Colin Cowherd (2:53)

Now, let's get this party.

Rob Parker (2:55)

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. It's got a very interesting game Sunday. The Bills are in no mood to fool around there at the Panthers Sunday. Greg Olson will be calling it Fox Sports, and he is joining me live. You know, I, I was. It's interesting when you have a great. I mean, you play with Cam Newton, when you have a dynamic quarterback, everybody thinks, well, things are easier. But, you know, a lot comes with that. And I look at Buffalo, the team you're doing, and I'm like, oh, my God, you want him to be Superman. But not too often. As you break down the film on Buffalo, what is. Is it just they need another perimeter weapon? Is it that simple? Diagnose the problems. What you see in a team right now that feels they're a little lost, they're a little off center.

Colin Cowherd (3:47)

Yeah. So I really just dove into their game, especially the most recent game, you know, had the buy. And so the week before in the loss against Atlanta. And so I saw the Bills in preseason up in Chicago. None of the real stars played. Josh didn't play, but had a chance to spend some time with McDermott, Joe Brady, and a lot of those guys from our Carolina days that we know. And I think they know how good they can be. I think they understand they have to continue to try to offload as much as possible off Josh Allen. And now it goes without saying he's the best player in the league, the reigning mvp. The ball should be in his hand. Right. And when you look at what they've been over the last couple years compared to what they really tried to do, especially in the most recent game against Atlanta, I actually really liked it. You know, you saw in the Atlanta game, they're back, they're under center more. They're trying to do some more under center play action. First and second down, playing with some bigger bodies, multiple tight ends, jumbo tight ends, and trying to just get out of the mode where Josh stands in the shotgun, every ball snapped to him. It's very hard to get play action out of the gun. You're seeing a lot of the really good teams. You've been seeing Mahomes do it now more In Kansas City, teams are starting to understand the best downs to throw the ball are first and second. And the best way to do it oftentimes is through play action. So I think Buffalo is still trying to figure out what is that blend between keeping Josh in the gun, snap it to him and let him create both as a scramble runner, a designed runner, and of course as a passer, but also unloading some of the pressure and putting some more on Cook in the run game and putting some more on the offensive line and generating some free, open receivers in the play action layers and whatnot. So I think Joe Brady's still trying to figure out what that balance is, but I like the, again, it didn't result in a win, but I actually think going forward that's going to pay them some dividends because I don't care how good you are every single play the ball, being in the hands of your shotgun quarterback to just expected to make magic. Especially like to your point, you don't have like a Justin Jefferson, a true star, single receiver. I think teams are finding it more and more difficult in today's NFL.

Rob Parker (5:54)

So I said, I watch body language a lot with quarterbacks and coaches and I watched Ben Johnson with Caleb Williams, and there's a resting, discouraged face. I look at this offense and I think Caleb's good at the podium. I like the run game, I like the defense. I think Ben's excellent and smart. Is it possible that Caleb's going to be a franchise quarterback? He's never going to be 68%. You're going to get a lot of big plays, you're going to get a lot of horsepower. I think he's a good kid. But when I watch that offense, man, do they leave a lot on the floor. There are a lot of open looks. He's, you know, this was the knock in college, consistent accuracy. It's the knock in the NFL. Is it possible, and I guess you could go back to Cam, that it's like, hey, listen, we just know what he is and we know what he struggles with and let's just build around it.

Colin Cowherd (6:47)

And I think you also have to look at the point of where he is in his career. I mean, you look at last year as almost a lost year, right? I know he played a lot of games, but there was a lot of dysfunction. There was a lot of turnover, there was coaching changes. So you look at, you know, you look at the year prior and you say, okay, what really was the benefit from that? Well, now in comes Ben Johnson and I, I think you're seeing more and more franchises adopt. You know, there's a very famous phrase, right, that franchises fail young quarterbacks more than young quarterbacks fail franchises. And I think you're seeing it with what Kevin o' Connell is doing with some of these. Rebirth of Sam Darnold, who now continued it in Seattle. And, you know, you're seeing what goes on with so many of these quarterbacks that were left for dead. They couldn't play. Daniel Jones was thrown out of New York. And you make an argument Indianapolis is the best offense in the league. If not, they're in the conversation as the top two or three. So fit is such an important part of all of this. And then you factor in just how young Caleb is and how fresh he is in his NFL career. I think there's been great growth. I think Ben Johnson is obviously wonderful at what he does. I think his energy, not only from an X's and O's, I think he's highly demanding. I think he comes across as this nice guy, but I think he is a real. He is highly disciplined, holds guys to really high standards. He's very clear in his communication and I think that's been good for Caleb. So I think we've seen a ton of growth here through the first half. You know, call it rough, third to, you know, 40% of the season thus far. I think the expectation is he continues to improve. I don't think anyone in Chicago right now should be having any conversations about looking anywhere else for quarterback for the foreseeable future than Caleb Williams, because he should just continue to improve. Now. What is the ceiling? Is he Patrick Mahomes? Is he Josh Allen? Who knows? Very few guys are, but I think their trajectory, the improvement, the turnaround we've seen already with, to your point, a lot of room left to grow. I think if I'm a Bears fan, I'm highly encouraged.

Rob Parker (8:48)

So you've been doing the tight end university down and I think Nashville is now what you're holding every year. So I saw, I watched him play all last year at Penn State. Tyler Warren, I saw him have 17 catches against USC. He walks into the league. I mean, even Antonio Gates, it took him a year to find his space. A little bit or. I don't remember. I remember Gronk being very good very early, but he had some injuries in college. I didn't know much about Gronk. This kid has walked in and pretty much. I always say it's one thing to be productive, it's another to be open all the Time. Did you spot this kid years ago? Did he come out of nowhere? Did you know about Tyler Warren years ago?

Colin Cowherd (9:32)

Yeah, I was just surprised that he wasn't the first tight end taken. I'll be honest. I know, you know, the Bears took lovely. I'm pretty sure the Bears took Loveland, if I have that right, out of Michigan. So I. I thought the assumption was that Warren was going to be the top pick. I think. I think Indianapolis from the very beginning did a really nice job. Chris Ballard, obviously, Shane Steak and identifying just the value that a kid like him bring. I think we all remember him from college lining up at Wildcat quarterback and some of the funky formations where he's lining up like. I think there was the one play, he was the center and an unbalanced, and he ended up catching the ball. Like. They did a lot of really creative things with him. But I think Shane Steichen is as good of an offensive mind. You think back a couple years ago under Sirianni, his offense. His offense and that evolution of that team for their first super bowl run, when they ended up losing that game, we covered. Then obviously he went and got the head job with the Colts. Kind of disappeared maybe from the national scene as like the offensive guru, just because the Colts weren't overly, you know, competitive and had some struggles. But I think now with Daniel Jones, the job he's done. I think Tyler Warren coming into the league. You're exactly right. When I came into the league years ago, there was an assumption that tight ends took a couple years to adopt the NFL game. But you look recently, what Brock Bowers did last year in his first year with the Raiders, and what Tyler Warren's doing, I mean, we're starting to see a faster evolution, a faster growth. I think part of that is just the tight end position in college is a little bit more. It's less guys making a position change. It's less guys, you know, were wide receivers when they were young or running backs. These kids are now growing up. A lot of them, they've been, you know, I know Warren played some other positions, but they're growing up understanding the position, playing true tight end at the college level. I think the job that Penn State did with. With Warren and now the job that Shane Steichen is doing with him, he's leading the league for tight ends and receiving yards. I think he's like third in catches is just unheard of from a rookie. And it seems like every game you watch, he's open. He's open in the end. Zone. He's dynamic with the ball. He's good enough that he can be on the field on first and second down and get his nose bloody and get in there and compete in the run game. Yeah, he, he's, I don't know if he's as dynamic as Brock Bowers from just like a speed and just that top end, but from a production standpoint. Now the last two years we've seen tight ends really take the NFL by storm and that's, that's pretty hard to do.

Rob Parker (11:58)

So when I watched Bo Nixon Jackson dart this weekend, I mean neither's got a huge arm. I think Jackson darts arm is pretty good. There's something to be said about confidence and I, when I watched that game, my takeaway was more than anything, they're not overwhelmed by it. They're totally confident guys like Jackson darts like bring it on, bring that D. I mean he made a bad pick. I always had my favorite part of Andrew Luck. He would throw terrible picks, laugh, blame himself, grab his helmet and throw the ball right at you again, like had a short memory I think. I don't know. You've been around pro athletes your whole life. I watch Dart and Bo Nix. I can see the self belief as a consumer watching on television. That's what I saw Sunday. Dart's not afraid. Going to Denver on the road. Altitude. That defense you played there, Brady struggled there. That's a rough place to play.

Colin Cowherd (13:00)

Yeah, I mean watching that game, I was in the airport in Minneapolis getting ready to fly home from my game and just, you know, it was 19 nothing. They go for two, they don't get it. We could discuss whether that was right or wrong. And then the series of events that played out from that moment to obviously how the game ended on the field goal was just. I couldn't even believe what I was watching just from a game flow and the back and forth. But as far as the two young quarterbacks, Yeah, I mean there's a notion in the NFL the only guys that aren't going to have bad days and the only guys that aren't going to play and have bad, you know, have bad moments are the guys that stand on the sideline. Like if you're afraid to make mistakes, if you're afraid to throw picks, if you're afraid to drop the ball, fumble, whatever your position is, if the fear of failure paralyzes you, you're going to find yourself standing on the sideline quite a bit in this league because bad things are going to happen. Things are going to go against you and the guys that have this uncanny ability to rally and to get their, get their confidence back. You don't know if they've thrown three picks or three or three touchdowns. Their command of the huddle, the way they interact with their teammates on the sideline, I mean, Jackson dart and I know they lost. But when he came off the sideline after his, you know, little quarterback design run on the goal line, which was a great play design that he, you know, he extends the ball, he gets the touchdown, I know it ended in heartbreak and Bo Nick deserves a lot of credit. But like when he came off the sideline, the way he greeted his coaches, the way he greeted the veterans on the team, you can just tell they don't look at him as like, you're a fun story, you're the rookie, but like you'll stand over there and he is arguably the ringleader of that group and he's only started now a couple of games. So certain guys have that personality. They have a little charisma. There's a belief that when they're on the field, we have a chance. And I love his energy. Is he going to throw picks? Yes. Is he going to have bad decisions? Of course he's going to continue to get better. You can't teach competitive spirit. You either have it or you don't. And I think both those young quarterbacks have it.

Rob Parker (15:00)

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 me, Rob Parker.

Sponsor/Commercial Voice (15:11)

Check out my weekly MLB podcast, Inside the Parker for 22 minutes of piping hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the eye test, we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do.

Rob Parker (15:30)

Yourself a favor and listen to Inside.

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Rob Parker (15:38)

This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. When you want to make the most of your Money, head to PayPal's app before you check out. They give you the flexibility to pay in four no fees, no interest. And this is big. Bigger than the 12 foot snowman on your lawn right now. You can get 5% cash back when you pay later with PayPal. So whether it's the must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Save this offer in the PayPal app expires 1231.

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Rob Parker (16:17)

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Thursday Night Football is on and it's.

Rob Parker (16:25)

Only on Prime Video.

Sponsor/Commercial Voice (16:26)

This week the Minnesota Vikings head west to face the Los Angeles Chargers. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member? Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Vikings and Chargers Thursday at 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details. Does anything go better than Lego and Star Wars? I don't think so. Kids will love becoming a part of the galactic action while playing out their favorite adventures like with Jango Fett Starship. I mean this LEGO set is fantastic. It features a detailed recreation of Jango Fett's starship with four stud shooters, a seismic charge dropping function and wings that rotate with gravity. Plus it has three Jango Fett with two blasters and a jetpack pack. Young Boba Fett and Llama Sue. Perfect for endless play. Now for the big fans, there's Jango Fett's Firespray class Starship from the Ultimate Collector series. Packed with details and surprises for fans, this large scale set is perfect for anyone hunting for a mindful building escape. Plus you end up with a fantastic display piece. You can build this while your little ones build the kids set. You'll be like Jango and Boba building an adventure shop. Now for Star wars lego sets on lego.com or in lego retail stores.

Rob Parker (17:49)

This is one of the best times of the year to be a sports fan. It seems like every week we are seeing great games and even better matchups between the best teams in football. Speaking of great matchups, Green River Whiskeys Green River Gold Rush Cocktail this is out of this world. Okay, shake up some Green River Kentucky Straight bourbon, lemon juice and honey. I had one of these last night. Strain it over ice. It is out of this world. Doesn't get simpler, doesn't get better. Green river offers a great lineup featuring their Kentucky Straight, weeded, foolproof and rye. Fall is also the perfect time to get yourself out to Kentucky and check out Green river in person. Incredible Distillery in Owensboro, Kentucky. They have tastings, VIP experiences and more. Check out Green River's tasting room in Louisville located right on historic Whiskey Row. So head over to greenriverwhiskey.com learn more today. Try it for yourself. A product of Green River Distilling Co. Owensboro, KY. Alcohol by volume Varies by product Green River Whiskey.com Please drink responsibly. The Chiefs look like the best team in the league by a touchdown, do they not? It's I, I said this. It's amazing. They do a great job of. Everybody makes mistakes. Every GM whiffs, it's impossible. They identify very quickly mistakes. They don't let pride or ego get in the way. You know, it's, it's. They've got a sailboat mentality. Even though they're an aircraft carrier. They can turn very quickly. Like doesn't work. Does work. Let's bring juju back. Doesn't work. I watch Kansas City and I'm like, I feel so much of their success is upstairs is before the snap. I don't know. You've been around a lot. You talk to a lot of players. I think sometimes they're functioning at just a higher level than everybody else.

Colin Cowherd (19:36)

Yeah. And I think the part, the part that you nailed is just their ability to reinvent themselves and don't feel like they need to play the same cookie cutter approach week in, week out, let alone season in, season out. You know, if you take a look at the last handful of years, right, the year they won the super bowl, when they beat Philadelphia, we covered a bunch of those. Obviously. We covered the super bowl. We covered that part. They transitioned themselves through that draft and obviously Spags, the defensive coordinator is one of the best in the business. They went from a quarterback led offensive court, offensive head coach in Andy Reid and Mahomes and superstars, offensive driven. They knew they needed to invest themselves in all those young defensive talent and they took their lumps early in that year and that young defense got better and better and better and then it kind of flipped on its head the following year. The offense really struggled. Does Mahomes have enough weapons? And all of a sudden this young, this young defense, you've now become a defensive led team. And then they went from a shotgun. We're going to throw the in every down and put the ball in Mahomes hand to you know what?

Rob Parker (20:38)

We're out.

Colin Cowherd (20:38)

We're out. Rasheed Rice, Xavier Worthy's out. We might have to get under center a little bit more. And that's not really what Andy and Patrick Mahomes have been in their Kansas City chief days are throwing it 35 times a game from gun but they don't have to play the same style of game to beat you. It could be offensive led, it could be defensive Led. When one is struggling, the other seems to always kind of elevate their game. I think now as you see them get healthy, I think now as you see them start getting some of their offensive weapons back, you're starting to see that offense click. I think from a. I'm with you. I think from a well rounded, balanced offense, defense, youth superstars at the correct positions, I think. And then obviously Andy Reid being one of the all time greats as a head coach play caller. I think when you add it all up, if they continue to stay healthy and they continue to keep these guys on the field that they've gotten back. I'm with you. I don't. It's going to be very hard. Especially some of the AFC teams that we had high hopes for coming into the year that have really had disappointing seasons, with the exception of Buffalo. Like who do you really feel confident in the AFC with the game on the line, is ready right now to beat them. And I think the answer is nobody.

Rob Parker (21:49)

Yeah, that's how I feel. Greg Olson, Fox Sports, as always, it's great. It's great chat and I love talking to you, man.

Colin Cowherd (21:57)

Appreciate it, Colin. It's always good to be on, man.

Rob Parker (22:00)

He's got the Bills and the Panthers this weekend. Bryce Young's beat up and Buffalo's in a bad mood. So I, I think Buffalo's gonna score some points this weekend. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no.

Sponsor/Commercial Voice (22:16)

Heard on the news.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (22:17)

This is the Herd line news. All right, Colin, you're all excited about the Kansas City Chiefs. This big winning streak they're on. They're hot. They got Rasheed Rice. Oh, let's not look into who they beat. Anyways, Andy Reid was impressed with this Rasheed Rice debut. Absolutely cooking the Raiders. Here's what Reed said about his star receiver.

Rob Parker (22:39)

It was great to have him back. I think you saw.

Colin Cowherd (22:43)

Get my voice.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (22:45)

I think you saw him.

Rob Parker (22:49)

Well, the trust that Pat has in him and which is so important. Important for, you know, so important for the Pat and the.

Colin Cowherd (22:59)

And the guys.

Rob Parker (23:00)

I thought he came out and functioned at a high level for being gone for all this time. I mean, it's crazy that he can come back and, and do what he did. Yeah. Hollywood Brown, juju Smith Schuster, Travis Kelsey, Xavier Worthy, Rasheed Rice.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (23:18)

I mean, who could stop that lineup? I mean, it's like Jerry Rice, John Taylor. I mean this is like. I mean that receiving core is legendary. Just to recap though, let's go over the KC win, shall we? So they beat the Raiders, who might be a bottom four team in the league, right? 31 nothing. Raiders had like 90 yards of offense. The week before that they beat the Lions, who we know have looked very ordinary away from the friendly confines of Detroit's dome. Before that they lost to the Jags. Remember that choke job? Who could forget? And then don't forget that Baltimore win. Oh, that's right. Lamar got hurt midway through the game and the Ravens defense hasn't stopped. Anyway, so we can get excited. Yes, the Chiefs look better. That's undeniable. They're going to smash the Jaden Daniels list Washington commanders this week. By the way, they're 10 point favorites. I think you just need to have some context around this dominance that you're excited about.

Sponsor/Commercial Voice (24:18)

All right.

Rob Parker (24:18)

Yeah, my eyes don't lie, but okay.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (24:20)

Yeah, the eye test, that always fails. Anyways, let's move on to the Miami Dolphins. Colin, how about that? One in six. Lots of issues on both sides of the ball, but Mike McDaniel's job is currently safe according to Ian Rapaport, none of other reporters. As for Tua, he threw six, six picks in the last two weeks. Mike McDaniels was initially non committal about to his role following the game, but he addressed his Week 8 starter yesterday.

Rob Parker (24:48)

Specifically. When you're having or when you go through a performance like that, you know, I never, I, I don't see it as, you know, all on a player or all on a coach. It's a working relationship and we both have to get better together. He's gonna take the snaps this week and he's gonna be our starter this week. And my expectation is that we don't throw 10 picks. Getting a little salty.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (25:20)

Well, I mean when your job's on the line, you got to Tua, by the way, three fumbles since week six, six interceptions for the math majors out there. That's nine turnover in the last two games.

Rob Parker (25:31)

Colin.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (25:31)

Holy hell. So they got the Falcons this week. Now you know I like the Falcons at a dome, but can you lay seven with Michael Penix against this Dolphins team?

Rob Parker (25:41)

It's, that's a great teaser.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (25:43)

Like can you do teasers in the blazing five?

Rob Parker (25:45)

That's too complicated for the audience.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (25:47)

Oh my God. Come on, come on. Our audience is a bunch of roast.

Rob Parker (25:50)

I got a bunch of people yelling at me when I started doing over unders and I've hit on all of them. I think, I think I'm like four or four or five of five that people get they want just picks.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (25:59)

I thought people just wanted money.

Rob Parker (26:01)

That's what I thought. That's what I want. So that's why I do one a week. I do an over and under. I just. I haven't. I have an under and an over. I like this week I'm going to pick one of them.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (26:10)

So basically you're telling me, these guys, you're giving them free Jet Skis, and they're like, no, I don't want to Jet Ski.

Rob Parker (26:15)

I'm giving diamond rings, four carats. Not interested.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (26:19)

All right, final story. Colin, is NBA time. Oh, yeah. Got some heat here on the staff for loving the NBA. Listen, we're going to do some of my Knicks here. Colin and Karl Anthony Towns, right? He had a good season last year. Knicks made the Eastern Conference finals, but they fire their coach. The new coach is a guy named Mike Brown. Well, Karl Anthony Towns, remember, the season starts tonight. Carl Anthony Towns was asked about his role in the new offense, and he said he doesn't really know what his new role is going to be. Oh, and said, we're figuring it out. Now, if that doesn't sound like a guy who's getting shipped for Giannis, FedEx, I mean, just send him to Milwaukee right now. Bring on Giannis.

Rob Parker (27:00)

Well, Milwaukee's got Miles Turner and a bunch of guys jacking up threes, so maybe they don't want to make him. Why do they want Karl Anthony Towns?

Sports Analyst/Co-host (27:07)

No, no, they got to get rid of Giannis before they lose him for nothing.

Rob Parker (27:09)

I. I'd be careful. Miles Turner, Giannis and a bunch of guys jacking up threes. They'll be better defensively this year. With Miles and no dame, what happens in the East? I wouldn't be shy. I'm dead serious. Orlando, Cleveland, New York, Milwaukee. What separates them? Honestly, I'm just. Giannis is, on any given night, the best player in the league. Miles Turner. We watched him in the Finals. Excellent player, smart veteran guy. You know what you're getting every night from him? Rim protector, can hit a jumper. Miles Turner's a tough guy, can defend. And they're shooting a ton of threes. They'll be better defensively. The east is wide open. That's why I pick Orlando.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (27:51)

You're crazy on this move.

Colin Cowherd (27:52)

I got it.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (27:52)

I got a text from my agent. J. Mac, do you want to be the sixth man on the Milwaukee Bucks? That's how bad they are. I said I'd rather be on the Herd. I don't want to go lose 50 games and live in Milwaukee. They are not good. They're not top eight in the East. Colin, not even. I don't even know if they're a play in team.

Rob Parker (28:07)

If you have the best team and if you have the best player in the east with Tatum and Halliburton out. If you had the best player in the East, Giannis, you're a playoff team.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (28:17)

Hey, how about this? Well, bet a steak dinner since you owe me 30. All right. Atlanta Hawks have a better record than the Bucs this year.

Rob Parker (28:23)

The Hawks will be interesting.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (28:24)

There you go. I mean, I'm not like I'm saying the Wizards or the Hornets and your guy lamelo ball. I just think, you know, this situation in the East. Knicks are going to be great and Carl Anthony Towns just trade them for Giannis.

Rob Parker (28:35)

Now I don't. I wouldn't want. Why would I want Karl Anthony Towns? What's appealing about. I'm giving you Giannis. I'm telling you the team to watch out for. If I'm giving you Giannis like, like Dallas, I want lively Cooper flag.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (28:56)

I'm asking for.

Rob Parker (28:57)

No, I mean seriously, I want Cooper flag and Lively and two first round pick. I'm giving you the best player in a conference.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (29:05)

Giannis is pretty damn good.

Rob Parker (29:06)

Yeah.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (29:07)

By the way, how many have you looked at any gambling props for the Lakers tonight on their their season opener? Luca going for a 30 piece.

Rob Parker (29:15)

Don't bet the NBA in October.

Sports Analyst/Co-host (29:17)

I know, I know. Just kidding around. Can I text you during the game? Will you be awake?

Rob Parker (29:22)

Yeah. You know how late I stayed up till last night to watch that awful Seahawk performance? It was terrible. It's one of the worst. I mean, it was. Thank God they won, but, oh, I had him in the hurt hierarchy. I bounced him. Yeah, I called Kyle. I text Kyle this morning. Get him out of there. I don't want them on the board. J. Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd lie news. Yeah, the Herd hierarchy. More in Chicago. It's the Herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. When you want to make the most of your Money, head to PayPal's app before you check out. They give you the flexibility to pay in four no fees, no interest. And this is big. Bigger than the 12 foot snowman on your lawn right now. You can get 5% cash back when you pay later with PayPal. So whether it's the must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing. PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Save this offer in the PayPal app expires 1231.

Sponsor/Commercial Voice (30:39)

See paypal.com promoterms subject to approval.

Rob Parker (30:43)

Learn more at paypal.com payin4paypal inc.nmls910457 Thursday.

Sponsor/Commercial Voice (30:50)

Night Football is on and it's only on Prime Video. This week the Minnesota Vikings head west to face the Los Angeles Chargers. Coverage begins at 7pm Eastern with Football's Best Party TNF tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member?

Rob Parker (31:03)

Not a problem.

Sponsor/Commercial Voice (31:04)

Simply sign up for a 30 day free trial. It's the Vikings in charger Thursday at 7pm Eastern only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See Amazon.com Amazon prime for details. When you say Lego Star wars, the first thing you think of is imagination or action.

Rob Parker (31:20)

Or both.

Sponsor/Commercial Voice (31:21)

Definitely both. Like with Jango Fett's Starship. I mean, with stud blasters, seismic charges and three minifigures, your kid is going to be creating stories until the Banthas come home. And for yourself, there's the Jango Fett's Firespray Class Starship Lego set from the Ultimate Collector series. Enjoy some Jedi Master level mindfulness during your building time. Shop now for Star wars lego sets on lego.com or in lego retail stores.

Rob Parker (31:49)

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Colin Cowherd (36:59)

What I've been most impressed with is Mahomes ability to get it done with anybody. And I think that is eerily reminiscent of what we saw from our colleague in the greatest quarterback of all time, Tom Brady. He had that constant in Rob Gronkowski and then it was Julian Edelman, Wes Welkers, all these different guys that they can throw in there to make plays happen. But it all boils down to Patrick Mahomes being the one that's just distributing the ball out.

Rob Parker (37:27)

Yeah, the. If you didn't listen to the show today, Nick Wright and I discussed the LeBron and Russell Westbrook story, which is really kind of tasty. So there's a book out on LeBron's Laker career and I had said when, when. And Russell Westbrook doesn't like LeBron. He thinks he's a phony. And LeBron's not going to punch down. That's not. LeBron doesn't do that. So. And I, I've talked to people around LeBron Circle about Westbrook before and you Know, their take is, you know, Russell doesn't like anybody. He doesn't get along with anybody long term, which I don't know if that's right or not. I think Russell Westbrook runs really, really hot, and I think he always has. But the Lakers season starts tonight. And Nick, right now we're talking about this earlier. It's interesting because Westbrook has such a kind of relentless personality, and it's probably work to his detriment multiple times. I mean, getting into it with fans and teammates and I mean, I think Westbrook's one of those people that sometimes steps in it it. But he never asked anybody else to clean his shoes. He steps in it, deals with it, owns it, and moves on. So he's become kind of a bounce around the NBA guy, huge energy guy. But Iowa's the mistake to me, was the front office of the Lakers. These guys were never built to play together. So in the new Laker book, you know, Westbrook is calling LeBron a phony. LeBron's a billion dollar empire, and at this point, he's protecting his brand. So he's not going to talk about this and that. That's just not LeBron. LeBron and I. And I think it's hard for a lot of athletes to relate to LeBron. When you get to Brady's level, Ronaldo, you know, it's. It's like when you get older with your net worth, you're protecting it. You don't need to hit home runs, you need to hit doubles. LeBron at this point, just doesn't want to do anything dumb. He didn't want to get in the way of potential advertising deals and revenue and production deals. I get it. LeBron's got his legacy, his rings, his points. He's got everything. He just don't want to screw it up. And he still loves playing basketball. He wants to protect the brand. And so sometimes he's a bit calculated. I think that's a completely fair criticism. I don't think calculated equals phony, but that's how Westbrook sees it. And I would say that's just. Westbrook wears his emotions on his sleeve. He puts it out there. He's incredibly hot. You know his temperature. Sometimes you want him to turn the governor down a little bit, but that's not who he is.

Colin Cowherd (39:55)

Here.

Rob Parker (39:55)

Here was NICK earlier on LeBron James. Now, what people have come down to is, you know what? I don't like the cut of his jib, and I think he lies about.

Colin Cowherd (40:07)

Reading books he hasn't read that's my.

Rob Parker (40:10)

Problem with LeBron, like, give me a break. Yes, of course he is calculated and yes, of course, course anything he says.

Colin Cowherd (40:17)

Or does is going to be dissected. So he has to be very careful with it.

Rob Parker (40:21)

But I think that he has handled that spotlight better than quite literally any other athlete of our lives. I mean, if you go back to Michael Jordan, Michael Jordan had the gambling issue like when he took a couple of years off. So you know, Michael, Michael retired and went to baseball largely because he was exhausted. I mean that was pre Twitter, pre social media. I mean, I mean Michael's just like, I gotta step away from this stuff. I can't go out to dinner. And it's daunting to be messy. Or Ohtani. It's almost an advantage for Ohtani not to speak English. I mean it's almost like a built in advantage that he can just, you know, he doesn't have to answer every question. Not that he would manipulate the media. But I look at it and I think little bit of an advantage. I think being LeBron's difficult, I think and it very few people can relate to it. Brady can relate to it. You know, that's right. LeBron, by the way, LeBron invested in the English Premier League and I think, you know, he goes over there and he meets with the stars and they get it. If you're in London and you're playing for a man city or man united, it's a whole different. It's hard to relate. I mean it's, you can't go out to dinner and that's been LeBron's life for 20 years. So I'm going to defend him. I, I don't think necessarily being calculated is phony. It's brand protection and the richest Americans and the richest global oligarchs do it every day. We'll see you tomorrow. This podcast is sponsored by PayPal. Okay, let's talk holiday shopping. When you want to make the most of your Money, head to PayPal's app before you check out. They give you the flexibility to pay in four no fees, no interest. And this is big. Bigger than the 12 foot snowman on your lawn right now. You can get 5% cash back when you pay later with PayPal. So whether it's the must have merch or for that signed jersey you've been eyeing, PayPal helps you make the most of your money this holiday. Save this offer in the PayPal app expires 1231.

Sponsor/Commercial Voice (42:32)

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Rob Parker (42:36)

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