THE HERD - Hour 1 - NFL schedule release, Niners have it rough, Chargers went too far

Summary

The Herd with Colin Cowherd – Hour 1 Summary

Episode: NFL schedule release, Niners have it rough, Chargers went too far

Date: May 15, 2026
Host: Colin Cowherd, with Jason McIntyre (J-Mac)
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts and The Volume

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode centers on the NFL’s just-released 2026 schedule, with Colin offering in-depth analysis of the league’s approach to feature games, the intentional choices behind marquee matchups, and how certain teams are advantaged—or perhaps punished—based on the construction of their slates. Key discussion focuses on the marquee holiday and international games, as well as specific teams (Niners, Chargers, Bears, Broncos, Cowboys, Giants), and the increasing trend of offense-centric showcase games. A segment on the NBA's efforts to curb tanking, followed by focused NFL team analysis (Steelers, Raiders, Giants), rounds out the hour.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

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1. NFL Schedule Evolution: Holidays, Stars & Intentionality

(01:40–08:10)

• The NFL’s focus for primetime and holiday windows is now all about star quarterbacks and offensive fireworks.
• Holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas now feature the “best games of the weekend” versus the “nap game” of old.
  • “My entire life... there’s been that one [Thanksgiving] game you nap to... The NFL has really evolved... It’s star quarterbacks, it’s the biggest games, it’s the best games.”—Colin Cowherd [05:00]
• International games are no longer afterthoughts:
  • From “Jaguars and another team slightly less boring” to featuring Niners-Rams in Melbourne and Ravens-Cowboys in Brazil.
  • “These games would be the best game of their weekend.” [06:10]
• No more participation trophy for primetime:
  • Some teams (Titans, Jets, Browns, Cardinals) got no primetime games due to lackluster performance or organization.
  • “You haven’t earned the right... This is not a participation trophy league.”—[07:15]
• Comparison to MLB and the importance of creating events, not just filling the calendar.

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2. Intentional Scheduling — Who Gets Helped Or Hurt?

(08:50–13:50)

• Chargers Schedule:
  • Not “punished”; given early season wins (Cardinals, Raiders) and slotted into high-profile late slots for ratings.
  • “They put them early in the season, high profile late games... not punish them.” [09:44]
• Broncos Schedule:
  • Conspiracy hinted: Sean Payton’s contentiousness with the league may have contributed to a brutal opening 6-game stretch.
  • @ Chiefs, Jags, Rams, @ Niners, @ Chargers, @ Seahawks — among the roughest starts Colin has seen.
  • “That’s the toughest six game schedule I’ve ever seen in my life... Feels like they’re trying to punish him.” [11:20]
• NFC North (Packers, Lions):
  • Given softer, more manageable closing stretches; the league “protects” big brands like the Packers and favorable Super Bowl teams (Bills, Lions).
  • “Big brand in the NFL... They want the Bills and the Lions in the Super Bowl.” [12:48]
• 49ers:
  • Noted as an “old team” with a brutal late-season, travel-heavy schedule—potentially problematic with aging/injury-prone roster.
  • “For an old team, that’s going to get banged up. The Niners late schedule is rough.” [13:27]

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3. Segment: NFL Schedule Winners and Losers (with J-Mac)

(13:56–15:43)

• Both hosts agree: Packers among schedule winners; Broncos have it the worst.
• Jason on Packers: “Look at the quarterbacks they face—it’s like ‘ooh’.” [14:08]
• Consensus that Denver not making the playoffs would not be a surprise: “It’s over, I don’t think they’re making it.” —Jason McIntyre [14:30]

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4. Is the Bears’ Schedule Really the Toughest?

(17:56–23:46)

• Contrary to reports, Colin argues the Bears’ schedule is not a gauntlet.
• “They do not face any team off a bye... Their five toughest games, look at the games before and after—they’ll be a significant favorite.”—[18:00]
• Favorable home stretches early and late, tough cold-weather games (e.g. Saints, Bucs) at home as conditions worsen (advantageous for Chicago).
• “It starts soft, home games in the middle, ends Packers and Lions at home... the NFL wants a Chicago Bears team that is in the news. That’s what it feels like to me.”—[19:41]

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5. Chiefs’ Schedule and Injuries

(23:46–26:31)

• Chiefs open against Broncos (with Mahomes returning from injury) and have a backloaded schedule.
• Concern over an early bye (Week 5):
  • “You don’t want the early bye... Eleven of the last thirteen Super Bowl champs had a bye week eight or later.”—Jason [25:43]
  • Older team, young defense, and a tough mid-late season stretch cited as challenges.

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6. Cowboys & George Pickens’ Role

(26:31–29:03)

• George Pickens’ lack of presence in the offseason not a big concern: “He’s fun, he’s a good time, but... not a guy I’m going to build around.”—Colin [27:04]
• The Cowboys have a manageable schedule:
  • “You can argue Dallas has the better quarterback in thirteen of the seventeen games they play.”—Colin [28:09]
  • Late bye is well-positioned, just ahead of the Rams—their toughest stretch.

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7. NBA Draft and Tanking: Adam Silver’s Proposal

(29:03–31:09)

• New proposal to use “flat odds” and “draft relegation” to disincentivize tanking.
• Colin: “Mark my words, the tanking issue will disappear next year because it’s an egregiously bad draft... and next year’s a bad draft.”—[29:44]
• If your star (like Haliburton) goes down: “One injury can take down some teams... don’t know how you rectify that.”—Jason [31:09]

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8. Raiders QB Decision: Start Mendoza Week 1

(31:31–36:35)

• Case for rookie Fernando Mendoza to start the season:
  • Experience (36 college games), success (16–0 against Big Ten), maturity, and a winnable Week 1 game vs. Miami.
  • “Nobody wants to see Kirk Cousins start that game... I would start Fernando Mendoza for like four reasons.”—Colin [32:31]
• Raiders have the roster talent and solid off-season moves (Linderbaum, veteran defenders) to support a young quarterback.

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9. Giants as “Double Your Win Total” Team

(40:20–43:39)

• Colin’s pick for this year’s positive surprise: New York Giants, led by John Harbaugh and a favorable schedule.
• “The NFL is intentional... The Giants will win more games in September than the Jets will have interceptions all year.”—Colin [41:56]

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10. Steelers Rumor: Trading TJ Watt

(43:39–48:04)

• Citing ESPN’s Fowler, suggestion that Steelers may trade TJ Watt, finally shifting focus to offense after years of heavy defensive spending.
• “Every good company I’ve ever worked at is seeing problems before they develop or persist like Pittsburgh... move in the offensive direction, keep going, don’t stop.”—Colin [46:25]
• Critique of Steelers’ stubborn organizational philosophy: “They treat quarterback like a guard or an off-ball linebacker.” [47:30]

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11. NFL Team Scheduling Notes & Brief Titans Segment

(49:42–50:49)

• Noting Dable and Salah (“revenge games”) on Titans schedule early.
• Jason: “My off-season team: Tennessee Titans. I was a year early; I wasn’t wrong, I was just early.” [50:28]
• Lighthearted Giants/Jets/Colts banter, suggesting Arch Manning to the Jets in the future.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Don’t just put a game, put arguably the best game of the weekend in these spots.” —Colin [06:18]
• “It is not a participation trophy league. Get out of here.” —Colin [07:15]
• “That’s the toughest six game schedule I’ve ever seen in my life and I’m a geek on this stuff.” —Colin, on Broncos’ opening slate [11:20]
• “The Niners late schedule for an old team is rough.” —Colin [13:37]
• “Eleven of the last thirteen Super Bowl champs had a bye week eight or later. You want the late bye, you don’t want that early one.” —Jason [25:43]
• “You can argue Dallas has the better quarterback in thirteen of the seventeen games they play” —Colin [28:09]
• “The NFL wants Chicago to be captivating the entire way. This to me is a tough schedule, the Kansas City Chiefs… that’s a tough opener.” —Colin, contrasting Bears and Chiefs scheduling [20:04 & 21:08]
• “Every good company I’ve ever worked at is seeing problems before they develop… Software update time for the Steelers.” —Colin [46:25]
• “I was a year early–I wasn’t wrong, I was just early!” —Jason, on the Titans [50:28]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [01:40] – Opening on NFL schedule, star QBs, and offense
• [06:10] – International game upgrades
• [08:50] – Charger, Bronco, Packer, and Lion scheduling analysis
• [13:56] – Jason joins for “winners and losers” of the schedule
• [17:56] – Bears’ schedule examined, followed by Chiefs analysis
• [23:46] – Kansas City Chiefs, Mahomes' recovery, and bye week impact
• [26:31] – George Pickens, Cowboys' roster decisions, and schedule
• [29:03] – NBA segment on draft reform and tanking
• [31:31] – Raiders QB dilemma and case for starting Mendoza
• [40:20] – Giants as a breakout candidate
• [43:39] – Steelers rumor: TJ Watt trade and need to modernize
• [49:42] – Titans/early season matchups

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Language & Tone

• Colin’s style: Conversational, direct and occasionally conspiratorial, with a focus on narrative, league intent, and entertaining as well as informing.
• Jason’s role: Provides analytical support, asks pressing questions, and occasionally counters or broadens Colin’s takes.

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For listeners or readers: This episode provided a blueprint for interpreting NFL scheduling—both as a game of TV and brand strategy and as a factor in predicting team fortunes. It also touched on broader sports management issues, including NBA tanking and the perpetual modernization challenge facing legacy organizations like the Steelers and Raiders. Colin’s blend of opinion, experience, and occasional humor makes for a fast-paced dive into all things NFL, with plenty of food for thought on how intentional the league actually is.

Transcript

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[Colin Cowherd]

comes from public so it kind of feels like there's two types of investing platforms you got the old school brokerages that look like they were designed in like nineteen ninety five then you have those other platforms the ones that feel less like investing and more like a casino public is neither it's the investing platform for people who actually take this stuff seriously you know people who are serious about building their wealth because on public you can build a portfolio of stocks and options and bonds and crypto without all the bugs or the confetti retirement accounts yep high yield cash of course they even have direct indexing honestly this is what investing platform should look like modern design simple to use and customer support that actually cares go to public dot com cowherd and earn an uncapped one percent bonus when you transfer your portfolio that's public dot com cowherd

[Jason McIntyre]

ad paid for by public holdings brokerage services by public investing member finra sipc advisory services by public advisors sec registered advisor crypto services by zerohash all investing involves risk of loss see complete disclosures

[Colin Cowherd]

at public dot com disclosures imagine never buying gas again ev's are as easy to charge as your phone and perfect for everyday life drive daily with confidence everywhere you go most americans drive forty miles a day most ev's are equipped with two hundred to four hundred miles of range they've got fewer parts fewer repairs and fewer headaches with hundreds of new and used ev models available today there's an ev to fit every lifestyle and every budget i love my electric vehicle it's easy no more gas stations the way forward is electric learn more at electric for all dot org want to keep up with everything trendy from breaking news to shareable jokes pop culture bites to viral food spots it's all on tiktok download tiktok now to explore thanks for listening to the herd podcast be sure to catch us live every weekday on fox sports radio at noon to three eastern nine am to noon pacific find your local station for the herd at foxsportsradio dot com or stream us live every day on the iheartradio app by searching fox sports radio or fsr now let's get this party started you're listening to fox sports radio here we go friday schedule release friday very few things i dork out to i geek out to to more than the schedule release for a day anyway i'm in la so is jay mack it's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be watching or listening thanks for making us part of your day so the nfl made a decision over a decade ago do a better job at protecting the quarterback and tweak the rules to help offense so the offense now is the cool side of the ball offensive coordinators can make more than defensive coordinators wide receivers now can make more than your corners like it's the cool side of the ball so when i looked at the thanksgiving and the christmas schedules which are the best i've ever seen it's taken the nfl a while to figure out the holidays and the international stuff what jumped out to me was thanksgiving eve packers ramsay thanksgiving bears lions eagles cowboys chiefs bills black friday broncos steelers one of those teams i think about defense pittsburgh and that's only because they overspend on it aaron rodgers is the biggest star on the team he's the quarterback then you go to the christmas eve games texans eagles packers bears bills broncos rams seahawks i'm sorry it's a lot of star quarterbacks only the texans i would say i think of defense first you could really see the change its star quarterbacks its star offensive coaches it is you could say well the seahawks jsn and sam darnold are moving a lot of jerseys not the defensive ends offense is easier to sell it's where our imagination gravitates to and so for me when i looked at these christmas and thanksgiving schedules knock on wood everybody stays healthy for fox those those are great schedules those are unbelievable schedules star coaches star quarterbacks not going to be a lot of you know field goals my entire life and just because the nfl's well run doesn't mean they got the schedules figured out years ago the thanksgiving slate my entire life there's been that one game you nap to you're not really a fan you're more tryptophan you know you just you're trying to figure out yeah i got a little i'm i'm going to i'm going to sleep through the lions game the nfl has really evolved on these holiday schedules is that they don't just put games on it is star quarterbacks it is the biggest games it's the best games these are graming packers rams that's best game of the weekend oh oh wait or is it eagles at cowboys is best game of the weekend i mean the black friday game that would be second or third best game of the weekend so and look at the international games nine of them now remember when international games were jacksonville and another team that was slightly less boring than jacksonville look at these games now these would be the best game of their weekend niners rams melbourne australia ravens cowboys brazil those would be the best games of the weekend i mean even you know patriots lions on fox that's first or second best game of a weekend those games are now international the other thing the nfl has done thank god is they got rid of that silly we've got to give every team one prime time game you know who didn't get a primetime game titans jets cleveland arizona why they're not they're not smartly run although i think the browns gm is brilliant andrew barry but they're not necessarily well run they're not necessarily smartly capitalized they sign dumb contracts with quarterbacks they're revolving doors for coaches you haven't earned the right to get a game it's not this is not a participation trophy league get out of here so i think the nfl smartly bailed on that old rule so now they got sunday covered monday covered thursday covered holidays i mean nba won't sniff a number on on christmas that that that that schedule is unbelievable now they got the international thing figured out and i remember telling a story years ago that major league baseball the nfl has always been super intentional with their scheduling much more than other leagues although i think this is the first time they've ever gotten it right christmas thanksgiving holiday first time i've ever looked at all of it and thought okay that's how you do it don't just put a game put arguably the best game of the weekend in these spots but for years and years like major league baseball couldn't figure this out they would you know they'd have the red sox yankees or the cards cubs the giants dodgers playing a series like monday through thursday like what are you doing those are always weekend series create some events make the regular season matter be intentional with your schedule baseball's gotten much better at that okay so now we've talked about kind of the macro on the holidays international so this is not the nba lottery the nfl doesn't use ping pong balls for their schedule they are intentional i absolutely believe the nfl is intentional and i'll give you an example look at the charger schedule they're not trying to punish them but they know the chargers are going to be good so they give them a couple of wins early cardinals raiders right they get them at home they're going to be favored in those games but they know they're going to be good late look at the next seven games high profile star quarterbacks late game windows seahawks broncos chiefs rams texans ravens four o' clock starts eight o' clock starts now the bills is one o' clock but it'll be the one o' clock game of the day so they don't necessarily punish him at the end they don't punish him at the beginning and even with this schedule they give them a raiders game before the gauntlet and a jets game after it they're not trying to punish the chargers but they know they're going to be good so they put them early in the season in high profile late games now now it's interesting who are they punishing and i believe this i'm not a conspiracy guy but i believe this i think sean payton has a mixed relationship with a league office he's taken he's taken shots at quarterbacks he's taken russell wills he's taken shots at coaches nfl does not like friendly fire zip it look at denver schedule they're punishing them the first six games that's the toughest six game schedule i have ever seen in my life and i'm a geek on this stuff i am a nerd on schedules i've never seen anything like that at chiefs jags rams at niners at chargers at seahawks they could have thrown an arizona game in there a panthers game in there they could have thrown that steeler game in there the raider game in there nope front heavy with b knicks coming off a surgery i believe and i you know again i'm not a conspiracy guy but i think sean payton has irked a few people he's been outspoken little friendly fire sometimes in the league that feels like they're trying to punish him now you could say column denver and the chargers i mean they're in the division it's the division no it's not because the best division in football statistically j mac and i have talked about this is the nfc north eight games better look at the packers and lions schedules big brands unlike the chargers a smaller brand where the nfl wants to introduce them in big games the packers schedule the only part of the packers schedule the toughest two game slate is week sixteen and seventeen at the bears and the texans they don't need to advertise the packers they're going to protect the packers they'll put some tougher games late they don't need to advertise chargers second biggest team in la harbaugh herbert o lineback they want to put the chargers up front not punish them because they give them easy landings after it easy tarmac before it look at the lions schedule again big brand in the nfl deep down i think they want the bills and the lions in the super bowl i think it would get it because it's like the two teams in america it'd be impossible not to root for look at the lions schedule where are their two toughest games week sixteen or seventeen and eighteen at the bears and at the packers very workable games i mean they they give them the bills early they surround them with the saints and jets at home that is a the nfl doesn't just do ping pong balls oh the games landed where they landed it doesn't work that way so schedules matter and let me throw one more at you i don't i don't know what this says i don't think the nfl is punishing anybody but we've talked about this on the air the older your team is the more they get hurt and the longer it takes for older players to recover from injuries when a young guy gets hurt remember when ant got hurt in the nba they're like oh he's going to be out the entire series game one i'm ready jayson tatum he'll be out the whole year it doesn't work young athletes heal much faster check out the niner schedule look at this eight game stretch starting mid november this is an old team with players evans greenlaw bosa mccaffrey trent williams older players who have had injuries that is a rough schedule cowboys vikings in mexico seahawks at new york cross country i mean look at look at all the trips mexico new york midwest that is a rough eight game stretch for an old team that's going to get banged up i mean it's been like a six year trend in san francisco the way they play physically so i think that san francisco schedule i think the niners will end up we'll get all excited maybe the nfl knows like we don't we don't we don't know how this is going to work out but we want to keep him in the in the discussion early but i thought the ners late schedule for an old team is rough so there you go j mack i i've got nine different takes only nine on the schedule i i i did think the christmas thanksgiving and international games by a by a considerable margin it's the best the league has ever done with high profile quarterbacks teams and games well i i

[Jason McIntyre]

you and i agree the viewers agree i'm curious if the coaches agree you know you don't want a million primetime games colin it's not great owners love that stuff but the coaches and the players they don't ask kirk cousins i think you have a great take on the packers i thought they were the big winners in the schedule i mean goodness gracious look at the quarterbacks they face it is like ooh and the bengals for me in the afc i know your boy ryan over there he's very excited they face four teams that had winning records last year yeah that's

[Colin Cowherd]

it yeah and i think green bay and i do think there is the denver schedule oh that's for six games

[Jason McIntyre]

it's over i don't think they're making

[Colin Cowherd]

the playoffs they could well i will tell you this i felt after watching denver and charger schedule release i have the chargers winning the division denver's a wild card team will battle kansas city i thought it meant that much is that i mean again it's not like the chargers is easy but look at the games they put in front of their gauntlet and behind it yeah they're looking listen if they go five hundred

[Jason McIntyre]

no no way they're facing patrick mahomes in five playoff teams from last year look at the win totals on those teams it's some of the teams that people expect to contend for the super bowl yeah if they win three of them that would be a miracle sean

[Colin Cowherd]

payton's a magical okay so i'll tell you what i do think is the toughest schedule and i was told the bear schedule oh they may not win four games i thought chicago got a huge break i'll talk about that coming up be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon eastern nine am pacific on fox sports radio

[Jason McIntyre]

fs one and the iheartradio app hey this is jason mcintyre join me every weekday morning on my podcast straight fire with jason mcintyre this isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day straight fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines accurate stats to help you win big at the sportsbook and all the best guests do yourself a favor and listen to straight fire with jason mcintyre on the iheartradio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts

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[Colin Cowherd]

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charge as your phone and perfect for everyday life drive daily with confidence everywhere you go most americans drive forty miles a day most ev's are equipped with two hundred to four hundred miles of range they've got fewer parts fewer repairs and fewer headaches with hundreds of new and used ev models available today there's an ev to fit every lifestyle and every budget i love my electric vehicle it's easy no more gas stations the way forward is electric learn more at electric for all dot org so i was told the toughest schedule in the nfl was going to be the chicago bears i don't see it so first of all the bears do not face any team off a buy not once secondly their five toughest games are arguably the eagles on monday night football at green bay at seattle at detroit and at buffalo look at the games before their toughest games they'll either be a game before or after well where they will be a significant favorite i mean the first month alone they get three home games in the first month that's a nice start right get some momentum get some belief first three home games in the first month they only face one star quarterback and of the star quarterbacks he may be the least intimidating jaylen herz then you go do weeks nine ten and eleven the middle of the schedule well they get a warm weather team and a dome team at home bucks and saints in chicago as it's getting cold oh yeah their toughest game is the game in seattle against the seahawks but they even get a break there they get extra rest thursday to monday so i mean their toughest games are to me lions packers you know you start looking at the at the very end of the season they get the packers and the lions in week sixteen seventeen they're both at home so it starts soft home games the middle home games against warm weather and dome teams in a buy and then it ends packers and lions at home the nfl wants chicago they want a chicago bears team that is in the news that's what it feels like to me is they understand that the power of ben johnson the power of the brand third biggest tv market in america it's no gauntlet they want chicago to be captivating the entire way this to me is a tough schedule the kansas city chiefs momes is coming off an injury first game best pass rush in the nfl denver that's a tough opener could have given him the dolphins the raiders nope also week six seven and eight justin herbert at sam darnold at denver and bo nicks rivalry game that's pretty tough weeks twelve through seventeen is ludicrous they face in succession on the road at josh allen at matt stafford at joe burrow oh and then they get a break drake may brock purdy at home and then at justin herbert there is no six game stretch that you face more top quarterbacks and yes brock purdy with shanahan is a good quarterback i don't think he's herbert i don't think he's stafford i don't think he's josh allen i don't think he's mahomes but that to me is a really i mean three straight roadies josh allen stafford joe burrow that's rough they face really tough quarterbacks week after week after week and especially tough because it's mid later in the year when injuries pile up they already moved off mcduffie now you may be down your new number one corner pass rusher so late in the season everybody's dinged up you're just trying to get guys back and they're facing the best quarterbacks as the weather gets cold right they're facing the best quarterbacks in the league i thought kansas city schedule would be a big pass for me bear schedule i thought beginning middle end plays to your favor a couple tough games late it's already been established your culture your momentum i thought i thought chicago got a scheduling break we were told it was going to be the toughest schedule in the league and we were told that about new england last year and it was true we were told that about san francisco last year it was true i was told that about chicago go look at the schedule beginning middle end a lot of workable winnable games they'll be favored sometimes heavily j mac with the news no no no no turn on the news this

[Jason McIntyre]

is the herd line news are we going to go back to the chiefs because andy reid talked about this season opener against the broncos and there is some speculation that hey would the league really schedule chiefs broncos prime time week one would they really do that if mahomes wasn't coming back now i know that the games after week one are cupcakes the colts without daniel jones the pathetic dolphins and likely mendoza and the raiders but here's what reed said about the entire process people go well he's

[Colin Cowherd]

ahead of schedule or is he ahead

[Jason McIntyre]

of scan i'm going who made the schedule i mean everybody's different right and so let's just take it day by day and nobody's spending more time than

[Colin Cowherd]

he is rehabbing he spent seven hours

[Jason McIntyre]

here going through it and he hasn't

[Colin Cowherd]

missed a day and he wants more and more all the things that are patrick mahomes and so but let's just let's see where we're at as we

[Jason McIntyre]

as we go forward we get a little bit closer to the game roger

[Colin Cowherd]

goodell probably use this as motivation for

[Jason McIntyre]

the two quarterbacks both of them have been banged up a little bit

[Colin Cowherd]

yeah

[Jason McIntyre]

any any thoughts on reed and the chiefs bouncing back i know the schedule is kind of backloaded i don't love that if i'm the chiefs no um i mean but you get some runway to get a good start they should be like six and four seven and

[Colin Cowherd]

three ish well what happens as you know defensive players statistically get hurt more often than offensive players so if you're going to face great quarterbacks you'd like to face them early right the offense isn't quite in sync maybe but they face great quarterbacks on the road back to back as you're getting into the mid later part of the season and guys get dinged up so you're down personnel so i you know i mean i think they'll be really good i think i have the chargers winning the division and i think kansas city and denver battle denver schedule early is just it's like punishing yeah almost intentionally punishing

[Jason McIntyre]

one thing that i haven't seen a lot of people talk about you see that week five buy for the chiefs i was doing some bye week analysis you don't want the early buy that's obvious right the season is grueling you know the injuries not you want to be rested late by colin eleven of the last thirteen super bowl champs had to buy week eight or later you want the late buy you don't want that early one so that doesn't really help the chiefs at all and this is an older team on defense and the young guys are like unproven that

[Colin Cowherd]

i think it's a good point i i think i don't think kansas city loved the early buy i know they didn't well right so they got an early buy that that's not good for older teams and great quarterbacks on the road middle to late yeah that's a to me that's as tough a schedule based on the roster you have as there is in the league they'll be

[Jason McIntyre]

in the mix for a playoff spot but i i definitely think they're up rung below the chargers for sure all right colin let's go to the next story and that is dak prescott talking about george pickens who has not shown up yet for anything but fear not dak says they have thrown together this offseason so he's got that going for him it's not like pickens has been totally invisible but there is still some concern that maybe he's not going to be he's not happy with the franchise tag and you know he's going to ruffle some feathers i don't i don't know what to make of this colin

[Colin Cowherd]

yeah i mean pickens will be there dallas will be interesting i thought dallas played it out right i think he's a franchise tag player i don't think you know we've talked you know it's the old saying some some people are date some people you marry i think he's a short term proposition yeah yeah he's a he's fun he's a good time but i don't for a year or two yeah but i don't he's not a guy i'm going to build around cd lamb i'd be more prone to build around there's a lot of receivers jsn the seahawks sign him early highly mature player like larry fitzgerald you knew what you were getting for a decade plus but i but i think there are players puka nukua some off field stuff i'm going to let it play out so i think the cowboys play this right yeah i don't know

[Jason McIntyre]

if we can get the cowboys schedule on the screen but colin i actually like their outlook better than the giants this year i don't know if you've taken much of a look at it but you know this is i think a pretty soft start for them i think they beat the giants in washington to start the season and then you got a couple a little bit of

[Colin Cowherd]

a tough gauntlet there but i have

[Jason McIntyre]

look at some of these quarterbacks no

[Colin Cowherd]

i have a in fact i put it down on my schedule outside of the game against the ravens and lamar jackson and jordan love at green bay sam darnold in seattle and stafford you can argue dallas has the better quarterback in thirteen of the seven games they play jerry jones this it now we knew before the schedule was released but again when i look at the schedule their toughest games ravens early packers you know a month later then they get seven or eight winnable games again they get a buy before the rams game again the league is intentional i think they look at dallas as a team that is good and interesting and i thought you know anytime you get a they got one of the latest buys you can get and it's right before their toughest game of the year that is a favor by the nfl yeah

[Jason McIntyre]

i think the arrow is pointing up on dallas i don't know if how high i don't know about ten wins or anything final story let's go to the nba and colin adam silver is talking tanking and he's actually maybe making some sense now this new proposal to fix tanking it could actually penalize teams that are tanking the most egregious landing one two or three here's silver talking

[Colin Cowherd]

about it what we've essentially done and we have a proposal that we're going to be bringing to you know our our team owners at the end of may and that is to create essentially a system of flat odds you know so that you have no particular incentive to be to be bad there's even something we're calling draft relegation that if

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[Colin Cowherd]

odds than teams that sort of are you know four through up until teams make the playoffs mark my words the tanking issue will disappear next year because it's an egregiously bad draft people are going to want to it doesn't matter where you land people are going to try to they're going to lean into building culture also many of the bad teams jason are getting a good player in this draft or two like chicago so there's some cap space to the bad teams i mean washington's unwatchable now you're like if they get aj debonsa it's like oh they got trey young anthony davis aj you know so next year's a bad draft and i think i also think bad teams in the league are willing to tank for a year to get a star but jason you don't want to you don't want to make a habit of it like being bad for your culture so i think all those wizards jazz bulls nets kings hawks they're they're going all in

[Jason McIntyre]

the only issue with this three two one colin tyrese halliburton goes down for the season that's everything he's the engine to the pacers and they lost miles turner they were going to be terrible now they did they did tank once they realized oh we can you know maybe steal that clippers pick but let's be real if your star goes to if cade cunningham's lost for next season bro they're going to be the worst team in the league and based on this three two one they're not going to have better odds than like the fourth or fifth team and i don't i don't love that i don't know how you rectify that but one injury

[Colin Cowherd]

can take down some teams oh absolutely so yeah i mean i i think they're a little too commissioners freak out yes with fabric of the game issues like tanking because years later you could blame a commissioner for that commissioner is not going to get blamed for a bad call or a con for controversial moment david stern didn't get blamed for the brawl in detroit yet like that but commissioners get whacked for tanking yeah or or or you know like for instance in game prop betting you know gambling taking the gambling money and people say well you've got you know you've got tim donaghy or you've got a baseball player that's what commissioners get whacked for their legacies so the tanking thing freaks all commissioners out i think it's going to disappear next year it's a bad draft there's no incentive to draft you want to build a winning culture j mac with the news well that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd lie news now when you're a bad team schedules always look tough i remember when brady was running the nfl it felt like every year you're like man patriots are getting the easiest schedule brady made it look easy you know now now it it did help that buffalo was mostly bad and miami was and the jets were mostly average that helped a lot but the raiders you know it's a tough schedule because it's the raiders but when i looked at the raiders it's almost like the nfl did not give the raiders a primetime game because they don't know when fernando mendoza is starting i think they're going to get a primetime game i think they're going to get one flexed in potentially so what's interesting is the first game of the year for the raiders it's the easiest game on the schedule it's the dolphins it's at home the dolphins are going to start up to eight or nine rookies they drafted they have a new coaching staff it's a long flight that is the winnable game on the schedule now i've said before you know they also face the jets in cleveland but those are on the road those are tougher games and you know you start going to cleveland week twelve late november it could be snow and vegas is an indoor warm weather team same with the jets now we're in november you don't want you don't know what the weather is in new york but the easiest game is miami which is bereft of talent new quarterback new coach new system and eight guys starting from the draft so i would start nobody wants to see kirk cousins start that game i like kirk cousins nobody wants to see him start i would start fernando mendoza for like four reasons number one is he played in thirty six college games i think he started in thirty six i don't know no but he played in thirty six games that's a lot of games secondly he went sixteen and oh against the big ten the best conference and a gauntlet in the college football playoff so he faced i mean the games against ohio state and miami combined there's you know fifteen nfl bodies the other thing he's a really sharp dedicated kid and again it's at home and that matters you know it's it's traveling for business traveling for sports it's not the same as home so and it's interesting at the league meetings i remember there was a quote from clint kubiak who was asked you know who's going to start kirk cousins or your rookie fernando mendoza and if you remember the quote he said he said in a perfect world a rookie watches a mature adult and learns is there any more mature twenty two year old in the league than fernando mendoza i mean he that guy is wearing turtlenecks and sweaters at a nightclub he is like he is like the most dedicated mature almost to a cringy level guy in the nfl so he's got his priorities in order he says the right things i mean he wouldn't go to the white house it wasn't political he's like i don't think a rookie should go there i've got to be with my team i think and i also think the raiders gm in my opinion did a really good job in free agency in the draft there's an argument the raiders had one of the better drafts so and i think the raiders actually have talent like edge crosby left tackle colton miller tight end running back so the two times you don't want to start a rookie quarterback is number one they haven't played a lot of college games and number two is they're going to get pummeled they went and got tyler lindebaum the best center arguably in the football and free agency left tackle colt miller's above average so to me the raiders are going to be a competitive team they may finish fourth they are they are not the jets they are not miami i mean at key places left tackle edge rusher they've got real talent they went and got veteran linebackers so i to me the best free agent signing was tyler linderbaum i would start him that that is the most winnable game on the schedule new quarterback new coach new system miami on the road they're going to be starting seven rookies they don't have a choice they're like thirteen picks first seven eight picks are going to play they're going to start so that's where i'd go i would start him week one okay i got thoughts on the new york giants they were my double your win total pick for the nfl season thoughts on that coming up next be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon eastern nine am pacific brought to

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[Colin Cowherd]

i wonder if this can beat the market everyone's talking about the nasdaq one hundred but let's get more specific software actually too broad how about software that's already profitable companies that beat the last five quarters oh and i want founders who are marathon runners that's discipline yeah let's see what that looks like with

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[Colin Cowherd]

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[Jason McIntyre]

of football is coming your way with ufl's hats off to heroes celebration fox ufl friday kicks it off live from fort hood tonight at eight eastern with orlando versus dallas then the action continues sunday at one with columbus and birmingham all part of a huge weekend of

[Colin Cowherd]

football on fox so every year i pick a couple of teams i call them my double the win total team and we've been i think right five years in a row maybe four last year it was new england didn't think they'd get to a super bowl the new york giants are my pick and a lot of it's john harbaugh i love their draft so again the nfl is intentional the chicago bears schedule is laid out for them to stay in the game all season they don't they don't frontload it they don't backload it they sprinkle the tough games so the new york giants to me listen new york and chicago are massive tv markets i think combined you have like eleven and a half potential households look at the giant schedule first six weeks cowboys at home titans at home cardinals at home saints at home that's a lot of cupcakes that's a and by the way where do they put their buy probably a week or two earlier than the giants want it but they put it right in front of their biggest rival the philadelphia eagles at philadelphia toughest game in the schedule is probably at philadelphia for the giants they get two weeks to prepare for it so you start looking at that record for the giants wouldn't be shocking if they're four and two or five and one i believe the nfl i mean again there's too many things that happen that are aligned for all this stuff to just be wow what a shock we were flipping coins in the back room like sean payton outspoken some friendly fire i don't think the nfl loves denver schedule is like intentionally hard early meanwhile why would you do this to the giants not just because of new york but the harbaughs are football gods the harbaugh's name is gold in the nfl they love jim harbaugh they love john harbaugh i look at this schedule for them and i'll make a prediction the giants will win more games in september than the jets will have interceptions all year that is my so but i do believe this to my core the nfl you know they say i'll give you an example again you're going to think this is conspiracy theory colin i make fun of conspiracy guys right the nfl said about social media amongst their teams they said we you do not have to approve your social media campaigns or tweets with us with the schedule release we're going to trust your judgment i don't think although it may be funny i don't think it was necessarily smart for the chargers social media team known as very witty to take shots at vrabel that's friendly fire protect the shield you want controversies to go away that is my take that is not smart it gets a laugh in the room you're building a brand i do not think that was smart by the chargers social team that is not protecting the shield that's just my take as long as i've lived if there's any sport that has felt corporate it's the nfl you know social media people get fired in corporations for the wrong tweet that's just my take oh you're being an old guy nfl is run by old guys old rich guys i'm sorry it is here's a non schedule story that i thought was interesting so espn's jeremy fowler legitimate reporter very proven is predicting the steelers trade tj watt well you know i've been on this i think jason you've been on this i've been on this for two years first of all they're going to lead pittsburgh the nfl in defensive spending this year for the fifth year in a row it's embarrassing the best teams in the league you know like the rams are spending their money on offense you know so i also think it's good for tj watt he can play for a legitimate super bowl contender pittsburgh is not he's a great kid from a great family he's all ball and pittsburgh's got too many big cap hits on the defensive side and again they're going to leave the nfl in defensive spending so i've i've i've preached this for years love your family like your sports like your sports stars put it in perspective i think i think the the warriors have gone cuckoo with steph curry it i i really like steph curry but if you can't play with steph you can't be a warrior it's a non viable team now so what was i will say this off season i did think the steelers made a gradual move to embracing offense they hired mike mccarthy offensive coach their first two draft picks offensive tackle wide receiver they went and got michael pittman you know like they're slow rico dowdle i thought was a nice pickup so they're slowly moving in the offensive direction keep going don't stop keep moving you can like a player in tj watt but defensive ends a lot of injuries now past his prime or at least moving in that direction you know listen steelers you you you're moving toward high speed internet i don't expect ai this year you are moving in the direction of high speed internet we'll give you credit for that when you see software update on your phone you know you could you could you can update i know you've been pushing ignore for the last ten years software update time to me it's not a knock on tj watt every good company i've ever worked at is seeing problems before they develop or persist like pittsburgh this tj watt thing we were talking about a couple years ago he had much more value two years ago than now it's like giannis and milwaukee much more value two years ago three years ago than now but pittsburgh is i mean i honestly think pittsburgh is as backwards as any i'm not saying bad organization much better organization than a jets or a cleveland arizona but they're backwards like they just can't come to grips with what is happening in the league and i said this the other day i don't know what's going to happen with their quarterbacks but if you told me in five years there was a huge brand in sports that was kind of a mess i would say pittsburgh like the league has changed got to spend money on offense i mean even the pittman and the dk metcalf hires there is i mean they're just it's so old school there's no reason to spend huge money on arguably declining receivers like the seahawks have the best gm in the league they moved off dk metcalf what did the steelers do overpay for dk metcalf who's regressing so they're inching toward getting some understanding of offense but they're still clunky they're still not good at it that's why aaron rodgers i mean they basically haven't shown any urgency at quarterback they treat quarterback like a guard or an off ball linebacker we'll get to the quarterback thing it's like brutal but mccarthy first two picks off rico dowdle it's like they're kind of getting there just don't push ignore on the phone you know update your software push yes jason colin let me ask

[Jason McIntyre]

you the timing of this leak on tj watt is interesting so aaron rodgers was in town over the weekend he didn't even meet with the team and now a few days later we get oh yeah they're going to trade tj watt do you think it's over with rogers hey we're not bringing him back let's start the rebuild let's move on from what that that timing just struck me listening to that i'm like huh i mean why now like most of the off season is done why would you why why would this come out

[Colin Cowherd]

now well it it you know how there's two stories in sports the one that gets out to the public and the truth you know there's there's been this sort of oh mike mccarthy aaron rodgers kumbaya they didn't get along they hated each other and the other thing is they're just not the same guy one guy looks like a milwaukee cop and the other guy's a hipster going on darkness retreats and doing ayahuasca like they're two totally different people it's not like they it's not like two buddies who fight over a girlfriend or something that really like each other but something came between that's not what this is like like mccarthy is old school run my plays and aaron uses you know his leverage is i'm going to make you wait for me let's stop this like they get along great i was just talking to somebody in our business the other day about you know this idea that certain people get along and they used to work together that's just what the public's fed okay mccarthy and aaron rodgers when they were together i mean i had two people that were in the packers huddle on offense and they're like no aaron would roll his eyes at the calls dog cuss him aaron's not into mike mccarthy it's not

[Jason McIntyre]

happening i think it's over hey one other thing can we call up the giants schedule real quick because you i did not see this last night so you like giants titans i think it's week three that's a brian dable revenge game okay and in week one the titans play my jets a robert salah revenge game okay so the titans play new york both new york teams in the first three weeks that to me is fascinating and i'm just telling you my off season team tennessee titans i was a year early i wasn't wrong i was just early i would keep an eye on the titans i like i like their draft i like what they did in free agency and i love salah and dable they are going to make some noise in the eight maybe they're this year's colts remember the colts were like seven and one or something crazy

[Colin Cowherd]

we won't talk much about the colts but i will i will remind people if you have we will not if you have the colts on your schedule do not forget their first first seven eight weeks last year they went to la and totally outplayed the

[Jason McIntyre]

rams but by the way no daniel jones coming off an achilles they will start zero five and the jets have their first round pick let's go arch manning arch manning to the jets courtesy of the colts i'm fired up baby

[Colin Cowherd]

yeah that's the standard to be fired up about

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[Colin Cowherd]

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