October 2, 2026 • 32 mins
Patriots might be in trouble with the injury to Christian Gonzalez.
Why has Drake Maye taken a step back?
Guest: Melvin Gordon
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Listen
Watch
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and
noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for the Herd at foxsportsradio.com or stream
us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching
Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
If you asked me who's more likely to make the playoffs,
Browns or Steelers, if the choice was neither, I would
go that way. The Steelers schedule is a little more favorable,
but I don't know what I'm going to get from
Aaron Rodgers. Now, as a guy who did not play
in the NFL, big shocker, I've never seen anything like
Rodgers dog cussing his coach in the first quarter of
(00:49):
a scoreless game. Listen, heat of the moment later, I
get that understandably, you know, but this was a little
surprising that it's gotten this bad this early. But Rodgers
is one of these guys. Like, this is kind of
who he is. He's an ornery character who likes to
just say what's on his mind. He's not going to
hold back, whether it's going on a podcast and blasting
(01:11):
non-sports figures, being all secretive with his life. This is
just kind of who Aaron Rodgers is, and I guess
we have to accept him for it. And it does seem,
to his credit, like McCarthy handled it well, even when
Rodgers led the game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. And
by the way, he did miss DK Metcalf deep, which
(01:32):
would have been for the lead. But McCarthy handled it well.
They celebrated, hey, we tied it up, only to see
Watson come in the back door and get that late
56-yard field goal for the victory. So Browns atop the
AFC North. Steelers 2-2. You got the Bengals 2-1, the
Ravens 2-1. Bengals have a big game this weekend against
(01:55):
the Jaguars. And in all honesty, some of these teams
that we thought would be good, the Chargers, they're down bad.
The Patriots 1-2 and probably hurtling toward 1-3. Maybe there
is room in the playoffs for a team like the
Steelers or Browns. If the Jags are going to be
a one-playoff team from that division and the Bills are
(02:17):
going to be a one-playoff team, I don't know, does
that mean... The Raiders kind of come out of nowhere
and make something happen here. Do the Browns have a
legitimate chance? I mean, we'll see what happens with the Colts.
I don't think very highly of Indianapolis. Daniel Jones, by
the way, go look at his rushing numbers. He's not running.
That was like his superpower, right? Making plays off script
(02:37):
and running for first down. He can't run coming off
the Achilles. Texans can't win a game. Like, this is
a weird start to the season. And I guess we'll see, ultimately...
where things head in the, in the AFC. If we
could quickly get the schedule on the, on the screen
here for this week's games, you know, if you had
to rank like the top five, I think without question
(03:00):
that Houston Dallas game is going to be number one.
And let's ask a former NFL running back, Melvin Gordon
about that game. Let's bring on Melvin Gordon. He spent
a lot of time, obviously the great Wisconsin running back
Melvin Gordon. Oh man, he's outdoors.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Jeez.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
It looks like great weather there. Melvin, where are you at?
Speaker 5 (03:19):
I'm in Chicago for the Northwestern game. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Big game tonight. Northwestern. That's a big one in the
Big Ten. Let's quickly go to the NFL. I'm sure
you watched last night. Steelers. I mean, unbelievable game against
the Browns. Cleveland somehow gets the win. Deshaun Watson, how
surprised are you at this Watson turnaround in Cleveland?
Speaker 5 (03:41):
I think everyone's surprised outside of probably him and his teammates.
We've been honest. We haven't seen that version of Deshaun
Jackson in a long time. But it's refreshing to see
him go out there and be able to put on
a show for people, especially being doubted. I know how
it feels. A lot of people know how it feels.
So I'm happy that he was able to put his
(04:02):
best foot forward.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah, I am curious. What do you make of the
Aaron Rodgers-Mike McCarthy incident where he's basically cursing at him,
F-bombing his coach on national TV in the first quarter
of a scoreless game? I mean, you know, that's that's football.
It's a game of emotions.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
Some guys are more passionate than others. So it's just,
you know, that's that's maybe a little ego is involved
as well.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I mean, maybe a little ego.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
But, you know, it's at the end of the day,
you know, at the end of the day, I think
both of those guys want to win.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Both of those.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Guys want to get the job done. So, you know,
it's just an urgency right now, I think, in that
building to be great.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
So I'm looking at some of the quarterbacks you played with,
obviously Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson. I got to ask, do
you ever recall either of those guys or any other
quarterback you played with looking at the sideline and yelling
the F word at his coach? Uh, nah. I mean,
they probably, nah, nah, nah.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Isn't that a respect thing?
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Nah, but you know.
Speaker 6 (04:59):
To some.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
I mean, they do get after each other. They get
after each other a little bit, but maybe in a
different way. So, you know, or maybe they do it
behind closed doors. You know, I think, you know, they
do have interactions, but I think more so it's behind
closed doors than rather than out in the open where
everyone can see.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (05:15):
All right.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Let's go to a team you played for the Denver Broncos.
Thrilling comeback. Maybe a little lucky thanks to the refs
against the against the Rams on Sunday Night Football. Interestingly,
Bo Nix and the offense have zero first quarter points
this season. I don't know. What do you make of
the Broncos' start? It's been a little choppy, and they're 2-1, though.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
You know, it's early in the season, man. It's early
in the season. And, you know, people just kind of
they kind of.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Get worried too early. It's a long season.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
We've added games.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
I mean, come on, man. It's, you know, it's early.
I think they'll be all right. You know, we know
that they're going to be a tough team. I think
they go to the Super Bowl last year if he
doesn't get hurt.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
And, you know, it's a lot of things going on offensively, but,
you know, they have a lot of time to get
in the groove and get back in shape and get
back to looking like that team that was making that
playoff run.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
So it sounds like you think, you know, the first
kind of what, four games is experimental because nobody plays
in the preseason. And let's not overreact to Houston's 0-3,
you know, Rams are 1-2. You don't overreact to any
of this stuff.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
No, and it's a lot of overreaction going on, you know,
with the Chargers here and now.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Chargers?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yeah. So, you know, it's just a lot of expectation.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
And I get it, you know, you know, having these
different players, you know, the social media make every I mean,
it gets everybody excited. You know, the social media is
kind of is I think that's like something to worry
about because that they're doing their job, you know, gets people,
you know, heart racing, heart going.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
They go, OK, we have a chance this year.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
And then when they come out and they're 0-3 or whatever,
you know, or whatever the case may be, people are like, man,
we're not going to be the team. It's like, OK,
just calm down.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Just calm down.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
You know, runs are being made every year. You know,
you have your dark horses. You don't want to be
0-5 or 0-6. You really put yourself in a bad situation.
But when you're 0-3, you know, it's more than enough
time to kind of get back on the saddle and
get things going.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah, we're talking about Melvin Gordon. He's in Chicago joining
us for the Penn State Northwestern game tonight on Fox
at 8. Melvin, let's go to the Chargers for a moment.
People thought they'd be Super Bowl contenders. You know, they're 0-3.
We're seeing a lot of Super Bowl contenders. The Patriots stink.
The Chargers are rotten. The Texans are winless. What do
(07:38):
you make of this Mike McDaniel offensive struggle? He's claiming responsibility,
but I don't know. This is shocking.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's still early. It's still
a new system. We don't know how tough his system
is or how hard it is for guys to learn.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
We don't know that.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
But I know they have enough time and they got
the makeup to make things right. Like I said, the 0-3,
I've been hearing a lot of people down on the Chargers.
I just think at the end of the day, regardless
of who's ever at offensive coordinator, I just don't.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Think they're playing their best ball right now. They just
don't look clean. Who do you think looks good early
in the season? Where can you say, okay, it's early,
but those guys look like they know what they're doing? Yeah.
I mean, you got your key guys.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
I mean, Derwin and outside of offense, I mean, you know,
last kind of hurt. But, you know, there's been some drop.
The offense just don't look the offense don't look good
as a whole. Honestly, you know, me personally, I think,
you know, we're, you know, no credit or no shade
to any of those guys in there. But I think
we need, you know, a Keenan Allen, like a Mike Williams,
(08:47):
a one that, you know, people can really, you know,
and I think that'll open up lag to be able
to do what, you know, he needs to do. And
like I said, there's no knock to anybody there. And
I'd love to charge on. No one in the building
would be mad at me. But I think when we
can get like, you know, we're missing like that Justin
Jefferson factor.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
That Jamar Chase.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
We don't have one of those. I mean, you know,
but I feel like, you know, A.J. Brown or somebody
like that. We need, you know, one of those guys
in the building. But outside of that, we just not
playing well. And that's that's that's really just what it is.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
See, I guess what's weird, Melvin, is you see a
team like the Raiders. who come in and beat the Chargers.
The Raiders are now brand new coach, brand new center,
brand new quarterback, and they're 3-0. And it's like, how
the hell are the Raiders? I mean, first of all,
do you think the Raiders are good from what you've seen?
Speaker 6 (09:35):
I think so.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
I think they just plan.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
They plan good football. I mean, and that's just really
what it takes sometimes. A team of guys that just
really just.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Believe in right now. They just believe a little more than,
you know.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Any other team they play. And like I said, it's early.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
You know, they want three games.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
They can lose six games straight.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
And then what are people saying?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
They're 36.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I mean, it's possible it can happen.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
And then the narrative changes. So it's just like, let
it play out a little bit. Let's see what happens.
I don't know who's entirely hurtfully with the Chargers, but
I just know.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
We aren't playing clean football.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
And that's really just what it's coming.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Down to right now. Alright, so Melvin, we're talking about
Melvin Gordon, former Super Bowl champ. Melvin, looking around the league,
watching NFL games, is there a team that jumps out
at you off the screen like, oh, that looks good.
I like those guys. They know what's up. Has anybody
impressed you so far? Um, Not really.
Speaker 5 (10:31):
Like I said, man, it's early. It's early. You know,
I had really high expectations for the Rams. You know,
obviously Miles Garrett being hurt, them traveling. I had high
expectations for the Cowboys. I thought they were going to,
you know, I... Yeah, I really just, you know, I
just thought they was going to be good. You know,
I think everyone thinks they're going to be good every year.
And then, you know, they kind of don't come up
(10:52):
to play. But it's early, man. And I think it's
really hard to tell who's going to be great, who's not.
I really do think, like I said, I had high
expectations for the Rams. And they just, you know, they're
in some good games and they look good.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
They're just not finishing.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
But I think at the end or the midway of
the season is like, you know, when guys really getting into,
you know, getting into everything, getting into themselves, getting a
good feel of the game. I think we'll then figure out. But,
you know, you can be a 3-0 team right now
and just look good and it really not be what
it is.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
So I need a couple more games. So do you
think the Rams are in a must win against the Eagles?
If they fall to 1-3, will you be officially nervous
for them? No. No. I mean, listen, Melvin, if San
Fran wins and they're 4-0, and San Fran's got a
game on you in the division, and they're 4-0 and
you're 1-3, and Seattle's ahead of you, too, because they
(11:45):
ain't losing to the Chargers. Like, at what point are
you like, uh-oh, it's time to panic? I know you
want to say midway through the season.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
I mean, 1-3, I mean, I'm sure they're panicking anyways
because no team– wants to be that. I mean, no
team wants to have that. I mean, you have some,
some making up to do. Uh, so there's no way
in that locker room, they know that they're a better
team than what they're, you know, what the record shows.
So a team like the Rams, I think they have
full belief, you know, when they get Puka back, uh,
(12:15):
When they get those guys, I mean, he's a marquee guy.
I think when they get those guys back, it's going
to be the utmost confidence. They just got to finish.
My Garrett is out.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
I think they'll be all right. They're one of the.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Teams that I feel they'll be all right. It is
a shocker to see what Cleveland is doing.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I mean, that's kind of crazy.
Speaker 5 (12:33):
That's a good win for them regardless. But you have
some teams where New England, where it's just like, it
just really looks bad. You know, so I'm not going
to lie, but, you.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Know, you get to like 0-5.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
You get to that 0-5, yeah, you could start getting
a little nervous because you know you have to go.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
On a streak.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
You have to get on a little roll, and you
really don't have too much room for error.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
All right, Melvin Gordon at Penn State Northwestern. Enjoy the game, Melvin.
We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Thank you, brother. Thanks for having me, man.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Appreciate you. Coming up next, soccer on FS1 Italy and France.
We're going to the Fox One app for the final
half hour. Rachel and I chopping it up.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1,
and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (13:26):
Stugatz here, pleased to be hosting college football with Stugatz
and the Bear. We do it two times a week,
every Monday, every single Friday throughout the college football season.
You can expect a little bit of this. Will Stein,
the head coach.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
At Kentucky, joins us.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Open bar at a wedding, ordering a Shirley Temple.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Will or will not?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
No.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Will not. Ketchup on steak. Will or will not? Will
or will not?
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Will not.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
A little bit of this.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Rhys Davis, host of College Game Day, is with us now.
Speaker 8 (13:55):
And then I'm going home to the BBC, and they're
saying Jockovich instead of Jokovich.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
Right, because you can't say Jockovich.
Speaker 7 (14:03):
If you do, you know the blowback you're going to
get from the American audience.
Speaker 9 (14:06):
Right.
Speaker 7 (14:07):
And a whole lot of this.
Speaker 10 (14:08):
Jockovich.
Speaker 7 (14:13):
Listen to college football with Stugatz and the Bear on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Back here on the Herd, man, NFL, everybody's walking wounded.
Justin Jefferson will not play this weekend. Eric Donald will
not play this weekend. Oh, my gosh, the chaos.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I'm getting whiplash.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Let's go to Rachel Nichols with the news.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Turn on the news.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
This is the Herdline News.
Speaker 10 (14:45):
Well, Jason, let's go to a situation where we don't
know if a guy is going to play this weekend.
Speaker 9 (14:50):
We're going to have to see. And this has been
so weird all week.
Speaker 10 (14:53):
It's not often you see a guy, a full participant
in practice and then traded 24 hours before a game.
But as we've been discussing, that's exactly what happened with
corner Joey Porter Jr. That loss to the Cowboys that
the Steelers suffered. Was it affected by losing Porter Jr.
right before the game started? Here's what Mike McCarthy had
to say about it.
Speaker 8 (15:14):
You never hope business gets in the way of your
preparation and playing, but it's the modern NFL. It was
a situation where it's been going on for some time.
As an organization, we felt like this was the best
thing for us, and we wish Joey well. I never
(15:37):
really got a chance to coach Joey, but he obviously
did some You know, did some great things here and
we wish him best in Dallas.
Speaker 10 (15:46):
Never got a chance to coach Joey because he's been
holding in for all this season looking for that contract extension.
And by the way, no deal worked out with the Cowboys.
So the Cowboys gave up assets for him. They'll presumably
work on an extension now and into the offseason. They
can franchise him, but. You know, it's going to be
an interesting situation down there. Do you think this affected
the game? Because he did practice Monday, Tuesday, but not Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
And I think they lost Dean, the cornerback, in the
middle of the game. Rachel, let me ask, Joey Porter Jr.,
his dad was kind of a big deal in the NFL.
Speaker 9 (16:16):
Kind of a big deal.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Where did he play? Pittsburgh. Interesting. And his son just
could not work out a deal to stay in Pittsburgh?
Speaker 9 (16:24):
I mean, you know, clearly, Joey Porter Jr. has been
very clear.
Speaker 10 (16:28):
Since this offseason, what he has wanted financially, I would
have to assume he has the.
Speaker 9 (16:32):
Support of his family.
Speaker 10 (16:33):
I mean, most guys who are the sons of NFL,
NBA players, their dads are pretty involved in their career.
Speaker 9 (16:39):
And maybe this was a family decision.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Who knows?
Speaker 9 (16:41):
But here's what I do know.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
I do know that the Steelers were without him again
last night and will be without him now going forward.
And it sounds like he's going to line up for
the Cowboys this weekend. I mean, any position, if you're
going to just jump straight in from, I guess what,
he got there yesterday and we're talking.
Speaker 9 (16:58):
About playing on Sunday.
Speaker 10 (16:59):
Corner, especially a guy who's just, you know, a man
coverage guy. He's out on his island. I think it
should be fine for him to jump in with the Cowboys.
Speaker 9 (17:06):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (17:07):
If Nico Collins is playing, I do not like that matchup. Hey,
you haven't played all season. Go guard one of the
best receivers. I mean, Nico Collins is a top-ten guy.
Speaker 9 (17:16):
Are you worried that he's going to get hurt with
that kind of thing?
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I wonder if it impacts their— oh, I didn't think about injury. Well,
that's the thing.
Speaker 10 (17:22):
Scheme-wise, I'm not concerned because of the position and the
way he plays that position. I guess the concern would
be what you just brought up, which is, you know, look,
if you're not used to playing at game speed— and
you've been in a different system, and you take a
plane in the middle of the week, and you just
get thrown into a new environment, and you're cutting, and
you're going back and forth.
Speaker 9 (17:39):
The way he does, does that possibly give you an injury?
Speaker 11 (17:42):
I don't know.
Speaker 9 (17:42):
I would expect him to play.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Listen, Rachel, this is a tough one, because according to
the reports, he was a full go in practice Monday
and Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
And then in Wednesday, oh, my back's hurting again. I
don't want to practice.
Speaker 9 (17:52):
He's been holding in.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
And now he's practicing full, and he's good.
Speaker 9 (17:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:58):
I just.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I don't know. I mean... That to me is, does
this guy really want to play or does he just
want to get paid and not play?
Speaker 10 (18:05):
I don't know. The rules for these guys, it's such
a Byzantine system that's been worked out, right?
Speaker 9 (18:09):
You can get paid here, but you can't get paid here.
Speaker 10 (18:11):
And you can get franchised here and the team has
control here, but you have control here. And here's your
one window to exercise what happens to you. This is
the way the NFL rules are set up. And so
he has been, it's not like this is new. It's
not like in the middle of the week. before the
week four games. He was like, hey, I'd like a
contract extension. They knew that this was an issue all offseason.
They decided not to deal with it. They're the ones
(18:32):
who said we're not going to negotiate during the season.
And he said, well, guess what? I'm not going to
play during the season if you're not going to negotiate
during the season.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
The other problem is I don't the negotiations. I could
not find specific numbers. I'm sorry. He's not in that
top five. He's not getting Gonzalez money because Gonzalez got paid.
He's not getting Stingley. He's not getting that kind of money.
And it seems like that's probably what he wanted.
Speaker 10 (18:54):
Well, he's going to have the advantage negotiating with the Cowboys,
as I said. I mean, they have some flexibility, but
the fact that they gave up assets to get him
means that he's going to be expecting something. And of course,
if you trade for Joey Porter Jr. when he's had
this whole conflict with the Steelers, you know if you're
bringing him in what he expects contract wise, you know.
Jerry Jones is making decisions for the now. I was
(19:14):
saying this in our morning meeting. He's been making it
clear for the last few years. He's like, I don't
have that much time left. We're going to win as
soon as possible, that sort of thing. My Jerry Jones
voice is terrible, by the way.
Speaker 9 (19:24):
But you know what I mean.
Speaker 10 (19:25):
This is a now decision, just like Jerry has been
making for the last couple seasons.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
And look.
Speaker 9 (19:31):
They need it.
Speaker 10 (19:31):
The Dallas defense, these numbers are terrible, okay? I mean,
there is no doubt that the defense that was supposed
to be upgraded this offseason, the draft picks that they did,
I think they're still, what, 29th, 30th in a lot
of these categories here? 25th in points allowed, 30th in
total defense. So I just, you need everything you can get.
I'm interested to see how he does. I guess the
(19:52):
health factor is something you might consider holding him out of. Although,
as you pointed out, all show this is a must-win
game for the Cowboys.
Speaker 9 (19:59):
So I would expect to see him and maybe, you know, maybe.
Speaker 10 (20:02):
He'll get a big pick or something and show his
old team what's what.
Speaker 9 (20:05):
We'll have to find out. I don't know.
Speaker 10 (20:07):
Let's talk about one of the other guys you've been
discussing a bit in this show, Drake may look, you've
been talking about his struggles, his struggles here, his struggles there.
Speaker 9 (20:15):
Well, guess what?
Speaker 10 (20:16):
Jason Bill's quarterback, Josh Allen is a lot nicer than
you are. Allen also struggled with some decision-making and turnovers
early in his career.
Speaker 9 (20:23):
So he had some words of encouragement about may and
how he's playing ahead of their matchup this weekend.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Drake's a smart kid. Um, extremely talented, you know, uh,
He's going to figure it out. He's got the work ethic.
I got a lot of respect for him and what
he's been able to do in his early career. But
he'll find a way out of it.
Speaker 9 (20:43):
A lot nicer than you.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
That's a weird question for Josh Allen. To be like,
what do I care about Drake May?
Speaker 10 (20:51):
We've had a bunch of quotes on today about guys
talking about the opposing coach, the opposing quarterback. I'm curious
what your take is, who the real Drake May is.
Is the real Drake May the guy we saw last season,
runner-up in the MVP, or is Drake May the guy
we're seeing so far this season?
Speaker 3 (21:05):
I'm going to hedge and go somewhere in between. I
don't think he's a superstar and I don't think he's garbage.
So I would, you know, I think he's probably somewhere
in that 10 to 15 range with a lot of upside. Um,
you know, obviously offensive lines been bad. Turnoff broke it down.
They're missing offensive linemen. They're missing AJ Brown. They, uh,
booty was one of their top receivers last year in
(21:26):
the playoffs. He's gone. Um, who's the other guy that's gone?
Speaker 10 (21:29):
Um, They have so many guys gone, right? We just
talked about their corners not going to play.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Diggs, the receiver. Right?
Speaker 9 (21:35):
Stephon Diggs has already left. He left the building.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (21:37):
But we have a bunch of injuries. I can't judge
Drake May on all of this. We knew that the
schedule was going to be tougher. We talked about it
all offseason. We expected a drop off. But the fact
that the drop off has come to this degree, I
think you do have to look at the injuries as
a large part, especially some of the turnovers and the
mistakes he's made.
Speaker 9 (21:54):
We've been talking about his decision making.
Speaker 10 (21:55):
He's actually been, if you break down every turnover, the
decisions aren't terrible when he has time. It's when he
doesn't have time, which is, of course, the test of
a quarterback. We know that you have to be able
to do that. But if you don't have the guy
who was brought in to be your number one receiver,
and as you said, Stefan Diggs has left the building. Like,
that is going to be a problem if the offensive
line is not protecting you.
Speaker 9 (22:15):
The way they should be because there's too many injuries there.
Speaker 10 (22:18):
I just think that you have to look at, in summary,
everything going on with the Patriots.
Speaker 9 (22:22):
And we had Albert Breer earlier.
Speaker 10 (22:24):
We had his soundbite talking about the fact this is
the normal progression for a young quarterback in the NFL.
I've been covering the NFL for more than two decades.
You see this after a guy has a great early season.
You see this, the lead quote gets used to him
and then he figures out whether he can sink or swim.
Speaker 9 (22:39):
And I would bet on him to swim.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Yeah, personally.
Speaker 11 (22:41):
Agreed.
Speaker 9 (22:41):
So, I don't know.
Speaker 10 (22:42):
All right, let's talk a little W. Caitlin Clark. And
the six-seeded Fever, they are out, Jason. Eliminated by the
defending champion Aces last night, 94-83. Clark ranked third in
the league in points per game this season. 22, she averaged.
Second in assists with 8.3. Now, she did not have
a good game yesterday. She went 6-18 from the field,
(23:02):
3-12 from three.
Speaker 9 (23:04):
And here is Kaitlyn after the game.
Speaker 6 (23:06):
This is really only my fifth game playing in the postseason.
So you kind of take the burn a little bit,
but also how much fun this season was and how
much how together our group was and, you know, just
getting to replicate that going forward. I was able to
come out here and put together the best season I've
had and perform at a really high level and basically
get better in every area and still feel like I
(23:28):
have so many areas to improve. So I guess that's
the most exciting part moving forward. And, you know, I
love the work. I love being in the gym. So
I'll probably be kicked out for a little while, but
we'll get back to it.
Speaker 10 (23:43):
So first of all, we got to congratulate the Aces
for winning that series.
Speaker 9 (23:46):
They look great. Asia Wilson is a rock star. Just incredible.
Speaker 10 (23:50):
And as we look at Caitlin Clark, as she says,
only really her fifth real playoff game.
Speaker 9 (23:54):
The hype around her was so enormous, Jason. I don't
know if it was even possible to live up to it.
Speaker 10 (23:59):
But now that we've had three seasons, do you think
she's living up to the hype she had coming in?
Speaker 3 (24:03):
No, certainly. I mean, they were underdogs in the series,
underdogs in this game. I don't know how much footage
we want to roll of the referees botching call after call.
Speaker 9 (24:12):
She got smacked in the face. I think she had
a bloody nose.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
She had a bloody face. There was a trip call
in the backcourt late, I think on Wilson. If you watch,
she just tripped on the hardwood. In the backcourt, it
was brutal. I don't know if it was Wilson, but
somebody just tripped. There's a couple of loose ball fouls.
There's the elbow in the face. No call. I'm not
blaming the refs. I'm just, these are facts. These happened.
Speaker 9 (24:33):
I think the better team won the series.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
I would agree. Clark, I think had two baskets in
the second half. It was not great. And they were
on the road.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
She lost.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
I mean, again, this is a different era. Like Michael
Jordan lost how many times in the playoffs before he
broke through? There was no social media. I mean, LeBron
loses with the heat. People are still killing him for
it because people are weird. Clark's team was an underdog.
Wilson's team was a favorite. And they move on. I
(25:01):
can't bury Clark for this. She did not play great,
but it's not like they lost because of her.
Speaker 9 (25:05):
She's had a really strong season. Look, last season, she
had trouble staying on the court because of injuries.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
Injuries.
Speaker 10 (25:10):
This season, she was out there. She was durable, despite,
as you can see, some very physical play all around
the W this season yet again. And look, she's brought
the hype train as well when you talk about the
pressure she's been under.
Speaker 9 (25:21):
And the eyeballs on her.
Speaker 10 (25:23):
Two million people watched that first playoff game in this series.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Two million.
Speaker 10 (25:27):
And that was going against the NFL on that day.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Wow.
Speaker 9 (25:31):
Look, she has done so much for the league and
the interest in the league. She's backed it up with
her play.
Speaker 10 (25:36):
She's done it with every single eyeball on her and
a lot of people using her for their own political
purposes one way or the other.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Yes, well said.
Speaker 10 (25:42):
And she has been able to sort of fight through
all of that. I really commend her on what she
has done. And again, commend the Aces who look like
a freight train. Yet again, they are just such an
impressive team.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Damn, our staff, Sandbag and Caitlin Clark, I haven't seen
one make in this reel yet. It's almost like there's
a Caitlin Clark hater somewhere cutting up the tape.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
No, I'm kidding.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Yes, exactly. Kind of kidding.
Speaker 7 (26:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
All right, Rachel, with the news.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Well, that's the news.
Speaker 9 (26:04):
And thanks for stopping by.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
The Herdline News.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
All right, coming up next. What do we got? Must
win for the Rams? They just ruled Aaron Donald out.
A tight end out. I mean, they can't go to
Philly and lose to the Devonta Smith-less Eagles, can they?
Talk about that next here on The Herd.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.
Speaker 10 (26:26):
Coming up tomorrow, the NLDS beginning with a pair of
game ones.
Speaker 9 (26:30):
First, 3.30 Eastern on Fox. It's Ronald Acuna Jr.
Speaker 10 (26:33):
And the Braves against Otani and the defending champion Dodgers.
Then at 8 o'clock on FS1, the Padres take on
the Brewers.
Speaker 9 (26:41):
All part of Foxtoberfest.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Foxtoberfest.
Speaker 11 (26:46):
All right.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
We're going to do something on the Eagles. I do
want to come back to what John Jansen said earlier
about the Steelers. We'll do that shortly, but I need
to talk. McVay just spoke about facing the Eagles. There's
a big game. Aaron Donald has been ruled out with
a back injury. Guys, what the hell's going on with
the injuries?
Speaker 7 (27:06):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Aaron Donald came out of retirement to play. Miles Garrett,
they traded for Miles Garrett's hurt. He's out. Aaron Donald
comes back. He's out. Rams are walking wounded. They need
this game. They cannot lose it. Here is McVay talking
about the big showdown on Fox against the Eagles.
Speaker 11 (27:22):
This is a great challenge, but, you know, you look
at it every single week, you know, you take anything
for granted and you get humbled real quickly. And so
it's so difficult, whether you're playing at Philly, at Denver,
whether you're playing the New York Giants, whether you're playing
in Australia, whatever it is, you just look around this league.
If you're not ready to go and locked in, you know,
you get caught.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
It's pretty wild how the league is shifted. Now, it's
only four games. I will say Melvin Gordon. made me
think he's like, it's early. You guys need to relax.
We're three or four games in. Why are we panicking?
Historically you start one and four. It's an uphill climb. Oh,
and three, it's very difficult to get to the playoffs.
So these teams need to stack wins. But what's weird
(28:05):
is if you look around the league, a lot of
the teams that made the playoffs last year, and we're
expected to get back this year out of the gate
are not playing well. Now I can't really pinpoint the
Rams special teams obviously has been a major issue. It
was last year. That's the one thing they didn't fix.
But if you throw, even if you throw out the
Niners game, which they decided a poor travel plans, you know,
(28:25):
they get lucky that Jackson dark gets knocked out at
Jameis Winston is a sideline reporter all summer. He's clearly
was not ready for prime time. So then basically what
you have one legitimate game to base the Rams on
through three, and that's against the Broncos. And they were
totally dominant for a half. They out gained them for
the full game, more yards per play. The game flipped on,
on some fluky stuff and they got a bad call.
(28:49):
I don't know if it's panic time for the Rams.
So I do want to go back to John Jansen.
Something he said earlier about last night's Aaron Rodgers versus
Mike McCarthy. So if we could roll it, Aaron Rodgers,
midway through the first quarter, the play's not coming in.
Rodgers later claimed it was loud in the dog pound.
And Rodgers looked over. He's like, what's the call? What's
(29:10):
the call? Now it's unclear if he can't hear him.
He's waiting. And all of a sudden he just gets
sick and fed up. The other players start looking. He's like,
what's the bleeping call? He starts F-bombing. And they cut
to McCarthy, and he's like, it's bleeping. You can read
lips if you want. Everybody that I– our morning meeting,
12 people at the table were all like, man, this
team's falling apart. This is bad. It's a horrible look.
(29:31):
Everywhere online, horrible look. So then we had John Jansen,
an offensive lineman on, who played with Brady at Michigan,
who played in the NFL for 11 years. years. He
talked about the exchange. I thought this was an original take.
Speaker 12 (29:44):
For some that maybe haven't been in the huddle, haven't
been on the sidelines, those interactions can feel very dramatic.
But these conversations, we're not talking, if this was happening
in college football between a college teammate and a coach, yeah,
I think there's something there. But between two guys that
have worked together for so long, between guys that are 30, 35,
(30:05):
38 years old and a coach, to me, it's just
how guys talk to each other.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
So it's interesting how guys talk to each other. So
I've been in media for a long time. I worked
in newspapers, as did Rachel. Rachel's worked in TV longer
than me. I've worked in radio studios. Yes, I've gotten
into not dustups, but arguments. Now, have I F-bombed anyone,
an editor to their face and had them F-bomb me
(30:32):
back and it been like no big deal? No, that
hasn't happened to me. There's been people I've exchanged words with.
But guess what? The relationship wasn't great after that because
it's like, oh, that's how you really feel about me now. Rachel,
I think we're on the app now, so we're allowed
to say bad words. So go ahead. At the Washington Post,
I'm sure you and Will Bond might have gotten on.
(30:53):
Not at all.
Speaker 9 (30:54):
Look, it is the NFL, and it's funny.
Speaker 10 (30:56):
I always say as a former Monday Night Football sideline
reporter that everything you see, even on TV, you don't
realize what's going on in the sidelines until you're actually there.
That movie, Any Given Sunday, is probably the best version
of it. But it is just so much flying around.
I totally understand the cursing that happened between two guys
who have known each other for more than 20 years.
Speaker 9 (31:16):
They're both grownups.
Speaker 10 (31:18):
As we were just saying, this is not a kid
MFing his college coach or something like that. I am
still much more worried about Aaron Rodgers saying derogatory things
about his teammates and receivers than I am about any
dust up with Mike McCarthy. Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy
know how to deal with each other. They'll be fine
for the rest of the season. It might not be
songs and roses and ring around the rosy, but I
(31:39):
promise you they will be fine. It's the divisiveness in
the locker room that Aaron can sew if he is
picking on his receivers and other players on national television.
Speaker 9 (31:50):
That's what concerns me.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
So it's weird. Last year, he would get angry, but
he would direct it at Arthur Smith. In no way, shape,
or form was he saying any of this stuff to
Mike Tomlin. We've seen him curse.
Speaker 9 (32:02):
On the field about teammates this year.
Speaker 10 (32:04):
We've seen him undercut teammates in post-game press conferences.
Speaker 9 (32:07):
I just, again, I think him and Mike McCarthy, I
actually agree.
Speaker 10 (32:11):
I wouldn't make anything into this because these guys have
probably cursed each other out more times than we can
count over the decades.
Speaker 9 (32:17):
However... When you are doing it.
Speaker 10 (32:19):
To your own teammates and you are the leader, you
are the veteran, you are the future Hall of Famer
of this team, that's when it can't happen. And that's
the continuation of behavior that worries me on the Steelers team.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Lack of leadership, Rachel. He doesn't have it. You know,
you and I, you F-bomb me, Rachel. We're going to
have some problems. I'll just be honest. Cowherd has not
done that to me.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
We'll see.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
It's just tough.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
We'll see. Anyways, good luck to the Steelers. Folks, amazing
Friday show. Cowherd's back Monday. Enjoy the sports, the baseball,
the football, all of it.
Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and
noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for the Herd at foxsportsradio.com or stream
us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching
Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
If you asked me who's more likely to make the playoffs,
Browns or Steelers, if the choice was neither, I would
go that way. The Steelers schedule is a little more favorable,
but I don't know what I'm going to get from
Aaron Rodgers. Now, as a guy who did not play
in the NFL, big shocker, I've never seen anything like
Rodgers dog cussing his coach in the first quarter of
(00:49):
a scoreless game. Listen, heat of the moment later, I
get that understandably, you know, but this was a little
surprising that it's gotten this bad this early. But Rodgers
is one of these guys. Like, this is kind of
who he is. He's an ornery character who likes to
just say what's on his mind. He's not going to
hold back, whether it's going on a podcast and blasting
(01:11):
non-sports figures, being all secretive with his life. This is
just kind of who Aaron Rodgers is, and I guess
we have to accept him for it. And it does seem,
to his credit, like McCarthy handled it well, even when
Rodgers led the game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. And
by the way, he did miss DK Metcalf deep, which
(01:32):
would have been for the lead. But McCarthy handled it well.
They celebrated, hey, we tied it up, only to see
Watson come in the back door and get that late
56-yard field goal for the victory. So Browns atop the
AFC North. Steelers 2-2. You got the Bengals 2-1, the
Ravens 2-1. Bengals have a big game this weekend against
(01:55):
the Jaguars. And in all honesty, some of these teams
that we thought would be good, the Chargers, they're down bad.
The Patriots 1-2 and probably hurtling toward 1-3. Maybe there
is room in the playoffs for a team like the
Steelers or Browns. If the Jags are going to be
a one-playoff team from that division and the Bills are
(02:17):
going to be a one-playoff team, I don't know, does
that mean... The Raiders kind of come out of nowhere
and make something happen here. Do the Browns have a
legitimate chance? I mean, we'll see what happens with the Colts.
I don't think very highly of Indianapolis. Daniel Jones, by
the way, go look at his rushing numbers. He's not running.
That was like his superpower, right? Making plays off script
(02:37):
and running for first down. He can't run coming off
the Achilles. Texans can't win a game. Like, this is
a weird start to the season. And I guess we'll see, ultimately...
where things head in the, in the AFC. If we
could quickly get the schedule on the, on the screen
here for this week's games, you know, if you had
to rank like the top five, I think without question
(03:00):
that Houston Dallas game is going to be number one.
And let's ask a former NFL running back, Melvin Gordon
about that game. Let's bring on Melvin Gordon. He spent
a lot of time, obviously the great Wisconsin running back
Melvin Gordon. Oh man, he's outdoors.
Speaker 4 (03:16):
Jeez.
Speaker 3 (03:16):
It looks like great weather there. Melvin, where are you at?
Speaker 5 (03:19):
I'm in Chicago for the Northwestern game. Oh, yeah.
Speaker 3 (03:22):
Big game tonight. Northwestern. That's a big one in the
Big Ten. Let's quickly go to the NFL. I'm sure
you watched last night. Steelers. I mean, unbelievable game against
the Browns. Cleveland somehow gets the win. Deshaun Watson, how
surprised are you at this Watson turnaround in Cleveland?
Speaker 5 (03:41):
I think everyone's surprised outside of probably him and his teammates.
We've been honest. We haven't seen that version of Deshaun
Jackson in a long time. But it's refreshing to see
him go out there and be able to put on
a show for people, especially being doubted. I know how
it feels. A lot of people know how it feels.
So I'm happy that he was able to put his
(04:02):
best foot forward.
Speaker 3 (04:03):
Yeah, I am curious. What do you make of the
Aaron Rodgers-Mike McCarthy incident where he's basically cursing at him,
F-bombing his coach on national TV in the first quarter
of a scoreless game? I mean, you know, that's that's football.
It's a game of emotions.
Speaker 5 (04:18):
Some guys are more passionate than others. So it's just,
you know, that's that's maybe a little ego is involved
as well.
Speaker 1 (04:26):
I mean, maybe a little ego.
Speaker 5 (04:28):
But, you know, it's at the end of the day,
you know, at the end of the day, I think
both of those guys want to win.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
Both of those.
Speaker 5 (04:34):
Guys want to get the job done. So, you know,
it's just an urgency right now, I think, in that
building to be great.
Speaker 3 (04:39):
So I'm looking at some of the quarterbacks you played with,
obviously Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson. I got to ask, do
you ever recall either of those guys or any other
quarterback you played with looking at the sideline and yelling
the F word at his coach? Uh, nah. I mean,
they probably, nah, nah, nah.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
Isn't that a respect thing?
Speaker 5 (04:57):
Nah, but you know.
Speaker 6 (04:59):
To some.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
I mean, they do get after each other. They get
after each other a little bit, but maybe in a
different way. So, you know, or maybe they do it
behind closed doors. You know, I think, you know, they
do have interactions, but I think more so it's behind
closed doors than rather than out in the open where
everyone can see.
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 7 (05:15):
All right.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
Let's go to a team you played for the Denver Broncos.
Thrilling comeback. Maybe a little lucky thanks to the refs
against the against the Rams on Sunday Night Football. Interestingly,
Bo Nix and the offense have zero first quarter points
this season. I don't know. What do you make of
the Broncos' start? It's been a little choppy, and they're 2-1, though.
Speaker 5 (05:38):
You know, it's early in the season, man. It's early
in the season. And, you know, people just kind of
they kind of.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Get worried too early. It's a long season.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
We've added games.
Speaker 5 (05:49):
I mean, come on, man. It's, you know, it's early.
I think they'll be all right. You know, we know
that they're going to be a tough team. I think
they go to the Super Bowl last year if he
doesn't get hurt.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
And, you know, it's a lot of things going on offensively, but,
you know, they have a lot of time to get
in the groove and get back in shape and get
back to looking like that team that was making that
playoff run.
Speaker 3 (06:11):
So it sounds like you think, you know, the first
kind of what, four games is experimental because nobody plays
in the preseason. And let's not overreact to Houston's 0-3,
you know, Rams are 1-2. You don't overreact to any
of this stuff.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
No, and it's a lot of overreaction going on, you know,
with the Chargers here and now.
Speaker 4 (06:32):
Chargers?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
Yeah. So, you know, it's just a lot of expectation.
Speaker 5 (06:37):
And I get it, you know, you know, having these
different players, you know, the social media make every I mean,
it gets everybody excited. You know, the social media is
kind of is I think that's like something to worry
about because that they're doing their job, you know, gets people,
you know, heart racing, heart going.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
They go, OK, we have a chance this year.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
And then when they come out and they're 0-3 or whatever,
you know, or whatever the case may be, people are like, man,
we're not going to be the team. It's like, OK,
just calm down.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
Just calm down.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
You know, runs are being made every year. You know,
you have your dark horses. You don't want to be
0-5 or 0-6. You really put yourself in a bad situation.
But when you're 0-3, you know, it's more than enough
time to kind of get back on the saddle and
get things going.
Speaker 3 (07:17):
Yeah, we're talking about Melvin Gordon. He's in Chicago joining
us for the Penn State Northwestern game tonight on Fox
at 8. Melvin, let's go to the Chargers for a moment.
People thought they'd be Super Bowl contenders. You know, they're 0-3.
We're seeing a lot of Super Bowl contenders. The Patriots stink.
The Chargers are rotten. The Texans are winless. What do
(07:38):
you make of this Mike McDaniel offensive struggle? He's claiming responsibility,
but I don't know. This is shocking.
Speaker 5 (07:45):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's still early. It's still
a new system. We don't know how tough his system
is or how hard it is for guys to learn.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
We don't know that.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
But I know they have enough time and they got
the makeup to make things right. Like I said, the 0-3,
I've been hearing a lot of people down on the Chargers.
I just think at the end of the day, regardless
of who's ever at offensive coordinator, I just don't.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Think they're playing their best ball right now. They just
don't look clean. Who do you think looks good early
in the season? Where can you say, okay, it's early,
but those guys look like they know what they're doing? Yeah.
I mean, you got your key guys.
Speaker 5 (08:24):
I mean, Derwin and outside of offense, I mean, you know,
last kind of hurt. But, you know, there's been some drop.
The offense just don't look the offense don't look good
as a whole. Honestly, you know, me personally, I think,
you know, we're, you know, no credit or no shade
to any of those guys in there. But I think
we need, you know, a Keenan Allen, like a Mike Williams,
(08:47):
a one that, you know, people can really, you know,
and I think that'll open up lag to be able
to do what, you know, he needs to do. And
like I said, there's no knock to anybody there. And
I'd love to charge on. No one in the building
would be mad at me. But I think when we
can get like, you know, we're missing like that Justin
Jefferson factor.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
That Jamar Chase.
Speaker 5 (09:06):
We don't have one of those. I mean, you know,
but I feel like, you know, A.J. Brown or somebody
like that. We need, you know, one of those guys
in the building. But outside of that, we just not
playing well. And that's that's that's really just what it is.
Speaker 3 (09:17):
See, I guess what's weird, Melvin, is you see a
team like the Raiders. who come in and beat the Chargers.
The Raiders are now brand new coach, brand new center,
brand new quarterback, and they're 3-0. And it's like, how
the hell are the Raiders? I mean, first of all,
do you think the Raiders are good from what you've seen?
Speaker 6 (09:35):
I think so.
Speaker 3 (09:35):
I think they just plan.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
They plan good football. I mean, and that's just really
what it takes sometimes. A team of guys that just
really just.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Believe in right now. They just believe a little more than,
you know.
Speaker 3 (09:46):
Any other team they play. And like I said, it's early.
Speaker 2 (09:48):
You know, they want three games.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
They can lose six games straight.
Speaker 3 (09:52):
And then what are people saying?
Speaker 2 (09:53):
They're 36.
Speaker 3 (09:54):
I mean, it's possible it can happen.
Speaker 5 (09:55):
And then the narrative changes. So it's just like, let
it play out a little bit. Let's see what happens.
I don't know who's entirely hurtfully with the Chargers, but
I just know.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
We aren't playing clean football.
Speaker 5 (10:09):
And that's really just what it's coming.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
Down to right now. Alright, so Melvin, we're talking about
Melvin Gordon, former Super Bowl champ. Melvin, looking around the league,
watching NFL games, is there a team that jumps out
at you off the screen like, oh, that looks good.
I like those guys. They know what's up. Has anybody
impressed you so far? Um, Not really.
Speaker 5 (10:31):
Like I said, man, it's early. It's early. You know,
I had really high expectations for the Rams. You know,
obviously Miles Garrett being hurt, them traveling. I had high
expectations for the Cowboys. I thought they were going to,
you know, I... Yeah, I really just, you know, I
just thought they was going to be good. You know,
I think everyone thinks they're going to be good every year.
And then, you know, they kind of don't come up
(10:52):
to play. But it's early, man. And I think it's
really hard to tell who's going to be great, who's not.
I really do think, like I said, I had high
expectations for the Rams. And they just, you know, they're
in some good games and they look good.
Speaker 3 (11:07):
They're just not finishing.
Speaker 5 (11:08):
But I think at the end or the midway of
the season is like, you know, when guys really getting into,
you know, getting into everything, getting into themselves, getting a
good feel of the game. I think we'll then figure out. But,
you know, you can be a 3-0 team right now
and just look good and it really not be what
it is.
Speaker 3 (11:25):
So I need a couple more games. So do you
think the Rams are in a must win against the Eagles?
If they fall to 1-3, will you be officially nervous
for them? No. No. I mean, listen, Melvin, if San
Fran wins and they're 4-0, and San Fran's got a
game on you in the division, and they're 4-0 and
you're 1-3, and Seattle's ahead of you, too, because they
(11:45):
ain't losing to the Chargers. Like, at what point are
you like, uh-oh, it's time to panic? I know you
want to say midway through the season.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 5 (11:53):
I mean, 1-3, I mean, I'm sure they're panicking anyways
because no team– wants to be that. I mean, no
team wants to have that. I mean, you have some,
some making up to do. Uh, so there's no way
in that locker room, they know that they're a better
team than what they're, you know, what the record shows.
So a team like the Rams, I think they have
full belief, you know, when they get Puka back, uh,
(12:15):
When they get those guys, I mean, he's a marquee guy.
I think when they get those guys back, it's going
to be the utmost confidence. They just got to finish.
My Garrett is out.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
I think they'll be all right. They're one of the.
Speaker 5 (12:26):
Teams that I feel they'll be all right. It is
a shocker to see what Cleveland is doing.
Speaker 3 (12:31):
I mean, that's kind of crazy.
Speaker 5 (12:33):
That's a good win for them regardless. But you have
some teams where New England, where it's just like, it
just really looks bad. You know, so I'm not going
to lie, but, you.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
Know, you get to like 0-5.
Speaker 5 (12:47):
You get to that 0-5, yeah, you could start getting
a little nervous because you know you have to go.
Speaker 3 (12:54):
On a streak.
Speaker 5 (12:55):
You have to get on a little roll, and you
really don't have too much room for error.
Speaker 3 (12:59):
All right, Melvin Gordon at Penn State Northwestern. Enjoy the game, Melvin.
We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (13:03):
Thanks.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
Thank you, brother. Thanks for having me, man.
Speaker 3 (13:05):
Appreciate you. Coming up next, soccer on FS1 Italy and France.
We're going to the Fox One app for the final
half hour. Rachel and I chopping it up.
Speaker 2 (13:16):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1,
and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 7 (13:26):
Stugatz here, pleased to be hosting college football with Stugatz
and the Bear. We do it two times a week,
every Monday, every single Friday throughout the college football season.
You can expect a little bit of this. Will Stein,
the head coach.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
At Kentucky, joins us.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Open bar at a wedding, ordering a Shirley Temple.
Speaker 2 (13:43):
Will or will not?
Speaker 3 (13:44):
No.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
Will not. Ketchup on steak. Will or will not? Will
or will not?
Speaker 4 (13:50):
Will not.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Thank you.
Speaker 5 (13:51):
A little bit of this.
Speaker 3 (13:53):
Rhys Davis, host of College Game Day, is with us now.
Speaker 8 (13:55):
And then I'm going home to the BBC, and they're
saying Jockovich instead of Jokovich.
Speaker 3 (14:01):
Right, because you can't say Jockovich.
Speaker 7 (14:03):
If you do, you know the blowback you're going to
get from the American audience.
Speaker 9 (14:06):
Right.
Speaker 7 (14:07):
And a whole lot of this.
Speaker 10 (14:08):
Jockovich.
Speaker 7 (14:13):
Listen to college football with Stugatz and the Bear on
the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Speaker 3 (14:25):
Back here on the Herd, man, NFL, everybody's walking wounded.
Justin Jefferson will not play this weekend. Eric Donald will
not play this weekend. Oh, my gosh, the chaos.
Speaker 2 (14:36):
I'm getting whiplash.
Speaker 3 (14:37):
Let's go to Rachel Nichols with the news.
Speaker 4 (14:42):
Turn on the news.
Speaker 2 (14:43):
This is the Herdline News.
Speaker 10 (14:45):
Well, Jason, let's go to a situation where we don't
know if a guy is going to play this weekend.
Speaker 9 (14:50):
We're going to have to see. And this has been
so weird all week.
Speaker 10 (14:53):
It's not often you see a guy, a full participant
in practice and then traded 24 hours before a game.
But as we've been discussing, that's exactly what happened with
corner Joey Porter Jr. That loss to the Cowboys that
the Steelers suffered. Was it affected by losing Porter Jr.
right before the game started? Here's what Mike McCarthy had
to say about it.
Speaker 8 (15:14):
You never hope business gets in the way of your
preparation and playing, but it's the modern NFL. It was
a situation where it's been going on for some time.
As an organization, we felt like this was the best
thing for us, and we wish Joey well. I never
(15:37):
really got a chance to coach Joey, but he obviously
did some You know, did some great things here and
we wish him best in Dallas.
Speaker 10 (15:46):
Never got a chance to coach Joey because he's been
holding in for all this season looking for that contract extension.
And by the way, no deal worked out with the Cowboys.
So the Cowboys gave up assets for him. They'll presumably
work on an extension now and into the offseason. They
can franchise him, but. You know, it's going to be
an interesting situation down there. Do you think this affected
the game? Because he did practice Monday, Tuesday, but not Wednesday.
Speaker 3 (16:09):
And I think they lost Dean, the cornerback, in the
middle of the game. Rachel, let me ask, Joey Porter Jr.,
his dad was kind of a big deal in the NFL.
Speaker 9 (16:16):
Kind of a big deal.
Speaker 3 (16:17):
Where did he play? Pittsburgh. Interesting. And his son just
could not work out a deal to stay in Pittsburgh?
Speaker 9 (16:24):
I mean, you know, clearly, Joey Porter Jr. has been
very clear.
Speaker 10 (16:28):
Since this offseason, what he has wanted financially, I would
have to assume he has the.
Speaker 9 (16:32):
Support of his family.
Speaker 10 (16:33):
I mean, most guys who are the sons of NFL,
NBA players, their dads are pretty involved in their career.
Speaker 9 (16:39):
And maybe this was a family decision.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
Who knows?
Speaker 9 (16:41):
But here's what I do know.
Speaker 10 (16:42):
I do know that the Steelers were without him again
last night and will be without him now going forward.
And it sounds like he's going to line up for
the Cowboys this weekend. I mean, any position, if you're
going to just jump straight in from, I guess what,
he got there yesterday and we're talking.
Speaker 9 (16:58):
About playing on Sunday.
Speaker 10 (16:59):
Corner, especially a guy who's just, you know, a man
coverage guy. He's out on his island. I think it
should be fine for him to jump in with the Cowboys.
Speaker 9 (17:06):
What do you think?
Speaker 3 (17:07):
If Nico Collins is playing, I do not like that matchup. Hey,
you haven't played all season. Go guard one of the
best receivers. I mean, Nico Collins is a top-ten guy.
Speaker 9 (17:16):
Are you worried that he's going to get hurt with
that kind of thing?
Speaker 3 (17:18):
I wonder if it impacts their— oh, I didn't think about injury. Well,
that's the thing.
Speaker 10 (17:22):
Scheme-wise, I'm not concerned because of the position and the
way he plays that position. I guess the concern would
be what you just brought up, which is, you know, look,
if you're not used to playing at game speed— and
you've been in a different system, and you take a
plane in the middle of the week, and you just
get thrown into a new environment, and you're cutting, and
you're going back and forth.
Speaker 9 (17:39):
The way he does, does that possibly give you an injury?
Speaker 11 (17:42):
I don't know.
Speaker 9 (17:42):
I would expect him to play.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
Listen, Rachel, this is a tough one, because according to
the reports, he was a full go in practice Monday
and Tuesday.
Speaker 2 (17:48):
Mm-hmm.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
And then in Wednesday, oh, my back's hurting again. I
don't want to practice.
Speaker 9 (17:52):
He's been holding in.
Speaker 3 (17:53):
And now he's practicing full, and he's good.
Speaker 9 (17:56):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:58):
I just.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
I don't know. I mean... That to me is, does
this guy really want to play or does he just
want to get paid and not play?
Speaker 10 (18:05):
I don't know. The rules for these guys, it's such
a Byzantine system that's been worked out, right?
Speaker 9 (18:09):
You can get paid here, but you can't get paid here.
Speaker 10 (18:11):
And you can get franchised here and the team has
control here, but you have control here. And here's your
one window to exercise what happens to you. This is
the way the NFL rules are set up. And so
he has been, it's not like this is new. It's
not like in the middle of the week. before the
week four games. He was like, hey, I'd like a
contract extension. They knew that this was an issue all offseason.
They decided not to deal with it. They're the ones
(18:32):
who said we're not going to negotiate during the season.
And he said, well, guess what? I'm not going to
play during the season if you're not going to negotiate
during the season.
Speaker 3 (18:39):
The other problem is I don't the negotiations. I could
not find specific numbers. I'm sorry. He's not in that
top five. He's not getting Gonzalez money because Gonzalez got paid.
He's not getting Stingley. He's not getting that kind of money.
And it seems like that's probably what he wanted.
Speaker 10 (18:54):
Well, he's going to have the advantage negotiating with the Cowboys,
as I said. I mean, they have some flexibility, but
the fact that they gave up assets to get him
means that he's going to be expecting something. And of course,
if you trade for Joey Porter Jr. when he's had
this whole conflict with the Steelers, you know if you're
bringing him in what he expects contract wise, you know.
Jerry Jones is making decisions for the now. I was
(19:14):
saying this in our morning meeting. He's been making it
clear for the last few years. He's like, I don't
have that much time left. We're going to win as
soon as possible, that sort of thing. My Jerry Jones
voice is terrible, by the way.
Speaker 9 (19:24):
But you know what I mean.
Speaker 10 (19:25):
This is a now decision, just like Jerry has been
making for the last couple seasons.
Speaker 4 (19:29):
And look.
Speaker 9 (19:31):
They need it.
Speaker 10 (19:31):
The Dallas defense, these numbers are terrible, okay? I mean,
there is no doubt that the defense that was supposed
to be upgraded this offseason, the draft picks that they did,
I think they're still, what, 29th, 30th in a lot
of these categories here? 25th in points allowed, 30th in
total defense. So I just, you need everything you can get.
I'm interested to see how he does. I guess the
(19:52):
health factor is something you might consider holding him out of. Although,
as you pointed out, all show this is a must-win
game for the Cowboys.
Speaker 9 (19:59):
So I would expect to see him and maybe, you know, maybe.
Speaker 10 (20:02):
He'll get a big pick or something and show his
old team what's what.
Speaker 9 (20:05):
We'll have to find out. I don't know.
Speaker 10 (20:07):
Let's talk about one of the other guys you've been
discussing a bit in this show, Drake may look, you've
been talking about his struggles, his struggles here, his struggles there.
Speaker 9 (20:15):
Well, guess what?
Speaker 10 (20:16):
Jason Bill's quarterback, Josh Allen is a lot nicer than
you are. Allen also struggled with some decision-making and turnovers
early in his career.
Speaker 9 (20:23):
So he had some words of encouragement about may and
how he's playing ahead of their matchup this weekend.
Speaker 4 (20:29):
Drake's a smart kid. Um, extremely talented, you know, uh,
He's going to figure it out. He's got the work ethic.
I got a lot of respect for him and what
he's been able to do in his early career. But
he'll find a way out of it.
Speaker 9 (20:43):
A lot nicer than you.
Speaker 3 (20:47):
That's a weird question for Josh Allen. To be like,
what do I care about Drake May?
Speaker 10 (20:51):
We've had a bunch of quotes on today about guys
talking about the opposing coach, the opposing quarterback. I'm curious
what your take is, who the real Drake May is.
Is the real Drake May the guy we saw last season,
runner-up in the MVP, or is Drake May the guy
we're seeing so far this season?
Speaker 3 (21:05):
I'm going to hedge and go somewhere in between. I
don't think he's a superstar and I don't think he's garbage.
So I would, you know, I think he's probably somewhere
in that 10 to 15 range with a lot of upside. Um,
you know, obviously offensive lines been bad. Turnoff broke it down.
They're missing offensive linemen. They're missing AJ Brown. They, uh,
booty was one of their top receivers last year in
(21:26):
the playoffs. He's gone. Um, who's the other guy that's gone?
Speaker 10 (21:29):
Um, They have so many guys gone, right? We just
talked about their corners not going to play.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
Diggs, the receiver. Right?
Speaker 9 (21:35):
Stephon Diggs has already left. He left the building.
Speaker 3 (21:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 10 (21:37):
But we have a bunch of injuries. I can't judge
Drake May on all of this. We knew that the
schedule was going to be tougher. We talked about it
all offseason. We expected a drop off. But the fact
that the drop off has come to this degree, I
think you do have to look at the injuries as
a large part, especially some of the turnovers and the
mistakes he's made.
Speaker 9 (21:54):
We've been talking about his decision making.
Speaker 10 (21:55):
He's actually been, if you break down every turnover, the
decisions aren't terrible when he has time. It's when he
doesn't have time, which is, of course, the test of
a quarterback. We know that you have to be able
to do that. But if you don't have the guy
who was brought in to be your number one receiver,
and as you said, Stefan Diggs has left the building. Like,
that is going to be a problem if the offensive
line is not protecting you.
Speaker 9 (22:15):
The way they should be because there's too many injuries there.
Speaker 10 (22:18):
I just think that you have to look at, in summary,
everything going on with the Patriots.
Speaker 9 (22:22):
And we had Albert Breer earlier.
Speaker 10 (22:24):
We had his soundbite talking about the fact this is
the normal progression for a young quarterback in the NFL.
I've been covering the NFL for more than two decades.
You see this after a guy has a great early season.
You see this, the lead quote gets used to him
and then he figures out whether he can sink or swim.
Speaker 9 (22:39):
And I would bet on him to swim.
Speaker 3 (22:40):
Yeah, personally.
Speaker 11 (22:41):
Agreed.
Speaker 9 (22:41):
So, I don't know.
Speaker 10 (22:42):
All right, let's talk a little W. Caitlin Clark. And
the six-seeded Fever, they are out, Jason. Eliminated by the
defending champion Aces last night, 94-83. Clark ranked third in
the league in points per game this season. 22, she averaged.
Second in assists with 8.3. Now, she did not have
a good game yesterday. She went 6-18 from the field,
(23:02):
3-12 from three.
Speaker 9 (23:04):
And here is Kaitlyn after the game.
Speaker 6 (23:06):
This is really only my fifth game playing in the postseason.
So you kind of take the burn a little bit,
but also how much fun this season was and how
much how together our group was and, you know, just
getting to replicate that going forward. I was able to
come out here and put together the best season I've
had and perform at a really high level and basically
get better in every area and still feel like I
(23:28):
have so many areas to improve. So I guess that's
the most exciting part moving forward. And, you know, I
love the work. I love being in the gym. So
I'll probably be kicked out for a little while, but
we'll get back to it.
Speaker 10 (23:43):
So first of all, we got to congratulate the Aces
for winning that series.
Speaker 9 (23:46):
They look great. Asia Wilson is a rock star. Just incredible.
Speaker 10 (23:50):
And as we look at Caitlin Clark, as she says,
only really her fifth real playoff game.
Speaker 9 (23:54):
The hype around her was so enormous, Jason. I don't
know if it was even possible to live up to it.
Speaker 10 (23:59):
But now that we've had three seasons, do you think
she's living up to the hype she had coming in?
Speaker 3 (24:03):
No, certainly. I mean, they were underdogs in the series,
underdogs in this game. I don't know how much footage
we want to roll of the referees botching call after call.
Speaker 9 (24:12):
She got smacked in the face. I think she had
a bloody nose.
Speaker 3 (24:14):
She had a bloody face. There was a trip call
in the backcourt late, I think on Wilson. If you watch,
she just tripped on the hardwood. In the backcourt, it
was brutal. I don't know if it was Wilson, but
somebody just tripped. There's a couple of loose ball fouls.
There's the elbow in the face. No call. I'm not
blaming the refs. I'm just, these are facts. These happened.
Speaker 9 (24:33):
I think the better team won the series.
Speaker 3 (24:34):
I would agree. Clark, I think had two baskets in
the second half. It was not great. And they were
on the road.
Speaker 4 (24:40):
She lost.
Speaker 3 (24:41):
I mean, again, this is a different era. Like Michael
Jordan lost how many times in the playoffs before he
broke through? There was no social media. I mean, LeBron
loses with the heat. People are still killing him for
it because people are weird. Clark's team was an underdog.
Wilson's team was a favorite. And they move on. I
(25:01):
can't bury Clark for this. She did not play great,
but it's not like they lost because of her.
Speaker 9 (25:05):
She's had a really strong season. Look, last season, she
had trouble staying on the court because of injuries.
Speaker 4 (25:09):
Injuries.
Speaker 10 (25:10):
This season, she was out there. She was durable, despite,
as you can see, some very physical play all around
the W this season yet again. And look, she's brought
the hype train as well when you talk about the
pressure she's been under.
Speaker 9 (25:21):
And the eyeballs on her.
Speaker 10 (25:23):
Two million people watched that first playoff game in this series.
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Two million.
Speaker 10 (25:27):
And that was going against the NFL on that day.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Wow.
Speaker 9 (25:31):
Look, she has done so much for the league and
the interest in the league. She's backed it up with
her play.
Speaker 10 (25:36):
She's done it with every single eyeball on her and
a lot of people using her for their own political
purposes one way or the other.
Speaker 3 (25:41):
Yes, well said.
Speaker 10 (25:42):
And she has been able to sort of fight through
all of that. I really commend her on what she
has done. And again, commend the Aces who look like
a freight train. Yet again, they are just such an
impressive team.
Speaker 3 (25:50):
Damn, our staff, Sandbag and Caitlin Clark, I haven't seen
one make in this reel yet. It's almost like there's
a Caitlin Clark hater somewhere cutting up the tape.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
No, I'm kidding.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
Yes, exactly. Kind of kidding.
Speaker 7 (26:00):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (26:00):
All right, Rachel, with the news.
Speaker 2 (26:02):
Well, that's the news.
Speaker 9 (26:04):
And thanks for stopping by.
Speaker 2 (26:05):
The Herdline News.
Speaker 3 (26:07):
All right, coming up next. What do we got? Must
win for the Rams? They just ruled Aaron Donald out.
A tight end out. I mean, they can't go to
Philly and lose to the Devonta Smith-less Eagles, can they?
Talk about that next here on The Herd.
Speaker 2 (26:21):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.
Speaker 10 (26:26):
Coming up tomorrow, the NLDS beginning with a pair of
game ones.
Speaker 9 (26:30):
First, 3.30 Eastern on Fox. It's Ronald Acuna Jr.
Speaker 10 (26:33):
And the Braves against Otani and the defending champion Dodgers.
Then at 8 o'clock on FS1, the Padres take on
the Brewers.
Speaker 9 (26:41):
All part of Foxtoberfest.
Speaker 3 (26:44):
Foxtoberfest.
Speaker 11 (26:46):
All right.
Speaker 3 (26:47):
We're going to do something on the Eagles. I do
want to come back to what John Jansen said earlier
about the Steelers. We'll do that shortly, but I need
to talk. McVay just spoke about facing the Eagles. There's
a big game. Aaron Donald has been ruled out with
a back injury. Guys, what the hell's going on with
the injuries?
Speaker 7 (27:06):
Okay.
Speaker 3 (27:07):
Aaron Donald came out of retirement to play. Miles Garrett,
they traded for Miles Garrett's hurt. He's out. Aaron Donald
comes back. He's out. Rams are walking wounded. They need
this game. They cannot lose it. Here is McVay talking
about the big showdown on Fox against the Eagles.
Speaker 11 (27:22):
This is a great challenge, but, you know, you look
at it every single week, you know, you take anything
for granted and you get humbled real quickly. And so
it's so difficult, whether you're playing at Philly, at Denver,
whether you're playing the New York Giants, whether you're playing
in Australia, whatever it is, you just look around this league.
If you're not ready to go and locked in, you know,
you get caught.
Speaker 3 (27:43):
It's pretty wild how the league is shifted. Now, it's
only four games. I will say Melvin Gordon. made me
think he's like, it's early. You guys need to relax.
We're three or four games in. Why are we panicking?
Historically you start one and four. It's an uphill climb. Oh,
and three, it's very difficult to get to the playoffs.
So these teams need to stack wins. But what's weird
(28:05):
is if you look around the league, a lot of
the teams that made the playoffs last year, and we're
expected to get back this year out of the gate
are not playing well. Now I can't really pinpoint the
Rams special teams obviously has been a major issue. It
was last year. That's the one thing they didn't fix.
But if you throw, even if you throw out the
Niners game, which they decided a poor travel plans, you know,
(28:25):
they get lucky that Jackson dark gets knocked out at
Jameis Winston is a sideline reporter all summer. He's clearly
was not ready for prime time. So then basically what
you have one legitimate game to base the Rams on
through three, and that's against the Broncos. And they were
totally dominant for a half. They out gained them for
the full game, more yards per play. The game flipped on,
on some fluky stuff and they got a bad call.
(28:49):
I don't know if it's panic time for the Rams.
So I do want to go back to John Jansen.
Something he said earlier about last night's Aaron Rodgers versus
Mike McCarthy. So if we could roll it, Aaron Rodgers,
midway through the first quarter, the play's not coming in.
Rodgers later claimed it was loud in the dog pound.
And Rodgers looked over. He's like, what's the call? What's
(29:10):
the call? Now it's unclear if he can't hear him.
He's waiting. And all of a sudden he just gets
sick and fed up. The other players start looking. He's like,
what's the bleeping call? He starts F-bombing. And they cut
to McCarthy, and he's like, it's bleeping. You can read
lips if you want. Everybody that I– our morning meeting,
12 people at the table were all like, man, this
team's falling apart. This is bad. It's a horrible look.
(29:31):
Everywhere online, horrible look. So then we had John Jansen,
an offensive lineman on, who played with Brady at Michigan,
who played in the NFL for 11 years. years. He
talked about the exchange. I thought this was an original take.
Speaker 12 (29:44):
For some that maybe haven't been in the huddle, haven't
been on the sidelines, those interactions can feel very dramatic.
But these conversations, we're not talking, if this was happening
in college football between a college teammate and a coach, yeah,
I think there's something there. But between two guys that
have worked together for so long, between guys that are 30, 35,
(30:05):
38 years old and a coach, to me, it's just
how guys talk to each other.
Speaker 3 (30:12):
So it's interesting how guys talk to each other. So
I've been in media for a long time. I worked
in newspapers, as did Rachel. Rachel's worked in TV longer
than me. I've worked in radio studios. Yes, I've gotten
into not dustups, but arguments. Now, have I F-bombed anyone,
an editor to their face and had them F-bomb me
(30:32):
back and it been like no big deal? No, that
hasn't happened to me. There's been people I've exchanged words with.
But guess what? The relationship wasn't great after that because
it's like, oh, that's how you really feel about me now. Rachel,
I think we're on the app now, so we're allowed
to say bad words. So go ahead. At the Washington Post,
I'm sure you and Will Bond might have gotten on.
(30:53):
Not at all.
Speaker 9 (30:54):
Look, it is the NFL, and it's funny.
Speaker 10 (30:56):
I always say as a former Monday Night Football sideline
reporter that everything you see, even on TV, you don't
realize what's going on in the sidelines until you're actually there.
That movie, Any Given Sunday, is probably the best version
of it. But it is just so much flying around.
I totally understand the cursing that happened between two guys
who have known each other for more than 20 years.
Speaker 9 (31:16):
They're both grownups.
Speaker 10 (31:18):
As we were just saying, this is not a kid
MFing his college coach or something like that. I am
still much more worried about Aaron Rodgers saying derogatory things
about his teammates and receivers than I am about any
dust up with Mike McCarthy. Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy
know how to deal with each other. They'll be fine
for the rest of the season. It might not be
songs and roses and ring around the rosy, but I
(31:39):
promise you they will be fine. It's the divisiveness in
the locker room that Aaron can sew if he is
picking on his receivers and other players on national television.
Speaker 9 (31:50):
That's what concerns me.
Speaker 3 (31:51):
So it's weird. Last year, he would get angry, but
he would direct it at Arthur Smith. In no way, shape,
or form was he saying any of this stuff to
Mike Tomlin. We've seen him curse.
Speaker 9 (32:02):
On the field about teammates this year.
Speaker 10 (32:04):
We've seen him undercut teammates in post-game press conferences.
Speaker 9 (32:07):
I just, again, I think him and Mike McCarthy, I
actually agree.
Speaker 10 (32:11):
I wouldn't make anything into this because these guys have
probably cursed each other out more times than we can
count over the decades.
Speaker 9 (32:17):
However... When you are doing it.
Speaker 10 (32:19):
To your own teammates and you are the leader, you
are the veteran, you are the future Hall of Famer
of this team, that's when it can't happen. And that's
the continuation of behavior that worries me on the Steelers team.
Speaker 3 (32:30):
Lack of leadership, Rachel. He doesn't have it. You know,
you and I, you F-bomb me, Rachel. We're going to
have some problems. I'll just be honest. Cowherd has not
done that to me.
Speaker 5 (32:38):
We'll see.
Speaker 3 (32:39):
It's just tough.
Speaker 4 (32:40):
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (32:40):
We'll see. Anyways, good luck to the Steelers. Folks, amazing
Friday show. Cowherd's back Monday. Enjoy the sports, the baseball,
the football, all of it.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.