Rachel Nichols (3:13)

He's got so many homes.

Jason McIntyre (3:14)

Iceland. Who could tell?

Rachel Nichols (3:16)

Who knows where?

Jason McIntyre (3:17)

The guy's got a good life. But Rachel and I hopefully will continue to regale you with fun tales. We got some great guests today. My man Bruce Feldman coming up top of second hour. He's going to talk Ohio state against Texas in what should be a phenomenal game on Saturday. And then we got Brian Billick, former ravens head coach. I'm sure he's going to love the Lamar Jackson questions. Can he win a playoff game? That matters. The usual stuff. Listen, we. We have a great show today, and I'm gonna start by talking about a list. And as a guy who ran a website for close to a decade, I know a good list. Give me a mock draft. Right, there's a good list for you. Top sports movies of all time. Everybody loves a list. It gets people going. It gets them fired up. It gets the engagement going. Right? So we had a couple dueling lists this week about the NFL, and wouldn't you know it, my main man, Jalen hurts, was disrespected on both of them. Okay? The super bowl MVP who was phenomenal in throttling Kansas City, scored three touchdowns in that game. I know the defense had one. And Mahomes was on his back most of the night. Travis Kelsey was on a milk carton. But Jalen hurts, let's remember, was outstanding in that game. And on these lists that emerged this week, one of them over at ESPN, their top 100, they claim it is based on expectations for the 2025 season, whatever that is. Maybe they broke out the crystal ball predicting potential greatness. So Patrick Mahomes is at the top of that list. He's coming off the worst season of his career, but sure, Patrick Mahomes won. I don't think anybody has beef, but Jalen hurts checked in at 38. What? That's, folks, six spots lower than he was last year. So he has a great year. And as the article notes, he had 15 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns or more. Right. For the fourth straight season. Nobody's ever done that in NFL history. Josh Allen is working on two. Okay? That's how good Jalen Hurts has been, folks. The fact that he's 38 on this list, it annoyed me a little bit. And then you go into Eagles message boards. I spent like eight minutes that I cannot have back on Eagles message, which they're really angry about this. But the disrespect of Hurts, I think I have an answer as to why, but I'm looking at this list and I. And I see some guys that are on there. Okay, you know Derek Stingley, and we're going to bring him up twice. It's not a knock. He's a really good cornerback. Better than Jalen Hurts at quarterback. I mean, folks, Hurts has been to now two Super Bowls already. He's, I think, the best dual threat quarterback the league has ever seen. And if you want to go, Lamar Jackson, I'm not going to fight you. Okay, I get it. LaMar's got an MVP. But Jalen hurts has the single most unstoppable move in professional football. And that's short yardage. You know, you can have the Lamar Jackson highlights, but give me the jalen hurts automatic 1 yard carry for the first down every time he needs it. I mean, goal line situations. Just go ask Josh Allen if he could use that. Right? It failed miserably against Kansas City. So that's one list where Hertz was disrespected. Then comes the NFL, NFL.com list where they haven't actually announced number one. That's coming on September 1st. But wouldn't you know it, Jalen Hurts checks in at 19 on that list. Best players in the NFL behind Derek Stingley. Derek Stingley better have a good season in Houston. Now he's ahead of Jaden Daniels on that list, but he's only 18th. So just a reminder, Super Bowl MVP has done historic stuff on the ground and through the air the last four years, and he's not even a top 10 player. I look at movies, I love going to the movies, love watching movies, love rewatching movies. You win an Oscar, it doesn't get any better than that in movies. Tv. You win an Emmy, you're at the top of your game in the NFL, where the super bowl is the most watched television event every single year. You could be the MVP of the game, the best player in the game. And it doesn't even crack top 10 in the NFL in the next season. And I, I tried to figure out why that is. And I'm drilling down, I'm drilling down and. And somebody said something smart in our meeting. Every morning. Somebody says something smart, but he's Boring. And that's, that's. I keep coming back to it. It's like, okay. Jalen Hurts carries a briefcase to games. He does not offer any bulletin board material for folks. You know, Josh Allen had, I think the single two greatest plays in the NFL last year. That touchdown run against the Chiefs to seal the victory in the regular season. And then he had the hook and ladder in the snow. Phenomenal touchdown. Jalen Hurt doesn't have those. He'll have like a 20 yard scramble. That's fun. And he'll have a million brotherly shoves. But that's not sexy. Lamar Jackson dancing, running for his life. That's fascinating. Patrick Mahomes, unbelievable. Throws down the field. Hertz doesn't have that. He's not swagged out. You know, he shows up with it with a business suit on and the briefcase. Meanwhile, you've got Joe Burrow walking the Runway in Paris wearing wacky outfits. That, man, that's going to go viral. Look what Joe Burrow is wearing. And Hertz is just boring and dull. And that doesn't register on these lists. It's so weird how disrespected not only Hertz's, but the Eagles. Do you guys remember last year's off season tune can the Chiefs three peat? That was the big storyline. All off. Oh, the Chiefs, they're a juggernaut. They got a three peat. Have you heard anything about the Eagles running it back? I looked. Guys, they're returning 10 of 11 starters on offense. Okay. On that top 100 list for ESPN, they had the most players on the list with Ted Saquon Barkley. Yeah. Back healthy. Why aren't we talking about Eagles building a potential dynasty? Go. If you want a fun exercise, pro football focus lists the age of all the players and their grades. The Eagles have to have the most amount of best young players in the league. They are stacked because they draft really well. They've got a potential dynasty and nobody's talking about the Eagles running it back. I hear a lot of this is finally the year for the Lions. Or boy, the Rams. Cowherd loves the Rams. Hey, Matt Stafford. They add Devonte Adams. Everybody's all excited because they added a wide receiver. Okay. Nice move. I think we're sleeping on the Eagles, who are in as good of shape to build something real spicy in Philly as we've seen since the Kansas City Chiefs. Now let's move on to a quarterback we know a little less about. And that's Arch Manning, obviously. The huge Texas Ohio State game Saturday. Here On Fox going to kick off the season with, I don't know, probably one of the most anticipated games we've seen in college football in a while because it's really the, the, the hard launch of Arch Manning. And I said something on the show yesterday that I didn't even realize at the time. It was mildly controversial, but I got a text from a buddy who graduated from Texas and he's on text chains. Can you believe J. Max asking this? And I asked our guest, Jeff Schwartz, I said, you know, is Arch Manning good? Do we know if he's good? Here's what Jeff Schwartz said about that. I don't think we know if he's good yet.

Bruce Feldman (10:44)

And that's okay.

Jason McIntyre (10:45)

He's throwing 100 passes in college football. There are certainly people that evaluate quarterbacks who think he's very good and they.

Bruce Feldman (10:52)

Are the traits there that he has shown at certain times that are high level traits.

Covino (10:58)

He has made big throws, he's made big runs.

Jason McIntyre (11:00)

They put him into games and situations.

Covino (11:02)

Where you think to yourself, maybe I'm.

Jason McIntyre (11:04)

Surprised he's in this, you know, in that spot. He's shown those abilities. Now, of course, it's different when teams.

Covino (11:09)

Have watched film on you all year.

Jason McIntyre (11:11)

When teams have seen you play four.

Covino (11:13)

Or five, six games, when you're on.

Bruce Feldman (11:15)

The road with new offensive linemen. The potential is all there. I think it's too early to say yes or no.

Jason McIntyre (11:20)

People already mocking him to be at.

Bruce Feldman (11:22)

The top of the draft.

Covino (11:22)

I know it's not the be all.

Bruce Feldman (11:23)

End all, but there's certainly a lot of talent there.

Jason McIntyre (11:26)

He has to live up to it.

Bruce Feldman (11:27)

Now when he gets to play on Saturday.

Jason McIntyre (11:29)

Yeah. So essentially what Jeff is saying is we don't know if our demand. It's fun to mock him, number one, because you know, Peyton and Eli and the family, the football's first family, if you will. We just don't know. And I, during that interview with, with Schwartz, I said, jeff, I'm looking at the box score from the SEC championship game and then the playoff games against Clemson and Ohio state. Arch through zero passes, none. He carried five times for 13 yards. I know they love Quinn Ewers and, and Quinn Ewers was a really good college football quarterback. He also was drafted in the seventh round, if you're keeping track. If Arch is so good, you couldn't have put in a passing package for the guy. The defense knows, oh, he is a running quarterback. So maybe throw in a wrinkle and all these highlights. You see, again, it's against like utsa, Colorado State. I don't want to say they're hiding arts, but I do have some mild concerns. Well, what are we waiting for here?

Bruce Feldman (12:31)

Now?

Jason McIntyre (12:31)

On some level, I respect that the Texas folks and the Manning family has decided, you know what, we're going to do things differently. Everybody wants to play now. Everybody wants their nil money now. True freshmen, they want to play immediately. If you're not playing me, I'm out, right? I get this question every year around April May from college kids who are going to be graduating, and they send me messages on Instagram. Hey, J. Mac, man, you have the best job ever. I'm not lying. I kind of do. How do I get where you are, but faster? How do I get there, like, soon, like on tv talking about sports, and I'm like, yeah, it took me 20 years to be an overnight success, so good luck just instantly jumping into talking about sports on tv. And they don't seem to get it. Everybody wants it now. And of course, college freshmen, they want it now. The Manning family, a little bit different. They said, you know what, we're old school. We're not going to rush into anything. This is his third year on campus. Like, he's been there for a while. Remember Trevor Lawrence came to Clemson. Starting as a true freshman was awesome. I don't know if orange. I'm not taking a shot at the kid. I just don't know. Could he be great? Yeah, he certainly could do. I hope he's interesting. Hell, yeah. College football could use it. Here's Arch Manning yesterday on Texas being everyone's target.

Bruce Feldman (13:55)

I think that's all of us at Texas, and I think we kind of.

Covino (13:57)

Try to shift the narrative. We're going for everyone else.

Bruce Feldman (14:01)

Target's not on our back.

Covino (14:02)

We have the red dot on everyone else.

Bruce Feldman (14:03)

And this is what I've been waiting for.

Covino (14:05)

Spent two years not playing, so might.

John Machota (14:08)

As well go have some fun, right?

Bruce Feldman (14:09)

I always have to remind myself it's.

Covino (14:10)

Not all about me.

Jason McIntyre (14:11)

It's the.

Bruce Feldman (14:12)

It's the whole team. And, you know, we gotta play the situations well, not give them short fields.

Jason McIntyre (14:18)

And take care of the ball. So it's gonna be a fun one. He's saying all the right things. And again, I'm fascinated by this. I cannot wait to watch. I just. I. Part of me wonders, and the part of me that wonders is the gambling part again. I was in Vegas last week. I did lay it. I think Ohio State smashes him this weekend. Now the line's going the wrong way against me. So that's not great. But I think a lot of that is Texas hype. And people are excited for Arch. Like someone said yesterday, he is the favorite to win the Heisman. They're the number one team in the country, and they're one of the favorites to win the national championship. That is a lot of pressure on a guy who's been on campus for three years and has barely played football. He's throwing on. I just looked this up. A total of 95 passes in two seasons. Oh, man. Little nervous for Arch Manning, but it should be a great game Saturday on Fox. And oh, by the way, if you don't think this is a massive game, take a look at what's outside the studios here at Fox in Los Angeles ahead of Texas, Ohio State. That is a billboard that's probably the size of like, five cars. I mean, it's massive. And it's hyping a game that's happening in Ohio Saturday. That's. This is in Los Angeles. So, listen, folks, I know Rachel's excited about this game. I certainly am fired up because we've been hearing about Arch Manning for a while. I'm a little nervous for the kid. I think it's. My guess is it goes sideways. They lose about 34, 13 or something, and then the pressure's off Arch, and he rebounds. His next three games are cupcakes. But your early read on Arch, how do you think he'll fare this weekend?

Rachel Nichols (15:58)

Well, look, I think what you're saying about them playing the long game as a family is the thing you have to remember, even week to week, even this Saturday, even the next week, even the next week, they see this. Look at the careers that Peyton had, Look at the career that Eli had. They see this as a decade and a half longer project. Right. So one game this weekend, one more year at Texas. There's been talk of him staying not just this season, but next season at Texas. I mean, that the family has said that. So they are looking at this as the longest of long games. I think if this weekend doesn't go the way that he would like it to go, and I agree with you, I think, you know, no team has gone into Ohio State and won since 2021. If your name is not the Michigan Wolverines, that's it. Nobody else has done it. So I don't see Texas pulling it off this weekend for all of the reasons we've been talking about for the last week or so. But again, to this family, this is not. This is just like a pittance. Yeah, right. They are looking at this as a multi decade plus project. And so you, you're seeing this tiny, tiny steps of progression and that's on purpose.

Jason McIntyre (17:08)

Yeah, you got to walk before you can run, I think they say. All right, coming up next, we're going to stay in Ohio because there was a big trade. I find it wasn't big, but we kind of sort of predicted it here yesterday. The Browns make a move that's good news for shedeur Sanders. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app.

Covino (17:35)

Hey, it's Steve Covino and I'm Rich.

Jason McIntyre (17:37)

Davis and together we're Covino and Rich.

Covino (17:39)

On Fox Sports Radio.

Jason McIntyre (17:40)

You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio app.

Covino (17:47)

Why should you listen to Covino and Rich?

Jason McIntyre (17:49)

We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships.

Covino (17:52)

What'S going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in.

Jason McIntyre (17:56)

The world of sports and pop culture.

Covino (17:58)

Stories that, well, other shows don't seem.

Jason McIntyre (18:00)

To have the time to discuss.

Covino (18:02)

And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right?

Jason McIntyre (18:06)

So check us out. We like to get you involved too.

Covino (18:10)

Take your phone calls, chop it up, as they say.

Jason McIntyre (18:12)

I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive.

Covino (18:16)

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 Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich.

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Jason McIntyre (22:52)

Rachel, I'm about to unveil my super bowl tears. It's going to make a certain fan base very.

Rachel Nichols (22:58)

I'm not going to lie, I've seen these tears.

Jason McIntyre (23:00)

I'm a little worried about you. So it's funny, Rachel is very caught off guard and she's wearing Chiefs red. I believe today. She was caught off guard yesterday by the Chiefs in the meeting and like laughing and I was like, oh, Rachel, nice. And then today when I unveiled my tears, she was really caught off guard. So listen, Bruce.

Rachel Nichols (23:18)

Taylor Swift read, by the way.

Jason McIntyre (23:19)

Taylor. Oh, pointing it out. Apologies. Yes. So Bruce Feldman, my guy, he's coming up in five minutes talking about. Yeah, college football. I. Notre Dame, Miami. We need to talk a little more about that. Anyways, let me do my super bowl tears. All right, folks, here we. Here we go. So we have four tiers of the teams that can win the super bowl. And let's get started, shall we? All right, tier number one fo show for sure. These teams are the elite, the best of the best. Baltimore Ravens, no doubt about it. Need no explanation. Josh Allen's Buffalo Bills. The Filet Alfea Eagles, the defending super bowl champs. I don't need to explain those three. Now, the Niners, some people are going to be surprised by. I'm just going to. Let's be obvious. Don't read too much into what happened last season. They were a mass unit and I know the wide receiver room has some issues currently. They're going to be fine. Okay. This is a schedule based prediction. That's why they're super bowl contenders. I also like to move bringing back Robert Salah. Go look at the quarterbacks they face this year, guys. It is a cakewalk. They should be fine. I think they'll probably get the number one or two seed in the NFC. The 49ers should be in the for sure super bowl contender. Listen. All right, let's go to the second tier. A little larger, a little more robust. The Green Bay Packers. Yes, I have the packers in the 4Real category joined by the Atlanta Falcons. I don't mind revealing. When I was in Vegas last week, I bet the Falcons to win the division and yes, win the nfc. A bit of a flyer, the offensive line injuries has me concerned right now. But nevertheless, Denver Broncos in the four real category that defense should be the best in the league. And I think the Knicks Payton combo is much better than I thought. LA Rams fourth in the four reel category. They probably could get bumped up to one now that Stafford's fine. But as Rachel noted, the left tackle situation some cause for concern. And I'm going to put the Bengals here because Burrow's not going to stop chucking and ducking. He is just going to keep throwing to keep the Bengals in every game. And I do believe offense should keep them in the super bowl contending category. Let's go to the third tier of super bowl contenders. Hey, there they are.

Rachel Nichols (25:34)

Here we go.

Jason McIntyre (25:35)

For now. The Kansas City Chiefs are a Super bowl contender. Yes, I had them missing the playoffs. Yes, the tackles are an issue. I don't care how good the Ohio State kids looked in practice. It's a long season, folks. The running back situation is dicey. Travis Kelce not going to use the washed word. Oops. I just did. I think he'll be okay. But let's see, it's a full season in the playoffs and then of course the defense. I mean Jalen hurts. Just put a number on him in the super bowl and you look at that tape of that and you're like, oh, there's holes all over the place. I have Detroit in four now. I also have them missing the playoffs. I know that's going to make people upset. Washington in the 4. Now, as we talked about yesterday, Rachel noted the defense is very old, has a lot of questions. I think the offense keeps it in gains and I'm gonna have the Chargers here. I really like the Chargers. They're a bit more sleeper now that Slater's out for the season. Let's go to the Final category, Super bowl contenders. For your consideration, the Arizona Cardinals. I have them in the playoffs. Houston Texans, I just don't love them. They got entire new offensive line. Yes, the defense will keep them in gains. Yes, the divisions. But I, that offensive line has me really nervous. I have Jacksonville here. They're my surprise team in the, in the afc. I think that offense isn't going to rival the Bengals, but I think it's going to be very, very good. And oh my gosh, this can't be real. And then finally for your consideration, the Minnesota Vikings. Yes, I'm buying JJ McCarthy and those are my super bowl contender tears. So listen, there's some news breaking. I don't know, is this, are we sure about this? Come on guys, I don't want to go with that if it's not accurate. So let's bring on Bruce Feldman, my guy college football analyst, covers the sport for fox. Bruce in his just awesome family room there, looking sharp as ever, new haircut, ready for the season. Bruce, what's the excitement level for you? Texas, Ohio State.

Bruce Feldman (27:39)

Can't wait, Jason. I mean this is the best week one we've ever had in college football. You have a one verse two matchup as obviously you remember Texas was knocked out of the playoff last year by the Buckeyes and now you have the Arch Manning factor. You have new coordinators at Ohio State on both sides of the ball including Matt Patricia, who's never really coached in college football and now he's got a defend Arch, that's huge. You got a, you know, two other top 10 matchups later that weekend. I mean, it's.

Jason McIntyre (28:13)

All right, let, let me just quickly ask about this Matt Patricia. He is the rocket scientist, if memory serves, from his days in New England, Detroit. Matt Patricia, kind of a divisive figure but as you said, he's had all off season to prepare for arch. He's also got maybe the best defensive player in the country in downs. I, I think they kind of bottle up the Texas offense here. Bruce, what's your read on that one?

Bruce Feldman (28:38)

It's going to be interesting to see what kind of answers does he have? Does he do a lot of what Jim Knowles, who was the offense, the defense coordinator last year, did such a good job for Ohio State. As you mentioned, Caleb Downs, their safety. I think he's the best defensive player in the country. He's just a unique chess piece because he's so smart and what they can do with him. They have two elite linebackers who are really special athletes in sonny styles and Arvell Reese. The D line is, is mostly new, right? They have talent there, but it's new guys. The part that I think I'm most curious about in this game is it's not just Arch, it's four new starters on the offensive line. You lost a top 10 pick who's now with the Saints at left tackle. It's a lot of new guys and it's a tough road environment. I mean, we'll see how Patricia does, you know, long term this season. It reminds me a little bit of a similar situation Texas faced early last year on the road when they went to Michigan. Wink Martindale, who hadn't been in college, he stepped in it at Michigan and it was, it was a mismatch. Sark vs Wink Martindale early in the year. Sark still there is a more mobile quarterback, albeit less experienced than Quinn Ewers. And it's also a new offensive line though. And that's the part where I'm fascinated to see how Arch does behind a new group that is going to be feeling its way out in a very hostile setting.

Jason McIntyre (30:00)

Let me ask you, Bruce, are you surprised that Arch did not throw a pass at all in the SEC championship game or the two playoff games? They had a couple running packages for him, but not one pass. To me, to an outsider, that's kind of a lack of confidence in him getting it done in a big spot. Or was there a dynamic with Quinn Ewers that maybe I don't understand?

Bruce Feldman (30:22)

No, I just think it's in the moment. Look, when, when mid season Georgia comes in there and they are slaughtering Texas, they bench yours. Give Arch a chance. Arch gave him a spark for a second and then Georgia just overwhelmed him too. I think I wouldn't read too much in anything that happened last year with that Texas team. You know, remember the year before Texas came very close to playing for the national title. They lost to Washington and Michael Penix. You know, it wasn't like yours is a scrub, yours has played a lot of. He, you know, he, he operated well at times in the offense and I think it was just about like, hey, let's make sure when Arch is really ready, he's ready to go. And I think having an all a full off season to, to kind of grow into this position and get ready, I think it's probably ideal for them. But I, you know, again, I wouldn't. You can always second guess play callers on both sides of the ball. I wouldn't, you know, Steve Sarkeeson's as good as There is in college football, especially in like third down stuff and different, you know, things obviously you can. Hindsight is 20 20. I'm sure there's a bunch of calls in that game. Sark would have loved to have back, but credit to Jim Knowles, he had answers.

Jason McIntyre (31:35)

Yeah, let's go to Miami. Notre Dame, obviously a rich history between these two. I'm on the Irish here, but there are some questions about Notre Dame at quarterback. Their defense is stacked. Love the running back. Where are you on this matchup?

Bruce Feldman (31:49)

Yeah, it's not just the running back you're talking about. Jeremiah Love is fantastic. That running back room is deep behind him. J.D. price, they have some young backs they really like, but again, C.J. carr, you know, he's a talented passer, but this is his first big test, right. And they're going to Miami. And this is a completely new defense. And I'm not saying how it's going to go for Matt Patricia or not, but in Corey Heatherman, you have a much more experienced college defensive coordinator who's stepping in. Miami was awful on defense last year. They were explosive on offense with Cam Ward. I think Miami is going to be much improved this year because of the defensive side of the ball. And I think everything I've heard out of Coral Gables has been very positive on how Corey Heatherman has changed things. I think this is a tricky spot for the Irish. They're talented, as you said, but again, new quarterback. That place can be pretty loud. It's not the old Orange bowl, but ask. Ask players on the. On the Notre Dame team that got blown off the field like 48 to 7, like when Manny Diaz was there. That place can get loud in the right spot and I expect it to later this weekend. And again, Carson Beck is now the starter at Miami. There's been a lot of positive reports coming out of there from the coaches. I know there they have a really good offensive line. I would not at all be surprised if Miami beats them this weekend.

Jason McIntyre (33:11)

All right, I got to ask, Bruce, you're like the coaches positive on Carson Beck. Have you ever got preseason negative stuff from coaches on a quarterback?

Bruce Feldman (33:19)

I mean, yeah, definitely. Oh, it's. You definitely do. But those are the things you shy away from bringing up and saying, oh, yeah, coaches are kind of skittish. Skittish about this guy. I mean, maybe, maybe some of the stuff you. You talk about around it may come up, but there's definitely a bunch of stuff where you end up in the back of your head and sometimes you talk about it, you know, we have podcasts where we'll talk a little bit more about the stuff I might be concerned about at Ohio State or the stuff I might be concerned about on this team or that team. But, you know, you kind of balance all the information you get.

Jason McIntyre (33:51)

Okay, so does Beck lose the game with a pick or a strip sack fumble? How does he blow this one? I just don't have a lot of faith in the guy. And this is coming from somebody last year at this time who was like, oh yeah, Carson Beck, he's got to be the favorite to go number one in the draft.

Bruce Feldman (34:06)

Yeah, I know. I wouldn't get so over your skis on the draft component of this because that's what people thought. And then you know what happened. Brock Bowers went to the NFL and lad McConkey went to the NFL and the receiving group beneath him wasn't very good. And he pressed. I mean, right now he's got a really good offensive line. He's got an elite running back in Jordan Lyles, and they have a lot of young talent at receiver. So, you know, again, I know this. The Ravens offensive coordinator, Todd Monken, who had Beck early on, was very effusive in how smart he is, how quick his release is and all those things. I mean, look, give a lot of credit also to Shannon Dawson, Miami's OC because going into last year, the NFL had a fifth round grade on Cam Ward. Where did he end up getting drafted a couple of months ago, first overall. I'm not saying it was, it was all Shannon Dawson, but Shannon Dawson, the offense quarter, knows what he's doing and I would expect Carson Beck will have a pretty big year in this system.

Jason McIntyre (35:07)

That's good, good insight. Let's go to the other matchup. Lsu, Clemson. Another bet that I made was Clemson undefeated regular season. Obviously, if they clear this hurdle, they're favored the rest of the way. I'm just curious. This is a battle of these quarterbacks who everybody seems to like for the draft next year. Club Nick and Nussmeier. Where are you on these two heading into this season?

Bruce Feldman (35:29)

I like them. I think they're both really smart quarterbacks. They don't have like great size. Nussmeier is more of a gunslinger Coaches kid, you know, I think both guys are really good leaders. They see the field really well. The part that we're going to, we need to see a big step up from them is especially with, with Garrett Nussmeier is how they play against ranked teams. You look at the numbers, they were not Good. Neither guy was really good, but Garrett really struggled. And now a little like Arch Manning, he's got an entirely rebuilt offensive line. They had four offensive linemen who played in the Senior bowl, including, you know, the Patriots top five pick, Will Campbell. So now you got a rebuilt offensive line. That place is going to be even more hostile at night than what you're going to have in Columbus. And unlike the Buckeyes, this defensive line Clemson has. Peter woods was one of my, you know, highest guys on my freaks list. I think he'll be a top five pick. He's a 310 pound defensive tackle who runs 4, 8, 5. They have like three other guys on the defense who I think will be top 40 picks next year. And then they have another guy, Sammy Brown, who when he's able to come out for the draft, I think he's going to be go really high. He's a linebacker who can run like the wind. Tom Allen's the new defensive coordinator. I think this is a big upgrade from what Clemson had on defense last year. I'm a little nervous about the Clemson pick now because now I see that you're on the bandwagon. They were my national. Oh God. As soon as you said it, my eyes kind of rolled back.

Jason McIntyre (37:00)

Well, yeah, I'm not going to lie. Like I've been down on dabo for dabo for a couple of years now since he refused to go to the Portal. And then you came on my podcast. You were like, bro, this defensive line is filthy. I'm worried for Nutsmire in the opener. I think he could be under some pressure. So you have Clemson as number one in your college football playoff seatings, huh?

Bruce Feldman (37:21)

I do. You know, a couple of things. As I mentioned, Tom Allen, everything I've heard has gotten the defense much more in sync. They were like out of it last year. They had some players, you know, some inexperience in key spots. As I said now Sammy Brown is a, is a second year player. He was a true freshman playing a lot last year in a key role. The other big thing is when Clemson was winning national titles, they had elite receiver play. That's when even right before, when the program started to get closer, when Taj Boyd was putting up big numbers, they had elite receivers. They dropped off in the last few years. The receiver room is back closer to where it used to be. You know, Bryant west, west co is a big time guy. They have three guys there who are really big, athletic playmakers. I like how Clubnick has continued to mature. He showed he has some playmaking ability. We saw that at times last year. And again, you know, they did go in the portal a little bit or they have a good defensive end. They took from Purdue. Feel like everybody got a good player from Purdue and they were awful last year. But still they, you know, I like where Clemson is now. I would caution people on this. Like last year, Clemson got blown out by an SEC team in the opener by Georgia. LSU lost their opener. Brian Kelly's never won an opener since he's been at lsu. Clemson made the playoff even without, you know, like you can stumble out of the gate and still have a really good season. The thing to watch for, for me on the LSU side, I think LSU is really talented. They got a ton of freaky athletes in the receiver room for Nussmeier. But Brian Kelly's put so much in this game. You know, he's put Clemson tiger paws all over the facility just to kind of reinforce how big of a deal this game is. You lose the game, you do worry about, does some of the air come out of the balloon and how do you bounce back from it? They have a, you know, not a big opponent the next week, but a couple weeks later they have Florida and Florida beat them last year.

Jason McIntyre (39:16)

Yeah. Huh. If anybody watching, he has his predictions on the screen for the playoffs. Seven is Iowa State. Now, was that before or after their win over Kansas?

Bruce Feldman (39:26)

That was before.

Jason McIntyre (39:26)

Really?

Bruce Feldman (39:27)

That was before? Yeah. Look, Matt Campbell's a really good coach. When I spoke to him for a while this summer, one of the things that he stressed is, you know, five years or so ago, they had the best season in Iowa State history. They finished number nine. Then the culture of the program kind of got away from them a little bit for a variety of reasons. He was telling me and talking to some of the players inside the program. You know, he's got Rocco backed. Anthony Beck's son, who is just a gamer. He's a really tough kid. He makes finds a way to make plays in the clutch. He's just got like kind of a winner quality to him. And he ended up beating out an elite 11, you know, higher ranked recruit, JJ Cole, who ended up transferring out for the job and hung onto the job. And I think it's a big deal. Like he talked about how much Rock obect has, has helped in reestablishing the culture there. You saw it last week when he trusted his guy on fourth and three in a tough spot. With a little over two minutes left, he went for it and it paid off. And again Matt Campbell over the last couple years has been one of the most conservative coaches when it comes to going for it on fourth down. And he was like, scrap that. I trust my guys to come through. They did. I'm not saying they're running the table, but I think they're going to win the Big 12. And I do think there'll be a playoff team.

Jason McIntyre (40:43)

I don't. I don't see Texas Tech in there anywhere. Bruce. That's my long shot to make the playoff. But I do see Arizona State. We love that team. Quarterback, coach, Texas Tech. Any thoughts? Can they. Can they sneak in?

Bruce Feldman (40:56)

I mean, they spent a ton of money on the portal. They got a big budget. They've upgraded on both lines. Now, Quinton Joyner, who was at USC last year, really their most talented running back, as we reported, you know, a couple of days ago, he's out for the season with an injury that's going to hurt them because now they have two, Two, you know, largely unproven backs. We're gonna have to shoulder the load. We'll see how this is going to go. I mean, I think they'll be pretty good. I don't know if they. To me, the gap between all these teams and the Big 12 is so close. You know, I just think that there's. There's nobody who has Ohio State, Penn State, you know, lsu, Georgia, kind of talent in this. It's not even close. Like, so in here, it's very bunchy. It's like, which quarterback do you trust the most and which. Which team can just kind of go on a roll? Last year, Arizona State, I felt like they fed off Cam Scatter Boo's energy, and they went from being the team everybody thought was at the bottom to winning the whole. Winning the whole conference and then almost knocking Texas out of the playoff, you know, so I like Kenny Dillingham. I think he's a great fit there. You know, I think there will be the other team in the playoff, but you never know with the Big 12. The teams you think are going to be really good just bottom out. And the teams you don't expect much from, they end up surging.

Jason McIntyre (42:13)

All right, last one real quick. Bryce Underwood is the new quarterback at Michigan. This is the kid who got like a ton of money, right? Wasn't he heavily recruited by some. Some donor? He flipped from LSU to Michigan. What's the status on the. On the Wolverines here?

Bruce Feldman (42:29)

Yeah, he's going to be the guy. I mean, he's six, six four two three. Can really run, you know, he was the top ranked high school quarterback in the country last year. He's got, you know, high level playmaking skills. Everybody down there is excited about him, but he's still a true freshman quarterback. The thing that would, that would give me pause about him is he's, he's a true freshman quarterback and there is not a ton of elite talent around him on offense. He does not have anything close to what Penn State has in the running back room. He has nothing close to what Julian saying at Ohio State has from the receiver room. You know, I, I, the other line is not what it used to be. When J.J. mcCarthy was playing behind it then they had like one of the best lines in the country. I think right now it's pretty good, but I don't know if it's any more than that. Last year it wasn't even that, you know. And by the way, last year they had Khalel Mullings who they leaned on and really won some games for them. That guy's gone. I think they're more of an 8 and 4 kind of team. I'm fascinated to see how he does. You have a new offensive coordinator. Chip Lindsay comes in. I don't expect them to throw it all over the yard, but they couldn't pass it at all last year. I think they will be able to throw it some because you have a guy who last year they wanted Alex Orgy, who was like similar size, really athletic, probably not as instinctive of a runner and struggled as a passer. And they did not have difference makers outside, you know, Colston Loveland was a really good tight end, but he got banged up. It's hard for me to look at Michigan and say, oh yeah, they're anywhere near as good as Penn State or Ohio State. I, I don't feel like that right about, right now about them.

Jason McIntyre (44:10)

Yeah. All right. Bruce Feldman, Fox Sports. Great stuff. He's king of college football. Enjoy the opener, Bruce. Everybody will be watching you and following you online. Thanks, buddy.

Bruce Feldman (44:21)

Thanks, Jason.

Jason McIntyre (44:23)

All right, great stuff from Bruce Feldman. Now, folks, I don't want to sound like a five alarm fire, but we have major seismic news. Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift are engaged.

Rachel Nichols (44:37)

Do you want me to do the alarm?

Jason McIntyre (44:39)

It's happening. It's happening. So I have two teenage girls at home. Yeah, people are freak. My wife just texted me about it. So Taylor Swift's, I guess, Instagram post. Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married with a stick of dynamite. Congrats to the happy couple. Maybe we'll Do a little more on this later in the show or the entire final hour. I don't know. We may have to bump a guest to bring on, like, a wedding plan. I don't know what the game plan is. There is no playbook for this. But maybe we'll get Colin to call in and offer his thoughts on the couple. Remember when people thought this was a hoax? They were like, oh, this is a fake relationship. Remember that nonsense?

Rachel Nichols (45:18)

Yeah, but, you know, real swifties knew the truth.

Jason McIntyre (45:21)

They knew. Yes. By the way, you and your family, did you guys see Taylor Swift out here at SoFi? Of course we did.

Rachel Nichols (45:27)

I got two teenage daughters. Come on. This is like target demo central.

Jason McIntyre (45:30)

I'm not gonna lie. I know our audience is like 90% men, but I'm gonna be real. I went to the concert. It was fire. It was amazing. The best concert I've ever seen.

Rachel Nichols (45:39)

I would say this for all the guys out there listening to this news, this is a reminder to shoot your shot, okay? Because Travis Kelce wanted to meet Taylor Swift. He thought she was pretty obviously one of the smart, most successful women in the world and went to the stadium during her concert to try to meet her. Didn't work out. So instead he went on his own podcast and put out the call and just said into the air, I would like to go out with Taylor Swift. Taylor, please, I want to go out with you. And it worked. It worked. Jason.

Jason McIntyre (46:15)

Yeah.

Rachel Nichols (46:15)

Shoot your shot. It's never too long a shot.

Jason McIntyre (46:17)

So. By the way, Rachel, our staff is now saying that you are wearing Taylor Swift red, which you announced in the first hour.

Rachel Nichols (46:24)

I did.

Jason McIntyre (46:25)

And then they got engaged in the second hour. Are you. Do you know something? Do you want to tell us anything?

Rachel Nichols (46:30)

Nothing we're going to talk about on tv.

Jason McIntyre (46:32)

All right, coming up next. Well, we'll just tear up the rest of the show and just do Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got engaged. Everybody's excited. Everybody's fired up. And we'll probably talk about Michael Parsons too, because this is a sports show. That's next. One more heard the herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

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Jason McIntyre (50:30)

Oh, the excitement is just through the roof here at Fox. Everybody's fired up. Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, engaged. Unbelievable. Oh, that what it's. People are saying like, this is going to be the next royal wedding here. I mean, whenever they set the date, I got one of our guys here on the stage was like, I know who I'm not drafting in fantasy. Any guy who's ever been part of wedding planning kind of involved. And you can only do so much. Yeah, sure, sure. Whatever you want. I do need to ask. So, according to the Associated Press, Rachel.

Rachel Nichols (51:04)

Yes.

Jason McIntyre (51:04)

They have been dating for two years.

Rachel Nichols (51:07)

Yes.

Jason McIntyre (51:08)

I don't know how personal you want to get, but before you were married, how long did you date the guy you ended up marrying?

Rachel Nichols (51:15)

I'm a little different. So I dated the guy I ended up marrying when I was a teenager at summer camp.

John Machota (51:21)

Whoa.

Rachel Nichols (51:22)

And then we didn't see each other for 10 years. And then he tracked me down and found me and we dated for less than a year before we got engaged. So it's one of those things where because it worked out, it's incredibly, incredibly romantic. And if it hadn't worked out, the tracking down would have been stalking. Stalking. Well, you know, we'll never know.

Jason McIntyre (51:37)

I was about to say. So is he a official stalker or. No, it was a Facebook.

Rachel Nichols (51:42)

Fantastic. And you know, we've been married for 20 something years.

Jason McIntyre (51:46)

That's. Congratulations. The whole like two years seems like a good. But I don't know if they've lived together. I know that the old school people are gonna be like, nope, can't live together. I highly recommend living together before you get married. I don't know if these two have gets a little. Do you want to share any insight onto that one or.

Rachel Nichols (52:04)

No, I believe that they have lived in each other's homes. Meaning.

Jason McIntyre (52:08)

Listen, a weekend is different than living.

Rachel Nichols (52:10)

No, I don't think it's been a weekend. So they did. Did you. Did you listen to the two hour podcast, Jason?

Jason McIntyre (52:16)

No, my. My wife and daughter did. I was just like, checking in from that other room watching Hunting Wives on low volume, so.

Rachel Nichols (52:24)

By the way, I can't believe you're looking down your nose at Taylor and Travis because you were watching hunting. We'll get back to that. No, they were talking all about, like, what they do at home. She's really into baking sourdough at the moment. She has all these nicknames for her sourdoughs that he does this around the house, she does that around the house. And to me, the most revelatory thing she said about the NFL and how much she's changed as a football fan because, of course, you know, there's been a lot of uproar about how much do they show her on the screen and why is she in my space and all of that stuff. She freely admits she's like, when we started dating, I didn't know what a tight end was. And she made a joke that she thought the quarterbacks actually faced each other on the field, that all the players were out at the same time. Which, I mean, you know, it's kind of. Kind of good. Was in that Top Gun movie, right?

Jason McIntyre (53:09)

That's how we talk about. You do say quarterbacks battling, right?

Bruce Feldman (53:13)

Yeah.

Rachel Nichols (53:13)

You said Patrick Mahomes versus Josh Allen versus whatever. Anyway, but she has become such a die hard that she said that she and Travis were in different places during the NFL draft a year ago, and she started running through the house screaming.

Jason McIntyre (53:28)

We drafted Xavier Worthy.

Rachel Nichols (53:30)

And her friends who were over at the house were like, did someone body snatch you? I mean, she's clearly into it, and they spend a lot of time together.

Jason McIntyre (53:39)

Before we get to Herdline, I'm sure you guys have seen the memes, but Travis Kelce has changed a lot in the last, like, seven years. His look, he was like me. He had the two hoop earrings he would wear, like gold chains. And I saw a meme that I just started dying of laughter was Travis Kelce used to look like a guy who sold vape cartridges behind 7 11. And now he's marrying the most famous person in the world. Right. And. And it. It's kind of funny. Anyways. All right, let's go to Rachel with the news.

Covino (54:04)

One more herd.

Jason McIntyre (54:05)

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. Welcome Back to the herd. In between news about Travis Kelsey and Taylor Swift, we're gonna actually talk sports because, you know, that's what we're here for. So we're bringing in John Machota, Cowboys reporter covering the team for the Athletic. Oh, John, I'm sure you are just loving the dog days of August as everybody waits for Jerry to blink with Micah Parsons. How are you spending your days right now? Excited.

John Machota (54:41)

Phone in hand, constantly seeing if there's anything that's changed. No, it's fine. I mean, it's not like this is new, you know, this is what the Dallas Cowboys do. They've done it with Dak Prescott, they've done it with CD Lamb, Zach Martin, Ezekiel Elliott as Bryant. I mean, the list goes on and on. And in the end, what happens is the players always end up getting their money. So it seems very ugly to people that aren't around it. And it might even get uglier than it is right now. But ultimately, Micah Parsons isn't going anywhere, and he will eventually get a new contract from the Dallas Cowboys.

Jason McIntyre (55:12)

Yeah, it's weird there. They made the big splash move going after Pickens. So the offense could actually be kind of good. I don't know. Dak Prescott, healthy, Pickens on the outside, Lamb on the outside. Like they could be good offensively. I just have so many questions about the defense and of course, Schottenheimer's head coach. I'm curious where you are with Shoddy leading this team.

John Machota (55:33)

I mean, I like him from a media perspective. He's very media friendly.

Jason McIntyre (55:37)

He.

John Machota (55:37)

He certainly understands our job. But there's just a lot of questions that I. I don't think have been answered yet. I mean, there's only so much you can get out of training camp. There's only so much you can get out of preseason games where they're not really playing many starters at all. And that's really been the case for Dak Prescott for the last four or five years. And so you really don't know. And then you match in the George Pickens and how he fits with the offense. The fact that Brian has said that he's trying to be as vanilla as possible at camp and then also in these pre season games because he doesn't want anybody to know what he can show on offense. And so certainly it should be a good passing game. I just have questions about the run game and if you can't run the ball, I don't. I don't know how teams don't just sit there and drop two safeties as deep as possible and say, I'm not going to let CD Lamb and George Pickens beat us. What is your counter to that? And that's what we don't know yet.

Jason McIntyre (56:25)

Yeah, it's weird. They've moved off of the starting running back maybe three years in a row. Is that. I'm not sure if that's exactly right, but Rico had a good year last year and now they Javante Williams. Listen, I don't know if you play Fantasy I. He's the kind of guy that you pick up and then drop within a week because he'll go for like five carries for like 12 yards and you're like, this guy's not very good. You're right. The run game's a major problem, is it not?

John Machota (56:49)

It is. And I'm just stunned that over these last two years there hasn't been a bigger move to add a veteran running back or draft one in one of the first two days of the draft. And so as we sit here today, Javante Williams will be the starter. So for those looking for who the Cowboy starter would be in fantasy, I would say Javonte Williams. Jaden Blue, their fifth round pick out of Texas, would be the guy that adds some juice to the offense. But he's coming off of a a little bit of an ankle injury and so I don't know how quickly he'll be utilized. I'm sure he'll get some touches against Philadelphia, but I don't think that he's enough to will push onto Williams away and then behind them it's I think a little bit of Kevonte Turpin, the wide receiver might be a little bit of a wild card there, maybe two, three touches a game. They will hand the ball occasionally to CD Lam as well. And so I don't think it is going to be just your, you know, solid, normal Ezekiel elliott, you know, DeMarco Murray type running game. I think it's going to be a variety of things. That might even include the fullback, Hunter Lipke.

Jason McIntyre (57:51)

It's interesting listening to you talk about some of these guys. I start looking at their draft history and Jerry, he's had a couple whiffs in recent years, huh? Last year nobody really distinguished themselves in the draft. Two years ago they did all right. And then there's the Mazzy Smith pick, which has been an unmitigated disaster. Like I listen, I know he's a billionaire, he runs the team, but at any point do you anticipate Cowboys brass sitting down and being like, guys, we're going to have to do something here. Or is it. There's just no chance of that happening.

John Machota (58:26)

Are you talking about in terms of Micah Parsons?

Jason McIntyre (58:28)

Well, Jerry Jones botching every contract.

John Machota (58:31)

Oh, no, that'll never change him out. But no, that's not. As long as he's around, nobody will be stepping in and, and saying, I mean, we've seen it with this Micah Parsons thing. It was, I would say, a few months ago something where I can see Steven Jones being involved. It's done. Now this is a Jerry situation. It will get done when Jerry wants it to get done, so it remains that way. Now, Jerry does listen to the people around him. You know, I, I don't want it to come off as like he just goes around and he just goes with whoever the, you know, the last person he talks to. There's a lot of rumors of that now. He listens to people that are around him. But on these big decisions, he's. He's going to be the final say on these things. And so that's why when you see the Micah contract dragging out, people often ask me, how do you think it'll be different when Stephen Jones is running the team? There won't be as many of these things. I mean, Jerry has an ability to hold a grudge like very few others. And where we're at right now with that, I think, is a great example of it. And I don't think anybody can talk him out of it. He has to do it himself.

Jason McIntyre (59:32)

So he's now going on podcasts. He went on a podcast with Michael IRVIN. This is an 8A guy over 80 years old going on a podcast. And he's actually seems like he was talking trash about this Micah situation with the agent and shoving it up his butt. And like, it just did not sound good at all. What's your take? Have you spoken with Micah's agent and where's he on all this?

John Machota (59:55)

Not recently, no. I don't have much contact with him. And that's, I think, by design. David Mologhetta, who you're talking about. Michael Parsons agent, much like Todd France. These are two of the top agents in the NFL, and Todd France doesn't do much media either. And he represents Dak Prescott and has gotten Dak Prescott two of the most incredible deals the last two times that they've gone to the. The table against Jerry Jones. They've no question won those battles. And so if you're David Mulligetta, why not do the exact same thing? You don't need to get in a war of words. You let everything take care of itself and let Jerry do what he does, say what he says. But the track record speaks for itself, and that Jerry ends up paying all of these players. Things got ugly with Ezekiel Elliott. I remember being in Hawaii for a preseason game where Tony Pollard, looked pretty good, and Zeke was in a holdout, and myself and a couple other reporters are standing with Jerry after the game, and he said, zeke who? As if Zeke wasn't needed for the team. And then, you know, you fast forward three weeks later, if that. He's signing Zeke, and then they're holding a T shirt up that says zeke who? And everybody's laughing and having a good time. So it's like Jerry is fine with everything getting ugly. The issue you run into is it causes problems for everybody else. And the players will say it's not a distraction, and the coaches will say it's not a distraction. But it's an issue not to have your best player on the field throughout training camp with a new coaching staff. And so even if this gets done in the 11th hour, it's cost you all that time when Micah could have been on the field with this new defensive coordinator, with this new coaching staff.

Jason McIntyre (61:32)

Yeah. What about lying on the table? I know it only was brief. It barely happened, but it happened. You know, everybody wants to make a big deal out of it. Schottenheimer getting asked about it afterward. Just talk me through watching it go down. And your thoughts?

John Machota (61:47)

Yeah. So where? It's in the third quarter, and another media member mentioned it to me and said, hey, look at where Mike is at. And I was like, okay. You know, of course, being the journalist that I am, I snapped a picture with my phone. But I'm like, yeah, maybe it just is going to last for like, 30 seconds. Not a big deal. And then a minute goes by, two minutes go by, three, four, five minutes. And I'm like, all right, well, I'm posting this. Others have already posted this. It just doesn't look good. But with that being said, even when things are going well with the Cowboys and have gone well with Mike in the past, he isn't the best body language guy, whether you're at practice or whatever. And it was kind of funny that Dak Prescott made mention of that yesterday when we talked to him about, you know, Micah's body language has clearly been that he doesn't want to be at these practices, he does not want to be at these preseason games. He wants a new contract. And so even Dak joked that you know, it's not like he's ever been the best in that category for, in terms of the body language, but it's very clear that. That Micah's frustrated and that while he wants to be there for his teammates, he wants to try and drive this hard bargain that I'm not gonna be out there until I get this new contract. And now you basically have these two trains headed towards each other and who's going to give first, you know, or are they just going to run into each other and it's going to be a disaster? I seem to think someone's going to give in eventually. I just don't know if it's week one.

Jason McIntyre (63:07)

Oh, oh. So you're saying you think there's like a maybe 50% chance Micah does not play in week one? The line's kind of pinballing between seven and six. It's at seven now. I guess that's assuming. Hey, Michael Parsons a playing week one.

John Machota (63:20)

So what I. When I was saying that, I kind of meant that the contract might not be done week one. I think to give you percentages, I would say I think it's an 80% chance that Micah Parsons is on the field. I think there's a 75% chance that it's without a new contract. I think that Jerry's pretty dug in on this one. Someone has to make a first call. He still hasn't talked to David Mulligetta. A deal is not going to get done until he talks to David. And so who makes that first call? I don't get the sense that David's going to make that call. And so does this just come down to Jerry Jones one night having one extra Johnnie Walker Blue and giving in and making this call. Maybe that's what it is.

Jason McIntyre (63:58)

Good stuff. All right, John. You even know his drink? John Machota covers the Cowboys for the Athletic. Good stuff, man. Thank you very much.

Covino (64:07)

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