The Herd with Colin CowherdColin talks about the news story of Caleb Williams' father not wanting his son to be drafted by the Bears
Many believe the Browns owner pushed for Shedeur Sanders to be drafted
Guest: Albert Breer
Thanks for listening to 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 Sports Radio dot com, or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, welcome in. It is our two in Chicago. It is The Herd. So Jmac. A year ago, a little more than a year ago, I went on the air before the draft and I said, I have a pretty good contact with Caleb Williams. He's going to be the number one pick, but there are concerns about the Chicago Bears. It would not be his first pick because of the history of the franchise. And I think it's I've said this before. The harder you work, the better you are as a college athlete. The worst team you go to. If you're a young lawyer, a young architect, a young tech star, you can go to a better company. Kevin Durant's going to a worst team out of college or John Wall or whoever is the best player. So I said, there's real there's some real concerns about Chicago, but my source told me he doesn't want to be a bad guy. It's a great city. He's just going to make the most of it. Well, I got assailed, I got ripped by Chicago radio personalities. Very sad, very hurtful. Well, what do you know, Seth Wickersham, who is one of the best at what he does in the country. A journalist for ESPN reports that Caleb and his family wade blowing up the entire draft, consulting with lawyers to figure out a way around the leadu's collective bargain the agreement, considered signing with the UFL just not to go to Chicago. Caleb told his father he wanted to play for the Vikings after meeting Kevin O'Connell. I would as well. Aaron Rodgers rumored wanted to play for Kevin O'Connell, the guy they called the tall Sean McVay. Now one of the reasons I was told, and now it comes out in the story, he had looked it was a defensive coach. The coach was on the hot seat. He just did not trust the organization to help him. In the Wickersham piece today, Caleb said he often watched film alone last season, no instruction, no guidance from the coaches. That's what he was afraid of. Now, I do think it all worked out. If you could pick a coach to have in year two, you'd want Ben Johnson. They've spent money on the offensive line, so and by the way we said this last year, it's better this year. They have in the NFL top six or seven running back, tight end, wide receiver talent. They have really good talent. So it's worked out and now it's on Caleb and I'm sure everybody will deny it. Ben Johnson's on our show later, and I don't think it's a big deal now because he's got it. Took a year, but he got the right people. I mean, if you're a young quarterback, Ben Johnson, Drew Dolman, Joe Tooney, Dj Moore, two good tight ends in a division without a great defense, I think it all worked out for him. But this just goes back to the story that I had reported based on my sources at the time in Los Angeles, near USC He said, yeah, he was worried about it, and I defended him because he didn't want to be a bad guy. But if you looked at the Chicago Bears. I think this is true. I don't think they've ever had a quarterback through over over four thousand yards. That is virtually impossible. That's driving through a car wash and not getting the car wet. How in the NFL can you not eventually have a four thousand yard quarterback? And a lot of it's because the brand of the Bears has always been defense, and I mean they still celebrate the eighty five Bears. I always gave Andy Reid credit, but he was in Philadelphia, Andy Reid, and Philadelphia is a tough, working class, tough town. They love a run game and a defense. And Andy Reid on third and two started passing and I was like, who is this guy in Philadelphia? Who is who has turned third and two and third and three into a passing down? And I don't even love Donovan McNabb. Andy Reid really changed the way we looked at third and three in this league. And until he got Mahomes, he couldn't he couldn't get the trophy. But Andy Reid was the first guy that like he had to change Philadelphia's brand from tough in your face to we're gonna do a little clever and Finesse on third down right like that was not easy. I think Ben Johnson is going to do and Andy Reid, I think he's going to take this defensive brand in this tough guy town and he's going to say, now we're gonna we're me fun will be a little Finesse will run, and I think he's on our show today. I think they'll be great. But my point is this story is out there, and I don't think it's controversial now because in the end it all worked out and no reasonable pri I mean, listen, John Elway didn't want to go to the Colts, and Eli Manning his family did not want him to go to the Chargers, and in both instances they were right. And if Caleb Williams would have forced the issue to go to Minnesota or somewhere else, I'd argued I'd do it too. Every one of us comes out of college, the harder we work, the more options in pro spytive defended athletes on this forever in pro sports, the harder you work, the lousier franchise you go to, until recently, wherever you landed, you are stuck. And now it's just recently that Baker Mayfield, Sam Darnold and Gino Smith have been able to get a third team or a fourth team and kind of restart their career. Before that, it was like we always use Drew Breese as the exception. Starts, bad team moves off him, and he ends up being a Hall of Famer. But it used to be wherever you added up as an NFL quarterback because there was only so many good offensive coaches in the league. Now there's this breadth, there's this layering of tremendous young offensive coaches sprinkled all throughout the NFL. So a quarterback can have a bad opening spot and then is second or his third coach. I mean, Sam Donold got Kevin O'Connell, Okay, all right, it's gonna work. Or Geno Smith gets a coordinator he likes, Oh it's gonna work. Baker Mayfield gets Liam Cohen and Sean McVay, Oh, this is gonna work instead of Freddie Kitchens. So now quarterbacks, if their first landing spot's a mess, there's a greater chance with all the excellent offensive coaching to turn your career around. But most of my life, until the last five or six ers years, you were stuck. It was over, and I'll defend Caleb forever. We talked about this. Chicago's history is they don't get quarterback, right. They do a lot of things. Well that's not one of them. So Albert Breer is joining us, and he's joining us live. Yeah, that's interesting. Staff just pointed this out. Chicago produced a pope before they produced a four thousand yard passer. Yeah. By the way, Albert, just some thoughts on I don't think it's a big deal today because I think it all worked out for him. But what did you make of the story?
I mean, sets an excellent reporter, so obviously, you know, I think getting it dug out first of all, great job by him. You know. My my primary thought is this is a lot of the stuff that we were hearing over the couple of years that went into Caleb going into the draft, right like that they were thinking outside the box. He and his dad. His dad's a very smart and accomplished businessman and you know, taught his son to think differently. And the reality is, like this is something that all teams were looking into and anybody that was going to be in a position to draft him was concerned about this like, is he going to want to come play for us? And so I think, like those thoughts on on Chicago or the manifestation of what a lot of people were talking about across the NFL in the couple of years that led into Caleb becoming a pro. So you can understand his concerns certainly, you know. I think this is something that more and more athletes think about. And you know, it's something we heard about with shador a lot, you know, going into his draft here was would you rather go to an ideal situation or just get drafted as high as possible? And I think more and more athletes are starting to look at the bigger picture of this, especially with the explosion of second contrast what those are worth now, you know, and the quarterbacks are into the sixties now, you know a lot of times, you know, I think these guys are able to take a bigger picture view of it, and the bigger picture view of it would show that going to the right place isn't more It is absolutely more important than the getting drafted as high as you can.
Yeah, and I and I think I remember talking with somebody in the NFL and they said I was a big bow Knicks fan. He said, bow Boy, and he knew he was a listener. He said, I know how much you love Bownicks. He's like perfect coach, Sean pay because remember Jadeen Daniels defensive head coach, Caleb Williams defensive head coach, Drake May defensive head coach, and there's bow Knicks. He goes to Sean Payton. What a shocker, now, bo, Jayden Daniels got Cliff Kingsbury. But it does. I will defend these young kids. Where you land when you're walking into this league is huge.
It's a great point too. And I think, like I was saying this to somebody yesterday, like I think too often we undersell the importance of environment. We undersell like how a guy success is tied to where he lands. We've seen it over and over and over again, and in a lot of cases, like you know, when you have these private conversations with people that are involved with the young quarterbacks, situations like Chicago last year where you know, maybe the head coach got a stay of execution, and if you're looking forward, a guy could be going through a coaching change after just one year in the NFL. That's something that these guys are are looking to avoid for sure. So you know, I think you know you can. You can look over the course of the history of the NFL how environment can swing things one way or another. You brought up Baker Mayfield, Like what a great example that is. I mean, look at Jared Goff right, Like he goes to the Rams with the first pick of the twenty sixteen draft. They're back in LA. Jeff Fisher gets the stay of execution because they had him in place to be the coach that was going to usher them to Los Angeles. And he couldn't have had a worse rookie year in LA. And I think a lot of people gave up up on him, and then Sean McVay steps in in year two, and now ten years later, here we are he's still playing at a really high level. So I think too often we look at I just think too often, don't we don't account for the importance of environment and a young quarterbacks performance. I've seen there are very few cases, Colin. I don't know how many you can come up with. How many guys and I'm not talking about a guy at thirty or thirty five, how many guys at twenty two, twenty three, twenty four years old at that position or overcoming bad environments. I mean, maybe the only one I can think of is Andrew Luck. Other than that, it's really hard to find examples.
That is literally it Andrew Luck, who won eleven games with a mo outside of a good corner and I think a decent kicker. They didn't have much to work with. Okay, So you know, I said, a couple of things jumped out to me in the schedule. But when Albert Breer looked at it, what did you think the league was prioritizing when you looked at the schedule?
You know, it's funny. I talked to Annie Bow's is the VP of broadcasting last night, and he kind of took me through the openers of the last few years. Right. So two years ago they took a chance in the Lions rolling the dice there and it wound up working out for him. Then last year they went the other way and they put Baltimore in Kansas City in that slot as a rematch of the AFC title game, and they really felt like that worked. And then they looked at this year's schedule and they saw some of the divisional matchups. The NFC East is playing the NFC North, the NFC North is playing the AFC North, and they saw this just deep inventory of games, and the idea this year was we are going to go big in as many big slots as possible. In other words, they weren't going to use the big slot to elevate a young rising team the way that they did two years ago with the Lions. They were going to use the teams to amplify the slot. And so I think that's why you see Eagles Cowboys there in that kickoff game right, like they could have used that slot maybe to amplify the Bears. No, no, no, they're going to put the Cowboys in that slot against the Eagles. They know that's going to do a huge number. They're going to use the teams in that slot to amplify the stage that they've created.
There.
Same thing on Thanksgiving, right that four PM window is huge for the for the networks on Thanksgiving one of the most fewed windows, if not the most viewed window if the entire regular season. They make a Cowboys chief. So that was the whole idea. That was the overlying thing, was like they had this deep schedule because of the division matchups, and they took advantage of it by trying to go big in the biggest slots.
Yeah, the you know, I look up and down. I will say this, the San Francisco forty nine ers schedule, if you take out Matt Stafford twice in CJ. Stroud, it is the weakest schedule I've ever seen. They don't play a single team off a bye. It is just eight. Now there's Jmack made the point that they have a rigorous road schedule Rams at Tampa, at Houston over a month stretch. You look at this, that's a lot of scravel. But my takeaway is I want to sign Brock pretty before this season because you can watch.
Twelve wins on.
Wow. Yeah, I'm like looking at it right now and you have it here in front of me, and thank you for putting it up for me. But I mean it's really easy to see them, you know, going to Los Angeles in week five at four and oh right, And I think so much of it with a lot of these teams is sort of the spot that you're in, right, Like, are you a team that's established that's bringing a lot of veterans back or are you going to be breaking in new players in key spots. If you're a team that's breaking in new players in some key spots, then this is the source schedule you want, right like, build some momentum, get some confidence, and then by the time you get to the bigger games, you're ready to roll. And that just so happens to be the position the Niners are in right now with all the guys they offloaded in the offseason, bringing in guys to play key roles. Their first round pick Michel Williams is obviously going to be in a real big spot. That offensive line's going to have to come together. Christian McCaffrey's going to be working his way back. The receiver group has reconfigured with Deebo Samuel out the door, like all of that. Now, they've got like a month to bring all of that together. And as well coached as that team is, especially with Robert Sala coming back, I don't know, man, Like I look at this and I'm with you, I think this is a double Dishit when team easy.
Finally, I don't I've given up guessing what Aaron Rodgers is going to do. I did say, if you're a Steeler fan, and you could pick a year to be bad. Yeah, it's a pretty tasty quarterback draft next year and you don't have one. You have the if Aaron doesn't sign with you, it's the worst quarterback run in the league, hands down. It's as bad as the Cowboy running back room last year. My take is Aaron is just contrarian to a point that he gets satisfaction out of being contrarian. I wouldn't be shocked if he retired, would he? If I said, where's he going to be in three weeks, I'll give him a big long tarmac. Where do you think he is retirement? Pittsburgh? What?
I think? Pittsburgh's where he winds up. I don't know if it's going to be in three weeks though, And I think, and I think I said this to you last week, Colin, like I would take the personal issue that he's been dealing with, take that at face value and respect it, and like that's something that's there for him. Here's part of I think the logic for the Steelers. Right, Let's just say, to just satisfy everybody, you do a contract the first week of April. Aaron Rodgers is on the roster. Then you say to everybody, look like Aaron's going to be taking care of a few things over the next couple of months. Let's just you know, cool our jets on this. He'll be here when he can be here. What do you think that's going to look like for the Steelers? What do you think that's going to look like for Aaron Rodgers. You're going to get to the start of the off season program where's Aaron? Where's Aaron? Where's Aaron? Start Ota, same things, started Mini camp, same thing. So instead of doing that now, now you have Aaron Rodgers out there, you know you're you're still communicating with him. There's a respectful relationship. He's taking care of his personal situation. And the other players, the other the coaches, Aaron himself. They don't have to hear that like where's Aaron, Where's Aaron? Where's air? And at least not in the volume they would if he was under contract, and then you know, then then then then whenever he's ready to go and be all in, he can be all in. I think that that's a piece of the logic here. I think that's a big piece of why you would do it this way. Now that said, the flip side is you don't have him under contract, and if he does change his mind, then the Steelers. If you're the Steelers, you're kind of in a tough spot. So you know, I think the likelihood, the overwhelming likelihood, is still that he winds up playing for the Steelers, but I still would not rule out the idea he could retire, and who knows whether opportunity could come up if there's an injury somewhere else. So there is some risk in doing it this way, but I think for everyone involved right now is probably the best way to handle it.
Albert Breer, Monday Morning Quarterback as old ones. I even shocked him when I showed him that Niner schedule. He couldn't believe. It's a bakery. It's just cupcake after cupcake down the conveyor. It's really amazing. It's CJ Stroud Matt Stafford twice and I'm dead serious on that.
Thank you for the graphic. By the way, it's hard when you got thirty two of them rattling around in your head, so that graphic really helped.
All right, Thanks buddy, Albert Breer, all right, thanks.
Going J.
Mackett does make you think, though, does it not if you're San Francisco, I mean, Brock pretty next year is like, if he's coming off a thirteen win season, you have no leverage with brock Purty because that means also if he wins thirteen games, you don't have a draft pick. You're down at the bottom of the first round. So like, if I'm San Francisco he's coming off a losing season, I may be able to get him to forty eight. You're not getting him anywhere near that off that schedule in a division crown, you are trapped. You're gonna have a bad first round pick, you have an old offensive line. You're about this. I'm John Lynch. I'm like, yeah, let's get this thing wrapped up? Can we with that schedule?
Cal Why do you mean so negative with the Niners? I don't get it.
You really become a Niners hater? Like are you like just very anti Rock Party?
I don't get it. Personally, I need to know.
Well, I think they really had a lot of things they had to solve, secondary, linebacker, O line, and they went all in on solving the defensive line, which I think the first couple of picks I like, But I just think they have holes in the roster, and I think, what's happening in the NFL, and you're seeing it now in the NBA, the construct of the overall roster and taking a smaller than you'd like, marginally athletic guy with a bad old line is trouble. Sean Payton the first thing he did in Denver when he had Boonicks fix the O line. Detroit, the front office goff fix the O line. I think that. I think if you look at Sean McVay, the only time he's lacked success the O lines off, I think, and this is not a shot at Rock Purtty Allen is one of one battle lines he'll get you to win playoff games. Lamar Jackson probably fits into that. I've seen Patrick Mahomes twice in Super Bulls get destroyed for one reason battle lines. And I do not like the Niners are a Trent Williams injury from having a bottom ten O line.
It's just like the Chiefs were a left tackle issue away from getting blasted in the Super Bowl twice. I mean again, I get it. Josh Allen and Justin Herbert are unicorns. You can't find those everywhere, but Rock perty has more playoff wins than Lamar Jackson. Okay, I don't want to hear the roster. Rock Perty has more playoff comebacks in his short career than Lamar Jackson does. Like, you've got to get off this. He's small, he was a seventh round pick. It just.
All right, I'll stand down.
I know it's your stick and you've gone to but I got some niners. Why does he hate rock Perty?
One in six against playoff teams with Kyle Shanahan in kind of an average division life.
Last year, everybody's heard, come on you.
Lamar never has those years, Josh never has.
She just fails in the playoffs.
One more heard. The Herd streams twenty four hours a day, seven days a week within the iHeartRadio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you like.
New Bear head coach Ben Johnson. Stop by later. It's interesting. On a day the story broke. So Seth Wickersham works for ESPN. He's a great author, great journalist, writing a book, author of American Kings, a biography of the quarterback, and he talked before the draft. So Seth has had this for a while. This is sort of what I write that's not sort of This is what I had talked about before the draft, that his dad wasn't in love with the idea of his son wanting to play for the Bears. That dad really drove it, and so his son is like, well, yeah, I'd rather play for Kevin O'Connell. But his son eventually said, I don't want to go out publicly. This is exactly what I was told by a source very close to Caleb Williams. And when I reported this, like Chicago media didn't want to hear it, but I'll just read you this. Chicago is a place quarterbacks go to die, said Caleb's dad. Carl Williams told Seth Wickersham, I don't want my son playing for the Bears, Williams told several agents last year. May have been where I heard it. The rookie cap is just unconstitutional. So Ryan Poles, who's still the Bears GM told Caleb's dad were drafted them regardless, and that left one option for Caleb Williams to publicly go out a little bit like John Elway had done with the Baltimore Colts in the eighties and just ripped the franchise and said I don't want to play. And Caleb came out and said, I'm going to do it. I can turn this puppy around. I've got confidence in myself. But Caleb worried about the city, the franchise's history, he worried about Shane Waldron and their offense. Caleb's a bright kid, He'd done his homework. He knew what he was getting into. I have no problem with any of it. The Bears aren't going to comment on this stuff because all those guys, you know, the coaching staff has gone, Shane Waldram's gone. But this is exactly what I was told. There was agents talking and confidence to Caleb Williams and the dad, a businessman, you know, kind of spearheaded it. And it's like, I don't want my son planning for the Bears. It's a mess, and it was, and everything worried about happened. So I think sometimes, you know, you need people like Seth Wickersham out there to tell you the stories of sports. There's a lot of phone calls being made and John Elway just said, I'm not doing it, and the Manning family said no, we're not doing the Chargers and Caleb didn't want to go there and he had confidence in himself, but he had every right to be worried about Eberflus, who was over a skis, Shane Waldron who didn't work, and the history of the franchise. All of those were totally legitimate concerns. I don't have a problem with any of them. And I've said until recently, I think there's so much much good offensive coaching in the league that if you go to a team and it's really bad. Jared Goff's an example. The coaching staff was a mess to Sean McVay. It all worked out. I think Sam Darnold, Gino Smith and Baker Mayfield eventually they got the right coaches, the right staff, the right mentor the right kingmaker, and it all worked out. Didn't feel like it used to work that way, like if you've got a bad opening spot. A part of the reason that you can land with a bad staff, which is what Caleb Williams did last year now to a good staff, is because there's so much money to the ownership groups now in the NFL, they'll blow out bad coaches much sooner than they used to. I mean, forty million dollars to blow out a head coaching contract, in a coordinator contract, it's a rounding air for these owners. Now, so that's the benefit is if the coach is a stinker, all right, let's just blow out the staff. So Caleb's going to be fine. I think this thing's built for him to win his coaches on next hour. But this was all true. This is exactly what I heard, and I think all the con by Caleb William's father, we're legitimate.
J McK with the news. This is the herd line news all right.
NFL schedule release was last night and Fox has an amazing lineup led by Eagles at Chiefs.
In Week two rematch from the Super Bowl.
And the teeth the Chiefs got their teeth kicked in. Both teams will be coming off playing early the prior week. Eagles play on the Thursday before the Week two matchup on Fox.
Chiefs play on the Friday, but in Brazil, so.
Technically the Eagles will probably get an extra travel day. I like the Eagles in that game, but then again, I don't like the Chiefs next year at all. I know that's how can you say this about they have Andy Reid and Mahomes Colin. I liked your opening rant knocking the Chiefs down a peg. I don't think reality has set in for those folks yet. And we could talk about Taylor Swift in the schedule, but this Fox matchup in two is enormous and will go a long way because we know the Chargers have fared well against the Tiefs. If the Chargers somehow win in South Polo and the Teats are staring at h to two against the defending champs, that's a humongous matchup on Fox and week two well.
And also, offensive lines are the one unit that it just takes time. Bears offensive line I think is going to be eventually great, but it'll probably be week twelve, thirteen fourteen when they get Dolman and Joe Tooney and the rookie from Boston College. It just takes time. Kansas City week two, I mean, in week one, Kansas City's got Khalil Mack. In week two it's the Eagles. And in week three, by the way, the Giants now with Abdull Carter Dibbit on the other side, that's not a great team. It's an elite pass rush. So the Chargers and the Ravens pass rush JA Acts have a good defensive front. Aiden Hodgson comes back that it's Max Crosby. So my take is offensive lines. And by the way, older offensive linemen no longer play in the preseason. The coaches don't now, and he will play some guys Bruce Arena. Bruce Arians would do a little bit of that where he would play some of his older guys in the preseason. McVay won't. A lot of the young coaches won't. But their offensive lines they got to solve that thing.
And they got.
Either elite pass rushers or great pass rushes in their first six or seven weeks.
Yeah, and just real quick on the Chiefs before we get back to Fox.
So that game against.
The Giants in week three, you see it on the screen, that is the ultimate sandwich spot. Colin, you face the defending Chance who destroyed you in February. And oh, by the way, week four, you're nemesis in the playoffs, whom you love to face. Lamar and the Ravens so they can overlook the Giants in that spot. And as you said, that Giants pass rush is nasty. I'm just telling you that schedule.
Is tough talent.
Now, could we get the Fox games on the screen real quick, because in week three there is a matchup Cowboys at Bears on Fox.
I'm sure you'll be going to that.
Game obviously, maybe your boy, maybe I'll join you at that one. I haven't been to a Bears game ever, but that is a great matchup. Fox got a lot of good games this seasons, as is to be expected.
Right. Well, what's interesting is look at who Dallas is playing in a lot of their matchups. High powered young athletic quarterbacks. The first Fox game, Oh it's Kayleb Williams with Ben Johnson. The next FOXS Fox game, Jaden Daniels with Cliff Kingsbury. The next Fox game, Oh it's Jalen Hurt Saquon Barkley. Look at those Cowboy games the first and then at the end of the year, you know they get the Giants. The first three Fox Cowboy games, you better drop thirty points. You are facing clever coaches, athletic quarterbacks with Dak coming off a second lower body injury, so those Dallas matchups, you better get your offensive line fixed. In Dallas, you are facing You could have three of the highest scoring NFL teams in your first three Fox games.
And a quick note on the Eagle. I know they won the Super Bowl and they return almost everybody on offense. I do want to point out their offensive coordinator situation. If you start, you guys start reading about that. It's too early for us to drill down. But there's something going on there. And look at their schedule is very difficult coluing. They got to visit the Chiefs and visit the Bills. It's one of the tougher schedules. I'm not saying a major pullback, but all of a sudden, I think Washington has a chance at that division.
I'm just putting that out there.
It's today.
A lot will change, all right. Next up Anthony Edwards in the Timberwolves. They're going to the conference finals again. Minnesota lost last year for one to Luca and Company. Rudy Gobert was asked after last night's game about if the team was satisfied, and Anthony Edwards jumped in, check us.
Out with all of the ups and downs that you guys went through, that you've stayed together and you're right back where you were last year.
Fare is no satisfaction.
Yeah, which this guy here, we haven't anything yet, so no, he's not satisfied.
That's exactly how it feels, you know. It's it feels good to get to that step, but is not at all.
I think this story of this team has been the ascension of ant but I also think it has been the reboot of Julius Randall. He was dominant last night and this we talked about this yesterday. You got to give Julius Randall credit because he has been coachable, but you got to give Chris Finch in his staff credit because early in the year Randall was an awkward fit. End of the year, he's perfect. So I had Julius Randall has and we talked about this, we always do. He's a good player out of Kentucky when he came to the Lakers, but when he came into the league, Julius Randall felt like the league was changing and his game didn't match it. Now you watch him and I'm like, oh, if the NBA is going to allow this physicality in the postseason, Well, Randall's always been a bully. He is like the Knicks. Julius Randall is built for this kind of officiating. He is benefiting greatly. Now he can hit threes as well, So it's a weird roster that shouldn't work as well as it does. Young old go bear Conley Randall. I think the staff's done a great job real quick.
Two things on Anthony Edwards. I know you love him Face of the League. So Zach found this youngest players to score one thousand points in NBA history, Colin, Anthony Edwards is on the list, and he's in some hallowed company here, Kobe Bryant, Tony Parker, who's a Hall of Famer, Tatum of course, lebron kd and Anthony Edwards. Now I bring that up, Colin, I've been percolating this hot take for a little bit. On Anthony Edwards, I know you've kind of owned the face of the league corner.
How about this one.
In the years before Anthony Edwards got to Minnesota, they had two playoff series wins. Kevin Garnett was the greatest player in franchise history. I'm ready to go on record and say Anthony Edwards, who's already accomplished more with the Timberwolves as a team than KG, is now the greatest player in Minnesota Timberwolves franchise history.
This kid is young and a superstar, Colin. If they make the finals.
If they beat OKC, we're looking at a historic run for Anthony Edwards and I think he's overtaken KD in Minnesota were.
Already And the other thing is, I mean, you can make the argument that Anthony Edwards has a better coaching staff. And you can also make this argument like a Michael Jordan or a Kobe Bryant as a wing player, he handles the ball more, so the advantage. The advantage is now you can get an occasional Kevin Durant or Wenby who is a big that can handle the ball, or Yannis, but the advantage he has over Garnett is that he got the ball in his hands all the time and more and more. And also also, Kevin Garnett wasn't shooting three. So what Aunt gives you, he provides you. He has the ball in his hands more. He's a better long range shooter in the analytic world, so there's there's no question he should be over time a better score. Garnett is one of the great high school players of all time. I think he's from Chicago, YEP. One of the great high school players. Nobody disputes what Kevin's done, but there isn't advance managed to be an MJ. Kobe Urant and you got the ball in your hands all the time?
Do you see again?
Small thing? Anthony Edward the WII.
He had his hat in that interview, jumping in to steal a question from Rudy Gobert.
Why is Gobert dressed like a Bond villain? I don't get that. But Anthony Edwards is basically taking over.
He's the man right now, and I think I like Minnesota over okay see, but we'll get there finals.
Stroy Collins is you know the Miami Heat have been quiet for a couple of years now.
However, two big names on the NBA market this summer, Giannis and Kevin Durant, and according to a report out of Miami that he are interested in making a move on one or both players, Kevin Gard Kevin Durant is the guy to keep an eye on. His odds to land in Miami.
Are the fourth best.
This would stun me. If Kevin Durant head to Miami. I don't think they're close. But going to the East is smart.
Yeah, going to the east with the Yannis potentially moving west. I also think I don't think they have the AMMO to get Yannis. I don't think they have Oklahoma City's war chest or Houston. So if you're Miami, it's how can we get better when we have limited resources? I mean, they just they in pat Riley's brilliant, but they just don't have the AMMO that Sam Presty has in Oklahoma City. Now, if I'm Oklahoma City, I'm not sure I'm gonna go with Gianness. I wouldn't. I think chet Holmbren is a cheaper, ascending version of the honest. He's not as good as Yannis, but he'll be. He'll be an excellent by next year. He'll be a great two. Jalen Williams Now is a two, probably drops to a three Swiss Army Knight. But I do think. I do think the West is getting better. The East will get weaker. Boston won't be nearly as good next year. I think over the course of a season without Tatum, they won't have Porzingis, horpor Drew Holliday. Boston's gonna make a lot of moves. I think Durant to Miami feels like it is a twenty six point a game automatic catch and shoot guy without having to give up all your draft picks for the future.
I just don't know what. What's the seal?
Can they make the finals with bam Adebayo and Kevin Durant?
No, but they can be They can win a playoffs.
If the one would.
If I'm KD, I would send me to the Rockets. Kevin Durant on the Rockets without losing. Aman Thompson like, that's interesting.
I think KD is gonna be fascinating. Colin, his stock to me is a little down.
Go tell him.
I said that, of course, because he's very sensitive.
Yeah.
J Mack with the news, Well that's the news, and thanks for stopping by the herd Line.
Note a couple of years ago. A couple of years ago, I made a prediction. I said, and Lamar Jackson is going to eventually replace Joe flackwin Baltimore. I said, I'm gonna pick week eleven, and we got really lucky. It was week eleven. So I think Shudor Sanders is eventually this year going to be the starting quarterback for the Cleveland Browns. And I'll give you the schedule. I'll tell you, and I think he's going to start next.
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So if you look at strength of schedule, the Cleveland Browns have the second hardest schedule. So this draft they moved down to go get a second first round pick. So it's a very it's it's this has always been a problem with Cleveland the owner, so this team's not gonna win many games. They didn't love the quarterbacks in this class, so they moved down to get a second pick. They would like to get Arch Manning. The Mannings have a history with Jimmy Haslam Tennessee guys. So Cleveland's not gonna win a lot of games. So the question is Jimmy Haslam Many believe forced Andrew Berry in Stefanski to draft Shdor Sanders. They drafted Dylan Gabriel probably a round or two early hoping to get out of the Shadu or sweepstakes. So the question is, at some point, Haslam's gonna come down and say, play Shador Sanders because this is not a great team. So my guess is Joe Flacco wins the starting job. He's the most NFL ready to play.
Joe.
Joe can win you a game or two, and the first four weeks the staff is going to tell him Shador's not ready. Shador is not ready. My guess is they go zher and four, maybe they go one in three. Haslam's going to come down on Sunday, October fifth and he says, I want Shador to play against Minnesota, and the staff's going to say, we're in London, it's rough, just give us one more week. This is we don't want Shador having to go overseas. It's a big ask. And so they get They stave off the owner for a week. Flacco loses that game. I believe Shador starts Sunday, October twelfth. If Flacco wins that game, he'll get another start October twelfth against Pittsburgh and he'll win that game. I do think he'll lose to Miami in New England. They'll have a buy and then Shoudure the staff won't be able to hold it off any longer. We'll play Sunday, November ninth at the Jets. By the way, some tough teams down the stretch for Shaduur, but I will if you believe, and many do that. The owner, he's the one that wanted Manzel, He's the one that did Deshaun Watson. He's the one that wanted Baker Mayfield. This is an ownership group that likes headlines at quarterbacks. Schadure is a headline. Dylan Gabriel is not. I mean, look, we're paying attention to the Cleveland Browns, like Jerry Jones. They love their team, their logo, they love everything on TV. So my take is Sunday, October fifth in London, after they start zero to four, one and three, the owner's going to say that's what I want and this, and the staff's going to say, give us one more week. Let's not start him in London. If Flacco loses that game, my guess is Shaduur starts October twelfth against the Steelers. That's a rough but it's a winnable game. If Flacco wins that game, and I don't. I don't think Minnesota is going to be very good. I think letting Sam Darnold go, they're going to be less of a team at quarterback. I think Seattle's gonna benefit. You know, I loved Minnesota is going to pull back significantly with JJ McCarthy. But if Flacco does beat Minnesota, I think he would also beat Pittsburgh, who could have the worst quarterback room in the league, and then he'd lose the next two bye week. Let's go with a kid. So I'm gonna put it out there. I got lucky years ago I predicted Week eleven Joe Flacco in that ironic Joe Flacco would get seated behind Lamar Jackson. I think it'll be either Sunday, October twelfth or Sunday, November ninth, because the brown schedule is brutal by any account Giants, and again, a lot of it's brutal because they're not very good. A lot of the Giants problems aren't. They're not very good. It's not like they played teams with seventy five percent winning percentage, the hardest schedule in the league, like the Giants. In the Browns played teams with the winning percentage last year of like fifty four percent, So these it just depends on how good you're Your schedule feels a lot weaker mostly if you have a really good quarterback and the Browns don't and the New York Giants don't. J Mack, you're looking auto right now if you had to guess J Mack Schadere starting.
Two thousand and twenty six with another team. No, just yeah kidding. I don't see it. I'm not seeing what you're seeing.
I am, however, seeing love for Dylan Gabriel, Oregon's finest quarterback. They love him, Stefanski loves him. I think he's gonna get all the opportunities. And frankly, Stefanski's in a great spot, Colin, because if the owner keeps pushing Shador on him and you don't want him, I'm gonna do my thing. I'm gonna do what I want to do. And then when Haslam fires him for not playing Shador, Stefansky could go out and say, hey, man, I was coach of the Year. I wanted Gabriel. He's a better fit for what we want to do. I didn't want Shador. Blame it on the owner and Stefanski comes out looking clean. I would go under one and a half starts for Shador Sanders's Wow, you're.
Forgetting about the immortal Kenny Pickett.
My friend coach Ben Jonson's gonna be stopping by next hour. A lot of fun today. Schedule release, Warriors are done, te Wolves moving on. Nuggets. Okay, see tonight it's the hurt
