July 11, 2025 • 30 mins
More on Cooper Flagg's debut last night
Update on the latest news in the NBA
Do the Chiefs have a chance to make it to the playoffs despite what Jason McIntyre thinks?
Guests: Joe Vardon, Chris Fallica
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
All right, let's welcome in.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Joe Varden has covered the NBA lebron for a long time,
has seen Cooper Flag up close and personal last night. Joe,
let's hear about it. How good was Cooper Flag last night?
I don't care that he was five for twenty one.
I thought he looked great.
Speaker 5 (00:39):
I was gonna say he's stunk five to twenty one.
You know, these these summer league debuts can be so fun.
And you think about the year when Zion debuted out
here and there was an earthquake they stopped the game,
And then you think about the hype with when Victor
and he his first game and the action wasn't very good.
(01:02):
I was thinking about those things last night watching Cooper,
and I also thought immediately to this idea that Jason
Kidd wants to put the ball in his hands and
that had been broadcast and so on the first possession,
Cooper's got the ball over the timeline and he's immediately
seeing a double team. I remember seeing Cooper here last
(01:24):
year against the Team USA Stars, and he was awesome,
And so I feel like that was a little bit
more indicative of the player that he's going to be
than what we saw last night. Like there's so much
going on with the summer league games and who your
teammates are, and obviously they just wanted to get the
(01:44):
ball to Cooper last night and get out of the way,
especially in the first half. So you know, I thought
he was kind of all over the place. You know,
I bet he'll be much better the next time he plays,
and then he probably won't play much after that. But
you know, you just have to remember that whatever goes
on out here, there's a lot more that goes into
(02:04):
what makes these players, you know, have the kinds of
expectations that he has. And I am as I am
as excited as you are about what we're going to
see long term from Cooper.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
Sure, yeah, so on some of those drives to the basket,
the whole defense is collapsing on him, like good luck
trying mat with Klay Thompson on the perimeter and PJ Washington,
you know there's no chance that teams will defend him
like that in the league.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
I'm just curious.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Do you think he starts in some kind of hybrid
point guard role or do they bring him off the
bench just like a sixth man just to ease in
the eighteen year old.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
No, I would be surprised if he doesn't start. I
am concerned about this point guard thing, and like you know,
I'm a journalist. I covered politics for six years. I'm
not a Hall of Fame point guard like Jason kidd is,
so I will defer to him. But just having like
covered this league now for eleven years and seeing the
(03:00):
things that I've seen, a rookie who is certainly versatile
but is not used to playing that position all of
a sudden, being under the pressure cooker of the NBA
where teams are designing defenses to try to stop you,
I think that's a lot of pressure for him. And
(03:21):
you know, you're exactly right, like Dallas does have options
on the floor, like Clay is out there, Ad is
out there. You know, I don't know about Kyrie, but
soon enough, he'll be back. You know that they have players,
but there's still something about being able to run an
offense and get the ball where it needs to go
(03:41):
and do it without turning it over. And you know,
I just I question this, Like, I'm so excited for
Cooper because he's a number one pick and he wound
up on a team that does not stink. You know,
they've already built around him, and so that is that
puts him at such an advantage. To ask him to
be a point guard puts a level of pressure on
(04:05):
him that maybe he otherwise wouldn't have to face because
of the rest of the situation around.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
And I totally agree.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
All right, Joe, let's quickly pivot to Lebron and there's
Ben's you know, you know Lebron well covered the calves
for many years. We know when he gets passive aggressive
on social media, something's up. And now you've got this
report that he's just unhappy the Lakers aren't really showing
him the difference that they used to and now it's
all catering to Luca and so Lebron's kind of gone
(04:33):
radio silent. I don't know, is there something here or nothing?
Is this normal Lebron?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Is he really ticked? Do you see? You know, I
keep trying to.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Draw this parallel, like the Warriors have done nothing in
free agency, and it's like, all right, is the Warriors
a potential landing spot for Lebron?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I don't know. I'm just thinking out loud.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Here, is it? Is it possible? Because I was, you know,
I was watching the previous segment before he brought me on,
which was so good. But is there is there a
way for literally everything you've just said to be true?
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Like can it?
Speaker 5 (05:09):
Can it be true that Lebron is feeling a little
bit frosty because you know this, this transition to the
next superstar is actually happening, and that and when when
that transition occurs, whoever is in Lebron's position? You know,
it feels a little personal, It feels a little raw.
Is it possible? But at that at the same time,
(05:30):
the Lakers are probably his best option to try and win.
They were third in the West last year with just
Lebron and Luca and no no discernible big And now
they have DeAndre Ayton, you know, they Rivia and and
then a roster that was already pretty good. Is it
(05:51):
possible that when you're the Lakers and you're talking about
Luka Doncic, and yes, he's twenty six years old, and
you hope he's on your team for teen years, but
you don't really have time to punt on the year.
So you have in Lebron a second team All NBA
superstar who's still averaging about twenty five eight to eight.
(06:15):
How do you get rid of him and still compete?
Like this idea that the Lakers don't want to compete
this year is asinine, and the suggestion like that suggestion
coming from Lebron's camp is as silly as when it
comes from anybody else. Like they could trade him, they
(06:35):
absolutely cannot buy him out right now? That would be
that would like I can't even wrap my mind around that,
because they're going to try to compete and they're going
to try to win. If they were to try and
trade him, there's only a couple of teams that could
realistically come up with fifty two million dollars in assets
without ripping up their entire team. So then you have
(06:56):
to ask yourself, you brought up the Warriors, would you
rather have Lebron under contract for this year with Luca
or would you rather have Jimmy Butler on his deal
as he's getting older, Or do you want Karl Anthony
towns No from New York and playing on the same
team with Luca and they're both locked up for a
(07:17):
long time.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
I don't think so. So, you know, like I think
all of these things are true. I would also add,
because you one of the things you said was is like,
is this like normal Lebron? The answer is definitely yes.
You know, I've been I've been playing this game. Uh,
you know, like when I'm when I'm on shows like
I will I will ask the host to guests who
(07:44):
wrote this and I and I I read something that
that basically says Lebron is taking his time this summer
to see if if the team is serious about building
a contender. And everybody guess, and you know, somebody will
say Sean, somebody will say Brian, somebody will say somebody
one of my colleagues at the athletic And the answer
(08:06):
is me from twenty fifteen. This happens all the time,
and they almost say this exactly. It's the only difference
is is Lebron had to pick up his option? Why
because he was going to be paid fifty two million dollars,
and if he had declined it, there was one team
(08:27):
one the Brooklyn Nets, who are not ready to contend
that Lebron would have no business going there at this age.
They're the only team that even had that kind of
cap room to pay him the money that he's worth,
so financially, he had to do this. But he wants
to still feel relevant. He wants the team to go
all in. And I just just I just the idea
(08:50):
that they aren't. I just don't. I don't agree with that.
I think they they they traded for Luka Doncic like
he is one of the top five players, top three
players probably in the NBA. Like the Lakers are trying
to win and having Lebron on the team probably gives
them a better chance to do that.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Totally agree. What a take that was powerful, Joe Varden.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
The athletic knows Lebron, well knows the Cavs, knows, the league,
the Lakers. Hopefully you internalize that, Joe, thanks a lot.
Enjoy the rest of the summer league, and now I
have a great summer man, great.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
To see it.
Speaker 5 (09:20):
Have me Allen anytime?
Speaker 3 (09:21):
All right?
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Joe Varden. Listen, that was really smart stuff. And I
don't know if you guys have seen this movie King
Richard about the Serena and Venus Williams and their dad,
Richard Williams.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
He had a line in that movie and I had
to look it up.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
They're trying to attribute it to like Ben Franklin or something.
But if you don't have a plan, plan to fail,
and if you just let that sink in, it's actually
pretty damn good. And I just wonder if the Lakers
got Luca and they started to formulate a plan and
that plan is something that, look, the Lebron's just not
(09:57):
part of going forward.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
We need like a multi year plan. Look at how
Okac's bill. They're ready to weather anything for like the.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Next two years, and they have a billion draft picks
in their war chest.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Their bill really well.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Some of these other teams, the Sun's the worst, they're
not in as great as shape. So I think the
Lakers have a plan, it just doesn't include Lebron. All Right,
we are moving to the Fox Sports app for the
final half hour. Next up on FS one is soccer
the Women's Euro twenty twenty five Portugal versus Belgium, so
catch us on the app. We'll have Chris Felika dropping
(10:31):
by the Bear to chalk gambling. Dude, He's gambling on
the Women's Euro I love it.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Catch us on the app.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in neonon Eastern a em Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio App.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
Hey, what's up everybody? It's me three time Pro Bowl
of LeVar Arrington and I couldn't be more excited to
announce it podcast called Up on Game? What is Up
on Game? You ass along with my fellow pro bowler TJ.
Huschman Zada and Super Bowl champion Yup. That's right, Plexico Birds.
You can only name a show with that type of
talent on it. Up on Game We're going to be
(11:16):
sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen
to Up on Game with me lebar Arrington, TJ. Huschman Zada,
and Plexico Birds on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcast, or
wherever you get your podcast from.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Back here on the Herd final half hour of the week,
I hope everybody has a good, safe weekend. But before
the weekend begins, let's go to Alex with the news.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
No, no turn on the news. This is the Herdline News.
Speaker 7 (11:49):
Let's start in the NBA and we've talked about this
a bit. The Warriors have yet to make a big
move this offseason, but reports indicate that they could land
Al Horford soon. Heading into the season, golden seat core
of Steph Draymond and Jimmy Butler are still there.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
They're all over thirty five years old. Now.
Speaker 7 (12:05):
Despite the older age, Vince Carter isn't concerned but believes
their wisdom will be key.
Speaker 8 (12:13):
A lot of knowledge. Yeah, they have an advantage because
of knowledge. Like we always look at age and we
think old. If they can't do it, can they do it?
Will they do it? Just this would like look at
the knowledge to me, the expectations for Steph Draymond, you know,
even buckets to have to do it early. That's not
(12:33):
what I need you for.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, you see.
Speaker 8 (12:36):
Something I need you for later this I want to
build build up my young guys for the playoffs because
those three guys know what takes and know how.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
To handle it.
Speaker 7 (12:45):
And you can't forget like they were a dynasty not
that long ago, like the last their last ship was
in twenty twenty two. They won four championships in eight years.
But it's not the same it's not the same championship corps.
And it's always tough at the end of a dynasty
when you still have some of the big names on
your team, because you remember how great you were and
(13:06):
how great you could be if everyone was still there
and still in the prime. But I mean, Vegas doesn't
think they have great odds this season.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
We talked about it earlier.
Speaker 7 (13:18):
Their odds to win the NBA title are tied for
tenth best with the Hawks at plus twenty five hundred.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
They're just an old team.
Speaker 7 (13:29):
They're just an older team.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
So I'm looking at their stats from last year.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Their leading scorer was Curry, Yeah, he's thirty six. Their
second leading scorer was Jimmy Butler, he's thirty five. Then
there is Kuminga, He's going to be gone. He's one
of the young guys. Dennis Shruter thirty one, he's going
to be gone. Draymond Green's thirty four. Like I said,
Kevon Looney's gone. He's on the older side. Buddy heals
(13:53):
thirty two. Like, they don't have a lot of young guys.
Odds is the only young guy who's e Moses Moody.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
But he's like the thre eighth guy.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
And as we saw, if Curry's out like there, they
can't they can't win.
Speaker 9 (14:05):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
I guess there's probably a way Lebron is hoping that
he could go out with Curry or something as opposed.
Speaker 7 (14:12):
To you think you're putting that out there.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
They're in the universe. They they've been friends dating back
for years.
Speaker 7 (14:17):
So there's respect. There's mad respect between the people. I
don't know where are they going to do it? But Lebron,
why are the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Taking on the Jimmy Butler contract? They're not, no, so
I don't see that. Now.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
If you could reroute Butler to Milwaukee and get Yannis
to the Lakers, he in.
Speaker 7 (14:36):
His contract though. Does Butler have a no trade to
check that? Yeah, like I know, they just signed it.
Milwaukee would want to a lot like that's something that
he would have considering how he left the Heat.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
It was just kind of weird the no trade clause.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
The Bradley Beal thing is really it's tough.
Speaker 7 (14:52):
Interesting, Yeah, it's going to be interesting. I am that
they're gonna have to. They need to make a little
more younger at moves to the Warriors if they.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Want to move up with their odds.
Speaker 7 (15:03):
But let's move to the NFL, where Aiden Hutchinson is
fully cleared to return from a broken leg that ended
his season prematurely in Week six, and the Lions' best
defender came eligible for contract extension this offseason, but as
yet to sign one. Meanwhile, he discussed where he's at
entering his fourth NFL season.
Speaker 10 (15:22):
I'm exactly where I need to be, and every year
I've been able to improve on my own physical attributes
as long as there along with the mental ones. So
I feel like every year I take a step, And
despite having that rehab this offseason, I feel like I'm
in the perfect spot and exactly where I need to
be going into year four.
Speaker 7 (15:43):
Yeah, the Lions need him to be the best that
he can be because they have a lot of new
this year. They lost both their offensive coordinator, their defensive coordinator,
a lot of assistants. Along with that their four time
Pro Bowl center and Frank ragnow retired.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Which like that's a really big deal.
Speaker 7 (15:57):
That's a lot a lot of new and changes on
this team. And they've fallen short the last two years
after being the favorite. They lost to the Commanders in
the Divisional round last year, the NFC Title Game to
the forty nine Ers the year before. I mean that's
kind of their brand, is like the grit, like, don't
believe in us. We can prove you wrong. But they've
(16:19):
fallen short when they had everything the last few years,
and now they have new coordinators losing their center. You
hope that Aiden can get back to his top form,
but do you think he can be one of the
NFL's elite edge rushers again.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
I certainly get back to top five, no doubt about it.
I mean we've seen guys bounce back from injuries at
the edge rusher position. I think he's certainly right there
with Miles Garrett, TJ. Watt, Micah Parsons, whoever you want
to put in there.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
He's a superstar. He just need him back badly. Yeah.
Speaker 7 (16:52):
Yeah, well let's stick with the NFL J Max. You
have a forty nine Ers as Super Bowl contenders, but
they already have one potential road to their ultimate goal.
Reports indicate that Brandon and Ayuk will likely start the
season on the physically unable to perform the pup list
after tearing his ACL and MCL last season. However, the
report does add that San Francisco isn't ruling him out
(17:15):
for Week one. They obviously have a very easy schedule
this season because of how bad their season was last year. However,
I know you're hot on them and you have them certainly.
What in the super Bowl six pack? Did you also
have Rams in the Super Bowl six packs? So you
had two NFC West team it is. I don't think
(17:38):
they're going to win the NFC West. I think the
Rams take the NFC West, but they should be a
playoff team. I mean they did trade Debo to the Commanders,
so a Yuk is going to be.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
More of.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Years ago. Yeah, he does.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
It's just.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Open with Seattle, that's that's a.
Speaker 7 (18:00):
Tough one on the road, but they do have one
of the easier schedules.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Or at Pats are horrible. Arizona is.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
I think Arizona's a plucky team. Jacksonville we don't think
is going to be great.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Now without Ayuk, this would be their wide receiver grouping
Week one. Juwan Jennings, who's pretty damn good.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
As a three. Yeah, is he great? As one or two.
I don't know. Ricky Piersall the guy who got shot
and then.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Bounced back last year, and then their third wide receivers
kind of opened DeMarcus Robinson maybe, But I do think
we'll see a lot of two tight end sets from them,
Kittle and Luke Cerrel and then McCaffrey back, and so.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
They should be good. I think three they have.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
A lot of weapons, but not as many as they
did last year.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
You're high on them. I think they'll do well.
Speaker 7 (18:47):
I don't think they're gonna be They should do better
because of their strength of schedule, because it's not as
strong as everybody else because of the bad season last year.
But I'm not as on the three Niners as you are.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
All right, Alex with the news, Well that's.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
The news, and thanks for stopping by the Herd Line News.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
All right.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Our next guest is a really good one, Chris Felika
the Bear.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
He's gonna drop by it to tell us why. I
hope I'm reading this right.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
The Chiefs are going to continue to dominate the AFC West.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
What we'll talk to Felika next.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
One more heard the Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week. Within the iHeartRadio app, Search Herd
to listen live or on demand whenever you like.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Welcome back to the Herd. We have a great guest
coming up, Chris the Bear FeliCa. You know him well,
Big noon.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Kickoff the Bear Bets Podcast with Jeff Schwartz.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Felika. How are we doing, my man? How's everything going?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Where we're doing?
Speaker 9 (19:52):
All right? We're getting ready for a little match day
three here of women's areas in a little while here
Span Italy, So we're getting ready to lock in for that.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
I see you dropping bets on social media about the
Women's Euros.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
I'm like, this guy is an animal. I love it.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
He is.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Just by the way, how was the tournament going for you?
Speaker 9 (20:09):
It was great up until yesterday when, like an idiot,
I got involved in bett under two and a half
and in a match that had seven goals scored. So
outside of that, it's been pretty good outside.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Okay, all right, well is it? Hey? You jump in
there crushing it. Let's get to football.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Though.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
You know they made me tease this old Chiefs win
the AFC West. I'm out on the Chiefs. This year.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
We did have Bereer come on yesterday and say, listen,
the offense could actually be better with a healthy receive
Rice Hollywood Brown, zavier' worthy. I still question the offensive line,
but you've seen bullish on Casey I do.
Speaker 9 (20:44):
I mean, you get a lot of expectations and hype
down in that division for what the Chargers are going
to do in year two. Order Jim Harball for year
two under a Tron Payton, what the Broncos did now
with Bonix. Look, I get it, But at the same time,
with how badly the Chiefs were rist in that game,
and Albert Bier kind of outlined for you, you're going to
have healthy one you and I basically that's who Patrick
(21:07):
Mahomes was throwing to last year. The checko should be healthy.
Now you draft Josh Simmons to kind of shure up
that offensive line some I know the schedule is always
going to be difficult, and while I think the Chargers
and the Broncos will certainly be better this year, I
think it's very, very dangerous to count the Chiefs out here.
I bet the minus one twenty to win the West.
And if you're kind of correlating some things, I think
(21:29):
Patrick Mahomes and a big doubts. Back year plus seven
hundred to win MVP isn't necessarily a bad look either.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
I'm sorry, can you clarify that bounce back year for Mahomes?
Are you saying he was not great last year?
Speaker 9 (21:42):
You look at the numbers, and you look at everything
compared to the great numbers and career that he had
throughout the course of his career. Last year was certainly
not a fantastic year in terms of a lot of
the things you look at from Mahome. So and I
think even he would admit that with all of the
issues that they had, all the offensive line and receivers.
So I think things are setting up for a very
big year from him and that Kansas City offense.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Yeah, listen, I understand it. I'm just leaning into my
chiefs hating role. Let's go to the commanders. That's okay, Commanders, listen.
They were phenomenal last year. A lot of people are
comparing them to Houston, who had a shocking rookie year
with CJ.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Stroud.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Then they pull back a little bit. But I thought
Washington had a good offseason. I like Deebo, I like Tunsel.
They retain their coaches. I'm assuming mclaurin's going to get sorted.
But you don't seem as bullish on Washington.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Yeah, I were.
Speaker 9 (22:30):
Anytime you see a team that pulls out a bunch
of miracle wins the way they get against the Bears,
the way they did against the Eagles, the way they
did against the Falcons, I worry about those things kind
of going against them the following year. Look, they are
going to be a very trendy team, a very popular
team to not only win the NFC East, but to
(22:51):
win the NFC and get to the super Bowl. After
what we saw them do in the playoffs last year
in Detroit. They had three other wins besides those games
that I mentioned. Besides five points or fewer, you'll lose
Dante Faller and Jeremy Chin on that defense. I think
that's a big deal. You look at the schedule road
games Green Bay Chargers, Kansas City, Detroit and Denver come
(23:15):
to DC. Those are ten games against some really really
good teams. So I don't know, could they get to
ten maybe, but under nine and a half seems like
a good wager to be. I know a lot of
people who I respect kind of reviewing things the same
way and I know it's funny because when you set
these win total season win totals for teams, the odds
(23:36):
bakers know it, and they see the schedule too, so
all this is kind of baked in. But just seeing
how the Commanders came from kind of nowhere last year,
expecting them to win ten games again this year, with
the fortune that they had last year, and by the way,
Jayden and Daniels being relatively healthy for the entire year,
I think it's kind of kind of always I'm looking
(23:58):
for very optimistic. Yeah, think they are going to get
the same kind of portrait they are this year.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
They do open Giants at Packers versus the Raiders at Atlanta,
so that's a manageable start.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Obviously it gets it gets much tougher than that, but right, Yeah,
that's a good point. I like that.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Now, your Coach of the Year pick is interesting because
I'm actually bullish on.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
This team as a sleeper in the NFC.
Speaker 9 (24:22):
Yeah, and you look at Jonathan Gannon at twenty to
one to win the Coach of the Year award, and
that's a division with the Rams, everyone in there, the
Seahawks and the Niners. It might be a division that's
kind of in flux, in a little bit of transition.
I don't think there is a real Claire favor. We
think Kyler Murray is going to run a little bit
(24:43):
more this year. That would certainly help in the way
the schedule shakes out for Arizona. You just mentioned the
Washington schedule. Arizona has quite the same thing, a very
favorable schedule early in early in the year. They could
be looking at like a five and two type start.
Marvin Harrison back obviously for his second year. He added
some big pieces on that defense with Walter Nolan and
(25:06):
Will Johnson. Like this could be a very surprise team
this year. They made the playoffs a few years ago.
And the one thing that I like about Arizona is
there wasn't really much expected from them the last couple
of years, and they played hard every single week for Gannon.
So they clearly in the locker room like him and
want to play hard for him. And at twenty to one, basically,
(25:28):
if you think Arizona has a chance to win that
division and or make the playoffs, you're gonna get a
much better bang for your buck on betting on Gannon
to win Coach of the year than you are on
the Cardinals to win the division.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Yeah, the Cardinals' first five opponents, Okay, these are the
quarterbacks they have, Tyler Shook, rookie Bryce Young maybe on
his last legs, Brock Perdy, that's a loss. Probably, Then
Sam Darnold and his new Seattle home and cam Ward
of Tennessee. And then you go to the six game
and it's against the Colts. We don't even know who
their starter is going to be. Back with the Anthony
(25:59):
Richardsonson things. Great point, way to look ahead on Arizona.
Now let's go to college football real quick.
Speaker 8 (26:03):
Bear.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
By the way, the Dion Sanders stuff this week about
how he was like a salary cap.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
I know you're a big college guy. I am just.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
Curious where do you stand on that? With Dion thinking
we need a salary cap? It almost feels like Texas
Tech is loading up so much and he sees them,
He's like, we can't compete with them, you.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Know, And.
Speaker 9 (26:24):
Isn't this what everybody wanted in college football or open market?
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (26:28):
Pay the players, make him employees money, goal ower, everybody
gets paid. And he say, which which way do you want?
Speaker 4 (26:36):
I'm with you, you know, I think it's a good thing,
but at the same time, it's going to be difficult.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
To pull off now some of these picks that you have.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
Oregon, obviously they have one of the biggest NIL budgets.
You'd like to over on Oregon, even after losing Dylan Gabriel,
I do.
Speaker 9 (26:52):
I think there's an assumption that there's going to be
a massive step down from Dylan Gabriel to Dante Morritt quarterback,
and I don't necessarily see it. I know they lose
Evan Stewart potentially with an off season the injury, but
I think people are kind of just judging Dante more
on one season as a true freshman on a bad
UCLA team. This guy was one of the highest thought
(27:12):
of quarterback fruits in the country a couple of years ago.
It's back now in an offense that should really kind
of use his strengths and make him a very viable
college quarterback. And the way I'm looking at over ten
and a half with Oregon is I don't know why
we're just going to assume that they're going to go
to Penn State and lose in September.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
I mean, pe Penn.
Speaker 9 (27:33):
State is a program that for everything that they've done
under James Franklin, these games against big game opponents are
games that they don't seem to win. So I think
there's a ton of pressure on Penn State in that
game to win. And even if Oregon does go there
and lose, you look at the remainder of the schedule.
You got a road trip to Iowa, you host sc
(27:53):
There really are on a lot of roadblocks on that
schedule for Oregon from maybe losing at Penn State, running
the two finishing the year eleven and one.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
All right, well we got a minute left. Let's rich.
I can't believe this.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Carson Beck Heisman odds thirty seven to one.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
You'd like that. I thought everybody was out round Beck. Well,
I don't know why.
Speaker 9 (28:13):
I think people are out on Beck because they saw
the injury at the end of the year. They saw
last year all those young Georgia wide receivers dropping balls
offensive line. That was injury, and he didn't People forget
how good he was in twenty twenty three, and now
a lot of people, I think are putting that on
the presence of Rock Bauer is Aladd mccauckey, But I
think with Elijah and often. He's got a weapon at
(28:34):
Miami that can be very similar to that. Jojo Trader
is a young wide receiver that Miami likes. The offensive
line should be one of the top three to five
in the country. They've got a deep running back room
that can help. And oh, by the way, he's gonna
be playing a bunch of acc defenses, not a bunch
of defenses anymore. That they got a game opening season
game against Notre Dame where if Miami were to win that,
(28:55):
and I think it's a basically right right around a
pickup type of game, two two and a half points
of bread, maybe pay are going to come down dramatically.
And you're not only going to see Beck's price when
the Heisman dramadically come down, but Miami's priced, uh to
reach the college football playoff come down. So Beck is
someone that I think people are really sleeping on this year.
You see a lot of you see a lot of
these like top ten lists for quarterback and people are
(29:16):
forgetting about Beck.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
Yeah, well, now you you should admit you are a
Miami guy right a deep time.
Speaker 9 (29:22):
Anyone who knows me and Miami knows and I am
tough on them in the past, and I called their
defense out last year. I'm typically not Rose col glasses
with my teams.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Yeah, So how many Ferraris does Beck have now?
Speaker 10 (29:33):
Is he?
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Is it two or three? Or I lost?
Speaker 9 (29:35):
Not just I think these guys maybe a couple of
Ferraris in a Lamborghini.
Speaker 5 (29:39):
Man.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
Well, that nil life is nice. Sorry, Chris the Bear Felika,
great stuff, Chris. We'll talk to you in August, buddy.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Absolutely, people have a get weekend.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Chris Filica like Carson Beck. I like that. That's not bad.
Thirty seven What I've forgotten about him? Anyways? What a show?
I mean? We got Alex Curry.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
We're giving her books for the potent for the newborn
that's arriving soon.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Collins back on Monday.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Thanks to all our guests, Joe Varden, Marlin Humphrey was phenomenal,
Mark Medina see y'all later
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
All right, let's welcome in.
Speaker 4 (00:26):
Joe Varden has covered the NBA lebron for a long time,
has seen Cooper Flag up close and personal last night. Joe,
let's hear about it. How good was Cooper Flag last night?
I don't care that he was five for twenty one.
I thought he looked great.
Speaker 5 (00:39):
I was gonna say he's stunk five to twenty one.
You know, these these summer league debuts can be so fun.
And you think about the year when Zion debuted out
here and there was an earthquake they stopped the game,
And then you think about the hype with when Victor
and he his first game and the action wasn't very good.
(01:02):
I was thinking about those things last night watching Cooper,
and I also thought immediately to this idea that Jason
Kidd wants to put the ball in his hands and
that had been broadcast and so on the first possession,
Cooper's got the ball over the timeline and he's immediately
seeing a double team. I remember seeing Cooper here last
(01:24):
year against the Team USA Stars, and he was awesome,
And so I feel like that was a little bit
more indicative of the player that he's going to be
than what we saw last night. Like there's so much
going on with the summer league games and who your
teammates are, and obviously they just wanted to get the
(01:44):
ball to Cooper last night and get out of the way,
especially in the first half. So you know, I thought
he was kind of all over the place. You know,
I bet he'll be much better the next time he plays,
and then he probably won't play much after that. But
you know, you just have to remember that whatever goes
on out here, there's a lot more that goes into
(02:04):
what makes these players, you know, have the kinds of
expectations that he has. And I am as I am
as excited as you are about what we're going to
see long term from Cooper.
Speaker 4 (02:15):
Sure, yeah, so on some of those drives to the basket,
the whole defense is collapsing on him, like good luck
trying mat with Klay Thompson on the perimeter and PJ Washington,
you know there's no chance that teams will defend him
like that in the league.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
I'm just curious.
Speaker 4 (02:28):
Do you think he starts in some kind of hybrid
point guard role or do they bring him off the
bench just like a sixth man just to ease in
the eighteen year old.
Speaker 5 (02:37):
No, I would be surprised if he doesn't start. I
am concerned about this point guard thing, and like you know,
I'm a journalist. I covered politics for six years. I'm
not a Hall of Fame point guard like Jason kidd is,
so I will defer to him. But just having like
covered this league now for eleven years and seeing the
(03:00):
things that I've seen, a rookie who is certainly versatile
but is not used to playing that position all of
a sudden, being under the pressure cooker of the NBA
where teams are designing defenses to try to stop you,
I think that's a lot of pressure for him. And
(03:21):
you know, you're exactly right, like Dallas does have options
on the floor, like Clay is out there, Ad is
out there. You know, I don't know about Kyrie, but
soon enough, he'll be back. You know that they have players,
but there's still something about being able to run an
offense and get the ball where it needs to go
(03:41):
and do it without turning it over. And you know,
I just I question this, Like, I'm so excited for
Cooper because he's a number one pick and he wound
up on a team that does not stink. You know,
they've already built around him, and so that is that
puts him at such an advantage. To ask him to
be a point guard puts a level of pressure on
(04:05):
him that maybe he otherwise wouldn't have to face because
of the rest of the situation around.
Speaker 3 (04:11):
And I totally agree.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
All right, Joe, let's quickly pivot to Lebron and there's
Ben's you know, you know Lebron well covered the calves
for many years. We know when he gets passive aggressive
on social media, something's up. And now you've got this
report that he's just unhappy the Lakers aren't really showing
him the difference that they used to and now it's
all catering to Luca and so Lebron's kind of gone
(04:33):
radio silent. I don't know, is there something here or nothing?
Is this normal Lebron?
Speaker 3 (04:40):
Is he really ticked? Do you see? You know, I
keep trying to.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Draw this parallel, like the Warriors have done nothing in
free agency, and it's like, all right, is the Warriors
a potential landing spot for Lebron?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I don't know. I'm just thinking out loud.
Speaker 5 (04:52):
Here, is it? Is it possible? Because I was, you know,
I was watching the previous segment before he brought me on,
which was so good. But is there is there a
way for literally everything you've just said to be true?
Speaker 3 (05:08):
Like can it?
Speaker 5 (05:09):
Can it be true that Lebron is feeling a little
bit frosty because you know this, this transition to the
next superstar is actually happening, and that and when when
that transition occurs, whoever is in Lebron's position? You know,
it feels a little personal, It feels a little raw.
Is it possible? But at that at the same time,
(05:30):
the Lakers are probably his best option to try and win.
They were third in the West last year with just
Lebron and Luca and no no discernible big And now
they have DeAndre Ayton, you know, they Rivia and and
then a roster that was already pretty good. Is it
(05:51):
possible that when you're the Lakers and you're talking about
Luka Doncic, and yes, he's twenty six years old, and
you hope he's on your team for teen years, but
you don't really have time to punt on the year.
So you have in Lebron a second team All NBA
superstar who's still averaging about twenty five eight to eight.
(06:15):
How do you get rid of him and still compete?
Like this idea that the Lakers don't want to compete
this year is asinine, and the suggestion like that suggestion
coming from Lebron's camp is as silly as when it
comes from anybody else. Like they could trade him, they
(06:35):
absolutely cannot buy him out right now? That would be
that would like I can't even wrap my mind around that,
because they're going to try to compete and they're going
to try to win. If they were to try and
trade him, there's only a couple of teams that could
realistically come up with fifty two million dollars in assets
without ripping up their entire team. So then you have
(06:56):
to ask yourself, you brought up the Warriors, would you
rather have Lebron under contract for this year with Luca
or would you rather have Jimmy Butler on his deal
as he's getting older, Or do you want Karl Anthony
towns No from New York and playing on the same
team with Luca and they're both locked up for a
(07:17):
long time.
Speaker 3 (07:18):
I don't know.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
I don't think so. So, you know, like I think
all of these things are true. I would also add,
because you one of the things you said was is like,
is this like normal Lebron? The answer is definitely yes.
You know, I've been I've been playing this game. Uh,
you know, like when I'm when I'm on shows like
I will I will ask the host to guests who
(07:44):
wrote this and I and I I read something that
that basically says Lebron is taking his time this summer
to see if if the team is serious about building
a contender. And everybody guess, and you know, somebody will
say Sean, somebody will say Brian, somebody will say somebody
one of my colleagues at the athletic And the answer
(08:06):
is me from twenty fifteen. This happens all the time,
and they almost say this exactly. It's the only difference
is is Lebron had to pick up his option? Why
because he was going to be paid fifty two million dollars,
and if he had declined it, there was one team
(08:27):
one the Brooklyn Nets, who are not ready to contend
that Lebron would have no business going there at this age.
They're the only team that even had that kind of
cap room to pay him the money that he's worth,
so financially, he had to do this. But he wants
to still feel relevant. He wants the team to go
all in. And I just just I just the idea
(08:50):
that they aren't. I just don't. I don't agree with that.
I think they they they traded for Luka Doncic like
he is one of the top five players, top three
players probably in the NBA. Like the Lakers are trying
to win and having Lebron on the team probably gives
them a better chance to do that.
Speaker 3 (09:06):
Totally agree. What a take that was powerful, Joe Varden.
Speaker 4 (09:09):
The athletic knows Lebron, well knows the Cavs, knows, the league,
the Lakers. Hopefully you internalize that, Joe, thanks a lot.
Enjoy the rest of the summer league, and now I
have a great summer man, great.
Speaker 6 (09:19):
To see it.
Speaker 5 (09:20):
Have me Allen anytime?
Speaker 3 (09:21):
All right?
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Joe Varden. Listen, that was really smart stuff. And I
don't know if you guys have seen this movie King
Richard about the Serena and Venus Williams and their dad,
Richard Williams.
Speaker 3 (09:34):
He had a line in that movie and I had
to look it up.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
They're trying to attribute it to like Ben Franklin or something.
But if you don't have a plan, plan to fail,
and if you just let that sink in, it's actually
pretty damn good. And I just wonder if the Lakers
got Luca and they started to formulate a plan and
that plan is something that, look, the Lebron's just not
(09:57):
part of going forward.
Speaker 3 (09:58):
We need like a multi year plan. Look at how
Okac's bill. They're ready to weather anything for like the.
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Next two years, and they have a billion draft picks
in their war chest.
Speaker 3 (10:08):
Their bill really well.
Speaker 4 (10:09):
Some of these other teams, the Sun's the worst, they're
not in as great as shape. So I think the
Lakers have a plan, it just doesn't include Lebron. All Right,
we are moving to the Fox Sports app for the
final half hour. Next up on FS one is soccer
the Women's Euro twenty twenty five Portugal versus Belgium, so
catch us on the app. We'll have Chris Felika dropping
(10:31):
by the Bear to chalk gambling. Dude, He's gambling on
the Women's Euro I love it.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Catch us on the app.
Speaker 2 (10:44):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
in neonon Eastern a em Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio App.
Speaker 6 (10:53):
Hey, what's up everybody? It's me three time Pro Bowl
of LeVar Arrington and I couldn't be more excited to
announce it podcast called Up on Game? What is Up
on Game? You ass along with my fellow pro bowler TJ.
Huschman Zada and Super Bowl champion Yup. That's right, Plexico Birds.
You can only name a show with that type of
talent on it. Up on Game We're going to be
(11:16):
sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen
to Up on Game with me lebar Arrington, TJ. Huschman Zada,
and Plexico Birds on the iHeartRadio App, Apple Podcast, or
wherever you get your podcast from.
Speaker 4 (11:34):
Back here on the Herd final half hour of the week,
I hope everybody has a good, safe weekend. But before
the weekend begins, let's go to Alex with the news.
Speaker 2 (11:44):
No, no turn on the news. This is the Herdline News.
Speaker 7 (11:49):
Let's start in the NBA and we've talked about this
a bit. The Warriors have yet to make a big
move this offseason, but reports indicate that they could land
Al Horford soon. Heading into the season, golden seat core
of Steph Draymond and Jimmy Butler are still there.
Speaker 3 (12:04):
They're all over thirty five years old. Now.
Speaker 7 (12:05):
Despite the older age, Vince Carter isn't concerned but believes
their wisdom will be key.
Speaker 8 (12:13):
A lot of knowledge. Yeah, they have an advantage because
of knowledge. Like we always look at age and we
think old. If they can't do it, can they do it?
Will they do it? Just this would like look at
the knowledge to me, the expectations for Steph Draymond, you know,
even buckets to have to do it early. That's not
(12:33):
what I need you for.
Speaker 2 (12:34):
Yeah, you see.
Speaker 8 (12:36):
Something I need you for later this I want to
build build up my young guys for the playoffs because
those three guys know what takes and know how.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
To handle it.
Speaker 7 (12:45):
And you can't forget like they were a dynasty not
that long ago, like the last their last ship was
in twenty twenty two. They won four championships in eight years.
But it's not the same it's not the same championship corps.
And it's always tough at the end of a dynasty
when you still have some of the big names on
your team, because you remember how great you were and
(13:06):
how great you could be if everyone was still there
and still in the prime. But I mean, Vegas doesn't
think they have great odds this season.
Speaker 3 (13:17):
We talked about it earlier.
Speaker 7 (13:18):
Their odds to win the NBA title are tied for
tenth best with the Hawks at plus twenty five hundred.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
They're just an old team.
Speaker 7 (13:29):
They're just an older team.
Speaker 3 (13:30):
So I'm looking at their stats from last year.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Their leading scorer was Curry, Yeah, he's thirty six. Their
second leading scorer was Jimmy Butler, he's thirty five. Then
there is Kuminga, He's going to be gone. He's one
of the young guys. Dennis Shruter thirty one, he's going
to be gone. Draymond Green's thirty four. Like I said,
Kevon Looney's gone. He's on the older side. Buddy heals
(13:53):
thirty two. Like, they don't have a lot of young guys.
Odds is the only young guy who's e Moses Moody.
Speaker 3 (13:59):
But he's like the thre eighth guy.
Speaker 7 (14:00):
And as we saw, if Curry's out like there, they
can't they can't win.
Speaker 9 (14:05):
I don't know.
Speaker 4 (14:07):
I guess there's probably a way Lebron is hoping that
he could go out with Curry or something as opposed.
Speaker 7 (14:12):
To you think you're putting that out there.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
They're in the universe. They they've been friends dating back
for years.
Speaker 7 (14:17):
So there's respect. There's mad respect between the people. I
don't know where are they going to do it? But Lebron,
why are the Lakers.
Speaker 3 (14:23):
Taking on the Jimmy Butler contract? They're not, no, so
I don't see that. Now.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
If you could reroute Butler to Milwaukee and get Yannis
to the Lakers, he in.
Speaker 7 (14:36):
His contract though. Does Butler have a no trade to
check that? Yeah, like I know, they just signed it.
Milwaukee would want to a lot like that's something that
he would have considering how he left the Heat.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
It was just kind of weird the no trade clause.
Speaker 5 (14:49):
You know.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
The Bradley Beal thing is really it's tough.
Speaker 7 (14:52):
Interesting, Yeah, it's going to be interesting. I am that
they're gonna have to. They need to make a little
more younger at moves to the Warriors if they.
Speaker 3 (15:02):
Want to move up with their odds.
Speaker 7 (15:03):
But let's move to the NFL, where Aiden Hutchinson is
fully cleared to return from a broken leg that ended
his season prematurely in Week six, and the Lions' best
defender came eligible for contract extension this offseason, but as
yet to sign one. Meanwhile, he discussed where he's at
entering his fourth NFL season.
Speaker 10 (15:22):
I'm exactly where I need to be, and every year
I've been able to improve on my own physical attributes
as long as there along with the mental ones. So
I feel like every year I take a step, And
despite having that rehab this offseason, I feel like I'm
in the perfect spot and exactly where I need to
be going into year four.
Speaker 7 (15:43):
Yeah, the Lions need him to be the best that
he can be because they have a lot of new
this year. They lost both their offensive coordinator, their defensive coordinator,
a lot of assistants. Along with that their four time
Pro Bowl center and Frank ragnow retired.
Speaker 3 (15:55):
Which like that's a really big deal.
Speaker 7 (15:57):
That's a lot a lot of new and changes on
this team. And they've fallen short the last two years
after being the favorite. They lost to the Commanders in
the Divisional round last year, the NFC Title Game to
the forty nine Ers the year before. I mean that's
kind of their brand, is like the grit, like, don't
believe in us. We can prove you wrong. But they've
(16:19):
fallen short when they had everything the last few years,
and now they have new coordinators losing their center. You
hope that Aiden can get back to his top form,
but do you think he can be one of the
NFL's elite edge rushers again.
Speaker 4 (16:36):
I certainly get back to top five, no doubt about it.
I mean we've seen guys bounce back from injuries at
the edge rusher position. I think he's certainly right there
with Miles Garrett, TJ. Watt, Micah Parsons, whoever you want
to put in there.
Speaker 3 (16:48):
He's a superstar. He just need him back badly. Yeah.
Speaker 7 (16:52):
Yeah, well let's stick with the NFL J Max. You
have a forty nine Ers as Super Bowl contenders, but
they already have one potential road to their ultimate goal.
Reports indicate that Brandon and Ayuk will likely start the
season on the physically unable to perform the pup list
after tearing his ACL and MCL last season. However, the
report does add that San Francisco isn't ruling him out
(17:15):
for Week one. They obviously have a very easy schedule
this season because of how bad their season was last year. However,
I know you're hot on them and you have them certainly.
What in the super Bowl six pack? Did you also
have Rams in the Super Bowl six packs? So you
had two NFC West team it is. I don't think
(17:38):
they're going to win the NFC West. I think the
Rams take the NFC West, but they should be a
playoff team. I mean they did trade Debo to the Commanders,
so a Yuk is going to be.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
More of.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
Years ago. Yeah, he does.
Speaker 2 (17:54):
It's just.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Open with Seattle, that's that's a.
Speaker 7 (18:00):
Tough one on the road, but they do have one
of the easier schedules.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Or at Pats are horrible. Arizona is.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
I think Arizona's a plucky team. Jacksonville we don't think
is going to be great.
Speaker 3 (18:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Now without Ayuk, this would be their wide receiver grouping
Week one. Juwan Jennings, who's pretty damn good.
Speaker 3 (18:19):
As a three. Yeah, is he great? As one or two.
I don't know. Ricky Piersall the guy who got shot
and then.
Speaker 4 (18:25):
Bounced back last year, and then their third wide receivers
kind of opened DeMarcus Robinson maybe, But I do think
we'll see a lot of two tight end sets from them,
Kittle and Luke Cerrel and then McCaffrey back, and so.
Speaker 3 (18:36):
They should be good. I think three they have.
Speaker 7 (18:38):
A lot of weapons, but not as many as they
did last year.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
You're high on them. I think they'll do well.
Speaker 7 (18:47):
I don't think they're gonna be They should do better
because of their strength of schedule, because it's not as
strong as everybody else because of the bad season last year.
But I'm not as on the three Niners as you are.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
All right, Alex with the news, Well that's.
Speaker 2 (19:05):
The news, and thanks for stopping by the Herd Line News.
Speaker 3 (19:09):
All right.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
Our next guest is a really good one, Chris Felika
the Bear.
Speaker 3 (19:12):
He's gonna drop by it to tell us why. I
hope I'm reading this right.
Speaker 4 (19:15):
The Chiefs are going to continue to dominate the AFC West.
Speaker 3 (19:19):
What we'll talk to Felika next.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
One more heard the Herd streams twenty four hours a day,
seven days a week. Within the iHeartRadio app, Search Herd
to listen live or on demand whenever you like.
Speaker 3 (19:36):
Welcome back to the Herd. We have a great guest
coming up, Chris the Bear FeliCa. You know him well,
Big noon.
Speaker 4 (19:43):
Kickoff the Bear Bets Podcast with Jeff Schwartz.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
Felika. How are we doing, my man? How's everything going?
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Where we're doing?
Speaker 9 (19:52):
All right? We're getting ready for a little match day
three here of women's areas in a little while here
Span Italy, So we're getting ready to lock in for that.
Speaker 4 (20:00):
I see you dropping bets on social media about the
Women's Euros.
Speaker 3 (20:03):
I'm like, this guy is an animal. I love it.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
He is.
Speaker 3 (20:06):
Just by the way, how was the tournament going for you?
Speaker 9 (20:09):
It was great up until yesterday when, like an idiot,
I got involved in bett under two and a half
and in a match that had seven goals scored. So
outside of that, it's been pretty good outside.
Speaker 3 (20:20):
Okay, all right, well is it? Hey? You jump in
there crushing it. Let's get to football.
Speaker 2 (20:25):
Though.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
You know they made me tease this old Chiefs win
the AFC West. I'm out on the Chiefs. This year.
Speaker 4 (20:32):
We did have Bereer come on yesterday and say, listen,
the offense could actually be better with a healthy receive
Rice Hollywood Brown, zavier' worthy. I still question the offensive line,
but you've seen bullish on Casey I do.
Speaker 9 (20:44):
I mean, you get a lot of expectations and hype
down in that division for what the Chargers are going
to do in year two. Order Jim Harball for year
two under a Tron Payton, what the Broncos did now
with Bonix. Look, I get it, But at the same time,
with how badly the Chiefs were rist in that game,
and Albert Bier kind of outlined for you, you're going to
have healthy one you and I basically that's who Patrick
(21:07):
Mahomes was throwing to last year. The checko should be healthy.
Now you draft Josh Simmons to kind of shure up
that offensive line some I know the schedule is always
going to be difficult, and while I think the Chargers
and the Broncos will certainly be better this year, I
think it's very, very dangerous to count the Chiefs out here.
I bet the minus one twenty to win the West.
And if you're kind of correlating some things, I think
(21:29):
Patrick Mahomes and a big doubts. Back year plus seven
hundred to win MVP isn't necessarily a bad look either.
Speaker 3 (21:35):
I'm sorry, can you clarify that bounce back year for Mahomes?
Are you saying he was not great last year?
Speaker 9 (21:42):
You look at the numbers, and you look at everything
compared to the great numbers and career that he had
throughout the course of his career. Last year was certainly
not a fantastic year in terms of a lot of
the things you look at from Mahome. So and I
think even he would admit that with all of the
issues that they had, all the offensive line and receivers.
So I think things are setting up for a very
big year from him and that Kansas City offense.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Yeah, listen, I understand it. I'm just leaning into my
chiefs hating role. Let's go to the commanders. That's okay, Commanders, listen.
They were phenomenal last year. A lot of people are
comparing them to Houston, who had a shocking rookie year
with CJ.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
Stroud.
Speaker 4 (22:18):
Then they pull back a little bit. But I thought
Washington had a good offseason. I like Deebo, I like Tunsel.
They retain their coaches. I'm assuming mclaurin's going to get sorted.
But you don't seem as bullish on Washington.
Speaker 3 (22:29):
Yeah, I were.
Speaker 9 (22:30):
Anytime you see a team that pulls out a bunch
of miracle wins the way they get against the Bears,
the way they did against the Eagles, the way they
did against the Falcons, I worry about those things kind
of going against them the following year. Look, they are
going to be a very trendy team, a very popular
team to not only win the NFC East, but to
(22:51):
win the NFC and get to the super Bowl. After
what we saw them do in the playoffs last year
in Detroit. They had three other wins besides those games
that I mentioned. Besides five points or fewer, you'll lose
Dante Faller and Jeremy Chin on that defense. I think
that's a big deal. You look at the schedule road
games Green Bay Chargers, Kansas City, Detroit and Denver come
(23:15):
to DC. Those are ten games against some really really
good teams. So I don't know, could they get to
ten maybe, but under nine and a half seems like
a good wager to be. I know a lot of
people who I respect kind of reviewing things the same
way and I know it's funny because when you set
these win total season win totals for teams, the odds
(23:36):
bakers know it, and they see the schedule too, so
all this is kind of baked in. But just seeing
how the Commanders came from kind of nowhere last year,
expecting them to win ten games again this year, with
the fortune that they had last year, and by the way,
Jayden and Daniels being relatively healthy for the entire year,
I think it's kind of kind of always I'm looking
(23:58):
for very optimistic. Yeah, think they are going to get
the same kind of portrait they are this year.
Speaker 4 (24:02):
They do open Giants at Packers versus the Raiders at Atlanta,
so that's a manageable start.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
Obviously it gets it gets much tougher than that, but right, Yeah,
that's a good point. I like that.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
Now, your Coach of the Year pick is interesting because
I'm actually bullish on.
Speaker 3 (24:18):
This team as a sleeper in the NFC.
Speaker 9 (24:22):
Yeah, and you look at Jonathan Gannon at twenty to
one to win the Coach of the Year award, and
that's a division with the Rams, everyone in there, the
Seahawks and the Niners. It might be a division that's
kind of in flux, in a little bit of transition.
I don't think there is a real Claire favor. We
think Kyler Murray is going to run a little bit
(24:43):
more this year. That would certainly help in the way
the schedule shakes out for Arizona. You just mentioned the
Washington schedule. Arizona has quite the same thing, a very
favorable schedule early in early in the year. They could
be looking at like a five and two type start.
Marvin Harrison back obviously for his second year. He added
some big pieces on that defense with Walter Nolan and
(25:06):
Will Johnson. Like this could be a very surprise team
this year. They made the playoffs a few years ago.
And the one thing that I like about Arizona is
there wasn't really much expected from them the last couple
of years, and they played hard every single week for Gannon.
So they clearly in the locker room like him and
want to play hard for him. And at twenty to one, basically,
(25:28):
if you think Arizona has a chance to win that
division and or make the playoffs, you're gonna get a
much better bang for your buck on betting on Gannon
to win Coach of the year than you are on
the Cardinals to win the division.
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Yeah, the Cardinals' first five opponents, Okay, these are the
quarterbacks they have, Tyler Shook, rookie Bryce Young maybe on
his last legs, Brock Perdy, that's a loss. Probably, Then
Sam Darnold and his new Seattle home and cam Ward
of Tennessee. And then you go to the six game
and it's against the Colts. We don't even know who
their starter is going to be. Back with the Anthony
(25:59):
Richardsonson things. Great point, way to look ahead on Arizona.
Now let's go to college football real quick.
Speaker 8 (26:03):
Bear.
Speaker 4 (26:05):
By the way, the Dion Sanders stuff this week about
how he was like a salary cap.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
I know you're a big college guy. I am just.
Speaker 4 (26:12):
Curious where do you stand on that? With Dion thinking
we need a salary cap? It almost feels like Texas
Tech is loading up so much and he sees them,
He's like, we can't compete with them, you.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
Know, And.
Speaker 9 (26:24):
Isn't this what everybody wanted in college football or open market?
Speaker 3 (26:27):
Yeah?
Speaker 9 (26:28):
Pay the players, make him employees money, goal ower, everybody
gets paid. And he say, which which way do you want?
Speaker 4 (26:36):
I'm with you, you know, I think it's a good thing,
but at the same time, it's going to be difficult.
Speaker 3 (26:40):
To pull off now some of these picks that you have.
Speaker 4 (26:44):
Oregon, obviously they have one of the biggest NIL budgets.
You'd like to over on Oregon, even after losing Dylan Gabriel,
I do.
Speaker 9 (26:52):
I think there's an assumption that there's going to be
a massive step down from Dylan Gabriel to Dante Morritt quarterback,
and I don't necessarily see it. I know they lose
Evan Stewart potentially with an off season the injury, but
I think people are kind of just judging Dante more
on one season as a true freshman on a bad
UCLA team. This guy was one of the highest thought
(27:12):
of quarterback fruits in the country a couple of years ago.
It's back now in an offense that should really kind
of use his strengths and make him a very viable
college quarterback. And the way I'm looking at over ten
and a half with Oregon is I don't know why
we're just going to assume that they're going to go
to Penn State and lose in September.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
I mean, pe Penn.
Speaker 9 (27:33):
State is a program that for everything that they've done
under James Franklin, these games against big game opponents are
games that they don't seem to win. So I think
there's a ton of pressure on Penn State in that
game to win. And even if Oregon does go there
and lose, you look at the remainder of the schedule.
You got a road trip to Iowa, you host sc
(27:53):
There really are on a lot of roadblocks on that
schedule for Oregon from maybe losing at Penn State, running
the two finishing the year eleven and one.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
All right, well we got a minute left. Let's rich.
I can't believe this.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Carson Beck Heisman odds thirty seven to one.
Speaker 3 (28:08):
You'd like that. I thought everybody was out round Beck. Well,
I don't know why.
Speaker 9 (28:13):
I think people are out on Beck because they saw
the injury at the end of the year. They saw
last year all those young Georgia wide receivers dropping balls
offensive line. That was injury, and he didn't People forget
how good he was in twenty twenty three, and now
a lot of people, I think are putting that on
the presence of Rock Bauer is Aladd mccauckey, But I
think with Elijah and often. He's got a weapon at
(28:34):
Miami that can be very similar to that. Jojo Trader
is a young wide receiver that Miami likes. The offensive
line should be one of the top three to five
in the country. They've got a deep running back room
that can help. And oh, by the way, he's gonna
be playing a bunch of acc defenses, not a bunch
of defenses anymore. That they got a game opening season
game against Notre Dame where if Miami were to win that,
(28:55):
and I think it's a basically right right around a
pickup type of game, two two and a half points
of bread, maybe pay are going to come down dramatically.
And you're not only going to see Beck's price when
the Heisman dramadically come down, but Miami's priced, uh to
reach the college football playoff come down. So Beck is
someone that I think people are really sleeping on this year.
You see a lot of you see a lot of
these like top ten lists for quarterback and people are
(29:16):
forgetting about Beck.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
Yeah, well, now you you should admit you are a
Miami guy right a deep time.
Speaker 9 (29:22):
Anyone who knows me and Miami knows and I am
tough on them in the past, and I called their
defense out last year. I'm typically not Rose col glasses
with my teams.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
Yeah, So how many Ferraris does Beck have now?
Speaker 10 (29:33):
Is he?
Speaker 3 (29:33):
Is it two or three? Or I lost?
Speaker 9 (29:35):
Not just I think these guys maybe a couple of
Ferraris in a Lamborghini.
Speaker 5 (29:39):
Man.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
Well, that nil life is nice. Sorry, Chris the Bear Felika,
great stuff, Chris. We'll talk to you in August, buddy.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
Absolutely, people have a get weekend.
Speaker 3 (29:49):
Chris Filica like Carson Beck. I like that. That's not bad.
Thirty seven What I've forgotten about him? Anyways? What a show?
I mean? We got Alex Curry.
Speaker 4 (29:57):
We're giving her books for the potent for the newborn
that's arriving soon.
Speaker 3 (30:03):
Collins back on Monday.
Speaker 4 (30:05):
Thanks to all our guests, Joe Varden, Marlin Humphrey was phenomenal,
Mark Medina see y'all later
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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