The Herd with Colin CowherdGame changers in the NFL draft
Colin gives his predictions for the NFC next season
The cause of the huge gap in MLB
Guest: Geoff Schwartz
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To go live in Los Angeles. Our number two it is The Herd on a Thursday. Jmack, I have been very excited. So I wait, Jmack, I wait until all the coaching hires are done, the staffs are filled. I wait until all the free agency of note is done. We still have Aaron Rodgers. But by the way, Russell Wilson, Kirk Cousins Aaron Rodgers are not changing my opinion. Aaron to the Steelers Russell to the Steelers is probably a game. I mean, I don't think it's that big of a difference. I also think there's only one college player that will translate to big wins, which is cam Ward. If he goes to Tennessee, that's a that's a different ballgame. He's gonna win games. This is not a draft where you're gonna change outcomes. You can get better in Union. I mean, Travis Hunter to New England is worth half a win if he if he's a dynamic player. But but cam Ward's gonna win you games.
But nobody thought bo Nicks was gonna take the Broncos to the playoffs. Like Shador Sanders could have a big impact in the right situation.
Maybe, but the Giants don't have a formidable We don't think Shador is Jayden. He doesn't move like him.
So what about your door in Cleveland. I don't think that seven eight nine wins.
Nuh, I'd say seven. Maybe, you know, iybody.
Have Darnold and the Vikings winning.
I'm not saying there's not surprises, but I'm just saying, on average, I think cam Ward is the one guy in the draft that can change outcomes. Could could take four losses to three he wins. Because you know, I mean from Will Levis to cam Ward. It's not like you're going from you know, Peyton Mannings last year to Andrew Locke, both great, You're going from one of the worst two. Nobody's got NFL film on cam Ward. You're just guessing. And I think that's where rookie quarterbacks like bo Knicks ran more at Denver than Oregon. Like you watched them and you're like, I mean, I watched them twice live. I'm like, I didn't feel like he ran as much at Oregon as he did with Denver. So you're kind of guessing at some point with rookie quarterbacks. So here we go. I'm gonna start today, NFC tomorrow, AFC. Now, you got to have four minimum total down to the end. A lot of free agent losses for the Eagles, they still have the deepest roster. I'll pick them over the Commanders. But I think the Commanders Laramie, Ton Sol Deebo Samuel is a win now acquisition. They kept guys like zach Ertz, so I think that's a very close competition. I'll take the better roster to win. Dallas third, not active in free agency, still gonna pay Micah up against the cap, Dak Prescott off a second lower body injury. Giants, it doesn't matter, it really matter if Aaron goes there, Russell Wilson goes there. I think there's gonna be so much pressure on the organization to win now. I'll pick the Giants for fourth NFC North. This is the toughest division for me in football. The Lions have the best roster, I'll pick them one. The Vikings have the worst roster, I'll pick them four. And yes, Chicago's got a tough road schedule, no question, but they literally went and got Pro bowlers on their interior line. And again, if they can get a running back with their first pick, the coaching upgrade at Chicago from what they were to what they are is gonna be like the quarterback upgrade from Will Levis to cam Ward like it's gonna change outcomes. I have Chicago second, here's Green Bay's tough for me. Because I've got to be totally honest about this. I really fell for Jordan Love, but last year against playoff teams, dude completed sixty percent of his throws with a passer rating at eighty one and was two and six in the building at the end of the year. I watched the way they coached him. I think they lost some confidence in him. So I think Bears Packers is down to the final week of the year to figure out who gets into the playoffs. NFC South. I believe in Michael Pennix. I don't like him not having Grady jarreted, but and I don't like him losing Drew Dolm in the center. The Bucks are getting old. They're bringing back the entire offense. Sometimes that's good, sometimes it's not. I like the trajectory of Atlanta, and I'm a big Michael Pennox fan. Carolina will be better, but an average roster Saints up against the cap kind of rigid there. I just don't like their direction. NFC West, so I have the Rams winning it. I have no problem them without Devonte Adams, one of the smartest acquisitions that will work. Their defense could be the best in the league this year if they can get a corner in the draft somewhere. Great coaching. Okay, Seahawks Niners, I would love to watch the draft. Niners have twelve picks. Seattle's got an upgrade on the offensive line, but if you look at Seattle schedule NFCSUTH AFCSUTH, that Seahawks schedule is screaming ten to eleven wins. Niners. Meanwhile, twelve draft picks with a very complicated offensive system means I think they could be kind of trying to figure out what the heck they are till Thanksgiving. That is a lot of new players on the roster, and they lost really good players. Seahawks, Niners, like Bears, Packers. I think play down to the final weekend to see who gets into the playoffs Arizona. No massive upgrades are what they are. So my division winners Eagles, Lions, Falcons, Rams, Falcons are a new playoff team, wild Card Commanders, Bears, Seahawks both squeak in. So I have three new playoff teams, the Falcons, the Bears, and the Seahawks. You got to have four new ones every year, minimum closer to six. So I don't think you know. Listen Atlanta before Kirk Cousins fell apart, they beat Tampa twice. I don't think I've taken a big swing here. I like Panics a lot. There you go, Let's bring in Jeff Schwartz played in the NFL eight years, donand Lineman three years starter right tackle Oregon. So give me something you like about that and something you strongly disagree with Jeff.
Who's gonna protect Sam Darnold?
Like that's my question in Seattle right where last year with the Vikings he had everything offensive line on some issues in the middle, but good tackles. He had great wide receivers, good tight end, good running back, good play now in Seattle offensive line in question one wide receiver right now. I just think we're high on Darnald because we like the story last year. I just don't know if he's gonna play very well in Seattle. Another thing is I think the Panthers are gonna be good. They showed him the dead last season. They're close, right, You sort of have to lose close games before we start winning close games. That happened a lot at the end of the season. I like their acquisitions. The South is just right there. It's a good division, not great, so the Panther I think can contend for a wildcard spot. But I do like Michael Pennix with Atlanta. He's he's a good football player. I saw that up front for many years watching at Oregon Washington rivalry. They're gonna be better than people thinks. I think Panics will inject some life into that offense.
All right. Jeff Schwartz offensive line eight years, all packed twelve when he was at Oregon. I want to talk Shador Sanders. So my take is Camboards Camwoard's a better talent. I like Schadure. He has something in common with brock perty no offensive line of note in college may be one great skill person Travis Hunter or I think Bryce Hall was like with brock Purty if I recall. But my takeaway is there is value for Josh Allen, Maholmes, Lamar Jackson, Jared Goff, Shador Sanders, brock Purty not being surrounded with all Americans and five star players for that reason. I like Schaduur. He got beat up, played from behind, no run game. I like him.
To you, I like him. I mean, look, you're right about the grid.
He got beat up for two years and every time he got hit, he got back up, got back in the huddle and kept playing.
You're right, no run game. It wasn't much support offensive me.
The offensive structure not great there, right, and there's intangibles there. He's accurate, he's good in the pocket. I mentioned the grit already right now. The question is holding the ball too long and taking those sacks. Those translate to the NFL. So let's put him in a better offense. Let's start with that. The offensive play in the NFL will be better. The Car offense was a wreck for it was boring. They didn't have to throw the ball downfield very much. So if you put them in a pro offense behind a better offensive line, those things, the accuracy, the toughness, the pocket mobility, those should shine the questions. I think again, is he gonna be like Kayler Williams who held the ball bunch of college at USC, got sacked a bunch in college, and then we saw last season didn't play behind a great offensive line. I get that scheme issues in Chicago as well, but sacked a lot and and held onto the ball a little bit too much. So can you get that out of Sadur's game with a better team, a better offense, and better things around him?
Okay, let's go to a teammate, Travis Hunter. Urban Meyer says, never quite seen anything like it generationally. I'd let him play both sides. You three year starter in college played in the NFL. Do you think players will buy into let the kids start at corner end, wide receiver.
I think it's too much calling. Travis Hunter is incredible. I didn't really buy the argument that he shouldn't you get the heisman. That was kind of interested in me. If you watch him play, I mean incredible athlete gets about every time you see right here on the screen like catch the ball, gone, number one, corner two.
He's incredible.
The question is this is you know you have basically two playbooks, right, you have a defensive playbook that's this big and are on their iPads now it's a little bit different, but an offensive playbook this big. How do you do both at the same time?
Right?
You practice one day with the wide receivers, it one day with the corners. I think it's easier to be a full time corner and then say, hey, Travis, here is ten plays on offense.
Can you run them.
On Friday at practice or maybe you stay after for five ten minutes on Thursday and just what we have this package of plays for you, which is really a Colorado. He didn't move a lot on offense call, and he kind of stayed on one side of the ball. He ran a couple things like he wasn't a guy that did a ton of offense.
He's just not good.
But when he got the ball in his hands, it was incredible. So that's how I would play it. I would say, look your corner and then we'll give you ten to fifteen plays on offense. You have to spend a lot of time, you know, in that offensive meeting room because you have to get ready to play corner in the NFL.
So when in your years in the NFL, we talk about free agency, and I think free agency like, for instance, I like what the Bears did. But offensive line is a chemistry unit position, so it's going to take a while. And by the way, Joe Tooney's not gonna take a lot of pre season snaps. Drew Dolman's not gonna take a lot of preseason snaps. So the combination of offensive line is a cohesion unit that takes time. And the fact that nobody play old old linemen are not gonna they just don't play those guys in the on line. So I think the Bears could be really good. Is it possible, though, that the Bears are going to take until Thanksgiving to get that O line right?
It's not just that Colin.
It takes eight to ten weeks maybe a little bit longer for a new coordinator to instill the basically the offensive defense of what they want their team to be. I think a great example last year is Vic Fangio and Philly Right. First couple of weeks first six weeks, eight weeks, it was like, what's this defense? All of a sudden they figure things out and boom, they were as good as they were obviously the rest of the season. On the offensive side of the ball, the same thing is true. Right, You're gonna run different plays each week. I have to figure out what you're good at. You might go in the seasons. Hey, I've always run outside zone. Let's try outside zone. Then boom, week eight it's like that's not really.
Good, Let's run something else. So it just takes time.
You need to be able to work your protections around every different look you might see, and you might see it once a game, and so by the week eight, nine, ten, you know what you're good at and you know what you're bad at, and you grow together and then by your point by Thanksgiving, you start feeling better about your offense. The Bears goal this year is very simple, right, is you need to end this season knowing Caleb Williams is your franchise quarterback.
Yes, and that includes growth from quarter to quarter.
Right, Like in week eight, he should look better than the week four, and week twelve we should look better than week eight. And so that's The goal this season is to build, and they have done that so far. An offensive lined around him, wide receivers around him, to make sure the end of the season he's your bona fide franchise.
If he's not, they'll then they'll find someone else.
So that's the goal this year, and it might take a little bit of time to see that with all the new.
Parts so well. I said I would have torn down the nine last year. I thought they waited too long. I also thought they were a little too permissive on contracts, whereas the Rams would go to Stafford and say this is the number. Deal with it. They were a little ice cream for breakfast Dad for the last several years of negotiation, and at cottam given Debo and Brandon, I you big money. I wouldn't have done it. I said this. I think I have to watch their draft. But twelve draft picks, Jeff is a lot, and the NFL is highly complicated. One of the reasons I like Seattle is that they're going to bring back outside of the receivers, mostly the same guys. With the injection of maybe three starters. San Francisco let go of so many good players they need six guys to play a lot that are like young kids. Tell me when you were in the NFL, you were a three year starter in college. Smart guys you move in, But twelve new players. That's what worries me about the rebuild, like it is sudden.
Well, I think part of the problem calling is and you mentioned it, they need a lot of guys because they've actually missed in the draft the last three or four years.
Go look at their draft picks.
Not a lot of guys starting for them right now, or not a lot of guys impactful football players. Now, some of those draft picks are trade away for Trey Lance, which obviously is a problem. You love to have those picks back. I think someone for the Trent Williams deal as well.
They just haven't.
Drafted well for three or four years. They're a very top heavy team. And when the top is gone and they've lost some of those guys, you look at the rest of the team and where those guys at. Where's the next crop of players to take over for the veterans. What the best teams do. So, yeah, they might have twelve draft picks, but the last three or four years they haven't proven to hit on those draft picks. And so I gotta see that this season. You know, the influx of guys obviously is great. You need that at some point, but you need those young guys to become superstars, to become, you know, the core of your team right now. If you're a Niner fan, listed off, who is the core of your team on a rookie contract right now? Brock Purdy, I give me those guys. You don't have enough of those guys. So, yeah, it's great to have draft picks, but they gotta start hit on these guys.
Yeah, you know, it's I was saying this earlier that just we all know everybody when you go to a doctor, I've been to ten doctors in my life. Yeah, three or four great, three or four okay, and a couple aren't good. When you step on a plane, most of the pilots are very capable. Sully Sullenberger is more than capable. There are a lot of average pilots out there, and in the NFL. You forget that some of these coordinators are great and a lot of them aren't. So I said, Philadelphia is a great example. Great coordinators both leave hire two new ones did not work, I feel like, but they got it right the next time. Detroit's fascinating to me. They lose Ben Johnson, What are the chances your next coordinators is good as Ben Johnson? They lose Aaron Glenn? What are the chances your next coordinators as good as Aaron Glenn? Tell the audience. In your years in the NFL, did you know him immediately? If your team missed on a position or coordinator, did you know immediately?
Well, I think you don't know until you play games. Now, there are certain times I played with coaches that I thought in media like this guy doesn't know what he's doing, and you typically end up maybe being right.
But that's also when you're an older player.
Right, as you've been around enough coaches, you know what they feel like. But I think it's worth giving them the you know, the benefit I just mentioned With the Bears, it takes eight to ten to twelve weeks to feel good. It would be you know, I think it'd be wrong to just go into a season thinking your coordinators is not good. But I've certainly played with coordinators I didn't think we're good and ended up being right about it. But look, it's not our job to complain about that, right, Our jobs go play on Sunday. So even if we didn't trust the guy, we didn't think the play calls were good, you got to go out and execute, and obviously it shows and wins and losses. You know again of the season whether or not that worked out, but you can tell early on whether guys are cut out for it. But it's more than just like calling plays, right, it's the leadership, it's communication, it's making adjustments and the best coordinators. What they do now this is better than ever before in my opinion in the NFL. Is they tailor their scheme what they're good at as coaches to what the players are good at. Right, and you can feel that early is a coach willing to maybe do something different, somebody out of their comfort zone to make the players play better.
Now you can feel early on.
Now again, coaches have the ability to adapt and change and who's playing examples of that happening. But you can sort of feel those things earlier, right, you know, communication, adjustments, willingness to work with players on certain things.
Maybe you bring in a free agent that doesn't quite do what.
You do, but you paid them anyways, and he's got to be able to perform are you willing to adapt what you do? Change what you do, not not your core principles exactly, but just maybe change enough to make that veteran employer happy in play.
Well. So those are things players can pick up pretty early.
One more college question. I want to go back. Cam Ward to me is the one guy in the draft that will change outcomes. And I think about this all the time. It's not just that he's talented, but Tennessee right now is kind of untalented at quarterback. So the difference, the swing could be like seven points eight points from what you are to what you could be because I think Cam's a field goal difference because he's so spectacular. Nobody has NFL film on him. It's a weak division. You're kind of guessing until Thanksgiving. I think cam Ward is the one player in this draft that could change outcomes. I think Tennessee is actually going to be one of the surprise teams you watch. You watched him a ton at Washington State, you watched him, you watched him at Miami. What do you make of him as a prospect?
Well, I think you're right about the supreme talent he's got, right, Like, you see that all over the fields. He has a better arm than than Sanders. He can he can run the ball really well, as we know, as you see right here, you just got to take those bad decisions out of the out of his you know, out of his games. You know the cal game you showed he just had an atrocious interception middle second quarter.
Like those have got to go. So if you can get.
Him to just be able to play within himself and use his physical traits, I want to bring up something to that that I think is important here. He not played a lot of quarterback in sort of a quote unquote pro style, right, So, he didn't play quarter he didn't throw the ball in high school. He goes to incarnate word plays at a run and shoot and actually played like two seasons in one calendar year because of COVID. Goes to Washington State plays in a run and shoot again, and the ghost to Miami plays really his first time in what would be more of a quote normal offense, right Colin, So he hasn't really had a lot of quarterback reps in what would simulate what he might see the NFL. So there's a lot of rawness to his game that a coach Kim mole because he's very talented, he's got a great arm. It just can you avoid those negative plays?
Right?
Can you avoid?
You know, just take what's there, Take the seven yard throw, take the ar throw. If there's pressure, can you see it? Can you get rid of the ball. So physically it's all there. It's a matter of harnessing and taking maybe taking away the bad plays to highly the good plays.
Jeff Schwartz, he's on the first things first as well today as ohays he note man, nobody watches more college football, and it should be noted bits on it than Jeff Schwartz.
Good senior, betes, take care, Thank you all right.
Tomorrow, by the way, I've got I've got my AFC picks. Tomorrow, got a couple of new playoff teams, Jay Mack, you'll be excited for that. You guys do not like Seattle.
Anyone uh green in the AFC for tomorrow, go to the playoffs?
A green team, perhaps a green team, a.
Team that wears green jerseys in the AFC. Yeah, that one of us roots for he oh oh, oh gosh, we need to get hitting some magnesium on the set. Please.
That put me to sleep, buddy.
One more Herd. 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.
A lot of people push it back on my Chicago Bear and Seattle Seahawk optimism. I will say it again, you have to find four teams minimum that made the playoffs, didn't make it last year that do this year. Well, the AFC is a much more predictable conference because you have more great quarterbacks, so your changes are gonna come in the NFC. That's why last year everybody had a much harder time predicting the NFC than the AFC. Josh Allen's gonna make the playoffs. Mahomes is gonna make the playoffs. Lamar Jackson's gonna make the playoffs. C J. Stroud's probably gonna make the playoffs. Outside of Philadelphia. You're sure about anything. I mean, you say what you want about Detroit. Say what you want about Detroit. Fanay Seouel goes down. Eh golf doesn't have protection. Now I'm saying you have to have a majority of your changes in the NFC. How many years in a row? Lamar, Josh, Mahomes and by the way, now that Herbert has Jim Harbaugh, he's probably gonna make the playoffs five in the next six years. That's a pretty safe bet. By the way, Bo Nickson, Denver, they're gonna be good every year. C J. Stroud, they're gonna be good. Doesn't mean they'll win the division, but they're gonna be in the playoff race. So the AFC to pretty standard. NFC you better have three or four changes. You're not being realistic. So again, Eagles, Lions, Rams feel like the only obvious thing and the Commanders making it either as a playoff, a wild card team or division winner. But you gotta have in the NFC, you better find new teams. So Atlanta I think has I think Fennix has a chance to be the best quarterback in that division. And I think they've got nice weapons, their schedules easy. Bears and Seahawks. Do they have questions, Yes, But I think between the O line improvement for the Bears and the coaching upgrade, and it's year two, I think the Bears again, I think it goes last weekend with Green Bay and Seattle. I like Darnold, but the other thing is, look at the production San Francisco loses, and then they have twelve draft picks, and they've been a pretty average drafting team.
Do you remember in middle school where the teacher be like, Colin, you didn't show your work. I need to see how you got the answer. I'm gonna deduct points. I need to see your work. How you have Seattle ahead of San Francisco. Sanfrian has the better coaching staff, the better quarterback, well, the better offensive line like San Francisco's better at almost.
Seattle's got the better general manager.
Seattle former Fox guy John Lyn's probably not happy.
No, I mean, but Seattle John Snyder has hit on a lot of quarterbacks. By the way, Darnold's contract is totally team friendly. Brock perties probably won't be. Here's the other thing. Trent Williams hasn't played a full schedule. Go look, it's got to be like eight years. Yes, fair, Okay, So all of a sudden, Brock Purtty missing his left tackle. Oh, by the way, the backup left tackle Kansas City acquired him. So they have to hit in a left tackle in this draft. And it's not a great left tackle draft.
Have you heard the chatter from the Niners fan bait. There are rumors that San fran wants Tyler Warren the Penn State tight end because they want to go more heavy sets tight end, like what Buffalo.
Pichos they are gonna give up draft picks to get there. They had twelve of them.
Well, I don't know that they Maybe Warren's there at twelve. I don't know, but Kittle and Warren two tight end sets, similar to a Buffalo did going Knox.
I would have no problem giving up six draft picks to get Warren because he's one of the only seven guarantees in the draft, and you only you only hit it about forty fifty percent of your picks anyway, and this is a week draft. So to me, if I'm San Francisco, if I have to give up picks to get Warren, I would have it.
I'm gonna push back a little bit on Schneider over Lynch. Schneider historically sure, but like last five years, you've been saying the Niners are the best roster in the league that's put together by Lynch.
Like, well, they they acquired Trent Williams from another team, Christian McCaffrey from another team.
That's part of the GM work drafting, Brandon Ayuk, you know, like, come on, Rock Perdy, dead last pick.
In the draft. I like Seattle as a drafting operation.
You like Seattle because you grew up there.
Let's be that's not true. That is Is that true? Ryan? You've been with me for years. Am I a Seahawks homer?
Not a homer? But that's why you like him. In this scenario there, there's no way I go guarantee you the Niners have at least two more wins on the win total than Seattle. It'll be like ten versus eight at least.
All right. Jmack with the News, this is the herd line going out Friday.
Let's start keeping some self confidential. What's going on. I did get a whole pass on a Friday night.
Anyway.
Matt Stafford is officially back with the Rams. Everybody's fired up. And then, of course, because everybody does it. He went on the New Heights podcast with the Kelsey Bros. Stafford talked about how much longer he expects to play. I'm going to be here at least another year, hopefully.
Some after that.
We worked something out last year at the eleventh hour to figure out right before trading camp with the understanding that we're going to readdress it if I want to play again next year. Stafford called it a little nerve racking there for a little bit because he didn't know if he was going to stay with the Rams and this could be round three next offseason.
Well, it's of what my understanding is. They believe they have a super Bowl roster if they can get a corner, maybe upgrade. They upgraded a wide receiver, so they feel good they may go out and get a tight end. They need a corner, they need an inside linebacker. This is a super Bowl roster with a couple of tweaks, mostly at corner.
Top five roster in the league.
Uh, real close. I would say that defense is a top three roster and they and it's young. So if you noticed last year, second half of the season, the defense was better than the first half. So it's like Kansas City's defense. You knew it was good and rangey, and then all of a sudden you looked up and you're like, oh, that's the best defense in the league.
The problem is defense isn't predictive year over year because it's so like the Jets number went in last year oh, great defense, and they got just embarrassed all season like they were good. It'll probably be a top half of the league's top fifteen to sixteen defense. But let this set them all right, let's go the Niners Colin. They've been letting a lot of key players go in free agency. That being said one NFL analyst, We're not gonna name in because this is I thought this was crazy. One NFL analyst believes it's time for San Francisco to entertain trading Christian McCaffrey. This guy clearly doesn't know how markets work. You don't sell low. Christian McCaffrey's coming off injuries, a terrible season, you don't trade him.
Now.
I don't understand this take, But Christian mccafrey, still in his prime, still.
Are to be the best. The other thing is second, they don't win without Christian McCaffrey, not just Brock perty Kyle Shannan doesn't win without it. So what they should do is actually, in the strongest running back draft in a decade, is draft another running back. So you can give McCaffrey fourteen touches a game, not twenty two. Yet hen yoursitting from Olhassa datas Yeah. And by the way, I don't want to trade him at all. I love him, but you can't. You have to give him a break. I am a believer now even with Saquon Barkley Philadelphia, I go get a nerd back loads. I think we've moved into a two back tier. That you just have two running backs your disposal. You can't rely on Adrian Peterson or Zeke in his prime. Look how fast Zeke aged. You become a workhorse. It just wears you at Saquon Barkley and New York got hurt several times. He was a workhorse.
So we're now pro load management.
Are we? No? No, it's not load management. You play every game. The takeaway is, though, stop giving Christian McCaffrey twenty one touches. Give him sixteen. That load management is I have a headache. I'm not gonna suit up. This is I think the running back position because it's the last position you can hit from any angle and there's no flag, and I think defenders are stronger and faster and the hits are more violent even with new regulations, is that you should have pim Philadelphia. One of the things I do. It's an assurance policy. I draft in this draft another running back because I want Saquan to play for the entirety of the contract, and I don't want him carrying the ball as much as he did sometimes play.
Great topic because yes, as a GM you won that you know what you want. As a coach, I want to win friggin games, so I.
Keep my job.
And if I'm only giving McCaffrey sixteen touches in a twenty four to twenty three game, I might end up losing that. I don't want to cap one McCaffrey touches. I want more touches for the best running back or second best running back whatever in the league. So it's a tough situation to say that. That's why this whole sit out rest a game makes sense as opposed to let limit touches. We're seeing Tibodeau unable to do this in the NBA. It's tough when you've got your stars and you're there to win games.
Colin Well, in the NBA, it is not a week to week league like the NFL. If you Dave Wonstad has a great line, you can lose games. You can't lose a locker room. If you lose a third straight game, even if you're Sean McDermott, you will lose. There'll be guys in the locker room that start talking. In the NBA, the Celtics could have a bad road trip. Everybody gets Jalen Brown's hurt or Zingis has some weird you know, everybody gets that. But in the NFL, you it's a different You can lose a locker room unless you're like maybe, I mean, like even Belichick.
You know.
I remember the Boston media take Philadelphia. They love Nick Serryani. They wanted to run him out of towny year ago.
That's that.
I mean, we went into the playoffs thinking if they got one and done, but they fire him because he was a goofy.
Yeah, I remember that. The final story Colin is Kirk Cousins. Remember we've been on this, So he met with owner Arthur Blank last week to request a trade so he could be a starter. Since that meeting, Cousins and the Falcons apparently they're gonna stay together. I don't stay together for the kids. Maybe I don't know. This doesn't make any sense. He's doing a million dollar bonus if he's on the roster.
Soon.
He's expected to have twenty seven and a half million fully guaranteed money next season to be the backup. I think this is horrible mismanagement by the Falcons. Their hope is, hey, if Joe Bob over here gets hurt on another team's retrade.
Kurtas a second round ask here. So I don't because I think they're gonna move him by the trade deadline. So my take on this is Aaron Rodgers is gonna go somewhere, Russell's gonna go somewhere. That's still gonna leave a team or two without a quarterback. And you know, and I know, somebody's gonna get hurt in preseasons. Some quarterbacks gonna get hurt in September. You just hurt cousins will get purchased by somebody before the trade deadline.
But the problem with the deadline is the Falcons have then paid to have somebody sitting on a bench, and now you need another injury so you can recoup some kind of drafting. This is just horrible mismanaging. I thought you love getting aught with it's not working. Move on, Well, this isn't working.
He's a backup.
Think at twenty seven and a half million. Why don't you just move him dumping.
Out if you're you, it's dead money if you cut him, I don't want that money. You can win with that money, Michaels with dead Well, again, it's not ideal. If they weren't, they'd be a better roster.
So you just like, hey, Pennant starts owing too. I don't know, guys, maybe he's not all that he was cracked up to me. We got we got twenty seven mil here on the bench. It's creating cousins. Then you've got controversy.
Well, that's a very negative way to look at Michael Pennant. In that division, you're gonna start owing too.
I haven't seen the schedule is not out.
It's Atlanta. They'll have an easy schedule. What else everybody in that division has an easy schedule. Ooh, rough road game in Carolina. J Mack with a news.
Well that's the news.
And thanks for stopping by the Herd Line News. Paul Pierce joining us last hour, and yeah, did you see the Cooper Flag injury? I did that. Cooper Flag is going to be number one pick in the draft. It's a very domestic draft. This is fascinating. He leads Duke in scoring, rebounding, steels, blocks, assists in minutes. He's on pace to become the first freshman in Division one history to lead his team in every major statistical category. He got hurt yesterday.
So he got hurt like an hour ago.
Yes, you guys showed me that video. It was an hour ago. It was an hour ago.
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a bummer because he is a he is a great you know, he's a little Jason Tatum. He's kind of good at everything. He's got a little Scottie Pippen. I think he's a better offensive player than Scottie Pippen, but he's got a little Jason Tatum. He does everything well, can score and transition, he can he can use his body down law. He's a really good player.
They helped him off the court. They put him in a wheelchair. Paul Pierce maybe can address that. Listen. It sounds like he's going to be held out for the ACC tournament, and you know.
Well, Duke's a one seed. Period, they're a one and.
They're probably gonna play in Raleigh, which would be your first game next Friday. So maybe in a week ankles better. But it did not look good at all. I'm hopeful we need Cooper Flag in the NCAA tournament. Come on, he's the.
Biggest Well I will tell you because I start now watching college basketball, we could potentially have a tom Izzo, Rick Patino, Cooper Flag and maybe like an Auburn in the tournament. Like, it could be a fascinating tournament. And this draft is not an international draft. At the top, it's Rutger guys, Duke guys, Auburn guys. So it's I mean, we could have Bruce Pearl, Patino, tom Izzo, Duke. I mean, there's a lot of shire Well in college basketball, generally, the coach is the star. Like if Patino's in the final four, that's a story. If Izzo gets there again. Now, I don't think Michigan State can score its way. I mean they're leading scores thirteen a game, like they just don't have it.
Jason Richardson's younger.
Yeah, I'm sorry, I don't have many shooters. I mean it's it's it's tom Izzo is great, but it's the offense is very very limited. All right, Live in LA It's the Herd.
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Live from the Tokyo Dome, The Greatest Show in Baseball makes his triumphant return home.
The show, Hey O Toanni and.
The reigning champion Dodgers opened the regular season against the Cubs the Tokyo Series Tuesday at six am Eastern, live on Fox.
You know, if it didn't disrupt our schedule, I would go to that. That would be fun. I know somebody, I know a couple that's going from LA. It's going to those games. How much fun is that?
I would love to check out Tokyo.
It'd be great. The you know, it's funny. I was thinking about this so right now. I don't want to bore you with this, but when the regional sports networks were sold by Fox, they went into the tank the minute five. It's the greatest move, the greatest exit of a business model ever. We sold the regional networks and they just evaporated. It really hurt the bottom end teams, the smaller market teams, the Ray, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Baltimore. So the gap in Major League Baseball has never been greater. Between the haves and have nots Now, you could say that's not good for baseball. Maybe it's not. It's great for TV networks that have baseball. I've been saying this. I don't get ESPN moving off baseball. It may not be good for the sport. But what we want as a television network, or what leagues want, is the stars in the right places. So right now in baseball, the stars are in New York. Both teams Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Chicago just got Kyle Tucker. Another Southern California team. Houston's always got talent. So the big markets have never been the gaps never been bigger between big markets in Oakland. That's great for TV networks. I mean, if Cooper Flag went to Chicago in the NBA, if you went to Chicago and he's a really good player, and then Chicago, you know, they got some money because they're best player as a kid, and they buy a couple all star level players and make some trades. The Nicks would be good, The Celtics would be good, the Lakers would be good, Chicago would be good. That's what in San Francisco, Golden State would be good. Television networks don't care about anything because television network doesn't have to be loyal to a league. It's got to be loyal. It's got to have about four to six teams that are really good. So if you take out the NFL where market sized in brand doesn't matter. Right now, baseball is in an incredible I get Bryce Harper in Sports Crazy Philly, big market, Aaron Judge in New York, Soto in New York, basically an all star team with Freddie Freeman, Mooki Bett, Shoho Tawny, and an all star staff for the Dodgers down the road, I got Machado, Tatis, Atlanta's got Acunya Tucker goes to Chicago. Like, if you look at the Dodgers roster, and I'm not I am not joking when I say this, that is potentially, I don't even think potentially. If Sazaki's as good as advertised from Japan, Blake Snell, Tyler glasnow I'm a Mooto dustin mate, Shoe Otani is now pitching, this could be has the makings of the best baseball team ever. And that's not me, folks. You're looking at like eight all stars, three on the staff minimum. So it's that is good for networks like I do. If you were ever gonna move into baseball, it would be now La. Both New York teams, Philadelphia, Atlanta Cubs all gonna be really interesting. What are you doing? That's when you want in. It's like I said, look at the NBA ratings. Since Jimmy Butler joined, Steph Curry and Luca join Lebron the world. It's so good for the Knicks to be good. It's so important for the Lakers, Warriors and Knicks to be captivating, and they all are. I don't think the Knicks can win a title, but they're a great watch, so much fun to watch. Second thing is differing opinions. So I asked urban Meyer about Travis Hunter of Colorado, Who's gonna play corner and wide receiver in the n That could be problematic. Here's what urban Meyer said about a kid that, I mean, if it wasn't for quarterbacks, could be the number one pick.
I would never say this. Other than that guy, I'd play in both ways. I would trade him. I mean, I've never seen college. Yeah, on the one hundred and sixtieth play of the game, he's blocking guys twenty five to thirty yards delfield and he at the end of the game he's as strong. I know it's college, and I get that, I'm going to I'm sure some people say it's college. It's college, and I get that, but I in my lifetime, I'm not seeing a guy do that.
Yeah.
Now, Jeff Schwartz, who spent eight years in the NFL, he doesn't like the idea of being playing both ways.
You have basically two playbooks, right, you have a defensive playbook that's this big and they're on their iPads. Now it's a little bit different, but offensive playbook is this big. How do you do both at the same time?
Right?
You practiced one day with the wide receivers, it one day with the corners. I think it's easier to be a full time corner and then say, hey, Travis, here is ten plays on offense. Can you run them on Friday at practice or maybe you stay after for five ten minutes.
That's how I would play it.
I would say, look your corner and then we'll give you ten to fifteen plays on offense. You have to spend a lot of time in that offensive meeting room because you think you're ready to play corner in the NFL.
Yeah, I think Travis Hunter will be great at whatever. His primary responsibility is receiver corner, He'll be great. I do think it's tricky. I think most quarterbacks do not want their receivers occasionally showing up for practice like they want them there. I mean, Brady in the offseason would vacation with his receivers. That's Mark Sanchez would bring guys out in Southern California. That's the way quarterbacks work. I think cornerback is a lot of twitchiness and instinct. I'd rather go to offense, get him seventy five minimum eighty touches, and then occasionally some spot defense.
