← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
THE HERD - Hour 1 - The NFL is back, Jerry Jones is to blame for the Cowboys problems, Caleb Williams may have the right coach
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This is an iHeart podcast. Fourth quarter, one point game. But the real action is at the snack table because you didn't just mash avocados, you swirled in Philadelphia cream cheese for a guac dip. So creamy, so unexpected. It's drawing double coverage. The real MVP of game day. So good it's in the bowl shaped like a sombrero. You don't follow a recipe, you Philly it whenever you Philly like it. Philadelphia cream Cheese. If you're going to go to the moon and need a specialized airless wheel for the next gen lunar rover, who'd you turn to? Well, the powers that be turned to Michelin, and for good reason. Not only are they the tire people, they're also the innovation people. You wouldn't believe everything they're into. Healthcare, energy. Yeah, aerospace. This rover wheel has to deal with temperature swings, radiation, and rough terrain on the moon. So going to the tire innovation guys makes sense, you know. Learn more@michelinman.com y michelinnovation Michelin Motion for Life Today's episode is brought to you by Toyota. The Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Sales event is full of great surprises, like a wide selection of low mileage models, all backed by Toyota with warranties that start on the date of purchase. Because when it comes to quality, the best new cars make the best used cars. So don't miss your chance. Find your certified Toyota today. But hurry. These Great offers end November 3rd. Toyota Certified used Vehicles Sales event where every surprise is a great one. Inventory may vary by dealer, participating dealers only. Comprehensive and powertrain are limited warranties. See TCUV warranty supplement ToyotaCertified.com or your Toyota dealer for details. Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're gonna get. Listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to the Herd 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. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. NFL season starts tonight. Eagles about to hammer the Cowboys in several hours. Greg Cosell, one hour from now. We are live in Los Angeles, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of the herd. Okay, JMAC season starts tonight. One hour. I'll give you my final predictions for all the divisions. Not a lot of move. I did make one move. I have a new division winner coming up. But some alarms sounding in Dallas with the Cowboys. Little alarm, some alarms going off. The thing about the NFL, if you had to define what the most important stuff in the NFL is, it's really, are you focused and obsessed with winning? You can make a lot of mistakes, hire the wrong person, fire the wrong person. Are you obsessed with winning over everything else? And never allow anything to get in the way of that. Tom Brady famously would not drink a single beer during the season. Bill Belichick's mantra, no days off. Andy Reid drawing up plays off season. He's not on hunting trips. He's not on fishing trips. He is all off season, as is Sean Payton. Drawing up and designing new plays. Going to YouTube, look it up. 1955 Rose bowl tapes to draw up plays. Obsessed with winning. And yet Troy Aikman finally saying it, the former Cowboy great finally admitting it that Jerry is not obsessed with winning. Having the Cowboys as a discussion point is meaningful to him. And if team, if people aren't talking about the Cowboys, then he'll do things to stir it up. So he, he kind of walked into that and has given the impression that that that supersedes winning in the NFL. The good teams, if they sniff selfish, if they sniff anything, that's not completely about the obsession to win. Antonio Brown was to me the most talented receiver arguably in the league. Steelers got him out of the room. Got him out of the room. Tom Brady got him out of the room. Actually at his house, the room Sean Payton goes to Denver. Russell Wilson has his own quarterback office. He sniffs it's more about Russ than the team. Whether that's fair or not, that office is gone. Day one, Russell's gone. Year two, Cam Newton distracted. No back to back winning seasons ever, despite his talent, ended very quickly. If anything gets in the way. And with Jerry, finally Troy Aikman and others admitting it, Jerry's selfish and he's not obsessed with winning. It's about his vanity. It's about his drama. He puts it ahead of the team. How about that article a year ago where Cowboy Players, former Cowboy players came out and acknowledged it was distracting to have tours during practice at the facility. So Belichick said, do your job in Dallas. It's wave to the tours. That's not about winning. You can do a lot wrong. I mean, Eagles signed Carson Wentz to a massive deal, got rid of him soon thereafter. But they're obsessed with it. Howie Roseman's obsessed with it. And I think what happens is when you have a distracted owner and an owner that lacks discipline in the workplaces that I've worked, it always bleeds down. Who's the most penalized team in the NFL the last five years? The Dallas Cowboys. They're not focused, they're not disciplined, and they're not obsessed with winning. And what makes it worse is the one team more than any other in this league I could argue is obsessed with winning is the Philadelphia Eagles. If you go to the Cowboys last Super bowl appearance, 1996. From that day to today, the Eagles have 20 playoff wins, the Cowboys have five. The Eagles have eight conference championship appearances, the Cowboys have zero. The Eagles have four Super bowl appearances and the Cowboys have again, zero. That since the Cowboys last Super bowl title. Do you know every team in the NFC, every single team in the NFC in the last 30 years has reached the conference championship except the biggest brand, the Dallas Cowboys. And it goes back to lack of discipline. They are not obsessed with winning. Jay Glazer has said this. It's almost unhealthy. The great ones in this league, the Belichicks and the Brady's and the Peyton Mannings and the Mahomes and the Andy Reeds and the Sean Paytons, the Harbaughs. It's almost unhealthy. It is more important than almost everything else in their life. More Troy Aikman on Jerry. I'm sure that that Jerry and the Jones family and everyone is tired of talking about the fact that they haven't been to a championship game, let alone a Super bowl, in 30 years. The fact that the Cowboys are a soap opera 365 days a year that then becomes the scoreboard. Yeah. Hey, Philadelphia can become noisy, too. I'm not saying Philadelphia is not noisy when they got a coach going after fans going after staff. I'm not saying Philadelphia is not noisy, but you always know what matters in Philadelphia above everything. Double use. Not the case with the Cowboys and Jerry. So I'm reading an article in the Chicago Sun Times that's one of the six newspapers still left in America. And it's interesting, they're talking About Caleb Williams and Ben Johnson. And the opening line by this reporter is the more Bears quarterback Caleb Williams explains how much he's learned from the new coach Ben Johnson in the last seven plus months. The clearer it is how little he was taught as a rookie. An off season and preseason with Ben Johnson has been like grad school for Caleb Williams. That will continue for the rest of the season, if not longer, heading into the open or Monday against the Vikings. So we were talking about this this morning. We've all had bad bosses. I've been very, very lucky. I've had one. I've had overwhelmingly great, supportive bosses and mentors. Very lucky, knock on wood or whatever this new set is built from. I've had great bosses, but I had a bad one. And they make everything harder. They hinder momentum. Two steps forward, three back. And I think sometimes we all know there's really good coaches and really bad coaches. We know there's really good owners and bad owners, really great quarterbacks and bad quarterbacks. I think the gap in coaching, the problem with it is it affects everybody. I mean, Caleb Williams last year as a rookie quarterback, essentially, let's be honest, was sent into the wilderness without a compass. They gave him a couple of flashlights and a dark tunnel. Find your way. Bo Nix in Denver got human gps. Sean Payton, he got a Sherpa climbing this mountain. Caleb Williams, good luck. It's dark. Is that water? Is it, is it a. Is it a. What do I see up there? That's the difference. The gap in coaching. If you go to the first quarterback taken since 2020, the last five years, and this counts, Caleb, Bryce Young, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, just to show you how hard it is for number one picks in the pressure, they're 12 and 47 and one. Okay. And that includes Joe Burrow. That, that's a guy that got to a Super Bowl. It is hard. So I mean all you have to do is look at Sam Darnold with the jets and the Panthers and then Sam Darnold with Kevin O'. Connell. 35 touchdowns and a 102 pass already. Look at Geno Smith, career reborn. Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold. It is so hard. So my, my hunch is with Caleb Williams, he is going to be the best version of Caleb Williams. Now whatever that is in the NFL if it's a notch below Jaden Daniels, that's okay. This is a franchise that's never had a 4,000 yard passing quarterback. They've never had a quarterback throw for 30 touchdowns. So if he becomes An A minus quarterback and Jaden Daniels is best in class. He becomes second or third best quarterback. It's still a franchise quarterback, but he'll be the best he can be. But anybody listening to me or watching me that has had a bad boss, they just get in the way of success. So Caleb Williams has a great drive followed by bad coaching and a clunker. And I just think there's such an advantage for a Jaden Daniels having a Click Kingsbury or a J.J. mcCarthy having a Kevin O', Connell, Bo Nicks having Sean Payton. For anybody that's had a bad boss, it is. And it's hard enough to to scale Mount Kilimanjaro even with a great Sherpa. So here is Albert Brer earlier this week on realistic expectations. Let's be realistic here. It's a tough schedule for Caleb and the Bears. I think there is a world where you can get them over.500, but because of the division that they play in, it's a tough ask. And because of the schedule they have, again, it's a tough ask. Having to play the other north division makes it difficult. So I would say like if I'm a Chicago fan, what I'm looking for is an ascending team at the end of the year with a quarterback who's playing well. I, I said I'm being optimistic. I think they split their division games, which the Bears rarely do. I think they're 9 and 8. I don't think that's over rot over hyped 9 and 8. J. Mac feels about right to me again if you put them in the AFC south of the NFC south, I, I think 11 and 6 is on the table, but Minnesota's roster is probably better. Green Bay by NFL executives and the NFC was just voted number two behind Philadelphia. Detroit's offensive line and offensive personnel is in a short class, you know, with the best teams in the league. So I think 9 and 8 feels like, okay, we got the coach, right? We got a franchise quarterback. That to me in Chicago, with their history, that feels very, very good to me. You and I have been doing this long enough. You don't make sweeping conclusions after Week 1. That being said, if the Bears can't beat J.J. mcCarthy at home and Caleb and Ben aren't on the same page, I would adjust that nine and eight down to like more six, seven wins. I mean they got, they have to win this game, Colin, or at least look good if they lose 30, 27. This isn't college football where Texas can stumble, but their next three games are basically versions of San Jose State. Yes. Like in the NFL, if you lose at home to a division rival, that can become a three game skid. And then you get the media in Chicago swirling. You're on a short week because you're playing Monday Night Football. And then there's panic. Oh my gosh, here we go again. And I think Chicago is probably one of the teams that needs a win in week one more than anyone else. That's a good point, Greg. Co sell in one hour from now, how good is it to have football back Thursdays from this point, I barely prep. I drive in, I'm sitting eating breakfast in the car at ZZ Street. We come back, we gave you a hint, a sniff of this yesterday. You see that number for college football. It was significant. Yes. That and a thought on the Eagles. Heading into tonight, be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Ben, host of the Fifth Hour with Ben Maller. Would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth Hour? I'll tell you. 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The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks of Bluetooth SIG Inc. Use of such marks by Toyota is Under license. See toyota.com for more details. Hey this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informed, informative and entertaining. And twice a week. That is exactly what you're going to get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Looks like something that should not be sold. Oh, my. So that was my other big Colts takeaway. Sold that. Yes. Might want to go back to the drawing board at the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we have with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I would fight him. I would listen. NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. You are now entering the no Bull Zone, sponsored by credible Great rates. None of the bull. Oh, so Texas, Ohio State. Remember a couple years ago, if I've learned anything doing this job for 30 something years, here's what I've learned about human behavior. Half this country is terrified of change. I was told I will never watch college football again this nil. Might as well just watch pro football. The transfer portal. I mean, what's going on? I mean, one day the guy plays for Michigan, the next day he plays for Notre Dame. It was going to ruin the sport. Yeah, the College Football Playoff was going to kill rivalries. Well, the ratings are in for Texas, Ohio State, 17 million viewers, most watched college football game in the history of the sport. Oh, and let me add this. In 2023, about the time the NIL and transfer portal started ramping up, it was the most watched college football season ever. 2024 topped it this season topped the previous two. The sport is growing. It's just like everybody's terrified of AI. Let me make a guarantee about AI It'll get rid of some base bottom line entry jobs in like, you know, mathematics and coding. It will undoubtedly expand the economy. Like every single technology in the history of all of our lives. The economy will be noticeably bigger in a decade. And with the speed of AI, maybe half that long. So keep clutching your pearls as you step into your driverless car. But we're all going to be okay this weekend. Three top 10 matchups and they were all riveting. Clemson, LSU, can't turn it off. Notre Dame, Miami may have been the best game of the weekend. Ohio State, Texas, even the clunker by Belichick was good for about two and a half quarters. It's all about quality of games, more big games. And yes, the red zone is going to be fine with a couple of commercials. I've got a bladder. Apparently nobody else does. We're all going to be okay. We really are. It used to be Clemson season. They lost at home. You're not playing for a natty. Clemson reels off eight straight wins, six of them impressively. They're back into the playoff, maybe as a top seed. Better content, bigger swings, better games. The audience in college football is expanding since nil, the transfer portal and the College Football Playoff, just like our economy will with AI maybe a little gravelly, a little bumpy, a little turbulent. For 18 months, it will expand. Take a deep breath. 17 million people. It wasn't even, frankly, that artistic. The offenses weren't very good. Ohio state only had 200 yards. Arch Manning, you get kind of stunk. 17 million people. I look forward to that first commercial on Red Zone. I'm going to toast it and then go to the bathroom two minutes later. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd line news. All right, let's get started with Sunday Night Football. Colin. It is going to be an unbelievable matchup. Josh Allen, who won the MVP last year, and Lamar Jackson, who won it two years ago. Here's Josh Allen giving high praise to his counterpart, Lamar. You got Lamar Jackson, who's one of the greatest quarterbacks, really. We can already say it of all time like he is an absolute stud. Like, he's freakishly talented. He throws the ball just as good as anybody in the league, and he's a fun player to watch. And I got a lot of respect for him. That's a really good opener. I kind of like both. Baltimore on the road. Yeah, that Baltic lines moving toward Baltimore. The Buffalo defense looking like a bit of a mass unit. Yeah. And you remember the regular season matchup last year? They killed him. Baltimore beat him by a billion. Well, Baltimore, in my opinion, Baltimore's got the better roster. And that Buffalo remains, all these years later, very dependent on Josh Allen. I've seen Baltimore on games in which Lamar is not great in the regular season blow people out. So I. Buffalo feels More than any team in the league. Dependent. Their ultimate success is dependent solely on the quarterback. I mean, they've got a good left tackle and they've got a good back in James Cook, but they've, you know, they've moved off several defensive players once they paid Josh Allen. They're a good drafting team. I don't know if they're great, but they're very good. But I think Baltimore's got. There's an argument after Philly, the best roster in the sport. Yeah. And John Harbaugh, I think we said yesterday, number one coach against the spread in week one. One always comes prepared. It's tough to go against the Bills. Here we got some Lamar numbers for you. I was surprised that Josh said he's one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Oh, he's absolutely the best mobile quarterback of all time. I thought the first time I saw a mobile quarterback was Fran Tarkin. Second one I saw that I couldn't believe was Steve Young. Third one was Michael Vick. Donovan McNabb could move, but he wasn't that athletic. He was just. Could do both things. Lamar is the most spectacular quarterback. And I'll go back to this. We can talk about playoffs all we want. I get it. He's won 75% of his starts in a league where Bill Parcels won like 58% of his games. Again, I'm. This is not a knock on Lamar, but he went to a great franchise. The Ravens are an amazing, great owner. Front office, tops in the league in the last. I'm. I'm not denying that, but every great quarterback ever, you'll notice this, had a great coach, 100%. I mean, Aikman had Jimmy and Marino had Shula and Elway had Mike Shanahan. You know, you mentioned Mike Vick. I was a huge Mike Vick fan. We both went to Mike's. Not as good as Lamar. Not even. But he went to the Atlanta Falcons, a dysfunctional franchise where he carried them literally on the side. But let's be honest, and I agree in premise what you're saying, but when Lamar got hurt and Huntley stepped in. Remember the backup? Yes. Snoop Huntley. Yeah. Yeah. They couldn't score. All the great coaches and all the great O linemen and all the great. They couldn't score. I mean, and again, yes, Lamar is a top 15 quarterback in the history of football. I think he is. I think that's fair. Yes. But again, like some other guys, like Vick didn't really have the chance because he didn't Have a great. No, no. Donovan McNabb was. Michael admitted he came in and he was immature. We have certain. No doubt that's on Michael. He made a lot. And I love Mike. Mike is the first to admit I wasn't ready. I was distracted. Lamar came in obsessed. I mean, remember Lamar first year to second year? He came in with traps. Yeah. How do you do that unless you're the rock who comes in with new traps. We're three summers removed from him and his mom squabbling as. As the age. His mom represents him. I know, but it was like a. That was the number one offseason story that was like Micah Parsons versus Jerry Jones. He. He's got, you know, he doesn't trust. He doesn't trust a lot of people. Nor do I. Let's move on to second story. And that is the packers obviously got Micah Parsons. Micah has the back issue. LaFleur says he's hopeful that he'll have his shiny new toy ready to go. Colin again. This is one of my favorite bets of the week. I like the Packers a lot. So do I. So do I. Possibly irrationally. So I can actually see a bit of a slow start for the Lions. New coordinators. O line rebuild interior O line. Where does Jared Goff struggle the most with pressure. So this is it. Did you and I I talk about this on the air off yesterday? I don't know. I think it was on the air late in the show. The one thing I worry about in the first two weeks of the season is teams that are rebuilding their O line. So Chicago has done a great job with Joe Tunney, Drew Dahlman and Jonah Jackson. How many snaps in the preseason? When you ask coaches about all the units, secondaries can get better fast. A lot of secondary is just, do we have dogs or not? Pass rushes can be improved quickly running games, but offensive lines take snaps and cohesion and time. And I, I look at Detroit, new offensive coordinator. They attacked in the draft. The interior O line. I think Detroit's good. Would it shock you if they were messy in the first month? Well, and also they've won five of six against the Packers. So Green Bay is a bit of a revenge spot here. They got swept last year. I'm going to remind folks, last year. Do you remember the first two weeks with the New Orleans Saints did last year? No. Remember with Kubak? I try to forget Saints games they had like, they won like 4,000, 110. The first two weeks. They were one of the best. It was like, oh, my gosh Kubak still not he's not even there this season. Okay, the first two weeks wacky stuff can happen. Keep an eye on the packers opening a can on Detroit. I would not be shocked. 35 We've had a ma I I we should look this up for tomorrow. We've had a massive upset in week one. Yeah, it feels like every year forever. And I've been looking at the we should do that later. Who's the the biggest under what is it? Here's the thing in the opening week, I mean you've only got the line. Tonight's eight and a half and then Denver's a seven and a half to eight point favorite. Arizona is a big Denver's up to nine. Arizona is a big favorite on the road in New Orleans, Spencer Rattler pulls some stuff. I mean the Patriots beat the Bengals last year, Week one. Think about that. That's right, they did. Now Patriots Raiders is interesting but that's only a three point spread. It's up to three and a half. A lot of people like to pick I I I'm going to tell you a fascinating game for me is Houston against the Rams. So the Rams defense is nasty and Houston's got I think three to four new offensive line starters. That really helps. I think my take is on that game. But Stafford hasn't practiced a lot. The left tackle for the Rams just started practicing. I think the Rams are vulnerable in week one. They just don't left tackle and quarterback, not a lot of snap. Those are like two teams on your fringe. Super bowl ball. That's right. So I think they'll be fine later as long as Matt's healthy. But they also have Terence Ferguson, Rams rookie tight end hasn't practiced much. Devonte Adams with Stafford hasn't practiced much. I don't know what and Will Anderson's a great rush edge. Rams left tackle had blood clots so I did that game has got upset written all over it. Potentially week one chaos. Final story Colin is yesterday we heard from Justin Fields saying hey, the game against Pittsburgh, it's not a big deal. It's just another game. Well Aaron Rodgers is echoing that sentiment saying he's just excited for week one. Now he has been talking behind the scenes apparently with teammates. Pat Friermuth said that Rogers is saying hey, this is just another game. It's not a revenge spot. I know it's me and Fields going head to head. The jets got the crappy news about Vera Tucker yesterday. Obviously brutal line still at 3. I like the jets do you like. I like the younger quarterback that can extend plays. And I don't think Justin Fields is a franchise quarterback, but he may be my favorite quarterback in the league that's not a franchise quarterback. I don't think I build around him, but I can win a bunch of games with Justin Fields. Again, I would not build around think he's that guy. But if you're telling me and I, and I also think he's not a backup. I think he's a guy that starts for several teams. He bounces around. But he is first of all, big arm, likable kid. Teammates love him, got a whip and can really move and move the chains. So you think he's like a, again, he's better than this guy. But Malik Willis, who, who was much better than Malik Willis. Okay, so here's the thing. So this is the third year in a row he started week one for a different team. I think he's going to have a Gardner Minshew feel. Where, where, where? By the way, everywhere he goes you're like, yeah, Gardner Minshew's pretty good. Nobody really wants to build around it. But Gardner Minshew is a, is a really nice professional athlete. Justin Fields has got talent, but there's a reason he keeps bouncing. Yeah, there's a reason he's not in Pittsburgh. I'm with you. I, I think jets are the side. Like you said yesterday. Sauce Gardener on Metcalf, what else you got? I really, I gotta be honest, I turn my picks in early. All the lines are now worse. I would rather not do a blazing five in week one. But America wants it. It's. They're thirsty so I'm going to do it, but I don't know. I don't even know what Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh's going to look like. How was last year's blazing five week one? I don't recall poor J. Mac with the news. Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the herd line. Urban Meyer in a couple of hours. Greg Cosell, top of next hour. You know I was Tonight the Dallas Cowboys face the Philadelphia Eagles. And Philadelphia is a huge favorite and should be. What is interesting about the Eagles, they're really one of one. They do a lot of things that bad NFL franchises do. They fired Andy Reid and then another coach who won the Super Bowl. They gave Carson Wentz a massive contract and then quickly moved off it. They have a player reading self help books on the sideline during games. Their head coach often has to be held back. He's Sparring with fans. They signed a running back with an injury history to a big contract. They pay both of their receivers. They built their offense around a running game in a passing league. They hired a coach who wasn't ready and had the worst press conference opening press conference ever. And they just keep ending up in Super Bowls. And I think it and, and this is where Jalen hurts. Value is underrated. I mean, he is the stoic therapist in a room with arguing couples. I mean, your coach is loud, the media is loud. You got security guards on the sidelines, you got players reading books. This is what this feels like. Carolina. But all the noise and the drama. I mean, Philadelphia is a loud sports city to begin with. It could be the Phillies, it could be the Sixers, it could be Joel Embiid. But this is where Jalen Hurts is a plus plus, plus, plus. I said this a couple years ago. I stand by it. He is the best quarterback in league history at the podium. And you know what I think about the podium? The Wednesday presser at the podium with a bank sponsor behind you got the hat on. Forward. Total grown up things are on. There's an inferno burning around him. He's the quiet mind in a very loud storm in Philadelphia. So, I mean, last year was it last year Nick Ceriani got a little rough patch, shaving his head, not interested, doesn't get involved, doesn't have any comments. So it is just a wildly loud and restless sports city and at times, Philadelphia. If I wrote down some of the things that the Eagles regularly do on an annual basis, you're like, who is that? Chicago? Is that the Texans eight years ago? No, it's the Eagles. They'll end up in Super Bowls. So I think a lot of it is the owner is really good. The GM's probably the best in the league. And Jalen hurts. There's a lot more than throwing the football. I have been on this for years and I get so much crap when I do care about your maturity. I said, can't draft Johnny Manziel. Baker's gonna have troubles. Cam Newton worries me. Jameis Winston's goofy. That stuff matters. And the greatest example of the value of that, being a grown up. I know it's unfair that you got to be 24 going on 48. But the greatest example of that is Jalen hurts. And here's Nick Ceriani this week on what he loves about a star quarterback. Jalen. I love how selfless he is, right? He's been so efficient as a quarterback, taking care of the football efficient of going where the right place with the football. And then there's judgment on the outside of the well, he didn't throw for this many yards or didn't throw for this many touchdowns. I don't care. He was efficient with the football and he did everything he needed to do for us to win the game. That doesn't just apply with your star football player and Jalen Hurts. That also applies for the rest of the team. I mean, imagine in the NBA going to a star and saying we want you to take fewer shots, we want the ball in your hands less. I'm not sure how that would land, but that's what they did at the bye week with Jalen Hurts. They said, we want a more Jalen. We don't want you throwing 32 times. We want 26. He's like, I'm good. I want to win. And that's why I've always said I think the basketball culture in this country, but the AAU stuff is a little broken. I love the football culture obsessed with winning their standings. Not. Not really. I. Your feelings, facts and standings are bigger than feelings. You got to get over yourself. And Jalen Hurts did it Alabama when they benched him, he did it Oklahoma and he's done it multiple times in Philadelphia. Greg Cosell, Top of the hour on a Thursday. Cowboys at Philadelphia. Tonight, NFC executives anonymously sat down with Mike Sando and ranked 1 through 16 in the NFC. Interesting how they ranked the teams. That's next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific. You probably think of Michelin as a tire company and I mean it is, but it's really an innovation company and that's why their tires are as good as they are. It started in the 1800s making brake pads for horse drawn carriages. Seriously. Later, Michelin basically invented the modern tire with the first steel belted design. That innovation has never slowed. In fact, it's only accelerated. These days though, it's Michelin in motion vision. The company is expanding into healthcare, energy and even aerospace. Seriously. For instance, they're developing an airless wheel for lunar exploration. It's gotta deal with vast temperature swings, radiation and rough terrain on the moon and maybe one day on Mars. I mean, this is more than just some sort of vanity project. It showcases Michelin's broader shift from tire manufacturing to high tech durable mobility solutions. It's about the exact same thing that led to those horse drawn carriage brake pads well over 100 years ago. It's about innovation. Learn more at michelinman.com y Michelinnovation Michelin Motion for Life Today's episode is brought to you by Toyota. The Toyota Certified Used Vehicle Sales event is here packed with great surprises. Choose from a wide selection of low mileage vehicles all backed by Toyota with warranties that begin on the date of purchase. Every certified Toyota undergoes a thorough quality assurance inspection before it ever reaches the lot so you can drive away with confidence. With over 7 million sold, there's a certified Toyota for every lifestyle, from efficient commuters to family friendly SUVs. Each vehicle comes with added benefits like roadside assistance and features you expect, including Bluetooth connectivity. But hurry, these Great offers end November 3rd. Toyota Certified used Vehicle Sales Event where every surprise is a great one. Inventory may vary by dealer, participating dealers only, comprehensive and powertrain or limited warranties. See TCUV warranty supplement, toyota certified.com or your Toyota dealer for details. From date of Toyota Certified Used Vehicle or TCUV purchase program available in continental US and Canada. See TCUV Warranty Supplement for details. A compatible Bluetooth enabled phone must be paired. Phone performance depends on software coverage and carrier. The Bluetooth word mark and logos are registered trademarks of Bluetooth Sig Inc. Use of such marks by Toyota is Under license. See toyota.com for more details. Hey, this is Matt Jones and I'm Drew Franklin and this is NFL Cover Zero. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining and twice a week that is exactly what you're going to get. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Looks like something that should not be sold. Oh my. So that was my other big Colts takeaway. They sold that? Yes. Might want to go back to the Colts stadium. Yeah, I might want to go back to the drawing board on that. Yeah. I thought the shape we had with pretzels was working pretty well. It's worked for generations. We're just here trying to enjoy it. We hope you you all will join us throughout the year. And let's go. I hope I'm as youthful as Pete Carroll is at his age. He's a young 73. He is a young 73. He is spry. I wouldn't fight him. I would listen to NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Who cares about truth when the lies more entertaining. Hey everybody, I'm Angela Ry Co Host of Native Lamp with Tiffany Cross and Andrew G. Through the lens of politics and culture. We talk with you every week to make sense of this madness. I've been telling Angela I don't even know how to fight back right now. So what I'm focused on is just looking out for ourselves. That's the truth. We're having the same debates that American households are having all over the country. Rest is certainly a form of self care, but if you are watching your full neighbors starve, not be able to pay bills, your rest is selfish. But the thing is, Angela, this is not the mess we created. So I do understand black folks feeling like, you know what, y' all got it. We're like family, but we disagree all the time. And we love when our listeners chime in what would happen if we built our own little Wakandan communities in the rural South. Tiffany, do not run to no rural South. I don't know what you're on. What our audience is asking is. Okay, fine. You want me to stop resting? What specifically are you asking me to do? Stay informed and take action. Listen to Native Land Pod on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome home, y'. All. Saturday, the Psy Hawk series takes center stage. It all starts at 10am Eastern with the best pre game show in college football. Live from the campus of Iowa State. Then Rocco Beckt leads the Cyclones in a showdown against arch rival Iowa on Big. Noon Saturday only on Fox. I'm taking Iowa State and Oklahoma big over Michigan this weekend. I can't believe you're taking Choclahoma in September. First of all, their defense is all juniors and seniors. Brett Venable's got his guys. It's an old defense. Have you seen that? Bryce Underwood, I'm familiar with his work. Yeah, he's great. But on the road, inexperienced quarterback. How did they do this past weekend? They struggled. Inexperienced. Oklahoma is a top five, six, loud environment. Old junior, senior defense, freshman quarterback, Michigan. And that quarterback's good, but that's a. That's a rough spot. Remember last year they bottled up Jaylen Milro, made him look, I mean, pretty or bad. Yeah, yeah. Oh, so did Vanderbilt. But okay, so Mike Sando at espn, who. I think it does some of their good deep diving at ESPN, he went and he went and talked to eight NFL executives about the NFC. So he wanted to rank one through 16, the NFC teams. And the executive said, listen, the NFC's really hard. And we've talked about this. The AFC, you have star Quarterbacks. Josh Allen's going to win his division. You know, Burrow or Lamar is going to win his division. C.J. stroud's going to probably win his division. It's just easier. Mahomes will be a playoff quarterback. So one of the lines by an executive anonymously is, you know, it's going to be, he said, somebody's going to surprise you, shock you in the NFC and get into the playoffs, and it's probably going to be a super lucky team. So I went through 1 through 16. So for the radio audience, I will read this once in order. It was Philly 1 Green Bay 2. Lions 3 Bucks 4. Rams 5 Commander 6 Niners, Vikings, Seahawks 9 Cardinals 10, Falcons 11, Bears 12. Cowboys at 13, Giants 14, Panthers at 15. I think Carolina is better than that. And the saints 16. I agree with that. I'll tell you why I think the NFC is harder than the afc. I'll give you an example. What in the hell do I do with Minnesota? I love their coach. Top three, left tackle, maybe the most talented receiver. Good running back, excellent tight end. Rebuilt their offensive line, good home field advantage. It's an offensive league. I like everything about Minnesota's offense, even the defense. I would argue after Andy Reid and Spags that Brian Flores and Kevin o' Connell are the best coaching tandem in the league. Now Sol and Shanahan are up there. It's a great in an offensive league, I've got the Andy Reid Spags of the nfc. Great left tackle, great receiver, tight end, running back, above average, rebuild O line. I have no idea what I get with JJ McCarthy. I have no idea. I mean, I Look at Minnesota, 12 and 5 is on the table and so is 7 and 10. I have no idea. So I wouldn't be shocked if Minnesota, they're not going to be as good as last year's record. But if Minnesota surprises us, the other one is Arizona. Jonathan Gannon's the coach. Here's all I know. First year four and 13. Next year eight and nine took the worst defense or second worst defense in the league in one year. They're middle of the pack and they spent six of their seven draft picks on defense and they, they were in a lot of one possession games. Now J. Mack has called him. That's his team in the nfc and I don't know. I, I think that division is totally up for grabs. If Matt Stafford's healthy, I'll take the Rams. If he's not, Rams could finish fourth if they're going with, you know, Jimmy Garoppolo. Thirteen weeks. I don't know, But Arizona is interesting. Also. Star tight end, star receiver, star back. Oh, lines better than you think. I don't know what to do with Arizona and I like Kyler Murray. Not everybody does, but spin it. Movement. I again, I'll say it. With Arizona, 11 and 6 is on the table. And 6 and 11 is on the table. I don't know. And the other one is the Bears. I don't know. Again, would you be shocked if they're 10 and 7 and they're a wild card team? Or what if it implodes and they're 7 and 10? I like Ben Johnson, but I don't know Caleb Williams. Dudes got the horsepower, but I don't know. Receivers, D.J. moore, Roma Dunzy. Tight ends. They've got two of them. That kid Colston Loveland from Michigan's had a great camp. I don't know in the na afc, I know who's great and I know who's a tire fire. Buffalo is going to be really, really good. Baltimore is going to be good. Houston's going to be good. J. Mac loves the Jags. I'm terrified to bet the Jags this weekend against Carolina. Like, I don't know what the Jags, okay, that's, that's rare in the afc. In the afc, there's one team that I could be anything. Jacksonville. Like, I don't know what Jacksonville. I don't trust them. It's a new coach. I feel like I feel that way about Minnesota, Chicago, Arizona. I actually think Carolina is better than people think. I don't even know what to make. I love Seattle. You don't. Seattle's 5 to 1 to win their division, so Vegas doesn't have a clue what to do with Seattle. So just to clear something up, I don't love the Jags. I'm betting on Liam Cohen, their new head coach who is a. I don't want to put the genius label on him, but let's be real, what he did with Baker Mayfield, Colin. Pretty impressive. I mean, very, very good. And I, I, I think with the addition of Travis Hunter who's starting at wide receiver two, you get Brian Thomas. That offense will be making the jump to light speed. Travis etn, they got a young kid. I would bet on the Coen brothers for another hit movie. I don't know if Liam Cohen's a guy I'm going to bet on yet. Have you looked at the Panthers defense? Have you looked at their wide receiver? Room number two receiver who was awesome last Year Coker, he's out. Adam Thielen, they traded him last week. They got young dudes. Bryce Young. But I think Jacksonville is the one team in the AFC we're not. You don't know what you're going to get. I think the NFC's got six of those. I, I, the NFC, it's just like this anonymous exec said somebody's going to get hot, somebody's going to get lucky. They're going to win the fumbles games, they're going to win the walk off games. Can you call that back on the screen? Because I thought I saw Tampa Bay 4. Is that, was that incorrect for in the NFC? You like Tampa? I, I don't like them that much. I mean, Colin, that's in. Well, I think Worfs is not even playing week one. So again, I think that the NFC power rankings based on executives is, you don't know. After Philadelphia, even Green Bay is Jordan Love good. Yeah. I, I don't know why the Rams are buried so low. The Niners feels like a huge whiff. Colin. No, Tristan Worfs, an aging defense in Tampa that was hemorrhaging points last year. I don't think the Bucks are that good. I'm, I'm on team Falcons here. I like Atlanta. Okay, so I want to end this first hour. Greg Cosell, top of next hour. So we went back and looked. Not only were we right, it's happened now five years in a row where at least a six and a half point underdog, almost a touchdown underdog, has won week one. So last year the Patriots beat the Bengals. Year before Lions beat the Chiefs on Thursday Night Football, the Steelers beat the Bengals the year before as a touchdown dog, the Steelers beat the Bills. Remember that game? I think there was a block punt or something weird in that game. Steelers went to Buffalo and beat Josh Allen and the Bills. I remember that because I had the Bills. And then five years ago Jags beat the Colts and, and it was not a very, it was a, it was a better Colts team and not a very good Jacks team. So when you look at the schedule, it's five years in a row is a trend. I'd argue three years the trend. Five years is an absolute. What is? Don't tell me Philadelphia is going down. All right, so Giants or Browns? Which one you want one of those Giants. Both are divisional matchups. I like the Giants. I think the Giants is the upset of the weekend. Both have new quarterbacks this season. The other thing is the Giants defensive front. They're going to keep them in that game. Also Dan Quinn Head COACH Washington bad in openers Brian Dabel OFFENSIVE COACH Offensive coaches tend to be early in the season. They bring out the stuff they've been drawing up all off season. Giants at Washington that one feels like it's six. And what's the spread? Six and a half. It's been coming down. Actually. There's some money coming in on the Giants as well as the Browns. Now, let's just remember Bengals, notorious slow starters. Right. Their offensive line, have you looked at. Yeah. Starting a guy named Patrick at guard who's been awful the last like three seasons. I wonder if Miles Garrett and company could scheme up some stuff and make that an interesting game. Well, I mean, Flacco starting, so it's a grown up. He's at home. We haven't seen him much in the preseason. I don't even know how many snaps did Joe Flacco take in the preseason? Did he take one? I don't know. So they, you know, they feel confident in that. That's our starter. Yeah. Giant. One of those two. I'm not buying the Saints shock the Cardinals. Gosh, that would be depressing because I'm loaded up on. The Cardinals aren't. I mean six. It's like six and a half. Seven. You know, you're, you're, you're interesting because you don't like Kyler Murray, but they're your shocking team in the league. So you're making a bet. You make fun of me because I bet against in the opener, Josh Allen and maybe Mahomes. You don't even like Kyler Murray and you're loading up on used to like him. I'm kind of out on him. I know you guys are hanging out at UFC fights, but it's less about Kyler. I mean Colin, Connor, McBride, Harrison. No, they are, they're stacked. Oh, they've got really good players. And you look at the Saints and I'm like, did you watch Spencer Rattler last year? Like, I know he was a great. He was 06, I think as a starter. I read that somewhere. And Tyler, they draft a new guy. He can't even beat out Spencer Rattler. So I don't know. Kellen Moore would do. Do we like Kellen Moore? I know people like, well, he was great with Keller. I don't know. Undecided. Eagles were going to be great with or without Kellen Moore. How did Kellen Moore do with the Chargers? Remember a couple years ago, there's all this excitement as the offensive Coordinator. Oh, Herbert's got Kellen Moore. Kellen Moore got fired. And like, I don't know, this feel. This week one is crazy. I. I'll. I'll circle this. I think Minnesota at Chicago. Yeah, that is fascinating. Is that one of those nights where you're not drinking? Just laser focus, bro. I'm not. You got me marginalized as some out of control boozer. Last night I had one Tito's Iced Tea. It's called a John Daly. Really? Yeah. One. I thought you were hanging out with the boys. I didn't get a call. Still waiting. My boys are a good time. By the way, I check with the wife. I'm free tonight. If you just happen to be in my neighborhood. I'm all jammed up doing. I have a dentist appointment. I'm moving across town. Hey, this is Matt Jones. And I'm Drew Franklin, and this is NFL Cover Zero. We're just here to try to give you an NFL perspective a little bit different. Did you see the Colts pretzel? That was my other big takeaway from that game. What was that? Oh, my. We think NFL coverage should be informative and entertaining. And twice a week, that is exactly what you're gonna get. Listen NFL Cover Zero with Matt Jones and Drew Franklin on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Who cares about truth when the lie is more entertaining? Welcome home. I'm Angela Rye, co host of the Native Lampod with Andrew Gillum and Tiffany Cross, and we want y' all to survive and thrive in this political moment. We're having the same debates that American households are having all over the country. I am terrified that in our rest, we're going to miss the moment. You want me to stop resting? What specifically are you asking me to do? Stay informed and take action. Listen to Native Land Pod on, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. From tips for healthy living to the latest medical breakthroughs, WebMD's Health Discovered podcast keeps you up to date on today's most important health issues. Through in depth conversations with experts from across the healthcare community, WebMD reveals how today's health news will impact your life tomorrow. It's not that people don't know that exercise is healthy. It's just that people don't know why it's healthy. And we're struggling to try to help people help themselves and each other. Listen to WebMD Health discovered on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, it's Jemma Spag, host of the Psychology of youf 20s this September at the Psychology of youf 20s, we're breaking down the very interesting ways psychology applies to real life, like why we crave external validation. I find it so interesting that we are so quick to believe others judgments of us and not our own judgment of of ourselves. So according to the study, not being liked actually creates similar pain levels as real life physical pain. Learn more about the psychology of everyday life and of course, your 20s. This September, listen to the psychology of your 20s on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast.