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Rachel Nichols (2:34)

Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Jason McIntyre (2:41)

Back here on the herd. Jason McIntyre and Rachel Nichols were in for Colin Cowherd Divisional football Friday. A lot of chaos around the league at coaching openings. Let's dive into it all with Greg Jennings My main man, Greg Jennings, he's on First Things first every day at 3 Eastern. Greg, how are you, dude? Looking real strong in that nice suit. Did you lose a bet? Is that why it's not a, a great bet? Because I heard you've been gambling a lot on First Things First.

Greg Jennings (3:12)

No, no, no. No gambling at all. Just making a couple nice, healthy. Well, I guess one was a little unhealthy because of the outcome, but, you know, nothing, nothing too strenuous.

Chris Felica (3:25)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (3:26)

How are you feeling? You know your packers went down. I know LaFleur is your boy. Obviously.

Greg Jennings (3:33)

I'm checking my. I'm checking my. It's divisional round, right. That was wild card last week, the Packers.

Jason McIntyre (3:39)

Right. Yeah.

Greg Jennings (3:40)

We're past Wednesday. We've moved on. You're trying to open wounds that I've been trying to put bandages on. No, it was a tough weekend, obviously, you know, unfortunate for the packers, but the Bears, they've been hot, man. They got a quarterback that's playing lights out, especially at the end of the games or in second halves. They got a coaching staff that truly supports and believes in what they're. What he's capable of putting them in great situations. The defense played lights out in that second half. They took that game. They simply took that game and were the better team we. When it mattered most.

Jason McIntyre (4:16)

Well, the packers kind of gave it to him. And that's twice. And that's what I didn't like about Leflore. Essentially, they, they stopped playing. You know, you could maybe excuse the one where Love got hurt. And they have Malik Willis in there, but they had that game 1 up 10 with 2 minutes left. And then you fast forward to this one, the last round, and I, I know you said the Bears took it. I, I. Come on, man. You have to admit, they got a little bit lucky. I know there's some guys on the set with you at First Things first who may not agree, but they've just gotten lucky all season. This is a charmed life for Chicago.

Chris Felica (4:43)

No.

Greg Jennings (4:44)

Yeah. It's luck when it happens once, twice, maybe even a third time. When you make a habit of doing this and you do it better than almost anybody else outside of the Denver Broncos, it becomes who you are and you live for those moments. And so I'm not going to call it luck. When you were watching that game and Caleb got the ball, how did you feel? Did you feel like, oh, he can't do it again, or did you feel like, man, he might do it again? I was nervous. I'm not going to Sit here and lie to you.

Jason McIntyre (5:16)

Well, it's less about that. It was more about the packers leading the whole damn way. And then like, what are we going to do? And then they go up 13 after the golden touchdown and I'm like, we're fine. Because I had the packers at money line and I mean, it just blew up on my face. Now, Caleb is a good point. Where do you feel he is at this stage? Is this just a guy who's built for the fourth quarter in the game winning drives? He's still complete like 50% of his passes most weeks. Do we, do we have a young Josh Allen? What do we have here? I don't know what to make of him.

Greg Jennings (5:43)

Look, if, if you're the Bears, you believe you have the guy. And look, I'm on the outside looking in, but I understand what it takes to be a quarterback and to play at a high level in this game. And you're not going to get. Very seldomly do we see quarterbacks just out the gate and checking every single box. He's going through a process. He has a coach that has implemented a scheme and, and has put expectations on him and really demanded him to be better in every area and he is developing in all those areas. And if you listen to how Ben Johnson has spoken about him early in the season versus now, it's a different tune that he's speaking on Caleb with. And look, I understand the completion percentage. I think he resolves that going into next season. I think we will see a huge jump in his completion percentage just because of the comfort that he will have in his second year with Ben in that offense with those guys around him understanding that he can get it done knowingly and at a high clip at the end of games.

Jason McIntyre (6:48)

Yeah, I want to talk about the trash talking situation with Ben Johnson. So you played a wide receiver position. A lot of divas there, not Greg Jennings. A lot of guys running their mouths. I will just say something's going on with Ben Johnson. Man, he's really puffing his chest out and you know, peacocking around because they're winning. And the handshake with LaFleur, the F bombs in the locker room. I don't know if this is working out well. And I'm sure you saw the clip where McVeigh this week was like, yeah, LaFleur's a good friend. I talked to him. Smile, end of story. Ben Johnson is setting himself up to, to kind of lose by 30 to one of these Lafleur Shanahan tree guys who, who are just like, yeah, you going to run your mouth. This is how it works in the league.

Greg Jennings (7:32)

Look, I was with Ben Johnson down in Miami. He and Dan Campbell, obviously we know what he was when he was with Dan Campbell. He's not going to back down from anybody. Look, he took this job understanding the task at hand was to turn the program, turn the organization around, be what this young quarterback needs to develop and allow their fan base in that organization to understand that this is the future face of our franchise. And Caleb Williams, he's done that. And when you have success, when you win, you afford yourself the opportunity to do things like this. Now do I believe that he's taken it a bit far? I would say yes because I'm on the opposite side of it. Like I was in the green and gold. And so when you. But I understand what this rivalry means. I understand with him coming in first year head coach and getting two of the three wins, none more important than last weekend. Like you're going to say things with your chest and he's full blown vested in this idea of I do not like the Green Bay Packers, I don't like Matt LaFleur, I don't like anything across the state line that goes into Wisconsin. And look, I'm good with that. Just understand you must maintain these winning ways if you are going to continue to say it with your chest that way.

Jason McIntyre (8:57)

So I got to ask, that's a great stat that you had. You were in Miami with Ben Johnson. I just looked it up. He was the offensive quality control guy seven years ago and fast forward to now and he's the head coach in the divisional round and it looks like they might have something cooking. Let me ask, what do you think is behind this whole. I don't, we don't like Green Bay. I hate them. Is it simply leaning into the Bears franchise or is there something personal with him in LaFleur and maybe that crew, that posse of coaches.

Greg Jennings (9:25)

Look, I don't, I don't know if it is something personal, I don't know about that part. But I understand how the rivalry works. I understand what he was getting himself into. Understanding that it's, it has not truly been a rivalry. It's been one sided. Green Bay dominating it for the past 30 years or so and he unders, he understands that like taking on this job was not just about developing Caleb Williams, turning the organizational organization around and not beating Green Bay. Taking this job was doing all those things and having a good enough outfit to where when we beat, when we play those guys in green and yellow, we win more often than not. And right now he's off to a great start. So I don't knock it. Look, he has to be ready to take on what comes with that. And I don't think Matt LaFleur is going to turn into a Ben Johnson overnight. Neither should. But you know, when you do things and make comments like that, it has reverberation across the league and we'll see what happens this weekend. But look, he's betting on his guys to get it done.

Jason McIntyre (10:34)

What do you make of a guy putting a target on his back in year one? Because that's what he's doing. I know people want to deny it and that's fine. Tough talk is fine, but he has the target squarely on his back. And Greg, you know how it goes. Chiefs were 11 and oh in one score games last year that flipped and all of a sudden they're not making the playoffs. So, Ben, they rode hot and won a lot of close games. Next year, if that flips and they miss the playoffs. Oh, who's the genius now, Ben? It's a dangerous game to play. Hey, to each his own. Are you endorsing this behavior?

Greg Jennings (11:04)

Look, I'm not endorsing it, but I don't not like it. Like when you are in that locker room, you want a coach that is going to stand 10 toes down and say, hey, I'm in this with you guys. I don't like them. I don't. It's us against everyone. And when you take that approach and you continue to deliver and you send that messaging in the locker room, you are more, more times than not going to be supported by the guys that are walking out of that locker room to play that game on your behalf. So look, it's worked out for them this year. I think this is a team that's not just a fluke. This is a team that is here to stay and an offense that is growing into something that we are going to be probably in awe in the next year and years to come.

Jason McIntyre (11:53)

All right, let's pivot to. Let's go. That Seahawks Niners game Saturday, I think this is all about Sam Darnold. I tried to make the case in the meeting I was shot down that there's more pressure on Sam Darnold than any other quarterback in these playoffs. And I know Josh Allen's under pressure, obviously in Buffalo, but we've seen what he can do. Darnold has zero career playoff wins. They are the super bowl favorites. Okay, I'm a Little worried about Sam. I don't know what to make of this oblique thing. I know your obliques don't get hurt because you're jacked, but what are we doing with Seattle here against the Niners?

Greg Jennings (12:25)

Greg, if, if there is a game that I'm not necessarily putting all the pressure on Sam Darnold, it's this one. But you're going up against the defense, a team that you've seen three times, a team that your defense has dominated and it's going to be hard for them to score points on your defense. Like all Sam Darnold has to do is just not turn the ball over, not play the way that we've seen him play in moments where he gets flustered if he can deliver and execute. And they put points on the board when they get down in the red zone, something that they struggle to do in the last, last game of the season to. But they ended up winning the game because of that defense. They didn't really deliver in the red zone. They, I believe they were.03 in the red zone. If they are able to put points on the board, they are just simply going to make it very hard for the 49ers to win this game. Because defensively I know Robert Sala is going to have a game plan. He's going to make it ugly, he's going to try to make it a grind out game as much as possible as they should because this defense is just simply of the Seattle Seahawks. They're not going to give that 49ers offense a lot of opportunities.

Jason McIntyre (13:38)

But what you just said was like, hey, just don't turn the ball over. Don't screw it up. Essentially, I don't want to.

Greg Jennings (13:43)

When you have a defense. JJ. Max. Yes. CJ Stroud. When you have a defense that is that good in a game like this, we don't need you to score 40, we don't need 30 on the board. Just what we can't have is you throwing a pick six or giving the ball into it to an opponent where they are in a, in a red zone situation right out the gate with their downs. Like you, you can't have those type of mistakes at the quarterback position in games like this.

Jason McIntyre (14:15)

So. So Darnold led the league in giveaways, fumbles, plus interceptions. And you mentioned red zone. I just looked it up. Seattle, 22nd in the league in red zone touchdowns. My only problem is, are you trying to turn him into, and this is not disparaging, are you trying to turn him into Trent Doher? Hey, Hand the ball off, make some safe passes. Our defense will get us home. Is that like a winning game plan? If you tell your quarterback that, doesn't he go in with like, oh, I can't screw it up? That's. No, that just feels like a negative mindset.

Greg Jennings (14:42)

No, you don't. He doesn't, he doesn't go in the game like that. Like, I believe with everything that Sam Darnold believes that he's the better quarterback of the two. You go in that, with that type of mentality, that type of confidence, understanding. Though, we got guys behind you that can really get it done. So we don't need you to be hero. We just need you to be play within the framework of what we are going to go out there and ask you to do and be. Let the rest. Let everybody else handle the rest. That's all I'm saying.

Jason McIntyre (15:12)

Okay, so hypothetical lafleur loves what you're saying on the show. He's watching now. He reaches out to you. Hey, Greg, I really need your input on this one. I don't know the answer. If you could pick a quarterback for the next five years, would you take Brock Purdy or Sam Darnold?

Greg Jennings (15:29)

Wow, this is. Oh, that's a great question.

Jason McIntyre (15:33)

It's not on the great question.

Greg Jennings (15:35)

And I, I'm glad, I'm glad, I'm glad Leflore is not going to ask me about a quarterback named Brock Purdy or Sam Darnold because he has this guy in Jordan, Love, which we tend to love. So did I dodge that question? No, I'll answer it. Look, I'm going with Brock Purdy, okay? Because I believe that there is more that he can deliver, especially with his legs. You don't see the panic as much. He's a younger quarterback. You can kind of continue to grow and develop. He's been, he's been there kind of that hasn't won the big games because obviously he didn't have a chance to play the first time around. The second time around, he delivered. And we've seen it. We haven't seen that from Sam Darnold. Can he get it done? I believe he can, but he just needs the supporting gas to do so.

Rachel Nichols (16:23)

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Jason McIntyre (16:34)

Just go to YouTube and search Fox Sports Radio.

Rachel Nichols (16:36)

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Greg Jennings (19:17)

Savings with three plus lines include third.

Rachel Nichols (19:19)

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Jason McIntyre (19:23)

All right, two more real quick. So number one, A.J. brown. I'm sure you saw the video, got into it with Sirianni on the sideline. Big Dom had to step in, and cooler heads prevailed then. Howie Roseman's asked about A.J. brown in Philly, and he's very political with his answer as a wide receiver. Again, you were not a diva. AJ Brown certainly has given off diva tendencies. What do you do with the guy? Do you try to trade him? Do you just keep him? Because something's going on in that locker room. Nobody's articulated it, but Jalen Hurts keeps getting asked about their friendship. We don't see them. Kumbaya. There's all these reports that one of them got engaged and didn't invite the other to the party. What are we doing here, Greg? Are we moving on from A.J. brown or keeping him?

Greg Jennings (20:06)

Look, only time will tell, I think, if you're Howie Roseman and you're getting calls on A.J. brown, which I assume he will be getting calls on A.J. brown. They got calls on A.J. brown this season, and he decided to hold onto him, which I thought was the best decision moving forward for this season. However, now you're looking at a situation where, you know you're going to have a different play caller. I'm not so quick to just say, you know what, we'll deal A.J. brown. Now, if you're going to get a haul in a great deal of assets in dealing A.J. brown, then you're going to entertain that. You're going to take those calls. You're going to see what's out there. But it's not. Everybody makes it seem like it's just easy to, you know what? We got to get this guy out because he's disrupting who we are and what we want to be. No, he's the voice of the locker room. Like, you can call it diva if you want to. And I think some of his. Some of what he's done has been kind of across the line, so to speak. However, there is always a voice in the locker room. There are much more guys that feel the same way that A.J. brown feels in that locker room that are unwilling to speak up because of a guy like A.J. brown who is willing to speak up. So despite what we may believe, those are the facts. Like, that is what happens in locker rooms. And so you don't just dismiss a guy just because we don't like the way he handles all the things when he is as valuable and as productive as A.J.

Rachel Nichols (21:36)

Brown.

Jason McIntyre (21:37)

All right, 90 seconds or less. I got to wrap up with an Aaron Rodgers question since you guys are linked forever. Just kidding. Pittsburgh Steelers job comes open. Tomlin steps Down. Even if Rogers stays, and I don't think he will, is this a good job? And get beyond the owner. Look at the blue chip talent or lack thereof. Look at the second oldest roster in the league. No path to a franchise quarterback. I'm hearing rumors that they really like Will Howard, the guy from Ohio State. That smells like a tank to me. What do you make of this Pittsburgh opening look?

Greg Jennings (22:09)

I think it's one of the best openings out there. Obviously, you got Lamar and the Ravens opening, that's still available. But you talk about what they have, an aging roster. You can turn that around. If you have a coach that comes in with a vision, you know you're going to have time. If you don't have a quarterback, the next best thing for an organization to offer you is time. Time to create your plan, execute your plan, implement that vision. And we've seen it time and time again with the Ravens. Obviously with the Steelers, they give a long Runway. Now, how it works out is pending on who you bring in and the plan that they implement. But you have, you're looking at everything as an asset right now. T.J. watt, Jalen Ramsey, all these high number, high ticket guys. You're not tied to them necessarily. You can, you can ship them, or I shouldn't even say ship them. You can deal them, you can take calls. People will answer the phone.

Jason McIntyre (23:12)

I'm shipping. T.J. watt, FedEx. Greg Jennings, great stuff as always. Catch him on first things first. After us. Have a great weekend, Greg.

Greg Jennings (23:20)

All right, you too, J. Mac. All right.

Jason McIntyre (23:22)

Good stuff from Greg Jennings. Let's go to Rachel Nichols with the news.

Greg Jennings (23:26)

No, no, turn on the news.

Jason McIntyre (23:29)

This is the Herd line news.

Chris Felica (23:32)

J. Mac, you guys were just talking about those Chicago come from behind wins. I wanted to get the numbers for you. Eight come from behind wins this season. Seven when the Bears were trailing with two minutes to go. I mean, that's pretty crazy. Rams, of course, know this. Pass rusher Jared Verse says they have a strategy to keep Caleb Williams from breaking things open late.

Rachel Nichols (23:55)

Once you kind of get him, like.

Greg Jennings (23:57)

You know, your hands around him, if you can't fully grab him, aim for his arm. He's a throwing quarterback, obviously. That's all quarterbacks.

Rachel Nichols (24:02)

You have to aim for his arm.

Greg Jennings (24:03)

Just try to mess his dough up a little bit. It can't just be like, you get them. I'm off the spot.

Rachel Nichols (24:06)

That's one of those quarterbacks, especially running quarterbacks. Even if they're off the spot, they're still liable to make any type of play.

Chris Felica (24:12)

All Right. So, J. Mac, do you think that's going to work or do you expect more Bears late Magic?

Jason McIntyre (24:18)

You know, you got me so jazzed up for this. Ben Johnson versus the Shanna Clan or whatever we're calling it. I think the Rams put it on him. I see the lines up to four and a half. That's interesting. It was three and a half earlier this week. Now, I don't know cold weather like you do. You went to Northwestern. It's going to be like, what, negative 17 million degrees or whatever the number is in Chicago. Do you think that's a factor? You've covered cold games, right?

Chris Felica (24:42)

Absolutely. I was about to say I've been on the sideline for some incredibly cold games. I was one of the sideline reporters when the Bears played. I'm sorry, the. The Giants played the Packers. Remember Tom Coughlin's face almost fell off? Oh, I was wearing ice fishing pants on the sideline. I have done a lot of cold weather games and I think people watching on TV treat it as like a cute little stat. It is not a cute stat. The windchill for this game is supposed to be 2, 2 degrees, 2 whole degrees. And it actually has an effect. The ball gets harder, it gets heavier, it gets more slick to handle because those muscles and ligaments are tighter. In cold weather, you have more soft tissue injuries that cart people off of the field. And also just everyone's reaction time slows. Right. That is a scientific fact. Your reaction time slows down in cold weather. So all of that will probably come into play in this game. And we talk about, oh, LA players are soft, you know, they don't really play. There is some grounding in that. Statistically, someone added it up since 1964. So we're going large sample size. The Rams are 1 in 6 in games as cold as we're going to see for them playing this weekend. The most recent time they won in this type of cold, not in the cold in general, but this level of cold was December 1989. Obviously, this RAMS team is its own team.

Jason McIntyre (26:02)

Right?

Chris Felica (26:03)

Matthew Stafford, Yes. He played in a dome in Detroit, but he also played in that division, so he's used to cold weather. But it's gonna be a deal, Jason, I promise you. And none of them are wearing ice fishing pants.

Jason McIntyre (26:14)

So it's. You said soft tissue injuries?

Chris Felica (26:16)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (26:16)

Devonte. And a hamstring.

Podcast Host/Ad Read (26:18)

Yeah.

Jason McIntyre (26:18)

Maybe I'll look to bed as unders.

Chris Felica (26:20)

Oh, man. Betting on someone to get hurt.

Jason McIntyre (26:23)

No, no, no. Damn it. That sounded bad.

Chris Felica (26:25)

All right, let's Go back here in Los Angeles, the Hornets beat the Lakers 135 to 117 last night. That's even with Luka having 39 points. But LaMelo Ball had 27 in the second half alone. The Lakers have now dropped four of their last five. Here is Luka after the loss.

Rachel Nichols (26:45)

They made a lot of shots. You know, we gave up a lot.

Jason McIntyre (26:48)

Of offensive rebounds from there.

Greg Jennings (26:50)

You know, they just hit like what we call daggers. So I think that was the game there and I want to win every game.

Rachel Nichols (26:56)

So that doesn't matter if we come from a loss or a win. So I just want to win every game.

Chris Felica (27:05)

J. Mac, I mean look, I think we're about to throw the stats up there. Defense is this team's problem, right? Unequivocally. So what's your take on them now that they've had this downturn?

Jason McIntyre (27:15)

Oh dear. Yeah, that's not good. I'm worried, I'm not going to lie because I don't know that they're going to rush into a trade here ahead of the deadline. Right. Doesn't sound like they're going to make any moves. So there's no reinforcements coming.

Chris Felica (27:27)

I'm not sure I would say that. Oh, I'm not sure they're going to rush into a trade but they've already put it out there. They only have one tradable first round pick right now and they've already put it out there. There's been reporting that they would like to break that pick up the way the Suns did where they basically take one good first round pick and trade it to get maybe the Suns had three less a round less good first round picks. Right. So you're talking about a first round pick more in the top half and then okay, we're going to trade that to someone who will give us lesser less good picks. But at least we have more optionality then. So if they can pull that off before the deadline. They need a 3 and D guy. That is what they need. There's a couple out there. I don't know if they're going to be able to, you know, Herb Jones is probably the target but he's very pricey. If they want to get rid of.

Jason McIntyre (28:11)

Him then I don't. I know some people are pushing that. What about somebody who told me Grant Williams?

Rachel Nichols (28:16)

Williams.

Jason McIntyre (28:17)

I don't. I like two years ago.

Chris Felica (28:19)

That was Trey Murphy maybe. I mean there's Jonathan Kuminga talk. I don't know.

Jason McIntyre (28:23)

I'm in on Kuming. Why are some people so Are we doing anything on Kaminga? So let me ask, what the hell happened with him and Steve Kerr? They just hate each other now.

Chris Felica (28:29)

I mean, I don't think they hate.

Jason McIntyre (28:30)

It's ugly. I was reading that essentially Kerr's like, all right, you're going in. Guys are injured. He's like, oh, my knees hurting. Yeah, it's like a fake inch. Like, what, what's happening?

Chris Felica (28:38)

Well, look, he knows he's getting dealt and he doesn't want to get hurt beforehand and he doesn't want to stay there.

Jason McIntyre (28:43)

I don't want to. Warriors at some point.

Chris Felica (28:45)

At some point. Oh, they've actually been quietly winning lately. But. But at some point you have to sign your guy to make it a tradable contract. Like, I mean, that they're. They signed him with the intent to trade him. We'll have to see what happens. The Lakers, obviously.

Jason McIntyre (28:59)

I'll do that deal. I like Rui.

Chris Felica (29:01)

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But they might have to get some more first round picks to make any of this work. All right, let's go back to football. New England MVP candidate Drake May preparing for his second career playoff game. The Texas defense, though, no joke. Patriots wide receiver Kayshawn Booty says with Drake May leading the charge, he's not worried.

Greg Jennings (29:21)

I think Drake could depend on us.

Jason McIntyre (29:24)

And we could depend on him.

Greg Jennings (29:25)

But I think with him at quarterback, anything possible, I mean, you know, even if it's looking cloudy in the passing.

Jason McIntyre (29:31)

Game, he able to run with his legs too. So I think he keep the defense honest.

Chris Felica (29:36)

What do you think?

Jason McIntyre (29:37)

I'm rooting Texans here. Sorry. I'm a Jets fan. I can't stand the Patriots. Go Texans. Come on, C.J.

Greg Jennings (29:43)

Stroud.

Jason McIntyre (29:43)

Who you got in this one?

Chris Felica (29:44)

I mean, I think the Texans have a better shot, right?

Commercial Announcer (29:47)

Just.

Chris Felica (29:47)

Just that defense, I. I just think it's so good. And they're good at all the things, right? The top things you want a defense to be good at. They're top three and including takeaways. Right. And rookie quarter. Got a rookie, but a young quarterback playing only his second playoff game. C.J. stroud, though. And look, Greg Jennings said it. He has to not mess up. He messed up so often last week and he said it, he acknowledges it. Right. He had five fumbles. He had a red zone interception. He cannot do that.

Greg Jennings (30:16)

Yeah.

Chris Felica (30:16)

So if he is able to do his part and the Texans defense can do their part, I think Houston is going to come out.

Jason McIntyre (30:22)

We'll see though, Rachel with the news.

Greg Jennings (30:25)

Well, that's the news.

Chris Felica (30:27)

And thanks for stopping by the Herd.

Jason McIntyre (30:29)

Lie News all right, coming up, we're going to dive into gambling. Chris Felica the Bear Wouldn't you know it? Miami Hurricanes grad Chris Felica taking the eight and a half against Indiana. Talk about all that next year on the Herd.

Rachel Nichols (30:43)

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and.

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Jason McIntyre (33:31)

Welcome back to the herd. Great guest coming up now. You know him from Fox. Big noon kickoff, it's the Bear. Chris Felica, host of the Bear Bets podcast and also a Miami Hurricane Hurricanes guy. And listen, Felica, he was on them early. They got a shot here against Indiana, right? I saw you. You're taking the points, the eight and a half, right?

Rachel Nichols (33:52)

I'm not only taking the eight and a half, I think they're going to win the game out right. I think people are hung up on the game that they had against Ole Miss with the penalties and the turnovers and the, and the dropped interceptions. And they're overlooking the first two games against A and M and Ohio State that they played in the playoff. People had this you can't trust Carson back. Mario Crystal Ball can't win a big game. Oh, they lost to Louisville on smu. People are focusing on that and not focusing that they were beating Notre Dame earlier in the year. They beat Ohio State in a more convincing fashion than Indiana did. They've got the best front, up front offensive defensive lines of any team in the country. Combine those two in pressure rates. So. So I think Miami matches up very well with Indiana. I think they're going to lean on him early with the running game. I think the Canes are very, very live to pull the outright.

Greg Jennings (34:39)

Wow.

Jason McIntyre (34:40)

Now two minutes left, four point game, not needing a field goal to tie. Who you trust more, Mendoza or Beck? Given Beck's experience in these playoff games dating back to Georgia or Mendoza, the number one pick?

Rachel Nichols (34:54)

Well, they both. They both done it this year. I mean Beck has done it in the playoffs. The tie game with A and M late where they let him on the drive. Beck get it against Ole Miss in the playoff last round. Mendoza has done it as well. He did it in the regular season against Penn State. Did in the regular season against Iowa. I think I trust both of them. Now look, Mendoza may have the better wide receiver type core, but I think under pressure with all those starts under his belt, I would, I would not. But people who have Carson Beck as a major question mark in this game, I don't think that's correct. Any quarterback could have a bad game. I would trust both of them.

Jason McIntyre (35:34)

Interesting. I Am curious when we last spoke, I feel like you were kind of into Mendoza, but a little lukewarm on him being number one. If I'm wrong, you speak out. But has that changed? I mean he, he's looked good, but they're in total control of these games other than the Ohio State one.

Rachel Nichols (35:49)

Right.

Jason McIntyre (35:49)

You know, it hasn't really been like, oh, Mendoza under the spotlight.

Rachel Nichols (35:53)

Now he's going to be the number one pick. I mean we know a quarterback is going to go number one. And now that Dante Moore is no longer in the equation, the thought is Trinidad Shambles is going to get that extra year in stay at Ole Miss that takes him out of the equation. The Raiders need a quarterback and I would expect the Raiders to take Fernando Mendoza number one. And I wonder if there's a little bit of Tom Brady seeing a little bit of himself in Mendoza and that he's so cerebral, he processes so well to what's going on in the field. I'd be very. I'm going to give a programming suggestion to our bosses here at Fox. I would love a, a pre draft interview special. Remember the old Gruden quarterback camps? I would love a quarterback camp with, with, with Tom Brady and Fernando Mendoza as they kind of go through the process.

Jason McIntyre (36:44)

Interesting, no? So do you think Moore would have gone number one had he come out?

Rachel Nichols (36:48)

No, no, I think Mendoza would have gone ahead and I even wonder if the jets would have taken Dante Moore second overall. They have so many needs and you being a Jets guy, we know the Bill Parcells creed about taking quarterbacks and only 15 career starts. That kind of feels like the benchmark for success and lack of success. I think Dante Moore going back to Oregon is a good thing for him. He's going to make plenty of money in the portal. They're going to have a better team next year than they did this year. And he could go from the 3 and 14 jets this year to the 3 and 14 jets next year.

Jason McIntyre (37:28)

Well, I don't know if he's going to go high again. You know, next year's class is loaded. I don't know if you've heard that one before, but do you think Moore made the right decision? Because you know these, these quarterback. I know he needed, he needs more starts. But at the same time, Chris, these quarterbacks who go back tend to get scrutinized. Every play, every series, every game picked apart and then they fall to like they're a mid round pick.

Rachel Nichols (37:47)

No, I think he did make the right decision and I think this has been trending that way for a while. I think he's only 20, young kid with, with a very low number of starts and next year he can work on some of the things at Oregon against top competitions to become an even better product. I know people are saying go to the NFL, start that, start that clock towards your second contract. But I think in terms of long term success and then you know, what if people want to pick, pick a season apart and maybe he doesn't go whatever in the top 10 or whatever, he made more money in his nil deal his senior year at Oregon or whatever this year is at Oregon than he would have in that first contract. And he might be going to a better situation later on in the first round with the team that might be better set up for him to have a little bit more immediate success.

Jason McIntyre (38:41)

All right, best bet NFL divisional weekend and it needs to be a side.

Rachel Nichols (38:45)

It's.

Jason McIntyre (38:46)

I got murdered on sides last weekend.

Rachel Nichols (38:49)

Every dog. Every dog covered until. Until Sunday night, right?

Jason McIntyre (38:54)

Yeah, I think so.

Greg Jennings (38:55)

Yeah. I.

Rachel Nichols (38:57)

Of all the side. I do not like a ton of these sides this week, but I know the Sam Darnold injury is out there and him landing on the report is questionable. With the oblique injury, I don't think that matters. I think they could run Charbonnet, they could run Kenneth Walker a bunch and I love the Niners and I love Kyle Shanahan and I love what they've done, but it just feels like at some point this is going to ultimately run out. If the Niners had anything saved in the tank for Seattle, wouldn't they have shown it a couple of weeks ago in the regular season game when the number one seed was on the line, they couldn't do anything offensively. Now there's no kittle the numbers down to seven. I wonder if it comes down to six and a half. I'm going to maybe take a wait and see. I think. I think the clock strikes midnight on the Niners as well. I think Seattle wins like a 2410 type of game.

Jason McIntyre (39:53)

All right, Chris Felica Bear Bets podcast. Mr. Miami Hurricanes, will you be at the game, by the way?

Rachel Nichols (39:58)

I will, yes. I'm headed down on Sunday. I'm looking forward to seeing some friends and hopefully my modern doing well there on Monday night.

Podcast Host/Ad Read (40:05)

Wow.

Jason McIntyre (40:06)

Exciting stuff. All right, Chris, enjoy the travels. We'll be following you online.

Rachel Nichols (40:09)

We will. Take care, Jay.

Jason McIntyre (40:11)

All right, Chris Felica Bear Bets podcast. Going to the Natty. I don't know, Rachel, you've covered a lot of big games. Have you covered a national championship.

Chris Felica (40:18)

I have a couple times.

Jason McIntyre (40:20)

You've done it all.

Chris Felica (40:21)

And my Northwestern Wildcats were not in the national championship, but they were in the Rose Bowl. We got to cover that, too. So that was.

Jason McIntyre (40:27)

Who was the running back? Autry?

Chris Felica (40:28)

Darrell?

Rachel Nichols (40:30)

Nerd.

Jason McIntyre (40:30)

But I was watching from my house. Yeah, well, like, you know, I'm like a watch from home, homebody type guy.

Chris Felica (40:35)

I always like as they rotated the national championship games, you know, was it the. The Frito Chip running around the sidelines? Was it a pop Tart? Who knows?

Jason McIntyre (40:44)

All right, we survived three hours. Executives did not come out and say anything negative. They seem to like us. Rachel, good stuff from you as always. I didn't screw up. I don't think it was a lot of fun. I like the hot takes. Cowherd should be back on Monday, bright and early. We'll see you then.

Podcast Host/Ad Read (41:03)

Everything tastes better after your team wins. Similarly, everything also tastes better once you've baptized it with a simple handcrafted flavor of the original Louisiana brand hot sauce. So just imagine how truly tasty something would taste if it was doused in the original Louisiana hot sauce after your team wins. Pretty damn good, right? That's Louisiana hot bayou. Some.

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