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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
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Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank Capital One NA member FDIC BMW didn't just design an electric SUV. Every detail of the BMW IX was crafted with passion and precision. With a BMW ix, you'll experience unmatched power, utility, spaciousness, versatility. My favorite feature cloud based navigation, monitors charge levels, locates nearby charging stations so I can drive electric with the ultimate ease. Be BMW lets performance do the talking and the scouting report is in. Experience the all electric BMW IX and witness dedication in every detail. Okay, have you heard about this? Last year, Degree changed the formula for their Cool Rush deodorant and their fans rebelled and wanted the old scent back. And Degree listened. That doesn't happen often. They admitted they effed up and they're bringing back the original Cool Rush scent. They're bringing it back and it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. There's a reason it's the number one men's antiperspirant and it's back in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under four bucks. So try and see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart or Target to try the OG Degree Cool Rush for yourself. Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR this is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Thursday. Our post NFL schedule release show. The warriors season is now officially done live. It's the Herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Well, you know, J. Mack, there are certain things in sports that I get weird over years ago. People used to think I was a weirdo 20 years ago because I love the draft so much. But now everybody's come around on that. The schedule release is another one of those that I do think it does matter. Especially most teams in this league are playing on the margins. They're not Baltimore or Philadelphia where they've got better personnel and star quarterbacks and they're winning by 10 to 12 points. A lot of teams those, you know, Tua playing up north in December is a disadvantage for the Dolphins. You have to look at that, right? Huge. Yeah. And I got to thank the NFL for giving my Jets a one and O start to the season. We get the Steelers at home to open and Mason Rudolph, not Aaron. Well, let's start with this. So my one takeaway, the NFL schedule and it's a fairly obvious one, Kansas City. That is rough. So Kansas City does not have a great O line and they're going to try to figure it out. And they're using a backup at left tackle that hasn't really started and been the man from the Niners. So. And it's a hard unit to create cohesion. And if you look at their first 10 games, even the teams that we view as weaker teams like the Giants, good pass rush, Jacksonville pass rush, Raiders, Max Crosby. So even, even the W's could create problems for them. Forget Denver, that led the NFL in sacks. You face them. Conversely, the Chargers, Jim Harbaugh, look at his career in year two. Everywhere he goes, Chargers revamped run game. High end, left and right tackles have a cookie dough soft schedule in the middle of the season to gain momentum. So my prediction that the Chargers win this division with a weaker schedule really plays in the middle of the season. You're starting to get dinged up. You're not playing with full rosters. It is really soft for the Chargers. And I, and I again, we've watched, we've watched the Chiefs and Mahomes get blown out in two Super Bowls. It's always been the same reason. O line's not right. Well, I think they're going into a season where the O line's not right. Add another thing Kansas City opens in Brazil. They have the most seven prime time games. That's what the NFL does once you're the star attraction.
- [05:20]
J. Mac
They.
- [05:20]
Colin Cowherd
They have the Lions on a short week. Oh, that's not good. They have the Buffalo Bills on a short week. Yeah, that's not good either. Remember that Brazil game last year? Philadelphia went to Brazil and beat Green Bay. The Eagles came back groggy and the next week lost to the Atlanta Falcons. So that'll take some. That'll take some air out of the sales. Here's what we know. Andy Reid and Mahomes are as good as anybody in the world at what they do. But again, this team played on the margins last year, okay? And I think with this O line, the, the kryptonite to Kansas City in their two super bowl blowout losses has been the O line. This going into a season they lost. Joe Tuney is their weakest O line. Little bit of finger crossing here. Last year's was okay going into the season. A bit of a mess at the end of the season. So this is not a team like Baltimore, Detroit, Philadelphia with stacked rosters that are not playing on the margins. They're getting seven or eight blowout games a year. When margins shrink, everything counts. This team had the third lowest point differential in the AFC West. So in their own division, Denver and the Chargers had more blowout wins. And I think Denver and the Chargers will be noticeably better. Bo Nicks now into a second year with Peyton. They had some interesting draft picks at running back and wide receiver. So the downside to becoming America's team is that the NFL, this is what they do. And I can remember after the Giants would win a Super bowl and Coughlin and Eli, and they'd put them on Sunday night and they'd flex them in and everybody loved it except the Giants and the older players. So here is Travis Kelsey on his podcast New Heights, talking about that opener in Brazil.
- [07:07]
J. Mac
And I'll be there. Not to do a podcast. Yeah, I'll be there. Pretty busy in the heat. If it's humid, I'm going to be miserable. I'm going to make. I'm going to prepare to be miserable.
- [07:19]
Colin Cowherd
You're surrounded by the Amazon rainforest.
- [07:21]
J. Mac
This is a good point. If it's hot and humid and kind of what I'm expecting, I'm going to be miserable. But we're going to find a way to get a win.
- [07:29]
Colin Cowherd
Hip, hip hooray. So my number one take, Kansas City, going into a season with an offensive line I don't love, I Mean, when you start looking last year at the teams at the end of the season that are really formidable and leaning on people, a lot of them, Washington was an exception, had really, really buttoned up O lines. All right, so the warriors lost. The oldest interesting team in the league is out. Minnesota, that's got some age, but much deeper, bigger roster prevails pretty easily. Jimmy Butler only took 11 shots. Some of that is energy. Some of that was coming. I had a lot of energy. Minnesota got great looks. All you had to do was look at the box score and it tells you Golden State was tired. Minnesota shot 63%, dominated in the paint, had almost double the assists. They were moving very well. Julius Randall, 13 of 18, bully ball. The three best warriors, Butler, Stephen Draymond, all out of their prime. Two 35 year olds and a 37 year old. And they're only getting older. So all it took was a popped hamstring and the house collapses. It's interesting. Jonathan Kaminga, who just doesn't work with Butler and Steph, he's great. He was great when Steph got hurt. So they'll be able to show that off. And he raised his market value because everybody has sort of understood that the Steph offense, that ecosystem, it's just not friendly to young players. James Wiseman never got it going. Kaminga can't be on the floor with Butler and Steph, it just doesn't work. But he was the one guy last night that jumped off the tv. He was the one guy you looked at and thought, oh, he can go toe to toe with Minnesota's athletic picks, so they'll have a market for him. And Pods is a guy you have to keep. He's got a market as well. But you're going to have to move off at least one of your really good young players. So the warriors to some degree have become an antique store and OKC is the Apple store right next door. And I think the warriors are going to get worse every year unless they pull off a big, big deal for Kaminga. People are going to want Pods and Kaminga, they'll keep Pods. They view him as sort of a staff, an emerging shooter that works with Steph. But I, I will say this. You know what? It really reminds me of watching last night. So, and I, and I. Belichick took the hit for all of the shortcomings for the New England offense right before Tom left. But just consider New England and Belichick and Brady, the Warriors, Stephen, Steve Kerr, they built a very high, high intellect, sophisticated offense. Both Kerr And Curry and Draymond. It's very sophisticated. Young people struggle. And for years everybody always said, well why, why can't New England, why can't they draft a wide receiver? Well, some of it was, most of it was Belichick wasn't a good drafter. Some of it was Tom didn't want to babysit him. And so what you have, you have the benefit of the brilliance of Belichick and the brilliance of Steve Kerr. You have the benefit of Brady and Stephen. But these are so high functioning, almost academic offenses. They don't play with kids. Well, New England didn't. That's why New England got old and slow really fast. Brady went young down in Tampa. And that's why it looked when you watch OKC and you watch Indiana and you watch these young teams, Houston, and then you watch Golden State, some of it is on this offense that just doesn't play well with others under the age of 23 years old. That's what New England became. So I just think they're just getting a year older. I think all these Houstons, Indiana's maybe some degree, New York still got some youth. Cleveland, I think those teams are getting better. I think the warriors are getting older. But Steve Kerr is still a believer. I know we had a shot. I know we could have gone the.
- [11:47]
J. Mac
Distance, maybe we wouldn't have, but it doesn't matter. Again, everything in the playoffs is about.
- [11:55]
Colin Cowherd
Who stays healthy and who gets hot.
- [11:59]
J. Mac
You know, are you playing well at the right time?
- [12:01]
Colin Cowherd
Do you have multiple guys step up in key games, make shots and do you have good health? And you know, you see it every.
- [12:07]
J. Mac
Year in every series.
- [12:10]
Colin Cowherd
And so there's a, there's, there's a.
- [12:13]
J. Mac
Little bit of luck involved, you know.
- [12:15]
Colin Cowherd
And we, like I said, we've been on both sides of that and it's just part of it. But I will say this and I love Steve Kerr. Older teams get hurt more often and older teams recover more slowly and the warriors are just getting older. There is a little bit of luck involved. But when you got, when you got Steph Curry running 2 miles per game on that treadmill for that offense and he is so valuable without it they're not even the same looking watching team. Warriors are a hard watch without Steph. So I, I, you could say there's, there's luck involved. But remember we all know this. The NBA and its helped ratings is allowing more physical basketball. What does that mean? More injuries? My guess they will come to the older teams, not the younger ones. And I really do Believe the NBA used to be go get three great players. The Heatles, kd, Steph Clay. I don't think that's it anymore. I think the new CBA and the new aprons, it's all about roster construction. I mean, the Celtics are often weirdly as good or better without Tatum. I mean, like, like Oklahoma City's roster, I think San Antonio's is going to get very deep. Houston's already is. They just don't have a second dominant great score. So I just, Steve Kerr still believes it. You can talk yourself, it's into luck, but the new style of playoff basketball is not going to aid, it's not going to aid the older rickety teams. Two 35 year olds and a 37 year old. So J. Mac it is. I got into this discussion last night. LeBron's out of the playoffs. Steph Curry's out of the playoffs. The Celtics brand I think will lose to New York. They'll be out of the playoffs. Do you think Knicks, Pacers? I do, I think it's compelling. Do you think Oklahoma City, Minnesota? Like, I think these are really good series, but I'm more NBA Die Hard than the casuals. I, I, this whole thing about the NBA being rigged. You wouldn't have OKC in Minnesota in and Stefan LeBron out. What do you make of what potentially is Final Four? Yeah, the way I look at is I talk to buddies and they're like, hey, hey, let's go out to hang out. And I'm like, well, there's an NBA finals game and LeBron's in it. I'm not missing that. I would be okay missing a conference, semi, conference finals matchup between ANT and sga. Like it's not mandatory viewing. I mean, it's a great matchup. No doubt I'm going to watch the games, but if something comes up, you know, you want to go to a Dodgers game? Sure, I'll go to a Dodgers game. But Colin, I, it's just, it's not the sexy matchups that we want. Right. If Curry's playing, I'm glued to the TV. LeBron, I'm glued, but SG, I'm just not there yet. I'm sorry. I hope that doesn't make me an elitist. Yeah, no, I think, I think this is the transition. I think when Michael Jordan left, the league lost 50% of its numbers. But I do think, I do think there's a little LeBron fatigue where stylistically Curry is still a great watch. But I do think LeBron is an older player. I'm more fascinated I am with Luka than LeBron because I've seen all LeBron's game, Luka's growth, his cardio, lack of defense, bit controversial, part of a trade. So I don't think you're going to see a massive drop off. I just, I don't think the warriors are what Steve Kerr believes, just bad luck away from advancing. I think they're just going to be a year older and I think Oklahoma City, with all this experience, Indiana, they're just going to be don't forget the love, hate the polarization. If you really love or hate LeBron and that's what he is, you're going to watch. I just don't feel like anybody hates sga. Nobody hates it. There's no they haven't done anything to be hateable. LeBron's won a lot, moved around teams. People just dislike him. But I do believe, you know, maybe there's that element with the Knicks, but they still have to pull it out. Colin, are you sure they're a lock to win this series? All the pressure's on them. Yeah, I'm not. Good point. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app Summer is almost here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. Now, what do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parm delivered. A day at the lake? That's a no. A Philly cheesesteak? That's a yes. A nice tan? Sorry. A box fan? Happily, yes. What about a day of sunshine? Not happening. How about a box of fine wines? Yeah, that's happening. Delivery's on its way. Okay, how about some clear skies? Nope. Well, how about some French fries? Yeah. So how about a freshly cut lawn? Can't help you there. But a barbecued prawn? Order it and it's on its way. Even throw in some paper towels. Clean up after the feast. So while you can't get fun in the sun delivered, don't worry because you can get pork buns delivered. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. See app for details. At the end of the season, there's only one team that can call themselves NBA champs. Only one player that can call themselves the number one pick in the NFL draft. Well, there's only one electric SUV worthy of the tit. The ultimate the all electric BMW ix. What I love about the IX is that it delivers legendary BMW performance while its sleek design exudes innovative style from the inside out, not to mention how much space and utility it provides. Over 75 cubic feet of cargo space. The IX is completely changing the game with an all electric suv. The greatest legends of sports never compromise any part of the game, so why would you settle for anything less from your suv? After all, there's only one ultimate the BMW ix. 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Some exclusions apply to instant rewards in which rewards are deposited when the transaction posts this content is not investment advice and Trading Crypto involves risk. For more details on rates, fees and other Gemini Credit Card terms, see Rates and Fees. Hey, so we all make mistakes, but owning up to them is the right thing to do. So you know Degree Cool Rush deodorant, right? Well, last year they changed the formula and it did not go over well with their fans. So Degree's whole thing is it turns up the sweat and odor protection when you turn up the effort. And good thing it does because Cool Rush fans really turned up the effort to bring the original formula back. One guy even started an online petition and Degree listened. They admitted they effed up. They're bringing back the original Cool Rush scent. They're bringing it back and it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. It's back in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under $4. There's a reason it's been the number one men's antiperspirant for the last decade. It's the Same reason why people were not happy when it changed. So if you've never tried it, it might be a good time to see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart target and try the OG degree. Cool rush for yourself. Now entering the no Bull zone, sponsored by credible great rates and none of the bull. So listen, the NFL is very intentional with its schedule. It's making bets on things. I still think the Cowboys are on TV way too much and I work for Fox, but there's a couple of schedules that are interesting. The Chicago Bears schedule is interesting. A very soft middle middle and big brands. Late Philly, Green Bay, Green Bay, San Francisco rivalry game with Detroit. So it's a rough six weeks at the end, but with all these new offensive line pieces and we've talked about this cohesion for the Bears O line, it. It won't be great in August and September. They should have their act together late. So the NFL sent a message. We think Chicago is going to be a viable TV product at the end of this year. They have that many. They have the clever new coach, an ascending player at quarterback, a lot of good weapons. So at the end of the season, it's Philly, it's San Francisco, it's Green Bay twice. League thinks they're going to be good and interesting and so do I. So five of their last six games are either on TV against big brands or they're flexible. So. And it's a very soft middle of the schedule. Right. There's a chance to get some wins here. So it's a very purposeful act by the NFL on the Chicago Bears, the other one that jumped out to me was Washington and the commanders, I mean, they went from a franchise that was radioactive waste to how many times can we get Jaden Daniels on television? So Washington has eight straight games with no one o' clock window. Okay. That's where they were buried for years. Get Washington out of the way. Jaden Daniels to me has, and this was sort of his comp. I said he was going to be like Lamar Jackson, light, not quite the runner, but better in the pocket early on. Crazy fun. NFL defensive coordinators last year just had trouble figuring him out. So, I mean, it's very rare when the NFL goes by year two. Yet we're putting him in the biggest spots. Monday Night Football against Mahomes, it's Washington. That's because of one guy. And at the end of the year, Philadelphia on Fox, standalone game Saturday. Oh, the following week, Christmas against the Cowboys. Then the following week, probably the biggest game of the week against Philadelphia. And my take is they'll be battling either four Washington, a playoff spot I'll think they'll be in, or they'll be battling for the NFC east crown. I think Dallas and the Giants are significantly weaker. But the Bears schedule marquee games late. They don't want to, they're not, they don't want to throw a lot of Carolina Panthers, Saints in Cleveland late. They got Bears on a lot of those big TV games and they'll be flexible. And Washington, they're out of the one o' clock window already. All right. Even C.J. stroud didn't get Houston. This kind of schedule in year two, that tells you that Washington's been a sleeping giant in this sport forever. There used to be 100 year waiting list when they had a different name and now year two, like we're stacking them all over Chiefs, Monday Night Football against Mahomes Cowboys. No coincidences with NFL scheduling. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Steve. Steve Covino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that while other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved too. Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Kovino Enrich wherever you get your podcast. And and of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich. Summer is almost here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. Now what do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parm delivered. A day at the lake? That's a no. A Philly cheesesteak? That's a yes. A nice tan. Sorry. A box fan? Happily, yes. What about a day of sunshine? Not happening. How about a box of fine wines? Yeah, that's happening. Delivery's on its way. Okay. How about some clear skies? Nope. Well, how about some French fries? Yeah. So how about a freshly cut lawn? Can't help you there. But a barbecued prawn? Order it and it's on its way. Even throw in some paper towels. Clean up after the feast. So while you can't get fun in the sun delivered, don't worry because you can get pork buns delivered. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. See app for details. At the end of the season, there's only one team that can call themselves NBA champs. Only one player that can call themselves the number one pick in the NFL draft. Well, there's only one electric SUV worthy of the title. The ultimate. The all electric BMW ix. What I love about the IX is that it delivers legendary BMW performance, while its sleek design exudes innovative style from the inside out. Not to mention how much space and utility it provides. Over 75 cubic feet of cargo space. The IX is completely changing the game with an all electric suv. The greatest legends of sports never compromise any part of the game. So why would you settle for anything less from your suv? After all, there's only one ultimate the BMW ix. Everything you love about the ultimate driving machine. Electrified Interested in investing in Bitcoin but not sure how to get started. Well, with the Gemini Credit card, you can dip your toes into Bitcoin without even trying. Just spend like you normally do, groceries, gas or a night out and instantly earn up to 4% back in Bitcoin or one of over 50 other cryptos straight to your account with no annual fee. The Gemini Credit card is pretty much a no brainer. And right now you can grab a $200 bitcoin intro bonus. So go to gemini.com card to learn more and start earning today. Terms apply. Again, go to gemini.com card start building your Bitcoin stash now. Terms apply. The Gemini Credit Card is issued by Web Bank. In order to qualify for the intro $200 crypto bonus, your application must be approved by June 30, 2025 and spend $3,000 in your first 90 days. Terms apply. Some exclusions apply to instant rewards in which Rewards are deposited when the transaction posts this content is not investment advice and trading Crypto involves risk. For more details on rates, fees and other Gemini credit card terms, see Rates and Fees. Hey, so we all make mistakes, but owning up to them is the right thing to do. So you know Degree Cool Rush deodorant, right? Well, last year they changed the formula and it did not go over well with their fans. So Degree's whole thing is it turns up the sweat and odor protection when you turn up the effort. And good thing it does, because Cool Rush fans really turned up the effort to bring the original formula back. One guy even started an online petition and Degree listened. They admitted they effed up. They're bringing back the original Cool Rush scent. They're bringing it back and it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. It's back in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under $4. There's a reason it's been the number one men's antiperspirant for the last decade. It's the same reason why people were not happy when it changed. So if you've never tried it, it might be a good time to see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart, Target and try the OG Degree Cool Rush for yourself. I understand if you're a Celtic fan, you take this as a shot at Jayson Tatum. It's just data is the Celtics without Jason Tatum. Boston blows out New York last night. The last two seasons without him, they're 17 and three. That would be better than any winning percentage in the league. Their points per game are 120. Number one in the league the last two years. This is a sample size. 20 games without Jason Tatum. They're virtually offensively number one in every category except field goal percentage. They plummet to fourth. Okay, so I've never seen anything like this in basketball historically. Now the Bulls, when they lost Jordan, remember, he went and played baseball. They went 57 wins championship to 55 wins. Now they had BJ Armstrong, KU coach Horace Grant, Scotty Pippen. They were a very good team. They were a number three seed. But they were not nearly as good closing games without Michael. Celtics are. Celtics are. I mean, last night Derrick White stepped up. Peyton Pritchard, Amazing. Jalen Brown, Luke Cornett, whatever that was. They have so many. Their roster construction is so good. They have so many B plus players that they feel empowered when Jason's gone. They get more touches and looks. So it's the only comparison. Because this is so rare in basketball history you watch. You watch the warriors without Steph. Unwatchable. You watch Denver when Jokic hits the bench. Brutal. Even if Jokic is tired. Brutal. The only comparison to the Celtics historically, to me, is like Joe Gibbs in Washington, where they were winning Super Bowls. The star quarterback did not. It was a stout defense, dominant offensive lines, very good run game. And like Mark Ribbon at quarterback or Doug Williams at quarterback, they were certainly capable, but they were not led by a quarterback. And that's what we expect. Right? And I think part of this is that in basketball and to some degree in international soccer, we love the collective. But. But we want a Messi or a Ronaldo or Mbappe. We want, you know, Rooney. We. We want our guys. And in basketball, we're just not historically used to. And. And the ratings show we don't like it. The 70s NBA, where it's. Is it a star now? Walton, I'd argue, was a star. I would argue Elvin Hayes was a star. Dr. J was a star. Rick Barry was a star. So I. We always say, like, the 70s was just good teams, not great. You had some Berry was pre Larry Bird. But we're. We want our champion to have a superhero in basketball. Kobe and Shaq, Michael Jordan, Magic Bird. We want a superhero, and the Celtics don't have one, and we're uncomfortable with it. That's the basketball culture. And so that's why you often see the fans and the media trying to project James Harden into a superstar or Stevie Francis into a superstar, and they're just really good players. So I think it's. It's. We want, you know, we want Mission Impossible from our NBA champ, Big Brand, Tom Cruise. We don't necessarily love Ocean's Eleven, and that's kind of. That's kind of what Boston is. If you look at these numbers the last two years, it's not a shot at Jayson Tatum. It's the Joe Gibbs, Washington teams. The quarterback was just way more replaceable than he would have been in Kansas City, New England, San Francisco with Joe Montana. The numbers don't lie. They. They don't even go down sometimes their net rating goes up in certain stats. So it's just not. We don't love our basketball to be like that. We want the superhero where when he steps out or he gets in foul trouble, there's a clear breach, there is a clear drop. And now I do think Jason Tatum gone for three games is different than Jason Tatum gone for 82. And I also think they're going to move off Horford and Porzingis so they're going to lose some size. They're going to, you know, they're Tatum Brown and Derrick White making a lot of money and those contracts are just starting. But I think Drew Holiday could be gone. So I think the Celtics will be a playoff team next year, but they are historically unique. Tatum's gone and they mow through a very good Knicks team. All right, I will address the San Francisco 49ers schedule. By most terms, it's egregious. Who knew Canadian Football League teams could get inserted in to the NFL schedule? Live in Chicago, it's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific, under the lights in prime time as the Memphis Showboats take on the San Antonio Brahmas. Fox UFL Friday kicks off at 8pm Eastern. So I have been a skeptic on the last couple of drafts for the San Francisco 49ers. I said this. They're getting old and expensive. I don't like their offensive line. I thought this year's draft was a lot of hit and miss with 11 picks. Four or five. I like five or six. I didn't. But they have the easiest NFL schedule. I'm not joking. Since the 2015 Atlanta Falcons. And it's based on two metrics. Number one is last year's results. So they're playing a lot of teams that were bad last year. And the second metric is a lot of teams that are projected to be lousy this year. So on two different metrics, they've got the easiest schedule. Now, I will say this. If you gave Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, Matt Stafford, Josh Allen, this schedule, it is 13 to 14 wins. This is an affront to competitive football. And I don't want to hear $55 million Brock Purdy. I don't want to hear any excuses or I don't want to hear any pom poms when he wins 10 games with this mess of a schedule. Sanford, not only is this schedule littered with mediocrity, they don't face a single team off a buy, okay, outside of Matt Stafford twice and CJ Stroud once, they don't face what people view as an elite quarterback. In fact, it's rookie quarterbacks. It's quarterbacks without 20 total starts. So I'm done with the Brock Purdy excuses. And people will say, well, Colin, he's missing this and he's missing that. You know what he's missing? Back to back tough games all season. This is as easy as a schedule Gets. So this is bowling with bumpers. This is a trust fund schedule, no discomfort. And again, does it make me think, and I'll say this, I think the division's better. I think the Rams are in a group of five super bowl favorite teams. I think Arizona's defense, which they went all in on free agency and draft with a defensive coach, is going to be feisty. I think Seattle's got a great roster and I think Minnesota is going to regret. I do, I think they're going to regret moving off Sam Darnold. So I think the division is really good. Not AFC west, maybe not NFC north, but it's really good. But that schedule, what can I say? It starts easy. A couple, you know, Rams a little and ends easy. You don't get Rams in the first month. You know, you don't get a. You don't get playoff teams in the last month. Maybe they could complain their buys too late, but it is. I mean, you could down the stretch have Shador Sanders and Cam Ward and Anthony Richardson and it's a lot of nothing. Okay, real quick, if you're looking for a hiccup, there are four road games in five weeks. That looks a little difficult there in October at Rams at Tampa and then they've got Houston and the New York Giants. That could be difficult. Four road games in five weeks. You know, you got a Trent Williams injury, you're kind of screwed. Sorry. Yeah, that's a real, That's a real toughie right there at the New York Giants. Shudder. That'll keep you awake at night. So the other thing that kind of jumps out to me is I had said every year I'm proud of this, actually probably too much. So pick the team that I think is going to double their win total. And of course last year I had Washington and I said Denver was also going to be much better. The year before the Rams, everybody said they'll be in a rebuild. And J. Mac and I argued incessantly in the off season. Year before that, I think it was Minnesota. So I have said the team, the safest bet to double your win total is New England. And they were 4 and 13 last year. So they were not a favorite in any game last year. They're already a 3 1/2 point favorite in their opener hosting the Raiders. I would probably take the Raiders at three and a half. But so I use basically a math equation when I'm trying to figure out how a team doubles their win total, I go to math. So it's, it's Uncle Colin Math. But here is my math and see if you can follow this. So I think this is the coaching sport. I mean Nathaniel Hackett to Sean Payton. I thought that was a touchdown. That was a touchdown swing. Gerard Mayo to Mike Vrabel. I'm going to say it's half that. I'm going to say that's a three point improvement. One of the top ten coaches to a guy that appears to be more of a position or a coordinator. Again, Peyton to Hackett was the difference between embarrassing in the playoffs with a rookie quarterback. Drake May is going into year two. 365 million in free agency spending I think is worth a point to a point and a half. I mean you got eight new starters, 11 draft picks, including a left tackle. That's worth a point. Much better depth. A starting left tackle, Drake May second year with a much better staff. That feels like to me that's worth a point to a point and a half. So that is seven total points. If this team had seven total points last year, they would have won 10 games. So at four wins I kind of have them targeted for nine and a playoff team. I think they're a nine and eight, maybe 10 and seven if they stay healthy. And that's just by variables. A field goal, starting left tackle and 11 draft picks. Depth a point. 365 million in free agency. A point to a point and a half. Drake May with better coaches Year two a point to a point and a half. If you look at New England's first nine weeks, take out the Buffalo game right in the middle of it. Four before it, four after it. If Drake May is as good as he showed last year with kind of a second level staff. If he improves and, and with variable, a better left tackle, a little more weaponry, he will potentially be the best quarterback in eight of the first nine weeks. So last year I picked Washington and Denver year before Rams. I take New England as the safest team to go from four wins to at least eight. I think they're probably going to be closer to nine. I also think you're going to have teams like Week 8 for Cleveland that could be a transitioning team moving into Shador Sanders. I think you've also got some breath. I mean like New Orleans, week six. Who's starting for them at quarterback you could be transitioning into. Okay, we're all in five. Let's give the next. Let's give the kid from. Is it Louisville? Let's give him some starts. So I think like New Orleans and Cleveland, you get to start week six, seven Eight. The local media is crushing you. You got one win. You could be moving off Flacco to Shadow, or you could be moving off whoever's starting in New Orleans to the rookie. So I just think there's a lot of things here that work. I think week 13, it's going to be Russell Wilson's team to start. But you get into a week 12 and 13 and the Giants may just say, we're shutting it down. We want to see Jackson dart. For the last five or six weeks, I could see getting Jackson Dart in week 13 with the Giants. Who knows what the jets will be at quarterback. So I think New England is a pretty easy one to me. And I, you know, not every team that makes the playoffs is great. I don't think they're a team probably going to win a playoff game. But we've said this before, 14 teams make the playoffs. You usually get five, four to five teams that we think will win the super bowl and then about four to five to six teams that we think can absolutely win a game, maybe a second. There's a couple playoff teams that sneak in that we just don't. We don't think they're going to win a playoff game, but we appreciate the effort. I think New England's going to be closer to that than the top or the second layer. I don't think they're a team that still has enough juice on the perimeter. But you get, you have 11 draft picks, you're going to get at least three to four starters out of that. And you spend $365 million in free agency, you're getting five or six starters on that. And again, this is the coaching sport. Go to Denver. Denver was saddled with the Russell Wilson contract, so there were moves Sean Payton wanted to make and couldn't. So Mike Frabel's not saddled with any of that stuff. New staff, I mean, you can look at that. I'll tell you right now. Kyle Williams, that third round pick for New England, could be one of the rookies that pops. He is a really electric player. I saw a lot of him in college. So, you know, I look at their offense and defensive line. Milton Williams got overpaid. That's a starter week one. So feel pretty good about it. We have to guess by the way, our two is coming up. Albert Brewer stops by. When is she doing a start? I got my week. I'm ready. Hour two. It's the herd. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the Iheartradio app Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. I thought Chicago's O line would get better. Last year, it got worse. He. He completed 62 and a half percent of his throws running for his life. 20 touchdown passes, only six picks. Now, he was sacked 68 times. But the numbers aren't, you know, I mean, only six picks, 62 and a half percent completion percentage, running for his life in a division that had Detroit, Green Bay and Minnesota, all really good teams. So I don't think Minnesota is going to be as good this year, and I think Caleb's got a much better quarterback also. The story coming out today, Seth Wickersham had talked to Caleb's father, Carl Williams, and reporting that Carl did not want his son initially to play in Chicago. And Albert Brear addressed that an hour ago. His dad's a very smart and accomplished businessman and, you know, taught his son to think differently. And the reality is, like, this is something that all teams were looking into, and anybody that was going to be in a position to draft him was concerned about this. You can understand his concern, certainly. You know, I think this is something that more and more athletes think about. And, you know, it's something we heard about with Shador a lot, you know, going into his draft a lot of times, you know, I think these guys are able to take a bigger picture view of it, and the bigger picture view of it would show that going to the right place isn't more, is absolutely more important than the getting drafted as high as you can. Yeah, I think, listen, I never had a problem. I reported this a year ago. I said, you know, his dad had some misgivings about it, but Caleb's like, you know what? I'm going to go to Chicago. It's a great American city, and I'm going to be their first great quarterback. So I always like Caleb. I got along with him great. He's very respectful. I saw, I went to the Notre Dame USC game and I told the story is I saw his dad said hi to his dad, and Caleb was sitting in the front row with friends, and I came down and just out of respect, I just tapped him on the shoulder. I said, hey, buddy, just great seeing you. He got up, made a point, and I'm like, you don't have to get up. I just wanted to say, hey, keep kicking butt. You're going to do great. And very respectful. Got up, came up the stairs, Caleb did. And I was like, I just think he's a real. I really like him. And I also think it's sometimes it's unfair that, you know, all these quarterbacks now, the nil, they are stars coming out of college. Bill Parcell is a brilliant guy. Used to say, do not draft a celebrity quarterback. Well, Baker Mayfield was a star. Sam Darnold, you know, he was a star. Caleb's a star. I mean, you know, it's just the reality of it. I mean, Bo Nix at Oregon, I mean, everybody knew Bo Nix for the last five years. I think we, we. The world's changed. These kids make money in college. Take a deep breath with that. Ben Johnson now is joining us. The new Bears coach is joining. So, you know, it's funny when you forget about this coach is that, you know, I was looking and people forget. Tua came out of college, didn't have a great fit with the staff. You know, he and the Brian Flores struggle, got Mike McDaniels Pro Bowl, Jared Goff, got a defensive coach, didn't get a great start. Boom, here comes McVeigh. Pops. So listen, we, we all said last year, I said it's just easier to get an offensive coach. Go ask Bo Nixon, Sean Baden. It just helps. Did you feel when you first sat down with Caleb, I got to build this kid's confidence up like a tool, like a golf. It's rough, it's a hard sport. Did you feel that was part of your process? I want to make sure this kid knows we really believe in him.
- [46:10]
J. Mac
Yeah, well, he does know that we believe in him, there's no question about that. But Caleb's deal has never been a confidence issue. He knows he's a high level player. He, he's been that way since middle school, high school, college, and it's going to continue to be that way here in the NFL. But what we're trying to do is we're trying to support him, give him some clarity on what our expectations are on and off the field and help him grow and develop. And so far we've only had, call it six weeks now, the off season program, it's going really well.
- [46:43]
Colin Cowherd
So you got two new coordinators, you're on a first time head coach. Caleb's in year two. Who do you lean on in that locker room, Ben? What player or maybe unit? Is it Tuney? Is it Dolman? Who do you lean on in that offense?
- [46:58]
J. Mac
We've got a number of players offensively and defensively that have Pro Bowls under their belt, that have playoff game experience, win experience. And so I think when you look at that, those are the guys, not just For Caleb, but for the entire team that we're leaning on to show us what good football looks like, what good teams do, and to establish that standard for the rest of us to fall in the line. And so Tunis, a great name on offense. I mean, I don't know that anybody's had quite the level of success on our entire roster that he's had. Call it six Super Bowls, and he's won four of them. I mean, it's outstanding. And then you go over to the phase two drill, work out on the field, and he's busting his rear end. And he just had a Super bowl that he was in a few weeks ago. So, I mean, it's pretty outstanding. And it doesn't take long for somebody that first time. These rookies coming in, they turn and they see how he goes about his business, and pretty quick they understand, well, if I want to last a long time, I need to just do what he does.
- [47:56]
Colin Cowherd
So I asked a gm, a very, very good GM in the NFL recently about you, and he said, you know, he goes, most coaches we hire CEOs now, it's a CEO job. He said, you get occasionally lucky with a Shanahan or an Andy Reid, that they're scheme geniuses and they can do CEO. That's really hard. And he said, Ben has a chance to do that. Ben's excellent on scheme and he has the personality. We, a lot of guys in the league think Ben has the chance to be the CEO. But most, it's a CEO job now more than it is X's and O's. So is the difficulty with you, Ben, you're going to be on that headset. How do you manage yourself to go, no, no, no. I'm the CEO here because there are things that happen on a sideline in game where you got to put the CEO hat on and you can't be a mile deep on calling place. Will that be hard on the first call you disagree with coming through the headset?
- [48:48]
J. Mac
Well, shoot. I mean, yeah, everything that. Everything I'm doing right now, springtime training, it's my first time doing it. So there'll be some things that pop up that I got to work through and find the best process for not only myself, but what's best for the team. That's the most important thing. And the fortunate thing is the way this staff has been constructed is with that in mind, a lot of my blind spots or the areas that I could use the most help in. And we've got some really good, experienced coaches with Dennis Allen or Richard Hightower on defense and special teams. On offense we got Eric B. Enemy, that's, that's coordinated in this league. Press Taylor, that's coordinated in this league. So there's, there's a lot of high level experience throughout this coaching staff that they're going to help, help foresee any, any bumps in the road and help me navigate on game day. We got a great game management guy of the name Harry Fried. He's done it for a long time and he's going to be able to help me stay ahead of that. That, because I really haven't. As a play caller, you have to be exposed to that and understand those situations. But now it's a little bit different moving over to the defensive side of the ball and being on the headset with them when they're up.
- [49:53]
Colin Cowherd
So one of the things I liked about Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams coming out of college, they move a lot. You get all the upside. Not a lot of picks, it's a little Mahomes. Aaron Rodgers in his prime didn't throw a lot of picks. Most great quarterbacks, Elway, Manning, Favre, they throw picks. That's Andrew Luck. It's part of the deal. Caleb doesn't now, some have said, well, he holds the ball long, whatever. I mean he's a playmaker. The criticism I heard out of college from GMs with rings was he is so gifted and we saw a little bit of this with Mahomes. Sometimes you gotta just give him layups, just take what the defense gives you. How do you coach that? Because it's a strength, it can be a little bit of a burden. That great athleticism, how do you coach that?
- [50:44]
J. Mac
Well, I think it starts with what we're doing right now in the springtime is establishing the intent of every play call. And that takes time and it takes, it takes a number of reps. But the more time we spend together with, with myself, with Declan Doyle, our offensive coordinator, with J.T. barrett, our quarterback coach, in that room with the quarterbacks, the more it comes to light in why we're calling plays and where that ball should go. And the more the quarterback understands the why, the quicker he is to see the defense and deliver the ball to the primary or the secondary targets. So that's what we're working through right now. At the end of the day though, Caleb was taken as a high draft pick because of that playmaking ability that you're alluding to. And so we don't want to neuter that as well. So there's a fine line of. Of understanding what we're doing and how we're doing it. But at the same time, when things don't go maybe to plan, we're not going to discourage his playmaking ability and his. His ability to create outside of the pocket as well. So that, that's going to be a fun balance for us to. To go through both spring and training camp. I mean, we can't. We can't get enough reps right now, really, as a team, and so we're looking to maximize those going forward.
- [51:56]
Colin Cowherd
So offensive line is, to me, the most underrated unit in the sport, but it's also the hardest to create cohesion. You've got a young guy, you got a rookie, you got Drew Dahlman, you got Joe Tuney. You got a lot of moving parts here. I think potentially it could be great, but I've seen a. I've seen a bit of a trend over the last five to six years that veterans aren't playing preseason football. So you're going to have to. September, you're going to get a lot of the work in for the toonies. You don't want to put him out there and get banged up. What is a. I looked at your schedule and I said, well, the toughest part of their schedule is late. They're going to have until Thanksgiving to get that puppy rolling. You don't want to face the toughest part in the first four weeks. Not that your early schedule is easy, but at the end, you're facing defensive fronts that can be substantially tough. How long. What is realistic to say? Okay, Dolman Tuney, the rookie, what is a realistic time to go? Okay, we are a cohesive top 10 unit.
- [52:51]
J. Mac
Yeah, I think that's going to be the challenge there during training camp is how quickly can we come together. I mean, they're really bonding as a unit right now, communication wise. But we don't have the pads on. I think we need the pads on before we truly start gelling together. So training camp is going to be critical for us. I actually like where that bye week is because it usually takes about four weeks into the season to find out who you are as a team and what you do well and what you don't do well, and then that's at a good time so that we can reflect on that as a coaching staff to really hone in on what we want to be for that the remaining three quarters of the season. I would say my experience has been when you, when you get a new group together, it could take up to half the season before they really start to mesh and come together. In terms of the run game, more so than pass pro, I think we should be a pretty good pass pro unit right off the jump. But that run game, the communication, the angles with which we're all going trusting each other, particularly in the wide zone scheme that we're installing right now in OTAs, that's something that we want to make sure that we get plenty of time on task on.
- [54:02]
Colin Cowherd
So all human beings are the same in one aspect. If you're afraid of flying and you're on a plane and the minute turbulence hits, where does your mind go? Back to your fears? So I reported a year ago, Seth Wickersham reported it today, that Caleb was worried about the history of the Bears offense and so you didn't inherit it. That's not your issue. You don't care about that. But there is a psychology Ben, that's true. He goes into a two week losing streak and it's turbulence on a plane that he was scared to fly anyway. How do you ensure that when there are bumps in this division and there are bumps for him that those fears that are now reported of, oh man, this organization and quarterback, he's had those. That's okay. Some installed by his dad, whatever. How do you ensure during the turbulence of this season and there will be your division's too good, there's too many good teams on the schedule. How do you ensure he doesn't lose face, faith and belief in your system?
- [55:04]
J. Mac
Well, you talk about fears and I don't see it quite the same way. I see this is what a great opportunity we have to, to do something that really has never been done. There hasn't been a 4,000 yard passer here in this franchise and, and I think Caleb's going to be the first one and one of many years, many seasons to come where he's able to accomplish that feat. So I see a chance for greatness here for him. He's been communicated that way and he feels the same way. I don't know what's gone on prior to him joining the organization, but he, he is very proud to be a Chicago Bear. That's what our conversations have included. And he's really excited to get to work right now and be the best version of himself for 2025. There's no question we're going to face adversity both. He will. He's not going to. We want to see growth from here to here over the course of the season. It's not going to be Linear growth. It's going to be a little bit of ups and downs and stair steps along the way. But we want to see from Game 1 to Game 17 that we're getting better as a whole. And that's not just him, that's us as a team as well. So I'm excited. That's what makes coaching fun is when the hiccups occur, when the adversity strikes, how do we respond to it? That's when you find out who you are as a man.
- [56:23]
Colin Cowherd
Finally. Was there a moment in your practices in seeing Caleb? It could have been a throw. It could have been something that you went, oh, oh, that's pretty good. Like what, have you had one of those moments yet where you were just like, yeah, no, no, I, I, I, I see it. I see the number one pick.
- [56:43]
J. Mac
That's every day. That's every day we're out there. Routes versus air. We're changing maybe some footwork and some coaching points with what we're working through right now. But today it was a post route that, that he just, he probably threw it 60 yards right on the money. A few days ago it was a, he was a keeper. He's out of the pocket going to the left and he just able to flip his hips and fling that thing right on the money. So he's got, he's got such great God given ability that we're looking to tap into. You see it every day right now and like I said, it's going to be more fun once we get the competitive nature of offense versus defense a little bit and OTAs.
- [57:21]
Colin Cowherd
Coach, it is great seeing you. All I see is a smile. All you coaches smile so much during this period. Keep the smile through the season. Don't let the league beat you down as a head coach. Coach, it's great seeing you. Summer is almost here and you can now get almost anything you need for your sunny days delivered with Uber Eats. Now what do we mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parm delivered. A nice tan. Sorry. A box fan. Happily, yes. A day of sunshine. No. A box of fine wines. Yes. Uber Eats can definitely get you that. Get almost, almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. See app for details. Interested in investing in bitcoin but not sure how to get started? Well, with the Gemini credit card, you can dip your toes into bitcoin without even trying. Just spend like you normally do, groceries, gas or a night out and instantly earn up to 4% back in Bitcoin or one of over 50 other cryptos straight to your account with no annual fee. The Gemini Credit Card is pretty much a no brainer and right now you can grab a 200 bitcoin intro bonus. So go to gemini.com card to learn more and start earning today. Terms apply again. Go to gemini.com card start building your Bitcoin stash now. Terms apply. The Gemini Credit Card is issued by Web Bank. In order to Qualify for the intro $200 crypto bonus, your application must be approved by June 30, 2025 and spend $3,000 in your first 90 days. Terms apply Some exclusions apply to instant rewards, in which rewards are deposited when the transaction posts this content is not investment advice and Trading Crypto involves risk. For more details on rates, fees and other Gemini Credit card terms, see Rates and Fees. Every once in a while you get the chance to make a real difference, and this is one of those moments. Folds of Honor provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of fallen or disabled military members and first responders. It's a powerful mission, honoring their sacrifice through the gift of education. But last year, about 7,000 qualified students didn't receive funding, and that number is expected to grow to nearly 10,000. Don't let financial needs stand in the way of their future. Visit foldsofhonor.org to donate. Any amount helps. Together, we can close that gap one scholarship at a time. Okay? Have you heard about this? Last year, Degree changed the formula for their Cool Rush deodorant and their fans rebelled and wanted the old scent back. And Degree listens. That doesn't happen often. They admitted they effed up and they're bringing back the original Cool Rush scent. They're bringing it back and it's exactly how you remember it. Cool, crisp and fresh. There's a reason it's the number one men's anti perspiration and it's back in Walmart, Target and other stores now for under four bucks. So try and see what the fuss is about. Head to your local Walmart or Target to try the OG Degree Cool Rush for yourself. You're listening to an Iheart podcast.