← The Herd with Colin Cowherd
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
THE HERD - Hour 2 - Where Colin was right and wrong, thoughts on Aaron Rodgers being tier 3, Matt Hasselbeck
00:40:34
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- [00:00]
Colin Cowherd
This is an iHeart podcast.
- [00:04]
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- [00:17]
Matt Hasselbeck
He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too.
- [00:21]
Capital One Bank Guy
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- [00:31]
Matt Hasselbeck
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- [01:04]
DraftKings Announcer
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- [01:35]
Matt Hasselbeck
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.
- [01:57]
Jay Mack
You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Sports Radio.
- [02:02]
Matt Hasselbeck
Here we go. It's hour two. We're ready to roll. We are live. It is the Herd. Matt Hasselbeck is around the corner. Quarterbacks all of them. Joe Burrows playing. Mahomes is playing everybody but Aaron and Matt Stafford. They're not playing. And we'll get to the Matt Stafford back injury on that. It was fun. I sat and watched the Bears and Dolphins. I watched the jets and the Packers. Boy, jets look like it's one of the great teams ever assembled in Lambeau. It's always funny how good the jets look. Amazing.
- [02:32]
Chris Simms
And they got Jones coming off the pup list. The kid at FSU who was awesome two years ago missed all of last Year. I'm just telling you the defense has a chance to be nasty. The front seven. Sauce Gardner got paid. He's happy. The defense will be a problem.
- [02:47]
Matt Hasselbeck
No, I implies Aaron Glenn's defensive coach. I don't doubt that. There you go. All right. We do it every Monday. It's more fun, obviously, when we have football. Colin right. Colin wrong.
- [02:56]
Jay Mack
And here we go where Colin was right.
- [02:58]
Matt Hasselbeck
Jim Harbaugh a couple years ago when he drafted Joe Al remember last year's draft and everybody said, oh, he should have taken a receiver. Well, Tate, we defended him. We said, no go Joe Alt. And Joe Alt is saving the season. Rashawn Slater's out for the year at left tackle. They can move Joe Alt, who I've been told has had a great camp. They can now move him to the left tackle. Makai Becton maybe goes to right tackle, but this is why he's the anti Mike McDaniel. It's all about building center guard tackles out, not wide receivers in. And that Joe Alt pick. Everybody wanted a receiver. They got Lad McConkey in the second round. They were fine. That Joe Alt pick could have saved the season.
- [03:43]
Jay Mack
Where Collin was wrong.
- [03:45]
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, Arch Manning's family is saying he's staying at Texas two more years, so I will take for now wrong. I think if he slices up Ohio State there is going to be in incredible momentum. And I think he's really good. I didn't watch a ton of them. I thought he was better than Quinn Ewers, more athletic, throws a better ball. For now, I'll take a wrong. I think it's the right thing to say in the Mannings usually say the right thing.
- [04:13]
Jay Mack
So I'll take this L where Colin was right.
- [04:17]
Matt Hasselbeck
Joe Shad Dolphins reporter reporting that culture, accountability and physicality are what Mike McDaniels is preaching in this camp. What a shock. That's exactly what we've been saying and it gotten. We've gotten pushback from Dolphin fans. My take is lotta sizzle. Three years into this coaching reign, where's this? Where's the steak? Where's the meat in the sandwich? They're not physical. Tyreek Hill sort of says and does what he wants. What. What makes McVeigh or Shanahan or Andy Reid special is their teams are physical and they can be finessed. Finally, I. I at least appreciate the coach acknowledging what the issue is where Colin was wrong. 50 NFL executives and coaches came out in Mike Sando's annual survey and they've got Bo Nix tied for the 20th best quarterback in the league below Geno Smith. Geno Smith's been in this league 11 years. He's made the playoff once. Bo Nix has been in the year in the NFL one year in a division last year with Herbert Harbaugh, Andy Reed, Mahomes in the AFC and he made the playoffs. I, Sean Payton and I love Bo Nix. We're apparently on an island because they even have him below TUA who's smaller, not as athletic, more injury prone. And I'd say Bo, Nick slightly has the better arm. I don't get it.
- [05:55]
Jay Mack
Where Colin was right?
- [05:58]
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, not to pick on anybody, but the last two years people have been telling me, quinn, yours is something. And I keep saying I don't see the great traits. Five of 18, two fumbles sacked twice. I didn't get it at Texas. I don't get it. I don't see what everybody sees now. I know he dropped to the seventh round, but before the draft people were talking second, third, fourth. I don't see it. You got to have a trait. I go, wow with not a great anticipatory thrower. You know, he kind of slings. It did not look like he was. I mean he looked like it's a long way to go. And that's what I've been saying for two years.
- [06:41]
Jay Mack
Where Colin was wrong.
- [06:43]
Matt Hasselbeck
I thought Jackson dart was better than anticipating. I thought he threw with anticipation. I always thought he was pretty athletic. I thought he looked really poised. I thought he looked really comfortable, you know, like a bonix. Maybe a little more athletic than I gave him credit for. But you know, when he got drafted, I said I, I probably wouldn't give up picks to draft him in the first round, but you have to be pretty happy. 12, 19, 154 yards. Again, looked comfortable playing with backup offensive linemen. Good arm strength. I thought he was impressive. I thought he was really impressive.
- [07:18]
Jay Mack
Where Colin was right.
- [07:21]
Matt Hasselbeck
I don't want to hear about Anthony Richardson's age, okay? He's hurt again. Nobody cares about age and experience. You're in year three, you got to be able to play. And so I had said this going into the season he has Shane Steichen, one of the really bright offensive minds and he regressed last year so he was a boomer, a bus pick. I just think by this time you can't be taking those hits and it feels like a miss.
- [07:51]
Jay Mack
Where Colin was right.
- [07:53]
Matt Hasselbeck
Even the NBA is acknowledging with their Christmas and opening day schedules, the league is lopsided. The Christmas games are the Santa Antonio spurs against The Thunder, Rockets, Lakers, Mavs, Warriors, T. Wolves, Denver. They have one Eastern Conference game and it's the Knicks. The west is so much better than the East. Honest to God. It feels like the SEC and the PAC 12 for about 15 years. Even their opening night games are 100% Western Conference teams. And that's with big brands out East. Philly, New York Heat, Celtics. So, you know, we, we've said this before. You put LeBron in the Lakers out East. Oh, they could compete. Luca, LeBron, Austin, Reeves could compete to get to the Eastern Conference finals. They're a five seed, probably maybe a six to a seven in the West. And with that. Oh, I'm interesting, interested. Excuse me. And Matt Hasselbeck, 18 years in the NFL. I'm very interested. Interesting column. Yeah, it's supposed to be a little. Okay, first I'm going to start with I'm jealous because you and I love this. Took the train and went to a Nate Bargazi. He's a great comedian. In Boston last night, you just got back. I think he's absolutely outrageously funny. So I'm just going to say right now I'm not only jealous of your pro career and, but your comedic choices. So congratulations. You're a little road weary and I appreciate that.
- [09:31]
Colin Cowherd
No, I'm good, I'm good. But listen, you were at the live tour, so it's not like you had a boring weekend. I mean, come on, let's, let's not lie here.
- [09:39]
Matt Hasselbeck
Okay? So I said it's okay if you don't want to pay play Caleb Williams, but I do think it was a little strategic. Burrow. Played Mahomes, played Spencer Rattler, played everybody. But Tom Brady played like the whole world played this weekend. And it was almost like he was saying, you know, he's not quite there. I don't need another week of heat from the Chicago media. He took a lot of snaps in practice. It felt a little strategic, did it not?
- [10:09]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I sort of agree. I mean, everything that Caleb Williams does because he was the first pick overall, because they basically got rid of everyone around him last year, built the team around him this year. Everything he does is under the microscope. So, yeah, I'm sure there is some of that protecting him. There's also something with joint practices now where coaches don't feel like they need to play their ones in the preseason game because they get those reps in a controlled environment where guys don't take hits, where the quarterback wears a different color jersey and you know, you're keeping your guy healthy. And I think that might be part of this also. If there wasn't a joint practice, I think he would have played in the game.
- [10:48]
Matt Hasselbeck
Okay, so I said this earlier about Jackson Dark. You and your generation got thrown to the wolves. You didn't have 10,000 snaps by the time you were 14. Jackson Dart is a three year starter in the SEC with Lane Kiffin. It's had private coaching, seven on seven. I don't want to hear about, you know, we're going to work him in. It's like, you know what, Matt, they got a great left tackle, a number one receiver. I think Brian Dabel is a pretty darn good offensive coach. I maybe you give Russell the first start. This is not Anthony Richardson. 41 college starts in the SEC with Lane Kiffin. Why would you not just figure out if the kid can play?
- [11:35]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I hear what you're saying and I'm actually just peeking at some of the ages of some of the rookie quarterbacks. I mean just because a guy's a rookie doesn't mean he's the youngest guy. Bo Nix was 25 years old as an example. But no, I did, I did. I grew up in the era of, you know, you sit on the bench for a while. I mean Tom Brady did that, Aaron Rodgers did that. I know that was my experience as well. I think that New York Giants have been burned and so they are really sticking to the plan. They've invested heavily in veteran quarterbacks, in leadership, in process driven guys who've been there, done it, made mistakes, had success and Jameis Winston and Russell Wilson. So I think they're going to be slow and measured and, and patient with Jackson Dart who they do like a lot. But I do, but I don't think he's ready. And I do think the best plan is to start a guy like Russell Wilson and let Jackson watch. But here's the, here's the danger. Don't just have him sit there and watch, train him and prepare him to play the way that Patrick Mahomes was trained in preparing to play when he was sitting back watching Alex Smith start during his rookie year at the Kansas City Chiefs. There's activeness to the but passivity of being the backup if you do it right.
- [12:53]
Matt Hasselbeck
So I watched every snap Shador Sanders took and I know there's a lot I don't know, film study, galvanizing teammates, coachability, pre snap stuff. I've always understood that's 30, 35, 40% of quarterback. I don't see that. But I do see how comfortable are Are you frenetic? Are you comfortable? Are you confident? Do you move? Well, all the stuff that I'm allowed to see. I think Shedeur's college traits transferred to the NFL. I think he was accurate. I think he's more. I'm tired of hearing he's a pocket guy, he moves. I have highlights, he moves fine. I don't know how he is off. I don't know film. But I was impressed with him. Why should I not be?
- [13:42]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, I think there's a lot of encouraging things there. I mean, on the field, he's a guy that looks like he belongs. I don't think he's going to be their starting quarterback this year. I think Joe Flacco will be their starting quarterback. And it's just a weird situation because they've got four guys and someone's got to go. You would think, well, Kenny Pickett's missed so much time in training camp. He really hasn't been around. And then the young quarterback, Gabriel, he's been injured also. So this is an opportunity for Shador. My big question is, will the Cleveland Browns have the courage to keep four quarterbacks? And courage is the word I'm using because it's like, no one else does that. It doesn't make any sense. But, you know, Ray Rhodes, one of my old head coaches, used to say, hey, we're going to kill a mosquito with a sledgehammer at this position. And it's like, you know, that's not the best way to kill a mosquito. But I get the point. We're going to overdo it. And I think this is a quarterback that has. This is a team that has gone without a quarterback for so long that they might just say, hey, listen, it's that important of a position. We like what we have here, the traits that he's showing. Let's hold on to him and develop him on the field. He doesn't give me pause at all. He doesn't worry me at all off the field. And what he's like in the locker room, that's the part that I just don't know. There are some red flags, but it's hard for me to sit here and judge that from where I'm sitting. But. But I just know that, you know, being the backup quarterback to someone like Joe Flacco, you're probably not going to have a guy walking with you on your entrance getting off the bus this year. It's going to different feeling from being the star quarterback in college to potentially, you know, the second, third, or maybe Even fourth string quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.
- [15:24]
Matt Hasselbeck
So Burrow played. I don't want Aaron Rodgers playing behind backup offensive lineman at his age. I don't, I don't want Kirk Cousins playing. We'll get Stafford in about three minutes. But I just want to ask Burrow played, Mahomes played. Did you want to. When you were not at your last year, but I'm talking about maybe four years left to play. So you don't want to get hit. But. And you know the game and you know the reads, but did you want to be out there in preseason?
- [15:50]
Colin Cowherd
Yeah, absolutely, I wanted to play. And like, when Mike Holmgren was the head coach, like, we basically had this kind of agreement and he basically was like, all right, you can play until you take a hit. Like until you take an unnecessary hit or until you take a hit. You know, the, the tough thing for me as a, as a starting quarterback, I would feel bad for my offensive lineman because they had to stay in the game as long as I was in the game. And so, like, you know, I'm putting them at risk. Maybe I'm not at risk, but I'm putting them at risk, you know. And so like, usually I think like after about a quarter, you're feeling like, okay, it's time to go now. The one thing that I did like and I thought was really good in terms of process is I like, you know, coming in at halftime, getting used to that halftime break and then coming back out and having a drive or right before the end of the first half, getting a chance to work on 2 minute with all your new hand signals with any players that are new players on your team. Those things are really valuable that you don't get to simulate in practice. But sure, you want to compete, you want to be out there. And usually you need the coaches to say, no, no, no, time for you to sit down. You don't get to play anymore today.
- [16:53]
Matt Hasselbeck
So Matt Stafford did not. He's not even dressing for practice. And as I've aged, I feel pretty good. My back isn't great. I wake up, need to stretch. Matt Stafford's got a back injury. He's taken a lot of hits, most of them in Detroit. Does that worry you a little?
- [17:18]
Colin Cowherd
Well, your back doesn't surprise me. First off, okay, sitting is the new smoking. You sit all day long, so your back probably feels like trash. No, I am, I am concerned about Matthew Stafford's back. I had a bad back injury in 2008. Usually you can tell how bad a quarterback's back injury is. By if the team sends him to California to see Dr. Bob Watkins. If they do that, you know, it's serious. Now, it's a little harder here because he's already in la. But no, I'm concerned. I'm definitely concerned if you take the factors of his age and all those types of things. Listen, in 08, I hurt my back in a preseason game against Jared Allen and the Minnesota Vikings. It was just like this weird thing. It wasn't that bad, but it never got better. It like never got better that entire year. And you know, the closest thing I could equate it to is like you burn your mouth like on a hot piece of pizza or something and it just, it doesn't get better quick. And that's kind of what the back injury typically is. There's all different types of back injuries, but they just don't seem to get better quick. And then even if they do get better, you've missed all this time of like heavy weight training or physicality that goes into your off season and you're just not the version of yourself that you normally are. So I'd be very concerned if I was a Rams fan right now just because Stafford is valuable and it's just not a great place to be up in there.
- [18:39]
Matt Hasselbeck
Okay, so J.J. mcCarthy made one really good throw, it was a heater. And then on another throw, he badly overthrew an open receiver and it was a heater. And I've heard these comments, they're trying to get him to do some off speed stuff every morning when Kaepernick was in, that was the knock. Like everything's a fastball. And I think to myself, I mean, he's been playing since he was price seven. Like they're teaching him how to play quarterback. I mean, I don't know, I look at that and I think you don't hear very often where a first round quarterback you're trying to get, you know, trying to the tempo of the speed of the ball. I'm like, that's. I mean, Kevin o' Connell is probably a great teacher, but what do I, what do I. I watched him and I thought it's fine. But like there is kind of one speed. What do I make of those comments?
- [19:26]
Colin Cowherd
Well, he's got good coaches and Kevin O' Connell and Josh McCown, we trust those guys. But to me I would say you got to use the other clubs in your bag. It can't be driver three with two iron, four iron, four iron. Sometimes there's a, there's a, there's a nine iron in there. There's a, There's a sand wedge. I mean, there's, there's phrases in the quarterback room like kyp, know your personnel. If you're throwing to certain guys, it's got to be a different club. Sometimes you're throwing over defenders instead of through lanes. And so those are all things that I think come with experience. He played a lot at Michigan, didn't throw the ball a ton at Michigan. But I think what J.J. mcCarthy has, he's got the intangibles that you cannot coach. I think you can coach the. That. What club in the bag are you using? I think you can coach that. I'm. I'm someone who would buy on the Minnesota Vikings right now. I think this is a good team. I think this quarterback will have a good year. But certainly the analogy that you used with a young Colin Kaepernick, I think that's a great example of a guy that, you know, has a great arm, a very strong arm, can throw a tight spiral, throw it far, but the clubs in the bag is certainly a thing.
- [20:32]
Matt Hasselbeck
Matt Hasselbeck, road weary. I mean, just literally racing to the. In front of his screen to get on the, on the show, buddy. And I always appreciate that, the effort.
- [20:42]
Colin Cowherd
Awesome. See you, Colin.
- [20:44]
Matt Hasselbeck
All right. Matt Hasselbeck. Yeah, it's. I, I think his comment on Shador was mine. 60% of this quarterback position, we can all see. We don't see the 40%, and that is. Shador's got to be really good at that. Dak is. Jalen Hurts is. Brock Purdy is. Because they're not. Their traits aren't exceptional. Shidor's traits aren't exceptional. But if I have to hear again, he's just a pocket guy. No, he's not. He can move. He moves better than a lot of quarterbacks in this league. And he's also. It matters. He's in his athletic prime. For the next seven years, he's in his athletic prime. So I thought it looked pretty good. I thought he looked like he did. Colorado. Accurate, mobile. Enough arms, good enough. It matters.
- [21:36]
Jay Mack
One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.
- [21:45]
Producer
Hi, this is Jay. I'm the producer of the Paulie and Tony Fusco show. Usually in these promos, they ask you to listen to the show. I'm here to ask you, please don't listen to the show. The hosts are two absolute morons. Who have the dumbest takes on sports imaginable. Don't listen to the show so it can get canceled.
- [22:01]
Colin Cowherd
What the hell are you doing in our studio? Get him, Paulie. Ignore that fool. Listen to the Paulie and Tony Fusco show on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.
- [22:12]
Matt Hasselbeck
He's still moving. UFC 319 is blowing back to the Windy City for the first time in six years. Check out the fight card get in on all the action at DraftKings Sportsbook, the official sports betting partner of UFC, so download the DraftKings Sportsbook app. The code, as always, is heard. H E R D if you're new to DraftKings, check it out. New customers. All you have to do is bet 5 bucks to get 200 in bonus bets instantly. Instantly. Don't miss out. UFC 319 Download the DraftKings sportsbook app now. The code is HERD H E R D for new customers to get 200 bucks in bonus bets immediately. When you bet just 5 bucks only on DraftKings, the crown is yours.
- [23:03]
DraftKings Announcer
Gambling Problem Call 1-800- Gambler In New York, call 877-8-HOPE NY or text Hopeny 467-369 in Connecticut. Help is available for problem gambling. Call 888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org Please play responsibly on behalf of casino and resort in Kansas 21 Age and eligibility varies by jurisdiction. Void. In Ontario, bonus bets expire seven days after issuance. For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see DKNG Co Audio.
- [23:34]
Matt Hasselbeck
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- [23:36]
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- [23:47]
Matt Hasselbeck
He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too.
- [23:51]
Capital One Bank Guy
Oh really?
- [23:51]
Matt Hasselbeck
Thanks.
- [23:52]
Capital One Bank Guy
Capital One Bank Guy what's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank capital1na member FDIC.
- [24:05]
Matt Hasselbeck
So this is interesting from the Athletic Mike Sandoz Annual Quarterback survey. He asked 50 executives, GMs, assistant GMs, some coaches, some coordinators. It's very thorough. It's a wide swath of different opinions. Here's what's interesting. The entire off season for Bo Nix has been, you know, Sean Payton loves him. Everybody that goes to the Broncos, his teammates love him. Yet in this survey, Tier 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 level quarterbacks, Bo Nix only gets four Tier 2 votes. Drake May and Kayla Williams both get five. And Kayla Williams at this point you, it's hard to find good news. And Drake May doesn't look right now close to Bo Nicks in terms of production. So it's almost like the NFL is saying, yeah, Sean Payton's great. Bo Nicks has a very, very low ceiling now. Jaden Daniels got 17 tier one votes, Bonick's got none. Jaden Daniels got 31 tier two votes. Phoenix got four. And Bo Nicks had more touchdowns, more passing touchdowns, more completions, tougher division, tougher conference, and made the playoffs. So what the NFL execs are telling you is Jaden Daniels a superstar. Bo Nix has a really good coach. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no. Turn on the news.
- [25:47]
Jay Mack
This is the Herd line news.
- [25:49]
Chris Simms
All right, let's go to a quarterback in the AFC column. The number one overall pick, Cam Ward. He made his preseason debut against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Saturday. Ward was a crisp 5 of 8 for 67 yards. Connected a few times with Calvin Ridley. They had a nice touchdown drive. Coach Brian Callahan knows there's more work to be done. Despite the impressive showing, Cam certainly hasn't arrived yet.
- [26:14]
Brian Callahan
You know, we got a lot of things still we're, we're working on. I thought it was a good start for him. Encouraging. It was productive. But yeah, there's a, there's a couple of things that we're going to keep, keep kind of grinding on, I think. Still working on getting the ball out fast. Still working on the timing part of it. There's certainly play in plenty of things that we're still working on with Cam.
- [26:35]
Matt Hasselbeck
I thought he looked really comfortable. Oh yeah, yeah. I don't think he has much to work with at wide receiver. He doesn't have a one or a two. He's got a, he's got a bunch of threes and fours. But I don't know, I think he's just, I think you and I would both agree it just looks right. He's got an offensive coach. I think his offensive line is fine. I feel like they never have enough even when they had A.J. brown. I always feel like the Titans are weapon light. Right. But I, I thought he looked good.
- [27:04]
Chris Simms
Interesting that he was the number one overall pick. We only get him to, to him 90 minutes into the show. Meanwhile, fifth round pick Shadour Sanders is in a tunneled chatter video that goes viral. Everybody's breaking down all his passes. Cam Ward doing it quietly. Colin I spent some time looking into the Titans schedule, which is a real, a reason I'm bullish on them. So 10 of their final 15 opponents are not favored to make the playoffs, meaning they have them currently out of the playoffs. They're back, end of the schedule, final 15, 10 of them. They're going to be like a tight point spread in those games. Colin, this is a team I think we legitimately need to watch. Remember last year, Will Levis four pick sixes. I think the Titans led the NFL in turnovers. This could shockingly be a 10 win team in Tennessee with Kim Ward.
- [27:57]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, I mean, I, I think the division you play in goes along. I mean, it helped Jaden Daniels that he got Dallas twice and the New York Giants twice. Like it, it does help. And I also think, you know, you play in that division, not a lot of you got some dome games, you got warm weather road games. I mean, and say what you want, it is harder for a young quarterback or any quarterback to play in lousy weather, you know, so, I mean, it's kind of a warm weather conference. There's no dominant team, there's no dominant defense in the conference. If you start looking at, if you start looking at a lot of those teams around him, he's not, he could be playing with leads or very close games. So, and I, you and I both like Callahan. I think he knows what he's doing. I think, you know, the Titans need. If you told me the Titans like had a number one, had a head of neighbors, like, like had a legitimate number, what, even Aladdin McConkey, like a slot guy that's going to get 80 catches, like, I would feel different. I just think they're gonna, they're gonna have to win 21, 20 a lot.
- [29:06]
Chris Simms
Yeah, well, these first two games are really brutal out of the gate. They gotta go to Denver at altitude. I think that's the biggest spread of week one. I think I saw seven and a half. Then they hosted the Rams. Maybe they catch him napping after that. I don't want to say it's smooth sailing. I'm, I'm down on the Colts. Colin and I, when you were out Friday, I floated this. What if the Colts get the number one pick in the draft? Does Arch Manning come out to go to Indy, where Peyton, his uncle, kind of sort of thrived? I think the Colts are going to be bad. I'm really down on them. After that preseason game and some of the stuff I've been reading, I think that division, the Titans could win. It could win the division.
- [29:43]
Matt Hasselbeck
Well, it's not crazy.
- [29:44]
Chris Simms
A lot of people like Houston, well, they should.
- [29:47]
Matt Hasselbeck
They have a proven coach, a playoff coach. And a playoff quarterback.
- [29:51]
Chris Simms
How's that offensive line there, buddy? All right, let's move on to the second story. Let's go to the Cowboys. They have the league's highest paid quarterback in Dak Prescott, but that's not the signal caller Jerry Jones was praising ahead of their preseason game against the Rams. I'm sure you saw this video. Here's who Jerry believes he got for a steal.
- [30:13]
Matt Hasselbeck
I really have to pinch myself that we got him after the last game that he had starting there for New England. I'm just excited that we had a chance to get him and he hasn't disappointed. We're just more and more encouraged by what we're seeing.
- [30:27]
Chris Simms
That's your boy, Joe Milton. Where's 19 for 43?
- [30:35]
Matt Hasselbeck
Shador, got a little poster. Where's Joe Milton's poster? I'll say this dude's got an arm. He's a little inconsistent, but he's got an arm a lot like.
- [30:47]
Chris Simms
Sounds a lot like me. Anyways, final story. NBA. Kyle, look at this. Late August, we've got NBA because it's Luka Doncic. Now, I know you're not paying attention to Eurobasket right now, but Luka was absolutely cooking for Slovenia. 19 points, five assists in just 24 minutes. And then it gets interesting. There is a report as Luka Doncic, his teammates praised his leadership and the new look. Luka, There's a report that he is down 30 pounds this summer. Now, I don't know how accurate that could be. Could you lose 30 pounds in the summer if you're. If you're not doing, like, one of the GLP drugs? He looks thinner, but he was on fire in Euro basket. He looked amazing. Revenge season is closing in for Luka.
- [31:32]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah, no, we've. We've said this, Luke. This is like year two. Luka is. He was unstoppable. He was. He was 40 a night. If he wanted to score that, and because he's in great shape, he'll play more minutes and he'll want the ball more. This will be the first year in LeBron's career where you will notice how much better the best player on a team is than LeBron. Because LeBron's not going to get the ball in his hands nearly as much. Last year was lumpy. Luka, stop it. I mean, it was. He, he, he. I mean, if you lose 30 pounds as a pro athlete. He didn't weigh 300, you know, I mean, so, I mean, he. Look at it. Just look at his upper body. He looks much thinner. He's going to play more minutes and he's going to dominate the ball like he couldn't dominate the ball last year. He couldn't beat people off the dribble. First year he had like 25 dunks. Last year he had one, he was a different player. This Luka will be noticeably better than LeBron. LeBron will average 22 a game and Luka's gonna average 30.
- [32:36]
Chris Simms
Yeah, I listen, I'm excited. I know he's not a big media guy, but a lot of reports he's gonna be moving into the South Bay out here in la. Colin, if I can get him on the show. Come on, I know you'd be thrilled.
- [32:48]
Matt Hasselbeck
Right? Come on.
- [32:48]
Chris Simms
I'll be seeing him at the Dunkin Donuts, the adult beverage shops. We know he likes his sweet tooth. I cannot wait for Luca to dominate this season.
- [32:57]
Matt Hasselbeck
Yeah. J. Mack with the news.
- [33:00]
Jay Mack
Well, that's the news and thanks for stopping by the Herd line news.
- [33:04]
Matt Hasselbeck
Matt Hasselbeck was money. We have Chris Sims coming up in the next hour. It is I, I also, I was talking this weekend and I think I, I have two more opportunities. I think Wednesday or Thursday, I have two more opportunities. Let's make it Wednesday to alter my NFL predictions. Now I always do it on Thursday of opening night. That's my final opportunity. And so I think the starting quarterbacks in the league got some snaps now. I don't think they're going to get as many. Nobody's going to get hurt. So on Wednesday I will give you my updated version with one more left. And last year, if I recall my updated version and my season opening version, there was only one, one change. But one of the changes I'm thinking of making is having Green Bay win the division. And I all, all off season I've said I don't even know what to do with the packers. Chicago's noisy, J.J. mcCarthy's noisy and Detroit looked awful. The only time I've watched them looked awful. Awful. There is something, there's a lot of different ways to win a division in the NFL. One of them is continuity and quiet. And boy, Green Bay has been quiet. I don't care what they look like with the jets. It doesn't mean anything to me. They had double digit wins last year and Jordan Love was hurt early and banged up late.
- [34:32]
Jay Mack
Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app Banking with Capital One.
- [34:42]
Capital One Bank Guy
Helps you keep more money in your wallet with no fees or minimums on checking accounts and no overdraft fees. Just ask the Capital One bank guy. It's pretty much all he talks about in a good way.
- [34:54]
Matt Hasselbeck
He'd also tell you that this podcast is his favorite podcast too.
- [34:58]
Capital One Bank Guy
Oh really?
- [34:58]
Matt Hasselbeck
Thanks.
- [34:59]
Capital One Bank Guy
Capital One Bank Guy. What's in your wallet? Terms apply. See capitalone.com bank Capital One NA member.
- [35:08]
Chris Simms
FDIC Saturday, it's baseball night in America as Al MVP front runner Aaron Judge leads the Yankees against the Cardinals or the AL Central leading Tigers take on the Twins. Check local listings for the game in your area. Saturday, 7 Eastern on Fox.
- [35:27]
Matt Hasselbeck
Listen. The best roster in the league that doesn't have the knowledge that they have a really high end quarterback arguably is Minnesota. I mean Detroit great roster. Golf can sling it. Philadelphia, great roster. We know Jalen can play Baltimore, great roster. Kansas City, a great roster. Quarterbacks. Minnesota's got a great roster. They don't know if they have the right quarterback. And the one thing I will say, and I watch J.J. mcCarthy, I've always said this, I don't think Michigan, like Alabama was saving, kind of prepared him for the NFL. Always played with a lead, rarely got hit, great running game, didn't throw a ton, didn't have to get in shootouts, always had the best coach and roster. I thought he was okay. It does feel like this entire preseason has been about him gaining his confidence. And I think self doubt is something we all have. But for quarterbacks and surgeons, when you go into the emergency room, I'm not looking for that. I need almost a delusional level of playing confidence. Not arrogance, but real confidence. And you know, I think they're trying to build them up and I think that's a, that's a tough spot. It's a very good roster. Again, it's, it's, it may not be Philly or Baltimore. It's close. It's definitely in that Denver area where you're like not a lot of holes, a lot of maybe miss no number one receiver in Denver. Maybe they're missing, you know, I don't know. Do they have a number one corner in Minnesota? Maybe, maybe not. But they're not missing much here was JJ McCarthy after this weekend's preseason game.
- [37:04]
J.J. McCarthy
Feel like KO just thought of this as checking another box. Like he really wanted to see the operation and just, you know, the fundamentals and doing the simple things at a high level. And I feel like we did that today. It was a huge kind of growing rep that I felt like, you know, just injects confidence in my Veins going to the next one.
- [37:23]
Matt Hasselbeck
So there's, there's a little bit, it feels like a little bit of a baby steps process. This is not a baby steps coach. It's not a baby steps roster. It's not a baby steps receiving card. This is a Super bowl roster. Detroit, Philadelphia are Super bowl rosters. Baltimore, Kansas City, Buffalo, those are super bowl rosters. I think Minnesota is. And so you know, I mean Kevin o', Connell, we already know they were willing to sign Sam Darnold for the right number. So that, that, that's pretty obvious. They now, that's not. That has been reported. They told Sam right number, we'll resign. You, you know, he got 15 more million a year or 10 million more a year with Seattle, no state tax in Washington. That's a good move. Like I, Sam should have taken that and be the guy without somebody breathing down his neck. But it's, this is a Super bowl roster. The other thing I've heard a lot about in the reporting by people I think are really good in Minnesota is, you know, everything's a fastball. We want to scale that back. We. It's got kind of a Kaepernick feel where it's like, you know, Kaepernick came in and it was like, I mean it was like Nolan Ryan. If the breaking ball was off, it was, it wasn't a good outing. Like we always knew he threw fast. McCarthy's got, he's got zip on it. Here's Hasselbeck on that hole tempo and developing an off speed throw.
- [38:48]
Colin Cowherd
I think what J.J. mcCarthy has, he's got the intangibles that you cannot coach. I think you can coach the, that. What club in the bag are you using? I think you can coach that. I'm, I'm someone who would buy on the Minnesota Vikings right now. I think this is a good team. I think this quarterback will have a good year. But certainly the analogy that you used with a young Colin Kaepernick, I think that's a great example of a guy that you know, has a great arm, a very strong arm, can throw a tight spiral, throw it far. But the clubs in the bag is certainly a thing.
- [39:19]
Matt Hasselbeck
So it, it is interesting because he is an often discussed player. Aaron Rodgers in the Athletic poll. If you're just tuning in, you haven't watched today. The athletic has a 50 person survey annually from Mike Sando. It's great. And, and, and by the way, these things fluctuate. Few years ago Deshaun Watson was up there in there, you know, like tier 2. Ish. So these things fluctuate and it's mostly very, very predictable. Aaron Rodgers was 16th, so Aaron Rodgers was in Tier 3. I think that's where he is. He is now a pocket quarterback. He not taking snaps in the preseason. I think he's a beautiful. He's a pretty quarterback, but he doesn't want to take hits. And I think, you know, Matt Stafford is willing to sit in the pocket. That's also why Matt Stafford may have a bad back right now, but if that's where Aaron Rodgers is when I hear this, Steel City savior, guys, take the name away. 16th is in line with Drake May. You know, like Drake May is not even in arguably his athletic prime. So right now, Aaron in the preseason, he's a headset guy. He's not taking a hit guy. So I don't think that's a knock on him. The NFL executives think he's right in the middle of the pack. So. And that's what I've said. The one thing about Aaron, and I do not blame him at all. Let me just. He doesn't want to take a hit. So there's going to be stuff like Shador Sanders had a moment Saturday or Friday when he was going to take a hit and he stood in there and made the throw. Not everybody's going to do that. Old quarterback Eli Manning didn't want to do that at the end. Tom didn't want to do that at the end. So what's interesting about Tier three, You're watching or listening to my show. Trevor Lawrence and Aaron Rodgers are both in Tier three. So let me ask you. You're a general manager. You can choose either for the next two years to lead your franchise. Who would you choose? I would choose Trevor Lawrence. He's in a. He's in his athletic prime. He's still going to sit in that pocket and take a hit. He's totally committed in the off season. Not a shot at Aaron, but he's mostly committed. And I think that stuff matters. And I think at this point, Trevor's a much better athlete. Trevor can run still. So even in the Tier three, and you kind of say, oh, I would take Bo Nix over Aaron. I think he's much more athletic at this point. And he's also more malleable, more coachable at this point. He's totally committed in the off season. Spent the off season, a lot of it, with Drew Brees. So even in this Tier three that Aaron's at, I would take Trevor to start today. I would take Bo Nix to start. I would take Drake May to start. Bryce Young is. I'm just. I need more. I need another half season. But I would say even though here he's top of tier three with. With Kyler Murray, if I was going to pin down all those GMs and say two years, commit to the quarterbacks, I think he'd be at the bottom of tier three. So I think when Pittsburgh fans are seeing Aaron as a savior, be very careful. Could I say this? Russell Wilson is the top quarterback in tier four. Is Aaron today closer to Russell Wilson than he is Bo Nix? I think he is in terms of. Doesn't have his fastball athletically, and I don't think he wants to sit and take big shots. So that. That's an underrated part of being quarterback. And by the way, since 2022, this is with Matt Lafle and the jets and, you know, so this is two different teams. Aaron Rodgers has a worse completion percentage than Daniel Jones and fewer touchdown passes than Derek Carr and a lower passer rating than Russell Wilson. So you may cringe when I say he's closer to Russell than Bo, but that's what the numbers say. And one of those years is with Matt LaFleur and Green Bay's offensive line. So this is not a knock on Aaron. I think the athletic got it right. I think Aaron and Russell are kind of in that 16, 17, 18 spot. So whereas nobody in New York sees Russell as the savior, I think there are people in Pittsburgh that see Aaron is the savior and it's like, no, no, no, that, like, that's not. Happiness is directly correlated or connected to expectations. If you look at Aaron and think, here's a realistic Aaron year, let's get 15 starts, 24 touchdowns, nine picks, and you go nine and eight, they may not do that. That feels you're not gonna be rushing touchdowns. He's gonna complete 63, 64, lead the NFL in throwaways. That's 8, 9, 9 and 8. Feels.
- [44:24]
Colin Cowherd
Like this is an I Heart podcast.