Best of the Week on The Herd

Colin discusses where he was right and where he was wrong from the weekend in football.

Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert joins the show and discusses how the season has unfolded so far for Los Angeles and how he rolls with taking big hits.

Colin unveils his Herd Hierarchy after Week 3 of the NFL season.

Colin makes his Blazin' 5 Picks for NFL Week 4's hottest matchups.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Be sure to
catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in
noon to three Eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find
your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio
dot com, or stream us live every day on the
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Speaker 2 (00:21):
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's
hour two.

Speaker 1 (00:27):
It is a Monday. I think this is going to
be our best hour. It's live, it's Chicago, It's the Herd.
Wherever you may be, and however you may be watching
or listening, we always appreciate you making part of your
day with us. Jamack, it was the craziest day I
can remember if there was some really, I mean Green Bay,

(00:47):
Cleveland was about as ugly as football gats.

Speaker 2 (00:49):
It was a rock fight.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
San Francisco, Arizona Tampa Jets was a blowout. Then it
wasn't There is so much to talk about. Matt Hasselbeck's
about four minutes out. It was not a great day
for are one of us with our picks. I think
we both have the ravens tonight we do.

Speaker 3 (01:04):
I need to hear little more positivity for Jalen Hurts.
You know how there's the Magnificent seven Stocks, right, the
tech Stocks. There needs to be a super six for
quarterbacks because I think Herbert and Hurts have played their
way in.

Speaker 2 (01:16):
Colin, come on, they've been.

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Spectacular on maybe Baker Mayfield. Oh yeah, So on a Monday,
Colin right, Colin wrong?

Speaker 2 (01:23):
And here we go. Where Colin was right.

Speaker 1 (01:26):
Jim Harbaugh, world's best football coach. Three to zero, pulling
away in the AFC West. The Chargers run a short week.
They fumbled the opening kickoff, they lost Nausee Harris Khalil
Max not playing. But Harbaugh has in his career found
ways to win uglyue games. And you got to give

(01:47):
this team credit. Quentin Johnson look like a bust at
wide receiver. Harbaugh's like, Nope, we're gonna feed him the ball.
We're gonna throw it to him half a dozen times deep.
And the Chargers win a game because they have the
greatest football coach of all time.

Speaker 2 (02:03):
Where Colin was wrong.

Speaker 1 (02:05):
The Packers led ten to nothing in the fourth and
still lost to Cleveland.

Speaker 2 (02:09):
They were my number one team in the league.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
What was weird is they had extra time to prep
because they played on Thursday football, and the offense was
still disjointed. Jordan Love got hit hard too many times.
They just they didn't have a lot of energy. They
came out flat and it's the National Football League. Jordan
Love didn't have a lot of time. They didn't get
a touchdown until late third quarter. I thought this was

(02:34):
a team without a major flaw, and maybe it's just
energy because they lacked it against Cleveland on the road.
Where Colin was right, I've said this about Kyle Shanahan.
I predicted the Niners would have a lot of injuries,
and I've said before Kyle is the great quarterback whisperer.
Mac Jones is not only two and zero. They're asking
him to throw as much as Justin Herbert. The dude

(02:56):
has eighty pass attempts in two starts with a wide
receiver corps. That's all banged up, George Kittle banged up.
You didn't say what you want about Kyle Shanahan hasn't
won the big game. Shanahan with quarterbacks the league had
given up on. Mac Jones had given up, and that
guy's out there spin at it and two to zero.

(03:19):
Credit to Shanahan. Where Colin was raw. I have defended CJ.
Stroud for two years. He's twenty ninth in passer rating
dating back to last year. Now, I know the offensive
lines not great, but right now either as the Chargers.
I picked the Texans to win the AFC South. They
can't pick up first downs, they can't run it. Protection's

(03:42):
not great right now. CJ's got more picks than touchdowns,
averaging two hundred yards a game, and Demiko Ryans. I
worry about this because I've said this for years. There's
something about defensive head coaches and battle lines. Last two years,
they can't get the online right.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
I keep defending him, and I am wrong where Colin
was right.

Speaker 1 (04:04):
I said Friday Carson Wentz today now is better than
JJ McCarthy.

Speaker 2 (04:09):
He may not be in six weeks.

Speaker 1 (04:12):
Yes, the Vikings defense was great, but I said on
Friday Show, Oh, he'll win and he'll be great. JJ
McCarthy looked overwhelmed. Carson Wentz has one hundred and thirty
passer rating yesterday, seventy percent completion rate in total control.
The reason I like Carson Wentz is look at the
coaches who like him. Kevin O'Connell liked him, Sean McVay

(04:33):
liked him. He keeps bouncing around to smart offensive coaches.
Carson Wentz was reckless, got banged up, but I will
defend him. I think he's honestly one of the most
talented backup quarterbacks in fact, easily in the National Football League.
And yesterday you can win a bunch of games with
Carson Wentz. And that's staff, those weapons and Brian Flores

(04:54):
where Colin was raw. I gave up on Daniel Jones.
Forget Danny Dimes.

Speaker 2 (04:59):
He's Danny.

Speaker 1 (05:00):
He is dealing with baby now. He's got a good
old line in nice weapons. But he made plays yesterday.
Is he the next Baker? Is he the next Sam Darnold?
I said, give me a break. He's throwing the ball downfield.
This is not thinking dunk. Danny Dollars was six to nine,
ten plus yards down the field. This isn't a mirage.

(05:21):
He's not fooled anybody. He's making big boy NFL throws.
Indy had their first punt all season, so I mean
he's playing with confidence. Well, he's got Shane Stikeen. Out
of Shane Stikeen, ain't making the throws. He is making
big boy downfield rows.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
And I'm wrong where Colin was right.

Speaker 1 (05:39):
Jaden Mayov a USC is anybody paying attention nine tds,
no pick, seventy one percent completion percentage. I don't want
to hear about their schedule. For all the people that
dowb Lincoln Riley, this kid last year was reckless and
out of control. He looks unbelievable. They were missing their
first or second best wide receiver. They leave the nation
in yards per play, touchdown favorite of Illinois. This kid

(06:02):
has cleaned up his entire game again. Last year he
was young, he was reckless, He kind of played out
of control. I didn't think he was very good. Between
the hash marks, he is making big time throws and
great decisions.

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Where Colin was wrong.

Speaker 1 (06:18):
Coming out of Ohio State, I thought Marvin Harrison was
can't miss, more like can't catch. Is he a bust? Honestly,
I don't know what's happened. He's not separating. They don't
target him. Ten catches, three games. I don't know what
it was. I thought he was a guaranteed stud. I
just thought physically he would be a mismatch, but lost confidence.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
They don't target him. I mean he was.

Speaker 1 (06:44):
Drafted above like rowandunde and neighbors, and I don't see
it like at all.

Speaker 2 (06:51):
Where Colin was Row.

Speaker 1 (06:53):
Cain klubnick Ken Clemson quarterback? What happened? And Clemson's got
a NFL guy the one hundred and thirteenth in FCF
and scoring offense. I thought he could be a top
two or three quarterback drafted. Clemson's zero to two in
the ACC and they haven't played Miami yet. They're one
in three overall. Fell into a deep hole against Syracu.

(07:15):
I watched this entire game. I don't know what the
problem is. Maybe they should have gone to the transfer portal.
Clemson refuses to do the nil holding the ball too long.

Speaker 2 (07:25):
I mean, I have no idea.

Speaker 1 (07:27):
It's total regression, lower completion percentage, more interceptions, fewer yards
per game. Nothing looks right. I had a lot of
wrongs this week. I got to own them. I had
a lot of wrongs yesterday. And with that, Matt Hasselbeck
stops by eighteen years in the NFL.

Speaker 2 (07:47):
Man, I was wrong, a lot wrong.

Speaker 4 (07:50):
I like when you admit when you were wrong. It's
just I love the humility.

Speaker 1 (07:54):
Oh well, I don't have it often, but boy, I'm
bringing my fastball today, I will say that us listen.
I know it's the Mersy, the Dallas defense, but here's
what I did, Like, they've got a lot that there's
a lot of people that need to eat there. They've
got a Luther Burden and Romadunza and Dj Moore and
two tight ends. And I did think there was a
rhythm Matt to the offense. I thought that a couple

(08:17):
drives where it was like the screen game, the run game.
They played the clockwell, I did sense a rhythm or
is that just Dallas's bad defense.

Speaker 4 (08:26):
It's both, but it was clearly Yeah, rhythm, timing, accuracy.
No sacks is huge, Yeah, good pass protection. This was
easily Caleb Williams's best game as a pro.

Speaker 5 (08:36):
Easily. It was fun to watch.

Speaker 4 (08:37):
If you're a Bears fan, You're like, oh, shoot, this
is sick, Like this is what we could be.

Speaker 5 (08:42):
Ben Johnson, I mean he is.

Speaker 4 (08:43):
Like you see why he was so good in this
division going up against guys like Matt Eberflus, like he
knew the division.

Speaker 5 (08:49):
I think there is something nice about.

Speaker 4 (08:51):
Game planning people that you actually know, like you know
them as well as they know themselves.

Speaker 5 (08:56):
You know what they're never going to change where they're
never going to change.

Speaker 4 (08:59):
But I just thought it was credible, you know, and
you know, just you know, Caleb obviously deserves his credit.

Speaker 5 (09:04):
He did a really nice job. But guy really wasn't
a lot of contested touchdowns, Like guys were wide open.

Speaker 4 (09:09):
Like I don't have like a next gen stats kind
of thing on it, but like, usually touchdown passes are
hard to come by, you know, usually guys end up
on the ground. A lot of times these were stand up,
nobody near me type touchdowns. It was an impressive, impressive
win for Chicago and equally is embarrassing for Dallas.

Speaker 5 (09:28):
Like if you're Dallas, you're.

Speaker 4 (09:29):
Feeling pretty good last week and now you're kind of like,
who the heck are we?

Speaker 6 (09:32):
Like this is?

Speaker 5 (09:33):
This is embarrassing.

Speaker 1 (09:35):
I want to know, though, do players look at it
and think the Bears? I mean, like the Bear players today?
Is it self belief in that locker room? Or is
there a sense Dallas is bad? Like were you ever
on a team that you were struggling to find your footing?
You beat a really bad team, how does that usually
translate the following week? Because they have the very average

(09:57):
raiders coming up.

Speaker 5 (09:58):
That's two things.

Speaker 4 (09:59):
Number one, never apologize for a win. Never Like we
would say that in every locker room ever, Like it
would just be like, never apologize. I don't care how
bad they were, how much disarray they're in. It's really
hard to get a win. Like we put our heart
and soul into this thing. We're going to celebrate it
on a Sunday. But now here's the thing. Win or
lose that game plan, that celebration, all of that that

(10:21):
has to just kind of evaporate and go away. It's
like it never happened. You know, maybe there's a feel
good feeling. I think the hard thing after a win
is you've got to correct the things that need to
be corrected. Sometimes in a loss, you know, you look
at everything under a magnifying glass and you're like, okay,
we've got to get a little bit better in the
details here. After a win, sometimes you sweep things under
the rug in terms of like technique or hey, we

(10:43):
got our way with one here, and you don't necessarily
improve as the season's going going on.

Speaker 5 (10:48):
So I think they'll be fine.

Speaker 4 (10:50):
Ben Johnson seems like a little bit of a workaholic,
and I don't think I don't think he's going to
let him off the hook that way. But I think
a game like that for Chicago, with the scrutiny that
they're quarterback has been under, is going to give some
confidence to a team that needs a little bit of confidence.

Speaker 1 (11:05):
One of the things that I don't think we talk
about in the media enough, and I don't think fans
realize it, is that even practice is hard in football.
You know, basketball practice you get a good sweat. Baseball
practice you're in the cage. Football practice you tackle and
get hurt, and the weather's off and awful. So in
the NFL, just even when you don't get sacked, but

(11:28):
you get hit, and you get hit like Justin Herbert
fourteen times and pressured fifty five times. I'm watching Herbert
yesterday and I'm like, I hope people realize what it
is like to play in the game. Forget just the
sacks where you're getting hammered fourteen or fifteen times. I

(11:48):
think if if Harbaugh could go to a lab and
build a quarterback, it would be Justin Herbert. I mean,
when I watched him yesterday, I'm like, do people understand
how often he's getting hit?

Speaker 6 (12:01):
Yeah?

Speaker 4 (12:02):
And I think he would build Andrew Luck, and I
think Justin Herbert has all those qualities that.

Speaker 5 (12:06):
Andrew Luck had.

Speaker 4 (12:07):
You know, I think when I think of Harbaugh, I
think of what he did at Stanford, and it wasn't
a pass first offense there either. You know, it was
a hard nosed, physical, inside the tackles running team. And
that's I think the identity that he came in with
last year.

Speaker 5 (12:21):
And everyone said, oh.

Speaker 4 (12:22):
You're not using Justin Herbert enough, he's not throwing the
ball enough. And he Harbob basically said, listen, I'm going
to get the best of Justin Herbert by having this philosophy.

Speaker 5 (12:31):
And now you're seeing it this year.

Speaker 4 (12:33):
You're seeing Justin Herbert put the team on his back,
playing like an MVP, making all world throws in the pocket,
feeling healthy enough to do it. I mean, listen, I'm
old enough to remember when this dude was playing with
like broken fingers and all the broken ribs and all
these types of things. Down two scores in the fourth quarter,
still in the game. That's not a recipe for a

(12:54):
long career. It's not a recipe for playing great in
the playoffs. I think Harbaugh has the vision for what
Herbert can be and everyone's buying in.

Speaker 5 (13:02):
Everyone's buying in.

Speaker 4 (13:03):
I think the opponent is starting to buy in a
little bit too, Like, oh, shoot, man, this guy is
one of the elite quarterbacks. You know, even when we
call the perfect play defensively, he goes above the.

Speaker 5 (13:15):
X's and o's and makes stuff happen.

Speaker 4 (13:17):
And I think that, you know, protecting him a little
bit is a way to unleash.

Speaker 5 (13:22):
Him, and I think Harbaugh has done a great job
of it.

Speaker 1 (13:27):
You know, I don't know what happened at halftime, because
you guys only have fifteen minutes, and a couple of
those minutes are burned.

Speaker 4 (13:34):
I think it's thirteen. Yeah, it's thirteen minutes, depending on
the stadium.

Speaker 1 (13:38):
So Philadelphia trails twenty six to seven, they have minus
one yards passing, They go in for their thirteen quick
minutes as they're drinking gatorade and have an orange license.
They come out and the offense is totally reborn. What
did Philadelphia, in your opinion, do at halftime to literally
rework the entire game plan?

Speaker 4 (13:58):
Yeah, one of the biggest things you do at halftime
is use the bathroom. Sometimes you got to hold it
and like it's tough, you feel a lot better than
the second half.

Speaker 5 (14:04):
That's a fun fact in case in case you wanted
to know.

Speaker 4 (14:07):
But I think the other thing that can happen is
you get a consensus, you have a short meeting. It's
very quick, and sometimes it can be got that big
like you know, waffle house call sheet looking like thing
and you say, hey, we got to get Aj the ball.
They're leaving AJ one on one backside of three by
one formations, meaning three eligible receivers on one side. Our
ex receiver, our AJ Brown is by himself backside.

Speaker 5 (14:29):
We got to give him opportunities. That's what I saw.
I saw a team that came in at halftime and said, hey,
AJ needs to be a part of this.

Speaker 4 (14:36):
And you know, we've seen kind of devo receivers like
flip out on the sidelines and that kind of thing
over the years. I don't think that's what we've seen
out of Aj this year. He's had a he's kind
of had a good thing in a good mental state.
He's been doing a great job blocking, and I think
that's the better way to handle it as a talented
receiver coming at halftime, be like, hey, I got my
guy these guys.

Speaker 5 (14:55):
Cannot hold me one on one.

Speaker 4 (14:57):
And that's what I saw, and that when AJ is cooking,
when AJ Brown's getting opportunities, the Philly offense unlocks. And
you know, the poise and the demeanor of Jalen Hurts
is awesome. But AJ Brown, to me, is is the
difference maker in a big way for that for that scheme.

Speaker 1 (15:13):
So I picked the Seahawks to be one of my
surprise teams. Like I love the NFL draft. I thought
they had their third straight excellent draft. But I also
love how they're using Sam Darnold. You know, everybody's like
his JS and and number one. I'm like, yeah, it
looks like to me. And they got this kid, this
fifth round kid out of Colorado State. He looks like

(15:35):
he's a big time player.

Speaker 2 (15:36):
But I don't know. I just I watched the speed.
I watched the velocity.

Speaker 1 (15:41):
I mean that first half yesterday against the Saints Matt
it looked like a pro team and a really good
college team like it was. You don't see that in
the NFL very much. Where Seattle had the ball seven
minutes and led thirty eight to six. I think the
Seattle thing, I mean, they blew the Steelers out in
Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh's now going to winning record. What do
you make of how they're using Donald.

Speaker 4 (16:03):
Well, I think it was a swing and a miss
week one. You know, Week one, they played the Niners,
and they got away from what they wanted to be.
They became this like drop back, shotgun team without a
full back. And I think Mike McDonald did a good
job of kind of correcting the market a little bit
going into week two.

Speaker 5 (16:19):
No, no, no, no, that's not the vision. Here's the vision.

Speaker 4 (16:21):
I want to be a downhill play action team. I
want to be under center more, I want to move
the pocket.

Speaker 5 (16:26):
I want to have a fullback in the game. That's
what I want to be.

Speaker 4 (16:29):
And here's how it fits with our offense and our
special teams and our defense. And I think message was
heard loud and clear. This is one of the best
offenses the last two weeks.

Speaker 5 (16:37):
Yesterday was like you said it was, it was big
brother little brother scoring on special teams.

Speaker 4 (16:42):
But you know, really, when you look at the pass
protection around Sam Donald, I think that's the key for
him and JSN is one of the game's best receivers
that people don't talk about don't know about He kind
of had a little bit of a flu game yesterday
where he came out and you know, looked like Michael
Jordan at times.

Speaker 5 (16:57):
But when offensive line mean.

Speaker 4 (16:59):
Get to fire hire out and play run action at
least half the time, it helps everything. And I think
that's the thing that some people do well. Some people
talk about it but don't do it as well. Seattle,
I would say week two, in week three, they've figured
that out, and so you know, if you can continue that,
I think that Sam Darnold can have the kind of

(17:20):
year that he had last year without Kevin O'Connell, without
Justin Jefferson. He's playing really really good football right now.

Speaker 1 (17:27):
So I do think Worthy and Rashie Rice would help.
But I tend to believe offenses are about the play designer,
the quarterback and the offensive line, and an offensive line
can take an average back and make him a B
plus back. I look at Kansas City and I don't
care if the receivers come back.

Speaker 2 (17:45):
They can't run the ball.

Speaker 1 (17:47):
The pass protection, I don't think Mahomes always trusted. I
think we have to be honest about what Kansas City
is right now. Offensively, I mean they're like twenty second
in time of possession. I don't think they're going to
be a very good offense. I think they'll get slight
lead better, but I mean with Mahomes and Reid, they
can't pick up first downs. I mean, do you think
the two new receivers, the two receivers coming back will

(18:08):
make a huge difference.

Speaker 4 (18:10):
Yeah, I think it'd be a big difference. But you know,
Kansas City almost feels like this.

Speaker 5 (18:14):
This team to me that they're almost like just like
bored right now.

Speaker 4 (18:17):
It's almost like, yeah, we're just gonna kind of like
like an NBA team that's just like, yeah, we'll wait
for the playoffs to play our best football.

Speaker 1 (18:23):
You know.

Speaker 4 (18:23):
You know, like that's almost the mindset. Not that they're
not trying. I know that they're trying, but they just
seem out to sink.

Speaker 5 (18:28):
I think they're not. Like we talked about all those things.

Speaker 4 (18:31):
Earlier, about playing on rhythm and spreading the ball around
and like put helping out the guys around you in
terms of offensive line, they're just doing what they always
did and they're less talented than they used to be.

Speaker 5 (18:41):
You know, injuries are a thing, age is a thing.

Speaker 4 (18:44):
You know, maybe some some of maybe like people have
like figured them out and studied them a little bit,
so they maybe need to get a little refresher And
sometimes they can be their own worst enemy, like just
getting too cute at times. But no, I think this
is a team that'll be relevant the end of the year.
They just might not get to play it at Arrowhead,
that's all.

Speaker 5 (19:03):
You know. They might be a road team the entire playoffs.

Speaker 4 (19:06):
And again I think they're They're just one of those
teams that they would be fine with it.

Speaker 5 (19:09):
They're resilient that way, and.

Speaker 4 (19:12):
I also would not be surprised to see them being
active at the trade deadline.

Speaker 3 (19:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:16):
No, I think there's a I think the Rams need
a corner if they want to be you know, I mean,
I think there's some teams that just need things and
you can't solve them in your own camp.

Speaker 4 (19:24):
Finally, there's a Yeah, there's a you know, I'm watching
the Tyreek Hills situation very closely because if that team
gets really bad, you know, would would that make sense
with Tyreek Hill going back to Kansas City ever be
a thing I'm curious about that that would change what
that offense would look like right away.

Speaker 1 (19:41):
Finally, I want to go back to Josh Allen. I
said this last week that I always thought there were
things you could change about a quarterback. You can't change
their size, but you can you can't change certain traits.
And I always said, man, you find these reckless quarterbacks
reckless early, reckless late like that's DNA, that's that. Some
guys are just just to just play with a chip.

(20:03):
They play a little loose, like Jay Kuller was like
always to me, like big time talent.

Speaker 2 (20:08):
She was gonna throw bad picks.

Speaker 1 (20:10):
Philip Rivers did that, and Josh Allen has literally eliminated
like his flaw. And I don't know who to give
credit for, but the fact that his last twelve games
he's got thirty touchdowns and one pick. I don't think
I've ever seen anything like that. Well, what do you
make of it? He's incredible.

Speaker 4 (20:29):
I mean every single year, at the end of the year,
you could point to this is the thing that he's
improved on. I think he deserves a lot of credit,
but I think the coaches as well, Like he was
reckless with his body and reckless with the.

Speaker 5 (20:40):
Ball at the beginning of his career.

Speaker 4 (20:41):
Then he became just reckless with his body and less
reckless with the ball. Now, I don't think he's reckless
at all, hardly, And I think what they've done is
they've said, Okay, you want to be crazy, you know,
with your scrambles and all this kind of stuff, Let's
do some design quarterback runs. Let's run you know, like
we're faking it to the running back but you're actually
reading it. And then let's run counter pulling the guard,

(21:02):
pulling the tackle, and it's quarterback run game. It's a
lot of college run game, but it's almost like they're saying, hey,
you get your six, seven, eight yards and get down
or at least.

Speaker 5 (21:12):
Like as a quarterback.

Speaker 4 (21:13):
I know this from from personal experience, when you know
the hits coming, it's not nearly as bad. It's it's
when you don't know that it's coming that that's kind
of where injuries can happen. So I think there's like
a little bit more design, in a little bit more
structure to him as as sort of like being reckless
quote unquote, like it's almost like the illusion of reckless,

(21:33):
but it's really within the play design.

Speaker 5 (21:35):
And I just think he's been he's been awesome.

Speaker 4 (21:38):
Teammates love him, the stadium loves him, you know all
those things.

Speaker 5 (21:41):
I think the opponent fears him. I think it's really
cool to see.

Speaker 4 (21:45):
You know, he is definitely on the mount, Rushmore on
the podium. Whatever you want to say. With the top
quarterbacks in the game right now.

Speaker 1 (21:52):
Good stuff as always, Matt Hasselbeck, my friend, thanks on
a Monday for stopping by Seekin.

Speaker 2 (21:59):
Yeah, it's a It was the nuttiest day all week.

Speaker 1 (22:03):
Jmack kept telling me Atlanta looks tasty, and I said,
J Mack, I can show you receipts of thirty years
betting the Falcons. But there were some genuine surprises. I mean,
green Bay with extra prep to lose at Cleveland is
a job dropper, and in the Bucks almost squandering leagues

(22:27):
at home with Baker. I mean, now we had one
major upset, we almost had four other ones major Colin.

Speaker 3 (22:33):
Let me give you the list of quarterbacks who threw
for under two hundred yards yesterday. Matthew Stafford, Jordan Love,
Russell Wilson, Kyler, Murray bo Nix, Aaron Rodgers, Bryce Young
threw for one hundred and twenty one yards and one
thirty to nothing yesterday was crazy. Nothing's making sense. How
is Stafford held to two hundred yards? I don't really understand.

Speaker 1 (22:57):
What's interesting is I mean, they came, they had a
chance to seal that game.

Speaker 2 (23:01):
Pooka dropped the touchdown.

Speaker 1 (23:03):
It wasn't easy, no, no, no, not easy, but he
dropped that and then you think, okay, we'll get a
field goal and it got blocked.

Speaker 2 (23:10):
And that was the game.

Speaker 1 (23:11):
Like, if you're on the road against Philadelphia, you got
to make one of those two. You either got to
make the field goal or you got to catch the touchdown.
And when they miss both, I was like, okay, okay,
you cannot do that against Philadelphia because Philadelphia in the
second half, I mean you saw it. They just decided
we're going to go to AJ Brown and the Rams
don't have the personnel to stop that.

Speaker 3 (23:32):
So do you still trade AJ Brown if you're the
Eagles or do you just hold on to them.

Speaker 2 (23:36):
Let's move here.

Speaker 1 (23:37):
I pulled that take over to a rest area. I'm
gonna get a dunkin Donuts.

Speaker 2 (23:42):
We'll wait a little bit on that. That's good.

Speaker 7 (23:44):
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 8 (23:54):
Hey, we're Cavino and Rich Fox Sports Radio every day
five to.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
Seven pm Eastern. But here's the thing. We never have
enough time to get to everything we want to get to.

Speaker 8 (24:03):
And that's why we have a brand new podcast called
over Promised. You see, we're having so much fun in
our two hour show. We never get to everything, honestly,
because this guy is over promising things we never have
time for.

Speaker 2 (24:15):
Yeah, you blubber list name in me. Well you know
what it's called over promise. You should be good at
it because you've been over promising women for years.

Speaker 8 (24:21):
Well, it's a Covino and Rich after show, and we
want you to be a part of it. We're gonna
be talking sports, of course, but we're also going to
talk life and relationships. And if Rich and I are
arguing about something or we didn't have enough time, it
will continue on our after show called over Promised. Well,
if you don't get enough Covino and Rich, make sure
you check out over Promised and also Uncensored, by the way,
so maybe we'll go at it even a little harder.

(24:43):
It's gonna be the best after show podcast of all time.

Speaker 2 (24:45):
There you go over promising.

Speaker 8 (24:47):
Remember you could see it on YouTube, but definitely join us.
Listen over Promised with Covino and Rich on the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Speaker 1 (24:57):
Well, no quarterback in the last two decades for the
Chargers has been hit as many times as Justin Herbert
got hit against the Denver Broncos. The obviously they've got
some offensive line injuries. The Broncos are a great front
and Justin Herbert, one of the most likable, humble guys,

(25:18):
has given us ten minutes today, which I totally appreciate that.
And he knows that he's joining us live. So Harball
said yesterday, Jim is funny. He's like, you know, Justin
gets hit, he never shows that, he never wins his
yet he's just.

Speaker 2 (25:31):
Like a superpower.

Speaker 1 (25:33):
And I thought, driving in today, I thought, do you
ever get hit Sunday.

Speaker 2 (25:37):
And it really hurts?

Speaker 1 (25:39):
I mean it really hurts, but you know you have to.

Speaker 2 (25:41):
Go back into the huddle and you can't show that.

Speaker 1 (25:45):
Are you ever in some pain and you're just masking
it and not letting your teammates know?

Speaker 9 (25:52):
Yeah, well for some thanks for having me. I always
always look forward to being on the show, And that
is a good question. There were a couple of times
in the game where I was maybe a little slow
to get up got back to the hubble, and you know,
I might have called the play a little slower for
the guys, and so they might have recognized that.

Speaker 6 (26:06):
But as long as coach Harbaugh thinks that.

Speaker 1 (26:07):
Then you know, that's that's great for me, justin when
you get hit. And again, all quarterbacks get hit. Lamar
Jackson last night got sacked seven times. It's the reality
of the NFL. There's great athletes up front. How do
you not hear footsteps? How does it not affect you
later in a game?

Speaker 2 (26:27):
Yeah, that's a really tough thing.

Speaker 9 (26:28):
And I think that's part of playing quarterback, of understanding
that you know you're going to get hit and the
defenses that you're going up against here are really.

Speaker 6 (26:35):
Fast and athletic, and you just got.

Speaker 9 (26:37):
To have enough time to get the ball off and
understanding that those split seconds of you know, if I
stand in the pod for you know, just a half
second more, I can get the ball off and we
can have a big play. It makes it all worth it.
And obviously we do a great job taking care of
our bodies. And you know, we've got a training staffs
I get to none.

Speaker 6 (26:53):
So knowing that you feel comfortable going out there.

Speaker 1 (26:56):
So the first time Jim Harbaugh came up to you
pregame and it started banging on your shoulder pads, I
mean that's what he does now, and I actually think
there it works. It kind of like it startles you
you're getting the good Jim. I thought Jim was a
little crazy, and then he came to the Chargers and
he's like likable Jim and funny Jim.

Speaker 2 (27:20):
I mean that's all you know, right, you only know
that Jim.

Speaker 9 (27:24):
Yeah, that's that's all we know. We just know the
most authentic competitor. You know, he cares so much about
the team, about winning, about football, and he'd do anything
for us.

Speaker 6 (27:35):
And you know when I first got.

Speaker 9 (27:37):
On the sideline and he was hitting my pads and
things like that, I just thought it was awesome. He
kind of explained the story about you know, getting that
first hit, and you know.

Speaker 6 (27:45):
As soon as you get that first hit, you're ready
to go.

Speaker 9 (27:47):
And so he felt like, if you could do that
before the game, then there's no time wasted.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
Quentin Johnson worried me. He had drops. It looked like
he almost lacked confidence. Well that's over. You guys have
been aggressive. He is the downfield weapon. Can you take
me a little bit into the off season of taken
a guy that had talent wasn't quite there yet whatever
you guys did. But it feels like he's turned a corner.

Speaker 9 (28:13):
Yeah, accused. Hecqu's done such a great job. And I
think one of the really special things about him is
he had a great year last year. It was it
was kind of a quieter great year, and I think
he had eight touchdowns and caught a whole bunch of yards.
And you know, he came back this year and he's
just continued to work. He's continuing to get better, and
he's having fun. He's playing confidently, and he's making a.

Speaker 6 (28:34):
Bunch of plays. There was a play that you know.

Speaker 9 (28:36):
He went up and caught a fifty to fifty ball
on Sunday and obviously it was an irresponsible throw by me.
But to have a guy like that to go up
and get it and you know, kind of save me
was was really cool to see.

Speaker 1 (28:50):
What do you do when you get hit fourteen times?
Give me a take me behind the curtain. What is
your Monday rehab?

Speaker 10 (28:57):
Like?

Speaker 2 (28:58):
What did you do? Don't tell me?

Speaker 1 (28:59):
You just go get a frappuccino and just sit in
the couch. What is Monday rehab? Like?

Speaker 6 (29:04):
Yeah, I actually get in the pool and I move
around in the pool.

Speaker 9 (29:08):
You know, I think it's easier on my joints, and
whether it's swimming running, it's good to just get movement.

Speaker 6 (29:14):
I do a lot of icing on my shoulder.

Speaker 2 (29:16):
You know.

Speaker 6 (29:16):
I think I threw the ball a bunch, and you know,
it was kind of the game that we knew was
going to happen.

Speaker 9 (29:21):
We know how good their front seven was, and you know,
watching the film of the quarterbacks the week before, they
had to move a bunch and they had to throw
on the run, and that's just kind of what you
had to do against the Broncos.

Speaker 6 (29:31):
And you know, obviously we do a good job.

Speaker 9 (29:33):
We've got all the facilities here at our team facility,
so it makes my job so much easier.

Speaker 1 (29:38):
So you had thirty six pass attempts. That's what you're
kind of doing on a weekly basis. It was told
sort of twenty nine last year. How does that change
prep for you. Now you may say, oh, it's only
seven pass attempts, but you got some offensive line injuries.
So is your mindset change a little bit justin from
last year, like, hey, I'm going to get up near

(29:59):
the forties here like like that? Do you are you
a little more? Are there certain throws now you'll like
hold it back and think, hey, I got forty pass attempts,
it's the first quarter. Does it change anything for you psychologically?

Speaker 6 (30:12):
Not so much.

Speaker 9 (30:13):
I think the thing that we do recognize is, you know,
they're multiple ways the winning football game, and whether that's
throwing it forty times or whether we're going to run
the ball.

Speaker 6 (30:20):
Forty times, you got to put the team in a position.

Speaker 9 (30:23):
To win and understanding that the defense that we have
that they're going to force a bunch of stobs.

Speaker 6 (30:27):
And turnovers, and you just gotta be smart with the ball.

Speaker 9 (30:29):
And I think as long as we're limiting turnovers, scoring
in the red zone, and converting on third downs, which
I think we've done a pretty good job of the
past couple of weeks, you know, I'm happy to throw
the ball as much as.

Speaker 1 (30:40):
I can explain to me how Keenan Allen multiple surgeries
He's not a four to three to eight guy anymore
a four to four guy. How does Keenan Allen get
open on every third down his entire career?

Speaker 2 (30:55):
Explain it to me, Gee.

Speaker 9 (31:00):
Just the way he works, routes, his understanding of defenses
and leverage. I don't know how he does it. He
came a few weeks ago, maybe three four weeks ago
and picked up the offense like he'd been running his
entire life. And I've never really seen anything like that.
And that's how you can tell, you know, he's a
true pro. He's one of the best to ever do it.

(31:21):
And you know, he's just so smart. He understands how
defenses are trying to play him and where to go.
And it's basically like having another quarterback out there.

Speaker 1 (31:29):
Yeah here, relationship with him. All young quarterbacks need somebody
they can trust. He's your trust guy. Do you guys
have like an unscripted language eye contact, like on that
big play this weekend? Did you know what was going
to him? Did you sense it was?

Speaker 9 (31:47):
I think that's where we're just so lucky to have him,
you know, especially when I came into the league to
have him and Mike Williams We're two guys that kind
of just showed me the way and just we're true
receivers and sometimes you're taken for granted. But that play, No,
I break out of the pocket, and I know that
he's the first to react.

Speaker 6 (32:04):
He sees what I'm doing and takes off.

Speaker 9 (32:06):
And you know, as long as you're the first to
react and you've got a shot to make something happen downfield,
and even if it is a fifty fifty ball, Kean
down you know, he's he's a huge body, he's he's
so talented and athletic. I know he's gonna go fight
for that ball. And didn't see the actual catch, but
watching it on the replay was pretty cool.

Speaker 2 (32:21):
Yeah, it was.

Speaker 1 (32:22):
By the way, Oregon's at Penn State this weekend. It's
gonna be the biggest game of the college football weekend.
How can you do you have time to ever watch
those games?

Speaker 6 (32:32):
Yeah? I always make time to watch Oregon.

Speaker 9 (32:34):
You know, growing up a Duck fan playing there, you know,
it's been so fun to watch them play, and you know,
I think that's kind of the cool thing about going
to the Big ten and playing all these these fun teams.

Speaker 6 (32:44):
As you're gonna go to the.

Speaker 9 (32:44):
East Coast and you're gonna have some big games, and
you know, not always was that the case in the
Pac twelve And you know, I know the Ducks are
really excited, and and you know Eugene is loving it too,
So it's really cool to see.

Speaker 1 (32:57):
So our graphics department thought they were very funny yes day,
because I said, you and Harbaugh's as good as Reid
and Mahomes. It's just a perfect If Jim could go
to a lab and build a quarterback, and I swear
to God, he would build you humble, coachable, hard work
and tough. You were, Jim. You just have a better
arm than Jim had. And so our graphic department thought

(33:17):
it was very funny, and they made up all these
Simon and Garfunkle and yo, you guys. They just thought
that was the funniest thing in the world. What else
do we have? Mario and Luigi I think was on that. Yeah,
there we go. When you look at Horrorball. If somebody
never met Jim and you said, hey, Colin, come on
over to my place, I want to introduce you to
my head coach, Jim Harbaugh, would you warn me? What

(33:39):
would you say about Jim Harra as somebody that got
Batman and Robin. What would just say to me if
I'd never met Jim Harball, how would you explain him?

Speaker 9 (33:47):
I would say, this guy loves football. I've never met
anyone that loves football more than he does. He thinks
about football when he wakes up, and thinks about football
when he goes to bed, and he wants to win.
And I think the coolest thing about it him is
he's a competitor. If we have any games going on,
he's going to try and beat you. Whether we're playing
ping pong, whether we're you know, playing cornhole, it doesn't matter.

Speaker 6 (34:09):
He's going to do everything he can to win. And
he's going to find you, know your weaknesses.

Speaker 9 (34:14):
He's going to watch film on you, he's gonna ask questions,
and he loves the game.

Speaker 1 (34:18):
So it's really cool to see fifteen seconds. Has he
ever been mad at you?

Speaker 6 (34:23):
There are definitely been times where he's mad at me.

Speaker 9 (34:24):
Whether I'm throwing the ball downfield irresponsibly, laid over the middle,
you know, he tells me to just check the ball down,
you know, go to the next play and be smart
with the ball. But there are definitely times where we're
talking about practice in the game for sure.

Speaker 1 (34:36):
Hey man, it's great seeing you. You look fantastic. You're
crushing it. Try to stay upright between you and Lamar.
I don't like my star quarterbacks getting hit like that.
Congratulate all your success.

Speaker 6 (34:49):
I'll do my best. Thanks again for having me.

Speaker 1 (34:51):
All right, Justin Herbert, one of the truly great guys.
I've said this before. We are lucky that all the
star quarterbacks in this league, its going to be Lamar,
can be Mahomes, it's Herbert, it's Jalen Hurts. How lucky
are we? They're all good dudes. They're all I mean
to be that young, good looking, rich and that good
of a dude. We're lucky, all of us. Heard Hierarchy

(35:12):
Nick Wright. He's not gonna like the hurd higher arch
to get contentious.

Speaker 7 (35:20):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
at noon Eastern a em Pacific.

Speaker 1 (35:27):
Here we go, it is our number two and a Tuesday.
Heard Hierarchy, Nick Wright, Greg Olsen. Next hour, Justin Herbert's thought,
Why what good Kitty is? Just outstanding? Good College football
Weekend j Mac Very good College Football week at the
Oregon Penn State game. That is big boy football, right there? Man,

(35:48):
a lot of good games.

Speaker 3 (35:49):
I mean if Alabama loses, like, where do they go
from here?

Speaker 2 (35:53):
You know they got a tough game.

Speaker 11 (35:54):
There's a lot.

Speaker 1 (35:55):
I mean, Saturday is really loaded humps.

Speaker 2 (36:00):
All right.

Speaker 1 (36:02):
I've had a dilemma last couple of weeks. What do
I do with the Kansas City Chiefs? So last week
I had them at number ten?

Speaker 2 (36:11):
Where do I have them? Now Here? We go heard hierarchy.
Now go the top ten NFL teams according to college
number ten.

Speaker 1 (36:23):
I'm gonna put Baltimore at ten the Chiefs despite a
winner eleven. Why because Baltimore's a road favorite. Baltimore is
the better offensive team, and like the NBA, the NFL
is an offensive league. First, they're scoring thirty seven a game.
The problem is their defense is basically the Dallas Cowboys
without the.

Speaker 2 (36:42):
Star and the helmet.

Speaker 1 (36:43):
They got bullied for three and a half hours, and
they spend money on it. Five of their six highest
paid players are on defense. So they've got a little
bit of a dilemma. And they score so quickly that
they always just send that bad defense back out on
the field. I'm gonna put them at ten, Chiefs of eleven,
number nine the Bucks. Now their schedule gets tougher. The

(37:04):
fact that they have to go to the whistle to
beat the Falcons and the Jets does not feel great
coming up now with the Eagles and the Seahawks the
lines the Niners coming up. They've been doing it though,
missing three offensive linemen and Chris Godwin. Baker Mayfield, like
a Sam Darnold, has established himself as a legit franchise quarterback.

(37:26):
Eleven straight games with one hundred plus rushing yards.

Speaker 2 (37:32):
That is hard to do in this.

Speaker 1 (37:34):
League, especially when you're missing many top offensive linemen. I
have the Bucks at nine, number eight, the Niners at eight.
Maybe it's a bit high. Mac Jones is the current
starter now Bosa is gone for the year.

Speaker 2 (37:50):
Listen.

Speaker 1 (37:50):
Ricky Pearsall has emerged as a really nice weapon. Two
of their wins, though, are against the Cardinals at home
and the Saints, and they don't have a buy until
Week fourteen. This team could use a bye now, but
the coach, the quality of offense, McCaffrey, Pearsall, Kittles coming back.

Speaker 2 (38:08):
I put him at eight, number seven.

Speaker 1 (38:11):
Here's what we learned about the Lions. If you have
new coordinators. Don't count the preseason, the Hall of Fame
game or Week one since then, nine hundred total yards
last night was not as close as the score indicated.
Jamiir Gibbs and David Montgomery are an unbelievable running back tandem.
Eleventh career game, they both scored a rushing touchdown Aiden

(38:34):
hushes In, and that defensive front gobbled up Lamar Jackson.
They are twelve and two in primetime games, beating the
best Monday Night quarterback ever last night, Lamar Jackson Lions
at seven, number six, Well, I think the Seahawks are
a handful Kenneth Walker, highest rented running back, Sam Darnold
PFF highest rented quarterback, and it does look like JSN

(38:58):
is a number one receiver. It's the defense that makes
them the second best point differential in the league. They
have held all three opponents to seventeen points for fewer
and a lot of credit goes to John Snyder, the GM,
who has had back to back to back very good drafts.
They're not even paying a lot of these top defensive guys.

Speaker 2 (39:20):
Seahawks at six, number five, Liuseen.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
The Rams can't beat the Eagles one in six Sean
McVeigh against the Eagles. They win seventy five percent of
their other games. Their defense is young, inexpensive, and excellent
most sacks in the NFL. Offense scored on six straight
drives to take a huge lead against the Eagles. They've
got weapons at tight end, wide receiver Devonte Adams. People

(39:46):
aren't talking about it enough. He's just gonna keep getting better.
But they don't match up with Philadelphia because they've got
no corner big enough to stop aj Brown.

Speaker 2 (39:55):
Number four.

Speaker 1 (39:56):
The Chargers great red zone defense, so when you can
drive against them, they are the stingiest red zone defense
in the league. Amarion Hampton looks like he's going to
be a real deal. Keenan Allen, does this guy ever age?
Number two passing offense, they're asking more of Justin Herbert
now he's getting hit way too much. But Quinton Johnson

(40:19):
doesn't appear to be a bust. He's emerged as a
big time downfield threat. I like their culture and their toughness.
Chargers at four. Number three Packers listen fewest yards per
play allowed green bat. It's one of my favorite stats
in the league. They don't allow you any yards They've
held all three opponents in twenty twenty five in the

(40:39):
NFL under two hundred and fifty total yards. Jordan Love
it's his first pick in a regular season.

Speaker 2 (40:44):
Game in ten games. It was a stinker.

Speaker 1 (40:47):
They came in flat, they had extra days off and
Cleveland's got an excellent defense. One of the things that
worries me. They're not running the football as well as
they should. But I think the Packers still have a
chance to hoist to Lombardi. Number two Buffalo. It's almost crazy.
Twenty five straight games. They've won the turnover battle right now,

(41:09):
over the last twelve to fifteen games. Josh Allen's doing
something that's hard to do. You get all the upside
and literally no turnovers. They have the best Super Bowl odds.
I don't love their defense on the back end, but
I don't like the Ravens defense anywhere.

Speaker 2 (41:24):
I have Buffalo at number two, number one.

Speaker 1 (41:28):
They have really bad halfs like this past weekend, but
it is the best roster in the league. They could
probably hit the trade deadline, go and get another corner.
But you know, Nick Seriani, I didn't get it, but
the team does.

Speaker 2 (41:44):
And Jalen Hurts.

Speaker 1 (41:45):
Maybe a little small, but he throws well up the sideline,
toughness and leadership, best third and fourth down team in
the league, best roster, most aggressive GM.

Speaker 2 (41:55):
Here is the Herd hierarchy.

Speaker 1 (41:57):
I take the Ravens over Kansas the Chiefs at eleven
due to the fact the Ravens are the road favorite,
and I think it's an offensive league and they've got
an incredibly dynamic offense. And with that, Nick Wright joins
me First Things First Live.

Speaker 2 (42:11):
As he always does on Tuesday.

Speaker 1 (42:13):
All right, yeah, what do you mean, Yeah, that's a
pretty solid top ten.

Speaker 10 (42:20):
Well, listen, I understand that the one in two Ravens,
who have made zero of the last six Super Bowls
and one of the last seven AFC Championship games, deserve
a benefit of the doubt over the one and two Chiefs,
who have made five of the last six Super Bowls
and seven of the last seven AFC Championship games, because

(42:44):
of their champion. Because listen, if we know anything about Baltimore,
it's that they play their best in the biggest spots
in January, and situationally, they're just buttoned up. They would
never blow a big lead or seem a little tight
in a big game. So that's how you earn this
for the doubt to make the hierarchy at one and two.

Speaker 11 (43:03):
I would ask you this.

Speaker 10 (43:04):
However, just not about Baltimore, about Kansasity, just holistically. If
you are a team with an all time great quarterback,
of which I think we can still agree Baltimore and
Kansas City both are, would you rather your big concern
be on the offensive side of the ball, where that

(43:26):
all time great quarterback can help fix it, or the
defensive side of the ball, where that all time great
quarterback is sitting on the sideline helpless. I would rather
have the issues be on offense because I feel.

Speaker 11 (43:39):
Like my quarterback can figure it out.

Speaker 10 (43:41):
If you're Baltimore, it is really concerning now that the
defense for the first half of last year looked awful,
then it tightened up. This year, the defense has looked
really bad through two weeks. They got bullied last night,
and Lamar can't fix that for you.

Speaker 11 (43:58):
So I think, listen, I think the AFC.

Speaker 10 (44:02):
You know, I'm not worried about them missing the playoffs
or anything like that, but I do think that they
might have some systemic problems on defense, and I obviously
don't trust them, you know, on offense come January. But
that's just because I've watched the playoffs for the last decade.
So I think the Ravens are a little overvalued.

Speaker 1 (44:20):
Okay, I will say in eight weeks, I think the
Chiefs would beat the Ravens.

Speaker 2 (44:24):
I absolutely do.

Speaker 1 (44:25):
I think without worthy in Rashi, Rice, that I think
your point is founded in absolute truth. In eight weeks,
I think there are things in the last twenty Super
Bowl teams. One lousy defense Atlanta and they blew a
fourth quarter lead. I've said this in baseball. Can't win
a World Series with a bad bullpen. You don't even
have to have a great staff. The Royals won a

(44:45):
World Series without a great staff. You can't take yes, yep,
you cannot have a bad bullpen. You cannot be bad
defensively today, this weekend, I think the Ravens probably better.
In eight weeks, Rice Worthy, they won't be to your point? Now,
would you acknowledge though you don't show fear, but you
have to be honest, Harbaugh Herbert, can you can you

(45:10):
acknowledge that the Chargers have seized control of the AFC
West for the foreseeable future.

Speaker 10 (45:18):
For the foreseeable future by foreseable future. You mean like
the next six or seven weeks. Sure by the end
of the year. Let's see. Now there's a lot to
unback here. One is I apologize. I was getting dressed,
so I didn't see the entirety.

Speaker 11 (45:32):
Of your justin Herbert interview. I'm sure it was great.

Speaker 10 (45:35):
But did you apologize to him for you losing all
faith in this team's ability to even make the playoffs
due to the Rashaun Slater injury? Did that come up
at all that your love of Bo Nicks? By the way,
did Bo Nicks get vetoed from conversation on it? He
seems like a big preseason topic, not so much regular season.

Speaker 11 (45:57):
However, we have something much more.

Speaker 10 (45:59):
Important to discuss that I am going to surprise you
with because I feel you might, for the first time
in our wonderful relationship, owe me an apology because you
are getting a lot of seemingly deserved run, even a
little heat for what appears to be a Colin Coward

(46:22):
original scorching take about Jim Harbaugh and where he is
in the coaching pantheon, to which I would say, and
this might be jarring to the audience, because you're about
to see a shaved head.

Speaker 11 (46:36):
Thirty one year old.

Speaker 10 (46:37):
Nick Wright, can we roll the tape of me from
August of twenty sixteen on your show filling in for
you about Jim Harbaugh nine years ago?

Speaker 11 (46:50):
Roll it please.

Speaker 10 (46:51):
I think Jim Harbole is the best football coach in
the world. I would rather have Jim Harball than Bill Belichick.
I would rather have Jim Harvald and Nick Saban. I
would rather have Jim Harbald than Urban Meyer. I would
rather have Jim Harbald than Mike Tomlin. I think he
is the best football coach there is.

Speaker 11 (47:12):
I mean, I.

Speaker 10 (47:13):
Mean, you're a decade late, buddy.

Speaker 11 (47:16):
Everybody's like, oh, calling.

Speaker 5 (47:17):
Out on a limb.

Speaker 11 (47:18):
I did that in your seat nine years ago.

Speaker 10 (47:21):
Now that was before Andy Reid became Andy Reid and
kind of displaced him in my own brain. But still
we're in lockstep on Harball where you're not going to.

Speaker 11 (47:30):
Get any disagreement for me on that.

Speaker 10 (47:32):
I think he is has shown his ability to win
in any place, at any level, through any style is unique,
and he is almost one of one in that regard.
I think you are a little too high on the
Chargers as a whole, simply because I think it is

(47:54):
very rare in the NFL for you to win all
of the big games before when you've never won any
of the big games. So this feels to me like
a super great step in the right direction.

Speaker 11 (48:06):
Year.

Speaker 10 (48:07):
Maybe divisional round playoff appearance for the first time in
Herbert's career year, but I'm not ready to say that.
I think they can go through the AFC. But they
look awesome. Herbert's playing great, the defense is awesome, and
Harball's a legend.

Speaker 11 (48:22):
So I agree with you in that regard.

Speaker 10 (48:24):
I also think the Chiefs might be able to run
him down when.

Speaker 2 (48:27):
It's all said and done. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (48:29):
My favorite part of that is you look so respectful
and dignified. Your hair was short, and all of a
sudden got some ratings, and he looks like.

Speaker 10 (48:39):
This is It's not the ratings. I honestly, I listen,
I'm not. This is going to sound immodest. I don't
mean it too. I just it's more of the money
than the ratings.

Speaker 11 (48:51):
I just, I'm.

Speaker 10 (48:51):
Just I just didn't I didn't think I could pull
off this look years ago.

Speaker 11 (49:00):
Yeah, I'm a different man. By the way.

Speaker 10 (49:02):
We don't want to I don't this is right when
the herd long strong fst one.

Speaker 11 (49:07):
We don't want to do h A.

Speaker 10 (49:08):
You know, we both made some interesting hair and choices
in that.

Speaker 11 (49:12):
Era if we all remember.

Speaker 2 (49:14):
But go ahead. So I was saying this about Jalen Hurts.

Speaker 1 (49:17):
You and I have been on this for years that
size matters for quarterbacks and everybody after Russell Wilson's like
Johnny Manziel and Bryce Young and Kyler Nantua and it's
like guys, it matters. But I will say this, I
said last week, I'm a quarterback traits elitist. I like
him tall, I like big arms, I like mobility.

Speaker 2 (49:36):
I'm an elitist.

Speaker 1 (49:38):
And I was always with Jalen Hurts E. They're a
little small, and I never knew what his great trait was.
What's his superstar trait? He is the strongest quarterback pound
for pound in league history. He may be the strongest player.
And as I watched them in the second half against
the Rams, a defense that is getting everybody fits.

Speaker 2 (49:58):
He is really unique.

Speaker 1 (49:59):
He's all, despite his size, a great sideline thrower. He
throws the ball up the sideline about as well as Mahomes.
I mean, he's that good on the sidelines. I was saying,
I look at Philadelphia and I've always been like the quarterback.

Speaker 11 (50:15):
I don't know.

Speaker 2 (50:15):
I think his strength is a superpower.

Speaker 10 (50:19):
So I think his intangibles and leadership are probably a superpower.
I think the strength obviously helps immensely, not just in
what was called the Tush push but now branded early
bird because they false start every time. That's what their
quarterbacks thinks called go ahead and call it early bird, Colin,
get on early on that. Okay, neither here the but

(50:39):
no here is what I find so interesting about Jalen
Hurts because you're right to the sidelines.

Speaker 11 (50:45):
He's a great passer.

Speaker 10 (50:46):
Kind of the middle intermediate part of the field is
maybe where the size hurts him a little bit, But
it seems though like the biggest Jalen Hurts fans believe
in him more than.

Speaker 11 (50:59):
His own coaching staff.

Speaker 10 (51:01):
They the only reason he got an opportunity to throw
the ball Sunday was because they had no other choice.
Even though he came through in the NFC Title Game,
he came through in the Super Bowl. He had a
year a few years ago where he was top three
in MVP voting. They were refusing to open up the

(51:23):
offense and Last year, Colin, that made sense because they
had the best defense in the league and Saquan was
averaging one p fifty a game and you were blowing
people out. This year, Saquan hasn't yet popped, the defense
hasn't been great, and they still don't want to let
Jalen throw. I find that really odd, and I think

(51:45):
it's interesting that they don't that.

Speaker 11 (51:47):
Again, like Kevin.

Speaker 10 (51:48):
Wilds, who loves Jalen Hurts, seems to think he's better
than Kevin Batullo, the offensive coordinator for the Eagles, that
part is weird. What I will say about Philadelphia is this,
and I'm sorry to invoke the Chiefs, but I must.
I find it very very interesting how the Eagles are.
You know, they win games blocking a kick, a guy

(52:12):
drops a pass, a tipped pick, and it is a
sign of a team that just knows how to win.
They even maybe get a few beneficial calls, and it's
just hey, be better. And the Chiefs last year were
playing this exact same script and everyone saying, oh, this
has got to be coming to a crashing halt. The Eagles,

(52:33):
like the Chiefs last year, know how to win games.
And while they might be winless, in hypothetical scenarios, if
CD caught it, if Travis caught it, if they don't
block the kick, they are undefeated in the actual standings.
And I do think winning is a team skill, and
the Eagles have found away each and every week despite

(52:56):
not playing their best football yet, and I think that's
really impressive.

Speaker 1 (53:00):
I'm gonna I want to wrap on Caleb Williams. So
there are certain things he doesn't do with consistency. His
personality isn't terribly consistent, he can get very emotional. His
accuracy isn't olways consistent. And my feeling is on Caleb
Williams unlike Brady, where you know exactly what you're getting

(53:21):
and kind of like Jalen Hurts, you kind.

Speaker 2 (53:23):
Of know what you get, you know what you don't get.

Speaker 1 (53:25):
Caleb is a bit of a roller coaster personality accuracy.
So as I watched him eat the Cowboys for lunch,
my take is he's going to come out this week
and he's going to struggle and you just have to
come to terms with he has all this horsepower. But

(53:47):
what Josh Allen has done to eliminate the reckless, I
don't think he can do. I think they're different personalities,
and as I watch Caleb, I'm like, we just have
to get comfortable with the fact that he is going
to drive Ben Johnson crazy. About every other series I
watched Ben Johnson's body language, Caleb drove him crazy six
times and maybe that's just what he is so well.

Speaker 10 (54:09):
I listen, it took Josh Allen six years to stop
turning though, just stop being a roller coaster.

Speaker 11 (54:16):
A guy who right now I think.

Speaker 10 (54:18):
Is in the midst of it is Jordan Love who
when he's good, he's great, and when he's bad, he
gives the game away to the Browns, you know, so
that can be a process. I don't necessarily agree with
you Colin that I think this week Caleb's going.

Speaker 11 (54:33):
To have a down game.

Speaker 10 (54:34):
Where I do agree with you, is he seems like
because of the right now, I would say this sounds
too harsh, and I don't mean it too but emotional immaturity,
just the fact that he is he kind of lives
and dies with each play. Yes, that I think that
it is. He is the type of player who when

(54:54):
he is having a great game, it's going to lead
to a greater game, and if he misses a few throws,
it can snowball against him. So I think a lot
of it has to do with how a game starts
and then does he avoid a pitfall early, and then
it can be a game like we saw this weekend.
But I also think there is a huge opportunity for

(55:17):
the Bears. This weekend they play the Raiders, then they
have the bye.

Speaker 11 (55:22):
If they can.

Speaker 10 (55:23):
Beat the Raiders and even themselves at two and two,
then they have the bye.

Speaker 11 (55:28):
Then the next week.

Speaker 10 (55:29):
Colin is a game against the team that ended their
season last year effectively in the Commanders and Jadeen Daniels.
They'd be coming off a bye, they'd be two and two.

Speaker 11 (55:39):
So I think this is.

Speaker 10 (55:40):
A critical spot for Caleb and Benn to beat the Raiders.
Steady yourself have two weeks to have that, you know,
Caleb versus Jayden, Bears versus Commander's game, and then see
where he's at. But I do think it's going to
be fits and starts. But you've seen already through twenty
games of the kid's career, the overall talent level is

(56:02):
so high that even if he doesn't fully tighten up
everything else, his floor is going to be relatively high.
And if he does tighten up the other stuff. He
unequivocally can be the guy that I know coming out
of college you and I both thought he would be,
which is one of the very best quarterbacks in the league.

Speaker 1 (56:20):
Nick Right, First things first, I loved your Harbaugh take.
I forgot you know, I was pro on VAK. I
only get a couple, definitely.

Speaker 10 (56:26):
I mean I was sitting in your seat and back listen.
In twenty sixteen. You might not have gotten twenty twenty
five Cowhird vacation days, but you still had subs still.

Speaker 11 (56:37):
Where I'll take a few days.

Speaker 10 (56:39):
And by the way, it's because of that that I'm
here now, So I owe it to you, my friend.

Speaker 11 (56:43):
But yeah, Harball, I was way ahead of you on that.
That's fine, don't worry about it. You can.

Speaker 10 (56:46):
I've stolen from you plenty, so you can take this
one for me.

Speaker 11 (56:49):
I'll see you next week.

Speaker 1 (56:50):
Butddy, First things first, my buddy, Nick Right. You know,
it's an interesting thing about Josh Allen. Josh Allen when
he started, and Buffalo's different from Chicago. Buffalo's a small market.
It's very supportive. Is that Josh Allen's first year and
a half, he was a turnover machine. He couldn't complete
fifty eight percent of his throws and it took him
until about eighteen nineteen twenty games, and you're like, Okay,

(57:12):
he's jumping over linebackers. It's gonna work. But again, in Buffalo,
it's more supportive. It's a smaller market, and they'd had
Jim Kelly before. They've been to Super Bowls before, they
got the quarterback right multiple times. In Chicago, there's so
many things working against the young quarterback who struggles. It's
a very loud media. It's a major market. They can't
get quarterback right. The team up north, the tiny market,

(57:32):
always gets quarterback right. So you could make an argument,
just make Caleb Williams work. We're gonna give it three
full years. We don't care what that's what they did
with Josh Allen. We think he's super talented. We think
it's horsepower's unbelievable. We're just going to go on and
on and Josh Allen every year. Just get it's a
little better. But it is harder when you're the Chicago

(57:54):
Bears quarterback and they've never gotten the quarterback position right,
and the guys up north thirty minutes on a train
up North are the best team in the league at
developing the most important position, the quarterback. It's a loud media.
It's just hard are certain environments. It's just tougher for

(58:15):
young people. And our current economy, more than any time
in my life, is really hard for even the kids
that go to the Ivy League schools. We got a
new environment AI displacing jobs, blah blah blah. Chicago for quarterbacks,
it's tough.

Speaker 2 (58:31):
It's a tough place.

Speaker 1 (58:33):
And they had a Jim Kelly and they had multiple
Super Bowls. Maybe it would be different. But they were
very patient with Josh Allen because of his horsepower, not
because he was super accurate for the first year and
a half.

Speaker 2 (58:46):
I mean, like even the first year.

Speaker 1 (58:48):
For Caleb Williams, he had six picks, He completed well
over sixty percent of his throws, and the coaching staff
was a mess. Josh Allen inherited Sean McDonough or Sean
mc dorman, excuse me, so, I mean he went to
a team that had already made the playoffs with Tyrod Taylor.
They weren't in chaos. The Bears were in chaos. Coach

(59:09):
in the hot seat. Caleb's like twenty touchdown six picks,
sixty three or sixty four percent the pleation percentage, and.

Speaker 2 (59:15):
It was like disaster. So it's just harder in Chicago.
One more heard.

Speaker 7 (59:20):
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 1 (59:30):
All right, here we go. It is a Friday. We
are love in Chicago. It's the Herd. Wherever you may
be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making
us part of your day. J Mack, I thought this
was the strangest thing I know.

Speaker 2 (59:43):
You loved the Lakers.

Speaker 1 (59:44):
JJ Reddick got a contract extension. Happy for him.

Speaker 2 (59:47):
I like him.

Speaker 1 (59:48):
I didn't think he had a great playoff series at all,
but I did think he had a very good year.
I think they were very intentional Offensively, I thought he
was an upgrade over Darvin Ham offensively.

Speaker 2 (59:58):
For sure, he had the respect.

Speaker 1 (01:00:00):
Of Lebron James, So I think I thought he had
a very good rookie year. I thought he had a
bad playoff series. But again you're talking about was that
Chris Finch. I mean, you're going up against one of
the best coaching staffs in the league. So I didn't
get it. I mean, he won fifty games, he deserved credit,
but they gave him a contract extension, and I thought
that was I thought he just signed a contract. It's

(01:00:25):
not like he had a massive market where the entire
NBA was like knocking down the door to get JJ Reddick.
But he got an extension yesterday after kind of a
I wouldn't. I don't think even JJ Reddick would acknowledge.
I think he would acknowledge it was not a good
playoff series for him. Remember that weird experiment where he
did not he left his starters in was it the

(01:00:47):
entire second half and they were gassed in the next
game And it had never been done before, so it
took a big swing. It backfired, and they gave him
an extension. Is that not weird?

Speaker 3 (01:00:57):
Come on, let's lay off JJ Rady. He's a good guy.
He loves chat GPT, which I use a lot. I'm
using a lot for NFL gambling. The season cong There
is unbelievable info on there, man, JJ Reddick uses it.

Speaker 2 (01:01:07):
It's got to be good enough for us, right, I
don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:01:10):
I just thought usually how as season ends dictates how
ownership in front offices view you. I mean the NBA
regular season. Come on, I mean they stole Luca in
the postseason. You're like, he would admit kind of a clunker,
Like it was kind of a clunker against Minnesota. Took
a big swing on a move that had never been done,

(01:01:30):
and the team felt like it was gassed. And I
don't know, maybe maybe it's new ownership. Obviously they had
to be a green light. It tells you.

Speaker 2 (01:01:43):
They like the new skinny Luca, they like Reddick.

Speaker 1 (01:01:47):
Because it seems like my guess on why the Lakers
did this, they are doubling down on Luca and JJ
Reddick it being the future, not Lebron.

Speaker 2 (01:01:58):
They're saying all the right.

Speaker 1 (01:01:59):
Things Onink' is like, oh, I hope he ends his career.
Ownership is sending a signal to Lebron. This is JJ
Reddick and Luca's franchise. They're saying the right stuff on Lebron.
But what they're doing is Lebron, you're our third pitch
actions over words yep.

Speaker 2 (01:02:18):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:02:19):
And that's my guess is that new ownership is just
doubling down on don't think for a second we're not
gonna send messages. It is a Luca team, and I've
told you I think Luca this year ends up averaging
over thirty because when he's been in shape, he takes
the ball over, he doesn't give it back. And Lebron's

(01:02:39):
gonna be watching a lot of basketball and one end
of the floor not participating. All right, Hey, the have
the best week. I got some bad breaks. Undeterred. Here's
our blazing five.

Speaker 2 (01:02:54):
Let's blaze it up, fired up.

Speaker 7 (01:02:55):
It's Collins Blazon Fuck Vikings versus Steeler.

Speaker 1 (01:03:00):
Favorite bet on the board. I'm gonna take Minnesota minus
two and a half. I get the better offensive staff,
best better defense, I think right now, I don't know
why I would like Pittsburgh. Minnesota's won eleven of its
last thirteen regular season games, and they've been very good
on the road or away from home. I get Carson Wentz,

(01:03:21):
Jordan Addison's back, Jordan Mason more than capable, Justin Jefferson.
I think I get a better offensive line. So I
like the offense, and the defense ranks top five in
the league. The Steelers offense is a mess. They can't
run the ball, they can't protect Aaron Rodgers. This coaching
staff can't figure.

Speaker 2 (01:03:37):
Out a run game.

Speaker 1 (01:03:38):
I don't know why this line is only minus two
and a half. The Steelers under Tomlin have been a
good underdog team. They'll play like their hair's on fire.
But I think Minnesota twenty seven to twenty covers here
better staff, better offense, better defense.

Speaker 2 (01:03:53):
I a better road team.

Speaker 1 (01:03:56):
I'm gonna take Minnesotas Patriots. I'm taking the over forty
three and a half. I don't get the number. Listen,
the Patriots outplayed the Steelers. They just kept coughing it
up Drake May. In the last two weeks, it's completing
seventy four percent of his throws. The problem for them
is they don't have a pass rush. They're allowing the
most big plays. So for New England to win, they

(01:04:18):
gonna win. They got to score some points, and I
think they will because Carolina's defense, they don't get to
the quarterback either. I mean, they have one sack through
their first three games. So you're gonna get a very
comfortable Drake May, who's gonna have time at home to throw.
The weather's not an issue. The bad weather's out of town.
You have two defenses that don't get after the quarterback

(01:04:39):
and two quarterbacks when they're not pressured, who can complete
a lot of passes and move the chains. I think
it's this. I think we get points in this game.
Twenty six twenty three New England wins take the over.
Bryce Young last week completed sixty seven percent of his throws.
If he's got time, he does that.

Speaker 2 (01:04:58):
Colt sid Rants, I think it's a good spot for
the Rams.

Speaker 1 (01:05:01):
Sean McVay off a disappointing close loss, they come back home.
They have the second highest grade by PFF of any
team in the league. Frams are a really good team
that dominated Philly in Philly for a half. Pooka and
Devonte Adams have been outstanding, the best receiving tandem in
the league. And the defense leads the NFL in sacks.

(01:05:22):
So Daniel Jones and he has a good old line.

Speaker 2 (01:05:25):
Is going to face real pressure.

Speaker 1 (01:05:27):
The offense last week for the Colts came back down
to earth a little. They were two for eight on
third down. They weren't very good and their defense has
major holes on the back end. This is not a
great Colts defense on the back end. Poka, Tyron Williams,
Matt Stafford McVeigh at home. I think they look much

(01:05:51):
more comfortable. They beat the Colts thirty four to twenty four.
Thirty excuse me to twenty four. This is a good
spot for the Rams at home against an average, beaten
up secondary. Take the Rams Bears in Raiders. I like
the Raiders. They're a slight favorite. I like the Raiders.

(01:06:13):
Gino Smith, do you know this leads the NFL in
big pass plays second passing yards only behind Justin Herbert.
When Gino has time to throw often this year he hasn't.
He can sling it, and I think it's a great
opportunity to get the running game going. The bigger story
here is we're concentrating on Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson,
but the Bears defense has not been good and they're

(01:06:35):
a terrible road team, one to eight on the road
last nine games. Caleb has been bad on the road.
The Bears have been a bad road team, and their
defense is allowing six point seven yards of play. We're
not talking about the fact that the Bears defense is struggling.
Opposing quarterbacks are completing seventy five percent of their throws
against the Chicago Bears. Bad road team. The Raiders come

(01:06:58):
back home trying to ash some offensive dominance up front
against the team. I think they'll run the ball on
I do. I think Gent has a breakout game. I'm
gonna take the Raiders to win it. Twenty seven to
twenty three.

Speaker 2 (01:07:15):
Bengals and Broncos.

Speaker 1 (01:07:17):
Okay, Broncos are coming off two rough road losses. They
lost both games when time expired. Denver's got the much
better defense. Denver's got the better head coach. Denver's got
tremendous personnel up front. Defensively, I mean, they have the
second best red zone defense, so even when you get
down into the red zone, it is hard to get

(01:07:39):
touchdowns out of Denver. They lead the NFL in sacks.
They also get their tight end, Evan Ingram back.

Speaker 2 (01:07:45):
This is big.

Speaker 1 (01:07:46):
This is big because Bonnicks hasn't been great throwing the
ball deep this year. They've missed on big plays. So
Evan Ingram is in that twelve to fourteen yard space.
Big for Denver's offense. The Bengals worst rushing attack in
the league, putting more pressure on an average quarterback Jake Browning.
They don't do a lot well offensively. You see the screen.

(01:08:08):
I think Denver is an undervalued team with a much
better roster against the shaky O line an excellent pass rush.
I think Denver controls the game. Bo Nicks, by the way,
not great in September last year. Finally Clicks thirty twenty.
They cover the spread. Take the Denver Broncos. So once again,

(01:08:29):
looking at our picks, I like favorites this weekend. Vikings
good road team. I think they have the better staff,
better weapons, better run game and playing better defensively. Minnesota
to cover Panther's Patriots. I think score points. I'm surprised
that the over unders only forty three and a half.

(01:08:49):
The weather's cleared. I think it's a great spot for
the Rams to cover. I don't like the Bears on
the road. I can't go crazy. Bears are probably the
worst road team in the league, and I'm gonna take
Denver so.

Speaker 2 (01:09:01):
I will say this, I.

Speaker 1 (01:09:03):
Think the one team in the league that's actually really
really good that hasn't looked like it is the Denver
Broncos So. Bow Knicks last year was really bad in September.
Bow Knicks this year hasn't been good in September. What
a coincidence? Drew Brees. His worst month as a Saint

(01:09:23):
was September.

Speaker 2 (01:09:25):
Why.

Speaker 1 (01:09:26):
My theory has always been, Sean Peyton puts a lot
on your plate. And in Drew Brees's last three or
four years in New Orleans, starters don't play in the preseason.
Bow Knicks didn't taking a lot of snaps in the preseason,
and Sean Payton puts a lot on your plate. And
I think it takes October, November, and December for Breeze

(01:09:50):
and bow Knicks to get their arms around the playbook.
Sean Payton's career record in September Sean Payton's five hundred,
thirty and thirty. The rest of his career in October
on is fifty and seventeen. So Sean Payton and his
quarterbacks do not play well in September.

Speaker 2 (01:10:12):
Isn't that crazy?

Speaker 1 (01:10:12):
Sean Payton an all time coach, five hundred in September,
Drew Brees average in September. Drew Brees is one of
the best quarterbacks of all time. So I think as
we get closer to the end, you get a very
weak defensive personnel in Cincinnati, they can't run the ball
third and longs. I think they popped this weekend, and

(01:10:33):
here was Sean Payton on the early struggles of Bo Nicks.

Speaker 12 (01:10:37):
Just keep firing. You know he's going to hit plenty
of those. One of the things.

Speaker 2 (01:10:42):
That's a gift is his off schedule throws.

Speaker 12 (01:10:45):
So you just want to be careful how much you
tell them. And then I think part of it is
when you when you settle into certain plays, there's a
rhythm to you know, the canis Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:11:01):
So there are things that are not a coincidence. Sean
Payton never been a great September coach, which goes against everything.
Drew Brees all timer worst month was September. Bo Nick
suddenly wish Sean Payton really struggles in September. Now you're
saying to yourself, well, it's still September. I believe this
is a great spot. Extra day, you know, they get

(01:11:23):
the extra day at prep. They're at home, high altitude,
beat up defense for Cincinnati. This game, I think they
click and they looked a part. I think this is
the last really special team in the NFL that hasn't.

Speaker 2 (01:11:35):
Looked special yet.

Speaker 1 (01:11:37):
For the record, that Colt's game they had won, they
rekicked and lost Chargers game. Couple opportunities missed on big
opportunities downfield,