November 25, 2025 • 33 mins
3-time National Champion Urban Meyer joins the show to preview a massive Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry showdown. Meyer also breaks down what Lincoln Riley must change to push USC back into College Football Playoff contention and reestablish the Trojans as a national power
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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 1 (00:30):
All right, welcome back. What an amazing smorgasbord of football,
starting Chiefs, Cowboys, Lions, Packers, Bears, Eagles. Then you're gonna
get Ohio State and Michigan. An Urban Meyer was seven
and oh against Michigan. He is now joining US live.
He will be joining us during a big noon kickoff
(00:52):
Ohio State at Michigan Saturday, nine am Eastern. I love
I love the early game. What a way to start
the day. So let's just go inside. This last year
was shocking. Listen. I get Harbaugh winning games. He's obviously
a great coach. I get you dominating the series. In
my lifetime, I've always felt Ohio States the better program,
(01:13):
but Michigan's been more coach reliant, whereas Ohio States just
almost always good that it doesn't even John Cooper was
winning a lot of games before they ran him out.
This game, though, did you coach it differently? Did you
feel layers of pressure that you didn't when you face
Purdue Iowa or even a big game that was a
(01:33):
national TV game.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Colin, It's not even close the pressure, And I agree,
I think it's that Ohio State. It might be worse.
You know, I talked to Jake Butt today and and
you know, went on that eighteen and nineteen game run
where you won, and I still felt the pressure was
And it wasn't that week, it wasn't that day, it
was pretty much all year round that you just you
could not lose that game. And a lot of that's
(01:57):
probably internal pressure. But the great State of Ohio, now
you know, there's no Michigan State, there's no other rival.
This is the game, and this is you know, say
answer your question, immense pressure.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Now, Ohio State's got better personnel right now. But Underwood
in Marsh for Michigan are playmakers. I like Marsh as
much as any receiver Michigan has had in a decade.
I think he's really special. They're kids, they're young. If
Michigan is to win this game, they're at home. That helps.
If you are Ohio State, what would worry you? Because
(02:32):
I can see Underwood just I could see Michigan saying,
kid put on a show, and you know he is
wild talent. What would worry you if you're a Buckeye?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Would worry means? Is a shortened game. It's going to
be sloppy. I'm understanding snowing and cold and all of
a sudden. If I'm coaching Underwood, I'm going to double
tape his ankles. I might even put a necro on him.
I'm gonna run that guy. I'm going to get first downs.
I'm going to shorten the game and then read job
at halftime. But I'm going to get to that halftime
with a short and slow game and try to play
(03:05):
field position ball. Because Ohio State has more talent and
a lot of it's going to be dependent on these
two receivers. If the top two receivers in the country play,
Jeremiah and Carnell Tate. If they play, it's a whole
different game. If they don't, you know, the Ohio State
is still a little bit more talent, but it's now
a little more equal What's the great equalizer? The quarterback
run and this kid's a freak. You know, I'd have
(03:25):
them take care of the ball. Say get ready, pal,
we're gonna put you in Heisman contation next year because
you're going to dominate this game.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
If Tate doesn't player Jeremiah Smith, both receivers are banged up. Now,
if it's snowing and blowing sideways, you're not going deep
much anyway. Do you worry a little bit if the
receivers don't play. You got a very young quarterback. This
is the biggest game of his life. Do you worry
about butterflies and nerves? I mean, there is no bigger
game for Buckeye and now it's on the road and
(03:56):
you could be missing receivers. What about the psychology with that?
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Yeah, I think they did a masterclass in bringing Julian
saying Alan and that's Brian Hartline and Ryan Day. You know,
you remember back against Texas, they didn't ask him to
go win that game, and I would, you know, I
would imagine if he's a California kid, he might be playing.
I don't know if he's ever been playing snow before
in a tough environment against a good talented defense. So
(04:23):
I'd be very cautious with him again to start the game.
If if I'm coaching this game with these two young quarterbacks,
I am very cautious. I am playing field position football
to start this thing and then start to adapt. As
usually after about the third or fourth series callin, you're
going to find out how they're going to play you,
because they don't drastically change. I know people talk about
(04:45):
halftime adjustments, but after series three, you're going to know,
as an offensive coach, exactly or a good idea, how
they're going to play you, and then you can, you know,
adjust your game plan.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
So I watched the USC Michigan game, and it's hard
for me to unsee that Michigan has been much better since.
Why they were awful of that game.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
I can't unsee that as well. As a matter of fact,
I couldn't see that for the other side, USC, I
thought if that team shows up, they could beat Oregon.
And that team did not show up, So I think,
you know, their schedule was a little bit softer. After
the USC game. They did play, they did play well,
but you know, softer schedules tend to make you look better.
We're gonna find out, But I can't unsee what happened
(05:31):
in Southern cal That was a bad day for the Wolverines.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
By the way, speaking of USC, Lincoln's zero to five
against top ten teams. In fairness, he did not take
over a good roster. It had about forty Division one guys.
He went heavy into nil, hitting a few, missing a lot.
My bigger issue is four years in, I don't like
the special teams and I don't trust the defense. I
(05:54):
don't think it's good enough. They also lacked kind of
a cultural identity Oklahoma Brett Venable has never been a
head coach. When I watched Oklahoma that, I'm like, Oh,
that's an SEC team. They are they are physical and
they're fast. Are you disappointed where Lincoln is after four years?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I know Lincoln. I don't know him like this. If
I did, I'd probably go visit him and I'd say,
I know this is going to be hard for you
to do, but give up the play because he's one
of the best play callers in college football, certainly in
the last recent history. But at some point when special
teams and defense aren't playing the par I know what
Ryan Day did. The Buck guys got better when they
(06:33):
when he handed off the play calling duties because he
can go sit in defensive rooms. Now he can go
give his expertise and special teams or and I it's
not expertise, it's just motivation. I just don't know. I'm
trying to think the last time that a play caller
won a national championship, because I mean, it's rinse and
repeat with what he did at Oklahoma. Great offenses, bad defenses,
(06:57):
goes to usc great offenses, bad defenses, and we thought,
you know, they had it a little bit better. But again,
I just in today's day and age, I'm not sure
how a head coach doesn't spend half the time over
on the defensive side of the ball. I don't, I don't.
I don't understand that.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
So I have defended Lane Kiffen. People say it's going
to tarnish his reputation if he leaves, and I'm like, well,
his reputation is he leaves and he's a great offensive coach.
That's what he is. That's why keeps, that's why keeps
getting Nobody's giving him jobs because they think he's loyal,
they think he's great, he's a wizard offensively, and he
recruits the heck out of it. Well, let me ask
(07:33):
you put yourself in his position. I have said, stay
at Old miss Or go pro, go to Tennessee, don't bounce.
I wouldn't get involved with LSU. I know it's a
great job. The governor's involved. I don't like what they're
doing with Brian Kelly. I think Florida is a wonderful
place to coach. What would you do?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I've texted with Lane, I've talked to him, We've actually
become friends. I made this comment, I was, I'm proud
of the way he's gotten everything in order, and he
is a call he's all has been a hell of
an offensive coach and now he's become a hell of
a head coach. I had a similar situation. I was
at the University of you taw We went undefeated. First
school to break the BCS or small school to break
the BCS. And I left and I went to Florida
(08:13):
and that was just ripped your heart out. I went back.
We coached the last game and the Festa ball we won.
This is unchartered waters though. To leave a team that
could potentially and you tell me other than Ohio State
maybe and you have a and m Ohio State, Indiana
I'm telling you all missus right there. Yeah, and to
(08:33):
be able to walk that might haunt Lane the rest
of his You know, I'm just personally to how do
you walk in that meeting and say, hey, guys, I'm
not only leaving, I'm going to be playing you next year?
You know, I don't know. I mean, and I don't
believe at this point in his life. Money can't be
the deciding factor. Cannot There's no chance that he would
(08:55):
leave because a couple more million bucks. I would say,
there's no chance. There's got to be some other reason
if he does leave.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah, well you've never been I mean, I know you
a little. You're not a big money guy. That's not
what drives you.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Ever.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
You're you're a very competitive guy, but it doesn't drive you.
But you know, some of these young guys they like that.
Let us they want a second car urban. It does
drive I mean, you've had coaches. Have you ever had
a coach and your staff or two or that like
the money thing? That the status and the money. I mean,
let's face it, LSU head coach, that is a big
Texas head coach, Ohio state head coach. Those are big
(09:30):
boy jobs now, right, Ole Miss is a good job.
LSU is different.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yeah, I heard Nick Saban say this with I think
back when recruiting was all about you know your history,
your tradition, you know your academics, maybe your opportunity to
get you the NFL. I'm thinking that's kind of gone now.
Now it's just how much can you pay? And so
I would imagine if Lane Kiffin left, there's some kind
(09:57):
of guarantees somewhere that he can basically do whatever he
wants as far as bringing players, because I can't imagine
it's another car, another house. I can't imagine that because
I'd stayed all Miss in a minute. And they'll build
a statue if you go try to compete for a
national championship and that's your legacy Stetton Stone. It's a
much different era, and I think Nick Saban said it.
(10:17):
So that used to be the deciding factor. I'm going
to go to LSU because you can go play for
national championship and they recruit better players. I'm not sure
that's the case anymore, because everyone's equal.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Okay, let's go back to Ohio State Michigan. I like
Ryan Day. I've supported him, I've defended him. I think
he's a great coach. I also, I also I think
I may have even said this to him. I thought
he out fought the room last year. I thought he
had heard people were chirping in his ear for years.
You're getting pushed around by Michigan. You're getting pushed around
(10:48):
by Michigan. And he thought, I'm not letting them push
me around. And my take is, go win the game,
don't worry about of talk radio. I thought he overthought
the room last year and he got caught up and
like proving I can go play bulldozer football. Is that
a fair criticism of what happened last year?
Speaker 3 (11:08):
I think it's fair. I think also the defense did
a phenomenal job. And I'm talking about the Wolverines that
they played a too high structure against him and dared
him to run the ball. And a lot of times
you go into a game and there's a run pass checks.
If it's a loaded box, you pass, if it's an
unloaded box, you run. And Grian called me after that game.
Coach Day called me after the game, and he's like
(11:28):
a family member obviously coach for me, and I remember said,
what the hell happened? And we talked for a while,
and my responsibility as a friend is to talk more
about him and his family than talking about what happened
on second and six. But they played into the teeth
of the Wolverine defense, those two first rounders inside. I
was there with Big Noon, and I mean, what happens
(11:50):
is you screw around, you screw around. That's my concern.
In the sloppy game up in ann Arbor and you
wake up and you're in the fourth quarter and the
game's close, and then someone makes a drive like did
at the end and you lose, So you know this
is I do believe that that filtered into it. I
don't know if that was the reason.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Why though, Do you miss coaching when you go to
this game?
Speaker 3 (12:11):
No, no, I'm good. No, I don't miss this. I
miss wanting, miss thing. That's it. I don't miss coaching it.
I don't miss preparing because I mean, you're telling Colin
it's hard to breathe, and people Ryan would understand. I'm
sure sure al Moore understands. It's when I say it's
hard to breathe, it's hard to breathe, because that's how
much this game means to the state of Ohio and
(12:33):
Ohio State.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
You're probably that week of coaching. You're probably no fun
to be around. I bet your wife is like, well,
I'm going to go walk the dog. You're probably you're
probably that week a mess, were you?
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Oh? Yeah, we had Thanksgiving that week and I would
always let the players go home and I'd put on
that face for like two hours in that leave. I'd
go in my office and go back to work and yeah,
I'd put on the smile face for and hug the
grandkids and everybody, and then oh, he's gone.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
It's time to get ready for that game. Miserable until
the w That's great. I mean you never lost one.
I mean you went to seven and zero. That feels
pretty good, right.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
It feels really good right now, sitting here in Sarasota
feels really good.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
I'm up in Chicago. It doesn't feel that great. I'll
be honest. It's rating in cold. Okay. One more thing
is I one of the things about college football now,
it's a little more like pro We're head to head matters,
but not as much. I've watched Notre Dame play six
times this year. I watched them lose to Miami. I'm
watching them. Now, that is a football team that feels
(13:40):
like they're two touchdowns better. Now, maybe it's a competition thing,
but it's funny in the pros. I mean, the New
England Patriots got beat of the Raiders in Week one.
Now they could be the best team in pro football.
We understand players grow, they get better, but yet in
college they're eighteen and nineteen and we're like, no, whatever
you yard at Labor Day, that's what you are to me.
(14:02):
Notre Dame feels like a totally different team or is
it just a competition.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I think it's Slash. I think there's certainly a better team.
I'm watching them a bunch. I love their coach. I
watch them for a lot of reasons. Chris Ash worked
for me on defense. They didn't look very good at
the beginning. They look great. So does competition. Yeah, they
played and we called that, I mean the members of
our Big Noon and I think you might have called
it after week two said they're going to be in
(14:28):
the playoffs and win. The rest of them. When you
look at their schedule, they're better than everybody they played. Regardless,
I think Jordan loves maybe other than Jeremiah Smith the most.
The best player in America. The guy's unbelievable, and they're
playing at a high level both sides of the ball,
really high level.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
He, Jeremiah Love, really is an unbelievable It was funny.
I was looking at a mock draft.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
The other I think, I said, Jordan Jeremi, I love you.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah, No, I mean he is Okay, all the running
backs you ever had, is Jeremiah Love as good as
any of them?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah, Zeke's my best one. And uh uh he's right
there with Zeke. He's phenomenal, balance, big, strong, fast, He's great.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
He really is something else. There's about one running back
every two years you got to take in the first round,
and I would have no problem taking him. Absolutely, Okay,
Urban big noon kickoff. Yeah, I think we got everything
covered here. Buddy's great. Sen you good senior man. Urban
(15:26):
Meyer seven to zero against the Michigan Wolverines. Got Ryan
da beats everybody one and four against Michigan. And I
and I again, I'm a Ryan Da fan. I love
his staffs, I love his hiring. He takes swings. I
thought he overthought the room last year. It happens. I
was saying this last night watching Carolina and in San Francisco,
J Mack you had to be saying the same thing.
(15:47):
Kyle Shanaan's like, we're gonna give it to Christian McCaffrey
five out of six place. Rico Dowdell got six carries,
and you're like, Bryce Young's young, he's on the road.
Just give the ball to Rico Daddle twenty six times.
He's your mcchaic. Like sometimes coaches they get there's a rhythm.
It's not that they forget. But I felt like Ohio
(16:09):
State last year in this game got out of rhythm offensively,
and all of a sudden you look up in the
third and you're like, we're in trouble and now we're
getting really tight. That's what it felt like to me.
I can't hear you.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
Yeah, my mic is on Yeah, yeah, draft can you
draft Kings?
Speaker 5 (16:25):
Has it at ten for Ohio State Michigan ten?
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:30):
If one of their receivers plays, I like Ohio State,
if one plays, they don't need both. It's gonna be sloppy.
They're gonna run the ball.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
They can't wait. Oh that's that's uh numbers.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
A lot of people gonna be watching that puppy.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
Careful with Michigan here, this is a is a rivalry,
you know, Michigan.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
They don't respect us.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Look at Cowherd say, and that's gonna be a blowout
of our receiver plays.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
I mean, be careful, buddy, Now, kids don't watch TV.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
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FS one and the iHeartRadio app. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon eastern nine
am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the
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Speaker 5 (17:20):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire
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Speaker 5 (17:31):
Throat every day.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
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Speaker 1 (17:52):
J Mack with the News, No No, No Turn on
the news this is the herd line news.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Packers Lions on Thanksgiving should be good, But Colin I
was unaware of this. Jordan Love had that shoulder injury
against the Giants, right he came out briefly played the
full game last week. Interestingly, there's videos he's not using
his left hand to hand off because of the shoulder injury. Yeah,
that is bad. He's handing over his right hand. That's
(18:20):
a recipe for disaster. They're saying he's a full participant
in practice and he's gonna play.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
I don't know. I did bet the Packers here early.
I don't know, man. I'm a little worried about Green Bay.
If your quarterback it's one hit.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Foles on that.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Shoulder, Aden Hutchetson plants him, he's coming out and then
it's back up Malik Willis. I don't know about this Packers.
The Lions played very poorly in one. If I had
to take a side, I'd take Detroit. I thought Detroit, really,
I mean they got dashed down the field. I mean
Giants threw the ball deep. I mean early, I mean
(18:56):
like first drive of the game. So I think it's
gonna play very well at home and very inspired. I
don't want to curl it like a dirty little secret,
but I'm going to read off the wins that the
Lions have had since beating Lamar Jackson and beat up Baltimore.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
They beat Cleveland, whoopie damn do they.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Beat the backup in Cincinnati who at.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
The time was Jake Browning. They beat Baker.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Mayfield and Tampa at home. Baker Mayfield and Tamar are
not good at this point. They beat Washington's back up
Marcus Mariota, and they beat Jameis Winston. They haven't beaten
a real team in months. I don't know what to
make of the Lions. I don't know that they're great.
I mean, hell, the Giant.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
Should have won that game.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
If Kafka does as a Gopher on fourth down and
watch that in the fourth quarter, I mean, maybe they
go up six or go up ten.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Are the Lions good?
Speaker 6 (19:45):
Colin?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
The Lions are talented right now. They're not good, They're
just really talented. I mean, listen, I should rephrase that.
I don't know outside of the Rams if there is
a great team. I mean, Denver's and New England are
very Seattle's up there. Yeah, I mean I would say
there's one great team, several very goods Detroit in the
(20:09):
Green Bay category. It's a good team. It's a good team.
All right.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
Let's move on to Christian McCaffrey. Last night he was tremendous.
I didn't like the thirty one touches, but whatever. Became
the third player in NFL history to run for one
thousand and gain one thousand yards receiving in his third season.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
He may now become the second to do it twice.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
McCaffrey on pace with almost balance, seven hundred ninety six
rushing yards, seven hundred and eighty five receiving. With five
games to play, He's gonna go over eleven hundred yards
assuming he stays healthy. Former Rams running back Marshall Fawk
did it, Roger Craig did it, and of course semac
did it with the Panthers. This is a Hall of
Famer colin. I mean, McAffrey just got so.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
The three best backs I've ever seen are Walter Payton,
Barry Sanders and Christian McCaffrey. Those are the three best
backs I've ever seen.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
No John Riggins for you, or is there no very
good I.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Mean, there's about twenty. Eric Dickerson I mean Adrian Peterson
in his prime. There's I mean Sakwan Barkley. There's about
another twenty that are sensational. But I would say, in
my life, Walter Payton's the best running back I ever saw.
He had power and shiftiness. It was hard to get
your hands around. Barry Sanders and McCaffrey might as well
(21:21):
be a slot receiver. He's that good. He's the there's three.
Those three backs to me, are different than anybody I've
ever seen.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
It's funny every week people are like the media. I
should say, is clamoring, who's.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
The best player in the league at Jimir Gibbs, it's
b Jon Robinson. Let's just take a deep breath. Those
guys look really good. But Christian McCaffrey has been consistently dominant.
I mean, look at look at this most combined rush
attempts in targets this season.
Speaker 5 (21:46):
That's almost one hundred more than Jonathan Taylor. That's insane.
Now I do worry about him in the playoffs. They're
gonna need him.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
I would give a little more Brian Robinson, but that's
just me. Final story, Colin, we are going to Zach
Taylor and the bunglesp It's official. Joe Burrow is going
to make his return on Thursday night against the Ravens.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Burrow has missed the last nine games with Turftoe Turftow serious.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
As you can see with Rock Perdy, Bengals are one
in eight in that stretch, said Taylor. I anticipate him playing,
but will continue to work through the week.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
There is no way that America is going to be
subjected to Joe Flacco.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Okay, on Thanksgiving Night, we got to get Joe Burrow
against Lamar.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Three good games, should.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Be right, Yeah, no, I'm it's worth watching Jmack with
the news.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping by.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
What's the Herd Line news? We go to Cleveland next
to check in on the pulse of Shadeur Sanders and
the fandoms surrounding him.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Next, be sure to catch live editions of The Herd
weekdays and noon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
Well.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
He has been covering the Cleveland Browns in the NFL
since the mid eighties, host of the Daily Grossy Tony Grossy,
You does such a great job. Cleveland's got great reporters
on this team, covering the team. So Tony Grossy is
joining us. So what a time to be alive and
be a Cleveland Brown fan. So I want to take
people back. You've always had strong opinions, you back them
(23:25):
up on the air, you go to the games. You
and the Schador had a little thing earlier this year
which we talked about the last time you were on
his show. And I think he's a good kid. My
knock on him. He's a little too jovial and playful
for my taste. Is that a fair criticism from somebody
like yourself, Tony? That covers him well.
Speaker 6 (23:47):
Playful is the perfect adjective for him.
Speaker 7 (23:51):
He's even used that word himself, and he's even said
I'm two playful for some people. So I like the
fact that he's aware of that. He's the kind of
guy Colin that you interview and you can't come away
without smiling. He'll say or do something that'll just make
you smile, and that's he's a very pleasant guy. But
(24:15):
if you're a teammate, I don't know, your criticism might
be more directed toward If he's a teammate, Do you
want a guy who's more of a leader in a
different way, you know. But he had a lot to
be playful about in his first NFL start.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Yeah, So when I watched the game Tony, I was like, Oh,
that's the Colorado guy. He moves well, and I never
bought into the fact that he was a pocket quarterback.
He moves, you know, he's not Golfer Stafford. He moves fine.
The thing I like about him, and I think you
have to admit this, some people Tony are negative or
they're safe, and they kind of suck the oxygen oxygen
out of a room. He doesn't. He takes big swings,
(24:53):
he throws it downfield. I think pro athletes who are
twenty five, twenty eight, twenty nine, I think they like
playing with him. I mean, you're in the locker room
after the game. I think players privately would prefer Shador
over Dylan. What do you make of that?
Speaker 7 (25:09):
Well, after after seeing him play his first game, I
would agree with you. But I would say his his
ability to make splash plays.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
They had really two of them in the in the
Vegas game.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (25:24):
Those are two plays that Gabriel didn't make for six games.
Speaker 6 (25:29):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (25:29):
And there's a viral video of Miles Garrett, who was
on the bench at the time with the offense on
the field, when Gabriel made that play to Isaiah Bond
and he was like, Oh my gosh, I've never seen
that all season.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
That's what they like, right, That's what any teammate would like.
Not Uh.
Speaker 7 (25:48):
It's not just shoot walking on the field and infusing
everyone with energy. It's plays like that that give your
team energy, and unfortunately for him, Gabriel was not able.
Speaker 5 (25:59):
To do that.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
So Tony Grossey joining us. If you're listening on radio,
long time respected beat writer for Cleveland. He's got the
daily Grossy at Tony Grossey. He's a Pro Football Hall
of Fame selection committee. They give those opportunities to grown ups.
I don't have one of those, So Tony, let's start
with this. I said, you can't trust the internet. If
you listen to the internet. Everybody wants Kevin Stefanski fired
(26:24):
in Cleveland. I think he's excellent. I thought the game
plan was smart. I loved the wildcat down at the
goal line. I thought that was so smart. It was
a total off speed pitch. When you talk to reasonable
people in Cleveland, not crazy guy yelling on talk radio.
What do they think of Stefanski.
Speaker 6 (26:44):
Well, he's in his sixth season.
Speaker 7 (26:46):
He's got two Coach of the Year awards and two
playoff seasons, which is a lot better than any of
his predecessors in the expansion era of the Browns.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
We're talking twenty six years.
Speaker 7 (26:56):
But beyond the and he's been saddled with quarterback issues.
You know, he's had like thirteen starting quarterbacks in six years.
Colin and I think Shadoor is his sixth or seventh
in the last two.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
Or three years.
Speaker 7 (27:12):
So it's tough to create an offense when you're constantly
having a different guy at quarterbacks.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
So I think he deserves a break there.
Speaker 7 (27:21):
The problem as an example of what you're saying about
the Internet. You love those two those direct snaps, so
did I. But the fact is Shoudur was off the
field on those formations and Internet people are claiming that's
another example that's the fantasy doesn't and doesn't want him
(27:43):
as his quarterback. They were effective. You know, if the
Kansas City coach does.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
That, he's brilliant.
Speaker 7 (27:52):
But now you know it's like, well he doesn't trust
s even in the red zone. What kind of a
coach is that, But that's what we're facing here. The
whole fan base has been polarized as a result of
this kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Tony GROSSI joining us listen. They have two first round picks.
I think it's an overrated quarterback draft, and I think
they're too darn good to get the number one pick.
There's a lot of bad teams in this league. I
actually love the Cleveland GM. I like the coach. Miles
Garrett's unbelievable. Jerry Judy drives me nuts, but he's talented.
(28:29):
I think they have talent. All bad, all losing teams
are not equal. I like a lot of Cleveland's roster
and leadership. I think Jimmy Haslam has acknowledged his mistake
with Deshaun I appreciate that. Don't they have to draft
the quarterback? Isn't that? I mean, don't they? Or what
if Shitar wins four straight? Like, where are we with that?
Speaker 7 (28:50):
Well, that's where we are on the daily, daily, daily debate.
Speaker 6 (28:54):
What if he does this? What if he does that?
I think the Browns.
Speaker 7 (28:58):
Went into this season, uh not believing either of their
quarterbacks they drafted were the final answer.
Speaker 6 (29:06):
But they're not closed minded enough to rule.
Speaker 7 (29:10):
It out and right now, Schidor has you know the
runway to maybe make it a very difficult decision. I'm
of the opinion that that you can't let if if
there is one of the who knows who's going to
stay in a Dante more the sellers are they going
to stay or not? Let's let's see what what what
the class looks like. But if there is a quality
(29:33):
quarterback within their reach. They're currently six in the draft
order with their first of their two picks.
Speaker 6 (29:40):
I don't think you could pass.
Speaker 7 (29:41):
It by because the unique situation here, unlike any other team,
is you have the Deshaun Watson salary cap consequence hanging
over it. Eventually that's going to be removed, might be
next year, or they might take another year. But you
need workie quarter with their rookie contracts ye on your roster,
(30:03):
you know. So that's a little bit unique about the
Cleveland situation. I think it'll play out. We won't know
the final answer until it plays out. Shaders of the opinion,
I'm your guy, right, you got a lot of that
kind of confidence.
Speaker 6 (30:17):
But I don't think the Browns have ruled anything out
at this point.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Is Dion ever around town.
Speaker 6 (30:24):
He hasn't been to Cleveland yet. Of course he showed
up in Vegas.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
Yeah, and that made for you know, a big event
as big an event of two and eight teams clashing
that will ever be seen with Dion there and Shuder's debut.
But no, he has not been to Cleveland that I
know of during training camp or or at all during
(30:48):
the season.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
It's got a t bow feel. The difference is, I
think Shador can start in this league. I don't know
if he's a high end starter. Maybe he's a bridge quarterback,
you know which. By the way, I Bry watched Bryce
Young last night. I think Bryce may be a bridge,
not a franchise. But Tony it's fun to watch. I
give him a real fighting chance against the Niners. Niners
in a short week. Chad, that Cleveland defense at home
(31:13):
is nasty. I love that you came on our show today.
You're a busy guy and I appreciate it.
Speaker 7 (31:20):
But Colin, there has never been a Cleveland Browns quarterback
to win his first two starts ever in the NFL.
Speaker 6 (31:26):
You could go back to Otto Graham in nineteen forty six.
Speaker 7 (31:29):
Never since he joined the NFL in nineteen fifty, so
he could truly be legendary if he would do it.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Oh, if Shadura goes to and zero, I'll bet tore
Off on taking a quarterback.
Speaker 6 (31:42):
It's good for our business. I know that.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Yeah, it Hey, Tony, thank you, thank you, Collen. He's
a real pro Tony GROSSI. And it's not easy when
you get into one of those crazy, a little eventual market.
I guess every place is provincial. Cleveland is rough. But
(32:06):
uh oh, wouldn't that be great? By the way, I mean, honestly,
what if Chadur out plays Rock Party? What j Mark
won't show up?
Speaker 5 (32:17):
Give me a break?
Speaker 4 (32:18):
I mean rock Purty outplayed Patrick Mahomes lost, I showed up.
Speaker 5 (32:22):
You know what do you want me to do?
Speaker 4 (32:23):
I mean, listen, Schadeur's not going against rock Pert, He's
going against a depleted Niners defense.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
All right, he should play well. I don't. I'm worried
about Purty.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
But if this line drops far enough, I'm taking the Niners, buddy.
Speaker 5 (32:36):
Sorry, he's just a better team.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Already. I already turned my picks in. I've never done
I've never done a blazing five on Thanksgiving week that
I remember. It's a weird week. It's like, I can't
bet these games, and he totally you know what, America,
I'm on a heater. I didn't have a good week.
I was two and three, but I'm still like sixty
one percent. I think I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna sleep,
I'm gonna sleep on. I think I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 5 (32:58):
Why would you not?
Speaker 3 (33:00):
You know what?
Speaker 5 (33:02):
Why?
Speaker 1 (33:03):
I mean, listen, football is fun. Yeah, let's let's give
the audience fun.
Speaker 5 (33:07):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
We were always voting for fun. I don't have a
Hall of Fame vote. I have a fun vote.
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 1 (00:30):
All right, welcome back. What an amazing smorgasbord of football,
starting Chiefs, Cowboys, Lions, Packers, Bears, Eagles. Then you're gonna
get Ohio State and Michigan. An Urban Meyer was seven
and oh against Michigan. He is now joining US live.
He will be joining us during a big noon kickoff
(00:52):
Ohio State at Michigan Saturday, nine am Eastern. I love
I love the early game. What a way to start
the day. So let's just go inside. This last year
was shocking. Listen. I get Harbaugh winning games. He's obviously
a great coach. I get you dominating the series. In
my lifetime, I've always felt Ohio States the better program,
(01:13):
but Michigan's been more coach reliant, whereas Ohio States just
almost always good that it doesn't even John Cooper was
winning a lot of games before they ran him out.
This game, though, did you coach it differently? Did you
feel layers of pressure that you didn't when you face
Purdue Iowa or even a big game that was a
(01:33):
national TV game.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Colin, It's not even close the pressure, And I agree,
I think it's that Ohio State. It might be worse.
You know, I talked to Jake Butt today and and
you know, went on that eighteen and nineteen game run
where you won, and I still felt the pressure was
And it wasn't that week, it wasn't that day, it
was pretty much all year round that you just you
could not lose that game. And a lot of that's
(01:57):
probably internal pressure. But the great State of Ohio, now
you know, there's no Michigan State, there's no other rival.
This is the game, and this is you know, say
answer your question, immense pressure.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
Now, Ohio State's got better personnel right now. But Underwood
in Marsh for Michigan are playmakers. I like Marsh as
much as any receiver Michigan has had in a decade.
I think he's really special. They're kids, they're young. If
Michigan is to win this game, they're at home. That helps.
If you are Ohio State, what would worry you? Because
(02:32):
I can see Underwood just I could see Michigan saying,
kid put on a show, and you know he is
wild talent. What would worry you if you're a Buckeye?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Would worry means? Is a shortened game. It's going to
be sloppy. I'm understanding snowing and cold and all of
a sudden. If I'm coaching Underwood, I'm going to double
tape his ankles. I might even put a necro on him.
I'm gonna run that guy. I'm going to get first downs.
I'm going to shorten the game and then read job
at halftime. But I'm going to get to that halftime
with a short and slow game and try to play
(03:05):
field position ball. Because Ohio State has more talent and
a lot of it's going to be dependent on these
two receivers. If the top two receivers in the country play,
Jeremiah and Carnell Tate. If they play, it's a whole
different game. If they don't, you know, the Ohio State
is still a little bit more talent, but it's now
a little more equal What's the great equalizer? The quarterback
run and this kid's a freak. You know, I'd have
(03:25):
them take care of the ball. Say get ready, pal,
we're gonna put you in Heisman contation next year because
you're going to dominate this game.
Speaker 1 (03:34):
If Tate doesn't player Jeremiah Smith, both receivers are banged up. Now,
if it's snowing and blowing sideways, you're not going deep
much anyway. Do you worry a little bit if the
receivers don't play. You got a very young quarterback. This
is the biggest game of his life. Do you worry
about butterflies and nerves? I mean, there is no bigger
game for Buckeye and now it's on the road and
(03:56):
you could be missing receivers. What about the psychology with that?
Speaker 3 (04:00):
Yeah, I think they did a masterclass in bringing Julian
saying Alan and that's Brian Hartline and Ryan Day. You know,
you remember back against Texas, they didn't ask him to
go win that game, and I would, you know, I
would imagine if he's a California kid, he might be playing.
I don't know if he's ever been playing snow before
in a tough environment against a good talented defense. So
(04:23):
I'd be very cautious with him again to start the game.
If if I'm coaching this game with these two young quarterbacks,
I am very cautious. I am playing field position football
to start this thing and then start to adapt. As
usually after about the third or fourth series callin, you're
going to find out how they're going to play you,
because they don't drastically change. I know people talk about
(04:45):
halftime adjustments, but after series three, you're going to know,
as an offensive coach, exactly or a good idea, how
they're going to play you, and then you can, you know,
adjust your game plan.
Speaker 1 (04:56):
So I watched the USC Michigan game, and it's hard
for me to unsee that Michigan has been much better since.
Why they were awful of that game.
Speaker 3 (05:09):
I can't unsee that as well. As a matter of fact,
I couldn't see that for the other side, USC, I
thought if that team shows up, they could beat Oregon.
And that team did not show up, So I think,
you know, their schedule was a little bit softer. After
the USC game. They did play, they did play well,
but you know, softer schedules tend to make you look better.
We're gonna find out, But I can't unsee what happened
(05:31):
in Southern cal That was a bad day for the Wolverines.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
By the way, speaking of USC, Lincoln's zero to five
against top ten teams. In fairness, he did not take
over a good roster. It had about forty Division one guys.
He went heavy into nil, hitting a few, missing a lot.
My bigger issue is four years in, I don't like
the special teams and I don't trust the defense. I
(05:54):
don't think it's good enough. They also lacked kind of
a cultural identity Oklahoma Brett Venable has never been a
head coach. When I watched Oklahoma that, I'm like, Oh,
that's an SEC team. They are they are physical and
they're fast. Are you disappointed where Lincoln is after four years?
Speaker 3 (06:12):
I know Lincoln. I don't know him like this. If
I did, I'd probably go visit him and I'd say,
I know this is going to be hard for you
to do, but give up the play because he's one
of the best play callers in college football, certainly in
the last recent history. But at some point when special
teams and defense aren't playing the par I know what
Ryan Day did. The Buck guys got better when they
(06:33):
when he handed off the play calling duties because he
can go sit in defensive rooms. Now he can go
give his expertise and special teams or and I it's
not expertise, it's just motivation. I just don't know. I'm
trying to think the last time that a play caller
won a national championship, because I mean, it's rinse and
repeat with what he did at Oklahoma. Great offenses, bad defenses,
(06:57):
goes to usc great offenses, bad defenses, and we thought,
you know, they had it a little bit better. But again,
I just in today's day and age, I'm not sure
how a head coach doesn't spend half the time over
on the defensive side of the ball. I don't, I don't.
I don't understand that.
Speaker 1 (07:12):
So I have defended Lane Kiffen. People say it's going
to tarnish his reputation if he leaves, and I'm like, well,
his reputation is he leaves and he's a great offensive coach.
That's what he is. That's why keeps, that's why keeps
getting Nobody's giving him jobs because they think he's loyal,
they think he's great, he's a wizard offensively, and he
recruits the heck out of it. Well, let me ask
(07:33):
you put yourself in his position. I have said, stay
at Old miss Or go pro, go to Tennessee, don't bounce.
I wouldn't get involved with LSU. I know it's a
great job. The governor's involved. I don't like what they're
doing with Brian Kelly. I think Florida is a wonderful
place to coach. What would you do?
Speaker 3 (07:51):
I've texted with Lane, I've talked to him, We've actually
become friends. I made this comment, I was, I'm proud
of the way he's gotten everything in order, and he
is a call he's all has been a hell of
an offensive coach and now he's become a hell of
a head coach. I had a similar situation. I was
at the University of you taw We went undefeated. First
school to break the BCS or small school to break
the BCS. And I left and I went to Florida
(08:13):
and that was just ripped your heart out. I went back.
We coached the last game and the Festa ball we won.
This is unchartered waters though. To leave a team that
could potentially and you tell me other than Ohio State
maybe and you have a and m Ohio State, Indiana
I'm telling you all missus right there. Yeah, and to
(08:33):
be able to walk that might haunt Lane the rest
of his You know, I'm just personally to how do
you walk in that meeting and say, hey, guys, I'm
not only leaving, I'm going to be playing you next year?
You know, I don't know. I mean, and I don't
believe at this point in his life. Money can't be
the deciding factor. Cannot There's no chance that he would
(08:55):
leave because a couple more million bucks. I would say,
there's no chance. There's got to be some other reason
if he does leave.
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Yeah, well you've never been I mean, I know you
a little. You're not a big money guy. That's not
what drives you.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
Ever.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
You're you're a very competitive guy, but it doesn't drive you.
But you know, some of these young guys they like that.
Let us they want a second car urban. It does
drive I mean, you've had coaches. Have you ever had
a coach and your staff or two or that like
the money thing? That the status and the money. I mean,
let's face it, LSU head coach, that is a big
Texas head coach, Ohio state head coach. Those are big
(09:30):
boy jobs now, right, Ole Miss is a good job.
LSU is different.
Speaker 3 (09:37):
Yeah, I heard Nick Saban say this with I think
back when recruiting was all about you know your history,
your tradition, you know your academics, maybe your opportunity to
get you the NFL. I'm thinking that's kind of gone now.
Now it's just how much can you pay? And so
I would imagine if Lane Kiffin left, there's some kind
(09:57):
of guarantees somewhere that he can basically do whatever he
wants as far as bringing players, because I can't imagine
it's another car, another house. I can't imagine that because
I'd stayed all Miss in a minute. And they'll build
a statue if you go try to compete for a
national championship and that's your legacy Stetton Stone. It's a
much different era, and I think Nick Saban said it.
(10:17):
So that used to be the deciding factor. I'm going
to go to LSU because you can go play for
national championship and they recruit better players. I'm not sure
that's the case anymore, because everyone's equal.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Okay, let's go back to Ohio State Michigan. I like
Ryan Day. I've supported him, I've defended him. I think
he's a great coach. I also, I also I think
I may have even said this to him. I thought
he out fought the room last year. I thought he
had heard people were chirping in his ear for years.
You're getting pushed around by Michigan. You're getting pushed around
(10:48):
by Michigan. And he thought, I'm not letting them push
me around. And my take is, go win the game,
don't worry about of talk radio. I thought he overthought
the room last year and he got caught up and
like proving I can go play bulldozer football. Is that
a fair criticism of what happened last year?
Speaker 3 (11:08):
I think it's fair. I think also the defense did
a phenomenal job. And I'm talking about the Wolverines that
they played a too high structure against him and dared
him to run the ball. And a lot of times
you go into a game and there's a run pass checks.
If it's a loaded box, you pass, if it's an
unloaded box, you run. And Grian called me after that game.
Coach Day called me after the game, and he's like
(11:28):
a family member obviously coach for me, and I remember said,
what the hell happened? And we talked for a while,
and my responsibility as a friend is to talk more
about him and his family than talking about what happened
on second and six. But they played into the teeth
of the Wolverine defense, those two first rounders inside. I
was there with Big Noon, and I mean, what happens
(11:50):
is you screw around, you screw around. That's my concern.
In the sloppy game up in ann Arbor and you
wake up and you're in the fourth quarter and the
game's close, and then someone makes a drive like did
at the end and you lose, So you know this
is I do believe that that filtered into it. I
don't know if that was the reason.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
Why though, Do you miss coaching when you go to
this game?
Speaker 3 (12:11):
No, no, I'm good. No, I don't miss this. I
miss wanting, miss thing. That's it. I don't miss coaching it.
I don't miss preparing because I mean, you're telling Colin
it's hard to breathe, and people Ryan would understand. I'm
sure sure al Moore understands. It's when I say it's
hard to breathe, it's hard to breathe, because that's how
much this game means to the state of Ohio and
(12:33):
Ohio State.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
You're probably that week of coaching. You're probably no fun
to be around. I bet your wife is like, well,
I'm going to go walk the dog. You're probably you're
probably that week a mess, were you?
Speaker 3 (12:46):
Oh? Yeah, we had Thanksgiving that week and I would
always let the players go home and I'd put on
that face for like two hours in that leave. I'd
go in my office and go back to work and yeah,
I'd put on the smile face for and hug the
grandkids and everybody, and then oh, he's gone.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
It's time to get ready for that game. Miserable until
the w That's great. I mean you never lost one.
I mean you went to seven and zero. That feels
pretty good, right.
Speaker 3 (13:12):
It feels really good right now, sitting here in Sarasota
feels really good.
Speaker 1 (13:16):
I'm up in Chicago. It doesn't feel that great. I'll
be honest. It's rating in cold. Okay. One more thing
is I one of the things about college football now,
it's a little more like pro We're head to head matters,
but not as much. I've watched Notre Dame play six
times this year. I watched them lose to Miami. I'm
watching them. Now, that is a football team that feels
(13:40):
like they're two touchdowns better. Now, maybe it's a competition thing,
but it's funny in the pros. I mean, the New
England Patriots got beat of the Raiders in Week one.
Now they could be the best team in pro football.
We understand players grow, they get better, but yet in
college they're eighteen and nineteen and we're like, no, whatever
you yard at Labor Day, that's what you are to me.
(14:02):
Notre Dame feels like a totally different team or is
it just a competition.
Speaker 3 (14:07):
I think it's Slash. I think there's certainly a better team.
I'm watching them a bunch. I love their coach. I
watch them for a lot of reasons. Chris Ash worked
for me on defense. They didn't look very good at
the beginning. They look great. So does competition. Yeah, they
played and we called that, I mean the members of
our Big Noon and I think you might have called
it after week two said they're going to be in
(14:28):
the playoffs and win. The rest of them. When you
look at their schedule, they're better than everybody they played. Regardless,
I think Jordan loves maybe other than Jeremiah Smith the most.
The best player in America. The guy's unbelievable, and they're
playing at a high level both sides of the ball,
really high level.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
He, Jeremiah Love, really is an unbelievable It was funny.
I was looking at a mock draft.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
The other I think, I said, Jordan Jeremi, I love you.
Speaker 1 (14:52):
Yeah, No, I mean he is Okay, all the running
backs you ever had, is Jeremiah Love as good as
any of them?
Speaker 3 (14:57):
Yeah, Zeke's my best one. And uh uh he's right
there with Zeke. He's phenomenal, balance, big, strong, fast, He's great.
Speaker 1 (15:06):
He really is something else. There's about one running back
every two years you got to take in the first round,
and I would have no problem taking him. Absolutely, Okay,
Urban big noon kickoff. Yeah, I think we got everything
covered here. Buddy's great. Sen you good senior man. Urban
(15:26):
Meyer seven to zero against the Michigan Wolverines. Got Ryan
da beats everybody one and four against Michigan. And I
and I again, I'm a Ryan Da fan. I love
his staffs, I love his hiring. He takes swings. I
thought he overthought the room last year. It happens. I
was saying this last night watching Carolina and in San Francisco,
J Mack you had to be saying the same thing.
(15:47):
Kyle Shanaan's like, we're gonna give it to Christian McCaffrey
five out of six place. Rico Dowdell got six carries,
and you're like, Bryce Young's young, he's on the road.
Just give the ball to Rico Daddle twenty six times.
He's your mcchaic. Like sometimes coaches they get there's a rhythm.
It's not that they forget. But I felt like Ohio
(16:09):
State last year in this game got out of rhythm offensively,
and all of a sudden you look up in the
third and you're like, we're in trouble and now we're
getting really tight. That's what it felt like to me.
I can't hear you.
Speaker 4 (16:21):
Yeah, my mic is on Yeah, yeah, draft can you
draft Kings?
Speaker 5 (16:25):
Has it at ten for Ohio State Michigan ten?
Speaker 3 (16:29):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (16:30):
If one of their receivers plays, I like Ohio State,
if one plays, they don't need both. It's gonna be sloppy.
They're gonna run the ball.
Speaker 3 (16:39):
They can't wait. Oh that's that's uh numbers.
Speaker 1 (16:44):
A lot of people gonna be watching that puppy.
Speaker 4 (16:46):
Careful with Michigan here, this is a is a rivalry,
you know, Michigan.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
They don't respect us.
Speaker 4 (16:51):
Look at Cowherd say, and that's gonna be a blowout
of our receiver plays.
Speaker 1 (16:54):
I mean, be careful, buddy, Now, kids don't watch TV.
Speaker 4 (16:59):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (17:01):
Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays
and noon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio
FS one and the iHeartRadio app. Be sure to catch
live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon eastern nine
am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the
iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 5 (17:20):
Hey, this is Jason McIntyre.
Speaker 4 (17:22):
Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire
with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing
the same tired narratives down your.
Speaker 5 (17:31):
Throat every day.
Speaker 4 (17:32):
Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest
sports headlines, accurate stats to help.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
You win big at the sportsbook, and all the best guests.
Speaker 4 (17:40):
Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with
Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you get your podcasts.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
J Mack with the News, No No, No Turn on
the news this is the herd line news.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Packers Lions on Thanksgiving should be good, But Colin I
was unaware of this. Jordan Love had that shoulder injury
against the Giants, right he came out briefly played the
full game last week. Interestingly, there's videos he's not using
his left hand to hand off because of the shoulder injury. Yeah,
that is bad. He's handing over his right hand. That's
(18:20):
a recipe for disaster. They're saying he's a full participant
in practice and he's gonna play.
Speaker 5 (18:27):
I don't know. I did bet the Packers here early.
I don't know, man. I'm a little worried about Green Bay.
If your quarterback it's one hit.
Speaker 1 (18:34):
Foles on that.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
Shoulder, Aden Hutchetson plants him, he's coming out and then
it's back up Malik Willis. I don't know about this Packers.
The Lions played very poorly in one. If I had
to take a side, I'd take Detroit. I thought Detroit, really,
I mean they got dashed down the field. I mean
Giants threw the ball deep. I mean early, I mean
(18:56):
like first drive of the game. So I think it's
gonna play very well at home and very inspired. I
don't want to curl it like a dirty little secret,
but I'm going to read off the wins that the
Lions have had since beating Lamar Jackson and beat up Baltimore.
Speaker 5 (19:11):
They beat Cleveland, whoopie damn do they.
Speaker 4 (19:14):
Beat the backup in Cincinnati who at.
Speaker 5 (19:17):
The time was Jake Browning. They beat Baker.
Speaker 4 (19:19):
Mayfield and Tampa at home. Baker Mayfield and Tamar are
not good at this point. They beat Washington's back up
Marcus Mariota, and they beat Jameis Winston. They haven't beaten
a real team in months. I don't know what to
make of the Lions. I don't know that they're great.
I mean, hell, the Giant.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
Should have won that game.
Speaker 4 (19:36):
If Kafka does as a Gopher on fourth down and
watch that in the fourth quarter, I mean, maybe they
go up six or go up ten.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Are the Lions good?
Speaker 6 (19:45):
Colin?
Speaker 1 (19:46):
The Lions are talented right now. They're not good, They're
just really talented. I mean, listen, I should rephrase that.
I don't know outside of the Rams if there is
a great team. I mean, Denver's and New England are
very Seattle's up there. Yeah, I mean I would say
there's one great team, several very goods Detroit in the
(20:09):
Green Bay category. It's a good team. It's a good team.
All right.
Speaker 4 (20:13):
Let's move on to Christian McCaffrey. Last night he was tremendous.
I didn't like the thirty one touches, but whatever. Became
the third player in NFL history to run for one
thousand and gain one thousand yards receiving in his third season.
Speaker 5 (20:26):
He may now become the second to do it twice.
Speaker 4 (20:28):
McCaffrey on pace with almost balance, seven hundred ninety six
rushing yards, seven hundred and eighty five receiving. With five
games to play, He's gonna go over eleven hundred yards
assuming he stays healthy. Former Rams running back Marshall Fawk
did it, Roger Craig did it, and of course semac
did it with the Panthers. This is a Hall of
Famer colin. I mean, McAffrey just got so.
Speaker 1 (20:50):
The three best backs I've ever seen are Walter Payton,
Barry Sanders and Christian McCaffrey. Those are the three best
backs I've ever seen.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
No John Riggins for you, or is there no very
good I.
Speaker 1 (21:00):
Mean, there's about twenty. Eric Dickerson I mean Adrian Peterson
in his prime. There's I mean Sakwan Barkley. There's about
another twenty that are sensational. But I would say, in
my life, Walter Payton's the best running back I ever saw.
He had power and shiftiness. It was hard to get
your hands around. Barry Sanders and McCaffrey might as well
(21:21):
be a slot receiver. He's that good. He's the there's three.
Those three backs to me, are different than anybody I've
ever seen.
Speaker 5 (21:28):
It's funny every week people are like the media. I
should say, is clamoring, who's.
Speaker 4 (21:33):
The best player in the league at Jimir Gibbs, it's
b Jon Robinson. Let's just take a deep breath. Those
guys look really good. But Christian McCaffrey has been consistently dominant.
I mean, look at look at this most combined rush
attempts in targets this season.
Speaker 5 (21:46):
That's almost one hundred more than Jonathan Taylor. That's insane.
Now I do worry about him in the playoffs. They're
gonna need him.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
I would give a little more Brian Robinson, but that's
just me. Final story, Colin, we are going to Zach
Taylor and the bunglesp It's official. Joe Burrow is going
to make his return on Thursday night against the Ravens.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Burrow has missed the last nine games with Turftoe Turftow serious.
Speaker 4 (22:12):
As you can see with Rock Perdy, Bengals are one
in eight in that stretch, said Taylor. I anticipate him playing,
but will continue to work through the week.
Speaker 5 (22:21):
There is no way that America is going to be
subjected to Joe Flacco.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
Okay, on Thanksgiving Night, we got to get Joe Burrow
against Lamar.
Speaker 5 (22:30):
Three good games, should.
Speaker 1 (22:32):
Be right, Yeah, no, I'm it's worth watching Jmack with
the news.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
Well, that's the news, and thanks for stopping by.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
What's the Herd Line news? We go to Cleveland next
to check in on the pulse of Shadeur Sanders and
the fandoms surrounding him.
Speaker 2 (22:50):
Next, be sure to catch live editions of The Herd
weekdays and noon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports
Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
Well.
Speaker 1 (23:03):
He has been covering the Cleveland Browns in the NFL
since the mid eighties, host of the Daily Grossy Tony Grossy,
You does such a great job. Cleveland's got great reporters
on this team, covering the team. So Tony Grossy is
joining us. So what a time to be alive and
be a Cleveland Brown fan. So I want to take
people back. You've always had strong opinions, you back them
(23:25):
up on the air, you go to the games. You
and the Schador had a little thing earlier this year
which we talked about the last time you were on
his show. And I think he's a good kid. My
knock on him. He's a little too jovial and playful
for my taste. Is that a fair criticism from somebody
like yourself, Tony? That covers him well.
Speaker 6 (23:47):
Playful is the perfect adjective for him.
Speaker 7 (23:51):
He's even used that word himself, and he's even said
I'm two playful for some people. So I like the
fact that he's aware of that. He's the kind of
guy Colin that you interview and you can't come away
without smiling. He'll say or do something that'll just make
you smile, and that's he's a very pleasant guy. But
(24:15):
if you're a teammate, I don't know, your criticism might
be more directed toward If he's a teammate, Do you
want a guy who's more of a leader in a
different way, you know. But he had a lot to
be playful about in his first NFL start.
Speaker 1 (24:31):
Yeah, So when I watched the game Tony, I was like, Oh,
that's the Colorado guy. He moves well, and I never
bought into the fact that he was a pocket quarterback.
He moves, you know, he's not Golfer Stafford. He moves fine.
The thing I like about him, and I think you
have to admit this, some people Tony are negative or
they're safe, and they kind of suck the oxygen oxygen
out of a room. He doesn't. He takes big swings,
(24:53):
he throws it downfield. I think pro athletes who are
twenty five, twenty eight, twenty nine, I think they like
playing with him. I mean, you're in the locker room
after the game. I think players privately would prefer Shador
over Dylan. What do you make of that?
Speaker 7 (25:09):
Well, after after seeing him play his first game, I
would agree with you. But I would say his his
ability to make splash plays.
Speaker 6 (25:19):
They had really two of them in the in the
Vegas game.
Speaker 2 (25:24):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (25:24):
Those are two plays that Gabriel didn't make for six games.
Speaker 6 (25:29):
Uh.
Speaker 7 (25:29):
And there's a viral video of Miles Garrett, who was
on the bench at the time with the offense on
the field, when Gabriel made that play to Isaiah Bond
and he was like, Oh my gosh, I've never seen
that all season.
Speaker 3 (25:44):
Uh.
Speaker 6 (25:44):
That's what they like, right, That's what any teammate would like.
Not Uh.
Speaker 7 (25:48):
It's not just shoot walking on the field and infusing
everyone with energy. It's plays like that that give your
team energy, and unfortunately for him, Gabriel was not able.
Speaker 5 (25:59):
To do that.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
So Tony Grossey joining us. If you're listening on radio,
long time respected beat writer for Cleveland. He's got the
daily Grossy at Tony Grossey. He's a Pro Football Hall
of Fame selection committee. They give those opportunities to grown ups.
I don't have one of those, So Tony, let's start
with this. I said, you can't trust the internet. If
you listen to the internet. Everybody wants Kevin Stefanski fired
(26:24):
in Cleveland. I think he's excellent. I thought the game
plan was smart. I loved the wildcat down at the
goal line. I thought that was so smart. It was
a total off speed pitch. When you talk to reasonable
people in Cleveland, not crazy guy yelling on talk radio.
What do they think of Stefanski.
Speaker 6 (26:44):
Well, he's in his sixth season.
Speaker 7 (26:46):
He's got two Coach of the Year awards and two
playoff seasons, which is a lot better than any of
his predecessors in the expansion era of the Browns.
Speaker 6 (26:54):
We're talking twenty six years.
Speaker 7 (26:56):
But beyond the and he's been saddled with quarterback issues.
You know, he's had like thirteen starting quarterbacks in six years.
Colin and I think Shadoor is his sixth or seventh
in the last two.
Speaker 6 (27:11):
Or three years.
Speaker 7 (27:12):
So it's tough to create an offense when you're constantly
having a different guy at quarterbacks.
Speaker 6 (27:18):
So I think he deserves a break there.
Speaker 7 (27:21):
The problem as an example of what you're saying about
the Internet. You love those two those direct snaps, so
did I. But the fact is Shoudur was off the
field on those formations and Internet people are claiming that's
another example that's the fantasy doesn't and doesn't want him
(27:43):
as his quarterback. They were effective. You know, if the
Kansas City coach does.
Speaker 6 (27:50):
That, he's brilliant.
Speaker 7 (27:52):
But now you know it's like, well he doesn't trust
s even in the red zone. What kind of a
coach is that, But that's what we're facing here. The
whole fan base has been polarized as a result of
this kind of stuff.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Tony GROSSI joining us listen. They have two first round picks.
I think it's an overrated quarterback draft, and I think
they're too darn good to get the number one pick.
There's a lot of bad teams in this league. I
actually love the Cleveland GM. I like the coach. Miles
Garrett's unbelievable. Jerry Judy drives me nuts, but he's talented.
(28:29):
I think they have talent. All bad, all losing teams
are not equal. I like a lot of Cleveland's roster
and leadership. I think Jimmy Haslam has acknowledged his mistake
with Deshaun I appreciate that. Don't they have to draft
the quarterback? Isn't that? I mean, don't they? Or what
if Shitar wins four straight? Like, where are we with that?
Speaker 7 (28:50):
Well, that's where we are on the daily, daily, daily debate.
Speaker 6 (28:54):
What if he does this? What if he does that?
I think the Browns.
Speaker 7 (28:58):
Went into this season, uh not believing either of their
quarterbacks they drafted were the final answer.
Speaker 6 (29:06):
But they're not closed minded enough to rule.
Speaker 7 (29:10):
It out and right now, Schidor has you know the
runway to maybe make it a very difficult decision. I'm
of the opinion that that you can't let if if
there is one of the who knows who's going to
stay in a Dante more the sellers are they going
to stay or not? Let's let's see what what what
the class looks like. But if there is a quality
(29:33):
quarterback within their reach. They're currently six in the draft
order with their first of their two picks.
Speaker 6 (29:40):
I don't think you could pass.
Speaker 7 (29:41):
It by because the unique situation here, unlike any other team,
is you have the Deshaun Watson salary cap consequence hanging
over it. Eventually that's going to be removed, might be
next year, or they might take another year. But you
need workie quarter with their rookie contracts ye on your roster,
(30:03):
you know. So that's a little bit unique about the
Cleveland situation. I think it'll play out. We won't know
the final answer until it plays out. Shaders of the opinion,
I'm your guy, right, you got a lot of that
kind of confidence.
Speaker 6 (30:17):
But I don't think the Browns have ruled anything out
at this point.
Speaker 1 (30:21):
Is Dion ever around town.
Speaker 6 (30:24):
He hasn't been to Cleveland yet. Of course he showed
up in Vegas.
Speaker 7 (30:28):
Yeah, and that made for you know, a big event
as big an event of two and eight teams clashing
that will ever be seen with Dion there and Shuder's debut.
But no, he has not been to Cleveland that I
know of during training camp or or at all during
(30:48):
the season.
Speaker 1 (30:49):
It's got a t bow feel. The difference is, I
think Shador can start in this league. I don't know
if he's a high end starter. Maybe he's a bridge quarterback,
you know which. By the way, I Bry watched Bryce
Young last night. I think Bryce may be a bridge,
not a franchise. But Tony it's fun to watch. I
give him a real fighting chance against the Niners. Niners
in a short week. Chad, that Cleveland defense at home
(31:13):
is nasty. I love that you came on our show today.
You're a busy guy and I appreciate it.
Speaker 7 (31:20):
But Colin, there has never been a Cleveland Browns quarterback
to win his first two starts ever in the NFL.
Speaker 6 (31:26):
You could go back to Otto Graham in nineteen forty six.
Speaker 7 (31:29):
Never since he joined the NFL in nineteen fifty, so
he could truly be legendary if he would do it.
Speaker 1 (31:35):
Oh, if Shadura goes to and zero, I'll bet tore
Off on taking a quarterback.
Speaker 6 (31:42):
It's good for our business. I know that.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Yeah, it Hey, Tony, thank you, thank you, Collen. He's
a real pro Tony GROSSI. And it's not easy when
you get into one of those crazy, a little eventual market.
I guess every place is provincial. Cleveland is rough. But
(32:06):
uh oh, wouldn't that be great? By the way, I mean, honestly,
what if Chadur out plays Rock Party? What j Mark
won't show up?
Speaker 5 (32:17):
Give me a break?
Speaker 4 (32:18):
I mean rock Purty outplayed Patrick Mahomes lost, I showed up.
Speaker 5 (32:22):
You know what do you want me to do?
Speaker 4 (32:23):
I mean, listen, Schadeur's not going against rock Pert, He's
going against a depleted Niners defense.
Speaker 5 (32:29):
All right, he should play well. I don't. I'm worried
about Purty.
Speaker 4 (32:32):
But if this line drops far enough, I'm taking the Niners, buddy.
Speaker 5 (32:36):
Sorry, he's just a better team.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
Already. I already turned my picks in. I've never done
I've never done a blazing five on Thanksgiving week that
I remember. It's a weird week. It's like, I can't
bet these games, and he totally you know what, America,
I'm on a heater. I didn't have a good week.
I was two and three, but I'm still like sixty
one percent. I think I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna sleep,
I'm gonna sleep on. I think I'm gonna do it.
Speaker 5 (32:58):
Why would you not?
Speaker 3 (33:00):
You know what?
Speaker 5 (33:02):
Why?
Speaker 1 (33:03):
I mean, listen, football is fun. Yeah, let's let's give
the audience fun.
Speaker 5 (33:07):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (33:08):
We were always voting for fun. I don't have a
Hall of Fame vote. I have a fun vote.
Hosts And Creators
Colin Cowherd
Jason McIntyre
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