Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Are you sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS one. Find your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Friday. It is great to be back, and do we have a lot to talk about live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening iHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio FS one. Joel Klatt Huge college football Saturday coming up? Buckeyes Georgia, Michigan TCU. Greg ko Sell stops by. I've got my blazing five picks in one hour from now. It's a weird time some of the some of the good teams are resting people. Some of the bad teams are playing for nothing. What will we get this weekend? J Mac joins me. I am done with airports. It is nice to be back for several months now. How are you? I'm excellent. How are the slopes for you? Well? I was with my kids. No greater joy as a dad than hanging out with your kids skiing or on a lake. So my kids are wonderful. That was wonderful, But I'm over airports. It's good to know. I took the two days off to play some basketball, do a lot of college football betting. I'm on a bit of a heater, all right, and get ready for the biggest Jets game in maybe a decade. Well, they're part of my blazing five picks in an hour. So let's start with the Cowboys. They were off a very emotional win over Philadelphia, and they were playing on a short week now. They were playing the Tennessee Titans scout team, they were on a third quarterback. Everybody's rested season gone into the tank. So Dallas stumble didn't look great, but they did win in Dallas has now five and one since Thanksgiving. It does matter. The NFL is three seasons, Thanksgiving, post Thanksgiving, and playoff. They all feel different in Dallas's winning. In fact, their last two losses have come against outstanding quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau and Trevor Lawrence at home in Jacksonville. Both were in overtime, so there is reason for optimism. Around Dallas. The other good news if you're a Cowboy fan off the win is even the good teams in the NFC, there's questions about them. The Giants could be a playoff team. It's not a very good roster Tampa Bay. The offense is in Nimick, San Francisco on a third quarterback Minnesota Kirk Cousins. And do you trust that defense? Philadelphia Jalen Hurts is hurt. Nick Seriani's never won a playoff game, So there's a lot of reason for optimism. Now, if the Cowboys are a wild card team, they'd have to win three straight road games to get to the super Bowl. I do not think they're buttoned up to do that. But if Philadelphia stumbles against the Saints this week and they have a chance to win the division, now it gets very, very interesting. When Dallas gets into trouble. And you saw it last night. The run game's not working and they have to ask dask Dak Prescott to throw forty times a game. And even with a win last night, Dak is now seven and fifteen in his career when he throws it forty or more times. Last night he got a w and the record is still abysmal, so Tony Pollard was hurt. DAK now has had ten picks since Thanksgiving. It's a bit of a mess. So here's the good news, though, there is a way for the Cowboys to win, and we've watched it multiple times this season. Strong run game and DAK is an excellent, complimentary piece. That's the way to win. And here's where it gets really interesting for the Cowboys. And I'm seen as a Cowboy cynic. Not a hater, but cynic. Eight of the top ten run defenses in the National Football League are in the a FC, Dallas won't face them. Outside of the Niners great run defense. The NFC teams that could be in their way, Minnesota, Giants, Commanders, believe it or not, Eagles, Minnesota, Caroline at Tampa are all middle of the pack run defenses. So we know there's a way for the Cowboys to win. DAK is a complimentary piece and the run game is rolling. Now we have a route for the Cowboys to win. They face anybody but San Francisco in the playoffs, so that's where you get your optimism. But if you look at the box score, last night is classic DAK with an eighty five passer rating two picks. They ask him to throw forty one times. It's just not who he is, So stay out of that space. Here was dak after a win's a win, and we're gonna take it. We're gonna get better from the mistakes, and we're gonna make sure they were improving. But a road win, short week, you've got to take them all and the style points and all that. That's for y'all who think games are one on paper. Okay, So the other story, it is amazing stuff gets going on the internet and nobody pushes back, and then all of a sudden you wake up and Derek Carr's terrible. It's like timeout, timeout. I've always thought my job is to just add some context, take the emotion out of it. I don't care who wins and loses these games. I want them to be It's like a produce. I own the store. I'm looking for good fresh material. So Derek Carr's getting benched by the Raiders to the last two games. Why is he getting benched. Well, my feeling is they want him healthy so they can trade him. So Derek Carr, in his contract, has forty million dollars guaranteed money. They're injury guarantees, so if he's hurt, one of the NFL's poorest owners, Mark Davis, would have to ride him forty million dollar check. Then I want to do that. They want to move off there at Car. I think it's a mistake. So the Raiders want him healthy. They want to trade Derek Carr, and they want him healthy, and and there is no big dead cap hit if they moved him. We've mentioned that multiple times this year. He is one of the rare good quarterbacks in this league. You can move now and not be a big dead cap hit. I wouldn't move him. I don't think this is a great college quarterback class. I just wouldn't. But I'll say this just to defend Derek Carr again. He's thirty one years old. He's already at thirty five thousand yards. That's with multiple coaching changes, constant chaos, often bad offensive line. He's at thirty five thousand yards. If he plays just three more seasons, and my guests, he'll play double that. He'll play at least six because he's never really been hurt consistently. He's always ready to play as a tough kid. If he plays just three more years. That's it. He's thirty one. He will blow past forty five thousand yards passing because he's at thirty five thousand now and he averages four thousand a year, so he'll blow past forty five thousand yards passing. Sixteen quarterbacks in league history have done that. Many are Hall of Famers and three that aren't. Breeze Aaron, Rodgers and Brady will be. And the guys that have done it who didn't make the Hall, Philip Rivers and Carson Palmer were damn good. Derek Carr's good quarterback. I say this all the time. I'm always impressed with a kid that came from a young boy or young girl that came from a tough background and made something of themselves. It's awesome if you're a billionaire, but if you started as a trust fund kid, you don't touch my heart. Derek Carr had to go to Fresno State. Everybody doubted Derek Carr didn't have the big arm. Goes to the Raiders six different coaches. Last year was a circus. Yeah, he throws probably more interceptions than you'd like. But this morning I went out and I looked out. I took out his rookie year, because all these quarterbacks struggle as rookies. Trevor Lawrence is great now, he was awful last year. I mean John Elway first year, Peyton Manning first year, Eli Manning first year. Take out his rookie year and subtract this year because he's not gonna play a full season. And his numbers are astounding. Ninety five passer rating, two and a half touchdown to interception ratio, over four thousand yards, sixty six percent completion percentage. And this team right now, outside of left tackle in a very good offensive line. So teams like the Jets, the Commanders and the Bucks, if Brady retires, they just need a quarterback. Jets are not rebuilding. Jets roster's fine, they need a quarterback. That's a playoff team with a question. They may make the playoffs with a quarterback situation. Now. The Commanders with that roster are a playoff team easily with Derek Carr Tampa Bay. If Brady left somewhere else Tampa Bay with Derek Carr in that division, that's a playoff team. If he stays healthy for six seven more years, that would be my guess. He's going to blow past fifty thousand yards passing. That is like an elite, elite, elite club. So Derek Carr's good. Oh yeah, let me throw this in adding context to it. Now, I love Patrick Mahomes, but he inherited Andy Reid and Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelsey and Brett Beats, the GM and the Hunt family. Okay, So, and we all know Mahomes is great, right, and he's better than Derek Carr. But since Derek Carr entered the league, do you know what the Raiders defense has been? Thirty second six different head coaches? Can we add context? Stuff gets on the internet, everybody believes in it. Nobody just goes to Google and looks up. Yeah. Last year, as he carried a wobbly franchise with an interim special team's head coach to the playoffs in the superior AFC, he threw some picks. Yeah, guess what, it's hard having to pull an entire franchise to the playoffs in the AFC out of the AFC West Davante Adams. If Derek Carr is traded, and I imagine he will be talked about the guy he played college football with it Fresno State obviously, I don't think anybody was excited about it here, you know, and being one of my really good friends, and you know the reason why I came here in the first place. I wouldn't I wouldn't be here right now if he wasn't, you know, if he wasn't here he was. I think everybody knows how I feel about him then, and hero that's it. There's one of the process of how things go. And I'm not gonna sit here and going home. But obviously I supported my guy. The best part about the Innerweb is that you see some very very clever, smart, funny people. The worst part is stuff goes downhill like an avalanche and nobody actually does any checking. Just google his career stats and remember he's on his sixth coach, his like third or fourth GM. I mean, this year he didn't have Hunter Renfro or Darren Waller. Most of the year he did have Davante Adams. But I mean, go look at the first round picks that Mayak and Gruden whiffed on. This guy's been playing Mahomes twice a year. Now it's Herbert twice a year. Thank god. Russell Wilson is struggling Derek Carr would make the Jets, the Commanders the Buck's minimum playoff teams next year. He's really good. He's just like a lot of young people. Had to overcome a lot, a lot his franchise move. For God's how many people have to deal with in all the chaos. Yeah, we're moving to another state. A lot of players choose to move, the franchise doesn't move, and they have to chase it. All sorts of good stuff Today Blazon five Next Hour Joel clack Gray College football Games, capping the season. Two big ones, then we're down to one. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter nine a Empacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. The voice of college football at this network, Joel Clatt, He's always phenomenal. We'll be joining us Michigan TCU tomorrow. I like the Wolverines by about a touchdown. Also Ohio State Georgia. I think there's gonna be points in that one. I'll take Georgia, but I think it's competitive. The Buckeyes put some points up, so do the Bulldogs. Very excited for both games. I want to start with this though. Jerry Judy is a wide receiver for Denver, very talented. I've been told for years little immature, but he did something that I like that he came out and offended that these wild rumors about Russell Wilson a summer rumors, summer not there's discussion that he has a parking space. Okay, First of all, I drive into the Fox parking lot every morning. There's fifteen to twenty reserve parking spots. I imagine for senior management. Every place I've ever worked there's reserve parking spots for managers. I don't think any of it. I'm over there by the dumpster. What do I character parking spot? I like the exercise. So if he has a parking space, who cares? All my bosses have always had their own parking spots. And then there's the well, he's got his own room, his own office. Can I just say this, If I owned an NFL franchise, I would give my GM his own office, head coach his own office. When I used to work covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the GM and the coach had their own office, so did the scouting director. And I would consider absolutely if I had a veteran quarterback making over two hundred and fifty million dollars. I'm a Holmes, you know that kind of guy, Aaron Rodgers. I would consider giving him his own office. Occasionally, I'd ask him if I could pull a sponsor in to say hello, or a lucky fan grouped on a contest. But it gives him some privacy to bring in maybe his other quarterbacks or receivers. I just don't think it's excessive at all. Maybe I'm off in the clouds, but every company I've ever worked at, mid level managers get parking spots and offices. Maybe I don't know. It doesn't seem like a thing. But Jerry Judy, to his credit, the young man deserves some respect here. Because stuff gets on the internet, it becomes an inferno. And Jerry Judy said, stop stop the criticism of Russell Wilson. I'm just tired of reading things about my boy and making it seem like, oh, he's not a good teammate, other unnecessary stuff that I'm not true, and I just wanted to get it out in the air like that. He is a good teammate, you know, and he is a Harvard teammate. And I just feel like I just needed to get that out there because this is a lot of false narrators going around here that I'm getting tired of seeing. Okay again, Russell Wilson may be washed. I think Jason McIntyre and I have been on the side of we can't figure it out. I believe about seventy percent of the problems are a completely overwhelmed head coach. Their best offensive lineman on a week offensive line got hurt in game five, their best running back got hurt in week four, and then they bailed on their backup who kept fumbling. So Russell Wilson here, new system, new coach, tough division, young receivers, battle line, running backs gone early, coach over as skis. I think it's about seventy thirty. On other stuff, I could obviously be wrong. There is no precedent from going from one hundred quarterback rating four straight years to garbage. There's just no precedent for it. But I will say this is that, and this is probably a good thing. You know, most comedians honestly should be liberal because they should be fighting power. It's funnier to make fun of rich, powerful people. It's not funny to make fun of poor people and people that are being overwhelmed in life. Most comedians should be liberal. They should fight sociouald newspaper people. They should be fighting corporations in power. And that's something that gets lost is that it's okay the media sometimes it does lean left fighting in their view for the little guy. Hey, let's now work at Fox. We're conservative. I'm totally okay with it. My friends in the media probably sixty fourty seventy thirty Democrat over Republican. I don't care good people good people, but I do think and this is why this matters, is that sometimes Russell Wilson comes off as very corporate, says whatever the owner wants, says whatever, very It doesn't come off as authentic. He's he's get me my money, beautiful wife, corporate guy, little cringey. And the media didn't love him, you know, for a long time. They loved Aaron Rodgers, you know, the contrarian until that vaccine stuff. So you know, my takeaway is I get why some of the media don't like certain people who come off as powerful and corporate, but it does feel a little bit like we're piling on here. Nathaniel Hackett wasn't even a coordinator in Green Bay? Was he even truly a play caller consistently? I mean, Aaron they say, runs what Aaron wants to run? He blew off Mike McCarthy for years, and McCarthy on a Super Bowl McCarthy's got the Cowboy's gonna finish like thirteen and four. Maybe Russell's washed. I could, certainly. I don't know how to explain it, but and I get some of the animosity here toward him, but it does feel like parking space. Really that that's got you worked up. I mean, if you've ever worked at a corporation, midlevel managers have him. He's got his own office. Who gives a rip? I do? I talk into a microphone for a living Now Half the time I come into it and Bradshaw's asleep on the couch eating all my snacks. It just feels a little bit like piling on. And Jerry Judy, to his credit, came out and defended his guide Jmack with the news No, no turn on the news. This is the herd Line News franchise quarterback. You spend a quarter of a billion dollars on has his own office, I'm stunned at that development, Like, what, what the heck? All right, let's get started calling with the big news out of Philadelphia. Jalen Hurts the likely MVP this season if Mahomes doesn't overtake him. Return to practice for the first time since his shoulder injury was listed as limited. You see him here going through some drills. I don't see any extra padding around the collar. Looks like he could go instead of Gardner Minshew. But they're hosting the Saints is Sunday. I think the bigger news than Jalen Hurts is Lane Johnson. Colin I dug up this stat Lane Johnson. When they're missing they're great right tackle the last three years, not the same three and ten. That's what their record is. He is a great offensive lineman, instrumental is to the run game, the past protection. He may be the best right tackle in league history. He's certainly up there. He's in the discussion, and without him, they have just not looked like the same team. This is a dangerous spot. I feel like against the Saints coming off that kind of disheartening loss to Dallas. Yeah, I know I want to go Saints, but I look at the Saints injury report. They're missing, they're left tackles out. Alvin Kamara is not practicing. I don't know what to make of this, but do you think if you're an Eagles stand, do you want to see Hurts back out there? I do because I think they're a team that doesn't want to play at San Francisco. Remember they blew out Minnesota. You know you don't want to go to Minnesota. So there, I feel outside of the Niners, I feel other good NFC playoff team needs to play at home, none of them now. I think Cincinnati could win anywhere, Kansas City could win anywhere. Buffalo I think mostly could win anywhere. I think Philadelphia Sara Janni's never won a playoff game, Jalen Hurtz never won a playoff game. They need to be at home. I think they're taking this game very serious. I mean, you look at the NFC. Four teams have a positive point differentials. That's it in the entire conference. And one of them is the Vikings, who went outside in Philly and got destroyed this weekend. I'll say a lot about the Vikings in Green Bay. Next up, Tom Brady, this is a wild stat He's officially spent half of his life in the NFL. Yesterday was his eight thousand, two hundred and ninety second day since being drafted by the Patriots. He had lived eight thousand, two hundred ninety two days before that. He was informed of this incredible stat during his press conference yesterday. Here was Tom Brady's response, that's crazy. You know, the stats and data is everywhere. It's a data driven world. But that's crazy. That's her me to imagine. So I've loved it. I've certainly you love my opportunity to play, and it's been a lot of you know, it's memories and relationships. I've certainly had my fair share of those relationships. Keyword there for backwards hat guy Tom Brady relationships. Well, Derek car and Josh McDaniels in Vegas. So you've been on this for a while now, you've been on that one big I'm kind of a skeptic on that one, but you are very much into I mean, let's be on. Do we both agree the Raiders are moving off Derek Carr. Oh, that's a that's given. Apparently they don't even want him like in the facility this week because of the bad negative vibes. You know all the players defending him. So your options are Josh McDaniels. Now this is his second go as a head coach. It's starting badly. What would you want a rookie quarterbacker? Brady or I think Jimmy Garoppolo is really the only other. Did not go for Ryan Tannehill. That's not happen and you're not going for a kid. And just a reminder, So the guy they're starting this week is Jared Stidham. A lot of people scoff, who's Jared Sidham? What has he done? You know where he was before Vegas? Right? Yeah? He in New England with Josh mcdan. Yeah, but he's not start. Daniels likes his guys. Who knows his football? Jared Stidham knows his game. Tom Brady knows Josh McDaniel. It's just a it seems like a natural fit, Colin. But you don't think Jarret Stidham's the answer? No? Hell no, sorry, no, I do not think Jared sillims good. That was a little early for a hell no. All right, let's wrap up with the biggest game of Sunday in the four pm window East Coast time, Gino Smith revenge game against the Jets. They drafted him back in twenty thirteen. His first four seasons there included a lot of futility, and I think he got punched out by a teammate right practice. Linebacker clocked him in the face. He's talking about facing the Jets with a playoff spot on the line for Seattle, says he's not focusing on the revenge aspect against his former team. We need a win so we can get into the playoff. You know, obviously there'll be some speculations from talk about that, you know, I mean, it comes with the Terry tory. Is to be expected, you know. Um. You know, I got a lot of love for the Jets, um, the organization and a lot of people that are still there that were there when I got drafted. So um for me in this team, it's you know, business as usual. Another week to prepare and a tough challenge for us to go out there and you know, try and get this win. We need it. By the way the season started, all of us laughing at Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll really knew what he was doing. Geno's not the answer without a run game and they have to go to the draft where there's about one quarterback per year that's a franchise quarterback. So remember, like like that divorce looked like Seattle slam dunk. But what's happening with Gino now? Without a consistent run game? He's Geno Smith, Kevin Lockett did Sorry, Tyler Lockett returned from injury this week. If he may play, they don't know if he's gonna go yet, that would be huge for Gino in Seattle. I think I think the Jets. I don't want to say Mike White's locking this one up, Colin, but I don't know feel good about Mike White. Who who do you feel more confident in going into this game? Geno Smith in Seattle, who is definitely slip sliding down. I mean they, I think they haven't covered six games in a row, right, or Mike White, who has looked good against Minnesota, No, look good against the build. I don't want to build my franchise around either. But I do think Mike White will win this weekend. That's what I feel, all right? You feel good? You know going into Week eighteen. A lot of Jets talk on the herd. For sure, let's ring in the new year with the Jets in the playoff mix. All right, J Mack with the news, Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the herd Line News. I don't talk a ton of basketball, as you well know, until we get into kind of February and the NFL crowns it's champion. But this is interesting. I said last week I thought the Lakers, the Bus family should sell the franchise. I think they're over their head. Second generation business not going well. Scouting department, in front office just really poorly run, has been for a long time. And I also think Lebron James deserves better. He's having another remarkable season, top ten in scoring. Looks great. Lebron James, I was gone a couple days ago, expressed his frustration now that Anthony Davis has hurt about this team, the roster and the situation he's in. I'm a winner and I want to win. Playing basketball at this level. Just to be playing basketball is not It's not in my DNA. It's not in my DNA anymore. I don't want to finish my career, you know, play at this level. From a team aspect, I must still be able to compete for championship because I know what I can still bring to any ball club with the right pieces. So I have defended Lebron a lot through the years pro Lebron. I do think he's the best overall basketball player I've ever seen, along with MJ and Magic Johnson. They're just different. But I have no sympathy here Lebron James chose Los Angeles to get rich, and he did. This was not a good organization when he got here. They were all five straight losing seasons. He then signed an extension. Recently, he also wanted Westbrook. It's a poorly run basketball operation, has been for a decade and they should be open now to trading him. Lebron is represented by Rich Paul and Clutch Sports. I believe there are six different Clutch Sports players on this roster, some obviously better than others, and the ad Westbrook moves are all over Lebron's fingerprints, as is Pat Beverley, although I don't have any verification of that, but Pat bev is exactly what Lebron historically likes, feisty, veteran players who've been around the block, who've been in playoff series. But he chose Los Angeles to get rich. He did not choose it because it was the best ownership group, the best scouting department, the best roster. Contrary to that, there were multiple options that were significantly better. He chose to get rich and build his brand and bring a d there, and he got a Bubble championship and is now I imagine he's a billionaire. His business has done fabulously well. But the Lakers now need a reboot, and he's a very tradeable player. Ask yourself, this is Luca going to keep scoring forty five points a game in Dallas? Doesn't he need a running mate? I'd call the Mavericks tomorrow. Miami and Cleveland are both going to make the playoffs in the East, but neither has the man Milwaukee. Chris Middleton can't stay healthy. Joe Ingle's coming off an injury, isn't what he used to be probably, so I mean to me, this is the perfect opportunity. The Lakers need to reboot or rebuild. They don't want to give up those picks. Trade you're already bad. Trade Lebron, get a bunch of picks, Maybe get some rotational guys have sort of an identity, because you don't have one now. But in this instance, this is what Lebron wanted, branding and getting really wealthy, and man has he and I couldn't be happier for him and his friends in Los Angeles. I really couldn't. I think Lebron's a really good dude. This was never the best basketball decision. We all knew that they were off five straight losing seasons and had a roster full of unproven kids outside of Kyle Kuzma. Did anybody really like any of them at the end, or does anybody like any of them today? All right? Joel Klatt is around the corner blazing five top of the next hour, and Greg Kosell, we are stacked on a Friday. Happy holidays to all of you doing the traveling. I know it's a headache wherever you may be back in a second, it's the hurd. Be sure to catch editions of the Herd weekdayson noon Easter not a Empacific. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. So good to have you in. Joel Cloud is the voice of college football at this network. Love having him on. He just called that thrilling Oregon win over North Carolina. Has there ever been a bad Holiday Bowl? They may change sponsors, but the outcomes are always great. Okay, so let's start with Michigan TCU. I know that hardball can be awkward and a little intense, but I tend to look for threads. You know. I've heard I've seen him do like the Jim Schwartz thing and the hard slap on the back. And I've had coaches say he can be kind of an awkward guy and might take away as I'm awkward that whatever. I can't be. But at Stanford Niners in Michigan, the one thing he always brings his team becomes the toughest in the conference eventually, and I don't I feel bad for TCU. I think it's a good matchup. You've never really wavered on hardball. I don't think you have, have you? No, I don't. I mean I remember, Shoot, I might have been on the train before you were. I still remember we did Gus and I called his first game at Michigan. You remember that you had just come over, Yeah, and we were doing a pregame show at Utah and they were about to play that Utah team. Now, if my memory serves me correct, Utah ended up winning that game, but that was the Jake Ruddock Michigan team. And I said on that show that I thought that that year Michigan would end up being a top ten team. And I felt that way because of what you just said, Like they will eventually become the toughest team in the conference at the line of scrimmage. And he's going to do that or die trying, like he said in press conferences before. The bottom line is is that this Michigan team this year is a team that does not panic when they're in close games because they know they'll eventually wear you down. Michigan's got right now the best offensive line in the country. They've got a great defensive line, and it is the reason, Colin why they're such a good second half team. They are the best second half team in the entire country. Their point differential is plus two hundred and I think what six in second half of football games, and that's a bad matchup for TCU. The reason is because TCU relies on coming back in the second half so often. They've got five second half comebacks. I just I don't think that's going to be afforded them because the terms of the game generally are played with the Michigan offensive and defensive line, and that's what eventually wins out. You know, if there was a single quarterback in college football this year that will not go in the first round but will end up having a nice career, I would guess it would be Max dug And the kid at TCU. My guess is he could end up starting being a backup. But when I watch him play, I'm like, he kind of moves, he's got an arm, there's a lot of hutzpah. I like it. What do you make of him in this offense? Because the way to beat Michigan, if you're if you could get lucky here is you get a crazy shootout with a hot quarterback. What do you make of him? That's right, Well, you're, first of all, you're exactly right about the blueprint to beat Michigan. They've got to play from the lead, and they've got to create big plays early. Now, They've got a great wide receiver on the outside, Quentin Johnson, he's an NFL guy. They've got a good NFL back and Kendre Miller. You know, like, they've got some pieces, there's no doubt. And one of the things that they do best is throw the ball down the field and create big plays, explosive pass plays. In fact, Duggan's third in the Power five Colin when you look at passes that travel at least twenty yards or more, he completes fifty percent of those. That's third in the Power five. He's got eighteen touchdowns of passes that travel twenty or more yards. So if I'm TCU, I'm going out throwing haymakers because I've got to play from the lead. Right, You've got to take away the terms of the game from Michigan and their line of scrimmage. So what you're saying now to the kind of the first point of your question, which was Duggan and maybe his future prospects. I covered him. I also covered Brock Purdy. There's a lot of similarities there, a lot of similarities. Now, Brock might be a bit of a more refined passer, but Duggan is a more gritty, you know it with his legs style of guy. And both of them are very smart. They're probably a little undersize for the NFL. They're gonna be overlooked, but they're great competitors and they are the catalyst for teams overachieving at the college level. I thought Party was the catalyst, along with their running back Bruce Hall at Iowa State, and then Dougan. Obviously what he's done at TCU has been outstanding. But that's they remind me a lot of each other. Yeah, I think Ohio State's going to score some points on Georgia. I don't think they'll beat him, but I think it's gonna be We don't see this much with Georgia, a little bit of a shootout teams in the high twenties, low thirties. I do your takeaway on Ohio States offense against this vaunted Georgia defense. Yeah, So the thing about George's defense is that if you're a team that really needs to be balanced or really really like needs the run game to jump start, your team just gonna totally shut you down right because Jalen Carter is too good and that run defense is too good. Now, if you're a team that has the talent to win one on one matchups in the straight drop back game, then you can move the ball on Georgia. And I think the evidence is clear of that even in the last two years. In fact, when you look at the last thirty eight games that Georgia has played, I believe they've only lost three of them, and only four of those games they've given up over four hundred yards a total offense. Well, they're one in three in those games. The latest to do that, by the way, was Lsu. Lsu just did something that we haven't seen in the Kirby Smart era. They had ten pass plays of twenty or more yards explosive pass plays. So I'm if I'm looking at like, okay, I'm gonna try to create a team that could give Georgia problems. I'm not saying they're gonna win, but give them problems. I would say good NFL style quarterback, really good intricate passing scheme and players on the outside that can win. Oh Hello, Marvin Harrison junior right, Jamison Williams from last year at Alabama or Mechi last year from Alabama and that SEC championship game. So for me, this is a matchup that at least Ohio State they've got the pieces to go out there and play with Georgia. Make this a game. And I firmly believe what you're talking about. I think Ohio State's going to be able to score a little bit. Yeah. The bigger question for me is how they perform in the red zone offensively, because that's where they struggled against Michigan they were one of four scoring touchdowns in the red zone. And then and then how do they handle Stetson been It because this is the one thing that we don't talk about in this game. By the way, Colin Stetson been it in his last five games against top fifteen teams, He's seventy two percent over two hundred and eighty five yards passing thirteen touchdowns and no interceptions. They've got great tight ends, brock Bowers being one of them. Can Ohio States stop them? Don't? I don't know I don't know, especially after what we saw in their last game out against Michigan. So you know, I see that it doesn't bother me. But I totally get why this bothers sort of traditionalists when you see a great player sitting out of a bowl game. Now, I've always said, if I was a running back and it's a second tier bowl game, Leonard Furnett a Bjean Robinson, like, hey man, we recruit four a year at the school. I've given you everything I've got. Beating Washington's not the end of the I'm okay with some guys sitting out bowl games. Does it bother you? No, I've you know, when it first started happening. I think the first, the first one that I was like, oh my gosh, you know, a bit shocked, was Christian McCaffrey. Don't you agree that was kind of the first one of the trend. And you know, but that was, if I'm not mistaken, that was a Sun Bowl to your point, a running back maybe a you know, not one of the premier bowls out there. I've kind of landed on this philosophy. I think it has to do with value and foremost, anybody that makes this decision. I won't begrudge them this decision. They put themselves in this position and done enough to feel like they're making a decision for their future. So that's that's first. Secondly, just in terms of like are they making the right decision or not, I've kind of landed on the players that really can't help themselves in their draft stock. It's probably a good decision not to play, But there are guys that can make themselves a lot of money by putting out a great performance, right, And you know, if you can help your draft stock, well why wouldn't you play? I know it's a it's a risk award proposition. So first things first, I do not begrudge anybody their decision. You make your decision and you move on, and that is what it is. But if you could still help your draft stock, I think that you might be making a poor financial decision at times if you're opting out. I only have a minute left. I don't know if you notice USC was awesome this year Oklahoma under five hundred. I just saw it on TV somewhere. Yeah, is that thing going to work? Because I think Cliff Kingsbury is going to be available. Are you if you're a Sooner fan, little concerned how clunky it was, Yes, And there's also some reasons for optimism. You know, coming down the stretch, they played a lot of one score games. You know, there were three and six down the stretch, and that could have easily been a nine and three season. And they recruited really well, I mean very well, getting Peyton Bowen's that safety is a big get. So I'm actually not concerned for Oklahoma moving forward. They're still Oklahoma. I think Brent Vinables can get it done. And that was a great game. By the way, a lot of Florida state. Yeah, I'm not concerned about ou Okay there, you you're very positive. I liked that. During the holidays, a lot of negativity. Our airline industry is crashing, so not literally but maybe maybe their computer systems. So we need positive vibes here today. Joel Klatt, as all was my friend. You always look prepared. This guy rolls out of bed and ready to talk college football. Look you look like the voice of college FOOTBA. It's good seeing him, a man, I appreciate you. Happy New Year, but all right, he has got a podcast. Joel Klatt Joel Clatt Show, three times a week, new episode drops. Yeah, I watched about half of Oklahoma, Florida State, Florida State finally as a right coach. You know, it's hard to replace the Bobby Bowdens and the Paternos and the legends, and let's say Florida State. Norville's got the right coach. They had a lot of explosive plays. Every time I look up, I was at a bar with some buddies, Like there was a massive play, like a chunk play for like thirty forty yards for fsu. It kind of looked like, you know, the Danny Canal FSU era right way back in the day when they were like fun to watch. Yeah, I mean, if it just eyeball test, Florida State's got a bunch of good players now. Byway, Michael PENNOCKX of Washington, Now he didn't play well last night. I thought he was all right. I mean, that guy's got a live arm, man, if he could stay healthy, Colin, watch out no the draft. Next year, You're gonna get Caleb Williams, the Carolina may Who and really and Panics and Caleb and Drake may are camp. Miss can I put a sleeper on your on your radar. kJ Jefferson of Arkansas looks a lot like Jalen Hurts six three two forty can run. You're like a buck forty on the ground in their bowl game, and he can throw it. So TCU Michigan tomorrow, Georgia Ohio State tomorrow the Cowboys pick up all win. Greg Kosel right around the corner, Greg Jennings later this hour. This is just such a great time of the year. It's gonna be a weird weekend professionally. Some guy we were just talking about this. Do the Chargers, now, how many starters do they play? Do they play Bosa? Because they could play either Cincinnati or Jacksonville in the playoffs, and you don't want to face Burrow. A lot of interesting stuff. It's the herd.

Thanks for listening to The Herd podcast. Are you sure to catch us live every weekday from twelve to three eastern, nine to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS one. Find your local station for The Herd at Fox Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Friday. It is great to be back, and do we have a lot to talk about live in Los Angeles. It's the Herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening iHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio FS one. Joel Klatt Huge college football Saturday coming up? Buckeyes Georgia, Michigan TCU. Greg ko Sell stops by. I've got my blazing five picks in one hour from now. It's a weird time some of the some of the good teams are resting people. Some of the bad teams are playing for nothing. What will we get this weekend? J Mac joins me. I am done with airports. It is nice to be back for several months now. How are you? I'm excellent. How are the slopes for you? Well? I was with my kids. No greater joy as a dad than hanging out with your kids skiing or on a lake. So my kids are wonderful. That was wonderful, But I'm over airports. It's good to know. I took the two days off to play some basketball, do a lot of college football betting. I'm on a bit of a heater, all right, and get ready for the biggest Jets game in maybe a decade. Well, they're part of my blazing five picks in an hour. So let's start with the Cowboys. They were off a very emotional win over Philadelphia, and they were playing on a short week now. They were playing the Tennessee Titans scout team, they were on a third quarterback. Everybody's rested season gone into the tank. So Dallas stumble didn't look great, but they did win in Dallas has now five and one since Thanksgiving. It does matter. The NFL is three seasons, Thanksgiving, post Thanksgiving, and playoff. They all feel different in Dallas's winning. In fact, their last two losses have come against outstanding quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau and Trevor Lawrence at home in Jacksonville. Both were in overtime, so there is reason for optimism. Around Dallas. The other good news if you're a Cowboy fan off the win is even the good teams in the NFC, there's questions about them. The Giants could be a playoff team. It's not a very good roster Tampa Bay. The offense is in Nimick, San Francisco on a third quarterback Minnesota Kirk Cousins. And do you trust that defense? Philadelphia Jalen Hurts is hurt. Nick Seriani's never won a playoff game, So there's a lot of reason for optimism. Now, if the Cowboys are a wild card team, they'd have to win three straight road games to get to the super Bowl. I do not think they're buttoned up to do that. But if Philadelphia stumbles against the Saints this week and they have a chance to win the division, now it gets very, very interesting. When Dallas gets into trouble. And you saw it last night. The run game's not working and they have to ask dask Dak Prescott to throw forty times a game. And even with a win last night, Dak is now seven and fifteen in his career when he throws it forty or more times. Last night he got a w and the record is still abysmal, so Tony Pollard was hurt. DAK now has had ten picks since Thanksgiving. It's a bit of a mess. So here's the good news, though, there is a way for the Cowboys to win, and we've watched it multiple times this season. Strong run game and DAK is an excellent, complimentary piece. That's the way to win. And here's where it gets really interesting for the Cowboys. And I'm seen as a Cowboy cynic. Not a hater, but cynic. Eight of the top ten run defenses in the National Football League are in the a FC, Dallas won't face them. Outside of the Niners great run defense. The NFC teams that could be in their way, Minnesota, Giants, Commanders, believe it or not, Eagles, Minnesota, Caroline at Tampa are all middle of the pack run defenses. So we know there's a way for the Cowboys to win. DAK is a complimentary piece and the run game is rolling. Now we have a route for the Cowboys to win. They face anybody but San Francisco in the playoffs, so that's where you get your optimism. But if you look at the box score, last night is classic DAK with an eighty five passer rating two picks. They ask him to throw forty one times. It's just not who he is, So stay out of that space. Here was dak after a win's a win, and we're gonna take it. We're gonna get better from the mistakes, and we're gonna make sure they were improving. But a road win, short week, you've got to take them all and the style points and all that. That's for y'all who think games are one on paper. Okay, So the other story, it is amazing stuff gets going on the internet and nobody pushes back, and then all of a sudden you wake up and Derek Carr's terrible. It's like timeout, timeout. I've always thought my job is to just add some context, take the emotion out of it. I don't care who wins and loses these games. I want them to be It's like a produce. I own the store. I'm looking for good fresh material. So Derek Carr's getting benched by the Raiders to the last two games. Why is he getting benched. Well, my feeling is they want him healthy so they can trade him. So Derek Carr, in his contract, has forty million dollars guaranteed money. They're injury guarantees, so if he's hurt, one of the NFL's poorest owners, Mark Davis, would have to ride him forty million dollar check. Then I want to do that. They want to move off there at Car. I think it's a mistake. So the Raiders want him healthy. They want to trade Derek Carr, and they want him healthy, and and there is no big dead cap hit if they moved him. We've mentioned that multiple times this year. He is one of the rare good quarterbacks in this league. You can move now and not be a big dead cap hit. I wouldn't move him. I don't think this is a great college quarterback class. I just wouldn't. But I'll say this just to defend Derek Carr again. He's thirty one years old. He's already at thirty five thousand yards. That's with multiple coaching changes, constant chaos, often bad offensive line. He's at thirty five thousand yards. If he plays just three more seasons, and my guests, he'll play double that. He'll play at least six because he's never really been hurt consistently. He's always ready to play as a tough kid. If he plays just three more years. That's it. He's thirty one. He will blow past forty five thousand yards passing because he's at thirty five thousand now and he averages four thousand a year, so he'll blow past forty five thousand yards passing. Sixteen quarterbacks in league history have done that. Many are Hall of Famers and three that aren't. Breeze Aaron, Rodgers and Brady will be. And the guys that have done it who didn't make the Hall, Philip Rivers and Carson Palmer were damn good. Derek Carr's good quarterback. I say this all the time. I'm always impressed with a kid that came from a young boy or young girl that came from a tough background and made something of themselves. It's awesome if you're a billionaire, but if you started as a trust fund kid, you don't touch my heart. Derek Carr had to go to Fresno State. Everybody doubted Derek Carr didn't have the big arm. Goes to the Raiders six different coaches. Last year was a circus. Yeah, he throws probably more interceptions than you'd like. But this morning I went out and I looked out. I took out his rookie year, because all these quarterbacks struggle as rookies. Trevor Lawrence is great now, he was awful last year. I mean John Elway first year, Peyton Manning first year, Eli Manning first year. Take out his rookie year and subtract this year because he's not gonna play a full season. And his numbers are astounding. Ninety five passer rating, two and a half touchdown to interception ratio, over four thousand yards, sixty six percent completion percentage. And this team right now, outside of left tackle in a very good offensive line. So teams like the Jets, the Commanders and the Bucks, if Brady retires, they just need a quarterback. Jets are not rebuilding. Jets roster's fine, they need a quarterback. That's a playoff team with a question. They may make the playoffs with a quarterback situation. Now. The Commanders with that roster are a playoff team easily with Derek Carr Tampa Bay. If Brady left somewhere else Tampa Bay with Derek Carr in that division, that's a playoff team. If he stays healthy for six seven more years, that would be my guess. He's going to blow past fifty thousand yards passing. That is like an elite, elite, elite club. So Derek Carr's good. Oh yeah, let me throw this in adding context to it. Now, I love Patrick Mahomes, but he inherited Andy Reid and Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelsey and Brett Beats, the GM and the Hunt family. Okay, So, and we all know Mahomes is great, right, and he's better than Derek Carr. But since Derek Carr entered the league, do you know what the Raiders defense has been? Thirty second six different head coaches? Can we add context? Stuff gets on the internet, everybody believes in it. Nobody just goes to Google and looks up. Yeah. Last year, as he carried a wobbly franchise with an interim special team's head coach to the playoffs in the superior AFC, he threw some picks. Yeah, guess what, it's hard having to pull an entire franchise to the playoffs in the AFC out of the AFC West Davante Adams. If Derek Carr is traded, and I imagine he will be talked about the guy he played college football with it Fresno State obviously, I don't think anybody was excited about it here, you know, and being one of my really good friends, and you know the reason why I came here in the first place. I wouldn't I wouldn't be here right now if he wasn't, you know, if he wasn't here he was. I think everybody knows how I feel about him then, and hero that's it. There's one of the process of how things go. And I'm not gonna sit here and going home. But obviously I supported my guy. The best part about the Innerweb is that you see some very very clever, smart, funny people. The worst part is stuff goes downhill like an avalanche and nobody actually does any checking. Just google his career stats and remember he's on his sixth coach, his like third or fourth GM. I mean, this year he didn't have Hunter Renfro or Darren Waller. Most of the year he did have Davante Adams. But I mean, go look at the first round picks that Mayak and Gruden whiffed on. This guy's been playing Mahomes twice a year. Now it's Herbert twice a year. Thank god. Russell Wilson is struggling Derek Carr would make the Jets, the Commanders the Buck's minimum playoff teams next year. He's really good. He's just like a lot of young people. Had to overcome a lot, a lot his franchise move. For God's how many people have to deal with in all the chaos. Yeah, we're moving to another state. A lot of players choose to move, the franchise doesn't move, and they have to chase it. All sorts of good stuff Today Blazon five Next Hour Joel clack Gray College football Games, capping the season. Two big ones, then we're down to one. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Easter nine a Empacific on Fox Sports Radio FS one and the iHeartRadio app. The voice of college football at this network, Joel Clatt, He's always phenomenal. We'll be joining us Michigan TCU tomorrow. I like the Wolverines by about a touchdown. Also Ohio State Georgia. I think there's gonna be points in that one. I'll take Georgia, but I think it's competitive. The Buckeyes put some points up, so do the Bulldogs. Very excited for both games. I want to start with this though. Jerry Judy is a wide receiver for Denver, very talented. I've been told for years little immature, but he did something that I like that he came out and offended that these wild rumors about Russell Wilson a summer rumors, summer not there's discussion that he has a parking space. Okay, First of all, I drive into the Fox parking lot every morning. There's fifteen to twenty reserve parking spots. I imagine for senior management. Every place I've ever worked there's reserve parking spots for managers. I don't think any of it. I'm over there by the dumpster. What do I character parking spot? I like the exercise. So if he has a parking space, who cares? All my bosses have always had their own parking spots. And then there's the well, he's got his own room, his own office. Can I just say this, If I owned an NFL franchise, I would give my GM his own office, head coach his own office. When I used to work covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the GM and the coach had their own office, so did the scouting director. And I would consider absolutely if I had a veteran quarterback making over two hundred and fifty million dollars. I'm a Holmes, you know that kind of guy, Aaron Rodgers. I would consider giving him his own office. Occasionally, I'd ask him if I could pull a sponsor in to say hello, or a lucky fan grouped on a contest. But it gives him some privacy to bring in maybe his other quarterbacks or receivers. I just don't think it's excessive at all. Maybe I'm off in the clouds, but every company I've ever worked at, mid level managers get parking spots and offices. Maybe I don't know. It doesn't seem like a thing. But Jerry Judy, to his credit, the young man deserves some respect here. Because stuff gets on the internet, it becomes an inferno. And Jerry Judy said, stop stop the criticism of Russell Wilson. I'm just tired of reading things about my boy and making it seem like, oh, he's not a good teammate, other unnecessary stuff that I'm not true, and I just wanted to get it out in the air like that. He is a good teammate, you know, and he is a Harvard teammate. And I just feel like I just needed to get that out there because this is a lot of false narrators going around here that I'm getting tired of seeing. Okay again, Russell Wilson may be washed. I think Jason McIntyre and I have been on the side of we can't figure it out. I believe about seventy percent of the problems are a completely overwhelmed head coach. Their best offensive lineman on a week offensive line got hurt in game five, their best running back got hurt in week four, and then they bailed on their backup who kept fumbling. So Russell Wilson here, new system, new coach, tough division, young receivers, battle line, running backs gone early, coach over as skis. I think it's about seventy thirty. On other stuff, I could obviously be wrong. There is no precedent from going from one hundred quarterback rating four straight years to garbage. There's just no precedent for it. But I will say this is that, and this is probably a good thing. You know, most comedians honestly should be liberal because they should be fighting power. It's funnier to make fun of rich, powerful people. It's not funny to make fun of poor people and people that are being overwhelmed in life. Most comedians should be liberal. They should fight sociouald newspaper people. They should be fighting corporations in power. And that's something that gets lost is that it's okay the media sometimes it does lean left fighting in their view for the little guy. Hey, let's now work at Fox. We're conservative. I'm totally okay with it. My friends in the media probably sixty fourty seventy thirty Democrat over Republican. I don't care good people good people, but I do think and this is why this matters, is that sometimes Russell Wilson comes off as very corporate, says whatever the owner wants, says whatever, very It doesn't come off as authentic. He's he's get me my money, beautiful wife, corporate guy, little cringey. And the media didn't love him, you know, for a long time. They loved Aaron Rodgers, you know, the contrarian until that vaccine stuff. So you know, my takeaway is I get why some of the media don't like certain people who come off as powerful and corporate, but it does feel a little bit like we're piling on here. Nathaniel Hackett wasn't even a coordinator in Green Bay? Was he even truly a play caller consistently? I mean, Aaron they say, runs what Aaron wants to run? He blew off Mike McCarthy for years, and McCarthy on a Super Bowl McCarthy's got the Cowboy's gonna finish like thirteen and four. Maybe Russell's washed. I could, certainly. I don't know how to explain it, but and I get some of the animosity here toward him, but it does feel like parking space. Really that that's got you worked up. I mean, if you've ever worked at a corporation, midlevel managers have him. He's got his own office. Who gives a rip? I do? I talk into a microphone for a living Now Half the time I come into it and Bradshaw's asleep on the couch eating all my snacks. It just feels a little bit like piling on. And Jerry Judy, to his credit, came out and defended his guide Jmack with the news No, no turn on the news. This is the herd Line News franchise quarterback. You spend a quarter of a billion dollars on has his own office, I'm stunned at that development, Like, what, what the heck? All right, let's get started calling with the big news out of Philadelphia. Jalen Hurts the likely MVP this season if Mahomes doesn't overtake him. Return to practice for the first time since his shoulder injury was listed as limited. You see him here going through some drills. I don't see any extra padding around the collar. Looks like he could go instead of Gardner Minshew. But they're hosting the Saints is Sunday. I think the bigger news than Jalen Hurts is Lane Johnson. Colin I dug up this stat Lane Johnson. When they're missing they're great right tackle the last three years, not the same three and ten. That's what their record is. He is a great offensive lineman, instrumental is to the run game, the past protection. He may be the best right tackle in league history. He's certainly up there. He's in the discussion, and without him, they have just not looked like the same team. This is a dangerous spot. I feel like against the Saints coming off that kind of disheartening loss to Dallas. Yeah, I know I want to go Saints, but I look at the Saints injury report. They're missing, they're left tackles out. Alvin Kamara is not practicing. I don't know what to make of this, but do you think if you're an Eagles stand, do you want to see Hurts back out there? I do because I think they're a team that doesn't want to play at San Francisco. Remember they blew out Minnesota. You know you don't want to go to Minnesota. So there, I feel outside of the Niners, I feel other good NFC playoff team needs to play at home, none of them now. I think Cincinnati could win anywhere, Kansas City could win anywhere. Buffalo I think mostly could win anywhere. I think Philadelphia Sara Janni's never won a playoff game, Jalen Hurtz never won a playoff game. They need to be at home. I think they're taking this game very serious. I mean, you look at the NFC. Four teams have a positive point differentials. That's it in the entire conference. And one of them is the Vikings, who went outside in Philly and got destroyed this weekend. I'll say a lot about the Vikings in Green Bay. Next up, Tom Brady, this is a wild stat He's officially spent half of his life in the NFL. Yesterday was his eight thousand, two hundred and ninety second day since being drafted by the Patriots. He had lived eight thousand, two hundred ninety two days before that. He was informed of this incredible stat during his press conference yesterday. Here was Tom Brady's response, that's crazy. You know, the stats and data is everywhere. It's a data driven world. But that's crazy. That's her me to imagine. So I've loved it. I've certainly you love my opportunity to play, and it's been a lot of you know, it's memories and relationships. I've certainly had my fair share of those relationships. Keyword there for backwards hat guy Tom Brady relationships. Well, Derek car and Josh McDaniels in Vegas. So you've been on this for a while now, you've been on that one big I'm kind of a skeptic on that one, but you are very much into I mean, let's be on. Do we both agree the Raiders are moving off Derek Carr. Oh, that's a that's given. Apparently they don't even want him like in the facility this week because of the bad negative vibes. You know all the players defending him. So your options are Josh McDaniels. Now this is his second go as a head coach. It's starting badly. What would you want a rookie quarterbacker? Brady or I think Jimmy Garoppolo is really the only other. Did not go for Ryan Tannehill. That's not happen and you're not going for a kid. And just a reminder, So the guy they're starting this week is Jared Stidham. A lot of people scoff, who's Jared Sidham? What has he done? You know where he was before Vegas? Right? Yeah? He in New England with Josh mcdan. Yeah, but he's not start. Daniels likes his guys. Who knows his football? Jared Stidham knows his game. Tom Brady knows Josh McDaniel. It's just a it seems like a natural fit, Colin. But you don't think Jarret Stidham's the answer? No? Hell no, sorry, no, I do not think Jared sillims good. That was a little early for a hell no. All right, let's wrap up with the biggest game of Sunday in the four pm window East Coast time, Gino Smith revenge game against the Jets. They drafted him back in twenty thirteen. His first four seasons there included a lot of futility, and I think he got punched out by a teammate right practice. Linebacker clocked him in the face. He's talking about facing the Jets with a playoff spot on the line for Seattle, says he's not focusing on the revenge aspect against his former team. We need a win so we can get into the playoff. You know, obviously there'll be some speculations from talk about that, you know, I mean, it comes with the Terry tory. Is to be expected, you know. Um. You know, I got a lot of love for the Jets, um, the organization and a lot of people that are still there that were there when I got drafted. So um for me in this team, it's you know, business as usual. Another week to prepare and a tough challenge for us to go out there and you know, try and get this win. We need it. By the way the season started, all of us laughing at Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll really knew what he was doing. Geno's not the answer without a run game and they have to go to the draft where there's about one quarterback per year that's a franchise quarterback. So remember, like like that divorce looked like Seattle slam dunk. But what's happening with Gino now? Without a consistent run game? He's Geno Smith, Kevin Lockett did Sorry, Tyler Lockett returned from injury this week. If he may play, they don't know if he's gonna go yet, that would be huge for Gino in Seattle. I think I think the Jets. I don't want to say Mike White's locking this one up, Colin, but I don't know feel good about Mike White. Who who do you feel more confident in going into this game? Geno Smith in Seattle, who is definitely slip sliding down. I mean they, I think they haven't covered six games in a row, right, or Mike White, who has looked good against Minnesota, No, look good against the build. I don't want to build my franchise around either. But I do think Mike White will win this weekend. That's what I feel, all right? You feel good? You know going into Week eighteen. A lot of Jets talk on the herd. For sure, let's ring in the new year with the Jets in the playoff mix. All right, J Mack with the news, Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the herd Line News. I don't talk a ton of basketball, as you well know, until we get into kind of February and the NFL crowns it's champion. But this is interesting. I said last week I thought the Lakers, the Bus family should sell the franchise. I think they're over their head. Second generation business not going well. Scouting department, in front office just really poorly run, has been for a long time. And I also think Lebron James deserves better. He's having another remarkable season, top ten in scoring. Looks great. Lebron James, I was gone a couple days ago, expressed his frustration now that Anthony Davis has hurt about this team, the roster and the situation he's in. I'm a winner and I want to win. Playing basketball at this level. Just to be playing basketball is not It's not in my DNA. It's not in my DNA anymore. I don't want to finish my career, you know, play at this level. From a team aspect, I must still be able to compete for championship because I know what I can still bring to any ball club with the right pieces. So I have defended Lebron a lot through the years pro Lebron. I do think he's the best overall basketball player I've ever seen, along with MJ and Magic Johnson. They're just different. But I have no sympathy here Lebron James chose Los Angeles to get rich, and he did. This was not a good organization when he got here. They were all five straight losing seasons. He then signed an extension. Recently, he also wanted Westbrook. It's a poorly run basketball operation, has been for a decade and they should be open now to trading him. Lebron is represented by Rich Paul and Clutch Sports. I believe there are six different Clutch Sports players on this roster, some obviously better than others, and the ad Westbrook moves are all over Lebron's fingerprints, as is Pat Beverley, although I don't have any verification of that, but Pat bev is exactly what Lebron historically likes, feisty, veteran players who've been around the block, who've been in playoff series. But he chose Los Angeles to get rich. He did not choose it because it was the best ownership group, the best scouting department, the best roster. Contrary to that, there were multiple options that were significantly better. He chose to get rich and build his brand and bring a d there, and he got a Bubble championship and is now I imagine he's a billionaire. His business has done fabulously well. But the Lakers now need a reboot, and he's a very tradeable player. Ask yourself, this is Luca going to keep scoring forty five points a game in Dallas? Doesn't he need a running mate? I'd call the Mavericks tomorrow. Miami and Cleveland are both going to make the playoffs in the East, but neither has the man Milwaukee. Chris Middleton can't stay healthy. Joe Ingle's coming off an injury, isn't what he used to be probably, so I mean to me, this is the perfect opportunity. The Lakers need to reboot or rebuild. They don't want to give up those picks. Trade you're already bad. Trade Lebron, get a bunch of picks, Maybe get some rotational guys have sort of an identity, because you don't have one now. But in this instance, this is what Lebron wanted, branding and getting really wealthy, and man has he and I couldn't be happier for him and his friends in Los Angeles. I really couldn't. I think Lebron's a really good dude. This was never the best basketball decision. We all knew that they were off five straight losing seasons and had a roster full of unproven kids outside of Kyle Kuzma. Did anybody really like any of them at the end, or does anybody like any of them today? All right? Joel Klatt is around the corner blazing five top of the next hour, and Greg Kosell, we are stacked on a Friday. Happy holidays to all of you doing the traveling. I know it's a headache wherever you may be back in a second, it's the hurd. Be sure to catch editions of the Herd weekdayson noon Easter not a Empacific. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. So good to have you in. Joel Cloud is the voice of college football at this network. Love having him on. He just called that thrilling Oregon win over North Carolina. Has there ever been a bad Holiday Bowl? They may change sponsors, but the outcomes are always great. Okay, so let's start with Michigan TCU. I know that hardball can be awkward and a little intense, but I tend to look for threads. You know. I've heard I've seen him do like the Jim Schwartz thing and the hard slap on the back. And I've had coaches say he can be kind of an awkward guy and might take away as I'm awkward that whatever. I can't be. But at Stanford Niners in Michigan, the one thing he always brings his team becomes the toughest in the conference eventually, and I don't I feel bad for TCU. I think it's a good matchup. You've never really wavered on hardball. I don't think you have, have you? No, I don't. I mean I remember, Shoot, I might have been on the train before you were. I still remember we did Gus and I called his first game at Michigan. You remember that you had just come over, Yeah, and we were doing a pregame show at Utah and they were about to play that Utah team. Now, if my memory serves me correct, Utah ended up winning that game, but that was the Jake Ruddock Michigan team. And I said on that show that I thought that that year Michigan would end up being a top ten team. And I felt that way because of what you just said, Like they will eventually become the toughest team in the conference at the line of scrimmage. And he's going to do that or die trying, like he said in press conferences before. The bottom line is is that this Michigan team this year is a team that does not panic when they're in close games because they know they'll eventually wear you down. Michigan's got right now the best offensive line in the country. They've got a great defensive line, and it is the reason, Colin why they're such a good second half team. They are the best second half team in the entire country. Their point differential is plus two hundred and I think what six in second half of football games, and that's a bad matchup for TCU. The reason is because TCU relies on coming back in the second half so often. They've got five second half comebacks. I just I don't think that's going to be afforded them because the terms of the game generally are played with the Michigan offensive and defensive line, and that's what eventually wins out. You know, if there was a single quarterback in college football this year that will not go in the first round but will end up having a nice career, I would guess it would be Max dug And the kid at TCU. My guess is he could end up starting being a backup. But when I watch him play, I'm like, he kind of moves, he's got an arm, there's a lot of hutzpah. I like it. What do you make of him in this offense? Because the way to beat Michigan, if you're if you could get lucky here is you get a crazy shootout with a hot quarterback. What do you make of him? That's right, Well, you're, first of all, you're exactly right about the blueprint to beat Michigan. They've got to play from the lead, and they've got to create big plays early. Now, They've got a great wide receiver on the outside, Quentin Johnson, he's an NFL guy. They've got a good NFL back and Kendre Miller. You know, like, they've got some pieces, there's no doubt. And one of the things that they do best is throw the ball down the field and create big plays, explosive pass plays. In fact, Duggan's third in the Power five Colin when you look at passes that travel at least twenty yards or more, he completes fifty percent of those. That's third in the Power five. He's got eighteen touchdowns of passes that travel twenty or more yards. So if I'm TCU, I'm going out throwing haymakers because I've got to play from the lead. Right, You've got to take away the terms of the game from Michigan and their line of scrimmage. So what you're saying now to the kind of the first point of your question, which was Duggan and maybe his future prospects. I covered him. I also covered Brock Purdy. There's a lot of similarities there, a lot of similarities. Now, Brock might be a bit of a more refined passer, but Duggan is a more gritty, you know it with his legs style of guy. And both of them are very smart. They're probably a little undersize for the NFL. They're gonna be overlooked, but they're great competitors and they are the catalyst for teams overachieving at the college level. I thought Party was the catalyst, along with their running back Bruce Hall at Iowa State, and then Dougan. Obviously what he's done at TCU has been outstanding. But that's they remind me a lot of each other. Yeah, I think Ohio State's going to score some points on Georgia. I don't think they'll beat him, but I think it's gonna be We don't see this much with Georgia, a little bit of a shootout teams in the high twenties, low thirties. I do your takeaway on Ohio States offense against this vaunted Georgia defense. Yeah, So the thing about George's defense is that if you're a team that really needs to be balanced or really really like needs the run game to jump start, your team just gonna totally shut you down right because Jalen Carter is too good and that run defense is too good. Now, if you're a team that has the talent to win one on one matchups in the straight drop back game, then you can move the ball on Georgia. And I think the evidence is clear of that even in the last two years. In fact, when you look at the last thirty eight games that Georgia has played, I believe they've only lost three of them, and only four of those games they've given up over four hundred yards a total offense. Well, they're one in three in those games. The latest to do that, by the way, was Lsu. Lsu just did something that we haven't seen in the Kirby Smart era. They had ten pass plays of twenty or more yards explosive pass plays. So I'm if I'm looking at like, okay, I'm gonna try to create a team that could give Georgia problems. I'm not saying they're gonna win, but give them problems. I would say good NFL style quarterback, really good intricate passing scheme and players on the outside that can win. Oh Hello, Marvin Harrison junior right, Jamison Williams from last year at Alabama or Mechi last year from Alabama and that SEC championship game. So for me, this is a matchup that at least Ohio State they've got the pieces to go out there and play with Georgia. Make this a game. And I firmly believe what you're talking about. I think Ohio State's going to be able to score a little bit. Yeah. The bigger question for me is how they perform in the red zone offensively, because that's where they struggled against Michigan they were one of four scoring touchdowns in the red zone. And then and then how do they handle Stetson been It because this is the one thing that we don't talk about in this game. By the way, Colin Stetson been it in his last five games against top fifteen teams, He's seventy two percent over two hundred and eighty five yards passing thirteen touchdowns and no interceptions. They've got great tight ends, brock Bowers being one of them. Can Ohio States stop them? Don't? I don't know I don't know, especially after what we saw in their last game out against Michigan. So you know, I see that it doesn't bother me. But I totally get why this bothers sort of traditionalists when you see a great player sitting out of a bowl game. Now, I've always said, if I was a running back and it's a second tier bowl game, Leonard Furnett a Bjean Robinson, like, hey man, we recruit four a year at the school. I've given you everything I've got. Beating Washington's not the end of the I'm okay with some guys sitting out bowl games. Does it bother you? No, I've you know, when it first started happening. I think the first, the first one that I was like, oh my gosh, you know, a bit shocked, was Christian McCaffrey. Don't you agree that was kind of the first one of the trend. And you know, but that was, if I'm not mistaken, that was a Sun Bowl to your point, a running back maybe a you know, not one of the premier bowls out there. I've kind of landed on this philosophy. I think it has to do with value and foremost, anybody that makes this decision. I won't begrudge them this decision. They put themselves in this position and done enough to feel like they're making a decision for their future. So that's that's first. Secondly, just in terms of like are they making the right decision or not, I've kind of landed on the players that really can't help themselves in their draft stock. It's probably a good decision not to play, But there are guys that can make themselves a lot of money by putting out a great performance, right, And you know, if you can help your draft stock, well why wouldn't you play? I know it's a it's a risk award proposition. So first things first, I do not begrudge anybody their decision. You make your decision and you move on, and that is what it is. But if you could still help your draft stock, I think that you might be making a poor financial decision at times if you're opting out. I only have a minute left. I don't know if you notice USC was awesome this year Oklahoma under five hundred. I just saw it on TV somewhere. Yeah, is that thing going to work? Because I think Cliff Kingsbury is going to be available. Are you if you're a Sooner fan, little concerned how clunky it was, Yes, And there's also some reasons for optimism. You know, coming down the stretch, they played a lot of one score games. You know, there were three and six down the stretch, and that could have easily been a nine and three season. And they recruited really well, I mean very well, getting Peyton Bowen's that safety is a big get. So I'm actually not concerned for Oklahoma moving forward. They're still Oklahoma. I think Brent Vinables can get it done. And that was a great game. By the way, a lot of Florida state. Yeah, I'm not concerned about ou Okay there, you you're very positive. I liked that. During the holidays, a lot of negativity. Our airline industry is crashing, so not literally but maybe maybe their computer systems. So we need positive vibes here today. Joel Klatt, as all was my friend. You always look prepared. This guy rolls out of bed and ready to talk college football. Look you look like the voice of college FOOTBA. It's good seeing him, a man, I appreciate you. Happy New Year, but all right, he has got a podcast. Joel Klatt Joel Clatt Show, three times a week, new episode drops. Yeah, I watched about half of Oklahoma, Florida State, Florida State finally as a right coach. You know, it's hard to replace the Bobby Bowdens and the Paternos and the legends, and let's say Florida State. Norville's got the right coach. They had a lot of explosive plays. Every time I look up, I was at a bar with some buddies, Like there was a massive play, like a chunk play for like thirty forty yards for fsu. It kind of looked like, you know, the Danny Canal FSU era right way back in the day when they were like fun to watch. Yeah, I mean, if it just eyeball test, Florida State's got a bunch of good players now. Byway, Michael PENNOCKX of Washington, Now he didn't play well last night. I thought he was all right. I mean, that guy's got a live arm, man, if he could stay healthy, Colin, watch out no the draft. Next year, You're gonna get Caleb Williams, the Carolina may Who and really and Panics and Caleb and Drake may are camp. Miss can I put a sleeper on your on your radar. kJ Jefferson of Arkansas looks a lot like Jalen Hurts six three two forty can run. You're like a buck forty on the ground in their bowl game, and he can throw it. So TCU Michigan tomorrow, Georgia Ohio State tomorrow the Cowboys pick up all win. Greg Kosel right around the corner, Greg Jennings later this hour. This is just such a great time of the year. It's gonna be a weird weekend professionally. Some guy we were just talking about this. Do the Chargers, now, how many starters do they play? Do they play Bosa? Because they could play either Cincinnati or Jacksonville in the playoffs, and you don't want to face Burrow. A lot of interesting stuff. It's the herd.