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Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.

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Be sure to catch us live every weekday on

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Fox Sports Radio in noon to three

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Eastern nine am to noon Pacific.

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Find your local station for The Herd at Fox

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by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

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This is the Best of the Herd with Colin

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cowher on Fox Sports Radio.

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Here we go on a

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Wednesday. What a pleasure

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it is to be here live in Los Angeles.

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It's the Hurd wherever you may

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be and however you may be listening.

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Thanks for making us part of your day. J

0:44

MC and are in a really good mood. Don't want to get into

0:46

it. He's getting better. Didn't

0:49

have to go to the er last night. Still very shaky,

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but he is a gamer.

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I'm not as shaky as the Jets offensive

0:56

line right now in practicing following

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this.

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They're practicing right now and it's not looking

1:01

Aaron Rodgers getting beat up.

1:03

Well.

1:03

I wanted to talk about that because there's

1:08

about three implosions every

1:11

year in the NFL, and I'm not talking

1:13

like the Bears going a losing streak. We didn't have high

1:15

hopes for them. I'm talking about teams that are ascending

1:17

and talented. Last year, Arizona

1:19

ascending playoff team, implodes,

1:22

coach fired, GM fired, quarterback

1:24

pouting. You know, Denver,

1:27

a good franchise, brings Russell

1:29

Wilson over, gives up a ton of draft capital,

1:31

implodes. The Rams went from super

1:33

Bowl to five and twelve. McVay

1:36

is going to retire. Stafford may

1:38

never play at the high level again. Like

1:40

I'm talking about, you start with pretty high

1:43

standards, really good organizations.

1:46

The Bears don't qualify for that, and

1:48

green Bay didn't make the playoffs, but they could have

1:50

it. They won the last game. That's not an implosion.

1:53

But there are and I'm talking about where there's

1:55

a physical and emotional and

1:57

a cultural tire fire

2:00

where everything just unravels for

2:02

teams with high hopes. And I do believe

2:05

there are three teams in the NFL this

2:07

year that fall into that category.

2:10

Where there's a really good roster, really

2:12

good players. We've seen some success

2:14

over the years, and there's

2:16

like a hanging issue

2:18

or four. Let's start with Sean

2:21

Payton and Russell Wilson. This thing,

2:23

remember Russell Wilson's major

2:26

deal doesn't start until next year.

2:28

He's in the final year of a Seattle contract

2:31

and the general manager who pulled the deal

2:33

off is still in the building and there's new

2:35

owners. If this thing goes sideways

2:38

fast, Sean Payton is not a patient man,

2:41

and he wants things done his way. If Russell

2:45

is just okay, he's

2:47

going to be somewhat bitter that

2:50

general manager who made the deal. He'll

2:52

probably view as a bit of a roadblock. He's

2:55

already been outspoken during camp.

2:58

This thing has the potential because

3:01

again, Russell Wilson is not

3:03

your classic pocket passer. He has

3:06

to move to work. The problem

3:08

with quarterbacks who move. It could be Michael

3:10

Vick and his prime. It could be Big

3:12

Ben in his prime or Cam They age

3:16

fast quickly. Has

3:18

Russell Wilson just aged and

3:21

he's never gonna move again like he

3:23

used to. So this thing is the

3:25

one that really stands out to me. I have

3:27

high hopes, but the division's

3:29

good. Herbert twice a year, AFC

3:34

Holmes twice a year, Kevin Clark and the Ringer

3:36

talked about this yesterday.

3:38

I trust Sean Payton to fix the Broncos.

3:41

I don't trust Sean Payton to fix Russell Wilson.

3:43

It was the biggest decline for Russell Wilson by

3:45

passer rating in the history of the NFL from a

3:47

quarterback switching teams, which begs the question

3:50

is.

3:50

He's still elite?

3:51

And then here's another stat He had under the

3:53

ball too long last year and he didn't have the legs

3:55

to extend place. Sean Payton is going to

3:57

want him to have the quick release, run the offense,

4:00

all that stuff. I just don't know the physic

4:02

gonna work. You talk about timelines not matching up.

4:04

Sean Payton wants to turn this franchise around.

4:06

Russell Wilson may not be capable

4:09

of turning it around himself.

4:10

So that's the one with the potential

4:13

to implode. When Sean Payton took

4:15

the job, my first gut reaction was,

4:18

I don't know. I don't know.

4:20

Maybe you want to broadcast for one more year. I

4:22

don't know that Dallas job may come open.

4:25

All right.

4:25

Two other because we got about three implosions

4:27

a year. Two others. To keep

4:30

your eyes on the

4:33

Cleveland Browns Kevin Stefanski.

4:35

His wins have declined every year. We

4:38

have a quarterback and Deshaun Watson hasn't

4:40

played much in the last two years, and the AFC

4:43

has gotten very good at quarterback. The

4:45

owner is impatient star

4:47

quarterback. Is he a star? He certainly paid

4:50

like it. Rest of the division Baltimore,

4:52

Cincinnati, Pittsburgh very good. It's

4:55

an annual tradition. Cleveland screws

4:57

things up high, hopes,

5:00

very good roster, elite people at

5:02

the right spots. But Deshaun Watson

5:04

at the end of last year looked rusty. Let's

5:06

say he dusts the rust off

5:09

and is just a B plus quarterback that

5:12

will not do if you look at his contract

5:16

and the third team. And I know, I know

5:18

you always think we're picking on you, but we've been right.

5:21

The Dallas Cowboys, Dak's

5:23

got more on his plate coming off leading

5:25

the NFL, and Picks had a rocky

5:28

camp, Trayvon Diggs talking trash to

5:30

him. Mike McCarthy now calling

5:32

plays, brilliant lung, young progressive

5:35

offensive coordinator Kellen Moore upgraded

5:37

quarterback went to the Chargers in Herbert. There's

5:40

a chance there'll be a little regression

5:42

on defense. I like their defense, but they led the NFL

5:45

in takeaways back to back years that

5:47

usually doesn't last forever. The

5:49

early schedule for an offense

5:51

that's still trying to get the O line

5:54

right, running back room solidified.

5:57

You've got New England's defense, Jets defense,

5:59

Giants, DA defense, Chargers defense, San

6:01

Francisco defense has a lot

6:04

of potential turbulence with those defensive

6:06

fronts and that okay Cowboy offensive

6:09

line. And you have a perceived

6:11

head coach in waiting with dan

6:13

Quinn on the staff. And if you

6:15

ask fans if they start two

6:18

and three, if he asked fans, what do

6:20

you want to do with a coach, they'd say, get rid

6:22

of him. Move dan Quinn up. He's got

6:24

the best unit, the best side of the ball.

6:28

So the Broncos, I think could

6:30

go sideways fast. Cleveland

6:33

it's what they do, screw things up, impulsive

6:36

owner, and the Dallas Cowboys. Those

6:39

three, to me feel like I'm not talking about. If

6:41

Houston wins four games like the Bears

6:44

last year, that's not an implosion. We know what they are,

6:46

young quarterback, rebuild roster.

6:50

We didn't expect much. But Denver, Cleveland,

6:52

Dallas have a little bit of implosion,

6:55

a little bit of Arizona last year in them

6:58

all right, so hard knocks continue used. The

7:00

New York Jets didn't want to do it, but

7:03

they're doing it. And the two stars

7:05

of the show or Aaron Rodgers, which is predictable,

7:08

and Robert Sala. I've said, if you were going to

7:10

do a movie about this Jets team Sala

7:13

and Aaron Rodgers look like actors.

7:15

They're like alpha males, good looking guys. And

7:18

one of the things, Robert Sala, we have a

7:20

clip from last night, and this is one of the things

7:22

why I love the NFL

7:24

and I love the NBA, but I love the NFL

7:26

more is because you can be confrontational.

7:31

You can ask more of players and you won't

7:33

get fired or have their agent

7:36

call. Here's Robert Sala

7:38

after a really

7:40

choppy inner

7:43

squad practice, right like

7:45

with Carolina, here's Sala.

7:48

It was our first opportunity

7:50

to change the stink that's been in this organization

7:53

for a very long time. On the offensive

7:55

side of the ball, you can have a Hall

7:57

of Fame quarterback, you can have two

7:59

ten million dollar plus receivers. You're

8:01

gonna have a reigning offensive rookie of the Year.

8:03

You can have all kinds of skill in the running

8:06

back room. None of it matters

8:08

until the big boys up front change

8:10

who the we are. We

8:13

as coaches, we as an organization

8:15

can't want it more than you.

8:17

And I'm watching that tape all night last night,

8:19

trying to find something to show that

8:22

we're changing, and it didn't show.

8:24

And it was our first op. It's

8:26

real, it's confrontational,

8:29

it's alpha, and it's honest. If an

8:31

NBA coach did that, he'd be fired. Agents

8:34

would be calling you. Hear that all the time

8:36

in the NBA, Like Damian Lillard's the latest

8:38

example. Not to pick on him, but like you'll hear

8:41

Hey, if you don't trade him where he wants, players

8:43

will never go to Portland. Well,

8:45

I'm not sure players have ever wanted to go to Portland,

8:48

first of all, and they will if you trade for him or you

8:50

draft them. You go where you're traded.

8:52

You don't control the league. Salah

8:55

comes off as caring, intense,

8:57

a leader, and brutally honest, and

8:59

you're all lowed to do that in the NFL.

9:02

And what he's preaching is what we've

9:05

been saying is the only issue

9:07

with this team the offensive line.

9:10

When you get older quarterbacks

9:12

Brady to Tampa Stafford to La

9:15

Russell Wilson to Denver. When you

9:17

get quarterbacks mid thirties and up,

9:20

they get really prickly when

9:24

the offensive line deteriorates

9:27

or doesn't give them ample protection. This

9:30

is also an illustration

9:32

of how valuable and important

9:34

the draft is. I mean, the Jets

9:36

have really good players everywhere,

9:39

but if Makai Beckton is a whiff

9:41

and you can't even use him at right tackle,

9:45

this house comes crumbling down, and Robert

9:47

Sala knows it and he is

9:49

addressing it. Listen, you

9:51

can screw up a house, but as long as the kitchen's

9:54

good, you can sell it. The backyard can

9:56

be small, the bathrooms can be a

9:58

little tight. You know, the f family

10:00

rooms weird a little clunky, But

10:03

at the kitchen's a disaster. Ah,

10:05

it doesn't work. And if tackle,

10:08

even Patrick Mahomes went into a Super

10:10

Bowl second tier people at

10:12

tackle, he got blown out. You

10:14

gotta get tackle right. Most

10:16

people in the NFL you talk to, if

10:19

you say the five most important positions,

10:21

everybody says quarterback one. Most

10:24

people say left tackle, two, edge

10:26

rusher sometimes is two. Tackle

10:29

is third. You can have Brock Purdy

10:31

if he's got Trent Williams protecting his backside

10:34

and he's not going to get hit. So I like Dwayne Brown,

10:37

but he becomes thirty eight years old

10:39

this year. He's had a long physical

10:41

career for one year.

10:44

As long as he stays healthy, they

10:46

should be okay. But

10:49

tackles get to be high thirties, they miss

10:51

games. And if Becton's

10:53

a whiff, not saying he is yet, maybe

10:56

he recovers, maybe he gets the waight under

10:58

control, maybe his es

11:00

work. Then I could

11:02

absolutely say this is a Super Bowl bubble

11:04

team. Absolutely

11:07

corners, pass rush, intense

11:09

coach, star quarterback, nice

11:11

weapons, two running backs, interior,

11:14

o line, more than capable.

11:17

So I think what Robert sala is telling

11:19

you is, uh, yeah, we see the problem.

11:22

You see the problem. I see the problem.

11:24

Jmac. The world sees it. And I

11:26

love the NFL because

11:29

you're allowed to be honest

11:32

and authentic. You don't have to coddle. You

11:34

can point a finger and say you're the

11:36

issue.

11:37

Fix it.

11:38

Can't do that in all sports, international

11:41

soccer, good luck, NBA,

11:44

good luck.

11:45

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd

11:47

weekdays and noon eastern non am Pacific

11:50

on Fox Sports Radio FS one

11:52

and the iHeartRadio app.

11:54

The Athletic ranked according

11:56

to coaches executives around

11:59

the league, ranked the

12:02

best players in the NFL, the twenty five

12:04

best players that were under twenty

12:06

five years old. And it's a lot of I mean,

12:08

it's a good ranking, you know, Justin

12:11

Jefferson, Micah Parsons, Nick Bosa,

12:14

Patrick Sertan, Jamar Chase. Not a

12:16

lot of disagreements

12:18

from me, Justin Herbert Quinnin Williams,

12:20

Jalen Hurt, Sauce Gardner, Tristan Wurf's,

12:23

Jalen Waddell, Andrew Thomas, Dexter Lawrence,

12:25

Cede Lamb now Trevor Lawrence at fifteen

12:27

is interesting. I don't think people understand how

12:29

valuable this kid is. So if

12:32

you go to his last nine games

12:35

last year, remember they were

12:37

trying to recovering from the Urban Meyer fiasco.

12:40

He was number two in completion

12:42

percentage, touchdown to interceptions, and

12:44

passer rating. I head of Patrick Mahomes

12:47

in all of those categories, with

12:50

no true number one receiver, a

12:52

middling offensive line that was ranked by

12:54

PFF nineteenth new

12:57

head coach new system.

13:01

The expectations of being number one,

13:04

the kid goes in, throws four picks, trails

13:06

twenty seven to nothing in a playoff game, comes

13:08

back great second half in wins. He's

13:10

unflappable. Trevor

13:14

Lawrence. I think basically save

13:16

this franchise. He did a Ken Griffy

13:18

to the Mariners. Their attendance is

13:20

always been weak, local TV support

13:23

and ratings weak. If

13:25

Trevor Lawrence never ends up in Jacksonville

13:28

after the urban situation and they miss

13:30

on the next quarterback and the coach, you

13:35

think it's really improbable that the NFL

13:37

would just say, you know what, we want to expand

13:39

to Germany. NFL

13:42

is absolutely

13:45

all about growth. They're

13:47

going to move a franchise somewhere

13:49

to Europe. It would be Jacksonville.

13:51

You're not moving Buffalo, big market

13:54

New York teams. You're not moving

13:56

Washington with a new ownership. You're

13:58

not moving those teams. Carolina

14:01

doubtful. It's the banking hub

14:04

of the South. Carolina's

14:07

got money. You'd move Jacksonville.

14:10

A lot of retirements. Only one really

14:13

amazing hotel or even legitimate

14:15

hotel for a Super Bowl. I was there for Super Bowl

14:17

Week. It's a college football city. They

14:19

talk about high school in college football more than pro

14:21

football. Don't kid

14:24

yourself. Oakland's gonna lose baseball.

14:26

They just did. San Diego lost

14:28

the NFL. You don't think Jacksonville could

14:31

They have an owner who is willing

14:33

to take big risks. The NFL keeps

14:36

putting games in Germany and London. There's

14:38

a reason for it. Growth. I don't

14:40

think anybody understands all these players, best

14:42

players under twenty five, the most

14:45

valuable, literally a save the

14:47

franchise player. As Trevor Lawrence

14:50

said yesterday, I met this kid. He is

14:52

completely unflappable.

14:54

He's the opposite of Johnny Manzil, not

14:57

only in size and talent, but in maturity,

15:00

all about family, football, faith rock

15:03

solid after that urban fiasco.

15:05

If they didn't have him and they missed on the next

15:08

quarterback or three,

15:11

they didn't get Doug Peterson smart

15:14

higher, what if they go defense? You

15:16

think in five six years NFL would

15:19

say this thing ain't working. Go look

15:21

around sports. We don't have a Pac twelve

15:23

conference we did two weeks ago. Stuff

15:26

changes. Trevor Lawrence

15:28

is the most valuable young player

15:30

in the NFL. I

15:32

mean, don't get me wrong, the Boses are

15:34

great, But if

15:37

they left San Francisco and the Chargers.

15:39

The franchises would be fine. It's good

15:41

players on both. This kid

15:44

is completely different and still to me undervalued.

15:47

Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd

15:49

weekdays and noone Easter not a Empacific.

15:52

Zeke signed with New England? Is

15:56

that in

15:58

Belichick? Apparently to James

16:01

White, who was such a nice I think he went to Wisconsin.

16:03

Such a nice player for New England. Great

16:05

hands out of the backfield. His prime

16:07

days were in New England. He's talking about Belichick

16:10

and Zeke, and apparently Bill

16:13

always loves Zeke.

16:15

No, he may not have the fifteen

16:17

hundred and sixteen hundred reushing yards like he was having

16:19

his first few years, you know in the league

16:21

with that Dallas offensive line, but he can be

16:23

a very productive back. And I know Bill

16:25

Belichick has always had, you know, a

16:28

great time talking about some of the best backs

16:30

in the league and Zeke. I know he's a big fan of Zeke.

16:32

Whenever we would compete against those guys, he would

16:34

always talk him up. So to have him on his roster, I know

16:36

he's loving that.

16:38

Zeke, cam Newton,

16:41

Reggie Wayne O,

16:44

Jo Sinko, Mohammed

16:46

Sanu. Bill romanticizes

16:49

football

16:52

constantly. Unfortunately he does

16:54

it in personnel. We

16:56

need an intervention here. We

16:59

were talking about this this morning as we prep

17:01

for the show, that if the coach

17:03

of the Patriots and the GM of

17:05

the Patriots were two different people

17:09

in Boston, they would demand the GM

17:12

get fired. I mean this past

17:14

draft, they're a slow offense. They

17:16

drafted two kickers in three guards.

17:19

Bill's constantly romanticizing

17:22

the past. He should be a baseball manager.

17:25

He can't do personnel. Zeke's

17:28

past his prime, Cam was past his prime.

17:30

Chad Johnson passed his prime, but he quote

17:33

loved those guys. Yet won't put

17:35

his arm around Mac Jones. You

17:37

know. It's like he's become

17:39

close to retirement. Guy that becomes

17:42

infatuated with classic cars.

17:45

Unfortunately, we're trying to win an

17:47

F one race here. Okay, there's

17:49

a place for classic car guy.

17:52

It's not the Monaco Grand

17:55

Prix. And that's what the AFC is.

17:58

You can be two things, a legend

18:01

and then sort of over your skis

18:03

as cultural changes happen.

18:06

Greg Popovitch could never put his arms around

18:08

the three point shot, and Belichick

18:11

is completely tone deaf to offensive

18:13

personnel. It's bad.

18:15

The only Pro bowler he's

18:18

had in recent years that you know he

18:20

drafted is Mac Jones, and I swear

18:22

to god, it's almost trying

18:24

to implode the situation. He doesn't want him to have

18:26

too much power. In fact, it

18:29

is almost impressive when

18:31

you consider their recent drafts that

18:34

Belichick has gone five hundred

18:37

without Tom Brady. It's sort of impressive.

18:40

So I saw a story this morning

18:43

apparently the Patriots rookie Malik Cunningham

18:45

is generating buzz at quarterback.

18:48

Is he any good or does he just look

18:50

dynamic because the team is so slow?

18:54

Where did he get drafted? Did he get drafted?

18:57

I mean, he's a nice college quarterback

18:59

and he's got a to watch play. But

19:01

again, Bailey ZAPPI,

19:04

Malie Cunningham, Cam Newton,

19:06

can we put our arms around

19:10

Mac Jones? So yeah,

19:13

it's just you know, when

19:15

you were young, do you ever remember this. You'd go to grandma's

19:18

house and it smelled weird,

19:20

and there was a lot of antiques and you didn't want

19:22

to bump into anything because you'd break it. Most

19:25

of the stuff wouldn't go for much money at a garage shale,

19:28

Like, it's like that's

19:30

that's sort of where New England's becoming. It's

19:33

grandma's house, doesn't right smell

19:35

right. It's a lot of stuff

19:37

that's not worth anything. They've

19:39

overpaid for some items, Hunter

19:41

Henry, and you're not getting a ton out of it. Nelson

19:43

Aguilar, Like, does everybody get

19:46

here that if there were two separate

19:48

people with the Patriots coach GM, you'd want the

19:50

GM fired. But we do this

19:52

in sports. We kind of put our arms around

19:54

the past. The one thing of always loved about the NFL.

19:57

They don't, they don't, they don't do when

19:59

rear view stuff. Baseball is paralyzed

20:02

by its history, just paralyzed by it,

20:04

and football's not. They're always evolving,

20:07

changing rules. I mean we are

20:09

all clamoring, and I'm a casual

20:12

baseball fan. I mean, how long

20:14

were people saying, get rid of the defensive shift,

20:17

let's speed the game up, pitch clock.

20:19

I mean like that it was twenty years of

20:21

people saying, now the game is too slow. Baseball

20:24

now has to cut the number of games. Never

20:26

will greedy owners. There's

20:28

no urgency with baseball. The ratings are up a little

20:31

this year, but in the end, can't have one

20:33

hundred and sixty two games doubled the NBA

20:35

season. So I think Belichick's almost

20:37

got sort of a baseball field. I think he's buddies

20:39

with Tony Laruss. He's got a baseball field. He

20:42

really loves the past. He romanticizes

20:44

that he has these players that he likes. He always

20:46

likes Chad Johnson, he loved Cam he loves

20:49

Zeke, Reggie Wayne. It's like they

20:51

got nothing left. It's the end of their careers. If

20:53

you'd loved him seven years ago when they weren't cheap.

20:57

So I and I'm not saying Zeke doesn't

20:59

have some value. He's always been a

21:01

good pass blocker. But the Patriots

21:03

old line is never a real issue. Mac Jones

21:05

has time to throw. What they need

21:08

isn't a running back that blocks. What they need

21:10

is a home run hitter, and they don't

21:12

have one. And zek Is I think

21:14

we showed the numbers earlier. If you go to Zeke,

21:16

maybe it's the style of play. His

21:19

rushing yards per

21:22

game have gone from one oh

21:24

eight ninety eight, ninety five, eighty

21:26

four, sixty five, fifty eight. I

21:28

mean it's it's he's average

21:30

the last couple of years four yards are rush

21:33

and last year three point eight yards. So

21:35

I don't know. I

21:38

understand people can can like the

21:40

move because he is he can catch the ball and he can

21:42

block, and there's value in that. But

21:45

when you combine that with Devonte Parker,

21:47

Jujus, ms Schuster, Cam Chad,

21:49

Reggie Wayne, you feel like we need

21:51

an intervention here. It's just not good enough.

21:53

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd

21:55

weekdays and noon Easter non am Pacific

21:58

on Fox Sports Radio so FS one

22:01

and the iHeartRadio app.

22:02

I was thinking about this, so

22:04

we've talked about this, Jmac. So

22:08

people, you know, they they struggle

22:10

with change. You and I don't for whatever reasons.

22:12

I think we've both moved around the country. But people,

22:15

by and large, they struggle with change.

22:17

That's okay, But think about

22:19

this. Oakland is

22:22

losing the A's, Seattle

22:24

lost the Sonics, Kansas

22:27

City and Vancouver lost NBA teams.

22:30

Okay, San Diego lost the NFL,

22:33

and LA didn't have an pro

22:35

football team for twenty years LA when

22:39

the Pac twelve imploded. Does

22:41

everybody understand very few things

22:43

in life have a lifetime

22:45

guarantee and so right now, I read a story

22:47

this morning that, like Callen, Stanford can't

22:49

find a home. Maybe

22:52

Cal is not really

22:55

a PA's an academic power, but

22:59

like some some times you felt they liked rugby

23:01

more than football. And so if you

23:04

don't commit the football,

23:06

I mean really commit, don't tell me about they got

23:08

new facilities. That's the baseline

23:10

to compete for recruiting, just upgrading

23:12

facilities. Stanford's tried to

23:14

win had Bill Walsh as a coach, that Jim

23:17

Harbaugh, Stanford's tried to

23:19

win has committed to winning. Cal

23:21

football doesn't. They've had some good quarterbacks,

23:23

but you don't keep a program alive. I got

23:25

nothing against Col. I think Oregon

23:28

State wants to win in football but has some limitations.

23:30

Cow's got rich alumni,

23:33

It's in one of the techiest places in the

23:35

country. And I look at all this stuff

23:37

in sports, and folks, I'm

23:39

a West Coast guy. The

23:41

PAC twelve, in an era when

23:45

there's a million new TV channels

23:47

on cable and streaming, could not

23:49

get a content deal. Everybody

23:52

pickleballs on the air, slap

23:56

fighting league, pillow fighting. Everybody

23:59

is dying for content, and

24:01

the PAC twelve could not get a

24:04

TV contract. Why Because

24:06

their perceived value isn't the market

24:08

value. They were arrogant about it. So

24:10

when you combine their arrogance and the

24:13

fact that they didn't commit like the Big Ten,

24:15

the ACC, the Big twelve, the SEC,

24:18

maybe it was just time for the PAC twelve

24:20

to end. I was saying this morning to

24:23

a friend. Cal's an academic power,

24:25

arguably the best public university in the country.

24:29

What if they just downgraded and they and

24:31

they don't win the Sears Cup like Stanford

24:33

or UCLA does where they're great in other sports,

24:36

they're fine. What if Cal just doesn't that football?

24:39

Well, the

24:41

A's are losing baseball, San

24:43

Diego lost football, Seattle

24:46

lost the NBA. Kansas City when I grew up

24:48

had good NBA teams. I'm not saying

24:51

Cal has to

24:53

give up football. And I know they've

24:55

put some NFL quarterbacks in

24:57

the league. I mean, Villanova put Howie Long in the league.

25:00

I mean it's but when

25:02

I look at all this stuff, there aren't very few

25:04

lifetime guarantees. I

25:07

mean, balls are going away, CDs,

25:11

landlines, DBDs, stuff

25:13

goes away. And you know,

25:16

I've argued this for years. You

25:18

could chop off four pro teams

25:20

in every league in America. Nobody

25:22

would miss them. You could go to

25:25

the NHL lop off four teams, NBA,

25:27

NFL, I could go. We could do that as a segment someday.

25:31

So a college football programmer

25:33

three just doesn't do football

25:36

anymore? Or isn't a tiny conference?

25:39

People miss stuff that truly

25:41

matters. How much of

25:44

that stuff mattered? You can't find a home

25:46

now? Maybe it's to you problem.

25:48

Hey, it's me Rock Parker.

25:51

Check out my weekly MLB podcast,

25:53

Inside the Parker for twenty

25:55

two minutes of piping hot baseball

25:58

talk featuring the biggest names that newsmakers

26:00

in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics

26:03

or the eye test, We've got all

26:05

the bases covered. New episodes

26:07

dropped every Thursday. So do yourself

26:10

a favor and listen to Inside the

26:12

Parker with Rob Parker on the

26:14

iHeartRadio app or wherever

26:16

you get your podcast.

26:18

Eight years with the Packers in

26:21

his nine total NFL years a

26:23

Super Bowl champion, he's on Speak today

26:25

as well. He's become a regular on this show as a Super

26:27

Bowl champion of former Packer great James Jones

26:30

is joining us. Okay, Robert

26:32

Salid called out the old line. Yeah, okay,

26:35

and at practice today, you know

26:37

you have these inner squad games and they're pretty players

26:40

will tell you they're intense.

26:41

Oh yeah.

26:42

In fact, sometimes they're a little.

26:43

Chippier, no doubt.

26:44

In the preseason game and

26:47

the reports, J Mack, much to his

26:49

chagrin, is acknowledging they've

26:51

gotten the old lines been in golf. Robert

26:55

Sali acknowledged it. He's watching

26:57

film. You tell me, my, here's my

26:59

question. You and Aaron and Farving.

27:02

You you never had a terrible

27:04

old line in green Bay.

27:05

This is new territory for Yeah,

27:08

we've never had a terrible offensive line

27:10

in Green Bay. And to me,

27:12

this rings offensive

27:14

coordinator. All right, Nathaniel

27:16

Hackett, you have to find ways to be able

27:19

to help this offensive line. You

27:21

know where to start with that? Bringing in

27:23

a running back named Dalvin Cook who could run the ball,

27:25

Because if we're able to run the ball, then now they got

27:27

to account for the run game, which will help our offensive

27:29

line out. You know what else will help a running

27:31

back that could catch the ball out of the backfield. Now we're

27:33

able to get the ball out of Aaron Rodgers hands fast

27:35

in space to a running back.

27:37

That'll help the offensive line.

27:38

Another thing, Chips, use your tight end,

27:41

bring your tight ends in there before

27:43

they go out for they pass routes. We've seen plenty

27:45

tight ends, plenty many tight ends.

27:47

Chip the defensive end, give the quarterbacks

27:49

some more time to get the ball out. But I absolutely

27:52

love it. Right we played football, we

27:54

don't play tennis. Call people out. Robert

27:58

Salah understands that every other

28:00

spot on this team linebacker,

28:03

safety, corner, receiver,

28:05

quarterback, running back, we are

28:07

stacked ready to go win

28:09

a championship.

28:10

I told Jmack the running back room

28:12

now Cook, Brece

28:15

Hall, Michael Carter is the deepest running.

28:17

Back room easily.

28:19

I think it's fantastic easily.

28:21

So as a coach, when you're looking at all

28:23

that and you're like the only thing that's

28:25

slowing us down is the offensive line,

28:27

Yes, it's time to choot those boys out, especially

28:30

if you go out to the practice field and like we're

28:32

here in today where the Tampa Bay Buccaneers

28:34

is just ever will getting getting.

28:36

After the quarterback.

28:37

That's a problem because you are the reason

28:39

that's gonna hold us back from winning a championship.

28:41

So Aaron could get prickly in Green

28:43

Bay if young receivers weren't where

28:45

they were supposed to be. But I've

28:47

never seen Aaron have to worry

28:50

about the old line. I mean, in all your years

28:52

with him, did that tack him off like Brady

28:54

would get upset if he got to his feet.

28:56

Yeah, But I don't remember Aaron ever.

28:58

I mean sometimes, I mean, obviously if if they

29:01

miss a call or miss a protection and somebody's

29:03

coming free. Obviously, you know it's frustrations

29:05

communication because we go through

29:07

all that stuff for hours and hours and hours

29:10

a day, every single day of the week

29:12

before the game for preparation.

29:13

So it's been things like that.

29:15

But one thing I do know about Aaron, and

29:18

we know Aaron does not take a lot of sacks because

29:20

the ball is coming out of Aaron Rodgers hands fast.

29:22

Aaron Rodgers is getting you into the right play,

29:24

whatever that may be. So it is

29:26

extremely early. I think this

29:28

will be fine. I think they will find

29:30

a way to make sure that Aaron Rodgers is protected,

29:33

that they getting the ball to their playmakers down the

29:35

football field. But yes, as an offensive coordinator,

29:37

when you know that's one of the weak points of your football

29:39

team, you have to make sure. Hey, we might

29:41

have to keep an extra body in there to make sure we protect

29:44

Aaron Rodgers. We might have to go two tight ends

29:46

to make sure we protect Darion Rodgers. Don't mean we're

29:48

not gonna be that explosive, you know, but it

29:50

means we got to keep him up right, and we got

29:52

to be able to run the ball.

29:53

But it's early. I think they'll be fine, they'll get it

29:55

figured out.

29:56

Okay, let's talk Green Bay. Yeah,

29:58

you've been very honest. That's why we bring

30:00

you back on this show.

30:02

Is that.

30:02

Here's what concerned me. You

30:05

got to get the easy ones, right, Okay,

30:08

you can't. I'm not nobody thinks a

30:10

young quarterback Jordan Love is going to be Aaron or

30:12

Mahomes. That's not fair. But

30:16

you got to get the layups. He had muskrave

30:19

clean, pocket wide

30:21

open. This is a NFL

30:23

layout. Yeah,

30:26

James, that's bad. Okay, that's your

30:28

four Now that is that's not even

30:30

close.

30:31

Yeah, that's a bad play. I mean,

30:33

we can't we can't lie about that. That is a bad play.

30:36

But other than that, everything I seen

30:38

from Jordan Love is exactly what I wanted

30:40

to see. Right, you come out there, you

30:42

have a bad play like that. First off, I

30:44

absolutely love the go ball shot that

30:46

he took to Christian Watson. Really good play by

30:49

the safety getting his hand on it. But that's

30:51

inches away from being a touchdown. But if you look

30:53

at him, super comfortable in the pocket,

30:55

he's looking the safety off, then comes

30:57

back over there to Christian Watson. Safety does

30:59

a really good job making a play. But after

31:01

that throw, he still came back and he made a couple of

31:03

really good throws, obviously to touch down

31:05

to Romeo Dobbs. But we just wanted

31:07

to see the demand. We wanted to see the cool

31:10

and calm. We wanted him to see him to come out there

31:12

like the game is not too He looked, he

31:14

looked the part.

31:15

He looked okay to.

31:16

Me, Okay, all right, I don't want to be negative.

31:18

That's not who I am. Okay,

31:21

So you can't

31:24

fool pro athletes. And I'm sure,

31:27

I mean, you played in the NFL nine years. You

31:30

probably knew. I'll

31:32

just ask you how many practices

31:36

before you would know a player

31:38

like this is a miss he can't play.

31:41

I mean, seriously, dB, a receiver,

31:43

a quarterback like you knew this ain't

31:45

gonna work one now.

31:47

Now, it's crazy one practice, Yeah, especially

31:51

if it's a dB or somebody that you're going up again,

31:54

especially if it's a quarterback or somebody that you're

31:56

catching.

31:56

Give me somebody you.

31:57

Knew instantly could play.

31:59

I've very first seen.

32:00

Him first practice. You knew a

32:03

dude could play.

32:04

Jordi Nelson first

32:06

practice, first practice, I knew Jordy Nelson was going to

32:08

be a good player.

32:09

Okay, we don't need to call it. The guys

32:11

that weren't, no, no, but it's

32:14

Trey Lance now. So I was

32:16

told when he got there he wasn't quite

32:18

as twitchy and athletic as they thought. But

32:21

he's a big, strong kid, coachable. And

32:23

then they knew he wasn't a beautiful thrower

32:25

optically, but they they they've

32:28

been working on it, and it's just not consistent

32:30

enough. He has good days and bad days. And

32:32

so my takeaway is the players in the

32:34

room know it, and

32:37

the Niners are saying all the right stuff. But

32:39

I said this the other day, I don't think he's a bust

32:41

yet because he's big, he moves,

32:45

There's a lot of stuff here. I like, I

32:47

would roll the dice and bring him in if I'm

32:49

a GM six round pick. But

32:52

my takeaway is the Niners are trying to sell this.

32:55

Don't you think Niner players know the truth.

32:57

The Niners players definitely know the truth.

32:59

I had an opportunity to need this past week to I

33:01

was in Vegas for the joint practices.

33:03

Oh you were Come on, you didn't even

33:05

tell me that I was out in Vegas

33:08

for the joint practices. And I'm

33:10

a Trey Lance fan. I was saying, this

33:12

is Trey Lance's team, even what rock

33:15

Perty did. He's a first round pick.

33:17

You gave up so much to get him, Like, this

33:19

is his team.

33:20

He got hurt. Let him go out here

33:22

and show what he can do.

33:23

But from what I seen at the practices,

33:27

Trey Lance has a long way to go. Trey

33:30

Lance has a long way to go. Every every pass

33:32

that I've seen was.

33:33

Coming out late. You know, he's not

33:35

he's not seeing stuff extremely fast

33:37

yet.

33:37

You know, and Manuelacho said, this is that

33:40

when the ball is snapped. He's played so little

33:42

football. Yes, everything's it's the

33:44

free He doesn't anticipate problem.

33:46

No doubt, and you can and you can tell because

33:49

it's not like he's coming from the SEC. And

33:52

he's not like he's playing receiver. It's not like he's

33:54

playing dB. Where this is my zone. I'm

33:56

man, the man, like, you have to know where

33:58

everybody is balls before

34:01

the ball snap, and not only that, you

34:03

got to tell the old line where they're going, and

34:05

then the ball has to come out on time. So you can

34:07

just tell things are moving so

34:09

fast for him, I mean it was like four fumble

34:12

snaps that practice under center. For him,

34:14

it was a lot of balls that were coming out late.

34:16

And as I was watching him, I'm like, this

34:19

dude has a long way to go, you

34:21

know. And that's why you can truly see

34:24

even Kyle Shannan coming out saying, Brock

34:26

Purty is our guy, you know, even when he

34:28

did have the elbow situation, Like when he comes

34:30

back and he is healthy, he's the guy. Because

34:32

when you watch Trey Lance out there, you can still

34:34

see that he's trying to find his way and the

34:36

game is moving extremely fast.

34:38

That is one of the best bits of reporting

34:41

we've ever had on the show.

34:42

There you go it, go appreciate you man, bosses.

34:45

This guy knows what he's doing. Is America's honesty.

34:47

Broker here, so you

34:50

know, I we go into this season,

34:54

people tend to kind of forget coaches have

34:56

egos too. We all

34:58

think the players, how do you go? And the quarterbacks

35:00

heavy? Coaches heavygo. And

35:03

I look at the Denver situation, and

35:06

Sean Payton has a chance to be a Hall

35:08

of Famer as a coach. Yes, doesn't help him

35:10

if Denver's a mess and he didn't

35:12

make that Russell Wilson trade and

35:15

when he kept that offense in for

35:17

four series, James,

35:19

this is not nineteen ninety four. Nobody

35:22

does that. Am

35:24

I wrong to

35:26

suggest it's

35:28

not as plug and play as he thought?

35:30

And he's concerned, no question, And

35:32

that's why you leave him out there.

35:34

Coach Mike used to tell us, you guys are gonna play

35:36

as long as you guys

35:38

have to play going into the preseason

35:40

game, which means if you go down here in the first drive,

35:43

even if you don't score, the plays is clean. You

35:45

look in the right way, we get a field goal or something

35:47

out of it. Yeah, if you go

35:50

down here and you know it's mister Simon's

35:52

bass, now drop balls, you guys are going to stay

35:54

in this game and play. I don't care if you got Pro Bowls,

35:56

all pros, MVPs. You're gonna play,

35:59

so you can tell. Sean Payton was like,

36:01

no, no, we need work

36:03

and this is not how it's supposed to look. So you know

36:05

what, offensive starters. If you're gonna look like that, you're

36:07

gonna stay out there for another series.

36:09

I like that, McCarthy. You're gonna play as

36:12

long as you gotta.

36:12

Play until

36:15

you get it right. I only want y'all to

36:17

play a series, maybe two. But if you

36:19

go out there and it doesn't look the right way, you

36:21

guys gonna stay y'all butts out there.

36:22

Okay. Finally, so Jerry

36:25

Jones said a week ago,

36:28

I'm not giving Zach Martin a new contract. I

36:30

mean, he was adamant. The quotes were like sit

36:33

out camp, and then

36:35

a week later he gets a new deal. I'll

36:38

throw on my theory at Jerry

36:40

is very much about image. He

36:43

likes his former players on CBS

36:45

and ESPN and Fox.

36:47

I get it.

36:47

I like Jerry, but there's a lot of business

36:49

image here. He likes it out there that he knows

36:51

football is that Dak had

36:53

all those picks, Trayvon Diggs getting

36:55

in Dak's face calling him

36:57

to be and the A word, and it was.

37:00

It was. And Jerry looked at that and went, let's

37:02

get back on the optimistic cowboy train.

37:05

And I think that ugliness

37:07

at practice I might theorize as Jerry's

37:10

like, we got to clean this up. This

37:12

gonna sideways a little.

37:13

Yeah.

37:14

The blessing about this whole thing is I'm glad Jerry

37:16

listened to his coaching staff. Listen to the guys

37:19

that are in the building that really put this thing

37:21

together, put the game plans together. Understand

37:23

how valuable Zach Martin

37:25

is to that team, right, because it starts

37:27

with the run game. We are going to run this ball, and we

37:29

have to protect Dak Prescott, right. Dak Prescott

37:32

already had a big time injury. We have to protect

37:34

him and we have to be able to run the ball. This

37:36

is one of the best guards in the National Football

37:38

League. He must be out there on your football

37:40

team if you're trying to go where you're trying to go.

37:42

Right, you know.

37:43

So, I truly credit Jerry Jones

37:46

because I truly believe that since

37:48

coach Mike McCarthy has got there, Mike doesn't

37:50

get a lot of credit. It's been a lot of

37:52

change over there, especially when you talk about

37:54

roster wise with him listening to coach Mike McCarthy,

37:57

because a lot of players that are there right now possibly

38:00

wouldn't been over there if Jerry was stuck in his old

38:02

ways.

38:02

So for me, this is huge.

38:04

This is him listening to his coaches, listening

38:07

to his scout saying listen, Zach

38:09

Martin has to get done. He needs to be

38:11

out here on this football field. If he's not, we

38:13

are not gonna be the offense that we want to be or

38:15

the team we want to be on the offensive side

38:17

of the ball.

38:18

Period.

38:18

What was your favorite part about McCarthy. You know,

38:20

he gets a lot of criticism. He's not great with clock

38:23

management, but by the way I

38:25

saw Andy Reid and Philadelphia have his moments

38:27

with clock management. It's not easy. But

38:30

what is the one thing that you

38:32

will defend Mike McCarthy on forever?

38:34

The one thing offen defend Mike about is

38:37

he's a players coach, right. He truly

38:39

cares about the players, and he's truly

38:41

gonna make sure that he's doing anything

38:43

he possibly can to make sure you can succeed. And

38:46

if that means him changing some practice schedule,

38:48

if that means him changing the way he calls the

38:50

plays.

38:51

If that, if you.

38:52

Go to coach Mike and you really sit down there

38:54

and you talk to him, Coach Mike, look this is we

38:56

need to try this, We need to do this. Coach Mike

38:58

is gonna do everything in his power to make sure that

39:01

his players got what they got.

39:03

I like that.

39:04

Yeah, so he's not rigid. If you guys,

39:07

was there ever a moment with Mike that you had

39:11

you really played well on a Sunday and

39:13

he came in and just said, we're taking

39:15

Tuesday off too?

39:16

Oh?

39:16

Absolutely, Oh absolutely, yeah, even

39:18

sometimes Wednesday. Get out of here, I'll see Thursday.

39:21

Wye.

39:22

Coach Coach Mike, he's a player's coach. But he didn't

39:24

come in like that. He came in and

39:26

he was on that Bill Parcells train. He

39:29

was on the Bills Fight. That's when it was double days

39:31

and all that too. He was like, if we could be on the practice

39:33

field for six hours, we're gonna be on for six

39:36

hours and five minutes. That's how coach

39:38

Mike was. And over time he

39:40

changed. He started listening to us players. He started

39:42

becoming a players coach. He started really

39:45

like sitting down with us, you know, having

39:47

meetings to where hey, bring the captains

39:49

in, have meetings. What's the locker room talk

39:51

about? You know what they what they need in the locker

39:54

room. You know, I know it's coach Mike,

39:56

don't do everything right, give me some stuff

39:58

that you.

39:58

Know the locker room talking about need to change.

40:00

Not saying he would change all of it, but he would listen to

40:03

some of it, you know, to make sure that ay, the

40:05

players was taking care of we was going into the games

40:07

fresh, ready to go.

40:09

By the way, when you play in the NFL

40:12

during a season, was there ever

40:14

a better moment than after

40:16

a win a coach saying see

40:18

you Thursday.

40:19

Never never, right when they come in you see

40:22

you even see in the locker rooms, right when they come and everybody's.

40:24

Yelling, see you Wednesday, see you win.

40:26

So when the coach finally does that, man, I

40:28

mean shoot to get you some days off in the league when

40:30

it's a grind.

40:30

You're gonna take that anytime.

40:32

Now, you got seventeen games, all

40:34

right, we gotta take a break. You were great. You're James

40:37

Jones is always strong, but really good stuff today.

40:39

I appreciate it, but I appreciate it.

40:40

Brother,