Loading summary
Transcript10 lines
- [00:00]
Danny Parkins
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:05]
Colin Cowherd
All right, folks, this is insane. For the first time ever, we got a full blown all women's boxing mega event going down in New York City. Two title fights same night. Let's go. If you're like me and Love the action, DraftKings Sportsbook is where it's at. Download the DraftKings Sportsbook app right now. The promo code is heard H E R D New Customers 150 bucks in bonus bets instantly. When you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours.
- [00:33]
DraftKings Announcer
Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambling, gambler in New York, call 877-8-HOPENY or text hopeny467-369 In Connecticut, help is available. For problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and Resort in Kansas. 21 plus. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario. Bonus bets expire issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng Co Audio.
- [01:04]
Colin Cowherd
Thanks for listening to the Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd@foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.
- [01:24]
Danny Parkins
Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.
- [01:31]
Colin Cowherd
All right, welcome in.
- [01:31]
Danny Parkins
Let's do this. It is the Herd. No Colin Cowherd. I am Danny Parkins from FS1's First Things first, soon to be expanded. First Things First. It's a thrill to be out here in Los Angeles in for the legend that is Colin Cowherd. We got a great show for you today. On this Monday, my guy Cole Comet from the Bears will join us in about 30 minutes to explain why everyone is completely correct to panic about every interception around Caleb Williams. Though I think Cole might have a different take on that. Bruce Feldman joins the show, my new teammate at First Things First, Chris Broussard later on the Bear. Tons of football because we made it. There's a football game this week kind of in the hall of Fame game, but we've got a lot of NFL to get to over the course of today's show. But somehow, some way, even though it is game week in the NFL, LeBron James still finds himself in the center of the news because I did not expect to land in Los Angeles to an Instagram post from a guy I Had never heard of. Who was Nikola Jokic's agent on a yacht in France with LeBron James and Maverick Carter. I was like, oh, okay, LeBron, world's traveler, who. Who among us hasn't been on a yacht in the south of France with the greatest offensive player in 20 years as agent? Right. I mean, it's a thing that could happen to anybody. And we are. That's nice. They bumped into each other while vacationing, having some fine wine. And then you read the caption on Nicola Joker agents Instagram post. The summer of 2025 is the perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026. Summer of 2025, that's now. Perfect time to make big plans for the fall of 2026. Yeah. That's going to have some reverberations around the NBA because everybody seems to be convinced because the Lakers invited Luca to dinner and didn't invite him because they are not willing to trade the last first round pick that they control to go out and make a bigger move for this off season, to try to be all in quote unquote, to win now with LeBron. That LeBron is somehow unhappy with the Lakers. And LeBron, by the way, has done some things to fan fuel to that flames. Because I like to say about LeBron, we're similar in age. We're elder millennials. We grew up with the Internet. We understand what it's like, oh, I'm going to unfollow my employer. I'm going to tweak this thing. I'm going to troll a little bit. LeBron and his camp is very good at controlling the message. And nothing that they do is without intent. And he drives the 247 sports talk industrial complex more than any modern athlete. Arguably more than any athlete ever. So he's vacationing, he's on a yacht, this guy puts out a post, and now it becomes a story. But I don't think LeBron is leaving L. A. And it is for no better reason than say it out loud. LeBron James, Denver Nugget. I just don't believe it. I have a very hard time believing the guy who is now on his third franchise, who has delivered LA a championship, who just got Luka Doncic as a teammate, who they drafted his son. He's building his forever home out here. He has all of his business ventures out here. I have a hard time believe believing on that yacht they were talking about LeBron James going to Denver. And for the life of me, I have struggled with understanding why we talk about Jokic and his future in Denver. So different than we talk about Giannis and his future in Milwaukee. And this was Joker's agent talking about big plans for next summer. Well, Yokich is under contract for this year and he's under contract for next year, but then he's got a player option the year after that. And it's not that long ago when Josh Kroenke, the owner of the Nuggets for some unknown reason, floated the idea of trading Joker. You remember, for us as an organization, going into that second apron is not necessarily something that we're scared of. I think that there are rules around it that we needed to be very careful of with our injury history. The wrong person gets injured and very quickly you're into a scenario where that I never want to have to contemplate and that's trading number 15, odd choice. I think we can all agree to unprompted bring up trading Nikola Jokic. But Giannis can't do anything without a hundred headlines and hot take. People being like Giannis has to leave Milwaukee when Giannis was an international pick to a small market team who's won an MVP and delivered a championship and has signed multiple extensions to stay with the team that drafted him. Nicola Jokic has won multiple MVPs, has won championship, was a late round, you know, second round pick, international player drafted by a small market team. There are way more similarities to Giannis and Jokic, but no one ever talks about Jokic being unhappy in Denver. What if Jokic, his agent, is making big plans for next year when for all intents and purposes it is an expiring contract for Jokic? Because the year after is a player option for Jokic to leave Denver to go to Los Angeles to play with his longtime friend Luka Doncic. That feels to me way more likely what the big plans could be than LeBron James being a Denver Nugget for one year? I have no idea how many more years LeBron James is playing. We say Father Time is undefeated. LeBron James is trying to shatter expectations on that cliche. But the say it out loud test tells me it is more likely that they're just trolling, frankly, but that if I had to say Yokich in LA and they figure out a way to make that work. Or LeBron just straight signs in Denver for a year, which granted is simpler given LeBron is not under contract beyond this year, as we all know. I'll still take the more difficult path and believe that it's much more likely that LeBron is figuring out a way to team up with Jokic, pair him with Luca, make one more run at a championship two years from now, and then sail off into the sunsets, leaving the Lakers set up to be successful after him and having that be a part of his Lakers legacy. I won you the title in the bubble. Maybe I won you a second title. And. And, oh, yeah, by the way, I set you up to have the best duo in the NBA going forward with Luca and the Joker. So we don't know where Jokic or LeBron's going. I think I got a pretty good idea how this next story is going to end, but it still doesn't change any of the drama. Micah Parsons is going to stay in Dallas, but it's lovely to see that there's 31 teams in the NFL and then there's just a television producer. Because as a content guy who loves the NFL year round, I feel like all of us, everyone who sits behind a microphone should have to write a handwritten thank you letter to Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys. Because love them or hate them, we all have an opinion of how they do business and why they are just still so relevant and compelling despite it being 30 years without a championship. And so over the weekend, Micah Parsons, who doesn't have a contract, apparently has a little back tightness, but is there at training camp, just not really participating. Jerry Jones, because for some reason the owner of the team needs to face the fans at training camp with a bunch of cheerleaders behind him, had to come out and say whatever he was saying about the new and improved team. And he was greeted with chance on of pay Micah. Pay Micah. And then he talked to the media afterwards and he was like, wow. Well, the chance for paying CD were louder last year. And, you know, we paid Mike, we paid Dak Prescott, and then he got hurt. He can't help himself because this is what he does. And Dak Prescott last year said, you know, I just kind of stopped listening to Jerry, which is a bold thing for a quarterback to say about the guy who signs his check. But that was last year. CD Lamb just last week, when talking about Micah Parsons and these contract negotiations that are playing out as publicly as any contract negotiations in the NFL, he was like, yeah, we just don't play in those waters with the media. And Jerry Jones, obviously playing his media game with Jerry is not the best. It's not fun, it's not recommended. But as for Micah, he knows what he brings to this table honestly, for this team, for himself, and he should get what he deserved. And I'm not indulging in any other craziness that they got going. But I do want Micah to get paid soon. And he will get paid soon. We all know how this ends. This is just noise. Last year Nick Bosa got paid and then Max Crosby got paid. And for a moment in time, oh my God. Miles Garrett was going to be traded from the Cleveland Browns. He wrote a nice letter and everything. And then Miles Garrett became the highest paid non quarterback in football. And he wants to be a Brown for life. And for a while. I mean, I'm old enough to remember three weeks ago when TJ Watt was really unhappy with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Oh man, they were far apart. They weren't going to get it done. And then voila. It's amazing what $41 million per year to rush the quarterback and lose wild card weekend can do to a guy's mood. And all of a sudden TJ Watt back with the Steelers. Thrilled. Micah Parsons will be a Dallas Cowboy. He will get another contract. He will top TJ Watts. 41 million per year. My guess is by a decent amount. Actually, just given the age difference, I don't think it's going to be 41.2 or 42. He'll probably try to get to 44, 45 million a year. Put some distance between him and the other pass rushers. And I'm sure that's the sticking point in the negotiations right now. But I think we would be called a media literacy test here. I think we would all be served to actually pay attention to Jerry Jones. And I know it's a bold strategy. And CD Lamb and Dak Prescott have said they're trying to do different things, but I don't play quarterback for the Cowboys. Jerry Jones saw how this country was enamored with with the Last Dance and he said, I got to get me one of those. And he struck a deal with Netflix to produce a multi part story of the Cowboys. And it's coming soon and we'll see what America's appetite is for a long form documentary on America's team. It will not be as popular as the Last Dance because we're not in the middle of a pandemic. But they were popular in the 90s. The Bulls were popular in the 90s. I'm sure it will do quite well. But when the trailer came out, there was a little snippet from Jerry Jones that I actually was like, ah, there it is. Thank you. This is a soap opera 365 days a year that is his business model. That is why they're not in the biggest market. But they're the most valuable franchise. They don't have the most wins or the most Super Bowls, but they're the most valuable, most talked about franchise. He believes, and frankly has been proven right, that the soap opera is what sells. He's the owner, but he's also the general manager. But they absolutely have a general manager and Will Maclay, like nobody believes that Jerry Jones is scouring Senior bowl tape, but he wants to call himself the general manager. No owner in the NFL calls into local radio every week. No other owner in the NFL does a post game press conference every week. They played it out with Dak Prescott. They played it out with CD Lamb. They played it out with Micah Parsons. What does that do? Back in the day, we would say it filled column inches. Now it fills airtime because then Micah Parsons has a podcast and he weighs in. CD Lamb gets asked about it. That makes a news cycle story. The fans chant something at him. That's a news cycle story. And on and on and on. Jerry Jones is competitive. Jerry Jones wants to win. He just also wants, wants to be the most talked about. You don't hear the Rooneys or the Maras or the McCaskeys or anyone else doing it the way that Jerry Jones does. But Jerry Jones's team is worth more money. So he probably looks at it like, this might cost me a few million bucks. And that stinks for a Cowboys fan who wants to maximize the salary cap. But he's like the column inches. And the airtime more than makes up for it because people are talking about the Dallas Cowboys. It's a soap opera 365 days a year. Those are his words. Not mine again. 31 teams and a television producer and it's been the highest rated TV show in the NFL for the last 30 years. Coming up next on the Herd, the guy who has the most to gain, I would say by far, if he won a Super Bowl. He got philosophical over the weekend and I absolutely loved it. Danny Parkinson for Colin. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific. Hey, we're Covino and Rich, Fox Sports radio every day, 5 to 7pm Eastern. But here's the thing. We never have enough time to get to everything we want to get to. And that's why we have a brand new podcast called Over Promised. You see, we're having so much fun in our two hour show. We never get to everything honestly, because this guy is over promising things we never have time for. Yeah, you blubber lips. Blaming me. Well, you know what? It's called Over Promise. You should be good at it because you've been over promising women for years. Well, it's a Covino and Rich after show and we want you to be a part of it. We're gonna be talking sports, of course, but we're also gonna talk life and relationships. And if Rich and I are arguing about something or we didn't have enough time, it will continue on our after show called Over Promised. Well, if you don't get enough Covino and Rich, make sure you check out Over Promise. And also uncensored, by the way, so maybe we'll go at it even a little harder. It's going to be the best after show podcast of all time. There you go. Over Promising. And remember, you could see it on YouTube, but definitely. Join us. Listen to Over Promised with Covino and rich on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
- [17:06]
Colin Cowherd
All right, folks, this is insane. For the first time ever, we got a full blown all women's boxing mega event going down in New York City. Two title fights, same night. Let's go. If you're like me and love the action, DraftKings sportsbook is where it's at. We're talking the trilogy fight. Don't sleep on the co main explosive power taking on the undefeated WBA interim champ. It's going to be fireworks. Check it out. If you're new to DraftKings, throw down five bucks. That's it. Boom. You get 150 in bonus bets instantly. That's wild. Download the DraftKings sportsbook app right now. The promo code is heard. H E R d new customers. 150 bucks in bonus bets instantly. When you bet just five bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours.
- [17:51]
DraftKings Announcer
Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler in New York. Call 877-8-Hopeny or text hopeny467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of Boot Hill Casino and resort in Kansas. 21 plus. Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void in Ontario bon seven days after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG co audio of this week.
- [18:24]
Danny Parkins
Cole Comet will join me from Bears training camp in just under 10 minutes or so. We'll talk Ben Johnson, Caleb Williams and if the Bears will finally have a good offense for Basically the first time in my entire life as someone who was born in Chicago in 1990, 86. But every year around this time it's who's gonna be the breakout candidate, what's the team that's gonna surprise, who's gonna disappoint, who's under the most pressure, who's on the hot seat. And there's, it's totally open ended. There's a bunch of different ways you can go with any of that stuff, right? I think for who needs a Super bowl win the most, whose legacy reputation would benefit from one the most. There's a pretty obvious answer here and it is Josh Allen. And Josh Allen, to me, he's a guy I root for. I've never met him, I've never spoke to him. I have absolutely no connection to the Buffalo Bills organization in any way. But Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley, all time greats who played during the Michael Jordan era, like, man, that must have been tough. That's what it feels like. Josh Allen is in the Patrick Mahomes era because we saw this not that long ago, right? It was Brady and Manning, but there was also Ben Roethlisberger and Philip Rivers in the afc it was just a dominant thing and Ben Roethlisberger got his. Philip Rivers never did. And it'll probably keep Philip Rivers out of Canton even though he's sixth all time in yards and touchdowns. Josh Allen is the second best player in football. Lamar Jackson made that an interesting conversation last year when he had over 40 passing touchdowns and under five interceptions going with full Rogers. But for a real body of work, it has been Josh Allen. And obviously Josh got his MVP last year. But if you look at the sample of five years, his prime, basically like since Josh Allen became Josh Allen, if it wasn't for Patrick Mahomes, it would be universally agreed upon that this guy was the best player in football. Because it is universally agreed upon that Patrick Mahomes is the best player in football. And the only thing that Josh Allen can't do is be better than Patrick Mahomes. He's second in wins, he's second in passing yards, and he's second in passing touchdowns over the last five years. With Mahomes being first, first and first across the board, that has got to be a maddening existence. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. FS1 and the iHeartRadio app spoke a lot to me and I really appreciate him sharing those words. But yeah, it's, it's it's kind of crazy where you just kind of coming out here and you're doing everything that you can for a quick enjoyment of it, and then you're on to the next and it's again, it's like the MVP awards. Like, I don't look back and think about that night. Like it happened, it was over with and I'll never think about it again, to be honest. There is something that's sad about that, but any high performer would understand. It's the journey, it's the process, it's what you go through to get there, because that's what actually takes the time. And then when you sink the final putt or you hoist the Lombardi Trophy at some point that night ends and you just go back. I think it makes a ton of sense what Scheffler said, that it would relate with Josh Allen. But if Josh Allen were to win, like, let's just play out the hypothetical. Let's say Josh Allen plays the Chiefs in the playoffs again and this time he beats them. And the Bills, who are a slightly better favorite in the AFC than the Chiefs. That's mostly because they play in the AFC east, but still, let's say the Bills won that super bowl and Josh Allen had his super bowl moment, was the super bowl mvp. All of a sudden he's like, all right, I've got an mvp, I've got a Super Bowl, I've got a Super bowl mvp. And I beat Mahomes on the way there. He would still be a distant second to Mahomes. Obviously. Multiple MVPs, the three rings, the multiple appearances, all obviously there's nothing that could happen this year that could have Josh Allen passing Patrick Mahomes. But at least the Manning Brady rivalry could potentially start to creep back into existence because Brady has the way better trophy case. But Peyton Manning was looked at as a worthy adversary, an all time great, a first ballot hall of Famer, a truly worthy number two to Brady's number one. He got to the four Super Bowls. He won a couple of them. They had epic regular season battles. They both were able to beat each other in the postseason. The regular season, same thing. Now it's Josh has beaten Patrick in the regular season, but never in the postseason, and Mahomes has all of the hardware. When Josh Allen has to look around and he's like, I'm just as good as this guy. He has to believe that even if you and I don't. Because if he is that close to him statistically over a huge sample size for that long and he's beaten him in the regular season. I have no reason to believe that he doesn't believe that he can get there. And quick aside, I'm glad that Scottie Scheffler is having his moment here. After the open takes the Claret jug and he goes to the Happy Gilmore 2 premiere. And now Happy Gilmore 2 is out. Y' all need to relax a little bit. Everyone needs to relax with the hot takes on Happy Gilmore 2. The movie's fine. You go in with low expectations and then it clears them. It was nostalgic. There were cameos. I won't give anything away, but Scheffler's was hilarious. Wills Alatoris was hilarious. John Daly's was funny. You know what you're getting going into an Adam Sandler movie? He's a volume shooter. Can he give you uncut gems and punch drunk love? Yeah. But he also wants to put his family and friends in movies and have a good time and hang out and do some ridiculousness and do some dumb stuff and do some callbacks. It was a movie. It was fine. I'll never watch it again. But this, it was the best thing ever. It was the worst thing ever. No, it was an Adam Sandler movie in 2025 that hundreds of millions of people somehow will somehow watch it based on the Netflix algorithm, and we'll all keep going on with our lives. And you can't recreate the nostalgia of the classic from the 90s, but we grew up. That's kind of how it works. So I'm glad Scotty Scheffler had his moment, though, because he's seen as this, like, robotic golfer. And then he was hilarious in the movie. But Josh Allen, having the ability to come to grips with being second and having that emotional maturity to understand I'm doing everything I can. I have been great. I have been great in the regular season. I have been great in the postseason. And no one looks around. Very good offensive line. They transitioned and gave him a more balanced attack with Cook. They've changed offensive coordinators. They have figured out a way to consistently be great with a great quarterback. Not with a super team, not with all pros everywhere. Just on the talent and the development and the leadership of that guy. Of Josh Allen. They have figured out a way to put themselves in a position to every single year be competing for a shot at a Lombardi Trophy. There is no doubt in my mind that Josh Allen is going to win. At some point, he's just got to slay that dragon and Then when he does, I would say the rivalry is on. So I hope we get Bill's Chiefs again in the playoffs. And even though I covered the Chiefs for years and lived in Kansas City, if Josh Allen got his, I'd feel like he's earned it because he's been the second best of Mahomes for five years at this point. Speaking of the Chiefs, there is a Access is good and we see stories all the time now because we're on the Internet and we are addicted to football that we want any little nugget or morsel of information. Anthony Richardson threw an interception. He's going to never figure it out. Caleb Williams threw an interception. Ben Johnson's innovation on offense isn't working. That is just how it works in the information age and how addicted to football we are. And I'm not even saying that there's nothing that you can take out of reports from training camp. Hey, they put lines on these preseason games. I'm not above gambling on the hall of Fame game. I think it can have impact on your fantasy drafts. I'm not saying don't pay attention to it, but judging stats or results from practices is insane. Almost none of it matters. But if you want a topic from training camp that does matter, I would give you Josh Simmons. Being with the ones for the Kansas City Chiefs already. Josh Simmons was supposed to be a top 15 pick out of Ohio State and he broke his patellar tendon and he fell to the Chiefs with a 31st pick in the draft. And anyone who remembers the Chief season last year, it was a revolving door, right? Four different guys played left tackle for the Chiefs, so much so that they had to shift Joe Thuney. They're all pro guard from left guard to left tackle. And now he's on the Bears. So it became a situation where then the Eagles of course dominated the Chiefs offensive line. Among other things that they dominated in that Super Bowl. And it brought flashbacks to when the Chiefs lost to Tampa in the Super Bowl. When Mahomes offensive line fell apart last year, this was the worst offensive line of the Mahomes era. He was hit 118 times. He was sacked 41 times. Four different left tackles. They lose their left guard to the Bears. The guy they drafted, Kingsley, Sua Matiata or Sua Matiala, excuse me, in the second round two years ago. Now he's going to be their left guard. But if Josh Simmons is what Josh Simmons is supposed to be, a top 15 pick on a cheap contract who immediately comes in and plays Left tackle. Well now all of a sudden you've got an elite prospect on a cheap contract at left tackle. Kingsley goes from left tackle to left guard. Second year in the league. Creed Humphrey center, one of the best centers in the NFL under a long term contract. Trey Smith, one of the best right guards in the NFL under a long term contract. And while Juwan Taylor frustrates people because he gets a few too many penalties and he does that like little quick jump off where it feels like he's getting a jump off the line of scrimmage that a bunch of guys do. Joanne Taylor is a fine right tackle and then they signed more the backup from the Niners to a healthy contract. All of a sudden the Chiefs offensive line, if Simmons is legit, goes from huge liability, huge weakness to massive strength. And last season the Chiefs offense was just not impressive. It was not impressive in terms of points scored obviously, but the big one that anyone could see if you watch the game was like, where did the big plays go? And it wasn't just like Tyreek Hill, he's been gone for a few years. Like where is. And it's not. Did Mahomes forget how to throw the deep ball? No. Is it all just that the opposing defensive coordinators are doing the COVID to shell and daring you to beat them underneath? Yeah, that's some of it. They were last in the NFL in touchdowns that went 20 plus yards. Rasheed Rice and Hollywood Brown and Xavier Worthy played a grand total of 0 snaps together last year. Hollywood Brown is healthy. We'll see what discipline comes for Rasheed Rice off the field. Xavier Worthy had the great super bowl, but those three guys are going to play together this year. And the offensive line should be better. So that means the offense should be better. And those are the types of training camp stories to me that matters. New guy in new place, rookie making an adjustment. Healthy or not healthy, when a player throws an interception. Well, did the coach before the rep tell him you've got to go to this route because we've got to work on the timing there. Was he playing against the ones or the twos? What was going on at the offensive line? It's. We just don't, we don't know. We don't know so many of the details of what they were trying to accomplish in a given play or a given drill that reporting on successes or failures or stats or any of that just feels like a fool's errand. But the Kansas City Chiefs got a franchise caliber left tackle with a 31st pick in the draft who we didn't know if he was going to be healthy for week one and he was healthy for day one of training camp. So the guy they signed from the Niners and is now rotating on the right side of the offensive line instead of the left side of the offensive line. Yeah, that's a story. Chiefs offense catching up with the Chiefs defense, which has carried them the last couple of years. That's a story because if Spagnolo gets the defense to be what the defense has been, the offense gets back to being what the offense was. That's why the Chiefs aren't afraid of the Broncos or the Chargers or the improved Raiders or anyone else. Because last year, I mean, two years ago, they won the super bowl leading the league in drops. Last year they had the least explosive offense in the NFL, had four different left tackles and they won 15 games and made it to the Super Bowl. So you want a training camp story that matters. Josh Simmons getting reps already? Forget reps. He's your first string left tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs. That is a training camp story that matters. We had some tech issues with Cole Comet. We'll try to figure that out. But on the other side, there's a big lesson that Caleb Williams learned from last season and it's worth getting into. Danny Parkins. This is the herd. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. You've worked so hard for is ready to work hard for you with a home equity loan from Rocket Mortgage. To learn how you can turn your home's equity equity into cash, visit RocketMortgage.com today. Rocket Mortgage LLC, licensed in 50 states. Nmlsconsumeraccess.org Number 3030. Danny Parkins in for Colin on the Herd. Okay, you're gonna hear some coping. I'm gonna just be honest with you. Bears guy from Chicago and everyone knows the numbers at this point. Never had a 4,000 yard passer. Only franchise in the NFL to never have a 4,000 yard passer. Have never had a 30 touchdown passer. Only Franchise in the NFL to never have a 30 touchdown passer. It is an organization that is defined by their incompetence at quarterback. They would say, no, we're the monsters of the Midway and Gail Sayers and Walter Payton and the 85 Bears. And that is all true. But it has permeated so much of Bears lore that it almost became folklore. It's like, well, you can't throw the ball in Chicago. It's too windy. Except for Buffalo and Green Bay and plenty of other places that have had worse weather that also have quarterbacks who could throw the ball. It has become this, like, prophecy that the Bears will just never have a good quarterback. And I try to think of myself as a rational guy. And so I'm a Cubs fan. I never believed in curses. Just, like, win one before I die thing I say they're eventually going to win one. And in 2016, they finally did and it was a great moment. And I hope they do it again this year. I think they got a real shot. By the way, if Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson doesn't work in Chicago, I might have to start believing in curses because this is everything that should work. Wildly talented quarterback prospect had a bad offensive line upgraded it. Had a bad coach and play caller upgraded it. Developing with a receiver in Roma Dunes A. But you have a veteran who's really good in DJ Moore. You got one tight end in Cold Comet. Let's draft another one who complements his skill set in Colston Loveland. They're blocking their pass, catching. What doesn't he have? And oh yeah, by the way, very talented, good, if not great defense. But he's been struggling and he struggled last year, though. That was a little overblown and we'll get to in a minute. But he's been struggling the first few days of camp because he threw an interception and because reporters saw him get taken off the field for Tyson Bagent in the second string. Ben Johnson is holding these guys to a very, very high standard that I can tell you, frankly, was not there last year. Here's how Ben Johnson addressed the early struggles for Caleb Williams and the offense. I know some people enjoyed me throwing the first team out of practice. Not the case. We got to end up executing getting in and out of the huddle a certain way, and it wasn't that way. And we're learning, we're growing. You know, there are some things from the springtime expected to carry over that that was probably one we just don't have any tolerance for anymore. We got too far to go. So Caleb Williams is not a finished product. And Caleb Williams is hurt now reputationally by guys in his draft class already passing him by. Right, Jaden Daniels. Best rookie season any of us have ever seen. NFC Championship game. Bo Nixon ends up in the playoffs. First four weeks of last year looked like he didn't belong in the NFL by the end of the season. Like Bo Nick said. BO, Nick said 29 touchdown passes, the second most ever for a rookie. Why are we talking more about Bo Nix's rookie season? Drake May had no talent around him, but looks good, looks competent, made some big time plays and the narrative was Caleb Williams was bad. The truth was Caleb Williams at times was bad. And those of us hand up who said Caleb Williams was walking into the best situation any number one overall pick had ever walked into, we drastically underestimated one thing and it was coaching. And I'm mad at myself for doing it because I was wrong. Because I was the guy who said when they got the rights to the number one pick they needed to fire Matt Eberfluss because it was insane to believe that the guy most qualified to develop Caleb Williams was the former Colts defensive coordinator. I was doing radio in Chicago at the time and I was saying you got to fire Eber fl, you got to fire Eberfluss. And they didn't. And I was like, well, it'll probably still work because I like the team around him. And it didn't. Jaden Daniels had Dan Quinn, knew how to be a professional. Bo Nicks had Sean Payton, one of the great offensive minds and play callers, but also how to be a professional. Matt Eberfluss, he did not do a good job of helping Caleb Williams become a professional. And I think Caleb Williams thought that he could get by on just his talent and the talent around him. And Matt Eberfluous let some things slide last year and it's come out and I've heard, I know guys on the team that they did not like how he reacted to that loss in the, in the wild card game against Washington. They did not like how he did not take enough accountability for the lack of time management issues in the game against Detroit on Thanksgiving. And he didn't hold himself to enough count. He didn't hold the players to enough account. Things started to slide and it got sloppy. But it's like people talk about Caleb Williams being on the verge of being a bust. I promise you, you didn't watch if you think that that's the case. He was playing with practice squad guys on his offensive line. His play caller got fired nine games into his rookie year. And then a franchise that has never fired its head coach in season saw it be so dysfunctional that they broke with historic precedent and fired a head coach in season. That's how bad it was. He took 68 sacks and to be very clear, plenty of those were on Caleb trying to play hero ball, backpedaling trying to do the college stuff in the pros again, learning how to be a pro. It was not all on the offensive line, it was not all on the play callers. But Caleb Williams for the first time really had some failure. Yeah, I know the last year at USC did not go exactly how he want, but he was still celebrated. Crowns, the number one pick, all of that. He had some failure and he saw guys be drafted lower than him, pass him by. And now Ben Johnson, he's coming in with expectations. He is pulling him off the field, he is demanding more, he is calling him out in the team meeting, he is quizzing him in front of the room. He's holding him to a very high standard. And I just have a very hard time believing that a guy with his talent who still had better than a 3 to 1 touchdown interception ratio while taking 68 sacks. The play caller who was fired nine games in, he ain't a bust. I don't know if he'll become Aaron Rodgers and Patrick Mahomes and win MVPs. I still think that ceiling is there, but he's not a bust. Caleb. With Ben Johnson, with that talent around him, it's going to take time, but he will be just fine. Please do not overreact for my sanity to an interception in a practice. Coming up next, I will tell you why Jalen Hurts is getting properly ranked and Eagles fans do not need to take so much offense to everything said about your unbelievably successful football team. My top 10 NFL quarterbacks next. The Herd. This is an I heart podcast.