Fox Sports Radio Announcer (2:45)

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Colin Cowherd (2:49)

Oh, welcome in it to Tuesday football is back. We are Back and are set. Listen, I don't talk about sets much, 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, if the host gets older, you know, you need help. I need support.

Nick Wright (3:21)

My back's hurting from carrying the show the last 10 days.

Colin Cowherd (3:24)

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 gotta watch the first couple of weekends. So here we go.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (3:48)

Herd hierarchy time is now.

Colin Cowherd (3:50)

Let's go.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (3:51)

The top 10 NFL teams according to college. Number 10.

Colin Cowherd (3:56)

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 met 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 commanders scored on 50% of their drives. I'm going to go with that's not going to happen again. The Debo 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 at coordinator and quarterback. They will be more run specific. Gray Zabel 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 and oh and one 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 of 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.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (7:51)

Number four, Denver.

Colin Cowherd (7:53)

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 and one score games. They also went out and got real players. Hufunga at safety, green bot lineback, 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.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (8:33)

Number three.

Colin Cowherd (8:35)

You know, Lamar Jackson, seven years, won 78 games and every game they lose is either against a 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.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (9:01)

Number two.

Colin Cowherd (9:04)

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 Chargers didn't want to play for two rush ends, so 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.

Ben Maller (10:17)

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 Mather 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 Mather on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (10:47)

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific.

Radio Host (10:52)

Make your game day legendary with MGM Rewards. From unforgettable tailgate and viewing parties to world class dining, thrilling nightlife and entertainment that keeps energy going long after the final whistle, this is where fans come to celebrate, show off your team spirit, cheer with friends and earn rewards on every experience you love. Because every play is bigger and every moment feels unforgettable in Las Vegas. So what are you waiting for? Make your game day legendary with MGM Rewards. Visit mgmrewards.com for details. I'm going to assume that everybody messages their friends and I'm also going to assume that people run into issues when messaging, especially during group chats. It's really important any of my digital messaging is clear. No mistakes. It's also important when I send messages, they send quickly and I get responses quickly. WhatsApp can help with all of that. First, you can message privately with everybody in a group even if you're using totally different phones. Sent a message too fast and instantly regretted it. No problem, just edit it and when the chat goes a little too intense, you can switch to a group video call and actually talk it out. Photos and videos come through clear and messages get delivered without gaps or delays. Plus, WhatsApp has many great features like polls and pinned messages and even events invites with RSVPs.

Colin Cowherd (12:13)

Cool.

Radio Host (12:13)

So planning stuff doesn't turn into a mess. It just makes a lot of sense. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone.

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Jonas Knox (13:22)

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Colin Cowherd (14:28)

Your local showroom okay, we start. Here's my predictions for this year. We start in the afc, an easier conference to predict because the top quarterbacks are so good. In the AFC East I'm going Josh Allen and the Bills Patriots most improved team get in as a wild card team. Maybe not good enough to win a playoff game, but coach and roster's much better. Dolphins third. I'm going with that just because of Tua and an offensive coach. I think the jets roster is good. I don't know what Aaron Glenn is. They just lost their best or second best offensive lineman. I'm staying put with that one. AFC north again, I think it's fairly predictable. Ravens arguably best operation in the sport with Lamar. I'll go with the quarterback and Joe Burrow next. Although like J Mac, I worry about how they start in their offensive line. Aaron and the Steelers will be around.500 or a game above or below and the Browns are in a rebuild. I love their coach and gm. I like Joe Flacco, Miles Garrett's amazing but they're fourth AFC South. I'm just going to go with what I know. D' amico. Ryan's hell of a coach and I like C.J. stroud. Rebuilding the O line worries me. C.J. stroud's a gamer. Stepped back a little last year, but it wasn't his fault he couldn't keep wide receivers healthy. Jaguar second I'm like J. Mac. I like him, but I never Love him. Titans 3rd Colts don't know what quarterback they're going to use. That's scary. They're fourth. Well, they do know what quarterback and it's not a great one. AFC West I think it's very difficult. I think you have four really good teams. I think the Broncos have the best roster. Kansas City, Reading Mahomes once again, I don't know a rookie left tackle Joe Tooney's gone. Worries me. Also wide receiving core no Rasheed Rice, Travis Kelsey getting old. I think the Broncos will look very clearly early in the season like a Super bowl contender. Chargers losing Rashawn Slater, the left tackle, worries me greatly. Joe Alt moves over, but now they've got a right tackle issue and the Raiders will be the best, best 4th place team in the division. So Bills, Ravens, Texans, Broncos are the division winners. Patriots, Bengals, Chiefs are wild card teams. New England Bengals are both new playoff teams. NFC again I think it's pretty static. Eagles, Commanders, Giants, Cowboys I actually have said this. If they, if the Giants get B to B plus quarterback play, they're going to shock some people. They're going to, they're going to go toe to toe with Washington. But I don't know if Jackson Dart's ready if Russell Wilson falters. But I do like the Giants roster. I love Abdul Carter and their defensive front. It's nothing but dogs up front. I think in the NFC north again, I'm just going to kind of roll with the quietest offseason. The Green Bay Packers. Young still, but I like their first pick, another wide receiver for Jordan. Love Lions have two new coordinators, but I love almost everything else about the organization. Bears, Vikings all know a lot more after Monday night. 3rd and 4th respectively. NFC south is not a very good division. The Saints will stink. I'm not sure the Bucks are as good as a lot of the NFL execs and betters think, but I trust Baker. I trust the gm, I trust the roster. Atlanta is weird. I've spent more money on the Falcons losing bets. I don't know what Atlanta is. I'll just wait till Thanksgiving. Panthers are better than people think. I'll put them third. Saints 4th NFC West here's my big change. Rams. I'm going to have them winning the division again. Bottom line is they won the division last year. Despite starting 1 and 4, they still won their division. No team played more rookies last year and their defense the last month of the season was second best. With all those rookies it was second best scoring defense in the NFL last month. It'll be better. It's had a great camp. Seattle, the reason I moved them from first to second, they have the cheapest offense in the NFL. They don't have a number one receiver. Gray Zabel is a potential impact offensive lineman, but their own line last year stunk. So I don't think they have the firepower again. I think Seahawks could win nine games, I think the Niners could win nine and Seahawks win the tiebreaker. I don't think there's a big gap in this division between the Rams, Seahawks, Niners and Cardinals. I don't. If The Cardinals won eight and the Rams won 10, that could be the difference. I only have one new team making the playoffs in the NFC. It's the Seahawks. I only have three new playoff teams. The NFL average is closer to five, but I have argued that number's been going down in recent years. Why? Because it's becoming a more quarterback dependent league and if you've got a great quarterback or a very good one, you are more predictably a playoff team. So it used to be there were six new playoff teams, then five new playoff teams. It's getting down to four and I think this year it's three. So as the quarterback becomes more important and offensive coaches have a better relationship with that quarterback, the league is getting at least not on a week to week basis, but on a macro level level, a little easier to predict.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (19:39)

One more herd the herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Radio Host (19:49)

Make your game day legendary with MGM Rewards. From unforgettable tailgate and viewing parties to world class dining, thrilling nightlife and entertainment that keeps energy going long after the final whistle. This is where fans come to celebrate. Show off your team spirit, cheer with friends and earn rewards on every experience you love. Because every play is bigger and every moment feels unforgettable in Las Vegas. So what are you waiting for? Make your game day legendary with MGM Rewards. Visit mgmrewards.com for details. I'm going to assume that everybody messages their friends and I'm also going to assume that people run into issues when messaging, especially during group chats. It's really important any of my digital messaging is clear. No mistakes. It's also important when I send messages, they send quickly and I get responses quickly. WhatsApp can help with all of that. First, you can message privately with everybody in a group even if you're using totally different phones. Sent a message too fast and instantly regretted it. No problem, just edit it and when the chat goes a little too intense, you can switch to a group video call and actually talk it out. Photos and videos come through clear and messages get delivered without gaps or delays. Plus WhatsApp has many great features like polls and pinned messages and even event invites with RSVP is cool so planning stuff doesn't turn into a mess, it just makes a lot of sense. It's time for WhatsApp message privately with everyone.

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Jonas Knox (22:19)

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Colin Cowherd (23:27)

You know, a lot of people would not do a blazing five to start the year because, well, I'm terrible in week one, but it's too much fun. Let's have, let's have a good five minutes here with my picks. I feel good as I always do. I felt good every week last year. That didn't mean anything. And here we go with our opening blazing five. That's a hot one.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (23:48)

Let's blaze it up.

Ben Maller (23:49)

Fire it up.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (23:50)

It's Collins blazing five.

Colin Cowherd (23:52)

Giants at Commanders I like the Giants plus six and a half. At least one underdog of six plus points is one outright in week one. I think the Giants could be the play. They played nine one score games last year and both games against the Commanders were close. Brian Burns, Dexter Lawrence, Abdul Carter. This is a top two or three defensive line and I mean let's, let's be honest, it's week one. We saw what D lines can do last night. Malik Neighbors matchup problem Even with Dan Quinn back end of the defense last year for Washington was a bit of a mess. The Commanders great year but they played 12 one score games and their defense again was bad with a defensive coach. So I think The Debo Terry McLaurin thing is fascinating but I think it won't be perfect until later in the season. This is a go either way game. I'll take Washington to win but six and a half I'm taking it with the Giants 2723. Commanders close. Steelers and Jets I like the jets plus a field goal. This is the lowest over and under. I'm going to take the home dog plus the three points. They held fourth quarter leads in six of their 12 losses. Last year the jets were in games and that's with an old quarterback that couldn't extend plays. Now they have a young quarterback that can. The Steelers had a lot of turnover. Left tackle gone, quarterback gone. Best receiver gone, best running back gone. With a defensive culture, you think they're going to look good in week one? I. I mean I my takeaway is is the wrong team getting points here. I think the jets roster is good and I've got a young quarterback who played in Pittsburgh and knows their personnel and by the way Aaron Rodgers with all these new parts, week one, last three times week one he started, he's lost all of them and has not played well and he's not the most committed guy in the off season. I like the jets here to win straight out 2420 minutes money line, baby.

Fox Sports Radio Announcer (25:55)

49Ers at Seahawks.

Colin Cowherd (25:57)

I like the Seahawks. Do you know since Lumen Field opened up in 2002, Seattle's got the best home winning percentage nine and one record at home week one and by the way, six of their final eight games last year after the buy they won. They needed a buy for this new coaching staff and they've upgraded it. Coordinator. They're going to run the ball. They're going to speed the game up. Gray Zabel, the draft pick, watch them run the ball. Sam Darnold's an athletic, upgraded quarterback. And the Niners, McCaffrey's banged up. Brandon Aiuk's out. Greenlaw's gone. Hunga's gone. By the way, Niners were not great against their division last year. They were one in five in division and two and six on the road last year they were not a great road team or a division team. And their red zone defense, that's why they brought salt in was a bit of a mess. It was 31st. I like the Seahawks and the points to win straight out 2423 Lions at Packers I really like Green Bay better the weekend. Young team entering their prime added Micah Parsons I like Green Bay here only team in the league top five offense and total defense. And by the way we think to ourselves, you know Jordan Love wasn't great last year. I went and looked it up this morning morning. Final seven games last year, nine touchdowns, no picks. He's fine. Lions lost both coordinators. If they do replace them deftly, it'll probably be later in the season. And Dan Campbell's not been a good underdog coach. 12 and 211 as an underdog head coach. When they got better players they win. When they're at home with with better players they win on the road. Do they have better players than Green Bay on?

Radio Host (27:38)

Not sure.

Colin Cowherd (27:38)

Jared Goff without McVeigh and Ben Johnson never been quite as good. I like Green bay to win outright 28 to 24 Texans and Rams take the under 43 and a half 19th ranked scoring offense. Texans against the 20th scoring offense. Here's the truth about the Rams last year didn't have a great point differential even with Stafford. Both teams come into the season with all go line issues. Stafford's back's an issue, left tackle Alaric Jackson, blood clots, didn't practice a ton and the Texans beat up on their division. They were 5:1 against the AFC South. They weren't great out of their division. They've got a first time play collar offensive coordinator and a lot of new faces on the offensive line and I am here to tell you the Rams defensive front is filthy and getting better. I think it is a very low scoring game at the over unders 43 and a half. It feels like 2017 or 2117 Rams to me. Probably at home. I give them the edge but I'm taking the under here. Take the under 43 and a half. J. Mack Any thoughts on that?

Nick Wright (28:49)

Love love love the jets pick. That's my favorite of your five outside of the packers which I also have. But that 49ers one. You didn't really mention the Christian McCaffrey missed practice yesterday then the 49ers did not make him available to the media. I have him in multiple fantasy leagues and I'm sweating.

Colin Cowherd (29:09)

Oh I feel so terrible for you.

Nick Wright (29:13)

Thanks friend.

Colin Cowherd (29:14)

You need to go into every weekend with a little humility.

Nick Wright (29:17)

How about Brock Purdy taking over that game and winning on the road beating your guy?

Colin Cowherd (29:21)

He would deserve credit.

Nick Wright (29:22)

That's a tough no IUK and if.

Colin Cowherd (29:24)

McCaffrey doesn't told me a week ago I said where did you hate going when you were the gm? Arizona? He goes. Seattle. He goes. That is a rough place to play. He goes. That crowd lubricates. They're ready to roll. A wingman flies close with unwavering dedication at Folds of Honor. A wingman stands with families of Americans, fallen or disabled heroes. The burial flag given to their grieving family is folded 13 times. As a Wingman, your $13 monthly donation provides scholarships to their spouses and children. 13 folds $13 Become a Wingman. Join today at foldsofhonor.org make your game.

Radio Host (30:03)

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Colin Cowherd (31:54)

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