Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to three eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the Herd at Fox Sportsradio dot com, or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

Thanks for listening to the Best of the Herd podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to three eastern nine am to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the Herd at Fox Sportsradio dot com, or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR.

This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher on Fox Sports Radio.

This is the Best of the Herd with Colin cowher on Fox Sports Radio.

All Right, here we go, lie Man.

All Right, here we go, lie Man.

Los Angeles hits the Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, Thanks for making us on a Monday part of your day. It was a glorious weekend. I gotta watch like you did. All these rookie quarterbacks play, and throughout the course of the show we'll talk about each one one hour from now. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Jmacoff Ryan filling in for him. But I want to start. I had sort of thought that the Olympics were done. I had watched them. Nothing felt special. These were amazing, and a lot of it was the men's basketball, which almost twenty million people watched that gold medal win. That is insane. That's that is the biggest number of fans that have watched a single basketball game in this country in a long time, twenty million people. So, and it came down to Steph and Lebron. But primarily Steph is the only reason we watched that game and won that game, not watched it, but won it. And what's amazing about Steph all these years he's had doubters. I remember when he got to the last finals. It was against Boston, and I can remember the chorus of people that said, well, you know, finals, MVP. I mean, if you don't win one of those that, I'm like, you're doubting him. Well, you still don't think he's great. You don't qualify as an all time great. You just look silly doubting Steph Curry. Take out Magic Johnson. He is by far and away the best point guard ever. Only Magic is close. And Magic couldn't score like this. Magic elevated others, Magic could play more positions.

Los Angeles hits the Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, Thanks for making us on a Monday part of your day. It was a glorious weekend. I gotta watch like you did. All these rookie quarterbacks play, and throughout the course of the show we'll talk about each one one hour from now. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Jmacoff Ryan filling in for him. But I want to start. I had sort of thought that the Olympics were done. I had watched them. Nothing felt special. These were amazing, and a lot of it was the men's basketball, which almost twenty million people watched that gold medal win. That is insane. That's that is the biggest number of fans that have watched a single basketball game in this country in a long time, twenty million people. So, and it came down to Steph and Lebron. But primarily Steph is the only reason we watched that game and won that game, not watched it, but won it. And what's amazing about Steph all these years he's had doubters. I remember when he got to the last finals. It was against Boston, and I can remember the chorus of people that said, well, you know, finals, MVP. I mean, if you don't win one of those that, I'm like, you're doubting him. Well, you still don't think he's great. You don't qualify as an all time great. You just look silly doubting Steph Curry. Take out Magic Johnson. He is by far and away the best point guard ever. Only Magic is close. And Magic couldn't score like this. Magic elevated others, Magic could play more positions.

He didn't do this.

He didn't do this.

And when other players like Lebron James not just look at you, but kind of look at you in awe and you can do things they can't. Lebron's the great Swiss army knife in basketball. He can duplicate almost anything, But he can't do what Steph does. And the next greatest point guard, Magic Johnson, he can't do what Steph does. Steph can do a lot of things nobody else, even the great ones, can duplicate. Add in the IQ, the EQ, the confidence, the leadership, the coach ability, the willingness, the self awareness to let others dominate for a time. But what's crazy is the shots that he takes would be audacious looking for everybody in the league. If Aunt Edwards took those shots, and we all love Ant, you'd be like, oh, yeah, he has his game's not refined yet.

And when other players like Lebron James not just look at you, but kind of look at you in awe and you can do things they can't. Lebron's the great Swiss army knife in basketball. He can duplicate almost anything, But he can't do what Steph does. And the next greatest point guard, Magic Johnson, he can't do what Steph does. Steph can do a lot of things nobody else, even the great ones, can duplicate. Add in the IQ, the EQ, the confidence, the leadership, the coach ability, the willingness, the self awareness to let others dominate for a time. But what's crazy is the shots that he takes would be audacious looking for everybody in the league. If Aunt Edwards took those shots, and we all love Ant, you'd be like, oh, yeah, he has his game's not refined yet.

I like Ant.

I like Ant.

That's a bad shot for Ant, not a guy off the bench. For most of the league, these shots are audacious, and for Steph you're like, yeah, he's got to take those. Steph's got to take these shots. And he did. And Team USA is now twenty nine to oh when Steph's playing for him twenty nine to oh. And a lot of great players, you know, golf has a little bit of this, Baseball's got some of this. A lot of great shooters when they're off, like Jason Tatum. Jason Tatum couldn't hit jumpers. He shrinks like he shrinks, Steph doesn't. Steph's last two games, he didn't play good early. He didn't good, he didn't play well early. His last two games he shot sixty five percent from three, So he is. It's not just that he's the best shooter ever. He has the highest scoring ceiling ever. We all love Patrick Mahomes, but all quarterbacks, it's six points for all the touchdowns. And everybody knows Aaron Judge is great, but if the bases are empty, it's one run. When you're really an all timer, you can make all time greats feel less than or outdated. Michael Jordan mathematically, Michael Jordan's mid range game is outdated. Step back two steps, the skyhook outdated? Why take a twelve foot hook like dunket or shoot a three? Steph can make things and players and games and people look outdated. There is only one guy and only one reason Team USA won the Gold and it's not Lebron.

That's a bad shot for Ant, not a guy off the bench. For most of the league, these shots are audacious, and for Steph you're like, yeah, he's got to take those. Steph's got to take these shots. And he did. And Team USA is now twenty nine to oh when Steph's playing for him twenty nine to oh. And a lot of great players, you know, golf has a little bit of this, Baseball's got some of this. A lot of great shooters when they're off, like Jason Tatum. Jason Tatum couldn't hit jumpers. He shrinks like he shrinks, Steph doesn't. Steph's last two games, he didn't play good early. He didn't good, he didn't play well early. His last two games he shot sixty five percent from three, So he is. It's not just that he's the best shooter ever. He has the highest scoring ceiling ever. We all love Patrick Mahomes, but all quarterbacks, it's six points for all the touchdowns. And everybody knows Aaron Judge is great, but if the bases are empty, it's one run. When you're really an all timer, you can make all time greats feel less than or outdated. Michael Jordan mathematically, Michael Jordan's mid range game is outdated. Step back two steps, the skyhook outdated? Why take a twelve foot hook like dunket or shoot a three? Steph can make things and players and games and people look outdated. There is only one guy and only one reason Team USA won the Gold and it's not Lebron.

It's Steph.

It's Steph.

He's the fastest, score more points faster than any but he's done it. Shots that would be audacious by anybody else in the league. You'll get your throw up, a couple of uglies that may be the only other guy that can shoot from twenty nine falling away with a man in his face, and we're like, it's not a bad shot. So I we loved to Barry Stars and we did that. We wanted to bury far before he was done, and this is just what we do. We had Lebron was done four years ago. But what you're watching there is nobody can duplicate it. When you shoot shots that would be outrageous, would seem ridiculous, ill advised, and yet with Steph you want him to take those. Tatum struggled early. Tatum struggled, Steph struggled early. He's the singular reason we won the gold, all right. So it was an interesting weekend for all these rookie quarterbacks. Everybody kind of looked like you thought they would look like bo Nicks was accurate. Caleb Williams can move, Drake May's got some rust he just needs. I feel like with Drake May, we should just wait a year and then come back in a year and make a judgment on him. He's just not He's just not as polished as everybody was. And you kind of knew that coming in. But Caleb Williams, I love what teammates are saying about him because you can't full teammates. DJ Moore said, outstanding, cole Comet the tight end said second to none. So he had one hundred and two passer rating, thirteen yard scramble, twenty snaps. And what's interesting about Caleb is you have to, like Jordan Love of the Packers, you have to go to the year before he was drafted. So the year before Caleb was drafted forty two touchdown passes, five picks, forty five hundred yards. And then the final year at USC, old line was a mess. The team was not competitive by week eight. They wouldn't call certain plays because the old line struggled. They didn't want to get him hurt. But like Jordan Love, because college you can have really good coaches get replaced by a really bad coach. In the NFL, even bad coaching is usually competent. USC last year had an incompetent defensive coordinator. They couldn't stop anybody. Every game was attract me. Every game you had to throw fifty times, but you couldn't. That's the way it worked. So in college football, you can replace a good coach or hire a coach that just isn't good. In the NFL. You may be a bad fit, but most people are competent. Brandon Staley as side. But I think when I watched Caleb Williams, I feel like because Lincoln Riley was polarizing and is and the way he left Oklahoma, and because Caleb Williams was the first NIL star and the fingernails, and he's emotional, he's polarizing. So there's some haters out there, There's no question there's haters. Whereas a Baker Mayfield comes in, he's a little shorter than he should be. He almost looked plump. He not hyper athletic. Translate, American guys can root for him. He kind of looks like them. Caleb Williams doesn't. And the Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for USC and it's Hollywood, it's arrogant, it's USC. It's Southern California. People that don't go to Southern California have never lived there. Go to the internet. They're all experts on it. They've all got an opinion on it. So don't allow your feelings to get in the way of the truth. Here, the arm, the movement, the confidence, it's just different. Mahomes is a completely accurate comp and it's not his fault. The nile exploded when Caleb Williams came to USC. One of his early deals, he got all his offensive linemen paid. If you remember the Heisman ceremony, he had his offensive lineman there. I don't think he's a bad guy. I think, as Jordan Palmer said Thursday on this show, I think he got bored.

He's the fastest, score more points faster than any but he's done it. Shots that would be audacious by anybody else in the league. You'll get your throw up, a couple of uglies that may be the only other guy that can shoot from twenty nine falling away with a man in his face, and we're like, it's not a bad shot. So I we loved to Barry Stars and we did that. We wanted to bury far before he was done, and this is just what we do. We had Lebron was done four years ago. But what you're watching there is nobody can duplicate it. When you shoot shots that would be outrageous, would seem ridiculous, ill advised, and yet with Steph you want him to take those. Tatum struggled early. Tatum struggled, Steph struggled early. He's the singular reason we won the gold, all right. So it was an interesting weekend for all these rookie quarterbacks. Everybody kind of looked like you thought they would look like bo Nicks was accurate. Caleb Williams can move, Drake May's got some rust he just needs. I feel like with Drake May, we should just wait a year and then come back in a year and make a judgment on him. He's just not He's just not as polished as everybody was. And you kind of knew that coming in. But Caleb Williams, I love what teammates are saying about him because you can't full teammates. DJ Moore said, outstanding, cole Comet the tight end said second to none. So he had one hundred and two passer rating, thirteen yard scramble, twenty snaps. And what's interesting about Caleb is you have to, like Jordan Love of the Packers, you have to go to the year before he was drafted. So the year before Caleb was drafted forty two touchdown passes, five picks, forty five hundred yards. And then the final year at USC, old line was a mess. The team was not competitive by week eight. They wouldn't call certain plays because the old line struggled. They didn't want to get him hurt. But like Jordan Love, because college you can have really good coaches get replaced by a really bad coach. In the NFL, even bad coaching is usually competent. USC last year had an incompetent defensive coordinator. They couldn't stop anybody. Every game was attract me. Every game you had to throw fifty times, but you couldn't. That's the way it worked. So in college football, you can replace a good coach or hire a coach that just isn't good. In the NFL. You may be a bad fit, but most people are competent. Brandon Staley as side. But I think when I watched Caleb Williams, I feel like because Lincoln Riley was polarizing and is and the way he left Oklahoma, and because Caleb Williams was the first NIL star and the fingernails, and he's emotional, he's polarizing. So there's some haters out there, There's no question there's haters. Whereas a Baker Mayfield comes in, he's a little shorter than he should be. He almost looked plump. He not hyper athletic. Translate, American guys can root for him. He kind of looks like them. Caleb Williams doesn't. And the Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma for USC and it's Hollywood, it's arrogant, it's USC. It's Southern California. People that don't go to Southern California have never lived there. Go to the internet. They're all experts on it. They've all got an opinion on it. So don't allow your feelings to get in the way of the truth. Here, the arm, the movement, the confidence, it's just different. Mahomes is a completely accurate comp and it's not his fault. The nile exploded when Caleb Williams came to USC. One of his early deals, he got all his offensive linemen paid. If you remember the Heisman ceremony, he had his offensive lineman there. I don't think he's a bad guy. I think, as Jordan Palmer said Thursday on this show, I think he got bored.

I think he was bored last year at USC.

I think he was bored last year at USC.

And once they weren't competitive, once they weren't going to get to the playoff, the coaches didn't want to call certain plays. They didn't trust the offensive line. Link kN Riley won in the Heisman. Lincoln Riley was not going to get Caleb Williams hurt. He was not going to play him lay in games. He was not going to get him hurt. He would not call certain protections. So go, like Jordan Love, go to the year before where Caleb Williams took four and eight and an awful roster to one play away from twelve to two, one play against Tulane. And what's interesting is, as I was watching this, usually big cities, not small towns or on the cutting edge of things. You know many many of the you know Silicon Valley in California or Wall Street in New York. Cutting edge technology don't come from small towns, but little small Green Bay in the same division has been light years ahead of Chicago's offense forever, and I felt like watching it this weekend, the Bears offense finally got Wi Fi. It's like, oh, oh, no more, no more aol that weird, clunky sound. It's all Wi Fi. It's magical, That's what it felt like. It's gonna be efficient, it's gonna be dynamic, it's gonna be a lot of wow. And he only saw a couple of snaps, but it's it's I feel like there's not one word to describe Chicago offense.

And once they weren't competitive, once they weren't going to get to the playoff, the coaches didn't want to call certain plays. They didn't trust the offensive line. Link kN Riley won in the Heisman. Lincoln Riley was not going to get Caleb Williams hurt. He was not going to play him lay in games. He was not going to get him hurt. He would not call certain protections. So go, like Jordan Love, go to the year before where Caleb Williams took four and eight and an awful roster to one play away from twelve to two, one play against Tulane. And what's interesting is, as I was watching this, usually big cities, not small towns or on the cutting edge of things. You know many many of the you know Silicon Valley in California or Wall Street in New York. Cutting edge technology don't come from small towns, but little small Green Bay in the same division has been light years ahead of Chicago's offense forever, and I felt like watching it this weekend, the Bears offense finally got Wi Fi. It's like, oh, oh, no more, no more aol that weird, clunky sound. It's all Wi Fi. It's magical, That's what it felt like. It's gonna be efficient, it's gonna be dynamic, it's gonna be a lot of wow. And he only saw a couple of snaps, but it's it's I feel like there's not one word to describe Chicago offense.

There's like twenty and they're all bad.

There's like twenty and they're all bad.

In the same division with small market Green Bay that doesn't attract free agents. Green Bay has been doing offense right forever and Chicago's never done it right.

In the same division with small market Green Bay that doesn't attract free agents. Green Bay has been doing offense right forever and Chicago's never done it right.

And they got Wi Fi. And here's Caleb after the win. Last time I was out there on the field other than practice, it was November eights eight, and it's you know, you go that long without something, it's it's it's tough. But now it's been great. The guys have made it fun.

And they got Wi Fi. And here's Caleb after the win. Last time I was out there on the field other than practice, it was November eights eight, and it's you know, you go that long without something, it's it's it's tough. But now it's been great. The guys have made it fun.

They made it easy on me to get out there and and and and have the confidence you know that we had out there. It's it's only gonna get better, and we can't wait.

They made it easy on me to get out there and and and and have the confidence you know that we had out there. It's it's only gonna get better, and we can't wait.

All right.

All right.

Also, Jade and Daniels probably made the first or second best throw by any rookie quarterback. I thought most of the quarterbacks looked like they were advertised, and this batch of quarterbacks, Michael Pennix had a lot of starts Indiana and Washington, bow Knicks had a lot of starts at Auburn and Oregon. Jade and Daniels a lot of starts Arizona State and LSU. So I feel like I knew what I was getting. It was not one of these drafts where I don't know what Trey Lance is. I'm actually excited. His tape's great, he didn't played that much. Or Anthony Richardson from Florida one year starting to the Colts. I'm not really exactly sure. I'm getting glimpses of stuff. It feels exciting. I'd rather be optimistic than negative and pessimistic, but I don't know what I'm getting. I kind of felt like bow Knix looked like bow Knicks was going to look and so did Pennix, and so did Jade Daniels, and I watched two years of starting at USC. That's what Kayler Williams, that's what he looks like. So I mean, it's I don't remember the last time you get little early warning signs, signs of hope and desperation with rookie quarterbacks. I thought even Drake may who was the least impressive, he was kind of what I thought he would look like. JJ McCarthy was better than what I thought he would look like. We'll get to that top of the hour.

Also, Jade and Daniels probably made the first or second best throw by any rookie quarterback. I thought most of the quarterbacks looked like they were advertised, and this batch of quarterbacks, Michael Pennix had a lot of starts Indiana and Washington, bow Knicks had a lot of starts at Auburn and Oregon. Jade and Daniels a lot of starts Arizona State and LSU. So I feel like I knew what I was getting. It was not one of these drafts where I don't know what Trey Lance is. I'm actually excited. His tape's great, he didn't played that much. Or Anthony Richardson from Florida one year starting to the Colts. I'm not really exactly sure. I'm getting glimpses of stuff. It feels exciting. I'd rather be optimistic than negative and pessimistic, but I don't know what I'm getting. I kind of felt like bow Knix looked like bow Knicks was going to look and so did Pennix, and so did Jade Daniels, and I watched two years of starting at USC. That's what Kayler Williams, that's what he looks like. So I mean, it's I don't remember the last time you get little early warning signs, signs of hope and desperation with rookie quarterbacks. I thought even Drake may who was the least impressive, he was kind of what I thought he would look like. JJ McCarthy was better than what I thought he would look like. We'll get to that top of the hour.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon eastern nine am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app.

Well, we do this every Monday at this time. Strong opinions. Sometimes we whiff, sometimes we hit. It's called Colin was right, Colin was wrong, and here we.

Well, we do this every Monday at this time. Strong opinions. Sometimes we whiff, sometimes we hit. It's called Colin was right, Colin was wrong, and here we.

Go where Colin was right.

Go where Colin was right.

I've been saying this with Jason Tatum. Steve Kerr feels the same way Brad Stevens does. He doesn't know if he can trust him around other stars to take hold of the game. He went zero for sixteen on Jumpers Don't blame Steve Kerr. Jason Tatum didn't hit a jumper in the Olympics. He shrinks around other stars, and sometimes when he's on the court for a star, he's kind of invisible.

I've been saying this with Jason Tatum. Steve Kerr feels the same way Brad Stevens does. He doesn't know if he can trust him around other stars to take hold of the game. He went zero for sixteen on Jumpers Don't blame Steve Kerr. Jason Tatum didn't hit a jumper in the Olympics. He shrinks around other stars, and sometimes when he's on the court for a star, he's kind of invisible.

This is what I've been saying for years.

This is what I've been saying for years.

It's I know all the Celtic backers are mad at Steve Kerr.

It's I know all the Celtic backers are mad at Steve Kerr.

It's not a Steve kerrishue.

It's not a Steve kerrishue.

Jason Tatum went oh for sixteen one jumpers like he just he didn't make himself the best possible Jason Tatum. And when your bench includes Anthony Davis and Bam gonna buy you, you gotta work your way into playing time. I've always been a little bit cynical of the greatness of Jason Tatum and Steve Kerr.

Jason Tatum went oh for sixteen one jumpers like he just he didn't make himself the best possible Jason Tatum. And when your bench includes Anthony Davis and Bam gonna buy you, you gotta work your way into playing time. I've always been a little bit cynical of the greatness of Jason Tatum and Steve Kerr.

Grees where Colin was raw.

Grees where Colin was raw.

I thought the Olympics felt like they were sort of done, and I thought they were spectacular. Simone Biles Katie ledeki Team USA for the men it hit, it felt like it was a rebirth. The World Cup over the last twenty years feels like it has absolutely surpassed the Olympics as the big every four year sporting event. But the politics, in my opinion, are so ugly and divisive in America. We were looking for good news and NBC in the Olympics delivered it for three straight weeks. I could have got another couple of weeks. It was like make him longer. I thought it was just and it surprised me they. I mean, I really was not jacked up to watch the Olympics going in, and I thought it.

I thought the Olympics felt like they were sort of done, and I thought they were spectacular. Simone Biles Katie ledeki Team USA for the men it hit, it felt like it was a rebirth. The World Cup over the last twenty years feels like it has absolutely surpassed the Olympics as the big every four year sporting event. But the politics, in my opinion, are so ugly and divisive in America. We were looking for good news and NBC in the Olympics delivered it for three straight weeks. I could have got another couple of weeks. It was like make him longer. I thought it was just and it surprised me they. I mean, I really was not jacked up to watch the Olympics going in, and I thought it.

Was amazing where Colin was right.

Was amazing where Colin was right.

Well, I said, Jaden Daniels is really good. And there's a little Lamar Jackson here. He made the best throw by any rookie arguably this weekend. It came on an audible and here was his coach Dan Quinn talking about it.

Well, I said, Jaden Daniels is really good. And there's a little Lamar Jackson here. He made the best throw by any rookie arguably this weekend. It came on an audible and here was his coach Dan Quinn talking about it.

I thought, of top gun, do I have permission to buzz the tower? No? Ghost Rider? The pattern is full, and so I think on that one he wanted to ask for forgiveness and not permission and then throw, you know, an absolute dime, you know, over the top to Damie to go. So it was a really cool play.

I thought, of top gun, do I have permission to buzz the tower? No? Ghost Rider? The pattern is full, and so I think on that one he wanted to ask for forgiveness and not permission and then throw, you know, an absolute dime, you know, over the top to Damie to go. So it was a really cool play.

It was, and he played well where Colin was raw.

It was, and he played well where Colin was raw.

JJ McCarthy, you know, I've been a little bit questioning the greatness. Why didn't everybody move up the board to get him. Well, I thought he looked better than I thought, and I thought he moved better, played with a ton of confidence. I mean he's got a little Sam Darnold where he'll let it rip. I don't know how great his arm is. It's good enough. But I thought he played really well. Eleven to seventeen, one hundred and eighty eight yards. Even his interception, I didn't think. You got sometimes guys in the NFL are really good. It wasn't a terrible interception. He had a passer rating of one hundred and sixteen. He had two runs. He moved better than I thought, so I thought he was clever, he was nimble. Good for JJ. I still think Donald starts week one. They got a pretty rough first four or five weeks. But that was impressive where Colin was right Michael Pennix. That didn't surprise me. And this proves once again Pennis played well. It's okay in a league where sixty quarterbacks will take a snap to have an old guy coming off of surgery and a talented new guy maybe sits on the bench waiting in the wings, and I don't know how long he'll wait. But there's all this pushback. How can you draft him and have Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins is coming off surgery. They've got a good old line, they've got good offensive pieces. Here's something that's never a problem in the NFL. We've got one too many good quarterbacks. You can always live with that. Where Colin was raw, I tried to be so optimistic with Justin Fields, and then I watched Justin Fields and he took sacks and he had fumbles, and it's just it just he looks hesitant. He doesn't get rid of the ball quick enough. It's kind of who he is. Fumbles, sacked twice, he struggles like nothing. He can be brilliant, but he takes his eyes off the field whenever pressure's coming. He's been hit so much he doesn't look downfield. He's trying to find a lane to run it. Just as I said when he was in Chicago, it shouldn't be this hard for a big guy who moves well with a big arm. It shouldn't look that hard all the time. Where Colin was right, Ceedee Lamb didn't play for the Cowboys, and despite the fact that Stets invented of the rams through four interceptions, they could not score a touchdown. You got four interced when's the last time that ever happened in a game in the NFL where a team had four picks, some in good field position, and you still didn't get a touchdown. And this is my takeaway on the Cowboys. There is not a team in the NFL that is more dependent on a singular running back, tight end, or wide receiver than the Dallas Cowboys are. And if Cedi doesn't play, there's no juice, there's no pop. It's a lot of guys, and they got to get that contract thing figured out because nobody in the NFL is given this Cowboy defense four picks. You're not playing stets In Bennett in the regular season where Colin.

JJ McCarthy, you know, I've been a little bit questioning the greatness. Why didn't everybody move up the board to get him. Well, I thought he looked better than I thought, and I thought he moved better, played with a ton of confidence. I mean he's got a little Sam Darnold where he'll let it rip. I don't know how great his arm is. It's good enough. But I thought he played really well. Eleven to seventeen, one hundred and eighty eight yards. Even his interception, I didn't think. You got sometimes guys in the NFL are really good. It wasn't a terrible interception. He had a passer rating of one hundred and sixteen. He had two runs. He moved better than I thought, so I thought he was clever, he was nimble. Good for JJ. I still think Donald starts week one. They got a pretty rough first four or five weeks. But that was impressive where Colin was right Michael Pennix. That didn't surprise me. And this proves once again Pennis played well. It's okay in a league where sixty quarterbacks will take a snap to have an old guy coming off of surgery and a talented new guy maybe sits on the bench waiting in the wings, and I don't know how long he'll wait. But there's all this pushback. How can you draft him and have Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins is coming off surgery. They've got a good old line, they've got good offensive pieces. Here's something that's never a problem in the NFL. We've got one too many good quarterbacks. You can always live with that. Where Colin was raw, I tried to be so optimistic with Justin Fields, and then I watched Justin Fields and he took sacks and he had fumbles, and it's just it just he looks hesitant. He doesn't get rid of the ball quick enough. It's kind of who he is. Fumbles, sacked twice, he struggles like nothing. He can be brilliant, but he takes his eyes off the field whenever pressure's coming. He's been hit so much he doesn't look downfield. He's trying to find a lane to run it. Just as I said when he was in Chicago, it shouldn't be this hard for a big guy who moves well with a big arm. It shouldn't look that hard all the time. Where Colin was right, Ceedee Lamb didn't play for the Cowboys, and despite the fact that Stets invented of the rams through four interceptions, they could not score a touchdown. You got four interced when's the last time that ever happened in a game in the NFL where a team had four picks, some in good field position, and you still didn't get a touchdown. And this is my takeaway on the Cowboys. There is not a team in the NFL that is more dependent on a singular running back, tight end, or wide receiver than the Dallas Cowboys are. And if Cedi doesn't play, there's no juice, there's no pop. It's a lot of guys, and they got to get that contract thing figured out because nobody in the NFL is given this Cowboy defense four picks. You're not playing stets In Bennett in the regular season where Colin.

I've tried to support.

I've tried to support.

Dion Sanders, even though I thought initially Colorado was a weird fit. But I'm seeing the stuff that's kind of repetitive with Dion Sanders.

Dion Sanders, even though I thought initially Colorado was a weird fit. But I'm seeing the stuff that's kind of repetitive with Dion Sanders.

A lot of ego, very defensive.

A lot of ego, very defensive.

If you're gonna put yourself out there, coach, you're gonna you're shooting a flare off into the sky every day. Guess what, It's gonna attract people. And he melted down this weekend with the usually very supportive Colorado football media.

If you're gonna put yourself out there, coach, you're gonna you're shooting a flare off into the sky every day. Guess what, It's gonna attract people. And he melted down this weekend with the usually very supportive Colorado football media.

Eric Christensen with CBS Sports Colorado, Tyler, I'm not doing none with CBS next questions.

Eric Christensen with CBS Sports Colorado, Tyler, I'm not doing none with CBS next questions.

Above that, none of do with you. I love for you, I appreciate, respect you, and none to do with you.

Above that, none of do with you. I love for you, I appreciate, respect you, and none to do with you.

They know what they did.

They know what they did.

I'm here at Denver, not National. You are who you are, CBS, CBS.

I'm here at Denver, not National. You are who you are, CBS, CBS.

Oh boy, time for the coach to grow up a little.

Oh boy, time for the coach to grow up a little.

Where Colin was right, boh Nicks looked like the perfect fit. I'm telling you, it looks like Sean Payton Drew Brees. So he was, you know, he was exactly and he moves much better than people are gonna give him credit for.

Where Colin was right, boh Nicks looked like the perfect fit. I'm telling you, it looks like Sean Payton Drew Brees. So he was, you know, he was exactly and he moves much better than people are gonna give him credit for.

He actually moves really well. He moves better than Pennix I think.

He actually moves really well. He moves better than Pennix I think.

I mean, there's a handful of starters in the league that don't move like they moves better than Drew Brees. At the end, he's accurate gets I mean, you see how fast he gets rid of the ball there.

I mean, there's a handful of starters in the league that don't move like they moves better than Drew Brees. At the end, he's accurate gets I mean, you see how fast he gets rid of the ball there.

That ball.

That ball.

You got to get rid of that ball fast. So four or five for fifty yards and a touchdown. That's just on third down. He was really really good on third down where Colin was right. And finally you mocked me nesson, everybody made fun of me. When I said, keep your eye on Joe Milton out of Tennessee. The kids got talent. He's got talent. The offensive line facing four Decembers. He made this into a big play. Harball liked him. I think Joe Milton's got talent.

You got to get rid of that ball fast. So four or five for fifty yards and a touchdown. That's just on third down. He was really really good on third down where Colin was right. And finally you mocked me nesson, everybody made fun of me. When I said, keep your eye on Joe Milton out of Tennessee. The kids got talent. He's got talent. The offensive line facing four Decembers. He made this into a big play. Harball liked him. I think Joe Milton's got talent.

Now.

Now.

He was inconsistent the knocking him in college. He missed open in receivers.

He was inconsistent the knocking him in college. He missed open in receivers.

I'm I'm not.

I'm I'm not.

Saying he's Caleb Williams, but he he looked great and the crowd was into it. And I mean, Jacoby Brissette is solid, but look at their schedule. They go on a four game losing streak. Drake May has not looked great in the pre seat. You don't think Joe Milton. All I said was, I think I'd give that kid snaps. I'd give Joe Milton snaps. Jim Harbaugh did, Josh Heibel did. Go look at the last year and a half in the SEC. Look at the offensive numbers he put up. Maybe he's not a fluid, He's not this and that. All I know, Joe Milton moves the ball. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong.

Saying he's Caleb Williams, but he he looked great and the crowd was into it. And I mean, Jacoby Brissette is solid, but look at their schedule. They go on a four game losing streak. Drake May has not looked great in the pre seat. You don't think Joe Milton. All I said was, I think I'd give that kid snaps. I'd give Joe Milton snaps. Jim Harbaugh did, Josh Heibel did. Go look at the last year and a half in the SEC. Look at the offensive numbers he put up. Maybe he's not a fluid, He's not this and that. All I know, Joe Milton moves the ball. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Eastern a Empacific Hey.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays and noon Eastern a Empacific Hey.

What's up everybody. It's me three time pro bowler LeVar Harington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a podcast called Up on Game?

What's up everybody. It's me three time pro bowler LeVar Harington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a podcast called Up on Game?

What is Up on Game?

What is Up on Game?

You assd along with my fellow pro bowler TJ Hoods, Manzada and Super Bowl champion Yep, that's right, Plexico Birds. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded.

You assd along with my fellow pro bowler TJ Hoods, Manzada and Super Bowl champion Yep, that's right, Plexico Birds. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded.

With teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me lebar Arrington, t J.

With teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me lebar Arrington, t J.

Hutch Manzada, and Plexico Birds on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast from.

Hutch Manzada, and Plexico Birds on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast from.

Well Monday through Friday. You see him on the NFL Network on The Insiders XM. Serious host, been doing it a long time and knows what he's doing. Tom Pellisero is joining us live. So Ian O'Connor's book is out on Aaron Rodgers. I did a deep dive last night. I'll probably finish it in the next couple of days. I've read chunks of it and I was saying it's earlier. Today we talked about Aaron. I've always been seeing as sort of anti Eron, but I'm not. I mean, he probably should have been up front about the vaccine, but you know, he's not the only person that fudged on that, so I'm not you know, I do feel o, Tom, I kind of feel like this is an ending great like far pivoted and eventually got to Minnesota and you're like, Wow, he's still got it. I kind of feel like Aaron needs a big year. He didn't have advertisers. He's kind of on an island. I'm not even sure he's as close to Sala as he was a year ago.

Well Monday through Friday. You see him on the NFL Network on The Insiders XM. Serious host, been doing it a long time and knows what he's doing. Tom Pellisero is joining us live. So Ian O'Connor's book is out on Aaron Rodgers. I did a deep dive last night. I'll probably finish it in the next couple of days. I've read chunks of it and I was saying it's earlier. Today we talked about Aaron. I've always been seeing as sort of anti Eron, but I'm not. I mean, he probably should have been up front about the vaccine, but you know, he's not the only person that fudged on that, so I'm not you know, I do feel o, Tom, I kind of feel like this is an ending great like far pivoted and eventually got to Minnesota and you're like, Wow, he's still got it. I kind of feel like Aaron needs a big year. He didn't have advertisers. He's kind of on an island. I'm not even sure he's as close to Sala as he was a year ago.

Like, am I wrong? It feels like he needs a pop year?

Like, am I wrong? It feels like he needs a pop year?

Right?

Right?

I think i'd say this Colin. Aaron's very aware of how he's perceived. He's very aware of what people are saying. He never, you know, you talk to the people who are closest with him, they'll all say, like, Aaron will never debate a subject unless he has researched it extensively. And there's no subject on which Aaron Rodgers is a better expert than Aaron Rodgers. And I think that you know, this path of self discovery or whatever you want to call it, that he's been on now for a number of years. Has certainly created a really interesting individual. It's also somebody who you know by the end in Green Bay, and I was there for the working for the Green Bay Prescazette when you know they had the far of Rogers transition after the two thousand and seven season. You know, Bret's dreams, like the things that he had in his mind were just going back to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and riding the tractor around his property and literally chopping wood all day. That's what he wanted to do with Aaron. If he walked away tomorrow and said I'm going to go work at SpaceX and I'm going to Mars, you'd be like, yeah, I can. I can kind of see that. But at the same time, he could do that tomorrow calling and he has it. And you have to ask yourself, why is a thirty nine going on forty year old guy who's made more money than he'll ever need in his life and his one four MVPs, why is he still going here? And I think that on some level, yeah, there's the passion for the game, but there there might be something to Aaron want to prove to whoever it is, whether it's himself, the public, whatever, that he's got one more magical run in him. And part of that, you know, maywell you know, And again I'm not inside Aaron's head, but I wouldn't be surprised that part of that is he remembers what it was like at the end for Brett, because Brett got traded. You know, they O seven, they make that run to the NFC Championship Game. The Packers want an answer him far of early. He retires within like a month. He's he's talking to Greta Van susterin and doing interviews about he's coming back and the Packers don't want me and all this stuff. Oh wait, was a battle for him with the Jets. Then O nine he goes to Minnesota and but for that interception the NFC Championship game, I mean, he might add another Super Bowl trophy to the case with Rogers, same thing. The first year with the Jets doesn't go well. Aaron somewhere deep down inside, learned a lot from you know, Brett and from watching it, and he's very aware of his surroundings, very aware of what the environment is for him right now. He knows that coming out one last great season, whether it ends in a super Bowl, a playoff spot, an MVP. Whatever. If he can show he can do it again, that's gonna mean something to him before he goes on and does whatever it is he's doing next.

I think i'd say this Colin. Aaron's very aware of how he's perceived. He's very aware of what people are saying. He never, you know, you talk to the people who are closest with him, they'll all say, like, Aaron will never debate a subject unless he has researched it extensively. And there's no subject on which Aaron Rodgers is a better expert than Aaron Rodgers. And I think that you know, this path of self discovery or whatever you want to call it, that he's been on now for a number of years. Has certainly created a really interesting individual. It's also somebody who you know by the end in Green Bay, and I was there for the working for the Green Bay Prescazette when you know they had the far of Rogers transition after the two thousand and seven season. You know, Bret's dreams, like the things that he had in his mind were just going back to Hattiesburg, Mississippi and riding the tractor around his property and literally chopping wood all day. That's what he wanted to do with Aaron. If he walked away tomorrow and said I'm going to go work at SpaceX and I'm going to Mars, you'd be like, yeah, I can. I can kind of see that. But at the same time, he could do that tomorrow calling and he has it. And you have to ask yourself, why is a thirty nine going on forty year old guy who's made more money than he'll ever need in his life and his one four MVPs, why is he still going here? And I think that on some level, yeah, there's the passion for the game, but there there might be something to Aaron want to prove to whoever it is, whether it's himself, the public, whatever, that he's got one more magical run in him. And part of that, you know, maywell you know, And again I'm not inside Aaron's head, but I wouldn't be surprised that part of that is he remembers what it was like at the end for Brett, because Brett got traded. You know, they O seven, they make that run to the NFC Championship Game. The Packers want an answer him far of early. He retires within like a month. He's he's talking to Greta Van susterin and doing interviews about he's coming back and the Packers don't want me and all this stuff. Oh wait, was a battle for him with the Jets. Then O nine he goes to Minnesota and but for that interception the NFC Championship game, I mean, he might add another Super Bowl trophy to the case with Rogers, same thing. The first year with the Jets doesn't go well. Aaron somewhere deep down inside, learned a lot from you know, Brett and from watching it, and he's very aware of his surroundings, very aware of what the environment is for him right now. He knows that coming out one last great season, whether it ends in a super Bowl, a playoff spot, an MVP. Whatever. If he can show he can do it again, that's gonna mean something to him before he goes on and does whatever it is he's doing next.

You know, I was saying earlier, when you watch the great ones, you often ask yourself, it could be messy, it could be Lebron if they don't have a huge physical advantage. I mean, Lebron's a big guy, but Wemby obviously, But sometimes you'll just watch a great hitter, the late Tony Gwinn and You're like, why can't everybody hit three fifty? He takes that inside pitch, he hits it to the hole in the left side. He makes it look so easy. And conversely, I watched justin Field and I'm like, he makes it look so hard. He's always he can't get rid of the ball, the timing's always bad, he fumbles. I really thought he had a shot to beat Russell, and watched this weekend. I'm like, this is why he drove me nuts in Chicago, and just let's just talk about this quarterback battle because I think privately people are in pitch. I would love to see him flourish and pop and then I watch him and I'm like, oh, it's like Zach Wilson. There's so many things that should work and they don't. What do you make of the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh right now, Well, Colin.

You know, I was saying earlier, when you watch the great ones, you often ask yourself, it could be messy, it could be Lebron if they don't have a huge physical advantage. I mean, Lebron's a big guy, but Wemby obviously, But sometimes you'll just watch a great hitter, the late Tony Gwinn and You're like, why can't everybody hit three fifty? He takes that inside pitch, he hits it to the hole in the left side. He makes it look so easy. And conversely, I watched justin Field and I'm like, he makes it look so hard. He's always he can't get rid of the ball, the timing's always bad, he fumbles. I really thought he had a shot to beat Russell, and watched this weekend. I'm like, this is why he drove me nuts in Chicago, and just let's just talk about this quarterback battle because I think privately people are in pitch. I would love to see him flourish and pop and then I watch him and I'm like, oh, it's like Zach Wilson. There's so many things that should work and they don't. What do you make of the quarterback situation in Pittsburgh right now, Well, Colin.

You summarize, I mean, this is the Justin Fields experience, which is, if you edit together his highlight plays, his positive plays, you walk away, you watch one YouTube video for commenttion like this guy might be the best player in the NFL, and then you kind of watch it down in and down out, and you see so much what he does is creating off schedule within the offense. Like I watched the decent amount of that game the other day just because I was curious. I mean, the poor herbig kid couldn't get a snap back to fields like that put him in some tough situations. So I'm not entirely gonna judge Justin Field's off that. But what they've seen, from what I've talked to in Pittsburgh is very similar to what we saw in Chicago, which is a guy who can look really good at times. He's one of the most dynamic guys with the football in his hands in the entire league, and there's other times where you see those things like they had in Chicago, it's like, Okay, you got it. Something's got to be in rhythm. You gotta be able to rip the football when somebody's open. What I think is really interesting here, Colin is the fact that they brought in an offensive coordinator at Arthur Smith, whose offense kind of takes at least some of the level of timing out of it. It's very much a pound the football, run the football, play action, take some deep shots, which also has been where Russell Wilson has been at his best during the course of his career. I know this with Mike Tomlin in his history, whether it's with coaches, whether it's with players, He'll stick with his guys and give them every opportunity until he simply can't give them. Another one that I think applies to Russell Wilson. He said throughout the offseason, the Russ is in pole position. They've got him pushing a blocking sled on the first day and a conditioning drill and he pops his calf. Russ from everything I was told the next day was like I can go, I can practice. It's the doctors that have been holding him back. Here. But unless Russ goes out and simply plays terribly when he gets his preseason opportunity, I know Mike Tomlin hasn't idea whether it'll start that second preseason game. I believe Mike Tomlin again, just knowing how he perceives the locker room dynamics, the building dynamics. He'll give Russell Wilson the opportunity to go out there and play regardless of what Justin Fields does. The real question to me is how long do you go with that? How good is this Pittsburgh team? Because you and I both know if they start out six and three versus starting at three and six, the dynamics are completely different in terms of public pressure and everything else. But Mike Tomlin has never been one that cave to public pressure. If anything, he will push back. He'll keep Matt Canada a year beyond where people are channing for the guy to be fired. Why because he believes in them. Just like the Steelers believe in their guys. They keep head coaches for twenty years. They give Mike Tomlin an extension when he hasn't won a playoff game in what six seven years here? So I believe it'll be Russell Wilson when we come out of the gate here, and I don't know that Justin Fields is going to do a lot positive or negative to change that in the short term. I'm interested to see how, if it all, do they get fields on the field when we get to the regular season games, and just kind of how does that position play out over the course.

You summarize, I mean, this is the Justin Fields experience, which is, if you edit together his highlight plays, his positive plays, you walk away, you watch one YouTube video for commenttion like this guy might be the best player in the NFL, and then you kind of watch it down in and down out, and you see so much what he does is creating off schedule within the offense. Like I watched the decent amount of that game the other day just because I was curious. I mean, the poor herbig kid couldn't get a snap back to fields like that put him in some tough situations. So I'm not entirely gonna judge Justin Field's off that. But what they've seen, from what I've talked to in Pittsburgh is very similar to what we saw in Chicago, which is a guy who can look really good at times. He's one of the most dynamic guys with the football in his hands in the entire league, and there's other times where you see those things like they had in Chicago, it's like, Okay, you got it. Something's got to be in rhythm. You gotta be able to rip the football when somebody's open. What I think is really interesting here, Colin is the fact that they brought in an offensive coordinator at Arthur Smith, whose offense kind of takes at least some of the level of timing out of it. It's very much a pound the football, run the football, play action, take some deep shots, which also has been where Russell Wilson has been at his best during the course of his career. I know this with Mike Tomlin in his history, whether it's with coaches, whether it's with players, He'll stick with his guys and give them every opportunity until he simply can't give them. Another one that I think applies to Russell Wilson. He said throughout the offseason, the Russ is in pole position. They've got him pushing a blocking sled on the first day and a conditioning drill and he pops his calf. Russ from everything I was told the next day was like I can go, I can practice. It's the doctors that have been holding him back. Here. But unless Russ goes out and simply plays terribly when he gets his preseason opportunity, I know Mike Tomlin hasn't idea whether it'll start that second preseason game. I believe Mike Tomlin again, just knowing how he perceives the locker room dynamics, the building dynamics. He'll give Russell Wilson the opportunity to go out there and play regardless of what Justin Fields does. The real question to me is how long do you go with that? How good is this Pittsburgh team? Because you and I both know if they start out six and three versus starting at three and six, the dynamics are completely different in terms of public pressure and everything else. But Mike Tomlin has never been one that cave to public pressure. If anything, he will push back. He'll keep Matt Canada a year beyond where people are channing for the guy to be fired. Why because he believes in them. Just like the Steelers believe in their guys. They keep head coaches for twenty years. They give Mike Tomlin an extension when he hasn't won a playoff game in what six seven years here? So I believe it'll be Russell Wilson when we come out of the gate here, and I don't know that Justin Fields is going to do a lot positive or negative to change that in the short term. I'm interested to see how, if it all, do they get fields on the field when we get to the regular season games, and just kind of how does that position play out over the course.

So I had somebody ten days ago tell me a former NFL player who's been a great source through the years, said, Ayu's gonna sign. It's it's getting real close. Thirty six hours. Well, it never transpired. Very good reporters everywhere. We're all over the map on this. People that I respect widely were it's in, it's out, it's over. He's in Pittsburgh, and my takeaway is it was close, and he he was offended by something. San Francisco's like, this is the number, deal with it. And then he said I'm out, and then he didn't like the choices and he comes back and then San Francisco is not in a great mood. And a friend of mine, John Middlecoff, said last night he may be the only receiver that signs a four year, hundred million dollar deal and is still bitter. Where are we at with Brandon Ayuk and the Niners. I do believe that if if you're a wide receiver mann they scheme you open. It's like Cooper Cup is always open. It's like San Francisco. George Kittle's wide open. I know he's not a burner. I would have a hard time leaving McVeigh or Kyle Shanahan or Kevin O'Connell.

So I had somebody ten days ago tell me a former NFL player who's been a great source through the years, said, Ayu's gonna sign. It's it's getting real close. Thirty six hours. Well, it never transpired. Very good reporters everywhere. We're all over the map on this. People that I respect widely were it's in, it's out, it's over. He's in Pittsburgh, and my takeaway is it was close, and he he was offended by something. San Francisco's like, this is the number, deal with it. And then he said I'm out, and then he didn't like the choices and he comes back and then San Francisco is not in a great mood. And a friend of mine, John Middlecoff, said last night he may be the only receiver that signs a four year, hundred million dollar deal and is still bitter. Where are we at with Brandon Ayuk and the Niners. I do believe that if if you're a wide receiver mann they scheme you open. It's like Cooper Cup is always open. It's like San Francisco. George Kittle's wide open. I know he's not a burner. I would have a hard time leaving McVeigh or Kyle Shanahan or Kevin O'Connell.

I think he's just best served there. What are you hearing.

I think he's just best served there. What are you hearing.

Well?

Well?

I think Kyle Shanna would be the first one to tell you it's a lot easier to scheme those guys open when they're really good players. But you're right, that's Kyle's greatest skill is being able to get people open. I think that there's a fluidity to this situation that's unlike many things that we've seen in recent years, and there's tons of different dynamics at play. I'll give you the short version based on what I know, Colin, in terms of how this entire thing has played out. So obviously, there would have been an opportunity way back in March for the forty nine ers to get a deal done with Brandon Ayuk. They thought at that time that what AYUK was asking for was going to be out of their price range. Then all of a sudden, you see all these wide receiver deals that are getting done, and suddenly, not only does that number probably fit right in line with what these other wide receiver contracts would be, but the AYUK number naturally goes up because he's seeing the other contractually say well, now I need to get this much money. So they had to sit down. Talker reported this. I think it was back in June. It was around the mini camp. They sat down. Both sides said some things need to be said. You could put a lot of stuff out there, making TikTok videos, mfing the security gate to get into the building and recording this video, staging it telling Jane Danersye, they said, you didn't want to be back. Everybody got some stuff off their chest, and the thinking was after the fourth July they'd get back together and try to hammer out a deal. Well, there really wasn't any progress or even negotiations on a new contract prior to the start of training camp, so AYUK starts to hold in. There's no end in sight. It's apparent that they're not really anywhere in the same ballpark on this. So about two weeks ago, the forty nine ers re engaged with trade talks that they really hadn't been since back before the draft when they got some call and they were trying to get a first round pick and more or a high first round pick for Brandon Nyuk. They started just feeling out, Okay, what could we get if we traded him? What would we be able to get? And by the way, we want a wide receiver as a part of any deal. That's where the New England's come into play. That's where the Clevelands come into play. Everybody knew roughly where the number was with Brandon n Ayuk, and the forty nine ers started selectively granting permission for Ayuk's agent to negotiate with the other teams. Then all of a sudden, you know, the Cleveland stuff starts to come out, and it kind of came out after that one had already come to a head. And then it was a week ago that you start having you know, various reports about well this is you know, this is a done deal for Ayuk to Pittsburgh. Well, the reality was Ayu could sort of come to the conclusion at that point the only place he wanted to go to was Pittsburgh, but they were the team that didn't have a receiver to send to San Francisco. So what do the forty nine ers do. They start calling all these other teams saying, Okay, if we make this deal, can we trade for this receiver or that receiver and other gms are going So the second week of August, I'm not gonna cut you a deal on this and help you out with my number one or number two wide receiver. So the forty nine ers then regrouped. By the end of last week they sort of had come to the conclusion, Listen, the best thing we can do is make this work with Brandon Ayuk, a guy we know, a guy, we know how well he fits. We think that we can get here. So they re engaged on the contract negotiations. That was at the tail end Thursday, Friday of last week. And you know, as we sit here right now two thirty Eastern time, eleven thirty out there in La calum we don't have a firm and final answer. As Brandon Ayuk posted in an Instagram comment, because where else. Responding to a tweet that I had, he said, you know, there's two options. Pick one basically, and let's go. That's a message to the forty nine ers here that hey, either you meet my number or I'm going to Pittsburgh. There's really no barriers, there's no obstacles to getting something done with the Steelers if the forty nine ers decide to go that direction, but absent another answer for what wide receiver can help win the Super Bowl right now, Colin, they want to try to get this thing done with Brandon Nyuk and the card they stole in their back pocket, they haven't played it. I don't know if they will play it. But the card they would have in their back pocket is saying, you know what, we need you too bad. We're not trading you. We're not going to trade you for less than we could have gotten somewhere else just because you want to go to Pittsburgh. You're under contract for fourteen. You take our best offer, or you play this year for fourteen. Again, We're not there yet. I don't know that we ever get there. That's the one card the forty nine ers have not yet played because they are really trying to heal this relationship, and like a lot of things, call them the way to heal. This relationship is give them granded and Ayuk number he once.

I think Kyle Shanna would be the first one to tell you it's a lot easier to scheme those guys open when they're really good players. But you're right, that's Kyle's greatest skill is being able to get people open. I think that there's a fluidity to this situation that's unlike many things that we've seen in recent years, and there's tons of different dynamics at play. I'll give you the short version based on what I know, Colin, in terms of how this entire thing has played out. So obviously, there would have been an opportunity way back in March for the forty nine ers to get a deal done with Brandon Ayuk. They thought at that time that what AYUK was asking for was going to be out of their price range. Then all of a sudden, you see all these wide receiver deals that are getting done, and suddenly, not only does that number probably fit right in line with what these other wide receiver contracts would be, but the AYUK number naturally goes up because he's seeing the other contractually say well, now I need to get this much money. So they had to sit down. Talker reported this. I think it was back in June. It was around the mini camp. They sat down. Both sides said some things need to be said. You could put a lot of stuff out there, making TikTok videos, mfing the security gate to get into the building and recording this video, staging it telling Jane Danersye, they said, you didn't want to be back. Everybody got some stuff off their chest, and the thinking was after the fourth July they'd get back together and try to hammer out a deal. Well, there really wasn't any progress or even negotiations on a new contract prior to the start of training camp, so AYUK starts to hold in. There's no end in sight. It's apparent that they're not really anywhere in the same ballpark on this. So about two weeks ago, the forty nine ers re engaged with trade talks that they really hadn't been since back before the draft when they got some call and they were trying to get a first round pick and more or a high first round pick for Brandon Nyuk. They started just feeling out, Okay, what could we get if we traded him? What would we be able to get? And by the way, we want a wide receiver as a part of any deal. That's where the New England's come into play. That's where the Clevelands come into play. Everybody knew roughly where the number was with Brandon n Ayuk, and the forty nine ers started selectively granting permission for Ayuk's agent to negotiate with the other teams. Then all of a sudden, you know, the Cleveland stuff starts to come out, and it kind of came out after that one had already come to a head. And then it was a week ago that you start having you know, various reports about well this is you know, this is a done deal for Ayuk to Pittsburgh. Well, the reality was Ayu could sort of come to the conclusion at that point the only place he wanted to go to was Pittsburgh, but they were the team that didn't have a receiver to send to San Francisco. So what do the forty nine ers do. They start calling all these other teams saying, Okay, if we make this deal, can we trade for this receiver or that receiver and other gms are going So the second week of August, I'm not gonna cut you a deal on this and help you out with my number one or number two wide receiver. So the forty nine ers then regrouped. By the end of last week they sort of had come to the conclusion, Listen, the best thing we can do is make this work with Brandon Ayuk, a guy we know, a guy, we know how well he fits. We think that we can get here. So they re engaged on the contract negotiations. That was at the tail end Thursday, Friday of last week. And you know, as we sit here right now two thirty Eastern time, eleven thirty out there in La calum we don't have a firm and final answer. As Brandon Ayuk posted in an Instagram comment, because where else. Responding to a tweet that I had, he said, you know, there's two options. Pick one basically, and let's go. That's a message to the forty nine ers here that hey, either you meet my number or I'm going to Pittsburgh. There's really no barriers, there's no obstacles to getting something done with the Steelers if the forty nine ers decide to go that direction, but absent another answer for what wide receiver can help win the Super Bowl right now, Colin, they want to try to get this thing done with Brandon Nyuk and the card they stole in their back pocket, they haven't played it. I don't know if they will play it. But the card they would have in their back pocket is saying, you know what, we need you too bad. We're not trading you. We're not going to trade you for less than we could have gotten somewhere else just because you want to go to Pittsburgh. You're under contract for fourteen. You take our best offer, or you play this year for fourteen. Again, We're not there yet. I don't know that we ever get there. That's the one card the forty nine ers have not yet played because they are really trying to heal this relationship, and like a lot of things, call them the way to heal. This relationship is give them granded and Ayuk number he once.

Tom pellis our NFL network. Final question. Most of this stuff bo Nix is going to be the starter. I you think Drake May is not. It'll be next year or something. Caleb's going to start, Jaden's going to start. Most of these are pretty simple. The one that's really interesting to me is Michael Pennock. So I defended Atlanta. I said, folks, sixty quarterbacks take us app The best problem to have in the NFL is we have two quarterbacks that can win. That is not a problem. If everybody shy something. I can live with Penick sitting for a year. Mahomes, did Carson Palmer? Did Jordan love Farm? I'm okay with it, and I do think kirk off this surgery is pretty close to the end. And then I watched Michael Pennix. It's a very good old line and I'm like, they got weapons. I'm like this this is interesting. I know they're paying kirk but it is a surgery. He wasn't mobile before this. Is there a shot maybe they would look bad? But is there a shot that if they're not going to give snaps to Kirk much in the preseason off that injury. What if Pennix just lights it up for the next three weeks, is there a shot? They're like, all right, well, yesterday is today? The future happened way sooner than we thought. That stuff happens in this league all the time, and a lot of tom you know this front offices don't want egg on their face. A lot of times they're like, do let's flood it play out? But I wonder if Pennix chops it up in the preseason, are we sure the whole year.

Tom pellis our NFL network. Final question. Most of this stuff bo Nix is going to be the starter. I you think Drake May is not. It'll be next year or something. Caleb's going to start, Jaden's going to start. Most of these are pretty simple. The one that's really interesting to me is Michael Pennock. So I defended Atlanta. I said, folks, sixty quarterbacks take us app The best problem to have in the NFL is we have two quarterbacks that can win. That is not a problem. If everybody shy something. I can live with Penick sitting for a year. Mahomes, did Carson Palmer? Did Jordan love Farm? I'm okay with it, and I do think kirk off this surgery is pretty close to the end. And then I watched Michael Pennix. It's a very good old line and I'm like, they got weapons. I'm like this this is interesting. I know they're paying kirk but it is a surgery. He wasn't mobile before this. Is there a shot maybe they would look bad? But is there a shot that if they're not going to give snaps to Kirk much in the preseason off that injury. What if Pennix just lights it up for the next three weeks, is there a shot? They're like, all right, well, yesterday is today? The future happened way sooner than we thought. That stuff happens in this league all the time, and a lot of tom you know this front offices don't want egg on their face. A lot of times they're like, do let's flood it play out? But I wonder if Pennix chops it up in the preseason, are we sure the whole year.

Is Kirks, think about it this way, Colin. The fact that you're asking me that question on your very popular talk show is exactly the environment that the Falcons created, righting, Michael Pennix Junior. It's the fact that you have this precise scenario that they had to fully think through in terms of the environment. Because it's totally different to say, you draft Patrick Mahomes. We got Alex Smith here, he can sit for a year. It's totally different than hey, we trade up and took Jordan Love. We still got Aaron Rodgers. We can afford to wait. Kirk Cousins had gotten one hundred million guaranteed six weeks before and like an hour before they make the pick. They got Kirk on stage whipping the towel at the draft party and get the fans excited about this team, and then oh yeah, they call him and hey, we're taking your eventual replacement. There was always this scenario where when Pennix plays well, I don't think there's any question calling that Kirk Cousins starts in week one. It would be, in my opinion, bananas to go away from that, just based upon how you've set yourself up. What you said was your organizational philosophy for operating the way that you did, and the money you've already given to Kirk Cousins. But you and I both know if Pennix does this in the preseason and then we get to week one, well, remember you got Kirk coming off the Achilles. You look great. When I was down there in Atlanta, everything I've heard behind the scenes is he's moving fantastic. He's an elite processor. I believe that he'll be fine. But if it's rocky out of the gate, if getting the rhythm and the timing and the tempo, you got a first time play caller, they start out ohing one, they start out owing two. He throws an interception on the first drive. It's not just that people are gonna be thinking, boy, well, they need time here. It's also a matter of you create this environment where the fans are gonna be chanting for the other guy. That's the difficult part. I know that Raheem Morris, Terry Fonta, everybody thought through all these things, they were comfortable with it because they believe and they've said this outright, We're never going to be in the spot again. We're never gonna draft this high again. So we got to take this guy.

Is Kirks, think about it this way, Colin. The fact that you're asking me that question on your very popular talk show is exactly the environment that the Falcons created, righting, Michael Pennix Junior. It's the fact that you have this precise scenario that they had to fully think through in terms of the environment. Because it's totally different to say, you draft Patrick Mahomes. We got Alex Smith here, he can sit for a year. It's totally different than hey, we trade up and took Jordan Love. We still got Aaron Rodgers. We can afford to wait. Kirk Cousins had gotten one hundred million guaranteed six weeks before and like an hour before they make the pick. They got Kirk on stage whipping the towel at the draft party and get the fans excited about this team, and then oh yeah, they call him and hey, we're taking your eventual replacement. There was always this scenario where when Pennix plays well, I don't think there's any question calling that Kirk Cousins starts in week one. It would be, in my opinion, bananas to go away from that, just based upon how you've set yourself up. What you said was your organizational philosophy for operating the way that you did, and the money you've already given to Kirk Cousins. But you and I both know if Pennix does this in the preseason and then we get to week one, well, remember you got Kirk coming off the Achilles. You look great. When I was down there in Atlanta, everything I've heard behind the scenes is he's moving fantastic. He's an elite processor. I believe that he'll be fine. But if it's rocky out of the gate, if getting the rhythm and the timing and the tempo, you got a first time play caller, they start out ohing one, they start out owing two. He throws an interception on the first drive. It's not just that people are gonna be thinking, boy, well, they need time here. It's also a matter of you create this environment where the fans are gonna be chanting for the other guy. That's the difficult part. I know that Raheem Morris, Terry Fonta, everybody thought through all these things, they were comfortable with it because they believe and they've said this outright, We're never going to be in the spot again. We're never gonna draft this high again. So we got to take this guy.

Now.

Now.

It's outside the box column. When you do unorthodox things, it opens you up to a different type of criticism here. It's a fantastic problem to have, but it's one that even if the reckoning doesn't come here, you know, prior to week one, come twenty twenty five, if Pennix plays well in the preseason and maybe even gets some action in the regular season, depending if Kirk you know, gets dinged up at any point here, you're gonna have real questions about a guy who's guaranteed money all the way out into twenty twenty six.

It's outside the box column. When you do unorthodox things, it opens you up to a different type of criticism here. It's a fantastic problem to have, but it's one that even if the reckoning doesn't come here, you know, prior to week one, come twenty twenty five, if Pennix plays well in the preseason and maybe even gets some action in the regular season, depending if Kirk you know, gets dinged up at any point here, you're gonna have real questions about a guy who's guaranteed money all the way out into twenty twenty six.

Tom Pelasarro NFL network X. I'm sorry.

Tom Pelasarro NFL network X. I'm sorry.

Great seeing you again. Love your office, love your stuff, good insight, good stories, my man.

Great seeing you again. Love your office, love your stuff, good insight, good stories, my man.

Thanks again.

Thanks again.

Love you behind that organ, Colin.

Love you behind that organ, Colin.

Always a pleasure, you bet

Always a pleasure, you bet