
a loophole, it's just the quarterback sneak modified amplified, and
the owners did not take the recommendation of the Rules
Committee or the Health and Safety Committee. They both said Bannett,
the NFL Owners close vote, said now we're going to
keep it. We'll vote in it again next year. So
(12:32):
this is interesting. PFF.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
They do this every year.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
They take every starting quarterback in the NFL, all thirty
two ahead of the season, and they ranked them. They
put them in tiers tier one, two, three and four,
five and six. I don't care about the middle bottom ones.
So their Tier one, which I totally agree with, is Mahomes, Jackson,
Josh Allen, and Burrow.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
I have no problem. That's what I would do.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
They're Tier two. I don't disagree with that, Jalen Hurts,
Jaden Daniel, Matthew Stafford, Justin Herbert. They're Tier three, which
is Jared Goff, Gino Smith, and brock Perty.
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I think C. J.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
Stroud is more talented than all those guys, although I
think it's close. I do think it's interesting. Sam Darnolds
in Tier five and in Tier three is Tua and
Trevor Lawrence. I disagree with that, but again, in my
entire life, I've always had this thing we've talked about.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
There's always about seven.
Speaker 1 (13:29):
Quarterbacks maybe eight, at any one time in the NFL,
in any era that you just don't pick up the phone.
Somebody calls with Elway, you're not picking up the phone.
If you go back to Elway in his prime, there
were seven or eight guys, You're not picking.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Up the phone.
Speaker 1 (13:45):
John Elway, Dan Marino, Joe Montana, Jim Kelly, Steve Young,
Troy Aikman, and Warren Moon. They were just really, really
good players. There's no reason to get on the phone
and initiate conversation like those are the seven guys. If
you go to Brady's era, it was Brady and Breeze
and Peyton Manning and Big Ben. I'd say Eli Manning,
Aaron Rodgers and maybe Philip Rivers.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
Their gms loved them.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
They won a lot of games, and they were highly productive,
and you got him every week. I think right now
PFF got the eight right now.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
I CJ. Stroud is the one.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
To me. I think he either has to be the
number one, tier two quarterback or he's darn close.
Speaker 3 (14:26):
I think he's really good. He did pull.
Speaker 1 (14:29):
Back last year, but his offensive line was atrocious. He
lost two of his three best receivers and he still
got into the playoffs and won a playoff game. So
other than that, I've always felt it's about seven or
eight guys at any one time in the NFL that
are somebody calls about him, you're not really interested. I
don't think Houston would take a call on CJ.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Stroud.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
I think he is a Tier two guy, maybe barely,
maybe the first guy out. We could argue that it
doesn't really matter because historically the guy's in Tier one
and occasionally Tier or two win all the Super Bowls.
So I think PFF got it right. And UH don't
don't have a problem with any of the greats. I
think clearly in the league. Now mahomes, Lamar, Josh and
(15:10):
Burrell have separated. I don't think there's any question that's
the first group. J. Mickle the news, Turn on the news.
This is the Herdline News.
Speaker 8 (15:22):
All right, call a big, big game tonight in the
Eastern Conference Pacers Mixed Game one.
Speaker 4 (15:28):
I know you're excited. Obviously.
Speaker 8 (15:30):
Back in the nineties, this was a phenomenal UH series
back and forth memories of Reggie Miller's Spike Lee, Patrick
Ewings Finger.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
Roll a lot of stuff. Well, tonight we get Jalen
Brunson versus Tyree's Halliburton.
Speaker 8 (15:43):
Runson is praising Halliburton, who's become a star.
Speaker 9 (15:48):
He's done a lot, He's quieted a lot of people.
He's obviously their engine, and they go as he goes,
and he does a lot for their team.
Speaker 3 (15:59):
So it's gonna be tough cask, But.
Speaker 9 (16:02):
I think as a team, he's got to sit together
and do what we do in control we can control,
but uh iby obviously for success. But this is, like
I said, this is new John Truss.
Speaker 8 (16:16):
Yeah, that Pacers team in the nineties that went at
the Knicks a lot. They had Reggie Miller, who was
kind of hated a villain. I don't think that Halliburton's
a villain. Yet he's giving signs that he could be right,
you know, taking bows and getting into it with Giannis
and some other players.
Speaker 1 (16:33):
I don't.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
I just feel like this isn't going to be a
good series.
Speaker 8 (16:35):
There isn't like a genuine hate from Knicks Pacers.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
No. And I think what the most interesting part of
the series is that the Pacers the last three years
have the fastest pace in the league. Yeah, And Tibbs
and the Knicks have the slowest pace in the league,
so whoever gets to play at their pace wins the series.
And Indiana has done a great job to force Cleveland
and Milwaukee to play their style. Can they force the
(16:59):
Knick to play faster than the Knicks want to? Tibbs's
whole style half court? I mean, Knicks have been great
shot making in the fourth quarter. They're a great half
court team. They're the opposite of the Houston Rockets, who
are atrocious in the half court but good in transition. Well,
when you get to the playoffs, it's very rare that
you're allowed to just be a you know, OKC in Indiana.
They're up and down, up and down the floor. That's
(17:21):
not usually the case. Usually the better teams can slow
it down, get the ball to their big or their stars.
They want to play half court basketball, that's what you
want to do if you're the Knicks against Indiana. Not
that Indiana is a bad half court team, but that's
really the nixt strength and Indiana does not allow you
to do that.
Speaker 7 (17:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 8 (17:38):
I do like how the Knicks have multiple guys who
are long defenders to throw at Halliburton Bridges was not
there last year. He is excellent, one of the premier
different wing defenders in the league.
Speaker 4 (17:48):
I think we'll see some.
Speaker 8 (17:49):
Ananobi on Halliburton. I don't think we'll see Brunson on him.
You know, people want to attack Brunson. He did foul
out of that game in bust and I believe it
was Game four. But overall, I think the Nicks had
the series. They're a favored by four to four and
a half to.
Speaker 1 (18:02):
Night who you got, I would take Indiana in the points.
I think it's going to be a great series.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
I think the dog last night it did not quite
work out our way.
Speaker 1 (18:13):
Well, it was a good first half, but I mean
I said, you know, there's something to be said about
styles make fights like sometimes you have to watch. I
thought we knew what Boston was against New York, and
then the NFL swallowed the whistles and the series changed
and the games changed. So like last night, Minnesota Oklahoma City.
My take was by the second half, Minnesota is going
(18:35):
to have to really really pull some levers because they're
at a major disadvantage. I mean, Oklahoma City's defense is
going to give Ant trouble. Ant is not a refined
offensive player. He can shoot threes and he's dynamic, but
he doesn't have the layers to his game like Sga
or Jokic.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
He doesn't.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
And so the bottom line is OKC has not struggled
with anybody except Jokic, and even the Jolkic. They cut
down his passing lane so we couldn't get it to Murray.
So like An's gonna have to do stuff vertically horizontally
o case he just shuts down passing lanes.
Speaker 8 (19:10):
Well, they hit so many threes early last night, They're like, oh,
we'll just keep taking threes, and they took fifty one,
which was insane. I don't see the Knicks for Pacers
falling into that track. I like the Knick Tonight to
cover and set the tone for this series.
Speaker 4 (19:22):
I'm very excited for it, Colin.
Speaker 8 (19:23):
Next up is to the NFL, where AJ Brown and
the Eagles coming off a Super Bowl win. He made
a weird comment in light of the George Pickens signings
in Dallas.
Speaker 4 (19:34):
Remember last year Philly destroyed Dallas.
Speaker 8 (19:36):
By a combined seventy five thirteen.
Speaker 4 (19:38):
We both don't think Dallas is very good this year.
Speaker 8 (19:40):
But AJ Brown on the Pickens signing is like, whoa,
wait a minute, here we go.
Speaker 6 (19:45):
We're gonna have to worry about him for sure.
Speaker 10 (19:48):
We're gonna have to worry about him.
Speaker 9 (19:52):
No, I like the trade.
Speaker 3 (19:53):
I do like the tray.
Speaker 10 (19:54):
I like the competition, you know, and I like I
like I like Geor Piggins, I like Ceedee Lamb and
that cause you know, and it's gonna be. It's gonna
be a signed to wise Bro because all that does
is bring the best out of us.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
I think wide receivers value wide receivers more than everybody else.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
We're worried about the Cowboys at.
Speaker 1 (20:15):
The Philadelphia is winning super Bowls not because of coaching.
They fired Doug Peterson. We don't know if sirianis week.
Some of it is because of quarterback play, but overwhelmingly
they're lines. Their defensive line shredded Kansas City and their
offensive line dominated Kansas City. So, I mean, if you
look at Philadelphia, the wide receivers are good, but it's
(20:37):
not what the soul of the team is. They're not
built around like Cincinnati is built around Burrow and his sideline.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Guys, that's not what Philly is.
Speaker 8 (20:45):
Yeah, how is aj Brown not saying like, well, Actually,
the Cowboys offensive line stinks and they're rebuilding it. We're
gonna annihilate them in the trenches.
Speaker 4 (20:52):
He looks at wide receivers. Just bizarre stuff.
Speaker 8 (20:54):
Anyways, final story is WNBA Caitlin Clark. Last night in
the Fever. They lost at home the Atlanta Dream. Kind
of a tough loss for them, but Clark was very good.
Not her fault twenty seven and eleven, Colin, how about this.
Clark is now tied with someone named Courtney Vanderslut for
the most career games of twenty points and TENNISI is
in WNBA history. Vander Slut did it in four hundred
(21:17):
and thirty games.
Speaker 4 (21:19):
Clark's done it in forty two.
Speaker 8 (21:20):
She's setting WNBA records in year two. We know she's
setting them off the court with ratings, but Jasey's setting
them on.
Speaker 4 (21:28):
The court with stats. That to me is absolutely wonder.
Speaker 1 (21:31):
You can tell when a sport arrives because people start
complaining about officiating, and that shows people care. Everybody was
complaining about the officiating last night. You have arrived as
a league. When we are mad at the Zebras, I'm
not gonna losk what you're getting. Yeah, WNBA games Now,
people are furious with the officiating. That's the greatest compliment
(21:51):
you can give the lead. People care about outcomes, not
just Caitlin Clark's merch. They care about the outcomes of game.
Speaker 8 (21:57):
How many officiating controversy do we have in the WNBA
the last I don't.
Speaker 4 (22:00):
Know, twenty years.
Speaker 6 (22:02):
None. None.
Speaker 8 (22:02):
Last night, Fever and listen, they did kind of good job,
a lot of questionable calls on the interior. Clark missed
a shot in the last like twenty seconds, it could
have gave him the win.
Speaker 4 (22:11):
But overall, I'm watching Fever games. I tuned in. I'm
not gonna lie.
Speaker 6 (22:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:15):
J McK with the news, Well that's the news, and
thanks for stopping by the Heard Line News.
Speaker 1 (22:21):
Chris Sims played in the NFL for eight years. His
Texas Longhorns are going to be playing, arguably against Ohio
State and the opener in the biggest college football regular
season game in a long time, and Chris is now
joining US live NFL analysts.
Speaker 3 (22:36):
Okay, let's talk Tush push. It's very interesting.
Speaker 1 (22:40):
So the the Health and Safety Committee said ban it,
the Rules Committee said ban it, and the NFL owner said, yeah,
we're going to keep it to me. That tells you,
and we've always known this. The owners run the league.
Weren't you surprised though they did not listen to the
rules can or the healthon Safety Committee.
Speaker 6 (23:02):
I am a little surprised.
Speaker 11 (23:03):
I won't lie, I really am, because usually when we
get to this point and right you hear all things
that some of the powers to be the commissioner, everybody
wants it banned. Usually when you get to that point
in the NFL, everybody kind of gets the memo and goes, Okay,
we gotta do this.
Speaker 6 (23:19):
This is for the best of the game. The commissioner
wants that and all that. But there was some pushback here.
Speaker 11 (23:25):
There was and I think there's still a lot of
old school people in the NFL. And I know I
have friends and I've interviewed Mike Vrabel and Jim John
Harbaugh and they all took the side of like, man,
it seems a little odd to take the play that
the best team in football has been known for the
last three years. We're gonna take that away from them
because we can't stop it. And then also, I think
(23:47):
here's the other aspect of it, too, Colin, Because one,
there's no injury data yet on it.
Speaker 6 (23:52):
So that's like just.
Speaker 11 (23:54):
It's a bunch of bs made up by the NFL
just to help their argument. The other thing in this
too is j what is what did the tush really
have the push part of it really have to do
In a lot of the plays I just watched you
do it right there and the highlights we showed on
Fox Sports, there's a number of plays where the push
from behind does nothing with the actual play. The play itself,
(24:15):
if you want to even talk about the danger of
it or the beauty of it, is the wedge created
by the biggest offensive line we've seen in football since
the Cowboys of the nineties.
Speaker 6 (24:26):
And so it didn't really fix anything.
Speaker 11 (24:27):
And I think some of the old school people in
the NFL said, we're going to try to stop it
before we ban it.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
So you know, it's the broad pretty contract is interesting.
So I was not a fan of the Dak contract,
and I wasn't a fan of the Tua contract, And
I think I've been validated.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I think Pretty is the NFC is the NFC. TA
We got.
Speaker 1 (24:48):
Injuries arms Okay, not great, there have been against playoff teams.
Sometimes he looks like he needs a lot of help,
either coaching or players. I don't think it's an egregious contract. Okay,
it doesn't because if you start really breaking down the numbers,
it's not fifty eight million, it's not Dax. But I
(25:11):
do think here's the problem, though, Chris and we all
love John Lynch. They're missing on too many draft picks,
so they have to pay McCaffrey, Kittle, and Warner linebacker,
tight end, running back top of the market. Those are
usually positions. The Rams don't pay any of those positions,
right who won the division? So my take is the
(25:33):
combination of missing on a lot of draft picks, also
gave up three for Trey Lance and a B quarterback
paid closer to an A. I think what it makes
San Francisco, like Dallas, is dangerously top heavy.
Speaker 3 (25:51):
And that's my take.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
There'll be a good team, but they're a Crent Williams
Knees sprain from being a bad team.
Speaker 11 (25:57):
No, I hear you there, And I think they're in
the process of transitioning away from that, right. I think
that's the big thing. That's why Javon Hargrave's not there anymore.
That's why they didn't sign Drake Dre greenlaw back. There's
been some other guys that they have let go, you know,
throughout the years, or Eric Armstead before last year, because
I think they realized how top heavy they were. I mean,
(26:20):
you were paying Brandon Ayuk like you said, you're paying
Deebo Samuel, You're paying Kittle.
Speaker 6 (26:24):
Like a top guy.
Speaker 11 (26:25):
McCaffrey, the top running back, the top left tackle, one
of the top d tackles.
Speaker 6 (26:30):
The top d N, the top middle linebacker. Right.
Speaker 11 (26:33):
So yeah, I think they're in the process of, like, look,
listening to what you're saying and going, wait, we got
to spread the wealth here, we got to build a
little more depth on their football team. But yet within that,
they're not ready to give.
Speaker 6 (26:46):
Up on some of these guys.
Speaker 11 (26:47):
Kittle's still really damn good, right, fred Fred Warner still
the best middle linebacker in the game. McCaffrey's good. But
also I think within the party contract, I agree with
a lot of what you said there.
Speaker 6 (26:58):
Okay, I like Brock Purty a lot.
Speaker 11 (27:00):
Is he the type of guy though that I look
at and go, oh, he can carry the team through
injuries or a bad spot. No, I mean we're talking
about a guy that just lost eight out of his
nast nine games of the season last year was six
and eleven as a QB starter, and and of course
they didn't go.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
To the playoffs.
Speaker 11 (27:19):
It's rare in that fact, just at all, that we're
talking about a big contract like this off of that
type of year.
Speaker 6 (27:25):
So that's a strange in itself. Right. I'm with you
in that it's not as egregious as Dak.
Speaker 11 (27:30):
I mean, Dak's the highest paid quarterback in football, and
I would say Dak is not one of the ten
best quarterbacks in football.
Speaker 6 (27:35):
So that's egregiously bad.
Speaker 11 (27:37):
Your point with Tua, you can't be the highest paid
guy on your team and then in every big game
you're the main question about whether you can perform. Right,
That to me is a bad contract. Now, brock Perty
doesn't quite get to that category.
Speaker 6 (27:51):
He doesn't.
Speaker 11 (27:51):
Yes, I think we wonder how much is Shanahan and
how great he makes quarterbacks look all the time, and
how much is him And that's where he got to prove.
Speaker 6 (28:00):
I think you and me wrong.
Speaker 11 (28:01):
In that department, because I think we think it's more
Shanahan right now than the other way around.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
All Right, I like tiers and I like rankings, I'm
a sucker for it. PFF annually does their six tiers
of quarterbacks. I said about twenty minutes ago, in my lifetime,
go to the l Way years, there were about seven
quarterbacks that were great. If you go to Brady's years,
Aaron Breeze, Peyton, Ben Eli, Tom Seven. I think PFF
(28:27):
got it right with their eight best quarterbacks.
Speaker 3 (28:29):
I think C. J. Stroud is the only quarterback.
Speaker 1 (28:33):
I look at he's Tier three and I thought, okay,
he's a little lower than I would put him. Let's
put it on the screen for our television audience.
Speaker 6 (28:41):
I have I relie sing it.
Speaker 1 (28:43):
Okay, So tier one I think is pretty indisputable. Mahomes
Lamar Burrow Allen, do you have a problem with that?
Speaker 2 (28:50):
Not at all.
Speaker 11 (28:51):
They're in a stratosphere by themselves right now, They're ball
by themselves, special group right there.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
Okay, then it goes Jaden Daniels, I'm comfortable with that.
Jalen Hurts, Matt Stafford, and Herbert. That's the one I
think I would put CJ. Stroud in. But are you
comfortable with's tier two? I'm pretty comfortable with it. I
would put C. J.
Speaker 11 (29:15):
Stroud in front of over there in front of Jalen Hurts.
That would be mine right there. Okay, I like Jalen Hurts.
I would say he's a top ten quarterback. I don't
think I would put him in the top eight. I
think he'd be nine or ten for me. Again, I
think with Jalen Hurts and what I look at too,
we have a little bit of a revisionist history here.
(29:36):
He won the Super Bowl and everybody just forgot about
the ten weeks before that that we were like, wait,
the passing game in the quarterback was the issue.
Speaker 6 (29:44):
All right.
Speaker 11 (29:45):
He had a good NFC Championship game, I know that,
But Divisional game we were like man, the quarterback in
the passing game. Wild Card game, we were like man,
the passing game and the quarterback not looking good. The
last seven or eight weeks of the year. His top
receiver said, what's wrong with the team? The passing game?
So how can now you be one of the best
quarterbacks in the game. That's what this is what I
(30:05):
fight with with Eagles fans all the time. I got
a lot of respect, but I think I would have CJ.
Stroud in his place on that tier.
Speaker 3 (30:11):
Yeah, by and large, you and I agree. By the way.
Speaker 1 (30:15):
I want to throw this at you because you're a
Texas Longhorn. I have seen and read stories about arch Manning.
I thought last year he was better than quin Ewers,
I said. I didn't think Quinn Ewers was was a
first three or four round quarterback.
Speaker 3 (30:28):
I didn't.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
I thought arch Manning was the better quarterback. I thought
he was classy, he was quiet, he was a team guy.
Did not transfer. I think that plays very well an
owner and NFL GM rooms and he will benefit greatly.
There are stories now that he's added weight. I still
think he's a bit reckless when he runs, but he does.
I think my take was, is he big enough, strong enough?
What are you hearing about arch Manning, who now now
(30:51):
year ago Quinn Yours was a first round guy? What
are you hearing about him?
Speaker 6 (30:56):
Yeah, like it's it's awe. They love him. I talk
to enough people down there to.
Speaker 11 (31:02):
Know I knew at the end of the college season
last year how excited they were behind the scenes about
the possibilities and the potential and what the team will
look like with Archer Manning at the helm. You're saying
it right. He's a phenomenal athlete. I mean he's more
like his granddaddy. And the way he runs because some
of that stuff, the arm pops.
Speaker 6 (31:23):
I like his motion.
Speaker 11 (31:25):
It's explosive, it's a quick release, like he's got all
the trades.
Speaker 6 (31:29):
To be a superstar. And then of course the team
around him's damn good too.
Speaker 11 (31:33):
And college football is going to change the rules about
this nil stuff because they know Texas and Notre Dame
and Michigan and Ohio State have unlimited pockets, so they're
not going to be able to compete, especially with Texas,
and they're spending what forty million dollars this year. But
here's my other thing. I'll just say with arch I
think he's awesome. He's on the trajectory, the number one
pick in the draft and all that. I don't know
(31:55):
if it happens this year, though. I mean, you know
as well as I do the Mannings. They believe in
school and prepare themselves and getting the reps in college.
And I could see him having a really awesome year
this year and staying one more year after that just
to get a little more groomed for the NFL.
Speaker 3 (32:10):
Yeah. No, I mean Andrew Luck did that as well.
Speaker 1 (32:12):
Okay, great stuff, Chris Simms NFL analysts, it looked great
as whole.
Speaker 3 (32:16):
His buddy, I appreciate it.
Speaker 6 (32:18):
Hey you're the man, Colin. I'll talk to you, buddy.
Be good.
Speaker 3 (32:20):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (32:21):
I think a lot of times with these NFL quarterbacks
in college, you just watch them. If you turn the
sound down, you look at it and you go. I
remember when I watched CJ.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Stroud and I was.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
Always like eh, and then I watched them against Georgia
and he's running all over the field and I'm like, okay, okay, okay, yeah,
I get it now. I remember Justin Herbert, a lot
of people didn't get it. He goes to the Rose
Bowl against the best Wisconsin defense in forever. He's running
all over the field making linebackers miss. And I had
like two gms that were on the field. They were like,
oh well, well okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's a first
round quarterback. So arch Manning, he can run, takes too
(32:52):
many hits for my taste, but he's put on some weight.
Speaker 3 (32:55):
When you watch.
Speaker 1 (32:56):
Him play, and he hasn't played a lot, I think
you will say at some point, turn the sound down, size, arm, movement, accuracy.
Speaker 3 (33:04):
That's a first round quarterback coming up.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Next.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
This is really a thing.
Speaker 1 (33:09):
There are some If you love college basketball, and I
think this is good for the NBA.
Speaker 2 (33:13):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and neon eastern non am Pacific.
Speaker 12 (33:18):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together We're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. 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 6 (33:30):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 12 (33:32):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world. 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. And the fact
that we've been friends for the last twenty years and
still work together.
Speaker 6 (33:48):
I mean that says something, right.
Speaker 3 (33:50):
So check us out.
Speaker 12 (33:51):
We like to get you involved too, take your phone calls,
chop it up.
Speaker 6 (33:55):
As they say, I'd.
Speaker 12 (33:56):
Say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe
the most interactive show on Be sure to check out
Cavino 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 Kovin on Rich wherever you get your podcasts,
and of course on social media that's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 3 (34:15):
Knicks.
Speaker 1 (34:15):
Pacers have the fastest pace in the NBA the last
three years, Knicks have the slowest in the NBA the
last two years. To me, that series comes down to
which team can force the other to play their style.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
And their pace.
Speaker 1 (34:29):
I think Indiana is the better team, but I think
the shot making by the Knicks in the fourth quarter
against Boston and Detroit it was really, really impressive. These
are two point guard led teams. It's my kind of basketball.
I always told you I like the magic, the Chris Paul.
I like guard play. I got nothing against centers, but
I like good pace. I like analytics over analytics. I
(34:52):
don't want a parade of three point shots, So I
think the Pacers and the Knicks are not reliant on
the three point shot. I think they're both capable of
winning the championship, or at least winning the East. I'm
not sure if anybody can get through the buzzsaw known
as Okay, see what we'll find out this is interesting.
So Stefan Castle was a great player on that Yukon
team two years ago that won the title and blew
(35:14):
everybody out. It's one of the best college basketball teams
in twenty years. But college basketball's had a weird thing
going on for the last twenty five years, which is
a lot of the great players at a high school
went to the G League, or they went overseas, or
if they did go to college, it was one and done.
So college basketball has been watered down for about twenty
(35:36):
five years. Where the college player of the year a
Doug McDermot at Creighton.
Speaker 3 (35:40):
He's just a bench guy.
Speaker 1 (35:42):
Like you didn't know if a guy, if he was
great in college, was he necessarily great When I was
growing up, Tim Duncan, growing up, Patrick Ewing, he was
great in college, he was going to be a great
NBA player. Like if you saw a guy Christian Latner
may not have been a great NBA player, but Grant Hill,
Bobby Hurley, Larry Johnson, if a guy was dominating in college,
(36:03):
he was going to be at least a good NBA player.
There were always outliers, but over the last twenty years
it could be fools gold. I mean Jim Or for
Debt is crushing college basketball, and you're like, he's an
overseas player, So this is interesting. Stefan Castle was on
that Yukon team a couple of years ago. He got
All Rookie Team. Also, Zach Edy did, and there were
(36:26):
a lot of questions about Zach Edy. Remember we were
here and he can't play in the NBA because I
think when a culture changes or a sport changes, it's
hard to be on the forefront of it. So Zach
Edy makes the All Rookie team and he was a
very effective player who's just every the last four years,
every time I watched him, he's better college or pro.
(36:46):
So I think college basketball is roaring back because of
the NIL. The NIL is keeping more good players like
Zach Edy in college basketball another year, and it's taking
some G League guys.
Speaker 3 (36:59):
They say, well, I can make more money in college,
I'll go college.
Speaker 1 (37:04):
The NIL payments are now potentially affecting Europe. A story
out today that Barcelona and Real Madrid are considering considering
shutting down, not yet, but shutting down. They're considering it
their youth academies. Why because so many Spanish players are
coming over to college basketball because college basketball can now
(37:26):
pay him.
Speaker 3 (37:27):
So the NIL is making college basketball healthier. Zach Edy
can go pro.
Speaker 1 (37:34):
Now just stay at per New You're getting this all
over the place. So that Yukon team that dominated college basketball, well,
are they really any good?
Speaker 3 (37:45):
Well?
Speaker 1 (37:45):
Two of their guys, Donovan Klingen and Stefan Cassel, made
All Rookie teams.
Speaker 3 (37:51):
Yeah, it was that good.
Speaker 1 (37:53):
That Yukon team historically was one of the better college
basketball teams in the last thirty years. Zach Edy was
an NBA player, so it was college basketball was fool's gold.
You see a guy dominate college basketball and he's best.
He's like an overseas or a rotational guy.
Speaker 3 (38:09):
Not anymore.
Speaker 1 (38:10):
And by the way, the first two rounds of the
NCAA Tournament this past March highest TV ratings than thirty
two years, so America catches on the quality pretty quickly.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
So I think this is really good.
Speaker 1 (38:23):
I know everybody's afraid of college at the NIL and
the transfer portal, but I was looking at guys Doug McDermott,
Luka Garza, Tyler Hansborough who were players the year in
college and really dominating, and then you watch them in
the NBA, and you're like, they're just rotational guys. And
it felt like years and years and years ago, in
the seventies, the eighties, the nineties, the early two thousands.
(38:45):
If you dominated college basketball, like Ralph Sampson, you're going
to go be a good pro a Keema lajah on,
Charles Barkley. And then there was this string where so
many guys went to Europe, or it's one year of college,
or it's the G League where it's so watered down.
Speaker 6 (39:01):
You don't know who's good.
Speaker 1 (39:02):
A guy can score twenty five a game in college,
he's a rotational guy. He may play overseas, so it's officials.
Zach Edy can play in the NBA. And that Yukon
team two years ago was really really good. I also
think I saw this. And by the way, Jay Mack,
you are the biggest college basketball fan I know, and
I do think you and I talked about Zach Edy.
There was an amazing pushback, and then Mark fu came
(39:25):
on my show and said, if he can't play in
the NBA, he goes. I coached the Olympic team right like,
we can't stop it. We've never faced a player at Gonzagio,
we can't defend. And then remember Hurley came out and said, yeah,
like if he can't play in the NBA, the NBA's
got a problem. He's a dominant player. So I really
do think that's fun for the fans. It legitimizes college basketball,
(39:46):
and that's the sport. I would say that's your second
favorite sport aftball, football.
Speaker 4 (39:49):
No, no football, NBA, then college basketball.
Speaker 8 (39:51):
But Colin, I will say shout out to the staff
member who found this story.
Speaker 4 (39:55):
I just texted to find out. This is a great story.
So think about this.
Speaker 8 (39:58):
Duke just had a super team basically of high school freshmen.
Florida won the national championship almost exclusively with transfers. The
new move is to go get Europeans and Illinois Brad Underwood.
Speaker 4 (40:10):
I'm not sure if you have followed him.
Speaker 8 (40:12):
He has built up a stacked roster of like a
bunch of talented European players. They're going to make a
run at the national championship next year. I just love
you and I talk about this all time. Building a team.
There's so many different ways in the NBA, NFL and
what's happening now this European trend this is going to
be a big one.
Speaker 4 (40:30):
I love that you're on top of this. It's a
fascinating story.
Speaker 6 (40:32):
Colin.
Speaker 3 (40:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
The American economy. I mean, let's face it, Oisle State
spends twenty million dollars for one year of NIL and
winsdon Natty. There's reports Texas could spend forty million dollars
for one year. That's the American economy. So eventually, when
NIL came out, the traditionalists were like, this is bad
for sports.
Speaker 3 (40:52):
No.
Speaker 1 (40:52):
No, college basketball had been in like a twenty year
cycle of being a diluted water down product where you
were watching it and there would be games that are
like fifty two to fifty six and you're like, this
is terrible. Nobody can make a shot when you're watching
players now for Florida, for Yukon, for Houston, and they're
flourishing and call it gone Zaga. Guys, these are real pros. Now,
(41:15):
now I do wonder real quick.
Speaker 8 (41:17):
You know, we saw the European Way is thriving in
the NBA. What happens when you remove the European teenagers
and bring them to America and they're no longer playing
the European Way? Is that going to change basketball going forward,
so many great layers to that story.
Speaker 1 (41:30):
Con Hour two coming up on a Wednesday,
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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