Best of The Herd

Summary

The Herd with Colin Cowherd—Best of The Herd

Episode Date: September 2, 2025

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Episode Overview

On this “Best of The Herd,” Colin Cowherd returns from a summer hiatus and dives straight into the biggest football stories of the week. With the NFL season about to begin, he gives his final “Herd Hierarchy” ranking of teams, discusses the Dallas Cowboys’ blockbuster decision to trade Micah Parsons, critiques Bill Belichick’s recent coaching trajectory, and examines Ohio State’s approach under Ryan Day. Nick Wright, Albert Breer, and Ryan Day make guest appearances, with Nick Wright offering spirited disagreement on some of Colin’s picks and takes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bill Belichick’s Decline & Coaching Philosophies

(Segment Begins: 02:15)

• Concerns over Belichick's Staff Building: Colin expresses discomfort with the “friends and family” makeup of Bill Belichick’s coaching staffs, referencing the prevalence of nepotism and lack of fresh voices.
  • "It kind of feels like a friends and family staff… Young Bill Belichick would have fired this Bill Belichick. He's seeking comfort. You can't coach in a gated community." (Colin, 03:26)
• Reluctance to Modernize: Points out Belichick has consistently undervalued offense and clung to old strategies—a “chef that won’t change the menu.”
• Notable Quote:
  • "You have to take offense seriously. Freddy Kitchens is the OC. He was already on staff, you know, so why put any effort into going out and getting the best OC on the market? We'll just move up Freddy Kitchens." (Colin, 05:12)
• Comparison with Other Coaches: Contrasts Belichick’s recent habits with Saban’s willingness to hire uncomfortable but great coaches like Lane Kiffin.
• Transfer Portal as “Bitcoin”: Colin questions if quick-fix transfer solutions in college football deliver as promised:
  • "The transfer portal feels a little like bitcoin. Everybody thinks they’re going to get rich and it’s a lot of nonsense and hope and hype." (Colin, 07:36)
• Belichick’s Post-Brady Record: Without Tom Brady, Belichick-coached teams average just 19 points per game—a stat Colin finds damning.

2. Dallas Cowboys Trade Micah Parsons

(Segment Begins: 11:30)

• Media Criticism of the Trade: Colin is careful not to echo the “leaks” and criticisms suddenly emerging about Parsons’ character post-trade, noting these often originate from inside the Cowboys’ camp.
• Locker Room Dynamics: Parsons was not the most popular player; Albert Breer reports Zach Martin, CeeDee Lamb, and Dak are more beloved.
• On Paying Stars: Strong skepticism about paying $47 million to Parsons when Dallas lacks the infrastructure—culture, staff—to get maximum off-field value from him.
• Dallas’ Need for Flexibility: Emphasizes how the trade (netting four first-round picks over two years) offers Dallas the flexibility it lacked in recent years—crucial, given how the Cowboys missed out on upgrades like Derrick Henry.
  • "You have two first-rounders next year. Get a quarterback later first round, go get another edge rusher. He’ll be a lot cheaper." (Colin, 15:00)
• Green Bay’s Perspective: Micah Parsons as a “good fit” for Packers’ current needs.
• Notable Quote (Parsons):
  • "Winning is everything to me… I haven't been there and I don't know what it takes. But I got a funny feeling that, you know, a lot of this history. This program does… and I trust Coach LaFleur." (Micah Parsons, 13:57-14:26)
• Colin’s Verdict: Dallas is rebooting; Green Bay is built for contention now, and the context matters for whether trading a star is foolish or strategic.

3. Ohio State, Ryan Day & Arch Manning

(Segment Begins: 16:50)

• Game Strategy Debate: Colin and guest discuss Ohio State playing it safe versus Texas, citing Arch Manning’s struggles against a Matt Patricia-led defense.
• Critique of Arch Manning’s Performance: Manning looked “off-kilter” and “felt pressure that didn’t exist”—surprising given his time in the system.
• Perspective: Colin warns against overreacting to one game but notes other touted QBs (Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence) immediately proved their hype.

4. Final Herd Hierarchy—Top 10 NFL Teams Entering 2025

(Main Segment Begins: 19:41, Hierarchy Starts at 22:45)

Colin’s Final Ranking (with rationale):

1. Eagles
   • Best overall roster; trenches are “nailed”; don’t love the head coach personality.
2. Bills
   • “Josh Allen is the most talented football player in the world… but he doesn’t have Mahomes’s coach.” (25:49)
3. Ravens
   • “Structurally like Kansas City, I don't see holes in the organization.” (26:53)
4. Broncos
   • Bo Nix “a hit”; major roster upgrades.
5. Chiefs
   • “Andy Reid and Mahomes are… best at what they do in this sport.”
6. Seahawks
   • “Second year with a really bright young coach, upgrade coordinator and quarterback.”
7. Commanders
   • “Oldest team in the league… Deebo Samuel chess piece is interesting.”
8. Packers
   • “Micah trade is absolutely worth a win”; organizational respect.
9. Rams
   • “Second best coach in the league… least penalized team last year.”
10. Lions
    • “Lost two O-linemen, coordinators; not sure they win their division.”

Key Critiques from Nick Wright (Starts at 29:14)

• “This is a bottom two or three Herd Hierarchy. I just have to… Where are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? … The Seahawks and Broncos are a little overly respected.” (Nick Wright, 29:25-30:07)
• Wonders why Seattle is so high, why Denver is favored, and why the Bucs are always slotted as “11th” by Colin.

5. Cowboys-Packers Trade Deep Dive:

(Continued at 33:42)

• Nick Wright agrees with Colin: mistakes led Dallas here, but once forced to choose, trading Parsons for flexibility makes sense.
• “If the breaking news was not that Micah’s traded, but that the Cowboys signed Micah to the exact contract Green Bay did, everyone would be killing the Cowboys.” (Nick, 36:25)
• Both agree that the key will be hitting on those next picks—trading a star is only “fine” if the return is well spent.

6. Evaluating Belichick’s Legacy (without Brady)

(Segment Begins: 38:15)

• Colin and Nick note that while Belichick built dominant defenses, his staff choices, scouting, and adaptation have slipped badly in recent years.
  • “His coaching staff decisions were outright bad. His inability to ever get the quarterback position right outside of Brady, which is a big yeah, but... that matters.” (Nick Wright, 39:50)
• Nick points out the necessity of excellence to sustain the odd personal/professional boundaries Belichick has embraced.

7. Arch Manning’s College Roadblock

(Segment Begins: 41:36)

• Both agree that Manning’s struggles were a big red flag compared to past “anointed” QBs, and that maybe he stays at Texas longer than anticipated.
  • “It did feel like he was anointed without having accomplished in a way we hadn’t seen recently in college football.” (Colin, 45:07)

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Notable Quotes

• On Belichick’s Staff Choices:
  “You can't coach in a gated community… Young Bill Belichick would have fired this Bill Belichick.” (Colin, 03:26)
• On the Cowboys’ Need for Flexibility:
  “They couldn't make any deals… It gives them flexibility, it gives them multiple first round picks.” (Colin, 15:00)
• On Josh Allen:
  “I think Josh Allen is the most talented football player in the world. … He doesn’t have Mahomes as coach.” (Colin, 25:49)
• Nick Wright on the Herd Hierarchy:
  “This is a bottom two or three Herd Hierarchy… The Seahawks and Broncos are a little overly respected.” (Nick Wright, 29:25-30:07)
• Nick Wright on Belichick’s Slide:
  “His inability to ever get the quarterback position right outside of Brady, which is a big yeah, but... that matters.” (Nick Wright, 39:50)

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Memorable Moments & Banter

• Direct Jabs at Herd Hierarchy:
  Nick Wright comes in hot, poking at Colin’s rankings and the “annual” omission of the Buccaneers from the top ten.
• Playful Side Bets:
  Colin and his cohost banter over whether the Seahawks or 49ers will finish higher, with playful “side bets” proposed (golf, dinner, etc.).
• Friendly Jabs:
  Colin jokes, “My back’s hurting from carrying the ship in the last 10 days… or all that golf.” (19:41)

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Timestamps For Major Segments

• 02:15 – Belichick’s coaching philosophy and recent struggles
• 11:30 – Cowboys trade Micah Parsons; franchise direction
• 16:50 – Ohio State’s strategy and Arch Manning’s rough outing
• 22:45 – The final Herd Hierarchy (Top 10 NFL teams)
• 29:14 – Nick Wright critiques the rankings
• 33:42 – Deep dive: Dallas-Green Bay trade, QB draft class
• 38:15 – Belichick’s post-Brady legacy
• 41:36 – Arch Manning’s fit in the college ranks

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Conclusion

This episode delivers quintessential Colin Cowherd: provocative NFL takes, bold hierarchies, sharp critiques of coaching philosophies, and lively debate with Nick Wright over the contours of football’s power structure. The show balances deep football insight with entertainment, providing a detailed prelude to the NFL season that challenges assumptions and stirs anticipation.

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For listeners seeking league-wide storylines, off-field intrigue, and strong football opinions, this episode sets the perfect tone for the NFL’s return.

Transcript

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Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Ryan Day, Buckeyes head coach stops by Nick Wright, Albert Breer Our final Herd hierarchy moving into the season. We're all a little tan, ready to roll. J. Mack so that was about as bad last I knew what today's lead was going to be and for at least five to seven minutes it was a masterpiece for UNC M, Michael Jordan and Roy Williams. That ended up being an all time conquer. I mean that is as bad 29 to 10 first downs. So there was a lot of hope. Even TCU's social media team is mocking Carolina football today. So of all the discussion about Bill Belichick, the big concern I had was, remember I Talked about this, 40 transfers. It's like a friends and family coaching staff. There's three Belichicks and Mike Lombardi and his son. And then there's Belichick's girlfriend. And then there's Jamie Collins, who's never been a coach, but he played with Belichick. It kind of feels like a friends and family staff. And I saw that with Bill Belichick at the end of New England. He didn't hire the best coaches available. He hired the guys he was most comfortable with. Young Bill Belichick would have fired this Bill Belichick. He's seeking comfort. You can't coach in a gated community. Nick Saban goes out and hires Lane Kiffin as the oc. They were at each other's throats. Saban was not seeking the most comfortable guy to hire. He brought in Lane, Lane's ego. But Lane's a great coach and Saban continually would go get the best coach available. After the first drive, they had a really nice scripted first drive. After that, six drives without completing a pass. Because the game has changed. You have to take offense. Seriously. Freddy Kitchens is the oc. He was already on staff, you know, so why put any effort into going out and getting the best OC on the market? We'll just move up Freddy Kitchens. Was Freddy Kitchens up for elite offensive coordinator jobs in the NFL or college. He wasn't, but he was on staff. You know, let's. This is like what they did in New England where they made the DC the offensive coordinator. We'll worry about offense tomorrow. This offense isn't good. This is when Belichick interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons. Remember, he laid out his plan and one of the reports or two of the reports were, well, he wanted to hire his guys. McVeigh, McVeigh coaches his guys. Then they go on and become good head coaches. Andy Reid, he'll coach his guys, then they leave. You ever notice with Belichick, it's a lot of the people that stick around, they may leave. They always come back. So I watched last night. Sonny Dykes, by the way, the coach at tcu, his dad was a legendary coach. You know what, they never worked together. They didn't want the nepotism. They didn't work together. So as I watched the game unfold, the longer it went, you could see the gap in coaching. And some of this is 40 transfers. I mean, I got to be honest, the transfer portal feels a little like bitcoin. Everybody thinks they're going to get rich and it's a lot of nonsense and hope and hype and I'm not really sure you're ever going to be able to buy a really nice house with it. But hey, it sounds great. Let's bring in all these new. But I. But I think Belichick has become the chef that won't change the menu. Bill, in his career, if you count the Browns, the Patriots and Carolina last night without Tom Brady, has averaged 19 points in his career. Forget the record, which is unimpressive. Sub 500. He doesn't move the ball. He doesn't take offense seriously enough. Change the menu. Update the wait staff. It's a new menu. It's a new area of town. And they're all the hipsters around. You are taking offense seriously. So I watched tcu, I watched their quarterback, I watched their offense. They dabbled just a little in the transfer portal. That was a well coached team. And the longer the game went, the more they pulled away. But, you know, this is again, it feels like Bill has moved into a time in his life where he just wants to work with coaches he's comfortable with and people he's comfortable with. You know, there was a years and years ago on this show, I think it was Urban Meyer had said he had talked to Bill, you know, and at one point Bill had said, you know, there's certain players I'm just not going to coach anymore. That is the opposite of the early Bill Belichick. You took guys that could be a little crazy. You took guys that didn't make you comfortable. You had to be a mentor to some of the coaches. They didn't know your system, but that's okay. That is how you grow in life. With a little discomfort. You have to bark occasionally. Things go a little sideways. I, I just, I, I, I had concerns coming into this thing is that TCU came in with a staff that'd been around. They knew college football, but this was way worse than I thought. At its worst it could be. And here's Bill after they just outplayed us, they out coached us. I mean, they were just better than we were tonight. That's all there was to it. They controlled both sides of the line of scrimmage. Their skill players played well and, you know, they, and they just, they did a lot more things right than we did. We're better than what we were tonight. So. But we have to go out there and show that and prove it. So nobody's going to do it for us. We'll have to do it ourselves. And that's what we're going to do. All right, so the second story, and this happened several days ago, but ESPN threw a slew of reporters at it. It's a very interesting read. It's inside the Cowboys decision to trade Micah Parsons. And so I'm always a little and I think all the reporters on this. Don Van not is very good. Seth Wickersham has a lot of good reporters. Jeremy Fowler, these really talented people. I'm always a little gun shy about crushing the player because I know where the leaks come from. There's a lot of leaks from the Cowboy side, you know, protecting the enterprise and protecting the brand. And there's stories here that he wasn't good in the weight room, he didn't get treatment regularly. He participated in walkthroughs. But his behavior could be odd. And, you know, in the locker room, he was kind of a deflating energy. A lot of this stuff I don't want to get into because I know where it's coming from. The Cowboys got crushed for this move, and now they want to make it look like, well, the packers are getting damaged goods here. The packers are getting a playmaker. But I still support the move. Now, I don't think I talked to somebody over the weekend. I don't think Micah was the most popular guy in the locker room. Albert Breer reported that Zach Martin CD Lam And Dak are more popular. That's okay. Not, by the way. Jalen hurts, believe it or not, is not the most beloved player in the Eagles locker room. Saquon Barkley is loved in that locker room. Jalen hurts a little hit and miss, does his own thing. Not everybody loved Peyton Manning. He would bark at his friends. Jeff Saturday. I don't care if the quarterback, Troy Aikman, legendary. Barking at coaches, barking at players. So I don't, I don't care if you're the most loved guy. But I will say this. When you pay a guy 47 million and that's what, that's what he wanted, you got to have the cake made, right? Like you like, like they needed in Dallas, because they're not Green Bay. They don't have the culture right now or the leadership. They needed Micah Parsons to be more than just C ball, go get it. And that's largely what he was. He's just going to go wreck a play. The problem is they have a weak coaching staff right now in Dallas. It's not a great roster. It, it may not be a great culture. And here's the thing. When you're going to give 47 million to a guy and you're still kind of, you're kind of in a soft rebuild, you need him more than just have IG followers and some sacks. And Dallas now to me, has flexibility. And Jerry Jones has always played himself off as a big deal maker. And he's an oil catter, kind of a maverick, right? He was a pushback guy. If you watch the documentary on Netflix, he's a wildcatter, they called it. So he was a deal maker. The problem is the last two years, they can't make any deals. They have no flexibility. They had the worst running back room in the league and they couldn't go buy Derrick Henry for $8 million, which we kept pounding the table on this show and Baltimore did. So they couldn't make any deals. That was only going to get worse, paying Micah 47 million. And so now they've got four first round picks in the next couple of years and they have real flexibility. That's what Dallas needs. Because in this sport right now, is there any greater deal maker than Howie Roseman in their division twice a year with the Eagles? No. I mean Philadelphia is tweaking, they're doing chess. Dallas is checkers. And they couldn't even make moves on checkers over the last couple of years in free agency. So it gives them flexibility, it gives them multiple first round picks. I Would certainly look at drafting another quarterback next year in the first round if I could. I know you're all in love with Dakota, but this insistence that Dallas got hosed, folks, I've seen Dax, CD Lamb and Micah in the playoffs. Yeah, I saw those guys get housed by the Green Bay packers in Dallas and that was the youngest playoff team since 1970. Buffalo Bills, remember Green Bay walked in that thing. About three series in was over. The packers came with a bunch of 23 year old kids, blew them out. Jordan Love blew them out. So I've seen this. I don't get the rinse and repeat factor or this insistence. I mean the thing about Micah, he's a really good fit for what Green Bay needs now. But Dallas needs flexibility more than an edge rusher who disappears at times against the best left tackles he goes up against. He's never been a guy with great instincts or great eyes. That's why you can't use him in a stack linebacker, inside space. You need him to just go and wreck plays. I'd have trouble paying 47 million. So I, I think it, it two things can be true. I think he works right now for Green Bay. But this idea that, that I've seen CD Dak and Micah, I got one playoff win. That's it. And this coaching staff in my opinion is worse than that coaching staff that got housed by the Packers. Here's Micah.

[D]

Winning is everything to me.

[B]

I, I don't think you're going to.

[D]

Find a more competitive person and on the team or anywhere in NFL when.

[B]

It comes to anything we do.

[D]

So when you talk about winning and the stage of what it takes, I haven't been there and I don't know what it takes. But I got a funny feeling that you know, a lot of this history.

[B]

This program does, you know, they went.

[D]

Further than us and obviously they had.

[B]

A big win against us.

[D]

And I trust Coach lafleur and you know, I really feel like, you know, we can do it and like I.

[B]

Said, I really want to win real bad. Yeah. Coach LaFleur and the youngest playoff team since the 1970 Buffalo Bills had a 27 nothing lead on Dallas and Dallas. So I, I, I've never understood this. I know to a fault I'm a non traditionalist but this have to this idea that I just can't let go of stars. I don't get it. They, they're, everybody's got different windows. Dallas is in a reboot. Dallas may have a new coaching staff by next year. I'd seen Micah in Big games against the best left tackles and he could be grabbed and became kind of invisible in big spots. He served you well. You got a lot of plays out of him. But it's a different time and I think Dallas the ability to have some self awareness and acknowledge Green Bay is a Super bowl team. We're not. Let's get first round picks. I totally support with Dallas. I've been banging on this team for years. You need more good players. Not a 47 million dollar edge rusher you already overpaid for Dak you paid CD about what he deserves. You don't need to pay an edge rusher. 47 million. You have two first rounders next year. Get a quarterback later. First round go get another edge rusher. He'll be a lot cheaper. Jmac, we have got in one hour from now our final herd hierarchy in to the regular season. Plus Nick Wright, Ryan Day of the Buckeyes. That was a very impressive start by them. Well, listen, I thought so they 200 yards of offense. Yeah, but I see I contend that Ryan Day in Ohio State watched the first two series and they saw how much trouble Matt Patricia, NFL guy was giving Arch Manning. And I believe Ryan Day got on a headset and looked at it. I mean I can see this from tv. That was one of those guys, let's just play field position. We're going to be okay here. Now you could argue if they score in the tush push, maybe it's a different environment. But I thought, I thought if there was any criticism of Ohio State, they played it a little safe. But if you were on that field and you're Ryan Day and I am here to you, the distance, me and Arch Manning and I'm watching his feet, his arm mechanics, the slotting like he was off. Yeah, I kind of crushed him yesterday and people were coming after me on Texas. Hey, take a deep breath. It's one game. Come on. Arch sat for two years, he knows this system well. He couldn't do anything against the Buckeye. That surprised me big time. Yeah, I'll have some thoughts on that. 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 Ben, host of the Fifth Hour with Ben Maller. Would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spin off of the Ben Ma Show, a cult hit overnights on fsr. Why should you listen? Picture if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week. Explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Maller on the iHeartRadio app. Absolutely podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

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Listen, I don't talk about set, smile, okay, or graphics, but our the people that run this network and make big decisions and, you know, take town cars to work. They have done a good job with our sets, our design and our graphics. And so you'll see some flares out there and some cool stuff and we appreciate the effort. You know, as the host gets older, you know, you need help. I need support. My back's hurting from carrying the ship in the last 10 days. Come on, my back's hurting from all that golf. You can tell what's happening to this show. Nick Wright in a couple minutes. So here we go. This is our last herd hierarchy going into the season. Listen, the hardest part of this hierarchy was not the top. It was who do I put? 10, 11, 12. I got to Watch the first couple of weekends. So here we go. Herd hierarchy time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams according to college. Number 10. I'm gonna put Detroit in there. They've got two new coordinators, they lost two offensive linemen. The strength of their team. They get Aiden Hutchison back. I think their division is better. This team last year, you know, you're talking 14, 15 wins. I think it's major pullback. They are so good upstairs. They built a really cool culture. I've always liked Jared Goff more than the rest of the media gallery, but I don't think this team wins their division. And I think losing elite coordinators. Go ask Philadelphia can get ugly fast. I have him at 10. Number nine. I'll put the Rams. Although I think Houston is a dangerous opener with Will Anderson. The Rams left tackle just started practicing this week and I mean, anybody spotted Matt Stafford in la, I think it's a dangerous opener, but I think they have the second best coach in the league. And when Stafford has time to throw with this young defense, they'll win games. This is amazing. They were the young. They played more rookies than anybody in the NFL last year and yet were the least penalized team. They're a completely buttoned up organization, but left tackle and quarterback is a lot of question marks. And Houston is a scary opener with their pass rush. Number eight, the Packers. Let me ask you, is Jordan Love good? I don't know, but I like the culture. I like the team. They were actually last year one in five in division, which is rare for them. So I think they'll improve. They were ten and one against everybody else. Jordan Love starts the season slow so that, that's a real thing. Joe Burrow's done the same thing. Reasons I don't know again, I thought they went out and got a number one wide receiver. The Micah trade is absolutely worth a win. I don't know if it's worth two, but they won 11 games last year and were banged up at quarterback. Just out of respect for the organization and the coach. I think the Mica trade works for them. I think they win the division. Number seven. Commanders are good. I wonder if they're great. They have five prime time games. They're the oldest team in the league. Did you know that? Looked it up this morning. Older players do not like prime time games. The Chiefs are used to it, but it can be disruptive. Also, Jaden Daniels and the commander scored on 50% of their drives. I'm going to go with that's not going to happen again. The Deebo Samuel chess piece is really interesting but I have him at seven number six. I'm higher on the Seahawks than everybody else at five to one. They're the best bet to win a division. And here's my thing. Second year with a really bright young coach, upgrade coordinator and quarterback. They will be more run specific. Gray Zable has been a big pickup. He had a great preseason. They could not run the football last year. They will be a run first team. They'll miss some big plays with DK Metcalf. Absolutely. But I, I gotta tell you, I don't think there's a better personnel guy in the league than John Snyder. Their last three drafts, not a lot of misses and I love this draft. I have the Seahawks at six number five. But are they Kansas City? No. I think this is where the gap happens. The final five teams. Listen, Kansas City was 12, 0 and 1 score games. That's not going to happen. But Andy Reid and Mahomes are, you know, the best at what they do in this sport which is leaning offense. But the problem is that Rasheed Rice six game suspension. I feel like they've been bailing water at wide receiver for three years and it's worked. But you know, let's be honest about that. Guess who was closer to his prime? Travis Kelce. So they're going to be good. They have the best defensive coordinator, the best coach, the best quarterback. The division is a handful but I think they'll be a playoff team. But they got, they were so good in one score games. And I think the Raiders, the Broncos and the Chargers are all going to be a step better. Number four, Denver. I think it's universally understood that Bo Nix is a hit and will only get better. This is a team last year that was very good but not great in one score games. Now Breeze and Peyton were great in one score game. So phone Knicks is not going to be one in six in one score games. They also went out and got real players. Hufunga at safety, green bot linebacker, green lot linebacker, Evan Ingram at tight end. They went and got productive veterans who will make an impact immediately. They didn't just go to the transfer portal and get rotational guys. They want and got productive stars in this league. I have Denver at four, number three. You know, Lamar Jackson, seven years, won 78 games and every game they lose is either against the playoff team or it's close. I know, I know they don't win in the postseason. It's a fair criticism but I'm I think structurally like Kansas City, I don't see holes in the organization. Number one, rushing defense. Number one, rushing offense. Everybody else says it's a passing league. Baltimore's like, yeah, we can do that. But I have him at three. Number two, Listen, well, they've beaten the Chiefs in the regular season, just not the postseason. I like Buffalo. James Cook's got his deal signed. They got all their early draft picks. They went with defense, and that's what they should have done. Listen, I think Josh Allen is the most talented football player in the world. Size, strength, movement. I don't think there's anything quite like it. He doesn't have Mahomes as hardware, but he doesn't have Mahomes as coach. Joey Bosa, that's like under the radar. Still a good player, but the, the Chargers didn't want to pay play for two rush ends. So I, I just think they're lined up to get to a Super Bowl. Number one, best overall roster composition in the league. Don't love their head coach, but what do you want me to say? In the trenches, O line and D line, they nailed two early round corners. I think they have the more most players in the NFL either in their prime or close to their prime. I can't find a hole on the team outside of. I don't always love the personality of the head coach, but for a team that just blew out the Chiefs, they were kind of strangely under the radar. So I have them at number one. And with that, Nick Wright, first things first is joining us live. All right. There's usually a gaping hole that I missed, so I'm gonna, I'm gonna offer you an opportunity. What did I really swing and miss on?

[D]

I mean, I, I hate to christen your gorgeous brand new studio and welcome you back from what was, I don't know, six, seven week vacation with this. But I think in all our time knowing each other, this is, this is a bottom two or three herd hierarchy. I just have to listen. The Eagles at top is fine. I still, I still need to talk to you either on or offline about how the Chargers left tackle getting hurt made the Broncos so much better. I still don't totally understand that, but fine. You also said, you know, everybody agrees Bo Nix is, you know, is a hit and good and you know, I don't. Not everybody my hands up on not agreeing. I think I wonder what the commentary after Mac Jones first year, 10 wins, fake Pro bowl going into year two was. And we compare that to where Bo Nix is. But you also said. John Schneider is the best GM in football. I mean, forget my guy. Brett Veach, Howie Roseman might have something to say about that. But more importantly than any of that, because obviously you and your merry brand of, you know, friends in the media that are just convinced the Chiefs 15 wins and third straight Super bowl appearance was sign of doom. That's fine. I'll set that aside. Where are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Colin 11. How did the Tampa Bay 11? You always say 11. Whenever I bring up the team, you always say 11. I feel like the Bucks are a little disrespected. The Seahawks and Broncos are a little overly respected and I might argue for like I'm surprised you didn't find room for the Chargers or the Bears. And so those would be my bigger gripes. Like the Chiefs being Chiefs, Bills, Ravens, Eagles, all are the four best teams in football. We can argue about the order. One of those teams is not like the other with Denver and their own seven record against good AFC teams last year. But we'll see how that works out.

[B]

One more herd 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.

[A]

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[C]

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[B]

If you're an inventory specialist in a warehouse, Grainger knows you've probably faced a situation like this before. Your forklift, your facility's workhorse, is leaking hydraulic fluid and with a full schedule of shipments on the docket, this has the potential to cause a major delay of game. But you're not worried. You're prepared for this type of situation and you have an ace in the hole. Grainger Grainger offers professional grade products for every industry from hydraulic oils and hoses. So much more plus next day delivery so you can be confident that you'll have the product you need on hand to fix that forklift and get it back in the game. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. Everybody loves a good MVP story and the story of Wasabi Technologies is one of the best. Wasabi is purpose built to free businesses from skyrocketing storage costs and unpredictable egress fees from old and top heavy legacy providers. You know the big guys. Wasabi is the world's hottest cloud storage company, becoming the go to provider for professional and collegiate sports teams and leagues around the world. And here's why. From Wasabi's AI enabled intelligent media storage, Wasabi Air to the industry's only cloud storage service with triple protection against cybercriminals, data deletion and ransomware. Wasabi has taken the lead in driving innovation in data storage, eliminating overhead where it matters to deliver you results you can count on and won't break the bank. In fact, Wasabi is up to 80% less than those other guys and doesn't charge a cent for businesses to access their own data. Wasabi Another championship story. Check them out for [e-mail], wasabi Hot Cloud Storage proud partner of the Volume Podcast Network. So I said on the Mica trade is that it was remarkable to me to push back Dallas Scott because I watched Mica and CD Lamb and Dakota get housed by the packers in a playoff game and trail like 27. Nothing. I've seen it. And that was with a better coaching staff than this staff. So Green Bay needs a play wrecker and that's what he is. The cake's built. He's the icing. Dallas needs players and flexibility. Were you surprised or maybe you agree with it, the. The outrage and the negativity on Dallas getting two first rounders, having four total in the next two drafts. Oh, by the way, next year could be a exceedingly promising quarterback draft. I got it for Dallas. Did you?

[D]

So this is one that I think you nailed more than most. And I agree. Listen, I would not want to be in the business of trading Micah Parsons. I think the Cowboys made up, and I think you might agree with this, made a bunch of mistakes that led them to this place. I would have signed Micah a year ago if I was looking at it and said, hey, we cannot have CD at the top of market, Dak at top of market, and Micah at top of market. We're gonna have to move off one of those three. Micah would have been the last one that I moved off of. Like, so there are things I would have done differently. But once they got to where they were, my defense of Dallas is this. If the breaking news last week, Colin, was not that Micah's traded. It was that the Cowboys signed Micah to the exact contract Green Bay did. Everyone would be killing the Cowboys like they put themselves in a spot where no matter what, they were going to be criticized because if you. You cannot pay Micah 47, Dax 60, CD35 and say, and we're just going to be better than we've been the last few years when you haven't been good enough. So once they got to the place they were in, I understood the trade. Their hope obviously is that it is their version of the Chiefs trading away Tyree Kill, where you recognize he's a great player, but recognize you have other holes you need to fill. I don't like that they got to the place, but once they got there, two, two first round picks and in my opinion, a good player in Kenny Clark. It's not an overwhelming return, but it's fine. They just obviously have to hit on those picks. So I agree with you that once they got to this place, trading him was understandable. I don't like the process that Led them to getting to this place, you.

[B]

Know, so I'm watching Belichick and we looked it up this morning. If you take Cleveland, New England and that game last night without Brady, Belichick has averaged 19 points in his career. And I've said this. Andy Reid got to five NFC championships, Prima Holmes, Andy Reid won, got to the playoffs with Alex Smith. Andy Reid wins everywhere. I cannot be the only person that watches that game last night and think it's hard. This is not aging well. This is, this does not look good. When Tom goes to Tampa and a little bit of a pirate ship off course and wins the trophy. I do think this dings his legacy. I don't think the last several years helps at all.

[D]

Well, I agree with the last part. It certainly doesn't help. There's no argument that it helps. Now how much does it hurt I that I'm not ready to go there yet? What I will say let me defend Bill and then give you my thoughts on last night. We all, all of us that were there for the first three Super Bowls recognize those were defense led teams with an incredibly clutch but not yet great quarterback. The final Super bowl in 2018, Collin they shut down Todd Gurley, Sean McVay and a good Jared Goff to the tune of three points in the Super Bowl. Like his ability for 20 years in New England to put great defenses around Tom should not be overshadowed in how that team won as much as they did. So that part no one can ever take away from him. But the fact that we now over the last half decade in New England, his talent evaluation was questionable, his coaching staff decisions were outright bad. His inability to ever get the quarterback position right outside of Brady, which is a big yeah, but because Brady is the great greatest player in the history of the sport that that matters. And we've talked about this, the melding of his personal and professional life and the really odd decisions to keep that front and center up to and including last week with the trade attempted reported trademark of gold digger and other things. The only way that's going to be okay is if you continue being excellent. And not only were they not excellent, they were awful last night. And it also to me there was a lot of excuse making for a I'm not writing the kid off but a poor Arch Manning performance because we were like man Mike or Matt Patricia's defense. Like there's just nothing a college kid could ever have done. Well, Josh Hoover looked pretty fine last night against Bill Belichick defense. So I don't think it was all that. I think it's also the personnel and the experience. But yeah, that is Colin. I looked this morning. They're now projected to win five and a half games like they, they have. They have three non con games coming up and then a game against Stanford and NC State late. But they're going to be underdogs the majority of the rest of the way and that team doesn't look anywhere close to competing for anything significant.

[B]

Yeah, the, you know, the Arch Manning thing which you alluded to. I, I said, you know, I was driving in this morning and I was thinking about, I never want to be too harsh, but there's a difference between jitters and nerves and like not throwing more than maybe one ball all afternoon where you're like oh, that was pitch and catch. That's. It was off kilter. He felt pressure that didn't exist. He missed multiple layups. He sometimes he faded into pressure like it's a. It looked about as bad as it could be. And he's been with Sark three years and you can criticize Sark.

[D]

Well, that's the thing.

[B]

Sark can coach offense and quarterbacks. We know that.

[D]

It was it. Listen, it's not everything, but it's not nothing. And it is. You then start looking with a finer toothed comb at him versus the other guys who were, you know, early in their college career being talked about as future number one picks. I understand his rookie year didn't go. These guys, by the way, haven't yet to be proven to be great pros. But Caleb Williams, the first time he ever played college football as a true freshman, gets dropped into the Red River Shootout, down two scores and cooks and it's just unbelievable. Trevor Lawrence as a true freshman goes undefeated and beats Alabama in the national championship game. Goes 38:2 and again you can say, well what does that matter? Because those guys haven't been the pros, you know, Caleb, early and Trevor through four years that we would have hoped. The point is those guys had this type of hype about number one overall pick and immediately backed it up. My concern for Arch going into the game was multi layered. One is it's not nothing that Texas last year decided Quinn Ewers was the better option. Now Quinn's a great college player, seventh round pick, they're going for national championship. I understand that, but that's not nothing. Expecting Arch to cook against the national champion on the road in his first ever road game, that was curious. And then also the fact that he didn't go to a football Factory. He went to a small school in New Orleans and had a nice but not overwhelming high school career. And then three years in, we haven't seen him play in a big spot yet. There were just a lot of reasons for me to believe this is going to be tough on him. Now, I didn't think they'd only score seven points, but I did like Ohio State significantly in the game. And I'm not writing off off Arch Manning on anything except for this. I, I do think we can write him off on this year's Heisman Trophy. Not only because he now has a hugely high profile bad game, but also because when you watched that, does it feel like he's about to rip off 10 straight awesome games? I don't know. I know their next three. San Jose State, utep, Sam Houston, he should be great. Then it's at Florida in the Swamp and then it's the Red River Shootout. Like.

[B]

Yep.

[D]

I think that, you know, his grandfather was like, Arch is going to stay for two years. And Arch was like, I don't know about that. I think that's more on the board now than it was going into the game. And that's not an indictment, but it did feel like he was anointed without having accomplished in a way we hadn't seen recently in college football.

[B]

Totally agree. It's good to be back. You know, I do enjoy working. I take some respites, but I do enjoy working.

[D]

Listen you, Colin, you are for, for 30 years the hardest working man in the industry. And now you're the hardest working man in the industry September through May. And you know what, that's fine. There's no problem with that, bro. You have earned it. I respect it and I love it. It's good to see you again.

[B]

Ah, Nick Wright, my friend, Nick Wright. First things first, which is added an hour. So that, that is great, J. Mack. We both had good summers with our families. That's what it was about. You and I decided, let's go have some fun this summer. Oh, it was outstanding until I came back and saw you left the 49ers off the herd hierarchy. I mean, what a glaring error. It's biting my tongue. They're 1212 with the easiest schedule that the NFL has. I'm not putting in schedule yet. Let's see what trans. I think they're good. I think Seattle beats. Seattle's a two point dog at home. I love Seattle. Sixth Indiana. I think Seattle is going to beat San Francisco. They're a two point dog at home. Okay, well, you Want to have a side bet? How about this? If the Niners win that game, you have to play around of golf with me this week. I'm. I'm busy. Oh, wow, that's disrespectful. Okay, fine. I'm out there deal making you. You think the Seahawks are the 6th best team in the NFL? This is not as this is the herd hierarchy is not a schedule ranking. It is your personnel, your coach. It is your acquisitions and free agency. You lose Hufanga, Greenlaw, you literally went and got Robert Sala because you're like, we were bad defensively. You just lost two of your best defensive players. Potentially interesting. So Seattle lost their quarterback. Metcalf and Lockett. No. Upgraded at quarterback coordinator and hit on another two or three draft picks. I can't believe Seattle's a home dog in a division rivalry game. Make the Market is telling you that the Niners are way better and the Seahawks are overvalued. Make a side bet with me. It doesn't have to be golf. Doesn't have to be something to chew up your valuable time. Listen, you better hang out with me at least one night this week. Come on. I'll try to make time on Thursday. Oh, for the game. We'll watch a game together. All right. There you go. You'll buy me food and drinks. Yeah, I like that. What's new? American Public University is the number one provider of education to our military and veterans in this country. They offer something truly unique. Special rates and grants for the entire family, making education affordable not just for those who serve, but also for their loved ones. If you have a military or veteran family member and are looking for affordable, high quality education, APU is the place for you. Visit APU Apus Edu to learn more. That's APU Apus Edu Military. Imagine never buying gas again. EVs are as easy to charge as your phone and perfect for everyday life. Drive daily with confidence everywhere you go. Most Americans drive 40 miles a day. Most EVs are equipped with 200 to 400 miles of range. They've got fewer parts, fewer repairs, and fewer headaches. With hundreds of new and used EV models available today, there's an EV to fit every lifestyle and every budget. I love my electric vehicle. It's easy. No more gas stations. The way forward is electric. Learn more@electric for all.org. get almost anything you need delivered with UberEats. What do you mean by almost? Well, you can't get a well groomed lawn delivered, but you can get chicken parm delivered. A little escape? No. Delicious bowl of grapes? Yeah. An afternoon stroll? Sorry, no. A burrito bowl? Happily, yes. How about the clear skies? Can't deliver that, but French fries? Yeah. Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. C App for details this Labor Day.

[A]

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[B]

This is an I Heart podcast.