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Best of The Herd

Best of The Herd

Released Tuesday, 3rd October 2023
 1 person rated this episode
Best of The Herd

Best of The Herd

Best of The Herd

Best of The Herd

Tuesday, 3rd October 2023
 1 person rated this episode
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Episode Transcript

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0:00

Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast.

0:02

Be sure to catch us live every weekday on

0:04

Fox Sports Radio in noon to three

0:07

Eastern nine am to noon Pacific.

0:09

Find your local station for the Herd at Fox

0:11

Sports Radio dot com, or stream

0:14

us live every day on the iHeartRadio app

0:16

by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

0:19

This is the Best of the Herd with Colin

0:22

cowher on Fox Sports Radio.

0:28

Here we Go live

0:31

in Los Angeles on a Tuesday.

0:34

Jampack, great show, Herd Hierarchy

0:37

in an hour. It's the Hurd wherever

0:39

you may be and however you may be listening.

0:42

Thanks for making us part of your

0:45

day. Jamack one

0:47

hour hert Hierarchy. Lot

0:49

of good NFC teams the NFC,

0:52

which we thought coming into the season, maybe

0:54

Philly, maybe San Francisco.

0:57

We may have more NFC teams than AFC

0:59

team. I think the AFC

1:02

at the top has been a little shake boy

1:05

coming in hot on a Tuesday.

1:07

NFC so last.

1:09

Night was bad TV, right, that's what you suspect,

1:11

and it's hard. The Giants are

1:14

terrible. So I thought a lot about instead

1:16

of just banging on people, we're here

1:18

to solve issues. So let's

1:20

solve this Giant's mess. They're bad,

1:24

the on line's bad. Saquan's

1:26

heart again. Daniel Jones is overpaid

1:28

and pretty mediocre. All right, we know

1:31

that I can spend the next fifteen minutes banging on

1:33

everybody. We know that, what do

1:35

you do? Well, here's

1:37

the silver lining. Bad

1:40

means a better draft pick. And it's

1:42

the best college quarterback draft class

1:44

I've ever seen. I would draft another

1:46

quarterback. I'll get to what

1:48

you do with Daniel Jones in a minute.

1:51

Now. You could also move down

1:54

in the draft. You know, quarterbacks

1:56

are gold bars. If you end up with a six

1:58

worst record, and if you look at you schedule,

2:00

that's where you could be. You could absolutely

2:03

move back, get seconds, thirds force,

2:05

whatevs. A lot of teams may do that at the top,

2:08

but this roster receiving group, offensive

2:11

line quarterback just

2:14

ain't it okay. So, and

2:17

here's why I would draft another quarterback. And it

2:19

sounds radical, and again I'll get into the Daniel

2:21

Jones component later. There's at least

2:24

eight teams. I count eight teams

2:26

in the NFC. Now, the AFC

2:28

is a much better quarterback conference, and the

2:30

New York Giants have super Bowls. The goal here.

2:33

You're not the Mets, you're the Yankees, right, you don't

2:35

put up wild card pennants, you're

2:37

the Giants. You want to win a super Bowl.

2:39

So the AFC is a much better quarterback conference

2:41

than the NFC. And I counted this morning

2:44

eight NFC teams

2:47

that have a better quarterback Philly,

2:50

Dallas, Arizona, Rams, Minnesota,

2:52

Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle Saints.

2:55

That's nine. So Brock

2:58

Perdy, I don't know if you and include him.

3:00

It's a small sample size, but to this point,

3:03

he's absolutely better than Daniel Jones. So

3:05

that's nine. We'll put in San

3:07

Francisco. You know, you say what about Geno

3:09

Smith? I don't know. Last two years. I look at the numbers,

3:13

he's better than Daniel Jones. And

3:16

then you also have three other teams

3:18

just in the NFC that are likely

3:21

to draft quarterbacks in the first round,

3:23

and they're all better prospects than Daniel

3:25

Jones, Bears, Atlanta, Tampa, and

3:27

they'll have a four year runway minimum

3:30

to load up on free agents. So

3:34

nine plus three is twelve. They're

3:36

sixteen teams in the NFC. They

3:39

either have more cap space and

3:41

a more talented quarterback prospect

3:44

or about the same cap space and a better quarterback

3:47

that's in the weaker conference. This

3:50

ain't it. You gotta take a radical

3:52

swing, and I don't think it's radical,

3:55

folks. Brian Dable can't

3:57

solve this. Like in Buffalo,

3:59

he went there and every year Josh Allen

4:01

got better because Josh Allen

4:04

had an enormous ceiling. He

4:06

made Daniel Jones better.

4:08

Didn't make him great, He didn't make him

4:10

very good. He made him better. Better

4:13

is probably what he is. So

4:16

if day ball can't solve this, and he's considered

4:18

a top six or seven offensive guy in this league,

4:22

an offensive guy can't solve it. So

4:25

there's always Now we get to the Daniel

4:27

Jones part. Listen, there's always desperate

4:29

NFL teams. Remember Daniel

4:31

Jones is big. They say he's smart

4:34

and he's athletic, and you can

4:36

get out of the contract in twenty twenty five. You

4:38

can absolutely move Daniel

4:40

Jones. You may not get what you want.

4:43

You reached for him at

4:45

a number six pick in the first round. Maybe you only

4:47

get a third or fourth rounder, but

4:50

the Niners moved Trey Lamps. You

4:52

don't think the Giants can move a guy that made the quarter

4:54

that made the playoffs last year. He

4:57

made the playoffs last year. You can move Daniel

4:59

j Owns. And all

5:01

the top five prospects this year

5:04

are considered better prospects than

5:07

Daniel Jones was. So if you're

5:09

in a league and you have the twenty

5:11

to twenty third best quarterback and now

5:13

he's expensive, the good news

5:15

is the quarterback draft class

5:18

is really strong. You

5:20

can move him, get out of that contract.

5:22

But this isn't working. I

5:25

could spend all today banging on the O line

5:27

and banging on the receivers and banging on Daniel

5:29

Jones. I like some of the defense. It's

5:31

not working. And your

5:33

standard for the New York Giants isn't putting

5:36

up wild card banners, Parcells,

5:39

Coughlin, Eli, Phil Simms,

5:42

Strayhand, Lawrence Taylor

5:45

way way way up. There

5:48

a better history than all about of

5:50

all about five teams in the NFL.

5:53

Okay, you're not the Jags here, You're not the

5:55

Falcons here, you're not the Bears here.

5:57

Bears are still celebrating one championship

6:00

team thirty

6:02

plus years ago. It's not who you are here

6:05

was Daniel Jones after.

6:07

I mean, obviously I didn't didn't play well enough.

6:09

It was unacceptable,

6:13

and I let the team

6:15

down. So I've got to I've

6:17

got to fix it. I gotta

6:19

work hard to get it right, and I'm

6:21

going to do that. My play wasn't wasn't good

6:23

enough. I know that, and that's what I'm focused on.

6:25

Listen, I feel kind of bad for him. He didn't

6:28

draft himself at six. He

6:30

didn't give himself the bag, he

6:33

didn't build this offensive line, he didn't

6:35

hire Gettleman. You know, I

6:37

can feel sympathy for what Justin Fields

6:40

is going through. I can feel sympathy

6:43

for what Daniel Jones is going to through.

6:45

But this is this isn't working. So let's

6:48

let's take a swing that may be viewed as radical.

6:51

No, it's not. Arizona moved off for quarterback,

6:53

got Kyler Murray. It's not that radical. It's

6:55

not that radical at all. People do it all the time,

6:59

all right, So what do we make of the Seahawks.

7:02

I'm not sure how great Geno Smith is.

7:04

I mean, they got thirteen first downs and

7:07

averaged six yards of pass, barely had

7:09

the football twenty four minutes. How good is Gino Smith.

7:11

I don't know, but Seattle has smartly

7:14

built a roster that is not Geno

7:16

Smith dependent. I mean, they already

7:18

had a good young running back, and

7:21

yet in the second round this year they went

7:23

and got another running back. They already had

7:25

lock At dk Metcalfett receiver, and

7:28

yet in the first round they went and got another

7:30

receiver. Pete

7:33

Carroll's been in Seattle at fourteen years. This

7:36

is the fourth version of his Seahawks.

7:39

Most coaches, good coaches, struggled to pivot

7:41

once or twice. He's pivoted four

7:43

times. There was the seven and nine

7:46

seven and nine pre Russell Wilson

7:48

Seahawks. For the record, one of those teams

7:50

got into the playoffs and won a playoff game. That

7:53

was the weakest version. Then

7:55

there was uh oh, legion

7:57

of boom Russell in his prime, two

8:00

Super Bowl appearances. Then

8:02

there was the defenses, aging

8:05

guys get banged up. Let's let Russ

8:07

cook. This is still a pretty consistent playoff

8:09

team. And then there's this

8:11

version. We don't have a star quarterback, but

8:14

we got away from the big paycheck.

8:18

We got draft capital for Geno Smith.

8:20

Let's get young hit on some

8:23

draft picks, rebuild the defense,

8:25

and oh, by the way, this version all four

8:27

have made the playoffs. With Pete

8:30

the pre Russ Russ and his prime

8:32

let Russ cook and see a Russ, They've

8:35

all made the playoffs. Pete Carroll

8:37

knows how to coach. I was very hard

8:39

on him during the last few years of Russ

8:41

and Pete Carroll. I was clearly wrong. He

8:44

saw things with Russ declining that worried him.

8:47

But in all four versions

8:49

of Pete Carroll Seahawks, they've

8:51

all made the playoffs. That is remarkable. I

8:54

mean literally, Belichick can't

8:56

pivot off. Brady, the

8:59

greatest coach ever, can't

9:01

make a second pivot,

9:05

can't make a second one. Pete's on his fourth

9:07

and Pete interesting because Pete's always

9:09

been viewed. I've had gms and coaches

9:11

say this. He's quirky, he's West

9:14

Coast, he's unique, whatever

9:16

it is. Here's what I know is true. Pete

9:19

is great with young players. He

9:21

and Jimmy Johnson were

9:24

great with young players

9:26

and great understanding personnel and

9:28

the strengths and the weaknesses of those players.

9:31

Now Pete can struggle sometimes with

9:33

older players who you don't get entitled

9:35

They've heard the stories before from Pete, but

9:38

Pete and Jimmy Johnson are in a very short

9:40

list all time. Were

9:43

the best college coach when they were in it, and

9:46

a top one or two coach in the NFL when

9:48

they were in it. That is rarefied

9:50

air. And so I thought Pete was

9:53

too tough on Russ. Should have let Russ

9:55

cook. And the truth is Russ simmering

9:57

was probably better than Ross cooking in

9:59

the end. And four different

10:02

versions of Pete Seahawks, all

10:04

four have made the playoffs.

10:07

And this team they're just kids.

10:09

This isn't even the best version of this version

10:12

Pete after.

10:14

Oh yeah, so much fun tonight, goly that

10:16

was fun playing football. It just reminds us

10:18

that we're just getting started. We're just getting

10:20

going. We're just putting it together. A

10:23

night like this for a defense to be able to play that explosively

10:26

in three turnovers and whatever, double digit

10:28

sacks, so we're not a finished product. We're just getting

10:30

rolling. And it's really exciting to be

10:32

able to tell you that because it feels

10:34

like it.

10:35

How about this Husky Seahawks win the National

10:38

Championship super Bowl When

10:41

you're from the Northwest, we've had

10:43

very few years when everything clicks.

10:46

They took our Sonics, you

10:48

know, I mean, the Mariners them have mostly down.

10:51

The Huskies are the best offense in the country.

10:53

And Seattle is something I don't know exactly

10:55

what, but they're young. They're

10:58

getting better every weekend. They already

11:00

won in Detroit, they won in the East

11:02

Coast. Just saying four

11:05

pivots, each one has

11:08

been a playoff team. Each one has

11:11

one playoff games, right, isn't that hard?

11:13

They didn't did they won a playoff game last year? I

11:16

don't think they didn't know they didn't, So this

11:18

version hasn't won a playoff game yet.

11:21

Pretty good.

11:22

The ineptitude of the New York Giants,

11:24

who looked like arguably the worst team in.

11:26

Football because they can't protect their quarterback,

11:29

they have no offensive players.

11:30

That scare you.

11:31

And Daniel Jones Colin, Oh my gosh,

11:35

are you sure Seattle looked that good last

11:37

night?

11:38

Well? Yeah, I think there's

11:40

I think, first of all, Devon Witherspoon, that

11:43

first pick in the first round. They

11:45

have a star. They have done a

11:47

really good job in the last two drafts to

11:49

just I mean, it's really hard to go four

11:52

for four in a draft. Two years ago, they went

11:54

five for five. This draft looks like

11:56

another home run draft. It is amazing.

11:58

In the NFL, it's the league of hope,

12:01

and we both love the NBA. But you know,

12:03

if you, let's face it, Denver's

12:05

gonna be good for four or five years. But

12:07

you can get the wrong stars, you can get tied

12:09

to contracts, you have to spend money on somebody.

12:11

There's injuries. Baseball half the league

12:13

can't compete financially. But in football,

12:16

it's amazing what a five for five

12:18

draft can do, Like hitting on five guys. Seattle

12:21

is now back to back. If you look

12:23

at their top eight nine picks, they've hit on virtually

12:25

all of them, some of them stars, most

12:27

of them competent, all starters. Like

12:30

it's amazing, you know, it reminds

12:32

me of the early Seattle days when Pete came out

12:34

of college and they started hitting home runs in the fourth,

12:36

fifth, sixth round. Like, this team has

12:38

got dudes, and they're not paying ninety

12:41

percent of these guys that are their best player.

12:43

DK Metcalf's getting paid locket is, but

12:45

most of their best players they're like in year

12:47

one, two and three, it's an interesting

12:50

roster.

12:50

Hey, humor me for a second and rank the quarterbacks

12:53

in the NFC East.

12:55

Just humor me for a secon Well,

12:57

Jalen hurts one, Yeah,

13:00

Dak too. Okay, I'd

13:04

like my lawyer to take over from here. I

13:06

do think Daniel Jones is third

13:09

above Sam Allen. Well, Sam Howe has

13:11

a little better well, I shouldn't say better protection.

13:14

I would say you're you're Sam Howe's inexpensive

13:17

and that has value. But Daniel Jones is

13:19

more talented. You see what Sam Hallell

13:21

just did to the Eagles, Well, I know that

13:23

was it impressive. The week before against Buffalo

13:25

he got sack nine towns elite. Daniel's

13:28

bigger, faster, He's a bigger kid,

13:30

faster he was. I think Daniel's more

13:32

talented. He's not in a great situation, but

13:34

I will say Sam Hill's got Sam Howe's got something.

13:37

I don't know if you build around him. It's like I say about Josh

13:39

Dobbs Arizona. There's something there. You win

13:41

games with him. I mean, Sam How's a gamer. Josh

13:43

Dobbs can make plays.

13:44

By the way, Josh Dobbs should have been the Cleveland backup starting

13:47

this past weekend, not dtr.

13:48

I know, how's Cleveland go with Josh

13:51

Dobbs. There's a lot of quarterbacks that I think are capable

13:53

of winning a game. I just don't want to build the

13:55

franchise around him. I give him one hundred

13:57

and sixty million. Well, yeah, that wasn't great. I

14:00

would not have done that. I didn't like to pick and I didn't

14:02

like the bag.

14:03

So be sure to catch live editions

14:05

of The Herd weekdays and Noone Eastern, not

14:07

AM Pacific, on Fox Sports

14:09

Radio FS one, and the iHeartRadio

14:12

app.

14:13

There was a lot of debate. I thought

14:15

Denver would double their wind total. I did not

14:17

pick them to make the playoffs, but I thought they were

14:19

the most improved team going in.

14:21

That's not the case. So stat

14:24

muse came out yesterday. Russell

14:26

Wilson this season actually has more

14:29

passing touchdowns than Mahomes, Burrow,

14:31

and Herbert. He does. He

14:33

has more passing yards than Dak Jalen Hurts

14:36

and Joe Burrow. He does. He's got less

14:38

interceptions than two of Jared Goff and Josh

14:40

Allen. Facts.

14:44

Now, what does it prove? It

14:47

proves two things. He's not washed.

14:51

That was stupid. He didn't go from

14:53

one hundred and four passer rating to terrible

14:57

without a major injury. Dumb people

14:59

thought that he's not washed. And

15:02

it also proves Nathaniel

15:04

Hackett was the issue with the offense. It

15:07

proves those two things.

15:10

Every reasonable person I talked to in

15:12

the NFL knew that. But

15:15

Russ is also part of an issue

15:18

going forward. He's thirty

15:20

four years old. He is not a top

15:22

six to seven quarterback in this league.

15:25

He's not, and he's

15:27

going to be paid like it for

15:29

the next five years, starting next

15:32

year. So that

15:34

is the Russell issue. He

15:36

is aged. He is

15:39

not washed, but that five

15:41

year deals a major cap hit and it begins

15:43

next year, and he's thirty four. He does

15:46

not have the juice that

15:48

he had in previous seasons. So

15:50

the expectations, and that's a key word

15:52

here, when you brought Russell

15:54

to Denver, the expectations were, Russ

15:57

has moved to Denver. Let the magic begin,

16:00

toe to toe with Mahomes,

16:03

Herbert Lamar, Josh

16:06

Allen, toe to toe.

16:09

That was the expectation. Let the magic

16:11

begin. You were hoping

16:13

for like David Blaine, magic, like people

16:15

are levitating. This

16:18

is more of like rabbit out

16:20

of a hat magic. I mean, it's magic, but

16:24

you wouldn't give it a TV special. But

16:27

it is magic, and so that's

16:29

the issue. Expectations.

16:31

Yes, Nathaniel Hackett

16:34

is not a head coach. That's been

16:36

proven. We could put the stat news up again. That's

16:39

been proven. It was a Nathaniel Hackett

16:41

issue. Doesn't look like the Jets offense brings much

16:43

to the table, now, does it. Oh, by the way,

16:45

Aaron got hurt on a play that he

16:47

did not want called by his buddy

16:49

Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett's

16:52

not a head coach. I'm not sure he's a good

16:54

offensive coordinator. Won't make that

16:57

call yet. But it was a Hacket issue.

16:59

Everybody that and Russell's not

17:01

washed. Everybody knew that.

17:03

That's reasonable. Russell

17:06

Wilson is a more than capable

17:09

quarterback in this league who's smart, moves

17:11

better than average. Not a great

17:14

pocket quarterback, but can make throws.

17:16

He's capable and then some. But

17:18

Sean Payton didn't come here for capable. You

17:21

can't be capable in

17:23

a shadow of what you were about four years

17:25

ago and make fifty eight million a year.

17:28

And so if you look at the Broncos schedule, this

17:30

was the easy part. Vegas,

17:33

Washington, Chicago, the

17:36

Jets now come

17:38

to town and the Jets went

17:41

toe to toe with the chiefs Kansas City twice,

17:44

Green Bay at

17:46

Buffalo, Cleveland. So

17:49

I think a lot of people in Denver like, we've got

17:52

the offense solved. Well,

17:54

you've got the offense right, whether

17:57

it's solved or not based on expectations

17:59

two years ago, not really, but

18:01

it's not your biggest issue. But

18:04

this was the easy part of the schedule. And if

18:06

you look going forward, let's say they

18:08

beat the Jets, lose to Kansas City, beat

18:10

Green Bay, lose to Kansas City, Buffalo, you

18:14

think Russell and Shawn aren't having hard conversations.

18:17

So expectations are

18:21

really the key to happiness and relationships.

18:24

What's reasonable? You pay fifty

18:26

eight million, forty eight million, fifty five

18:28

million bucks. You

18:30

got to get a guy that can go toe to toe with Mahomes

18:32

and Herbert and Lawrence and Lamar and

18:35

Josh and Burrow, and that's

18:37

what they paid for. He's not washed.

18:40

That's silly, And it was Hackett,

18:42

that's obvious. But that's where we are. Right

18:44

now we can point fingers. But this was

18:46

the easy part of the schedule,

18:49

right Sam Howell, justin

18:52

fields. Now this week you get, you don't

18:54

have to face Aaron Rodgers, you get Zach Wilson.

18:56

Go look at the line on that thing. It's

18:59

a coin flip game.

19:00

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd

19:02

weekdays and noon Easter not a Empacific.

19:05

Buffalo Bills had a very interesting

19:08

end of the season, embarrassing loss

19:10

to Cincinnati at home. Struggled with

19:12

Skyler Thompson and the Dolphins and

19:15

then had the Stefan Diggs Josh Allen

19:17

drama and so they

19:19

had to course correct. So to win a Super

19:22

Bowl, it takes production and talent,

19:24

we know that, but it also takes some timing

19:26

and breaks. Buffalo's getting breaks

19:28

in the NFCAFC, so Joe

19:30

Burrows hurt again. Cincinnati is a bit

19:33

of a mess. Kansas City's offense

19:35

has scored twenty against Detroit, twenty

19:37

three against the Jets, and seventeen against

19:39

the Jags. They don't have receivers that separate

19:42

the Jets. Aaron Rodgers got hurt

19:44

Denver. What happened

19:46

to the defense? No idea regress

19:48

badly. Chargers, they teeter on

19:51

near disaster fourth

19:54

quarter of every game they play. The Jags. I

19:56

don't know what it is exactly, but they don't feel right.

19:58

Pittsburgh. Kenny Pickett's hurt, he's regressed.

20:00

And the Ravens they've

20:02

got injuries. Always dangerous with Lamar,

20:05

but once again they've got injuries. So,

20:08

by the way, there's Miami. But Miami

20:10

has a problem. It's called Josh Allen. They

20:13

just don't have the players to stop him. He literally

20:15

owns the franchise. He's like a twenty

20:17

five thirty percent owner of the franchise. Now

20:19

Josh Allen doesn't know he owns it, but he actually does.

20:22

So they've gotten a bit of a break here. They either

20:24

match up really well with teams or

20:27

the surging Chargers and the

20:29

surging Jags don't feel

20:31

right. The powerhouse Titans

20:34

don't have quite enough speed

20:36

and power. Cincinnati

20:38

they do have power, not enough speed, and

20:41

Cincinnati's come down. And

20:43

now we're starting to see the

20:46

issue with trading. Tyreek Hill did

20:48

not show itself last year because they had Juju,

20:50

Smith, Schuster and others. Now they

20:52

look pretty below average at wide receiver.

20:55

So they have either in Buffalo

20:57

solved or mitigated

21:00

their problems. Von Miller's coming

21:02

back, the Steffan digs,

21:04

Josh Allen drama has evaporated,

21:07

Leslie Fraser left. We thought that was weird

21:09

because it was weird, hasn't been a

21:12

problem, and the run game and

21:14

the tight end production is clearly

21:16

better. kN Kaid's a stud. The kid they

21:18

got out of Utah, He's a stud. So

21:20

windows in the NFL close very

21:23

quickly, but it looks like Buffalo's

21:25

was closing, and it is quickly reopened

21:28

due to their evolution, them

21:31

coming to terms with what they weren't, them

21:33

solving some Stefan digs,

21:36

Leslie Fraser issues, and frankly

21:38

others declining. So it does feel

21:40

like it was kind of closing. It's

21:43

reopened. It's not just your talent, you

21:45

know. Planes go head to head, they go faster

21:48

when they're both headed to each other. So it's the decline

21:50

of the AFC quickly and

21:52

the emergence and solving of problems,

21:54

and suddenly Buffalo looks dominant

21:57

again. And to Jmax's point,

21:59

the match this week could be another

22:01

blowout. So I think this is interesting.

22:04

So I was sitting and looking at the NFL standings

22:06

this morning. I'm the staff makes

22:08

fun of me. I know they do. They don't tell me they do because I

22:10

always want the standings because it jars

22:13

topics, and so I looked at the standings

22:15

this morning. We're a month

22:17

in. We don't know everything, but you can tell

22:19

who's really good and who's really bad. There's a lot

22:21

of stuff in the middle, probably twenty four twenty three

22:23

teams in the middle, but there are six

22:26

to me bad teams in the league. They just have

22:28

too many issues. They're not very good teams. Bears,

22:31

Giants, Falcons, Panthers, Arizona

22:33

Raiders. Could be a coach, could

22:35

be an on line, could be a quarterback. They're

22:38

just not very good teams. That's the bottom of the league.

22:40

There's another like four or five teams whatever.

22:42

I'm going to wait a few weeks because they got something. Cincinnati's

22:45

got Burrow, Russell, Wilson, and

22:47

Peyton have kind of figured it out. The Jets defense

22:49

is great. Belichick's Belichick

22:51

and Tampa Baker's playing his butt off, and they have good

22:53

personnel. So those teams could be bad.

22:56

They could dovetail, but right now I'm not gonna say they're bad

22:58

teams. They're competitive, but

23:00

I would tell you outside of Arizona,

23:03

outside of Arizona and Cincinnati,

23:06

all those teams would draft Caleb Williams if they had

23:08

the number one pick. Arizona probably

23:11

does it with Kyler, and the Cincinnati Bengals

23:13

don't. They're not going to get rid of the Ohio kid, even

23:15

if he's hurt, and Caleb Williams

23:18

and his dad know

23:20

that. Now. I've

23:22

been told he played for the Raiders, but

23:24

do not be surprised if he pushed backs

23:26

on Chicago. The

23:28

Jets are the giants an

23:31

Arizona. Don't be surprised

23:33

if he pushes back. College

23:36

football players are empowered

23:38

now. First stage

23:41

they skip bowl game, second stage,

23:43

transfer portal explosion, third

23:45

stage nil money avalanche.

23:48

There is a fourth stage, and

23:51

that is dominant transformational

23:54

quarterbacks pushing back.

23:57

You were outraged when they skip balls.

24:00

I'll never watch college football again. SHED

24:02

app ratings are an all time high.

24:05

This transfer portal's ruining everything.

24:08

I'm not watching with the nil If players

24:10

are making millions, it might as well be pro football.

24:12

I'm not watching. SHED app

24:16

ratings are an all time ten year

24:18

high. You'll watch if your

24:20

team's good. I

24:22

don't want to hear you. Why about it. We've

24:25

had three stages of player empowerment,

24:28

skipping Bowl games, transfer, portal

24:30

explosion, nil, money avalanche,

24:33

bruh. That's not the final stage, the

24:36

final stage, and it's about time

24:38

where a transformational Caleb Williams,

24:41

Trevor Lawrence, Andrew Luck Like John Elway,

24:43

Eli Manning says, I'm not playing for Chicago.

24:46

You got no plan, defensive coach, defensive

24:48

culture, You've never had a great quarterback. I'm

24:50

not planning for you. Trade me. And by the way, Chicago

24:53

May say, okay, we'll take Drake May and

24:55

get like a billion picks. That's not bad either,

24:58

But I'm saying we I've seen three stages

25:01

of player empowerment in college football, and

25:04

many of you, because the fan base

25:06

for college football is older than the NBA,

25:09

older for soccer, older than

25:11

soccer, older than NBA, older than

25:13

the NFL, and all you do is grumble about

25:15

it, and you'll never watch college football again. I

25:17

don't want to hear it. College

25:20

football players, stars

25:23

have leverage. Caleb and

25:25

his dad know it. I got no problem.

25:28

I defend Elway, I defend Eli

25:31

Chicago hasn't earned the right to a transformational

25:33

quarterback. You've never had one

25:35

great quarterback. How many years

25:37

you been hanging out and playing in the NFL? Not

25:40

one ever, So

25:42

it's coming. Get

25:46

ready to threaten and never watch college football

25:48

again. Please.

25:51

Hey, this is Tom Ferducci from Fox

25:54

Sports, MLB Network and Sports Illustrated,

25:56

and.

25:56

I'm Joe Madden.

25:57

We're going to be around to talk a little bit about manager

26:00

decisions and what may have occurred to the dugout maybe

26:02

in the nineteen eighties.

26:03

It's the Book of Joe podcasts. I can't

26:05

wait for this, Joe.

26:06

We're going to dive into what goes on in the dugout

26:08

and behind the scenes in Major League.

26:10

Baseball, cars, wind, whatever else we want to talk

26:12

about.

26:12

Yeah, well there are no boundaries, right. Listen

26:15

to the Book of Joe podcast on the iHeartRadio

26:17

app, on Apple Podcasts or wherever

26:19

you get your podcasts.

26:22

Heard Hierarchy. Now, let's

26:25

go the top ten NFL teams

26:27

according to College Number ten.

26:29

I know you're gonna laugh, but I trust

26:31

the coach in the quarterback. The La Rams

26:34

Stafford has three hundred plus passing yards

26:36

and three of the fours first games, tied

26:38

for the most in the league. He's always been

26:40

a great come from behind quarterback. And we have to acknowledge

26:43

that Pooka Nakua is the rookie of

26:45

the year. If CJ. Stroud doesn't win it, this

26:47

kid's unguardable. It's incredible.

26:49

And I said in the off season they're

26:52

old in spots, but offensively

26:54

they got dudes. They've remade

26:56

the offensive line, move guys around.

26:58

The Rams have the co which in the quarterback

27:01

Aaron Donald remains dominant.

27:03

He's the second highest quitted defensive lineman

27:05

on PFF. Tyler Higbee,

27:08

Cooper Cupp comes back. They've done all this without

27:10

Cooper Cup. I have him at ten.

27:11

Number nine.

27:12

Detroit Lions. Listen, last fourteen games,

27:14

they've won eleven. We got to acknowledge

27:16

they're pretty good. They're defense, which we have

27:20

criticized. It's now number four.

27:22

They have a real pass rush twelve sacks

27:24

last two games. I've always thought Jared

27:26

Goff against the spread is money. He's

27:29

underrated. They have drafted and developed

27:31

well. They have been patient. I

27:33

like what I see Detroit at number nine,

27:36

number eight the Seahawks. They

27:38

don't give the ball up. One giveaway

27:40

all season. They leave the NFL

27:43

and sack differential sixteen

27:45

sacks, so they're getting after the quarterback.

27:48

They don't give the ball up. They've empowered

27:50

their run game. They drafted

27:53

what appears to be a star corner Charbonnay,

27:57

Charles Cross, Kenneth Walker, Witherspoon

28:00

ruling. They've hit back to back draft

28:02

home runs. They've got a Hall of Fame

28:04

level coach. They're playing well. Take

28:06

Week one out for the Rams beat Detroit

28:09

and Detroit. I don't know they're winning

28:11

road games traveling across the country.

28:13

I have Seattle at eight, number seven.

28:16

Lamar Jackson's good. Can we stop

28:18

second in completion percentage in the league

28:21

and you view them as a running quarterback. They

28:23

lead the NFL in red zone touchdowns.

28:26

A lot of teams struggle in the red zone, even

28:28

good teams. Not Baltimore

28:31

because of Lamar. This kid overcomes

28:34

more than anybody, sometimes his own injuries,

28:36

sometimes receiver injuries, O line injuries.

28:39

Now they know they faced a backup

28:41

quarterback. That helps. But I

28:43

love their culture. I love Lamar Baltimore

28:45

at seven, number six the Cowboys.

28:47

All their wins are by twenty plus points.

28:50

They lead the NFL in turnover differential.

28:52

They speed the game up. Now that may

28:55

not matter for the Niners, but that's what they do. Opposing

28:57

quarterbacks passer rating against the Cowboys

28:59

this year fifty five, that's

29:02

it. Lead the NFL in third down

29:04

percentage. Opposing quarterbacks

29:06

have struggled with or without trey Von

29:08

Diggs. Their defensive front has playmakers

29:10

Cowboys at six. Number five Philadelphia

29:13

Jalen Hurtz has won twenty one

29:15

of his last twenty two games. I don't even think they're playing

29:17

that well. They have the best online D

29:20

line combination in the league. Four and

29:22

oh for the struck the second straight year. They were eight to

29:24

o to start last year. And listen,

29:26

one of the things about Jalen Hurts that I like, there's

29:28

no dink and dunk here. They have seven

29:30

completions and four touchdown passes

29:33

of twenty five plus yards. If

29:35

you start crowding the box with them, they

29:37

will burn you over the top.

29:39

So they're not playing well and they're four and

29:41

oh. How many teams in football could

29:43

say that Number four

29:46

Miami number one scoring offense

29:49

better for a track meet

29:51

than an alley fight. Their weakness

29:54

is This isn't a very good defense, and it's not

29:56

a very good offensive line. What it is

29:58

is a very very accurate quarterback,

30:01

the fastest team in the league at

30:03

wide receiver, a brilliant head

30:05

coach. Maybe ahead of the league

30:07

in their motion offense, but in the end,

30:10

this is a team built for high scoring

30:12

affairs. New England and Buffalo's defense

30:14

gave them problems. Miami at four

30:16

number three, so Kansas City could use

30:19

their receivers, but has a significantly

30:21

better defense than Miami and

30:24

a much better offensive line. Patrick

30:26

Mahomes leasat quarterback

30:28

in the NFL this season, only been hit twice.

30:30

Now, some of that's he runs around, but I love

30:33

their defense. They've held opponents to twenty

30:35

one or fewer points in all four games. Their

30:37

issue, and I think it's a real issue. They may have

30:39

to address the trade deadline. Outside of Kelsey,

30:41

they just don't get enough separation they

30:45

even with Mahomes, look at what they're scoring.

30:48

They need a big

30:50

play receiver. I'm not talking Tyreek Hiller,

30:52

Jalen Waddell. It is an issue,

30:54

and I'm not sure it's solvable with

30:56

their wide receiving personnel. Number

30:59

two, nobody falls in love with Buffalo

31:01

when they start rolling down teams. But they have done something

31:03

that I like. They are far less

31:05

dependent on the big play. They're running

31:08

the ball metal better. Josh Allen's

31:10

running less. Josh Allen's completion

31:12

percentage is seventy five percent. So

31:14

what they always had is the ability to be Superman

31:17

and fly above the clouds. But they didn't

31:19

do the little things right. They were bad at details

31:21

where Cincinnati and Kansas City were great at

31:24

those. Now they can run the ball without Josh.

31:27

Now They're completion percentage is seventy five percent.

31:30

They have buttoned up a lot of the

31:32

issues we've had with them. Now maybe

31:34

you know October November comes around, but

31:37

they're not just home run Buffalo.

31:39

You've gotten better at small ball and

31:42

little things and it's noticeable. Number

31:44

one, I mean, what do you want me to say With San Francisco.

31:46

I mean, everybody loves the Cowboys and they're

31:49

a favorite all right over a field goal,

31:51

highest gridded defense, Hall of Famers,

31:53

everywhere, Fourteen straight regular

31:56

season wins. Purty doesn't make any mistakes.

31:58

Christian McCaffrey should be in the running

32:00

for MVP. I think San

32:02

Francisco, Buffalo, Kansas City, and Miami

32:04

kind of feel different. Now throw in Philadelphia feel

32:07

a little different than everybody else in the league. I

32:09

do think it's impressive that Philadelphia hasn't played

32:11

well and is four and oh but

32:13

that is my Herd hierarchy.

32:15

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd

32:17

weekdays and Noone Easter not a em Pacific

32:20

on Fox Sports Radio FS one

32:22

and the iHeartRadio app.

32:24

I can tell you right now what Nick Wright joining

32:26

us live is gonna say. I can tell

32:28

you right now.

32:31

Let me guess.

32:33

You're gonna say, Oh, Colin

32:36

Buffalo, Buffalo,

32:38

and it's fair, but

32:41

I will say that you have to give

32:44

credit where credit's due. And they

32:46

used to be just Howitzer's everywhere,

32:49

no details. They do

32:51

look like they figured out the small

32:53

stuff, which, by the way, is what Andy Reid masters

32:56

in, not only the big plays. They're

32:58

so tight. Buffalo's

33:01

pretty good. Can you acknowledge that?

33:02

Okay, so I haven't even spoken

33:04

yet. You just said that's not actually

33:07

what I was gonna say. What I was gonna

33:09

say was did you call me

33:11

a beatnik before I came

33:14

on?

33:14

Was that the term you used?

33:16

But instead I will focus on

33:19

the back to back September champions

33:22

and the back to back September MVP Josh

33:24

on the Buffalo Bills, this is

33:26

their sweet spot.

33:28

Man, Yeah, a pre.

33:29

Halloween wowing everyone.

33:31

And I get it.

33:32

Everyone correctly is saying, Nick,

33:35

we've got to downgrade the Chiefs

33:37

for playing a team as bad as the Jets,

33:40

barely winning and Mahomes having two

33:43

turnovers, which is why we're elevating

33:46

a team that lost to the Jets whose

33:48

quarterback had four turnovers. I mean,

33:51

everyone is so prisoner

33:54

of the moment. The Chiefs looked

33:56

kind of bad against the Jets. The Bills

33:59

lost to the Jets, and we're elevating

34:01

them. But that's fine, Listen, I got no problem with it. I'm

34:03

happy for Buffalo. The folks in upstate

34:05

New York are good people. I went to college

34:07

up there. They don't win championships,

34:10

So a September championship is about as

34:12

good as you can hope for. Now.

34:14

Where I will give your herd hierarchy

34:16

credit is this, and I might have

34:19

this team even a touch higher. The

34:21

Seattle Seahawks deserve a

34:24

lot of respect, and that

34:26

to me is a sneaky

34:28

scary team. Everybody

34:31

is just just handing

34:33

the Niners the NFC West

34:35

maybe or maybe the Niners lose

34:37

to the Cowboys this week and the Seahawks,

34:40

if you look at NY have a bye this week. What their schedule

34:42

is before, they have just a brutal four game

34:45

stretch late in the year where they go Niners,

34:47

Dallas, Niners, Eagles, Seattle

34:49

much like Kansas City. Colin played

34:52

a ton of rookies last year. Yes,

34:54

now all those guys are improved

34:57

players. You played two rookie

34:59

tackles, their offensive lines and banged

35:01

up. They're winning anyway. Gino has played

35:03

excellent again in the inside

35:06

of this offense, and they're getting Jamal

35:08

Adams backers those I'm back. Last night he got like

35:10

two plays and the number five pick

35:12

they got from the Russell Wilson trade Devon Witherspoon.

35:15

They look like they have two awesome corners

35:17

and Riek Wool and Witherspoon. I

35:20

like Seattle a lot, so I like the hierarchy,

35:22

and I got no problem give Buffalo their September

35:24

flowers. They've earned it.

35:25

So everybody was given the jets of moral victory.

35:28

But I said, this is what great teams do, and

35:31

they get out to a lead, scuff

35:33

around for a couple of quarters, but in the end

35:36

Zach Wilson fumbled on the biggest drive and

35:38

then Mahomes got it and went seven to twenty four slid

35:41

Toyd manipulated. It's like, yeah,

35:43

that's exactly what good teams and good franchises

35:45

due to bad teams in bad franchises. I

35:47

thought that seven minute, twenty four second

35:49

drive by Mahomes is just such.

35:52

It felt almost brady, but with more

35:54

scrambling. You out play him, you

35:56

got him in a corner, you're good and

35:59

they figure out way. The Great Jets

36:01

Defense Caves was seven and a half

36:04

minute drive. That was my take.

36:06

Let's okay, so I have a few takes

36:08

there. First of all, let's talk

36:10

I saw the show yesterday. I

36:12

know j Mac and Sauce Gardner very

36:14

upset about the officiating. So let's talk

36:16

about the officiating, which clearly

36:19

favored the chiefs. Aside from you know, the

36:21

safety that wasn't a safety that the

36:23

REFT came on the broadcast and said,

36:26

yeah, that's a bad call, and the horse collar

36:28

that was actually just a regular tackle that the

36:30

REFT came on the broadcast and said, yeah,

36:32

that's was the wrong call, hurting

36:34

the Chiefs and even Sauce. Sauce

36:37

had a very interestant comment where he said,

36:39

I didn't hold him late Colin.

36:42

If I say to you I didn't rob your

36:44

house Tuesday, does that

36:46

mean I didn't rob your house or I'm like, I didn't do it

36:49

that day. Sauce seemed to be admitting to

36:51

the obvious hold on MBS early

36:53

in the route. But even if

36:55

they had thrown a flag on

36:58

and then the mishold third

37:00

and twenty two, oh my god, they missed a hold

37:02

in the home scramble. There had already been

37:04

a penalty on the Jets on

37:06

that play, so it would have been offsetting. So what do

37:08

I think Patrick would have done?

37:10

Well?

37:10

On third and twelve he ran for a first down

37:12

and they called it back. Then on third and twenty two, he

37:14

ran for a first down. So if they had called it back, I bet

37:16

he would have found a way because that's

37:18

what he does. And this is what I want to bring to you

37:22

is Patrick Mahomes the

37:25

most reliable scrambler

37:28

we've ever seen.

37:29

And by that I mean this.

37:31

He's not the most dynamic, and he doesn't do

37:33

it the most, and he's not as

37:35

power overpowering as Josh Allen or as

37:37

graceful as Lamar. I understand all of that, but

37:40

Colin, has there ever been a quarterback

37:42

in your life that when he takes

37:45

off, you're more confident he's

37:47

going to get exactly how far

37:49

he needs to. If he needs nine yards,

37:51

he's getting ten. He seems to only

37:54

run when he knows he can get it. And

37:57

here is a crazy stat that you're not

37:59

gonna be able to find anywhere, because if you look

38:01

at mahomes career rushing average,

38:04

it's five point two per carrot.

38:06

But that's because he's done so

38:09

many kneel downs. If you take

38:11

out kneel downs, he's seven

38:14

point two yards per attempt, which

38:16

is more than Allen, more than Lamar,

38:19

more than fields. So he's the most talented

38:21

passer ever and might be the most

38:23

efficient running quarterback ever. That's

38:26

why he can have a D minus game against

38:28

a great defense and still have to

38:30

hit the mercy button to not score thirty.

38:32

Well, I think Steve Young had that ability,

38:34

and Young and Mahomes are two of the smartest quarter

38:37

one. Yeah, the two of the smartest people that have

38:39

ever played quarterback. I tell people

38:41

this about Mahomes, you know, when

38:43

you discuss it, I said people, because he's so gifted,

38:46

and Steve Young was so talented. At some point

38:49

you're like we always said with Manning, Peyton

38:51

Manning, he's a genius. Well

38:53

so with Steve Young and Mahomes, but they were so

38:55

dynamic you don't give him credit for that. Patrick's

38:58

ability in running isn't just his

39:00

ability to run, to your point, He's not as dynamic.

39:03

He is so smart. He's so intuitive,

39:06

he knows when to

39:08

run and like the Super Bowl with a bad

39:11

round with a bat, He's really one

39:13

of the smartest quarterbacks in league history. Now,

39:16

I said this earlier today.

39:19

The silver lining to the Giants is there's

39:22

about five teams in the league. We know

39:24

we're bad in there. One of them

39:26

you can get out of the Daniel Jones contract.

39:28

In twenty twenty five, They're

39:30

gonna have a shot to pick the second, third,

39:32

fourth, best quarterback and the best college quarterback

39:35

prospect draft. Ever, I draft another

39:37

quarterback, and Daniel Jones

39:39

is big, young, athletic, and

39:41

the contract twenty twenty five year out, you can

39:43

move him for a fourth round pick. The

39:46

Niners got a fourth rounder for translance. So

39:48

my takeaway is the silver lining for the

39:50

Giants is day bole can't fix him

39:53

draft another quarterback, but we have to come

39:55

to terms here. This doesn't work.

39:57

That's not hyperbolic, right, of.

39:59

Course, that's exactly no, of course it's

40:01

not. I mean, it's exactly right. And

40:03

if if they have a top five

40:05

pick and they don't draft a quarterback,

40:08

that to me is just

40:10

unforgivable. Like everything

40:13

you said there is exactly right

40:15

now yesterday, I am not putting

40:17

the entirety of last nine and Daniel Jones,

40:19

that Seattle defensive front annihilated

40:22

their offensive line, but he is

40:24

who he is, and aside from

40:27

the second half of one game

40:29

this year, he and

40:31

the whole team, but particularly the

40:33

offense has been absolutely

40:36

abysmal.

40:37

Colin.

40:37

They have the worst point differential

40:39

in the NFL, despite the fact

40:42

that Denver lost by fifty and

40:44

we're only four weeks in and

40:46

so yes, of course you're right. My

40:48

only gripe with the Giants,

40:51

and I guess you can't do anything about it now is

40:54

everyone I thought acknowledge

40:57

the reason the franchise tag

40:59

exists was for the exact

41:01

scenario you had with Daniel Jones, a

41:04

quarterback that you were unsure of who

41:07

in his contract year

41:09

had a good season, but you don't

41:11

want to commit too long term. They

41:14

had it sitting right there, and

41:16

instead, because they didn't want to overpay

41:19

a running back, they gave Daniel

41:21

this contract that you're right, they can get

41:23

out of in two years. But a franchise

41:26

tag is just done after one

41:28

year with no dead money. So that

41:30

was a huge to me with by Joe

41:32

Shane the office, the general manager.

41:35

But of course you can't double down on

41:37

the mistake by just writing with Daniel

41:39

Jones in perpetuity when

41:42

he obviously is not the guy.

41:44

Obviously. One of my favorite things

41:47

about you when I first heard you is your

41:50

willingness to say things that you know you'll get

41:52

pushback on, but you're always willing to move

41:54

the football and take chances. And you

41:56

said something on my podcast at the volume,

41:58

which got a lot of play even on local radio

42:01

here in Los Angeles I was listening, is that

42:04

we all know that as good as a TJ. Watt

42:06

is, he's not worth a point, right,

42:09

Like as good as Stefan Diggs is, he's

42:11

probably worth.

42:11

To the Vegas spread.

42:12

Yeah one point, yep. Caleb

42:15

Williams tomorrow is worth four on

42:17

a bad team, six on a good team,

42:19

eight on a great offensive line team. And

42:22

that you said something about Caleb Williams,

42:24

and I want you to repeat it here about

42:27

Well.

42:27

I just his one

42:29

of the sixth most valuable quarterbacks

42:31

alive. I think that right

42:33

now, this moment. Patrick

42:35

Mahomes, Trevor Lawrence,

42:38

Josh Allen, Joe Burrow.

42:42

That's for me, the

42:45

entire list. I know you

42:47

include Justin Herbert and

42:49

some people might include Jalen

42:51

Hurts.

42:51

Yeah, but that is the.

42:53

Furthest end of it. Every

42:55

other quarterback alive, he's more

42:58

valuable than meaning. If

43:00

you get the number one pick of the draft

43:02

and someone calls you and says, I'll

43:05

trade you Dak Prescott for it, I

43:07

hang up on him. Calls you and says I'll

43:09

trade you Bryce Young for it, I

43:11

hang up on him. If they call you and

43:14

say I'll trade you Lamar Jackson for

43:16

him, I like you, Lamar.

43:17

I hang up on them.

43:19

There are certain guys, and

43:21

I know people say, oh, you never know,

43:23

it's a crap shoot sometimes

43:27

and sometimes you have a player who

43:29

the first moment he

43:31

walked into college football, he

43:33

was in playing in Oklahoma in

43:36

the biggest rivalry in the country, Texas.

43:38

Ou as a freshman down

43:40

twenty one points and brought

43:43

them back and has never looked

43:45

back since. He is now playing

43:47

this seat after winning the Heisman Trophy.

43:50

He is far better this

43:52

year than last year.

43:53

He's made one mistake the.

43:55

Entire year, and the only reason his numbers aren't

43:58

better is because up until this past week

44:00

he'd been being taken out in the fourth

44:02

quarter of all these games. He is,

44:05

in my opinion, Colin. And here's the other

44:07

thing. I think he might

44:10

be the new proto

44:12

type. And by that I mean there

44:14

were once upon a time it was six

44:16

four and above statuesque

44:19

in the pocket those quarterbacks. That

44:21

is not what we're looking for anymore.

44:23

He is big enough, he is strong

44:26

enough, and he is creative

44:28

on a level we really have only seen Mahomes

44:31

be. Yeah. I mean, this is

44:33

why the Bears should not be

44:35

devastated. Chicago, use

44:38

your pick on Caleb, Use the

44:40

Panthers pick on Marvin Harrison. Then

44:43

go pluck Ben Johnson, the Lions

44:45

offensive coordinator away from a divisional

44:47

rival. Make him your head coach

44:49

and go roll. I am

44:52

not trying to overhype it. I

44:55

you know, I liked Baker coming out. There are other guys

44:57

I've liked coming out. The only other person

44:59

I've in this confident on his Trevor and

45:02

I just think he is generational upon

45:05

generational, and I think it's legit with him.

45:07

All right, I only have a couple of minutes left, but I

45:09

wanted your take for years. You have

45:11

accurately to some degree, said, you

45:13

know Boston wins the offseason,

45:16

they stockpile picks, they

45:18

don't win. But I did think

45:21

Porzingis made them more dynamic,

45:23

though I don't trust him to play over fifty five games.

45:26

But Drew Holliday is

45:28

a much better offensive player

45:30

than Marcus Smart. They'll be less

45:33

reliant on Tatum to save every

45:35

fourth quarter. I kind

45:37

of think they jump Milwaukee here. I

45:39

think Boston gets to the finals. Am I nuts?

45:43

No?

45:43

Well, I don't think you're nuts. It's obviously like

45:46

a I think they are.

45:48

Pardon me. I think relying on.

45:49

Chris STAPs is a risky

45:51

bet, right, but even remove

45:54

him, Drew, Derek White, Jalen

45:56

Brown, Jason Tatum as four of your five

45:58

starters. Even though they're head coach Joe

46:00

Mizula doesn't value defense the way Udoka

46:03

did. They will be a top three

46:05

defense in basketball by default.

46:08

You have three outstanding

46:11

defenders and Drew, Derek White, and Jalen

46:13

Brown and one good defender

46:15

in Jason Tatum in your starting

46:17

lineup. So I really do like what

46:19

they did, and I think they needed

46:21

Marcus Smart was the first

46:23

guy of the young guys there. He

46:25

was there before Tatum, before Brown, and

46:28

he kind of took too much ownership

46:30

of the offense late in games, so that could

46:32

be a little addition by subtraction. So

46:34

I do really like what Boston did.

46:37

I just think the Yannis Dame

46:39

pick and roll might end up being

46:42

the most dynamic, unguardable play

46:44

in the sport this year. So it's

46:46

not so much that I am not believing

46:49

in Boston as much as I think

46:51

Giannis's destiny is to

46:53

be one of the fifteen greatest players ever

46:55

to live. In order to do that, he

46:57

needs to start making a bunch more finals,

47:00

and he now has, other than Steph,

47:02

the perfect compliment to his

47:04

talent because of the floor spacing. So

47:06

I really like what Milwaukee did, But

47:09

Boston deserves credit, and Miami

47:11

lost the Dame trade twice. Tough

47:14

spot, man, You lose out on Dame

47:16

and Milwaukee gets better, and then you lose

47:18

out on Drew and Boston gets better. Tough

47:20

spot for the Miami Heat.

47:22

As your mentor in America's honesty

47:24

broker, I want to wish you a happy birthday,

47:26

but also acknowledge, oh for your

47:28

birthday, instead of getting a present,

47:30

a physical present, my present to

47:32

you is you deal

47:35

with stress, playing poker or

47:38

smoking cigars, and one of those has

47:40

to go. And I think you know which one it is. So

47:42

what are you gonna give you? What are you gonna

47:44

get out? I worry about Wow this

47:47

on air intervention.

47:48

All right, Well, I'm obviously not gonna quit

47:51

gambling, so I guess Colin

47:53

Goward's telling me I gotta quit smoking. All

47:55

right, that's fine, no problem, Coward. I'll

47:57

do that for you for my birthday.

48:00

You know what I thought you were gonna give me for my birthday

48:03

as my richest friend, a bunch

48:05

of money. Instead, you're making me quit

48:07

smoking.

48:08

Thanks for nothing, calculator Nick

48:11

Wright, Happy birthday to my friend.

48:13

First Things First is the fastest growing

48:15

show on cable in sports, he's crushing

48:18

it.

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