March 12, 2025 • 38 mins
Colin looks at the remaining free agents in the NFL and why Aaron Rodgers at this point in his career is starting to remind him of Kevin Durant. He firmly believes Sam Darnold will be better with the Seahawks than Geno Smith was last season and he has the data to prove it. Plus, NFL insider Albert Breer joins the show to explain why Aaron Rodgers to the Steelers makes a lot of sense and the latest on the top prospects in the upcoming draft
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.
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Speaker 2 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd.
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.
Thanks for making us part of your day. We have
had a very very strong week of shows. If I
may say it, yesterday, I don't know we could top
that with Nick Right and Urban Meyer. Man, we were
(00:47):
delivering the goods. Great to be here today, you know,
I was thinking sometimes Jmac some driving to work, I
don't listen to anything. I just I stand in my
own thoughts. It's a dangerous place, a dangerous place. And
because when I get up in the morning, I usually
sit for about forty five minutes to an hour and
(01:08):
I kind of peruse some websites. I want to see
the headlines, and so when I drive to work, I'm
thinking about, you know, trying to kind of assemble stories.
And I thought about this when I saw a story,
will Aaron Rodgers end up with the Steelers? And if not,
it'll be Russell Wilson, And I thought, I mean, Aaron
Rodgers has been reduced to that. Think about this, you
(01:30):
know what Aaron Rodgers has become what I compared him
to the last four years, He's become Kevin Durant. Think
about it. Both left incredibly stable organizations, green Bay and
Golden State. All they do is win. They got into
their feelings, a little bit of ego. They wanted to
play with their buddies. So they go to unstable places,
(01:52):
the Jets in Brooklyn, and it's a mess very quickly.
They stoke flames with the media. You can't trust the media,
hot take people, clickbait. Can't I do my own homework?
Both if I mentioned this for years, they're both single guys,
rich single guys that get older. Nobody at home to
(02:13):
hold them accountable, you know, you know what it is,
kind of doing their own thing whatever they feel like,
surround themselves with people who agree with them. And now
both the great Kevin Durant, and he's great, and the
formerly great Aaron Rodgers, he was great, have been reduced
to crossing their fingers hoping they can latch on to
(02:35):
a team that can make the playoffs. Both can be funny,
both can be charming, Both are all time talents. I
think they're both kind of interesting guys. I think I
think it's in terms of professional athletes. They have a
lot to say and they're interesting. But we have to
be fair about Katie and Aaron. Both of those kind
of people, and you probably know somebody like this in
(02:56):
your life. They're always searching for something. You could have
a sister or brother like there. They're always sort of
a searching for something. Just being successful and winning it's
not enough. Both also sometimes to a fault push back
on authority. Golden State was good for KD. Green Bay
was really good for Aaron Rodgers, and both of in
(03:18):
my opinion, hurt their own careers based on poor decisions,
the inability to realize how damn good they had it
at Golden State in Green Bay. In life, if you
can't tell how green your grass is, then everybody else's
(03:38):
grass looks really green. And now, because you know Katie's
been banged up a few times, he's getting older. He's
not going to be anybody's leader. They've tried that in Phoenix.
It doesn't work. Okay, they tried that in Brooklyn. It
didn't work. He's got to be an accessory. He's got
to be a piece. And Aaron Rodgers is probably team's
(04:00):
best quarterback in the league. Maybe twelfth, maybe fifteen, some
would say lower. But you can't build around Aaron Rodgers anymore.
And the moral of the story or the lesson in
life is, at least as a pro athlete, winning a lot,
if you're being compensated fairly, it's enough. You got to
(04:21):
know how green your grass is, Golden state. I mean
you could you could show up, have a bad night
and the team wins by twenty. That's a good life.
I mean that's like for you and I having a
bad day at work and you come home and your
kids are so great and your wife's so great. You
have a great day, and yet you had a bad
day at work. That's a pretty good life. And I
(04:42):
think that's reading that this morning, that it's down to
Aaron Rodgers. This is it. It could be the New
York Giants, it could be the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I'm like, man,
we're talking MVP a few years ago. With Kad, we're
talking a few years ago. Is better than Lebron And
this is what it's been reduced to. Okay, you know,
(05:06):
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, that's up in
the corner of the country for the uninitiated, and so
this story just cracks me up. And you also know,
I like Sam Donald, and I don't want to criticize
any media people by name, but the Seahawks signing Sam
Donald and letting go of Geno Smith, some of the
(05:29):
takes by you media people have been awful. Geno Smith
last year had twenty one tds and fifteen picks. He's
thirty four, Donald's more mobile. Donald signed an incredibly Seahawk
friendly deal. Donald was better than Geno last year. What's
all the hysteria? Like, I understand the media falls for stories,
(05:53):
but the story has gone from what a great comeback story? Two, Hey,
Gino Smith is irreplaceable? What twenty one touchdowns fifteen picks
and he had two good running backs, and he had
three good receivers and he had a capable tight end.
(06:14):
Speaking of comeback stories, media, how about we come back
to reality, Donald seven years younger, had a much better year,
much better athlete mobility wise, And that deal Donald signed
with the Seahawks, Sam gave away money. He knows the
value of being in a good situation. Darnald, that's an
(06:35):
incredibly Seahawk friendly deal. It's like the Buccaneers Baker deal.
It's incredibly team friendly. And in both cases John Snyder, Seattle,
Jason Lyton, Tampa, you have an elite GMS. This is
very much Tampa. You kind of got a quarterback who's
B to B plus and you got him for like
(06:56):
a C minus contract. So I mean, think about this
all the How did you let Geno Smith go? Russell
Wilson right now can't really find a job, and in
the last two years he's had more touchdown passes in
a higher passer rating than Geno Smith. People are you're
(07:17):
all freaking out, Like the media just latches onto stories
and they can't let go. I'm gonna make a guarantee.
This is Colin's personal guarantee or your money back. Darnald
will do better than twenty one touchdowns and fifteen picks
next year. I don't know how much better. But he's younger,
he's a better athlete. He'll make things happen. Off script,
(07:39):
I mean, Seattle last year, third downs are really important.
Down right, we would all admit that, you me, everybody, Jmack,
You'd admit this third down is important. Seattle had Lockett,
the Ohio State kid.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
We all like.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
DK metcalf legit left tackle, two decent backs. The Seahawks
were twenty first on third down and oh by the way,
the sixth most drives ending in a punt with way
better than average weapons in a division where the Niners
were falling apart. Arizona's Arizona and the Rams are a
(08:17):
year away. Now the Rams are the best team in
the division. Rams are better San Francisco rebuilding. I mean,
good God. If you go to Geno and Sam Darnold's
comps last year, across the board, Donald's significantly better. So
we understand the need by writers and bloggers and media
people to latch onto the story. But the Geno Smith
(08:40):
leaves Seattle has gone from cool comeback story, Let's come
back to reality. Twenty one touchdowns, fifteen picks, thirty four
years old, not as mobile as Darnald. There's an argument,
and I like Geno to the Raiders because he's an adult.
He's a grown up. He's accurate, he'll move the chains.
There's an argue. Seattle squeezed just about everything Gino's got.
(09:03):
He's probably got one or two decent years quarterbacks hit
thirty five and thirty six. It just looks different except
for Tom Brady, it kind of looks different. I'm not
anti Geno, but jsn DK, Mattcalf, Tyler Lockett, two capable
running backs. Noah fen six in the league and drives
(09:24):
inning in punts twenty first in the league on third down, Like,
come on now, I mean bo nicks considerably better and
was throwing to Courtland Sutton and then just crossing his
fingers as a rookie. Take a deep breath, Darnald Gino,
I've said, you can argue they're both somewhere between thirteenth
(09:45):
and sixteenth best quarterback in the league. If I get
the guy that's seven years younger, more athletic, with a
better friendly team deal. Remember Gino wanted forty five, Sam's
got like thirty three. I can get two more players,
like they're not different enough. Sam, Darnold's not gonna give
you the Vikings year He's also not gonna give you
(10:05):
a Jets year. Seattle's got a good GM, and Sam's
gonna play with four more new starters that John Snyder drafts.
Think about that as well. Do not do not under
sell Baker signing a team friendly deal. That's why Tampa's
got so many good players. Brady didn't break the bank.
(10:25):
Baker didn't break the bank. Gino for his skill set
at thirty four, wanted a lot more money than Sam got.
All right, Jay Mac, we have Oh, I've got an
interesting mike up Parsons shot at brock Perdy.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
You're not gonna hit him with more, you people, I
hired a couple of those in the opening ran that's
uh well combative to start the.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Show, by the way, Boonix and Cortland Sutton thirteenth on
third down in a division with the Chargers defense and
the Chiefs defense. Okay, as a rookie, thirteenth on third
down in a division with two of the top four defenses.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
In the league.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
Not bad.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Can I already take you up on your your money
back guarantee that you just made with Donald?
Speaker 5 (11:09):
So you said, I guarantee you he'll.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Go better than twenty one touchdowns and fifteen pays.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
Okay, So I just looked at Sam Donald's career.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Other than last year's outlier with the great Kevin O'Connell,
Sam Donald has never thrown twenty one touchdowns in the NFL,
and now his top receiver is JSN.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
They got rid of two other guys.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
I don't think he's gonna hit twenty one touchdowns. Do
you think they're going to all of a sudden air
it out.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
No, He's gonna go twenty four and eight, which is
way better than twenty one and fifteen. He'll go twenty
four and eight. By the way, they have a number
one receiver fan two running backs. We know you can
find receivers in college. You can find receivers. By the way,
because Sam Donald's deal is friendly, you can find receivers
(11:54):
at the trade deadline. What if a team is a
mess in week seven, then go find You know, the
Donald deal is so team friendly it allows you moves
potentially at the trade deadline.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
You also said they're between the thirteenth and sixteenth best
quarterbacks in that whole ball. I hate to break it
to you, but I recently went through on my podcast.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
Yeah, and there neither of them are top fifteen.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I mean there's.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Fifteen better quarterbacks in the league right now, like Tua.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
Would you say two was better than both those guys.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
I would say two has been more consistent with both
those guys, but small, not good, deep concussion issues, and
if it's windy, he's not the same player. I'd take Donald.
I'm just saying, OK. And I also look at Tua.
How much you have to pay too, and how much
you have to pay Sam.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
That factors in.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
I mean there's only a couple quarterbacks in the league
where you're like, what's the weather like? And if the
answer isn't what you want to hear, you don't get
the same player.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
So Dak or Gino Smith or Sam Donald, Like, it's
got to be Dak. I don't love him, especially not
at sixty mil A.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Second lower body injury. We sure it stack?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Wow?
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Oh Sam rising the rents Suddenly I know.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I'm being realistic. By the way, Jordan Love had a
totally up and down season, went twenty five TD's eleven picks,
Sam can't go twenty four and ten, and and Jordan
Loved last year disappointed most of us twenty four and tents.
Wait I'm not asking. I'm not saying thirty six and six.
I'm not asking for a Josh Allen. I'm not saying
(13:29):
twenty nine and four Aaron in his prime. I'm just
saying twenty four and ten, twenty four and eleven. Sam
can't do that. No, by the way, all you Aaron
Rodgers fanboys, apparently, Peter Schrager on Good Morning Football Today
reported that Aaron Rodgers could take up to four weeks
(13:51):
to make a decision.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
This stuff is funny. Can you imagine.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Trying to hire somebody, you know, the most important position
on your team in a team sport? Hey, give me
a month.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
What have you been doing?
Speaker 1 (14:03):
You were out of the playoff race like three years ago?
I mean, what are we doing here? Can you get
Can you give me an answer or not? I'm not
looking for you to play tomorrow. Could you just give
me an answer? Hey? Again, it's amazing rich single guys.
The older they get, the weirder they get. This is funny.
Micah Parsons took a shot at the forty nine ers
in brock Purty. As Micah is watching the Niners having
(14:28):
to get rid of all these players because now they
have to pay brock Purty and the little tweet by
Micah is no more rookie quarterback. Lol. Welcome to reality. Yes, yes, yes,
brock Purty now lives the same life as every other
quarterback in the league. It's a flawed roster, it's an
(14:50):
average offensive line. You have a highly compensated receiver coming
off surgery, and there's no more money to upgrade. You
have to cross your fingers on draft picks. So this
is the real NFL. This has been my narrative for years.
It's almost like the first time you move out from
your parents and you're on your own. Oh wait, my
(15:10):
phone bills two hundred and seventy eight dollars a month.
I've only got one lamp. Oh I had no idea
cutlery costs this much. Mom said, I have to pay
for my own car insurance. Yeah, that's called grown up adult.
That's a reality. When you get off you know the
parent's dole. So brock Perty's been in this league, you know,
three full years, a little bit of a trust fund kid,
(15:33):
not a lot of discomfort, didn't have to carry anybody,
not a lot to overcome. Well, then the second half
of last year happened. Left tackles out McCaffrey's out receiver
banged up that. By the way, that's not a hardship.
That's called the NFL for a quarterback. That's what Mahomes
has been dealing with for three years. That's not a hardship.
(15:55):
You having to pay your own car insurance is not
a hardship. It's called being an adult. So Micah Parsons
is just saying, Okay, remember remember Dak. When Dak came
into the league, you guys all fell for it. Number
one on line by a mile. I mean, like Philadelphia's
on line now just dominant. Zeke was all pro. They
(16:15):
got him Amari Cooper short time after that, Cede lamb
Oh we eaten and all of a sudden, now you
get paid, and you get an injury, like brock Purty's
going to get paid, and he's had a couple of injuries.
You don't move quite as well, and then all of
a sudden you're measured on different stuff. So the other
thing to remember, So brock Purty entered the league with
(16:37):
the best roster just in his division, looking down at everybody.
Now the Rams have a better roster, Rams have a
better quarterback. Rams have a better coach. Purty was zero
and two against the Rams last year. So remember how
Sean McVeagh got tired of losing to Kyle Shanahan and
moved off golf. Let me tell you something, if brock
Perdy gets a new deal the next two years can't
(16:58):
beat McVeigh, that's gonna piss Shanahan off. Whole world changes
now when you get paid, expectations go up. McVeigh love golf,
and then he couldn't beat his rival. He was winning
a lot of games. He got you into a super Bowl.
He couldn't beat the Niners ticked him up. Never forget
McVeigh and Shanahan maybe buddies. They are intense rivals. And
(17:23):
now mcveay has got the better roster, the better quarterback.
He won both games last year.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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Speaker 1 (17:37):
Mike of Parson's Coming Around on the old de Brock.
Pretty narrative. Things are changing. It's like Jmax first couple
of weeks made mistakes, Nobody cared. Now the Brinks truck
stopped by little tougher grading scale than the old Herd update. Guy, Oh,
I saw this. I saw this story. Saw this story.
(18:01):
There's a lot of people out there selling this store.
NBA is dead seven years was eleven years, seventy six
billion dollar contract. Yeah, I don't think it's dead. I
don't think it's going to the emergency room. Owners happy,
players happy, Adam Silver happy. If you sell your house
(18:21):
for twice what it's worth, you're happy. Forget what happens
to do it after so oh the Laker Celtics game,
it wasn't even a good game in the second half,
scored a seven year ratings high. As the NBA playoffs approach,
every sport except the NFL needs certain brands, certain cities
(18:44):
to win. Last year, Dodgers Yankees had a sixty seven
percent increase sixty seven percent World Series ratings increase. By
the way, when the Cubs played in Game seven both
those series on fog, it was the highest they had
forty million viewers for a baseball game in America. Forty million.
(19:07):
So Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers Baseball all of a sudden is
cool again in college football, highest Natty rating in my
adult life. USC Texas a twenty two and a half.
So the NBA today, La Lakers, New York Knicks, Boston, Celtics,
San Francisco, love their teams and their teams are all good.
(19:30):
Geenie Buss said this the other day. She was on
a podcast. She said, I had no idea the global
impact of Luca. So you put Luca, you put Luca
in you know, Los Angeles from Dallas. You put Jimmy
Butler Miami to the Warriors, and it's like, whoa, it
(19:51):
changes everything. So the Cowboys haven't been to a super
Bowl and what like thirty years doesn't matter, irrelevant. It's
why I've been saying going forward. I can't understand ESPN
not signing baseball. The Dodgers are great, the Mets are fascinating,
Yankees good, bravez Oh was good. Cubs just got the
(20:13):
best offseason acquisition of the year. Braves, Dodgers, Matt's, Phillies,
all the big markets, all the big brands are great.
What is the ESPN doing like double down on Bay now?
And I'm not a huge baseball guy, right like, this
is the best time to buy baseball and the game
now is watchable because at last two hours and thirty
six minutes, not three hours and eleven minutes. So here
(20:35):
was on the Julian Edelman podcast. Here was Genie Buss
talking about the Luca move. Here's Genie boums.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
We were not.
Speaker 6 (20:45):
Looking to trade Anthony Davis. Dallas contacted us. It was
a deal that both sides wanted to make. I didn't
anticipate the global impact it would have. I mean, I
knew it was gonna be a big story in the NBA,
but he really is a global superstar.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, so's I said this the NBA. You gotta have
your players in the right spots. This is baseball, Bryce
Harper in baseball sports crazy Philadelphia Judge, New York stacked
rosters with the Dodgers and the Mets. Braves Ofcunya Cubs
make a move Southern California, Podreser stacked. Like in baseball NBA,
(21:26):
you gotta have the right brands. I mean, I know
you all love Boise State, but the bottom line is
it's really good when Michigan and Ohio State and Notre
Dame end up keep you know. I mean that Michigan
Big Ten's explosion the last couple of years is going
to pay dividends for years. You want the big ten
in the SEC and those big brands and Notre Dame
to be good. So just over time there everybody except
(21:48):
the NFL. You need stars in the right places. NBA
is gonna be fine. You don't have to love the NBA,
but I mean, this weekend's a great example. I'm watching
Michigan Michigan State play tough, watch offensive teams. I turn
on OKC in Denver and it's like Superstars and it's
like it's a great watch. College basketball is fun, but
it's a three week sport. NBA is gonna be fine.
(22:10):
You got an MVP's battling on another channel, Michigan Michigan State,
who are struggling to hit a jumper on the other channel.
Don't talk yourself into less athletic, less dynamic athletes. We
love March madness for three weeks. NBA is gonna be fine.
Didn't have to be your favorite sport. Just say this
(22:30):
out loud. Here's the cities that really loved this sport.
New York, LA, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas did well.
Chicago's led the NBA in attendance for four straight years.
They have a bad product. If New York, LA, Chicago, Boston, Philly,
(22:51):
San Francisco are really into something, I mean, I love
college football. Nobody in Philadelphia, San Francisco, New York, Boston,
nobody cares. They don't care about it.
Speaker 7 (23:02):
I do.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
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Speaker 8 (23:23):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (23:29):
You could catch us weekdays from five to seven pm
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Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
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We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
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We have a lot of fun talking about the stories
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Speaker 1 (24:19):
All right, welcome back. Apparently Rams picked up DeVante Adams,
which we thought was one of those seamless moves that'll work.
DeMarcus Robbins and the receiver went to San Francisco yesterday.
Cooper Cup's gonna get released here pretty quick. Let's go
to Albert Breer joining us live with Cooper Cups gob
But is there a landing spot? I actually think the
(24:41):
Chargers would be interesting. What do you make of Cooper Cup?
Where would he go?
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Yeah? I mean I think there are teams out there
that are contenders that would make some sense. What about
the Lions, you know, where he could have a complimentary
role with a'mon Ross, Saint Brown and Jamison Williams there.
Obviously he's got the background which at goff from other
years together in Los Angeles. There's some contenders out there.
And then I think, you know, like maybe where the
(25:07):
bigger money would be might be in a place where
he could help lay a foundation. And you know, one
place like that would be Jacksonville with Liam Cohen there.
He can make a difference for Brian Thomas Junior coming
off of his rookie year, and really I think he'd
know the expectations of Liam Cohen, he'd know the system.
(25:27):
You know, he kind of helped be a torch bearer
in a place like that. So I think he's gonna
have some options out there. Colin, You're just going to
be comfortable with a that he's you know, probably not
quite what he was a couple of years ago, and
be you might be dealing with a guy you only
get for ten or twelve games, because that's really what
he's been in the last three years.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
By the way, the Niners making some fairly seismic moves
they wanted to keep Halanka and Green Lodels were excellent players.
Banged up a lot, but excellent instinctive players, and some
of it's just clearing space for Brock pretty so they've
got space. But they also released a eleak a couple
of days ago, like our negotiations are going to be
different now, which, by the way, is what the Rams
(26:07):
have done. They just set a ceiling and said Stafford,
this is what you're making. We're not moving off it,
you know, signing both UK and Debo. Oh what felt
a little much? The brought pretty thing. I'm just forty
four million. I mean, this stuff matters when you're talking
about a guy who I view as sort of a
good player, but he needs players around him to excel.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Yeah, and I think that's why this is going to
take a little while, you know. And if you look
at the last few years with the Niners, they have
lots of negotiations dragging to the summer. Three years ago
was Debo, two years ago as Nick Bosa. Last year
was Brandon AYUK. So you know, we've seen these things,
you know, drag, and we've seen the Niners have some
trouble at the negotiating table. That could happen with this one.
(26:50):
This is a complicated negotiation. I don't think he'll hold
out the way a couple of those other guys did.
But I don't think this one's going to be easy either.
I think the Niners are kind of where the Rams
were two years ago, where the Bills were last year.
Both those teams carried seventy five million dollars in dead
money into a season and in an attempt to kind
of clean their cap out and try to have some
(27:12):
more balance going forward, and and and kind of it
wasn't going back to square one, but reset their program.
I think that's really where the Niners are right now.
And and look like, you know, it's tough, you know,
because it's you know, the way that they built and
doing it through the draft. They found George Kittle in
the fifth round. They found Fred Warner in the fourth round,
they found found brock Party in the seventh round. Deebo
(27:35):
Samuel was a second rounder. So it's not easy to
to to to do that again. But they have shown
the ability to draft and develop over the years, and
that's what they're going to have to be good at
as they sort of move off of the core that
got them to two Super Bowls.
Speaker 7 (27:51):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I again, like I think a lot of times you
go into these situations and fan base can panic and
look like, well, we're letting go this guy and we're
letting go of that guy, and this is going to
be a year where we're completely ripping the band aid
off in tanking that doesn't have to be where it is.
You know again, the Bills did it last year and
they were able to make the playoffs with seventy five
million dollars in dead money. The year before that, the
(28:13):
Rams did it, made the playoffs with seventy five million
dollars in dead money. So I wouldn't rule out the Niners,
a team that's been really good over the last few
years and with you know, a head coach and general
manager who really know what they're doing, being able to.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Draft and develop their way out of this. So I
think the Bears. Two of my favorite moves were Joe
Tooney and Drew Dolman for a young quarterback.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
I love those.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Not sexy, but I love them. And jam Mac. There's
a rumor out today that gent the running back from
Boise State, is going to go to Chicago. Now, Jamac
says they want to leak that because they know gent
there's three or four teams that want him, and they
want teams moving up. So I got, you know, Cluse
over here in Spectra Cluso. My take is, I don't know.
(29:00):
I think they want another red rusher. I don't know.
I kind of like I think there's a defensive need
for them more than a running back need. What do
you make of the Bears off season and the gen d.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Rumor, Well, they've just spent almost twenty million dollars a
year on dio odeyingbo I gotta still get the pronunciation
of his name right, the EDG. Russier from the Colts
to play opposite Montes. What they've invested in Javon Kinlaw,
a defensive tackle, and then like you said, on the
offensive line, adding Joe Tooney and Drew Dollman and Jonah
(29:33):
Jackson from the Rams. Also, they've sort of reimagined what
they are up front of both sides of the ball,
and that mirrors what Ben Johnson was a part of
in Detroit. If you look at the foundation of the
teams in Detroit, they spent money, They spent draft capital
onlineman Penae Sewell, was their first draft pick. The next year,
(29:53):
they spent the second overall pick on Aiden Hutchinson. There
were other guys they got later in the draft, like
Alene McNeil had been foundation pieces. They obviously inherited Frank
rag Now and Taylor Decker there. And you know, I
I think if you look at you know, what Ben
Johnson would want to build in Chicago would be similar.
And so you're seeing that investment in the lines. If
you want to bring Ashton Genty into the conversation, Okay,
(30:16):
here's the way I look at that one. There are
people out there, and we've heard Travis Hunter and Abdul
Carter in some order, or the number one and number
two guys in this year's draft class. Right, I've heard
some people put Ashton Genty in that territory too. Now,
you don't value him the same way you would a
two way player who could play receiver in imparrant two
premium positions or an edge rusher, right Like, so the
(30:38):
positional value isn't there. But if you view Ashton Jenny
Genty that way, where he's in that class of player.
Wasn't there a team recently that surprised everybody by taking
a running back in the first round and got a
really big payoff, right, Yeah, that was Sjamir Gibbs with
the Lions. Yeah, so that's you know, part of Ben
(30:59):
Jonson passed as well. So it's interesting. It's another way
of investing in your young quarterback where you can take
some of the pressure off of him by having a
really productive running game.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
The running backs who get drafted high and have been
productive players after being drafted high, Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott,
you know obviously, Yeah, adri Well no a couple of
years ago with both with both Jean Robinson and Jamier Gibbs.
Those guys bring value in the pass game too, you know.
And Ashton Genty can do that as well. So I mean,
(31:31):
it wouldn't floor me if if they took a running
back in the first round because of Ben Johnson's pass
and because it would it could mean for Caleble.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
So it's interesting. Denver and Sean Payton made a couple
of interesting moves. Hafunk has been hurt a lot, same
with green Law. Good players, insanely instinctive, smart guys. And
my take was Sean Payton thought, listen, I got to
twenty five points a game last year with bow Knicks
as a rookie, if I can squeeze a little more
(31:59):
juice out of him, twenty six and a half, twenty
seven in a game. If you look at the games
that they scored, like twenty five or more last year,
they went nine to one, and I can see Peyton saying,
I all squeeze the offense, all squeezed the juice out
of the offense. I got to get our defense, which
got kind of tired at the end of the year
because a lot of people look at those moves and
(32:19):
say they're risky. But I think bo Knicks was actually
better than Sean Fought as a rookie at quarterback.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
What say you, Yeah, this is another one where you
can look at a guy's pass like Sean Payton. Over
the years, they didn't pay skill position players really until
the very end when they had both Michael Thomas and
Alvin Kamara on big contracts. Remember they paid Jimmy Graham.
They wound up trading him a year after they paid him.
I mean, if you want to go way back, Marcus Colston,
but you can't find a ton of skill players they
(32:46):
paid in New Orleans they paid the quarterback, they paid
the offensive lineman, they paid the defense. And so I
think this does reflect the way that they built in
New Orleans. And I think it's Sean Payton's belief that
he can make it work with younger players or lesser
players at the skill positions because of what he's able
to do schematically. And so I think this is really
Sean Payton looking and saying, we had the number one
(33:08):
defense in the NFL last year. We have Patrick Sartam,
we have a couple of young edge rushers that are
still on their rookie deals, are coming off just coming
off their rookie deals, and Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper,
and we can take the defense to the next level.
We've got a chance here to take a really good
defense and make it a great defense by adding guys
like Drake Greenlab and Hafunga right down the middle. And so,
(33:33):
you know, I look at it as Sean Payton's belief
in himself that hey, I can find a joker, as
he calls it, I can find a receiver in the draft.
They did it last year with the two rookies they drafted,
Vele and Franklin. I can find those guys in the
draft that I can develop and I can fit to
my offense. Let's go spend everywhere else and I'll make
(33:55):
it work schematically because of what I bring to the table.
Exactly what he did in New Orleans, and I think
I guess what he's going to try to do again
in Denver this year.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
That's good stuff. I will tell you there's one team
they lost Joe Tooney, They're gonna go with a backup
Niner tackle at left tackle. I don't know. I watched.
I watched this offense struggle last year get pushed around
by a couple of teams. Raiders gave him fits up front.
(34:25):
Kansas City goes into the season. I don't love the
old line. It's hard to be a great team albert
with a mediocre, below average O line, is it not.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (34:34):
And you know they were going to take a swing
on Ronnie Stanley too, And I think their number was
going to be right around where Baltimore's number was for
Ronnie Stanley. And obviously Baltimore is able to take them
off the market two days before free agency start. So
that was their plan, was to invest in one of
the best left tackles in football doesn't work out for them,
so they have to go to Plan B, which is
really projecting a guy. You know, like they look at
(34:57):
Jalen Moore and they see some talent there. He obviously
had limited snaps. It was those really came when Trent
Williams was hurt. But they saw a guy like, Okay,
we'll bring him in. We got a two year deal,
thirty million dollars. It's not crazy money, and we'll project
him to be a little bit more than he was
in San Francisco. We'll work out, we'll see. I don't
(35:18):
think it's the only dart they're going to throw at
that position. I don't know how much longer Juwan Taylor
is going to be there at right tackle, like this
might be his last year there. So I still think
that they're going to spend significant draft capital on the
tackle position and try to get that right. I mean,
I you've seen they've done it over the last few years.
Wandie Morris was a young guy that they tried to
bring along. Kingsley Suamataia is moving inside to left guard. Now,
(35:44):
you know, really, for the Chiefs, this is going to
be about throwing a bunch of darts. At the position
and trying to get it right. And again I don't
think they're done throwing those darts. Jandie Morris will be
in that mix now, you know. Now they bring in
Jalen Moore, like you said, from San Francisco to be
in that mix, and I think they'll probably probably draft
another tackle somewhere in the top one hundred picks or so.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Finally, it's inevitable. An Aaron Rodgers question, I mean, I
don't love the Steeler.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
I don't know if anybody knows exactly what he's going
to do. If you don't want to be honest with
you people, I think only Aaron knows.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
I mean, is Adam where is that where we're at?
Speaker 3 (36:18):
I mean seriously, yeah, So, I mean I think to so,
just having talked to some people who know him and
you know, who understand the experiences that he's had and
everything else, here's how I would compare the two opportunities
that he's got. Right, So, you have the one opportunity
in Pittsburgh where you're really asking him to be the
(36:40):
finishing piece and he's coming in and he'd be coming
in and playing with some guys that really are as
peers right, Like, so TJ. Watt, Mika Fitzpatrick, those guys
are going to be operating with the same level of
urgency that he's operating with. They've got a young offensive
line that I think has got a chance to be
really good. They're bringing in dk metcalp that's another win
now move, so you'll look at it. It's a team
(37:00):
that's been good for a long time, just hasn't been
great in a while. Right, So what are you asking
me to do? You're asking him to come in and
be the last piece. I think if he goes to
the Giants, you're asking him to be the difference maker. Now,
they could be really good. They've got Brian Burns, They've
got Kevon Tibodeau, They've got Dexter Lawrence. They brought in
a couple of young guys to playing their secondary. Paulson
Adiebo I think has got a chance to be a
(37:21):
really good player. For him, elite neighbors on offense. Bring
him back. You know Andrew Thomas at left tackle. Tyrone
Tracy has potential at running back. But isn't that sort
of what he just did with the Jets, right, Like
where the Jets were asking him to be the difference
maker with a younger team, and that didn't really work.
Pittsburgh's asking for something different. Pittsburgh's saying, look, we just
(37:44):
need somebody to put us over the top of the position.
So I do wonder if that's going to be a
factor in his decision making. Again, only he knows, and
he's very private about these things, And I don't know
what the timeline is. It could happen in ten minutes,
it could happen in ten days. But you know, I
do think, you know, we're all a product of our
own experiences, and I look at this like Pittsburgh offers
(38:05):
him as something that's a little bit different than what
he went through with the Jets, where I think the
Giants would be asking him to do something similar to
what the Jets were asking him to do a couple
of years ago.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Albert Breer, Monday Morning Quarterback on a very fun week.
A few other things. Cooper Cups gonna get let go
of the Rams, so keep your eye on that, as always, Albert,
great stuff,
Thanks for listening to the Best of 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 (00:19):
This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowver
on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Here we go live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd.
Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.
Thanks for making us part of your day. We have
had a very very strong week of shows. If I
may say it, yesterday, I don't know we could top
that with Nick Right and Urban Meyer. Man, we were
(00:47):
delivering the goods. Great to be here today, you know,
I was thinking sometimes Jmac some driving to work, I
don't listen to anything. I just I stand in my
own thoughts. It's a dangerous place, a dangerous place. And
because when I get up in the morning, I usually
sit for about forty five minutes to an hour and
(01:08):
I kind of peruse some websites. I want to see
the headlines, and so when I drive to work, I'm
thinking about, you know, trying to kind of assemble stories.
And I thought about this when I saw a story,
will Aaron Rodgers end up with the Steelers? And if not,
it'll be Russell Wilson, And I thought, I mean, Aaron
Rodgers has been reduced to that. Think about this, you
(01:30):
know what Aaron Rodgers has become what I compared him
to the last four years, He's become Kevin Durant. Think
about it. Both left incredibly stable organizations, green Bay and
Golden State. All they do is win. They got into
their feelings, a little bit of ego. They wanted to
play with their buddies. So they go to unstable places,
(01:52):
the Jets in Brooklyn, and it's a mess very quickly.
They stoke flames with the media. You can't trust the media,
hot take people, clickbait. Can't I do my own homework?
Both if I mentioned this for years, they're both single guys,
rich single guys that get older. Nobody at home to
(02:13):
hold them accountable, you know, you know what it is,
kind of doing their own thing whatever they feel like,
surround themselves with people who agree with them. And now
both the great Kevin Durant, and he's great, and the
formerly great Aaron Rodgers, he was great, have been reduced
to crossing their fingers hoping they can latch on to
(02:35):
a team that can make the playoffs. Both can be funny,
both can be charming, Both are all time talents. I
think they're both kind of interesting guys. I think I
think it's in terms of professional athletes. They have a
lot to say and they're interesting. But we have to
be fair about Katie and Aaron. Both of those kind
of people, and you probably know somebody like this in
(02:56):
your life. They're always searching for something. You could have
a sister or brother like there. They're always sort of
a searching for something. Just being successful and winning it's
not enough. Both also sometimes to a fault push back
on authority. Golden State was good for KD. Green Bay
was really good for Aaron Rodgers, and both of in
(03:18):
my opinion, hurt their own careers based on poor decisions,
the inability to realize how damn good they had it
at Golden State in Green Bay. In life, if you
can't tell how green your grass is, then everybody else's
(03:38):
grass looks really green. And now, because you know Katie's
been banged up a few times, he's getting older. He's
not going to be anybody's leader. They've tried that in Phoenix.
It doesn't work. Okay, they tried that in Brooklyn. It
didn't work. He's got to be an accessory. He's got
to be a piece. And Aaron Rodgers is probably team's
(04:00):
best quarterback in the league. Maybe twelfth, maybe fifteen, some
would say lower. But you can't build around Aaron Rodgers anymore.
And the moral of the story or the lesson in
life is, at least as a pro athlete, winning a lot,
if you're being compensated fairly, it's enough. You got to
(04:21):
know how green your grass is, Golden state. I mean
you could you could show up, have a bad night
and the team wins by twenty. That's a good life.
I mean that's like for you and I having a
bad day at work and you come home and your
kids are so great and your wife's so great. You
have a great day, and yet you had a bad
day at work. That's a pretty good life. And I
(04:42):
think that's reading that this morning, that it's down to
Aaron Rodgers. This is it. It could be the New
York Giants, it could be the Pittsburgh Steelers, and I'm like, man,
we're talking MVP a few years ago. With Kad, we're
talking a few years ago. Is better than Lebron And
this is what it's been reduced to. Okay, you know,
(05:06):
I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, that's up in
the corner of the country for the uninitiated, and so
this story just cracks me up. And you also know,
I like Sam Donald, and I don't want to criticize
any media people by name, but the Seahawks signing Sam
Donald and letting go of Geno Smith, some of the
(05:29):
takes by you media people have been awful. Geno Smith
last year had twenty one tds and fifteen picks. He's
thirty four, Donald's more mobile. Donald signed an incredibly Seahawk
friendly deal. Donald was better than Geno last year. What's
all the hysteria? Like, I understand the media falls for stories,
(05:53):
but the story has gone from what a great comeback story? Two, Hey,
Gino Smith is irreplaceable? What twenty one touchdowns fifteen picks
and he had two good running backs, and he had
three good receivers and he had a capable tight end.
(06:14):
Speaking of comeback stories, media, how about we come back
to reality, Donald seven years younger, had a much better year,
much better athlete mobility wise, And that deal Donald signed
with the Seahawks, Sam gave away money. He knows the
value of being in a good situation. Darnald, that's an
(06:35):
incredibly Seahawk friendly deal. It's like the Buccaneers Baker deal.
It's incredibly team friendly. And in both cases John Snyder, Seattle,
Jason Lyton, Tampa, you have an elite GMS. This is
very much Tampa. You kind of got a quarterback who's
B to B plus and you got him for like
(06:56):
a C minus contract. So I mean, think about this
all the How did you let Geno Smith go? Russell
Wilson right now can't really find a job, and in
the last two years he's had more touchdown passes in
a higher passer rating than Geno Smith. People are you're
(07:17):
all freaking out, Like the media just latches onto stories
and they can't let go. I'm gonna make a guarantee.
This is Colin's personal guarantee or your money back. Darnald
will do better than twenty one touchdowns and fifteen picks
next year. I don't know how much better. But he's younger,
he's a better athlete. He'll make things happen. Off script,
(07:39):
I mean, Seattle last year, third downs are really important.
Down right, we would all admit that, you me, everybody, Jmack,
You'd admit this third down is important. Seattle had Lockett,
the Ohio State kid.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
We all like.
Speaker 1 (07:55):
DK metcalf legit left tackle, two decent backs. The Seahawks
were twenty first on third down and oh by the way,
the sixth most drives ending in a punt with way
better than average weapons in a division where the Niners
were falling apart. Arizona's Arizona and the Rams are a
(08:17):
year away. Now the Rams are the best team in
the division. Rams are better San Francisco rebuilding. I mean,
good God. If you go to Geno and Sam Darnold's
comps last year, across the board, Donald's significantly better. So
we understand the need by writers and bloggers and media
people to latch onto the story. But the Geno Smith
(08:40):
leaves Seattle has gone from cool comeback story, Let's come
back to reality. Twenty one touchdowns, fifteen picks, thirty four
years old, not as mobile as Darnald. There's an argument,
and I like Geno to the Raiders because he's an adult.
He's a grown up. He's accurate, he'll move the chains.
There's an argue. Seattle squeezed just about everything Gino's got.
(09:03):
He's probably got one or two decent years quarterbacks hit
thirty five and thirty six. It just looks different except
for Tom Brady, it kind of looks different. I'm not
anti Geno, but jsn DK, Mattcalf, Tyler Lockett, two capable
running backs. Noah fen six in the league and drives
(09:24):
inning in punts twenty first in the league on third down, Like,
come on now, I mean bo nicks considerably better and
was throwing to Courtland Sutton and then just crossing his
fingers as a rookie. Take a deep breath, Darnald Gino,
I've said, you can argue they're both somewhere between thirteenth
(09:45):
and sixteenth best quarterback in the league. If I get
the guy that's seven years younger, more athletic, with a
better friendly team deal. Remember Gino wanted forty five, Sam's
got like thirty three. I can get two more players,
like they're not different enough. Sam, Darnold's not gonna give
you the Vikings year He's also not gonna give you
(10:05):
a Jets year. Seattle's got a good GM, and Sam's
gonna play with four more new starters that John Snyder drafts.
Think about that as well. Do not do not under
sell Baker signing a team friendly deal. That's why Tampa's
got so many good players. Brady didn't break the bank.
(10:25):
Baker didn't break the bank. Gino for his skill set
at thirty four, wanted a lot more money than Sam got.
All right, Jay Mac, we have Oh, I've got an
interesting mike up Parsons shot at brock Perdy.
Speaker 4 (10:41):
You're not gonna hit him with more, you people, I
hired a couple of those in the opening ran that's
uh well combative to start the.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
Show, by the way, Boonix and Cortland Sutton thirteenth on
third down in a division with the Chargers defense and
the Chiefs defense. Okay, as a rookie, thirteenth on third
down in a division with two of the top four defenses.
Speaker 3 (11:03):
In the league.
Speaker 5 (11:04):
Not bad.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Can I already take you up on your your money
back guarantee that you just made with Donald?
Speaker 5 (11:09):
So you said, I guarantee you he'll.
Speaker 1 (11:11):
Go better than twenty one touchdowns and fifteen pays.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
Okay, So I just looked at Sam Donald's career.
Speaker 4 (11:16):
Other than last year's outlier with the great Kevin O'Connell,
Sam Donald has never thrown twenty one touchdowns in the NFL,
and now his top receiver is JSN.
Speaker 5 (11:25):
They got rid of two other guys.
Speaker 4 (11:27):
I don't think he's gonna hit twenty one touchdowns. Do
you think they're going to all of a sudden air
it out.
Speaker 1 (11:33):
No, He's gonna go twenty four and eight, which is
way better than twenty one and fifteen. He'll go twenty
four and eight. By the way, they have a number
one receiver fan two running backs. We know you can
find receivers in college. You can find receivers. By the way,
because Sam Donald's deal is friendly, you can find receivers
(11:54):
at the trade deadline. What if a team is a
mess in week seven, then go find You know, the
Donald deal is so team friendly it allows you moves
potentially at the trade deadline.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
You also said they're between the thirteenth and sixteenth best
quarterbacks in that whole ball. I hate to break it
to you, but I recently went through on my podcast.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
Yeah, and there neither of them are top fifteen.
Speaker 3 (12:18):
I mean there's.
Speaker 4 (12:19):
Fifteen better quarterbacks in the league right now, like Tua.
Speaker 5 (12:22):
Would you say two was better than both those guys.
Speaker 1 (12:26):
I would say two has been more consistent with both
those guys, but small, not good, deep concussion issues, and
if it's windy, he's not the same player. I'd take Donald.
I'm just saying, OK. And I also look at Tua.
How much you have to pay too, and how much
you have to pay Sam.
Speaker 3 (12:43):
That factors in.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
I mean there's only a couple quarterbacks in the league
where you're like, what's the weather like? And if the
answer isn't what you want to hear, you don't get
the same player.
Speaker 4 (12:53):
So Dak or Gino Smith or Sam Donald, Like, it's
got to be Dak. I don't love him, especially not
at sixty mil A.
Speaker 1 (13:00):
Second lower body injury. We sure it stack?
Speaker 3 (13:03):
Wow?
Speaker 5 (13:04):
Oh Sam rising the rents Suddenly I know.
Speaker 1 (13:07):
I'm being realistic. By the way, Jordan Love had a
totally up and down season, went twenty five TD's eleven picks,
Sam can't go twenty four and ten, and and Jordan
Loved last year disappointed most of us twenty four and tents.
Wait I'm not asking. I'm not saying thirty six and six.
I'm not asking for a Josh Allen. I'm not saying
(13:29):
twenty nine and four Aaron in his prime. I'm just
saying twenty four and ten, twenty four and eleven. Sam
can't do that. No, by the way, all you Aaron
Rodgers fanboys, apparently, Peter Schrager on Good Morning Football Today
reported that Aaron Rodgers could take up to four weeks
(13:51):
to make a decision.
Speaker 3 (13:54):
This stuff is funny. Can you imagine.
Speaker 1 (13:57):
Trying to hire somebody, you know, the most important position
on your team in a team sport? Hey, give me
a month.
Speaker 3 (14:03):
What have you been doing?
Speaker 1 (14:03):
You were out of the playoff race like three years ago?
I mean, what are we doing here? Can you get
Can you give me an answer or not? I'm not
looking for you to play tomorrow. Could you just give
me an answer? Hey? Again, it's amazing rich single guys.
The older they get, the weirder they get. This is funny.
Micah Parsons took a shot at the forty nine ers
in brock Purty. As Micah is watching the Niners having
(14:28):
to get rid of all these players because now they
have to pay brock Purty and the little tweet by
Micah is no more rookie quarterback. Lol. Welcome to reality. Yes, yes, yes,
brock Purty now lives the same life as every other
quarterback in the league. It's a flawed roster, it's an
(14:50):
average offensive line. You have a highly compensated receiver coming
off surgery, and there's no more money to upgrade. You
have to cross your fingers on draft picks. So this
is the real NFL. This has been my narrative for years.
It's almost like the first time you move out from
your parents and you're on your own. Oh wait, my
(15:10):
phone bills two hundred and seventy eight dollars a month.
I've only got one lamp. Oh I had no idea
cutlery costs this much. Mom said, I have to pay
for my own car insurance. Yeah, that's called grown up adult.
That's a reality. When you get off you know the
parent's dole. So brock Perty's been in this league, you know,
three full years, a little bit of a trust fund kid,
(15:33):
not a lot of discomfort, didn't have to carry anybody,
not a lot to overcome. Well, then the second half
of last year happened. Left tackles out McCaffrey's out receiver
banged up that. By the way, that's not a hardship.
That's called the NFL for a quarterback. That's what Mahomes
has been dealing with for three years. That's not a hardship.
(15:55):
You having to pay your own car insurance is not
a hardship. It's called being an adult. So Micah Parsons
is just saying, Okay, remember remember Dak. When Dak came
into the league, you guys all fell for it. Number
one on line by a mile. I mean, like Philadelphia's
on line now just dominant. Zeke was all pro. They
(16:15):
got him Amari Cooper short time after that, Cede lamb
Oh we eaten and all of a sudden, now you
get paid, and you get an injury, like brock Purty's
going to get paid, and he's had a couple of injuries.
You don't move quite as well, and then all of
a sudden you're measured on different stuff. So the other
thing to remember, So brock Purty entered the league with
(16:37):
the best roster just in his division, looking down at everybody.
Now the Rams have a better roster, Rams have a
better quarterback. Rams have a better coach. Purty was zero
and two against the Rams last year. So remember how
Sean McVeagh got tired of losing to Kyle Shanahan and
moved off golf. Let me tell you something, if brock
Perdy gets a new deal the next two years can't
(16:58):
beat McVeigh, that's gonna piss Shanahan off. Whole world changes
now when you get paid, expectations go up. McVeigh love golf,
and then he couldn't beat his rival. He was winning
a lot of games. He got you into a super Bowl.
He couldn't beat the Niners ticked him up. Never forget
McVeigh and Shanahan maybe buddies. They are intense rivals. And
(17:23):
now mcveay has got the better roster, the better quarterback.
He won both games last year.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon Eastern nn am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Mike of Parson's Coming Around on the old de Brock.
Pretty narrative. Things are changing. It's like Jmax first couple
of weeks made mistakes, Nobody cared. Now the Brinks truck
stopped by little tougher grading scale than the old Herd update. Guy, Oh,
I saw this. I saw this story. Saw this story.
(18:01):
There's a lot of people out there selling this store.
NBA is dead seven years was eleven years, seventy six
billion dollar contract. Yeah, I don't think it's dead. I
don't think it's going to the emergency room. Owners happy,
players happy, Adam Silver happy. If you sell your house
(18:21):
for twice what it's worth, you're happy. Forget what happens
to do it after so oh the Laker Celtics game,
it wasn't even a good game in the second half,
scored a seven year ratings high. As the NBA playoffs approach,
every sport except the NFL needs certain brands, certain cities
(18:44):
to win. Last year, Dodgers Yankees had a sixty seven
percent increase sixty seven percent World Series ratings increase. By
the way, when the Cubs played in Game seven both
those series on fog, it was the highest they had
forty million viewers for a baseball game in America. Forty million.
(19:07):
So Cubs, Yankees, Dodgers Baseball all of a sudden is
cool again in college football, highest Natty rating in my
adult life. USC Texas a twenty two and a half.
So the NBA today, La Lakers, New York Knicks, Boston, Celtics,
San Francisco, love their teams and their teams are all good.
(19:30):
Geenie Buss said this the other day. She was on
a podcast. She said, I had no idea the global
impact of Luca. So you put Luca, you put Luca
in you know, Los Angeles from Dallas. You put Jimmy
Butler Miami to the Warriors, and it's like, whoa, it
(19:51):
changes everything. So the Cowboys haven't been to a super
Bowl and what like thirty years doesn't matter, irrelevant. It's
why I've been saying going forward. I can't understand ESPN
not signing baseball. The Dodgers are great, the Mets are fascinating,
Yankees good, bravez Oh was good. Cubs just got the
(20:13):
best offseason acquisition of the year. Braves, Dodgers, Matt's, Phillies,
all the big markets, all the big brands are great.
What is the ESPN doing like double down on Bay now?
And I'm not a huge baseball guy, right like, this
is the best time to buy baseball and the game
now is watchable because at last two hours and thirty
six minutes, not three hours and eleven minutes. So here
(20:35):
was on the Julian Edelman podcast. Here was Genie Buss
talking about the Luca move. Here's Genie boums.
Speaker 3 (20:44):
We were not.
Speaker 6 (20:45):
Looking to trade Anthony Davis. Dallas contacted us. It was
a deal that both sides wanted to make. I didn't
anticipate the global impact it would have. I mean, I
knew it was gonna be a big story in the NBA,
but he really is a global superstar.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Yeah, so's I said this the NBA. You gotta have
your players in the right spots. This is baseball, Bryce
Harper in baseball sports crazy Philadelphia Judge, New York stacked
rosters with the Dodgers and the Mets. Braves Ofcunya Cubs
make a move Southern California, Podreser stacked. Like in baseball NBA,
(21:26):
you gotta have the right brands. I mean, I know
you all love Boise State, but the bottom line is
it's really good when Michigan and Ohio State and Notre
Dame end up keep you know. I mean that Michigan
Big Ten's explosion the last couple of years is going
to pay dividends for years. You want the big ten
in the SEC and those big brands and Notre Dame
to be good. So just over time there everybody except
(21:48):
the NFL. You need stars in the right places. NBA
is gonna be fine. You don't have to love the NBA,
but I mean, this weekend's a great example. I'm watching
Michigan Michigan State play tough, watch offensive teams. I turn
on OKC in Denver and it's like Superstars and it's
like it's a great watch. College basketball is fun, but
it's a three week sport. NBA is gonna be fine.
(22:10):
You got an MVP's battling on another channel, Michigan Michigan State,
who are struggling to hit a jumper on the other channel.
Don't talk yourself into less athletic, less dynamic athletes. We
love March madness for three weeks. NBA is gonna be fine.
Didn't have to be your favorite sport. Just say this
(22:30):
out loud. Here's the cities that really loved this sport.
New York, LA, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dallas did well.
Chicago's led the NBA in attendance for four straight years.
They have a bad product. If New York, LA, Chicago, Boston, Philly,
(22:51):
San Francisco are really into something, I mean, I love
college football. Nobody in Philadelphia, San Francisco, New York, Boston,
nobody cares. They don't care about it.
Speaker 7 (23:02):
I do.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
Rocket Mortgage helps you use your rent payments to get
closer to home ownership. With something called rent Rewards, you
can save five thousand dollars off the cost of your
home just by paying rent. Go to Rocket dot com. Yes,
Rocket Mortgage LLC license in all fifty state.
Speaker 2 (23:18):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern nn am Pacific.
Speaker 8 (23:23):
Hey, Steve Covino and I'm Rich David and together we're
Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 7 (23:29):
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 1 (23:36):
Why should you listen to Covino and Rich.
Speaker 7 (23:37):
We talk about everything life, sports, relationships, what's going on
in the world.
Speaker 8 (23:42):
We have a lot of fun talking about the stories
behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture,
stories that well, other shows don't seem to have the
time to discuss.
Speaker 7 (23:50):
And the fact that we've been friends for the last
twenty years and still work together.
Speaker 1 (23:53):
I mean that says something, right, So check us out.
Speaker 8 (23:56):
We like to get you involved too, take your phone calls.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Shop it up.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
As they say, i'd say, the most interactive show on
Fox Sports Radio, maybe the.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
Most interactive show on planetar.
Speaker 8 (24:05):
Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on
Fox Sports Radio and the iHeartRadio app from five to
seven pm Eastern two to four Pacific, And if you
miss any of the live show, just search Kovin on
Rich wherever you get your podcasts, and of course on
social media that's Covino and Rich.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
All right, welcome back. Apparently Rams picked up DeVante Adams,
which we thought was one of those seamless moves that'll work.
DeMarcus Robbins and the receiver went to San Francisco yesterday.
Cooper Cup's gonna get released here pretty quick. Let's go
to Albert Breer joining us live with Cooper Cups gob
But is there a landing spot? I actually think the
(24:41):
Chargers would be interesting. What do you make of Cooper Cup?
Where would he go?
Speaker 3 (24:46):
Yeah? I mean I think there are teams out there
that are contenders that would make some sense. What about
the Lions, you know, where he could have a complimentary
role with a'mon Ross, Saint Brown and Jamison Williams there.
Obviously he's got the background which at goff from other
years together in Los Angeles. There's some contenders out there.
And then I think, you know, like maybe where the
(25:07):
bigger money would be might be in a place where
he could help lay a foundation. And you know, one
place like that would be Jacksonville with Liam Cohen there.
He can make a difference for Brian Thomas Junior coming
off of his rookie year, and really I think he'd
know the expectations of Liam Cohen, he'd know the system.
(25:27):
You know, he kind of helped be a torch bearer
in a place like that. So I think he's gonna
have some options out there. Colin, You're just going to
be comfortable with a that he's you know, probably not
quite what he was a couple of years ago, and
be you might be dealing with a guy you only
get for ten or twelve games, because that's really what
he's been in the last three years.
Speaker 1 (25:45):
By the way, the Niners making some fairly seismic moves
they wanted to keep Halanka and Green Lodels were excellent players.
Banged up a lot, but excellent instinctive players, and some
of it's just clearing space for Brock pretty so they've
got space. But they also released a eleak a couple
of days ago, like our negotiations are going to be
different now, which, by the way, is what the Rams
(26:07):
have done. They just set a ceiling and said Stafford,
this is what you're making. We're not moving off it,
you know, signing both UK and Debo. Oh what felt
a little much? The brought pretty thing. I'm just forty
four million. I mean, this stuff matters when you're talking
about a guy who I view as sort of a
good player, but he needs players around him to excel.
Speaker 3 (26:28):
Yeah, and I think that's why this is going to
take a little while, you know. And if you look
at the last few years with the Niners, they have
lots of negotiations dragging to the summer. Three years ago
was Debo, two years ago as Nick Bosa. Last year
was Brandon AYUK. So you know, we've seen these things,
you know, drag, and we've seen the Niners have some
trouble at the negotiating table. That could happen with this one.
(26:50):
This is a complicated negotiation. I don't think he'll hold
out the way a couple of those other guys did.
But I don't think this one's going to be easy either.
I think the Niners are kind of where the Rams
were two years ago, where the Bills were last year.
Both those teams carried seventy five million dollars in dead
money into a season and in an attempt to kind
of clean their cap out and try to have some
(27:12):
more balance going forward, and and and kind of it
wasn't going back to square one, but reset their program.
I think that's really where the Niners are right now.
And and look like, you know, it's tough, you know,
because it's you know, the way that they built and
doing it through the draft. They found George Kittle in
the fifth round. They found Fred Warner in the fourth round,
they found found brock Party in the seventh round. Deebo
(27:35):
Samuel was a second rounder. So it's not easy to
to to to do that again. But they have shown
the ability to draft and develop over the years, and
that's what they're going to have to be good at
as they sort of move off of the core that
got them to two Super Bowls.
Speaker 7 (27:51):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:51):
I again, like I think a lot of times you
go into these situations and fan base can panic and
look like, well, we're letting go this guy and we're
letting go of that guy, and this is going to
be a year where we're completely ripping the band aid
off in tanking that doesn't have to be where it is.
You know again, the Bills did it last year and
they were able to make the playoffs with seventy five
million dollars in dead money. The year before that, the
(28:13):
Rams did it, made the playoffs with seventy five million
dollars in dead money. So I wouldn't rule out the Niners,
a team that's been really good over the last few
years and with you know, a head coach and general
manager who really know what they're doing, being able to.
Speaker 1 (28:29):
Draft and develop their way out of this. So I
think the Bears. Two of my favorite moves were Joe
Tooney and Drew Dolman for a young quarterback.
Speaker 3 (28:38):
I love those.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
Not sexy, but I love them. And jam Mac. There's
a rumor out today that gent the running back from
Boise State, is going to go to Chicago. Now, Jamac
says they want to leak that because they know gent
there's three or four teams that want him, and they
want teams moving up. So I got, you know, Cluse
over here in Spectra Cluso. My take is, I don't know.
(29:00):
I think they want another red rusher. I don't know.
I kind of like I think there's a defensive need
for them more than a running back need. What do
you make of the Bears off season and the gen d.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Rumor, Well, they've just spent almost twenty million dollars a
year on dio odeyingbo I gotta still get the pronunciation
of his name right, the EDG. Russier from the Colts
to play opposite Montes. What they've invested in Javon Kinlaw,
a defensive tackle, and then like you said, on the
offensive line, adding Joe Tooney and Drew Dollman and Jonah
(29:33):
Jackson from the Rams. Also, they've sort of reimagined what
they are up front of both sides of the ball,
and that mirrors what Ben Johnson was a part of
in Detroit. If you look at the foundation of the
teams in Detroit, they spent money, They spent draft capital
onlineman Penae Sewell, was their first draft pick. The next year,
(29:53):
they spent the second overall pick on Aiden Hutchinson. There
were other guys they got later in the draft, like
Alene McNeil had been foundation pieces. They obviously inherited Frank
rag Now and Taylor Decker there. And you know, I
I think if you look at you know, what Ben
Johnson would want to build in Chicago would be similar.
And so you're seeing that investment in the lines. If
you want to bring Ashton Genty into the conversation, Okay,
(30:16):
here's the way I look at that one. There are
people out there, and we've heard Travis Hunter and Abdul
Carter in some order, or the number one and number
two guys in this year's draft class. Right, I've heard
some people put Ashton Genty in that territory too. Now,
you don't value him the same way you would a
two way player who could play receiver in imparrant two
premium positions or an edge rusher, right Like, so the
(30:38):
positional value isn't there. But if you view Ashton Jenny
Genty that way, where he's in that class of player.
Wasn't there a team recently that surprised everybody by taking
a running back in the first round and got a
really big payoff, right, Yeah, that was Sjamir Gibbs with
the Lions. Yeah, so that's you know, part of Ben
(30:59):
Jonson passed as well. So it's interesting. It's another way
of investing in your young quarterback where you can take
some of the pressure off of him by having a
really productive running game.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
The running backs who get drafted high and have been
productive players after being drafted high, Saquon Barkley, Ezekiel Elliott,
you know obviously, Yeah, adri Well no a couple of
years ago with both with both Jean Robinson and Jamier Gibbs.
Those guys bring value in the pass game too, you know.
And Ashton Genty can do that as well. So I mean,
(31:31):
it wouldn't floor me if if they took a running
back in the first round because of Ben Johnson's pass
and because it would it could mean for Caleble.
Speaker 1 (31:39):
So it's interesting. Denver and Sean Payton made a couple
of interesting moves. Hafunk has been hurt a lot, same
with green Law. Good players, insanely instinctive, smart guys. And
my take was Sean Payton thought, listen, I got to
twenty five points a game last year with bow Knicks
as a rookie, if I can squeeze a little more
(31:59):
juice out of him, twenty six and a half, twenty
seven in a game. If you look at the games
that they scored, like twenty five or more last year,
they went nine to one, and I can see Peyton saying,
I all squeeze the offense, all squeezed the juice out
of the offense. I got to get our defense, which
got kind of tired at the end of the year
because a lot of people look at those moves and
(32:19):
say they're risky. But I think bo Knicks was actually
better than Sean Fought as a rookie at quarterback.
Speaker 3 (32:25):
What say you, Yeah, this is another one where you
can look at a guy's pass like Sean Payton. Over
the years, they didn't pay skill position players really until
the very end when they had both Michael Thomas and
Alvin Kamara on big contracts. Remember they paid Jimmy Graham.
They wound up trading him a year after they paid him.
I mean, if you want to go way back, Marcus Colston,
but you can't find a ton of skill players they
(32:46):
paid in New Orleans they paid the quarterback, they paid
the offensive lineman, they paid the defense. And so I
think this does reflect the way that they built in
New Orleans. And I think it's Sean Payton's belief that
he can make it work with younger players or lesser
players at the skill positions because of what he's able
to do schematically. And so I think this is really
Sean Payton looking and saying, we had the number one
(33:08):
defense in the NFL last year. We have Patrick Sartam,
we have a couple of young edge rushers that are
still on their rookie deals, are coming off just coming
off their rookie deals, and Nick Benito and Jonathan Cooper,
and we can take the defense to the next level.
We've got a chance here to take a really good
defense and make it a great defense by adding guys
like Drake Greenlab and Hafunga right down the middle. And so,
(33:33):
you know, I look at it as Sean Payton's belief
in himself that hey, I can find a joker, as
he calls it, I can find a receiver in the draft.
They did it last year with the two rookies they drafted,
Vele and Franklin. I can find those guys in the
draft that I can develop and I can fit to
my offense. Let's go spend everywhere else and I'll make
(33:55):
it work schematically because of what I bring to the table.
Exactly what he did in New Orleans, and I think
I guess what he's going to try to do again
in Denver this year.
Speaker 1 (34:02):
That's good stuff. I will tell you there's one team
they lost Joe Tooney, They're gonna go with a backup
Niner tackle at left tackle. I don't know. I watched.
I watched this offense struggle last year get pushed around
by a couple of teams. Raiders gave him fits up front.
(34:25):
Kansas City goes into the season. I don't love the
old line. It's hard to be a great team albert
with a mediocre, below average O line, is it not.
Speaker 2 (34:34):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (34:34):
And you know they were going to take a swing
on Ronnie Stanley too, And I think their number was
going to be right around where Baltimore's number was for
Ronnie Stanley. And obviously Baltimore is able to take them
off the market two days before free agency start. So
that was their plan, was to invest in one of
the best left tackles in football doesn't work out for them,
so they have to go to Plan B, which is
really projecting a guy. You know, like they look at
(34:57):
Jalen Moore and they see some talent there. He obviously
had limited snaps. It was those really came when Trent
Williams was hurt. But they saw a guy like, Okay,
we'll bring him in. We got a two year deal,
thirty million dollars. It's not crazy money, and we'll project
him to be a little bit more than he was
in San Francisco. We'll work out, we'll see. I don't
(35:18):
think it's the only dart they're going to throw at
that position. I don't know how much longer Juwan Taylor
is going to be there at right tackle, like this
might be his last year there. So I still think
that they're going to spend significant draft capital on the
tackle position and try to get that right. I mean,
I you've seen they've done it over the last few years.
Wandie Morris was a young guy that they tried to
bring along. Kingsley Suamataia is moving inside to left guard. Now,
(35:44):
you know, really, for the Chiefs, this is going to
be about throwing a bunch of darts. At the position
and trying to get it right. And again I don't
think they're done throwing those darts. Jandie Morris will be
in that mix now, you know. Now they bring in
Jalen Moore, like you said, from San Francisco to be
in that mix, and I think they'll probably probably draft
another tackle somewhere in the top one hundred picks or so.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Finally, it's inevitable. An Aaron Rodgers question, I mean, I
don't love the Steeler.
Speaker 3 (36:10):
I don't know if anybody knows exactly what he's going
to do. If you don't want to be honest with
you people, I think only Aaron knows.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
I mean, is Adam where is that where we're at?
Speaker 3 (36:18):
I mean seriously, yeah, So, I mean I think to so,
just having talked to some people who know him and
you know, who understand the experiences that he's had and
everything else, here's how I would compare the two opportunities
that he's got. Right, So, you have the one opportunity
in Pittsburgh where you're really asking him to be the
(36:40):
finishing piece and he's coming in and he'd be coming
in and playing with some guys that really are as
peers right, Like, so TJ. Watt, Mika Fitzpatrick, those guys
are going to be operating with the same level of
urgency that he's operating with. They've got a young offensive
line that I think has got a chance to be
really good. They're bringing in dk metcalp that's another win
now move, so you'll look at it. It's a team
(37:00):
that's been good for a long time, just hasn't been
great in a while. Right, So what are you asking
me to do? You're asking him to come in and
be the last piece. I think if he goes to
the Giants, you're asking him to be the difference maker. Now,
they could be really good. They've got Brian Burns, They've
got Kevon Tibodeau, They've got Dexter Lawrence. They brought in
a couple of young guys to playing their secondary. Paulson
Adiebo I think has got a chance to be a
(37:21):
really good player. For him, elite neighbors on offense. Bring
him back. You know Andrew Thomas at left tackle. Tyrone
Tracy has potential at running back. But isn't that sort
of what he just did with the Jets, right, Like
where the Jets were asking him to be the difference
maker with a younger team, and that didn't really work.
Pittsburgh's asking for something different. Pittsburgh's saying, look, we just
(37:44):
need somebody to put us over the top of the position.
So I do wonder if that's going to be a
factor in his decision making. Again, only he knows, and
he's very private about these things, And I don't know
what the timeline is. It could happen in ten minutes,
it could happen in ten days. But you know, I
do think, you know, we're all a product of our
own experiences, and I look at this like Pittsburgh offers
(38:05):
him as something that's a little bit different than what
he went through with the Jets, where I think the
Giants would be asking him to do something similar to
what the Jets were asking him to do a couple
of years ago.
Speaker 1 (38:15):
Albert Breer, Monday Morning Quarterback on a very fun week.
A few other things. Cooper Cups gonna get let go
of the Rams, so keep your eye on that, as always, Albert,
great stuff,
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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