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Get almost almost anything delivered with Uber Eats. Order now. Alcohol in select markets. Product availability may vary by region. See app for details. This is Jonas Knox from two Pros and a Cup of Joe and Builders. Trust Ferguson Home to bring innovation and efficiency to every project with top products, expert support and tools that allow you to browse, organize, order and work with clients. Ferguson Home has custom solutions for every pro. Discover an unparalleled selection of products from the best brands to help you create spaces that stand out. Find your local Ferguson Home showroom or visit FergusonHome.com to explore the best selection of kitchen, bath and lighting products and get personalized expert support every step of the way. Bring your vision to Ferguson Home where it all comes together. Shop top brands like Kohler or find your local showroom@fergusonhome.com thanks for listening to the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio at noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
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Now let's get this party started.
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You're listening to Fox Sports radio, our number two here on the herd. It's me, Jason McIntyre, joined by Rachel Nichols. We are in for cowherd. Oh, boy. My plug in was not really working there, but now we're fine. Rachel, I'm about to unveil my super bowl tears. It's gonna make a certain fan base very upset. I'm not gonna lie.
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I've seen these tears.
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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 la. And I was like, oh, Rachel, nice. And then today when I unveiled my tears, she was really caught off guard. So listen, Bruce.
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Taylor Swift red, by the way.
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Oh, pointing it out. Apologies. Yes. So Bruce Feldman, my guy, he's coming up in five minutes talking about. Yeah, college football, Notre Dame, Miami. We need to talk a little more about that. Anyways, let me do my super bowl tiers. 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, Faux 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 the move bringing back Robert Saleh. 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 list. 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 for real 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. 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 gonna put the Bengals here because Burrow's not gonna stop chucking and ducking. He is just gonna 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. Here we go. For now, the Kansas City Chiefs are a Super bowl cont. 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, I'm 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 and 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 the 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 going to 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 him 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 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 tiers. So listen, there's some news breaking. I don't know, is this, are we sure about this? Come on, guys, I, 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.
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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 defend Arch. That's huge. You got a, you know, two other top 10 matchups later that weekend. I mean, it's.
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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 offseason to prepare for architecture. He's also got maybe the best defensive player in the country. And downs, I, I think they kind of bottle up the Texas offense here. Bruce, what's your read on that one?
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It's going to be interesting to see what kind of answers 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 sunny 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's still there. He has 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.
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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?
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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. 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 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 Sarkeesen is 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.
A
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?
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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 pastor, 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 hole. But ask as 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.
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All right, I got to ask, Bruce. You're like the coaches positive on Carson Beck. Have you ever got preseason and negative stuff from coaches on a quarterback?
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I mean, yeah, definitely. It's. 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. You kind of balance all the information you get.
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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.
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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.
A
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 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. Klub, Nick and Nussmeier. Where are you on these two heading into this season?
E
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 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 are my national.
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Oh God.
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As soon as you said it, my eyes kind of rolled back.
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Well, I'm not gonna lie, like I've been down on dabo for dabo for a couple 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 Nutsmeyer in the opener. I think he could be under some pressure. So you have Clemson as number one in your college football playoff seating.
E
So 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 Wesco is a big time guy. They have three guys there who are really big, athletic playmakers. I like how Clubnik 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. I 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 Nussmeyer. 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.
A
Yeah, huh. If anybody watching, he has his predictions on the screen for the playoff seven is Iowa State. Now, was that before or after their win over Kansas?
E
That was before.
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Really?
E
That was before?
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Yeah.
E
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, and talking to some of the players inside the program. You know, he's got Rocco Beck, 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 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 Rocco Beck 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 of 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.
A
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?
E
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 who are going to 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 in 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.
A
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?
E
Yeah, he's going to be the guy. I mean, he's 6, 6 4, 2 30, 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 Sane at Ohio State has from the receiver room. You know, the all 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 Khalil 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.
A
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.
E
Thanks, Jason.
A
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. Do you want me to do the alarm? It's happening. It's happening. So I got 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? Yeah. But, you know, real Swifties knew the truth. They knew. Yes. By the way, you and your family, did you guys see Taylor Swift out here at SoFi? Of course we did. I got two teenage daughters. Come on. This is like target demo central. 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. I would say this for all the guys out there listening to this news, this is a reminder to shoot your shot, okay?
D
Because Travis Kelce wanted to meet Taylor Swift. He thought she was pretty obviously one.
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Of the smart, most successful women in.
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The world and went to the stadium.
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During her concert to try to meet her. Didn't work out. So instead, he went on his own.
D
Podcast and put out the call and.
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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. Yeah. Shoot your shot. It's never too long a shot, so. By the way, Rachel, our staff is now saying that you are wearing Taylor Swift red, which you announced in the first hour. I did. And then they got engaged in the second hour. Are you. Do you know something? Do you want to tell us anything? Nothing we're going to talk about on tv. 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 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.
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Hey, it's Steve Covino, and I'm Rich Davis, and together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio.
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You can catch up weekdays from 5.
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To 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific.
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On Fox Sports Radio. And, of course, the iHeartRadio app.
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Why should you listen to Covino and Rich?
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We talk about everything.
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Life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world.
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We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture. Stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss.
C
And the fact that we've been friends.
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For the last 20 years and still work together, I mean, that says something, right?
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So check us out.
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We like to get you involved, to.
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Take your phone calls.
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Chop it up as they say.
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Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive.
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Be sure to check out Covino and Rich Live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm.
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Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the.
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Live show, just search Covino and Rich.
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Wherever you get your podcast.
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And of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich. 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 Military to learn more. That's Apu Apus Edu Military this Labor.
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Okay.
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A
We're back. Our number two here on the herd. It's me, Jason McIntyre, in for Colin Cowherd, joined by Rachel Nichols. We have Albert Rear coming up. Albert Rear, just a fountain of information. The guy's amazing. And listen, I know it's football season for college and NFL, but you know, I love me some NBA. And Rachel loves the NBA too. We have a fun, spicy NBA topic for later in the hours. Just a few minutes. NFL fans, don't worry. And given how people seem to feel about this guy Rachel, I think they're gonna like our our take on. Yeah, a little conversation going on about that. Yes, yes, yes, it'll be fun. But that's later in the hour. Then Greg Jennings, my guy, Greg Jennings, bodybuilder slash former NFL wide receiver. He's going to be in the final hour. Greg Jennings is like Arnold. Honestly, he is so jacked right now. The guy's a machine. All right, so earlier this week we did my Super bowl tears. And the 49ers in the top tier really ticked everyone off. Understandable. Chiefs were in tier three. So I was like, why don't we do it for college football? Sure. Staff is like, yeah, on board. Got it. Here we go. College football national championship Tears. Let's start with the group we're calling the head of the class. By the way, Head of the class. Shout out to my brother. We would watch that show in the 90s all the time. It was Robin Givens. Yes, Robin Given. Thank you, Rachel. All right, Head of the class. Top college football contenders. Should be no surprise that Clemson is up there. If you listen to Bruce Feldman when he was on this week, they're stacked. They have one of the best, best defensive lines in the country. They have 16 starters back. Clemson's in there. Ohio State, defending champs have the best player in the country. Jeremiah Smith, Caleb Downs, an elite defender. Penn State ratoons Drew Aller and eventually James Franklin's gonna win a big game. Am I right? Is that gonna happen? Now Alabama surprised some people. Someone in the morning meeting was I Alabama, Jay? You sure? Folks, Alabama, from the number folks, five star quarterback Ty Simpson has been waiting on the bench for a few years to take over for Jalen Milroe. Does that not sound like Arts Manning or what? This is a really good team and I'm, I'm a buyer. And Kaylin DeBoer. I didn't know that Belichick. Rachel had that earlier. Belichick was going to Washington before he got to unc. Guess who was at Washington. Caleb. Smart as hell. I like Alabama to make the playoff and contend for the Natty. All right. Alright, let's go to the next group called the honor roll. Something I was on I think in seventh grade and not much more after that. The honor roll. Obviously Georgia Bulldogs are going to be there. However, they are replacing 15 starters. So I do think there's a pullback. I know they don't replace, they reload. Don't worry. With five stars, they're in the mix. I don't, I don't see them winning it, but they'll be in the mix. Notre Dame I like a lot. There's a buy on Marcus Freeman. I think he's an elite coach and I think the NFL comes calling very, very soon. I love their ground game. Quarterback is a question, but my guy, I have a couple of Notre Dame insiders who are very plugged in. They like the quarterback a lot. Oregon Ducks is a bit of a mystery. This is again as a buy on a coach Dan Lanning, he's going to have them competitive. I gotta be honest, I haven't heard a damn thing about Oregon since Ohio State smoked them 74. 0 or whatever it is. Then that Rose bowl, do you remember that game? That was unbelievable what Ohio State did to them. But Oregon, Dan Landing, they'll be fine. And then the Texas Longhorns hook em, Arch Manning and company. I think they lose this weekend and then go on a bit of a heater against bad teams. So Texas is in the mix on the honor roll. And finally we have wait listed. I was waitlisted at one university when I applied. I got into eight. I was a waitlist listed at the other. And the wait list here is LSU with Nussmeier at quarterback. We'll see what they're made of in the opener against Clemson, the U. The team of my youth. Yes, I owned a Miami starter jacket. I'm not gonna lie. It was so fire when I was in seventh grade. But I like the U. I just don't love Carson Beck a lot, like the coaching staff. And I think Notre Dame gets him this weekend. My Guy Sellers, the quarterback at South Carolina, I think they're going to be spicy. He's the guy I would watch coming out of nowhere to like go number one. Maybe he carries the Gamecocks to the playoff. And finally, Mike dark horse, that Texas Tech Red Raiders. I was in Vegas last week. I bet some teams in college football. Texas Tech to make the playoff was one of my long shot bets. I love what they did in the portal. There's your college football tears from your boy. All right, let's bring in our guest, Albert Breer, Mr. Monday Morning Quarterback. As is always obligatory, I have to ask him about Ohio State right out of the gate. Brear, are you disappointed I didn't have the Buckeyes winning it all already?
F
Who'd you have? So I was looking at my phone.
A
Oh, you weren't even paying attention.
F
I should have been paying attention. That's on me.
A
No, no, no. I had Ohio State.
F
I'm in the top. Yeah, though I was paying attention for that.
A
Thank you. Okay, so I think they're gonna be very good, but I do think Penny State probably gets them this year. Clemson's loaded and Alabama is a team I bet to win.
F
The Natty or you bet Alabama?
A
Yeah.
F
All right, we'll see. We'll see. Like I like, I think Ohio State's one of those teams where I think we'll be a lot better in November than we are in September. It's I mean, 14 guys drafted more than that made NFL rosters. It's a lot to replace. There's a question, of course, at quarterback. I think the game on Saturday is going to be a rock fight. I think both teams have excellent, excellent defenses that, from what I've heard, are way ahead of the offenses right now. But, yeah, I mean, like, the way that things set up now where, you know, you can have some bumps early and still survive to make the playoff, I think they'll be in good shape going into December.
A
Now, there's a rumor on a message board that you will be at the game this weekend. And I also saw you'll probably be in the locker room maybe doing the coin toss or something like that, because you're.
F
I won't be in the locker room, but I. I will be in the stadium. I do have access for that. I guess that's a big issue this week, right? Like, I'll be okay. I'll be in the stadium, so. Yeah, yeah, no, it's. I'm excited to get out there, man. It'll be my two sons first game there, too, which is going to be pretty cool.
A
Yeah. All right. Final college football. Got to ask about Arch Manning. I keep asking every guest this week, do we know if he's good? I mean. Yeah. Enough with the UTSA highlights, okay? Can we wait to see him? Live bullets against a good team with a smart defense.
F
Yeah, you know, it's interesting, actually, J. Mac, I asked around about him, you know, going back to, you know, like, May, when you started to see him popping up as the number one overall pick in mock drafts. And, you know, with all due respect to him, I can't remember that ever happening before, where you had a guy who has two college stars being projected in the next year's draft, that level. So, you know, I. The guys were on the ground who do the school calls and have been in Austin, you know, would all say, like, the physical tools are there. He's a great kid. You know, he's been raised right, so there are a lot of, like, great pieces to put together there. But, I mean, I think the leap that everybody's making here is they assume that he's got all the stuff that Peyton and Eli had, and so they're making that leap where they say he's Peyton and Eli, plus athleticism. And I don't know, that's really respectful to how difficult it is to. To see the game, to think the game the way that Peyton and Eli did. And that doesn't mean that Arch won't get there. But there's a process in getting there. You know, part of it is playing against better competition, which will happen on Saturday for him. Part of it is, you know, when teams get six, seven, eight games of game tape on you, you know, figuring out what you do well, what you don't do well, and now they're able to game plan more specifically, can you counter punch? You know, there's still a lot that we have left to find out about Arch Manning, and I, I think he'd agree with this. Like, I. As far as. I've never talked to him before, but as far as what I know about the kid, I think he'd agree that there's still a lot left unknown about what he's going to be as a quarterback. And unfortunately, you know, the way all this stuff works today, we're never going to give a kid like that the opportunity to. To just let that happen naturally. But you kind of wish that it could.
A
Yeah, no shot of that. All right, let's shift our focus to the NFL. Listen, I don't love talking about the Cowboys. They stink. Right. They're the longest drought in a conference championship game in the NFC by a mile. And now you got Micah Parson showing up at the airport. I'm going to get a second opinion on my back. His brother is tweeting out, this is going 12 rounds. I mean, at what point does this turn from circus to kind of like some Shakespearean act where it's really just sad and depressing?
F
Yeah, I mean, I would say that, like, a lot of this is kind of, you know, what Jerry's invited over the last few years. The way he's handled a lot of these contract negotiations. The pacing of it actually isn't much different than the negotiation with Zach Martin two years ago with the negotiation with CD Lamb and Dak Prescott last year, where, you know, offers were made very early in the off season. And then there was, you know, basically radio silence. Team goes to California for camp, there's not much movement, and then at the very end, there's a push to get a deal done. Now we'll see what happens and what results from that final push to get the deal done, you know, but I'd say there are, you know, a couple of key differences between this one and those. You know, one certainly is, you know, the. The public rancor that's sort of taken place over the course of the last three or four months. A lot of this stuff has gotten out there and become kind of nasty in the public forum, whether it's between, you know, Jerry and the agent, David Mulagueda, whether it's between Micah and the team itself. Obviously, there's the stuff at the stadium, that last preseason game with the nachos and lying on the training table. So this one's gotten more public, publicly nasty than those before it. The other difference is just kind of how these guys are seen in the locker room, you know, And I would know Dak and CD and Zach Martin were all beloved figures in the locker room. And I don't know that it's quite that way with Micah now. It doesn't have to be. He's a great player, you know, he's a motivated player, you know, and I think that if you pay him, he's going to be worth every penny. But that does add a different twist to the tenor negotiations. And so I could see them getting a deal done in the next week. I could also see this, you know, turning into something that drags into the season where, you know, all of a sudden, Micah Parsons back is acting up, or his. His. His ankle is acting up, and you just kind of have this, like, weird sideways sort of season from one of your very best players, which, of course, can put the rest of the team in a tough spot, too.
A
Yeah. At what point? I mean, Micah probably has a little more ammo to empty the clip. I mean, he could simply go on his own podcast and go off and shift the attention from Jerry. He could control the narrative. Jerry can meet the media as much as he wants. I mean, I know he's a billionaire and he's the owner. I think Micah has the leverage here. Let me get on the screen, Albert. We looked at the 2021 draft, all the best players in the first round, and Jamar Chase signed Devonta Smith extension. All these guys got their deals early. Hell, the Devontesmith deal was done 17 months ago. Okay? There's one guy on the list who doesn't have a deal. Doesn't this even further ammo? Like, Jerry doesn't know what the hell he's doing.
F
But again, like, this is sort of the way that they've handled it. Like, and I. I think that's part of it, is he does know what he's doing. You know what I mean? Like, and I think there's a piece of it, like, for a lot of these owners, it's keeping the money in your own pocket for as long as you can. And that could be an element here. It's control over workforce, which is something Jerry's talked about in the public forum and, and in the private forum, too, of the, of the ownership meetings.
A
Wait, wait, hold on.
F
Sort of one of the leaders of the pack when it comes to that stuff and, and, and making sure that everybody knows who's in charge. Oh, you know, and then I think there's also the, the entertainment aspect to it, you know, and I, I, I. A couple years ago, I would have told you you were crazy for saying these things. And I thought people were kind of off base when they did say it. But the more it's happened this way and the less aggressive that they've gotten about doing deals in the months of June and July, the more I thought, like, maybe there is, you know, a, a side benefit that he sees in this whole thing, that they're going to be in the A block. And a lot of, you know, a lot of shows like this one, you know, like that they're going to be the most important thing over the summer. I mean, will we really be talking about the Cowboys right now if it weren't for this? No, J. Mac.
A
No.
F
I mean, it's sort of. I don't know. I mean that maybe because the coaching change, but they didn't. I mean, all due respect to Brian Schottenheimer, this wasn't like a headline grabbing h. You know, Dax coming back for another year. I just, I don't know that there's anything that will capture the imagination of the public that's going on there right now. And so if you want to be a real conspiracy theory theorist about this, you could look at it and say, Jerry's going to get a deal done his way early, or you're going to have to wait until late. And the headlines may be part of the benefit for Jerry when it comes to all that.
A
Okay, so, Albert, you're a smart guy. You've been in radio, tv, writing. You cover the league forever. Do you want to win headlines and be in the A block in July and August, or do you want to be in playoff games that matter in January and get into the game in February?
F
Like, well, you know what my answer is.
A
Exactly. And that's the only reason I'm putting back now. You said an interesting phrase. I almost didn't like it where you said control over players. So are there any, are any other owners speaking in that tone? Like that vibe, hey, we got to let them know who's in charge. Or is that just.
F
I don't think that. I mean, like, most of them think that.
A
I get that.
F
If you want to the truth of it, most of them think that way. I mean, that's why there are so many rules in the CBA that pertain to this sort of stuff, you know, like whether it's franchise tags, it's strengthening the rules over holding out. I mean, guys have to pay 50,000 a day for, for, for, for, for days they miss in training camp, you know, and that's why players have had to get more creative in doing things like Holden. So, like, if you don't think your owner has, has, has that in the back of his head and how he can maintain control over his workforce, like you are either, you know, rooting for one of the teams, the rare guy like that, or you have your head in the clouds about the way these guys operate. It's just reality of it, you know what I mean? Like, so I think Jerry's a little bit more forceful about it, and Jerry's probably one of the more vocal guys inside the meeting room. But it exists everywhere and it's all over the cbs. You know, there's so many different things in the CBA that the point to it, even the length of it, you know what I mean? Like doing a 10 year deal where you have the opt out, it's like, what is that? That's control over workforce. So I mean, I know that's sort of a corporate term for it, but it's exactly what it is.
A
Yeah. When I mean, Jerry can go to the table and say, we have you for the next three years. You can't do anything. Come play. And honestly, I'm at the point, Bre, you know, I'm not, I'm not rich or wealthy. If I were a rich guy and I sided with Micah Parson, I'd say, hey, Micah, I got you. I'll float some of your lifestyle. I don't want you going and playing. Get your contract. You deserve it, you've earned it. Just like everybody else in your draft class. Go screw listening to him. I mean, again, maybe that's a little aggressive on my part, but I mean.
F
But that's the thing is like, so what Jerry's told him is like, we have you for the next three years. Well, why do they have him for the next three years? Because for the next three years, because they have the last year of his contract. Franchise tag one, franchise tag two. And so those are mechanisms of control, you know, And I mean, there are teams that are more aggressive, so they don't have to use those mechanisms of control because they don't want it to come to that. Point with their players. You know, in a lot of cases, you have a good relationship with your player and you just don't want it to come to that. You may believe that you should have control over your workforce, but, you know, the Eagles are a great example of it. Like where you mentioned devonte Smith, like, they never. This things never like, came even close to coming to a head with him because you did him so early. You know, A.J. brown, they revised his contract. They gave him, you know, a big bump when. When he had outplayed the contract he initially signed. So there are definitely ways to avoid it. There are definitely teams that don't want to exert it.
E
It.
F
Jerry's just never been afraid to exert these sorts of mechanisms. And again, like, that whole thing, like, I have you for the next three years, even though you're only under contract for the next year, is, of course, you know, a pretty clear way of. Of. Of explaining to your player, like, even after your contract expires, I still have you.
A
Yeah.
F
Because of the rules that we put in place.
A
I don't like that. I mean, maybe the WNBA players should talk to the NFL guys and be like, hey, hey. Oh, you guys, this is the playbook. This is what we're going to. The other thing, looking at that, Ran Slater got a new contract July 27. Two weeks later, torn Patella out for the year. He doesn't have to worry about anything, Albert. He got. He got his money, right? Don't rush back. We're good. You got your contract. We're happy. Like, I'm.
F
I mean, Caleb McGarry is another one that's not as high profile, but he got hurt in Atlanta, I think, a few days after his contract. There are tons of examples of it, for sure. And that's, That's. That's part of the leverage that owners have, is fear that something like this is going to happen.
A
Yeah. So if I'm. Micah, hey, man, I just saw what happened to McGarry, what happened to Slater. I'm sorry, I don't want to go out there. My back is hurt. I mean, honestly, you have to. If you're Dak Prescott, and you probably know him as well as anybody who covers teams, at some point, he has to think, hey, man, I got paid. I don't care. We're not winning the Super Bowl. We're not sniffing it. I mean, I think the Eagles have a better chance to repeat than Dallas does, even getting to the playoff playoffs. And I think Dak is probably fine with that. Hey, I'm Wealthy. I've got generational wealth. I got my girl, I got my kid. I'm fine. I don't care. At some point, you just have to not care, because if the owner doesn't seem to care, why should the quarterback? I'm just going to go play and make money and that's it.
F
Yeah, I mean, I see what you're saying. I mean, but there's also, like, you only have so many years to. To. To.
A
To.
F
To. To maximize your time in the field. You know, how you're going to be remembered and all of that different stuff. And I think, you know, Dax, not really wired that way, where it's. Where it's like, okay, like, well, like, my owner is as all in as I am, so I'm not going to put as much into it. Like, I just. I have a hard time envisioning ever, ever seeing anything that. Anything like that happening with that particular guy. Like, Dak Prescott's not that way. But I would agree that, like, it doesn't always send the best message to your locker room when you're doing these sorts of things. You know, I mean, I think in a lot of ways, these contract negotiations send messages to the locker room. And I think, you know, for example, like Terry McLaurin in Washington. I think one of the tricky things about that one is, and was over the course of the last few months was like, I mean, if you're. If you're in a negotiation with somebody who isn't all that well liked or well respected in the locker room and there's a dispute, well, I think guys kind of, you know, just look the other way on it. But if it's a guy like a McLaurin, like, there are going to be guys in the locker room that are going to look at it and say, like, you messed with that guy. And now that they've paid him, they can point and say, you know what? We took care of him.
E
Like it was.
F
It got a little messy, but in the end we were able to find a solution, and he's happy and we're happy, and that's the kind of guy that we pay. So, you know, I think more often than. More often than people realize, players keep score by contract, players keep score by money. And so, you know, they're paying attention to the way that you handle these sorts of negotiations, because they know if one of the biggest stars in the team can be treated a certain way, well, then they're certainly not going to.
E
Be exempt from it.
A
All right, let's move off the Cowboys. I know management will love that. I do have to ask. I'm taking some heat in Chicago. Albert okay? Yeah, they're upset with me. Kyle Long is taking jabs at me like this Caleb Williams, Ben Johnson stuff again. I'm listening to the quotes and I'm looking at the actions of Ben Johnson and I'm just telling you from my point of view, something's going on there. It doesn't feel like it's off to a good start. They've had like four or five months together. And the messaging from Ben now, maybe this is his personality. I don't know his upbringing, I don't know his background. It just doesn't seem positive. And then they signed Bajan to a random. Out of nowhere. This guy came out of nowhere and they just signed him to a deal. I'm like, what is happening? So maybe Talk Talk Bears fans off the ledge or side with me, either one.
F
I think he's being, I think, I think Ben's being intentionally tough on, on, on Caleb Williams. Like, I think that's that, that that's really the long and short of it. And this has been being himself and this is the way he coaches. And you know, as far as I can tell, like Caleb's been on board with it and it produced some really ugly days early in training camp. Like it did not look good. But if you talk to Ben about it, what he would tell you is we were going through a process where we wanted to feed him through a fire hose and give him as much as we possibly could, overload him with information, overload him with scheme and then come back and narrow down what he's doing and figure out what he does well and what he doesn't do well, throw the stuff that he doesn't do well out and build an offense around his strengths. And so I think, like you juxtapose the early days in camp against the second preseason game and you see a guy who is playing much faster, you see a guy who's playing much more confidently because they had figured out exactly what he does best. They'd honed in on that and then they really sort of fine tuned some of the stuff as far as how fast he's playing, how quick the ball is getting out, all of that. And I know it didn't look quite the same against Kansas City, it wasn't quite as sharp against Kansas City in the last preseason game. But I think this has gone according to plan and, you know, we'll have to see what it looks like when the regular Season starts. But I think people who've been around Ben would remind you, like, they had days like this with Jared Goff and training camp in Detroit, and nobody made as big a deal out of it because golf was already a proven commodity. We already had an idea of what golf is. You know, we'll see if it works with the younger guy, huh?
A
That's positive and upbeat, and I like it. I appreciate it. I do have to ask. Caleb kind of had the run of the show last year. He could do whatever he wanted. He was watching film by himself, reportedly. Well, guess what? The year prior at usc, he was also just doing his own thing. A lot of backyard football, right? So two years of just, hey, freelance, make a play, Go, go get us some points. How tough is it going to be to go from that, that into follow my lead, drop, read, react quickly? Like, it's probably at least a year with Ben before we see anything close to what he wants. Right?
F
Well, it's a mentality change, you know, I mean, you're. You're trying to coach a playing style out of somebody, and that's not an easy thing to do. You know, I think beyond just that, like in college, like, he was asked in a lot of cases to be the best player on the field. And I think you saw that reflected in the way that he played. It was a lot of big play hunting, a lot of passing up the.
A
The.
F
The easy stuff. And what they're trying to teach him to do is play the game and play quarterback in a more between the lines sort of ways. Instead of constantly coloring outside the line lines, you can run and scramble to create throws. In the NFL, you can't do it all the time. And I think of my homes because I'm doing a story on Pat, and Pat and I talked about this, you know, earlier in the month, is like, if you look at his numbers, Mahomes, his numbers, he averaged over 10 carries a game when he was at Texas Tech. That number for his NFL career is under four per game. And. And that's a very intentional thing. That for Mahomes was going from having to be the best player on the field on almost every play to I've got good teammates around me. I can trust them. I can get the ball in their hands. And then when I need to be Superman, I can always put the cape on. That's what they're trying to get Caleb to do in Chicago is there are going to be certain plays where we just want to have your hands at ten and two on the wheel. And just run the offense. And we know that we, we know that you're capable of the bigger stuff when we need it. It, but it can't be all the time. And I think there were points last year. We saw what happens when he's trying to be that guy all the time and they're trying to dial that back and say just play quarterback four times out of five and then that fifth time you can go and show everybody exactly what you're capable of.
A
Your analogy for Caleb got me thinking of the great movie Old School, where Will Ferrell, you know, used to be a party animal, then he's really resigned to the burbs and his wife's like, we don't want to see old Frank the tank. And then he just comes out and he's beer bonging or funneling, whatever the kids call it. Anyways, Albert Brer, Monday morning quarterback. Great stuff as always. Hey, good luck to your Buckeyes this weekend. I, I loaded up. I could use a, a new car. So let, let's go Buckeyes.
F
You got money on them?
A
Yeah, a couple bucks.
F
I like it. I like it for me too. It's been a while.
A
Yeah. Yeah, we'll do all right, Albert. Thank you. Great stuff from Albert Brett. Coming up next, Rachel tells us who fans think is the most annoying player in the NFL. I'm gonna guess it's a cowboy, but that's just a guess. That's next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd. Weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific American.
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A
Good morning, Los Angeles. It's me, Jason McIntyre, here on the Herd. Happy afternoon to the east coast, folks. It's Friday. It is a beautiful day, a culmination to a spectacular week. Listen, Rachel Nichols and I have had a banger of a week hosting this show. I mean, listen, we had the Taylor.
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Swift no days Travis Kelsey engagement, no days off.
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You know, every day I'm looking at my notes here. I angered the Chicago Bears fan base with this Caleb Williams. I'm just hoping, Rachel, we can close with some good news on a Friday. And good news if you live in Green Bay. We were gifted, basically. I mean, the gift that keeps on giving like this is amazing. Michael Parsons traded by the Cowboys. Would it happen like two hours after our show? Yeah. And I walked into the morning meeting and I said, are we going to just do three hours on Michael Parsons? We could cowherd texted me. That should be the entire show. I was like, yes, sir. Got you. Yes, sir. Coward will be back next week, but let's start there. Let's start with the Green Bay packers basically putting on ski masks, going into Dallas and stealing Micah Parsons from the Cowboys for peanuts. I cannot believe that this trade happened. I think, obviously Green Bay won the trade. There's many angles to break down here. I'm going to go with the packers angle first because I do think, and I haven't seen a lot of other takes on this, I think the packers are right there as one of the best teams not only in the NFC, but in the league. This puts them in the serious super bowl consideration. I had them in my tier two for super bowl contenders earlier this week. They clearly vault to one. I mean, I don't think people realize just how good Micah Parsons is. Okay. This move going from Dallas to Green Bay, I believe is bigger than the Matt Stafford trade from a few years ago. When the Rams got Matt Stafford, everybody was excited. Obviously, it led to a Super Bowl. But Michael Parsons is in his prime. He's only played four seasons in the league. Matt Stafford was 33, a little older. You know, the Christian McCaffrey trade was big. Khalil Mack trade was big. This is seismic. I mean, folks, folks, Michael Parsons again, I know he takes a lot of heat for inside the locker room stuff. His podcast, we will address that because it bears some discussion. But let me just remind folks, Micah Parsons in year one was runner up defensive player of the year. Okay? He's been an All Pro three times in four years. He has 12 or more sacks in every season he's played so far to start his career. Career. It's not hyperbole to say Micah Parsons is already on track to be a first ballot hall of Famer. After four seasons, he's in the discussion with the likes of Lawrence Taylor, Reggie White, Myles Garrett as one of the greatest pass rushers in NFL history. After four years now, we don't know what's going to happen obviously, but Parsons is a terror coming off the edge. And if you're the Green Bay packers and you look at your defensive roster and you're like, oh, we got Gary, we got some good linebackers, we got a good team. Team. What you didn't have with that blue chip superstar where you go in the divisional round of the playoffs and the opponent looks at how we gonna, how are we gonna block Micah Parsons? What are we gonna have to adjust stuff. You have to scheme specifically for Parsons. Now teams have done that in the playoffs with some success, but you look at Gary coming off the other edge and this Green Bay defense suddenly is a wrecking crew. And I would like to point out that, that their odds after the draft to win the Super bowl were plus 2200. Okay, that was after the draft and I'll see tell you why the draft is important. This morning they went to + 1200. So right now the packers are right there, cream of the crop. They're in the Ravens, Bills, Chiefs, Niners, they're right there at the top. And the draft is important because I missed this and I was kicking myself this morning for missing this. I think everybody did. But at the draft, the Green Bay packers in the first round, we know what they don't do in the first round, right? They don't take wide receivers. Aaron Rodgers bemoaned that fact. He openly was like, we don't draft receivers in the first round. We need one. I need some help. Packers have a really good wide receiver room. It's deep, it's young, it's talented. They got a lot of guys and they drafted a wide receiver in the first round. I was like, oh, Matthew Gold. It's not like he, he's Jeremiah Smith or something. Golden, really nice player. He's like 511, a buck 90. I know he's a burner, but it was a mild surprise. They broke character at the draft getting Matthew golden. And I should have noticed at the time, but smart businesses sometimes adapt and change and say, we've done things one way, we're going to make an adjustment. And we're going for Golden. Now, their wide receiver room, I mean, it doesn't have that high end Jamar Chase, Justin Jefferson, but in terms of depth and talent, it's top four in the league. Golden is going to be that guy. Get him on your fantasy team. Now you add Micah Parsons, a massive trade. What did we hear from NFL pundits all week, guys? Packers, they're not going to get Michael Parsons. They don't do that. They don't make these huge, splashy trades. Haven't done that in forever. Once again, the packers break character. Go out and get a superstar, a blue cheer. How do we stop that guy coming off the edge? And I believe the Green Bay packers probably will be in the NFC Championship game. I will, I'll say likely against the San Francisco 49ers. And then we get the Trent Williams matchup against Micah Parsons. And boy, Green Bay fans, you've got to be absolutely geeked. I got a buddy who is a Milwaukee brewers fan, and he's a Green Bay packers fan, and he's doing cartwheels. He's like, brewers baseball, packers football. It's a great day in Green Bay. And by the way, for those who are saying, well, packers overpaid, and we'll address it, Jordan loves contract. They got him early, guys. He is only the 13th biggest cap hit at quarterback in the league. You want to take a guess who's first this season? Dak Prescott, biggest cap hit in the league. And let's move to Dallas now and address that side of the trade. I want to start positive because might want to ear Muffet. Cowboys fans, this is going to be a little negative. So there's this fun exercise that I've been told to do. You know, you turn 30 years old and you're supposed to look back at your younger self and like, write a little letter and say, man, don't you wish you knew this at 20? And then you do it at, you know, at 30. You're like, oh, man, in my 20s. Relationship stuff. Maybe you're finding a potential mate, work, you're getting out of college, and some stuff you could learn, and you give it to your younger self and you hand it down to your kids, relatives. So when you do it at 40, it's mostly about, you know, having kids, buying a house, that next step of life. But when you read about this, the one thing that it keeps coming back to is you need to act with less emotion in relationships, in work. Just chill out, Calm down. Now, if you couldn't tell, I Tend to get emotional sometimes, specifically about sports. And I think Jerry Jones got really emotional here and made a horrific decision. Okay, if we're to believe Micah Parsons, who told Jane Slater, by the way, she's going to be coming up as a guest here in about 30 minutes, he told Jane Slater that after news broke this week that there were trade talks for Micah Parsons, Micah and his agent, who. His agent's really good, went to the Cowboys with, quote, empathy, and they wanted to get a deal done. And allegedly, according to Micah Parsons, since Jerry Jones got very emotional and told Micah and his agent, play on the fifth year or leave. Folks, that is not how you run a football team. That is amateur hour. Amateurs act on emotion. Pros, they look at the numbers. And the numbers said, jerry, you bungled this badly. And for those out there who are screaming, j Mac, wait a minute. They didn't overpay, and they got an extra first round pick and they got Kenny Clark. Kenny Clark ain't very good, but that's another story. Guys, the reason that this got this far was because Jerry didn't do this last year. If he had gone last year and said, you know what? We can't afford CD Lamb, Dak and Micah, you do this last year, you could have made the deal last year and got more for Micah Parsons since. Why wait so long? I mean, at worst, if he had done this at the beginning of the off season, Jerry gets a bidding war started among several teams. Now, there's a report that the Raiders had called, but they were late to the game. Like, I understand he's a billionaire, and I understand he's had success, you know, 30 years ago with Jimmy Johnson winning a bunch of Super Bowls. But did Jerry just totally misplay his hand here? Here? Well, yeah, clearly. He bungled this so badly, folks. Paying Dak and Lamb and knowing that you can't pay Micah like you should have done this last year. Now, Jerry Jones took in, went in front the media on Thursday after the trade. And, guys, he claims he's been thinking about this trade for a long time. We did think it was in the best interest.
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Of ours.
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Not only the future, but right now, this season as well. We've gained a Pro bowl player in an area that we had big concern in or concerns in on the inside of our defense. The facts are specifically, we need to stop the run. And we haven't been able to stop the run at key times for several years. Years. Boy, if I was allowed to use expletives on the show, I would have come out of that quote and said. What the are you talking about? We need to stop the run. What kind of alternative universe is Jerry Jones living in, folks? Okay, fine. You knew you needed to stop the run at the draft. Let's take a look at the Cowboys draft, shall we? They got an offensive lineman, an edge rusher, a quarterback, a running back, a linebacker, an offensive lineman. Oh, there at pick 217. Mr. We've got to stop the run. You waited 217 picks to get a defensive tackle? What? Like, Jerry's saying stuff that doesn't even make sense. Guys, I got a buddy who's a Cowboys fan. His daughter plays on my daughter's volleyball team. You know, we have. We've known each other coach soccer together. He texted me. I'm literally crying right now. After the trade, he was like, what are we doing? And you know, this isn't just Jerry screwing up the mica deal and then trying to lie to everyone's face. Like, what do they call that? I think it's called gaslighting. Hey, we knew we needed to stop the run, so, you know, we added Kenny Clark. Like, bro. What? Come on. Nobody's believing that. And, oh, by the way, Jerry has a recent track record of training. Remember what they got Mingo, the wide receiver from the Carolina Panthers? Yeah, he's. He's on IR to start the season, and even when he returns, he's looking at being the projected fourth or fifth wide receiver on the roster. They give up a fourth round pick for Mingo, and do you remember Trey Lance? They thought. Jerry thought he had a great deal for Trey Lance. I mean, he gave up a fourth round pick for Trey Lance not on the roster through a whopping. Oh, he played four games. Trey Lance played. Played four games after Jerry Jones straight up for. I mean, does this guy even know what he's doing? One of the producers here as I'm walking up to the set goes, Jay, I had a good line when you left the morning meeting. If Jerry Jones wore his shirt inside out to the facility today, would anybody in Dallas have the cojones to tell him, hey, billionaire owner. Boss, your shirt's inside out because it feels like nobody. Woody. Is telling Jerry what he needs to hear. And the Cowboys right now are a disaster, by the way, their odds, because I know you guys love odds. To win the Super Bowl 60 to 1, longest that they've been since 2014 before the season. That's according to ESPN. So the Cowboys are launch out. They're probably going to win five games. I know there's some people out there who are like, hey, we got four first round picks now, Jay, in the next two years. Years. We'll address that later. Rachel and I have many layers to this story, so be patient. It's the super terrific, happy three hours of Micah Parsons and the Green Bay Packers. Rachel, I'm fired up. If you couldn't tell, I'm a little emotional. This is.
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It's an incredible story and not the way we thought this was gonna end.
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Even. I mean, we talked about this possibility of the packers trade all through yesterday's show, and every single person we had on, including Greg Jennings, was like, green Bay doesn't do business this way. Unbelievable turn of events. Coming up next, Dallas Forget about Micah for a moment. Earlier this year you guys traded Luca. I mean, who's under fire more, Nico or Jerry? Like it's getting ugly in Dallas. That's next year on the Herd Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the.
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A
Welcome back. Rich Ornberger, fourth round pick of the Patriots. Went to Penn State. Obviously. We'll ask him about James Franklin. Let's bring him in. Radio guy in San Diego called college football games really doesn't ever stop working. Rich, how you doing, man?
C
Good. Good morning to you, Jason. This. Yeah, this is True. I was up until about 11:30 calling football on the west coast and then woke up for a six o' clock radio show. So you're catching me right in the prime time of my day, man.
A
Yeah, Love that. You never stop working. Hey, we have it good. We're talking about sports. Let's start obviously with the big news. Micah Parsons shipped from Dallas. Now listen, we had several guests on the show this week, Rich, and all of them said the same thing. Oh, Gerry. Okay. At the last minute, packers, they don't do these big splashy moves. Everybody. I don't think anybody called this. Everyone was wrong. How shocked were you that Micah got shipped to Green Bay?
C
I was shocked like everybody else. I thought exactly what you said would come true, that eventually Jerry Jones would come to his senses or cave or Micah Parsons might come down from whatever number was unapproachable for the Cowboys. I figured that this would, this would go down where one day they would be, you know, 20, 25 years from now, they would be put in Parsons in the ring of honor at AT&T Stadium or whatever the sponsor name, right. Will be on the top of the stadium at that point. And he would be telling stories about how. I saw a stat today that in the common draft era, there's only been 29 first round draft picks that have gone to the Pro bowl in their first four years in the NFL and only one of them hasn't played for the same team in their fifth season. And that's Micah Parsons.
A
Wow. Oh my. That's crazy. Now listen, you, you've been around the league, you were with the Patriots, obviously you, you've seen a lot of things. Does this rank high up there in terms of just wackiness? Because I'll be honest, I think this is bigger than this McCaffrey trade. I think it's bigger than Stafford, bigger than Khalil Mack. It's like Michael Parsons has been pretty damn dominant and it's the Cowboys.
C
It's not just franchise shifting for the packers and the Cowboys, frankly, but it's also league shifting. It does, it does have the same feel to it as the Matthew Stafford trade and slightly potentially more impactful because this takes the packers to a different level divisionally inside the NFC North. And this obviously plummets the Cowboys already paltry chances at making themselves into a struggling team from last year into a playoff contender this year. This really was a poor move by the Cowboys and it was a head scratching move for Jerry Jones. He's a guy who typically likes to make a show of his franchise. But at the end of the day, he's a businessman and he knows what's good for business. And Micah Parsons would have been a good decision, a good business decision. And so I think something happened here that's not being 100% accurately reported as it stands today. Something, it feels like to me, more personal occurred here. And whether that be Micah Parsons, and he was pretty honest about his feelings around these negotiations, didn't appreciate the public nature of the negotiations and some of the things that Jerry was saying during those public negotiations, or perhaps Jerry Jones. Jones had, you know, something stuck in his craw here. But this felt like it went beyond business for some reason.
A
Yeah. Usually after these big trades happen of stars, whether it's NBA or NFL, you start to hear, oh, well, this guy's reporting this now. And it was like, well, where was that when it was actually going down in the locker room? I'm just curious. In your time in the league, obviously you saw guys maybe not locked in, goofing off, but it didn't make it into the media. Do you think that maybe there were some people protecting Micah in that locker room? Because you don't move off a star like that if there aren't some lingering issues there.
C
I'm never going to say never, but from a character standpoint, I haven't heard anything negative about Micah Parsons. All you hear about, all you read about, all you see is his leadership. Now, obviously it's been reported that he was disgruntled with with his pay. And there is a prideful nature amongst NFL players, especially the special players like Micah Parsons, where you're looking around the league and you directly tie the amount of respect that your franchise is giving you to the amount of money that they're paying you. And if you don't feel like you're being paid enough, you don't feel like you're being respected enough as a player or as a man. And I think that attitude started to grow within Micah Parsons. And maybe some of that sentiment was shared with team. But from a leadership or from, you know, a standpoint of taking the game seriously, I saw and heard none of that coming out of the Cowboys camp. I guess we'll see what reporting unveils itself here in the aftermath as the dust settles and the dust clears. But as it stands right now, all I've heard is that he was a role model and a great example for young players on that team and obviously, obviously a huge contributor on the field for the Cowboys. And this came out of the clear. Blue that he's been traded and he's no longer going to be in Dallas.
A
All right, Rich, let me ask you this. You are being defensive of Michael Parsons. Understandably so. But you did go to Penn State. Micah Parsons went to Penn State. Now he also sat out his the COVID year. Remember that, Rich? He decided I'm not going to play at all all. Were you surprised at that decision? I don't know if we spoke about that at the time or maybe we hosted a radio show together. But I think we were surprised that Michael would sit out the season.
C
Yeah, look, some of those things, man, when, when you rewind back to those times, some of those things do linger with people. And of course it depends on, you know, maybe what side of the fence you were on at that time. But I think the further we get from there, I think many people have had the ability to compartmentalize, you know, their feelings or others actions because it was a very unique time in all of our lives. I mean that was almost an understanding between the union, the players and the NFL owners that this is just going to be a very different season. It's going to be a very different feeling season. And there's going to be obviously accommodations made and many sacrifices made for those who are actually going to show up and play. And then likewise, there are going to be certain people who are just plain uncomfortable doing it. And I guess as a retrospective, anything's possible. So if you told me that that Jerry Jones took umbrage with the fact that he didn't play and then that got somehow reconstituted in his mind eye when he was reviewing Micah Parsons as a player in his organization during these negotiations. I suppose I would believe you, but it would be hard to believe that Jerry Jones would let something that happened literally a handful of years ago ago affect his decision making today. Especially when he's been such a standout player since.
A
All right, let's go to college football. So obviously you went to Penn State, played there before getting drafted. And a lot of people like the Nittany Lions this year to win the national championship. I have a ticket on Penn State. I gotta ask the James Franklin stat, you see it on the screen there. One in 16 against top five opponents. Listen, I get it if you want to write off off, hey, he's one in six, you know, he's two and seven, that's fine. We're talking about a 17 game sample size of gagging in the biggest spots in the sport. Is this the year Franklin overcomes it or. I don't know, maybe it's not that big of a deal to you, Rich.
C
Well, look, it certainly is a big deal. As an alumni, you want to see your team have success. But in terms of James Franklin, and I know personally, he's great man. He's. He's a really solid recruiter. And obviously he's been able to create a culture and really have a rebirth culturally there at Penn State after some of the things that that program went through. And it's been incredible, the heights that he's brought the program to. Now you can say one thing and also live in the reality that we're living in, where he is 1 in 16 against top 5 opponents.
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Opponents.
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And that does hurt some of the conversation about the greatness that he has exuded since taking this head coaching position at Penn State. It's. It's a problem. And I'm sure it's one that keeps him up at night sometimes when. When he sees that stat, he's having a similar reaction, I promise you to all the Penn State alumni who would be proud if it was the inverse if he was 16 and one against top five teams, right?
A
Yeah.
C
Doesn't mean he can't win a national title. Doesn't mean he can't win against top five talent this season. Of course it doesn't, because every single football season is a different year. But does it mean that he has to change the approach and continue to tweak this thing and not rely that his way last year is going to be the right way this year? Well, no. He has to continue to evolve and work at this thing and make sure that his teams are ready to play in the biggest moments of the biggest games where so many times we've seen failures. And I think he's. I think he's up for that challenge, knowing his attitude and his effort on a daily basis, not only from getting to know him, but also through other former colleagues and players that I was teammates with who have been on or are currently on his staff. I think he's the type of coach who won't rest until he fixes this problem. And that fix could be in for 2025.
A
All right, last question. Rich, real quick. Ohio State, you know, a team you're dimly familiar with, Penn State, big rival, they are hosting a gentleman named Arch Manning making his official launch. I know he started a couple games, but your best guess, just to be clear, we're all guessing as to whether Arch is going to be good, battered, whatever. Your best guess as to how Arch performs at the Shoe On Saturday.
C
My best guess is he's going to be prepared, obviously, coming from, from the great football lineage that he does, you know, the family that he comes from. He has access to some of the greatest football minds and he's a text message or a phone call away. And then he's been raised in this. He's been given the best avenue for success possible. And then also I appreciate the way Texas handled him last year, you know, leaving him a year to be an understudy, learning the speed of the college game more away from the daylight and the bright lights of that stadium down in Austin, as opposed to being thrust into it and showcasing him at times and still having some success. So my, my best guess is that Arch Manning is going to live up to the billing. And I can't wait. I think he's an explosive athlete, which is rare to say about a Manning playing football. And I also think that he's got a live arm he could touch anywhere on the football field. And he can do it with the, with the type of feathering and layering that you absolutely need to have with the sort of athletes you're going to see on the defensive side of the ball now in college football.
A
So, Texas Moneyline or what?
C
You know, I don't hate it.
A
I honestly don't hate it. All right.
C
I don't hate. I don't hate the money line. I'll tell you what, that's where the value is. If you believe in Arch Manning, that's a Moneyline bet.
E
No.
A
Okay. Rich Ornberger, radio host, former NFL player, former Penn State star. Thanks a lot, Rich. Have a great weekend, buddy.
C
Anytime, J. Max, you too.
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Date: August 30, 2025
Hosts: Jason McIntyre & Rachel Nichols (in for Colin Cowherd)
Guests: Bruce Feldman, Albert Breer, Rich Ohrnberger
This week’s "Best of The Herd" dives deep into the seismic Micah Parsons trade to the Packers, breaking NFL contract philosophies, college football’s wild opening weekend, and some major off-field news in the sports/pop culture world (yes, Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement gets the full Herd treatment). The episode is loaded with brisk debates, insider insights, and notable predictions, particularly around the college football playoff. Jason and Rachel are joined by top guests Bruce Feldman, Albert Breer, and Rich Ohrnberger, keeping the energy and takes at a rolling boil.
[62:44 – 75:31]
[40:55 – 53:01] (Albert Breer Interview)
[03:12 – 32:27] & [80:05 – 92:16]
[08:23 – 19:59]
[53:01 – 58:03]
[25:07 – 26:46]
This week’s best-of episode was dense with bombshell news, high-level football analysis, and witty sports radio banter. Jason McIntyre’s passionate hosting, alongside Rachel Nichols, kept the show moving, with guests delivering a blend of insider info and big-picture context.
Essential takeaways:
If you missed the episode, this summary brings you all the color, debate, and insight that make "The Herd" essential listening.
End of Summary