THE HERD – HOUR 1 – Caleb Williams keeps sizzling I Drake Maye is carrying the Patriots

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Welcome in. What a night. That is as good as the NFL gets in the regular season. Felt like a conference championship game in Chicago on a perfect weather night. Two great coaches, two remarkable young quarterbacks, two excellent football teams. We are live. We are in Chicago. It's the Herd, blazing five in an hour, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your game. I want to start with New England's defense.

It is really well coached. Sticky, no deep balls, physical. They sniff stuff out. They disguise it. For Chicago to score 30 points on a short week against that defense, that's the most total yards and the most passing yards the Patriots have given up this year. In fact, since Vrabel's been the coach in New England, they've never given up that many yards in a game, 4-0-5. And they play Josh Allen twice a year. This New England defense is going to eat quarterbacks up. It is hard to describe in person how good Caleb is. I mean, and this offense is the real Gotti. The coach, the quarterback, the GM's been perfect. The tight end, the wide receivers.

They didn't have their number two running back, who many think is their number one running back. They are moving the ball. You don't get 405 yards on this Rabel defense. You do not. And on a short week, I mean, there was 19 penalties. Thursday football is tough for teams. Caleb throwing across his body, the window throws. I'm going to tell you something. His arm in person, I felt like when I went to Miami, when LeBron was in his prime and basically owned the East, I went to a couple of Miami Heat games against really quality teams.

And you're like, God, LeBron is like a level above the All-Stars. Bosh, Wade, some of the stuff Caleb does, I feel like I'm watching Josh Allen without the interceptions. I mean, Josh Allen, a couple weeks ago, played New England's defense, ended up with a passer rating in the 80s. Caleb was at 117 last night in a short week. 117, second highest passer rating in the Vrabel era. So, I mean, first quarterback to throw for 300 yards against this defense in a calendar year. Everybody's afraid to say it. I'm not.

I think Cale is the most talented quarterback in this league. I really do. It is incredible. And you have to earn every yard. This New England defense, you know, you don't get to see the secondary as much when you're watching on television. This defense is well coached. It is really sticky. They sniffed out a couple of screens. But, I mean, Burden's a dog. Colston Loveland. Roma Dundas had drops.

He's talented. Swift making up yards. So, I mean, New England's a real team. They had injuries, short week, on the road. I mean, the Bears had eight chunk plays of over 20 yards. That will not happen the rest of the season, including the playoffs against New England's defense. No way. Eight chunk plays? I mean, I'm not trying to be hyper here, but it is... I mean, honestly, there's times that you watch games on television, then you go watch them in person, and it is wow. And I sat there watching this last night, and my takeaway was Caleb deserves somebody as good as Ben Johnson. Michael Jordan deserved Phil Jackson. Michael Jackson deserved Quincy Jones. Like when you get one of these brilliant, young, talented people

in any sport, in the arts, movies, I don't care if it's DiCaprio or Caleb Williams, they deserve the best director. I mean, the last two games, Caleb is 43 of 46 in a clean pocket. And when the pocket's not clean, that's when it's really fun to watch. That's when the magic happens. So I'm just saying, 30 points against this New England defense, which in person blew me away, eight chunk plays, and I mean, there's constant pressure. They are disguising, manipulating, sniffing things out. I just sitting there watching some of this stuff. And I was sitting next to a friend who's played college football at quarterback, young kid. And we're just a couple times. We're like this, this stuff is you almost root for the bear's pocket to break down.

So Caleb, it's like, Oh, this is a fun stuff. This is Michael Jordan switching hands. I mean, this is, this is, this is the fun stuff. Here was Caleb after the win. These nights are awesome.

You play versus another good team. in a primetime game on a short week. These games are awesome because you get to see who you are as a team, and that's who we are. We're a smash-mouth football team, innovative team. And then when things happen and things don't go our way, you know, and the water's rocky, we stay steady. And so we're going to keep going. We're going to keep fighting.

That's who we are. That's why I know who we are.

And for all of you that sold your Drake May stock, you're out of your minds. This kid is so talented. First of all, running back Travion Henderson, I really liked him out of college. I'm not sure he can play. A.J. Brown, I'm not saying wash, but you don't have to double him. You don't have to bracket him. They put Malik Muhammad, a rookie, on him. Fine. I mean, they're tight end.

Hunter Henry, I like. They're fine, but they're not Colston Loveland. And the offensive line had multiple injuries. Caleb's got Ryan Poles handing him kings and aces. I mean, every time I look around, Chicago's got a backup guy that can play. Drake May, he is the load-bearing piece here. They got no number one receiver. They thought they bought one. They got no number one running back. The offensive line had multiple injuries. The tight ends are okay. And the kid comes up with 320 yards, short week on the road, 118 passer rating, 77% completions. And by the way, Dennis Allen doesn't have a ton to work with. The defense is okay. They need a pass rusher. I mean, could they go out and, I mean, honestly, do you go by?

The whole time, you know what I kept thinking? Go get Khalil Mack again. Go get Khalil Mack from the Chargers. They need just a straight dog pass rusher. And Dennis Allen is manipulating. He's got seven, eight guys at the line. You have no idea where they're coming from. It's not an easy deal. It's got a lot of Brian Flores to it. You have no idea where guys are coming from.

And this kid has a feel. Instincts can move. He's huge. He is the load-bearing piece here. And again, so you've got to bake in. He's going to have some bad games against great defenses. He's got to carry defense. So much of the load here. And I'm not saying it's a great Chicago defense, but they're well-coached. That was a tough environment. I don't know why they traded Keishon Booty.

That one I don't get. They call up Houston, get him back. I don't get that move at all. They need help here. So when you... People say this about Drake May.

Well.

He presses. You would, too. There's no option here for him. It's funny about last night. And this is why I refuse. So Drake May had a pick. Who cares? He is pressing. He has to press. He has to make plays. And then Caleb rolled out and took a bad sack. Again, when you're that magical and gifted, you're trying to make plays.

Both Drake and Caleb tried to make plays and made mistakes. You cannot be perfect on a short week against that kind of coaching. But the people banging on Drake May... I'm telling you, remember when Vrabel kind of came out and said it's kind of a thin roster? He ain't kidding on offense. I mean, it is. Drake May just competed, is a gamer. I'm telling you right now, I'm not sure how many New England guys start for Chicago offensively. Now, you could say the opposite is true with the New England defense, but offensively, I mean, I got, I got a, I got Ben Johnson. I got Caleb. I got a back.

I got another one coming back and Loveland and, and Luther and Roma don't say, and it's embarrassment of riches for the bears. Offensively, Drake may, he is, he is carrying the weight on that puppy. Here's Rabel after. He gave us a chance. He competed.

And I know he'd like to have that throwback to, to Eli, but you know, I thought he really competed.

And, Whether that was running around and scrambling and finding good places to go with football.

Gave us a chance.

I know he'd like to have that one back. He'll learn from it like he always does.

I'm glad he's ours.

New England, I think the number's like 23 first or second year players. So I said this before. I think Chicago is good enough. I really do now. I think if Chicago went out and aggressively got an edge rusher, like a strict pass rusher, like a Khalil Mack, who the Chargers may be willing to deal, I think they're good enough to win the Super Bowl. New England got to win last year. They were overwhelmed. Seattle has more good players. This thing, when Vrabel took this over from Gerard Mayo— I just remember when he took it over.

They had no players. They were the slowest team in the league. And they had they then they bring Vrabel, Josh McDaniel, Drake May. They clean him up. It's remarkable. They got to a Super Bowl watching New England last night. I'm like, I honestly feel like they need another draft. because last year was not a good draft for him.

So they're trying to replenish this stuff. Drake may is playing with a lot of kids. There are a lot of young guys on the old line at tight end at running back. New England's just, they're just not in. This is an offensive league. They just need more pieces there. And they're super, super young, new England. When Vrabel took this over, this was not a one-year lift. Get into the super bowl. It doesn't even make sense. You can't wrap your brain around that. That's amazing. Um, They still need more players. They don't have Niner players. I don't think Chicago's offensive grouping, I mean, even watching them in warm-ups, you're just like, length and size and quickness and hands. Uh, that was fun. J Mac, that was a good time

last night.

Yeah. Sounds like it.

I mean, geez, you sound like you're hurting this morning, a late night in a windy city. I will say, I think you're overrating the Patriots defense a little bit. They face three good quarterbacks. Trevor Lawrence hung 35 on them. Josh Allen hung 26 on them and Caleb Williams did whatever he wanted last night. So I don't, I mean that some of the advanced stats say they're like a middle of the pack defense. I don't even know if that they're a playoff team in the AFC, but your bears, that is a winner to me.

Colin, I think they're better than the Rams right now. I don't think there's any argument.

Oh, I don't think it's even close. Again, there's something to be said. And I want to talk later about this with the Rams. Rams are top heavy. And when you watch them play, there's not a lot of juice. One of the things I've been saying about the Bears the last couple of years, they have the energy of a college team. They really do because Ben's really intense and Caleb's loose and fun. And we always said they may not be a perfect couple. It'll work because they're both so brilliant. But you start watching them and you're like, no.

Ben's intensity, like Caleb lightens it up a bit. And Caleb's kind of light, fun. Ben adds a little intensity to that. And you watch them work together well. For the record, these are young teams. Rams are one of the oldest offenses in the league. These two teams you're watching last night, They're not at the ceiling yet. New England's going to be more talented in one calendar year.

In Chicago, I think Chicago's a piece away on the defensive front from playing in February.

Colin, you look at the top three teams in the NFC right now, right? Week seven.

It's the Niners, who were beat the hell up, and we know they're not going to survive the season. The Vikings, who have some questions. I think they do have a really good week this week. And then the Bears, who are an absolute machine. I mean, the Eagles are out, right? I think the Seahawks are fading. Colin, I think you might have to start getting ready for a Super Bowl out here in Los Angeles for your Bears.

The game's at SoFi in February.

I will say, this Thursday night game. Remember we watched Denver and Seattle play Thursday. And you can just tell. Look at the penalties on Thursday. It's just not enough time. I mean, New England goes short week. You're in a big game. Short week.

On the road.

We're not asking them to play on Saturday one night before usual. We're asking them to play with about 40% less prep time than they need for a game. So when I watch Thursdays, I try to bake in there's going to be 15 penalties. And you could see last night at the line of scrimmage, it's just a little, it's not buttoned up, but you've got to be fair to these guys. These are two young teams. It's a Thursday night game. It was sloppy. I watched the Seahawks, and I watched Denver, and there's a lot of older players for Denver, and it's like they were sloppy with Sean Payton. So I always kind of like bake in.

It's Thursday. It will not be an aesthetic masterpiece. But I felt like I was watching great coaching, toughness, physical playmaking. That's about, I'll tell you, between Jacksonville, Houston last week in London. It's funny. The best games, London last week and Thursday this week, that'll be hard to top. That was a sensational night of football. I got more on this game. A real takeaway on the Bears that I think deserves praise. Also, of course LeBron beat the Cavs that way.

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Subscribe, hit that thumbs up icon, and comment away. So it was just classic. Last night, when LeBron and the Sixers hosted the Cavs, that's why he chose Philly over Cleveland. Everybody thought he was going to Cleveland. And I kept saying, no, Philly works. He needs youth. He needs two-way committed players.

He doesn't need head cases in Cleveland. The Cavs are the tin man of the NBA. They got no heart. They also blew a 22-point fourth quarter lead against the Knicks in the playoffs. Last night, they led by 29 before half and lost. LeBron wanted to go to Cleveland. He's got the house. He's got the history. He's got friends in the organization. But he knew James Harden. Last night, more turnovers than assists. He knew Donovan Mitchell. Guys that Donovan Mitchell guarded last night shot 67%. And LeBron knew that.

He's always been that smart. So LeBron's 41 years old. He wanted guys that could get him out of holes. And last night, Jalen Brown, really big in the fourth quarter. Embiid delivered when they were down big. Now LeBron can still crush it in spurts. He had 10 points in the third quarter. But LeBron has actually had, for the Sixers starting five, the lowest plus minus through two games.

Both games. And they're 2-0. And when they got down 29, Cleveland was the perfect team. to be up by 29. No heart. And what I love about Jalen Brown is he's always been a very good two-way players, the effort. So he held the Cavs last night. Jalen Brown did a four of 13 shooting. In the first game against the Knicks, he held the Knicks that he guarded to one for 14. That's what Luke and Austin Reeves couldn't do.

That's what Harden and Donovan Mitchell couldn't do. That's why I kept preaching, go to Philly. Edgecombe defends. Jalen Brown will defend. Embiid, not a great defender, but he can protect the rim. LeBron's 41 years old. He's trying to find guys that, you know, he'll give you spurts. He's not going to give 12 straight minutes of great basketball.

So this is the biggest comeback ever in LeBron's career, down 29. And it's a comeback and a blown lead that Cleveland, even last year, they become accustomed to. But I think last night was a microcosm of why he chose Philly over comfortable Cleveland. Is that Mitchell won't guard anybody, Harden's too flaky in big spots, and last night he needed Jalen Brown's defense, Maxie's ascending closing, Embiid's talent, Edgecombe's energy.

He needed all of that last night. And then LeBron will give you 10 in the third quarter and distribute and make great decisions. But I'll tell you, Philly is fun to watch. They're not quite synced up yet. They're fun to watch. And here's LeBron after.

It was everything that I dreamed of and more.

Got the booze.

That was amazing.

We deserved it.

And then we got the cheers and almost blew the roof off.

This thing tonight, you know, in a good way. So that was a hell.

Of a night.

Up 29 right before half. If you say, hey, tell me the playoff team that blew a 29-point lead last night. Cleveland. I'm going to go with Cleveland. I trust the Browns today. Seriously, I'm picking them this week way more than the Cavs. And the Cavs have like they think a championship roster, and the Browns are just trying to bail water and get through the season with Todd Munkin. I trust the Cleveland Browns. You can put that in the archives. J Mac with the news.

It's funny.

I picked the calves to go to the NBA finals this year. And by the way, Kenny Atkinson texted me. We won the game analytically last night.

J Mac.

I know we blew a 29 point lead, but we won it analytically.

Anyways, let's start with the San Francisco 49ers.

Colin big one in hot Lana on Sunday. Check out that line. Under a field goal. That's a sign. Mike Evans probably will not play.

Yeah. 15 guys, 15 guys on the injured list. So they are, I mean, that dude, that's, that's a quarter of the roster.

Yeah.

It's, it's rough. Now they are one of the last unbeaten teams in the league.

And, uh, Kyle Shanahan was on his weekly radio show and had this to say about what sets the Niners apart.

We see the adjustments we got to make and our guys are willing to just really put it on the line every single week and do what it takes to get it done. And I think, maybe a difference with our team with most other teams is I feel like I feel like our guys play every team like it's it's make or break to make the playoffs or not there is no like hey this is just week five or hey we got a good right like there's none of that I think our guys have a very good understanding of how this league works and how fast it can change and each week it's it's it's a one game season.

Well, I one of the advantages to the Niners are you've got so many smart veteran players. And so they don't waste any time. Like when you watch the Niners, we always use the word they come in. They're intentional. They take leads. They run the game plan. You don't get a lot of immaturity distractions. That's the advantage. It's a very adult team. They play intentionally, intensely. You don't have any weight. You know, sometimes you get young teams, and you know this. This is just, you get squirrely players.

You get kids that are 23 years old. It's the first time they've made big boy money. That's like, San Francisco's got a bunch of Hall of Famers, guys with multiple homes. They're not wasting any time. They all want to ring. But I do think this is a short week, tough spot, banged up, and Atlanta at home when Penix is upright, it's a tough matchup.

Yeah, so this will be in headlines at the end of the show. We talked about it all week. I do want to point out, Niners on a bye next week. So, you know, even if Mike Evans is like, I can go. Hey, we got a bye next week. Take two weeks off, right?

Yeah.

And scheduling wise, the Niners, this is the first time they've left the West Coast, Colin, since.

The Australia game. Look at that.

They played three home games in a row. They went up to the Northwest to Seattle, had Washington at home. This is their first real trip.

I think you and I, first of all, I do think there are some really strong plays this week in Blazing Five. I think it's an interesting, I think there's some really good plays. As always, I have three games I love, and then you kind of cross your fingers. But I think if you ask the Sharps, the side. Whether it comes to fruition, the side is Atlanta. This is a tough spot for San Francisco.

100% agree. All right, let's move on to the big quarterback. We're waiting, Colin.

Still waiting all week. Will he or won't he? Lamar Jackson. Man, I don't know, Colin. He was at practice yesterday, which is a good sign. The line's starting to ping back to Ravens are favored. But something interesting happened. The media went up to Marlon Humphrey to find out. So, hey, how did Lamar look?

What's the vibe? Is he going to play? And listen to this rant from Marlon Humphrey.

Seems like Lamar's the only quarterback kind of gets the slander that he gets for any time anything is going on. I feel like you just don't see these same articles. You don't see these same headlines, whether you're, I mean, I'm in the hot tub and it's this, that, and the third. I just, unfair treatment. I don't know if it's because of lack of agent or what, that no one can kind of defend him. But I think, I do know this, if Lamar Jackson can play, if he's healthy enough to play, he will play.

Yeah, it's funny. And perhaps in Baltimore, that is the feeling. But I think, I mean, people were brutal on Peyton Manning for years because of his playoff losses. Again, this is the advantage of having gray hair. People crucified Peyton Manning. for years because his first three playoff games were rough. Listen, Lamar has not played well in the playoffs, and he's looked tight. It's not always all his fault. But I think people have overwhelmingly, the media overwhelmingly, we understand he's a Hall of Fame-level player. But, I mean, it's the reality.

He gets dinged up. You know, it's like, thank God they got a good backup, and he hasn't delivered in the postseason. And, I mean, Justin Herbert, even before this year, got half the people that cover sports. Like, now he can't play. Justin Herbert can't play. So Drake May was getting crushed. People were like, sit him three weeks ago.

If you play quarterback in this league and you're going to get crushed, if you go on a two game losing streak. I mean, I talking to a friend last night, he's like, I can't believe Caleb took that sack. I'm like.

He played a nearly perfect football game.

These are pro athletes. Like, you're not playing perfect football. I think Lamar is treated like a really, really great quarterback who occasionally gets dinged up and is underwhelmed in the playoffs. I think he gets treated. I think the Ravens are a very respected organization. I've never met anybody that covers this team. As a professional, what we do, you say Ravens and you just think top of the food chain. It's a really good organization.

And to be fair, Colin, the guys won two MVP awards. All we do is hype the hell out of Lamar Jackson. And he's making $ 50 million a year. Is he not deserving of some scrutiny being the face of the franchise for a team that's underwhelmed in the postseason?

Like, I don't know. Marlon Humphrey, that was a bizarre interview.

I don't know where that came from. He may be very good friends with him. He's a veteran player. It's possible.

It's possible.

Yeah, I mean, listen, we ask a lot of our football players. Sometimes they get a little testy. I'm good with it. It's good content.

By the way, how do you think Justin Herbert's handling, hey, man, you got engaged and now you stink. You think Justin Herbert's enjoying life right now? I mean, off the field, sure, but the media is killing him, and it deservedly so, right? All right, let's move on, Colin. Final story, and that's the Dallas Cowboys. Big one on Monday night football against the Eagles.

Dak Prescott, he's turned into a philosopher, Colin. You're going to love this from Dak Prescott.

That comes with it. That's the territory. You know, you can't ask for the rain and be mad about the mud. So, you know, we're blessed to have the platform that we do. But ultimately, it's not up to us to listen to that. I try to eliminate it in general. But occasionally, you know, you do get a hot take or you hear a hot take or you get asked about it. And, yeah, it's comical.

I like that.

The old fool-osopher. You can't ask for rain and deal with the mud. Like, come on.

I know. I mean, you know, that's the adult thing. To me, that's a very realistic, common-sense approach. If you want the money, you've got to get the criticism. You ask for the rain, there's going to be some mud. That's the give and take of being a pro athlete. That's why I largely believe in what LeBron always did, is he just got off social during the playoffs. That doesn't do you any good. I was talking yesterday to PCA.

He's going to win the MVP for the Cubs. He was in the suite I was in. And we sat and talked for 30 minutes. And he's a fascinating guy, great guy. And I was talking to him about favorite places to play beyond Wrigley and least favorite. And I'm not going to rip the city, but he said there was one place in the country. He's like, it's awful.

And he goes, if there's a night game in this city, you're stuck in your hotel room for 12 hours. And he said the reality is you get into bad habits. You start ordering off the menu. You start eating. And he goes, night games in this city are just rough. And you're scrolling and doom scrolling and stuff's getting into your head. And the truth is, I think once you're a star quarterback in this league, you're best to just stay off X, stay off IG, stay off Snapchat or TikTok.

I really do. for the season. Just get out of it. Have your social team do stuff and post the good stuff and get out of it.

Now, I will say one thing Dak did not address is his owner invites this scrutiny by giving more interviews than every other.

Owner in the league combined.

That's a thousand percent accurate.

You and I agree on this. Jerry is constantly farming for engagement.

Yep.

And Dak's out there trying to farm for wins. And that's where I think the Cowboy quarterback position is hard, especially as Jerry is aged and he can feel it slipping away and no Super Bowl. He puts you in weird spots sometimes. I think quarterbacking the Cowboys is not like quarterbacking the Jaguars. I think it's harder.

The guys at front office should have followed up with, hey, do you think your owner should tone it down a little bit? I would have been curious to see Dak wiggle his way out of that one.

J-Mac with the news.

Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by.

The Herdline News.

So, I thought... A real moment in the game last night, and it was the Chicago defense is not great. They need a strict pass rusher. Dennis Allen's done a good job to disguise their weaknesses. I do think rookie Malik Muhammad and the safety from Oregon have done a really nice job. They had a very good draft class. Georgia Tech's six-round defensive lineman, they had a really good draft class.

But they gave up an awful end-of-the-half defense. touchdown. It was a screen pass. And then I went for 50. It was just awful. A little fluky, a little weird. You know, the corner, the safeties were standing at the goal line when the ball was snapped, which I didn't love. And it was just, just absolutely awful. And I thought to myself, oh God, that Chicago's out playing them. This is bad. Instead of After this, and you can call it whatever you want. I mean, good for the Patriots.

It's a great play. It's the NFL. These are great athletes. But they come back. Chicago gets the ball in the second half. Nine plays, 72 yards, touchdown, and nobody remembers that play. If the Bears would have lost last night, that screen touchdown into the half would have been the headline, would have been the story. So they didn't dwell on it, and then they delivered. First series, second half. And that's one of those things where you'll see your college coaches sometimes, even the great Saban, throwing a headset, yelling, screaming. Ben Johnson's like, well, we've got to get over it. Never forget this. Nick Foles dropped 41 points on Bill Belichick in a Super Bowl. They didn't punt. Okay? So, like,

that's the reality of pro football is you're going to get smoked. So, so much of the NFL is don't allow a bad moment to become a bad half or a bad night. This isn't college football where Ohio State's got significantly better players than almost everybody they play. This is not what it is. Chicago's got much better offensive players than New England, and it's not close. And New England's got better defensive personnel, though young, than Chicago does.

So for the Bears, it's a young GM. It's a young coach. It's a young front office. Um, it is a young receiving core. You got a young star tight end. It is a young team for them to give up a deflating, awful end of the half touchdown and had no effect on their play. That's impressive. That is real, real maturity. And here's Ben Johnson in the locker room after the win.

Thursday night football is ugly.

It can get ugly, right?

There's some ups, there's some downs throughout.

And, yeah, you guys didn't waver for one second.

Stayed the course, poised, all right, under control the entire time.

Hell of a job.

We knew it was going to take 60 minutes. That's a good team now.

That's a good team.

Took all 60 minutes, and we made a couple more plays.

Yeah, no, New England's a real team. They will not give up 405 yards of offense the rest of the season. And they're playing Josh Allen. They won't. So I thought that was a real moment. Like you can see, I mean, not only did Ryan Poles have a good draft, those guys are starting. I mean, Malik Muhammad, I'm just going to throw this out there. Is he their best? Is he their best corner? So Ben Johnson coming out of half and that disaster, the bears second and totally yards in the third quarter. Is that this year? Third highest success rate in the third quarter this year. That is another advantage to an offensive coach. Tweak, adjust, pivot. Because that play, I'm telling you, the stadium, Soldier Field went silent.

We all just looked at each other and went, what did we just watch? I mean, that is the kind of play that makes coaches sick. You can lose a game. That's the thing you dread. Remember the Belichick team? They lost on a Last play was, I forget, was it against Miami or somebody? That was that play where they did some weird screen and New England lost. It's not about coaching. Like, weird stuff happens in pro football. I mean, everybody, the margins are so thin. Coming up next, Arch Manning turned to add Chambliss. You better watch. Also, Blazing Five top of the hour. And the Rams have themselves another dilemma and a big decision to make. That's coming up.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

Tonight, the fall classic begins on Fox with two teams looking for their first ever World Series title as the Rays take on the Brewers. Game one of the World Series coverage begins tonight at 7 Eastern on Fox.

Joe Maddon led the Cubs to a World Series title a decade ago is going to be joining us final hour today. You know, you can you can go on Duolingo for three years and learn a language. But if you grow up in Paris, as a child growing up, it's a different feel. I learned this when I met my wife 20 years ago. Her dad was in the restaurant business, and her kids are cooks. Everybody cooks, and friends are chefs, and you can take all the classes you want. If you grow up in the kitchen as a kid, the spices, you just know. It's a language.

It's a feel. It's a nuance. In baseball, they say there are throwers, and then there are pitchers. And so much of sports beyond big arm and strong is feel and nuance and it. Some guys just see the field. I mean, Caleb Williams sees the field. Justin Fields, I swear, never did. Zach Wilson, I always struggle with. I don't think he sees the field. Drake May sees the field.

It's not just being big, strong, and competing. There's a field of sports and some stuff you can't explain. And so the Arch Manning thing, that's been weird because you'd think of all the things that Arch Manning would have, you'd be like, well, he's a Manning. He'll have feel for the position. And what's interesting is the most alarming stat with Arch, he's holding the ball longer this year with a better star receiver, with a better left tackle, with one of the best play callers. So is he processing it slower? Like, is it taking longer? Does he just lack kind of a feel for it? I watched him against that Florida quarterback last week, the Florida kid, on the road. I mean, it's like making his first start,

and the kid... All sorts of feel. All sorts of confidence. That's the one thing I'll say about Arch. I don't have the playbook. I don't know what they're calling. But it does feel like he doesn't have a feel. And I don't know how to explain that, but there is an instinct, a nuance, that I just... The great ones, things just come easier. So he'll play a kid tomorrow, Trinidad Chambliss, who's pretty small. But I said last year, as my favorite player in college football to watch, Ole Miss quarterback, he's just remarkable. He is a lot of feel.

He doesn't have the size. He's 5'10. But when you watch Trinidad play, it's like a golfer who's just good around the green, man. He just... never leaves it short in a big pot. He just got a feel for it. And Art, maybe it's the pressure, but it's not lack of talent. But now the numbers say he's holding the ball longer this year. I don't have an explanation. I trust my eyes. I feel like he doesn't have a feel.

And here's Sark on the Arch experience.

Somebody texted me today that we lost the Aw Shucks kid, you know, and we've created something else. I don't know if we lost him. We created this, you know, we did all of us. Y'all included me, the whole thing, right? Everybody on ESPN, we've created this. And so we'll see what comes out of it, but, but he's edgy right now.

And honestly, I appreciate that about him.

At some point he's.

Got to fight back. And the best way for him to fight back is going out and playing really good football with his teammates.

Yeah.

It's going to be a great game. Ole Miss at Texas tomorrow. So, um, I saw this story yesterday. Puka Nakua, Rams star receiver, leaves practice with a calf injury. He's a remarkable talent. He's also very immature. They've been putting out fires behind the scenes for three years. You've read about some of them, and he gets hurt pretty regularly.

And Devonta Adams does as well. So now they're going to be potentially without their two best receivers. So this is when GMing is really hard because he's an unbelievable talent. I mean, a fifth-round– receiver like his rookie year you're like wow he can block he's physical yards after the catch but has given him a hundred million dollars gonna make him more mature because they've been putting out some fires and you've read about some of it and so my take is if if the rams felt good about it he'd have a contract i wouldn't pay him and i think he's great I mean, last year, week 14, I think it was week 14, they're getting ready to play Seattle. And basically he tried to get internet streamers onto the practice facility. And McVay's like, bro, not the time,

not the place. So I think if the Rams wanted to, but I think it's a bigger issue is that everybody's like, how in the world are the Rams two and four? The offense is old. Now they got some really good young defensive talent, but the offense is old. And Stafford's old, and Puka's body sometimes feels old, and Devontae's older. And you've got Kyron Williams not real happy with his carries, and Devontae now hurt again. So it's getting very, very noisy.

And I think we've got to be honest about what the Rams are. I think we looked at them, and we forget that this is a young man's league. Chicago's offense, explosive, real young. Seattle's defense, unbelievable, real young. And you can win with older players. San Francisco's got them with a great play designer, play caller. But I kind of look at the Rams right now. I feel they're heavy offensively.

They're old. They're top heavy. There's not a lot of juice. They don't feel like a college team. They feel like a well-paid, older, professional team. And I just– there's something missing. And now Puka's hurt. And, you know– Their draft was really interesting. Robert Mays from The Athletic talked about their needs and what they went and got in the offseason.

They didn't protect themselves in the offseason.

They had a chance to do that in the draft, and they chose not to. They thought that having an off-ramp quarterback was more important than building some depth. And even as you get into the second and third round, Max Claire, the tight end they took in the second round, has been healthy and active for most of the season.

Just think about this team right now with Casey Concepcion.

And you don't, you're not in a spot now where you're having to panic trade for somebody because Devante Adams got hurt. All of the offensive tackles essentially were available to them where they were picking in the first round. They chose not to go that route and offensive tackle has been a concern.

Yeah. And by the way, Puka is the all-time leader. The talent's not, A question. He is the all-time leader in receiving yards a game, and he blocks. I'm not doubting that. But you get into this, okay, you're going to pay him, and you're paying Devontae, and you're paying Stafford, and you're paying Miles Garrett. You've got a couple of these defensive linemen. You've got to pay them. Kobe Turner.

You just paid Trent McDuffie. So, like, to me, and you're seeing a little bit in this Philadelphia. Remember, everybody picked the Eagles to win their division. And all of a sudden they move off Cam Juergens and Lane Johnson retires. And there's rumors that they're going to move Saquon Barkley. You'd rather move guys a year early than a year late, especially guys that get dinged up. And I'm sinking. If the Rams lost this weekend to the Raiders and they're two and fives, are they acquired in some draft picks?

Are they, are they looking in the mirror going guys? I mean, what if the Niners win and they lose? You're not one of the division. Like you're not. Right. It's not that early. I mean, now now now the games start to that Rams Raiders game. That is a big deal. And you can point the fingers at the play calling. But, you know, they probably should have gone out and got another receiver. They probably you know, the reason they had to go get to Kansas City corners because the year before, inexplicably, they didn't draft the corner.

They didn't want to spend a high draft pick on a corner. So I think we all overvalued it. We forget this is often a very young man's league. And J-Mac said this earlier. I watched those two teams last night, New England and Chicago. New England has 23 players who are first or second year players. These guys are right out of college. And Chicago's offense is incredibly young, and they're starting two rookies in the secondary. There is an energy, and New England and Chicago are excellent football teams. Those are excellent coaches, excellent quarterbacks, excellent cultures. You can feel the energy at that game last night. I was on the sideline before the game. It felt like a college playoff game. It was young and trash-talking, and guys are laughing,

and it felt the staff for the Bears is young, and you're like, this is... Rams feel a little stayed, a little old, a little dinged up. A lot of guys making a lot of money, a lot of legacies here. Doesn't feel right. That's what's great about the league. J-Mac and I make our picks. You wake up Sunday crossing your fingers. You don't know what last week I was wrong on virtually everything.

Hey, let me ask you, Colin.

Cole Komet, they're just reporting now that it sounds like serious knee injury out for the year.

Oh.

However, there's a bunch of teams. Dallas Goddard could hit the market.

Well, they also drafted a tight end out of Stanford, who's a very good blocker. People criticized it. Now that makes some sense.

THE HERD – HOUR 1 – Caleb Williams keeps sizzling I Drake Maye is carrying the Patriots

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