THE HERD – HOUR 2 – Blazing 5: Vikings at Lions, Ravens at Bills, Chiefs at Broncos, Bears at Seahawks

0:00 Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m.

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0:09 Find your local station for the Herd at foxsportsradio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Thanks for listening to the Herd Podcast. Here we go. It is Friday, hour number two. The big talk this week. has really been Jeffrey Simmons to the Bears. It developed late. Danny Parkins around the corner. Lamar Jackson is going to be facing Josh Allen. That's in my picks. A lot of mystery around Lamar in the last year and a half, two years.

0:45 Not a fan of it.

0:46 I'll say it again. The knock, John Harbaugh took the hurt, the hit. The coach took the hit for all those blown leads in games. Harbaugh goes to the Giants where they had number of blown leads. Harbaugh goes to the giants. They no longer blow leads. He leaves the Ravens. They still blow leads at a league leading pace. So maybe it wasn't Harbaugh's issue. It was cultural, the quarterback, whatevs.

1:18 So off another winning week, three, one, and one last week.

1:21 Here we go. Our blazing five.

1:25 Let's blaze it up. It's Collins blazing five. vikings and lions.

1:31 Well i like the hook i'm going to take the vikings plus three and a half divisional game they've won 11 straight that's the best in the league they're tremendous in close games for the last five games have been one score games and under kevin o'connell they're 35 and 13 in one score game so they're in a lot of them and they're good with them Also opposing quarterbacks against Brian Flores' defense this year. Passer rating is 62.

1:54 So even Jared Goff of the Lions, 0 for 2 last year against them. Jared Goff, an excellent quarterback, has struggled. Last year, sacked 10 times against Brian Flores' defense. And right now, 34% of the time, offenses score against Detroit. Now, this is a BB gun of an offense. But three and a half is too many points in what I perceive is a very low-scoring game. Lions will win. Vikings will cover 24-23 Detroit.

2:28 Ravens at bills.

2:29 I like the bills minus three, eight and all after a buy in the Josh Allen era, they've now got an offensive coach. They tend to love by weeks 31 and six at home over the last five seasons. So a good home team off a buy with an offensive coach and their offense right now is 33 a game. It's number one in the NFL, the Ravens. Their second half's were abysmal. They were last year. They are now lost back-to-back games and held under 14 in both shut out in the second half of three of their four games.

3:00 Is it coaching? Jesse mentor saying this week, we're looking for leadership. Their second half offense, even if they start strong is anemic. I like the bills to win. I like the bills to cover 28 to 23. Chiefs said Broncos. I'm going to take Kansas City minus one and a half. Why? My rule is if good coaches and quarterbacks get humiliated on national TV solo games, silo games, they always play well the next week. The offense, despite no Josh Simmons, fewest sacks allowed, and that's because they're running it and passing quickly. Their defense number two, their red zone number two, and Bo Nix is not exactly lighting it up against Kansas.

3:45 Steve Spagnuolo. Jalen Waddell is also banged up. I'm going to take Kansas City's defense to create turnovers in field position. I'll take Kansas City minus the points, winning 27-21.

3:59 Patriots and Dolphins.

4:01 People are too high on the Dolphins now. Oh, man, they're starting to play well. Patriots minus seven. They blow them out. They're coming off extra rest. I watched them live. That defense is going to gobble up Miami. Drake May leads the NFL in several categories, and that's without a number one receiver.

4:18 At least A.J.

4:18 Brown's not playing like it or a number one back. Their defense, two of the last three games, has been outstanding. Miami's got four of their five losses have been over a touchdown. I do think they're playing better now than a month ago. But, I mean, they faced two top ten offenses this year, the Niners and the Chiefs. They got blown out in both. Patriots win. They pull away in the second half. Jeff Halfley's doing a good job with a limited cupboard. 34-13. Swallow the touchdown. The better team, the better staff, the better quarterback pull away easily in the second half.

4:54 Bears at Seahawks.

4:56 I like Chicago plus a field goal coming off rest. Seahawks playing in their third straight prime time game. Those are over taxing, heavily emotional games. By the way, the Bears are 3-0 and average 40 when Caleb starts and finishes. It's a good offense with a lot of weapons. Luther Burden, Colston Loveland. The Seahawks, 12 giveaways since Darnold returned. And I love Sam, but they don't have a consistent run game.

5:22 Darnold tends to press when he doesn't have a consistent run game. Their rushing grade this year is 29. Not good. We're still waiting for Price to come back. He can be their home run guy, the rookie out of Notre Dame. Again, these are emotional moments. Primetime games, Seattle, their third straight.

5:44 I'm going to take the bears to win a good one. 28 to 24 winning straight up. And with that, we said it is, I moved to Chicago. I mean, you're just, we're scheduling parades now. Let's go to Danny Parker.

6:00 Calling all sports fans calling all sports fans it's time to park it for parking he.

6:11 Is joining us the former chicago radio legend okay i thought there was something very funny this week fans often say you sports guys me specifically you flip-flop well the ultimate flip-flop happened this week so tell people about the poll that you did this week the reaction to the simmons trade.

6:31 Yeah, so I had gotten, listen, nowhere near enough to even consider reporting on anything, but I knew that Ryan Poles was big game hunting, the Bears general manager, and I knew that, you know, his time in Kansas City, they had Chris Jones. I knew the Bears' biggest weakness was defensive tackle, 28th in pressures, last in double teams among Bears' defensive tackles. So I was like, you know what, let's take a shot, you know, day before yesterday, and I put it out on Twitter. Hey, Bears fans, How would you feel if the team traded two first-round picks for 29-year-old Jeffrey Simmons? And over 12,000 people voted, and 62% of Bears fans said they would not like it. And many people, frankly, were very mean to me, Colin, in

7:10 the comments. You don't know what you're talking about. He wouldn't go for two first-round picks. The day it happened, I waited like an hour or two, and I said, hey, Bears fans... Do you like the trade of two first round picks for Jeffrey Simmons? And 62% said, yes, you know, it's a very, uh, yes for me and not for the type of situation. And I get it because it is a, it's a huge acquisition cost to go out and get a non quarterback, but he's a special player.

7:39 And it's very exciting when your team says we are good enough to make this type of move and make no mistake about it. It is expensive, but it's an all in move for this year. And, And for the rest of Caleb Williams' rookie contract, that's the window in which the Bears are being hyper-aggressive to go win a Super Bowl.

7:57 Yeah.

7:58 And I was told this years ago by an executive late first round picks tend to be players often talented enough to be the number 11 pick, but they've got a red flag or they've got injuries or there's some emotional stuff. So they drop. They're still really gifted, but there's something there. And my argument is Simmons is not only great, he's a team captain. He's one of the 10 players in the league. That's coordinator proof in 2020.

8:26 They didn't have a defensive coordinator. He was still great. So to me, it makes a ton of sense. Do you have any, anything about this move?

8:33 You don't like.

8:36 No, it's hyper aggressive. Listen, he's the oldest player ever to be traded for multiple first round picks. That's not a quarterback. So like there is some risk, right? There's risk with this stuff because you shrink your margin for error. The Packers saw that when they traded for Micah Parsons and then he got hurt. We saw this with the Colts last year. They traded for Sauce Gardner and then Daniel Jones got hurt. So you do shrink your margin for error. But what I would say about this particular set of circumstances is there aren't that many data points of defensive players being traded for multiple first-round picks, and we can go through all of them. When the Bears did it for Khalil Mack, it was the most ever

9:14 given up for a defensive player, and they had to sign him into the biggest contract ever for a defensive player. They didn't know if their coach was good. Matt Nagy had never been a head coach, and they had only seen one year of Mitch Trubisky, and they were hoping he was going to be good. The Rams did it for Jalen Ramsey and they won a super bowl, but they also had to trade for Matt Stafford in order to do it. The Seahawks did it for Jamal Adams.

9:35 That was a disaster.

9:37 The Colts did it for sauce Gardner. Why I didn't like that move is I thought sauce Gardner was very good, but not the best at his position. I had him as like the fourth or fifth best corner and you were backing up Daniel Jones. And so then you get, and the Micah Parsons, You know, he gets hurt, okay, bad luck, but you had also already paid Jordan Love.

9:54 So the Bears are in a very unique circumstance. We're already into the season, so we know that they're good. To your point, the first round pick should be low draft picks. Their quarterback is excellent. Their quarterback is cheap. And Jeffrey Simmons has already been signed. You don't have to give him a top-of-the-market deal or worry about a contract holdout like you did with Micah Parsons or Jalen Ramsey or guys like that.

10:18 So it is risky.

10:19 These moves are always risky. But they check a lot of boxes why this is the least risky of all those times it's happened before.

10:28 Jordan Love's interesting. So you can look. And I'm not in any way discounting how good Favre and Aaron were. But there was an understanding, almost, they only each won one trophy. That's the same number of trophies as Trent Dilfer has, and the same number as Brad Johnson and Sam Darnold.

10:47 So there's a sense.

10:48 With those guys, though, they had good marketing, they had kind of images. Aaron was this California cool guy on a lot of commercials. Favre was this Southern guy, relatable, the hunting cap. Jordan Love has no marketing. He has no image. He's just a nice kid. And so I'm watching him last night. This team is number one in penalties.

11:07 They fumbled twice. It's the worst O-line. It's the worst run game since the 19-something Baltimore Colts. I mean, like 1942. We don't know if we love Matt LaFleur. The defense is okay. Mike is not available. And the guy literally does something that's impossible. He has the least amount of time to throw and yet leads the NFL in big plays.

11:26 That's I thought that was impossible. Is Jordan Love the victim of he doesn't care about an image. He doesn't have national commercials. He doesn't appear to want him. But if you start looking at what he's doing, he's a lot closer to Aaron Rodgers than we want to admit.

11:44 Yeah, especially for Bears fans. It is really sickening that that franchise gets to go from Favre to Rodgers to Jordan Love because Love is fantastic. And I think that he is the number one case study this year for the numbers being a bit misleading. And his numbers are very, very good. But you have to watch it to see it.

12:05 The Packers have 20 drops this year from pass catchers. That's the most in the NFL. The Titans are second with 12. So he's had to deal with 20 drops. His receivers, the next closest is 12. They've gained 150 yards from pass interference penalties, Colin. So he's drawing pass interferences. His receivers are dropping the ball. We went back, my researcher Troy today went back and charted it. Five of those drops, according to NextGenStats, have happened in the end zone.

12:33 So that is five touchdowns off the board from passes that hit his guy in the hands, and that is not including Matthew Golden's drop touchdown last night, which was not graded a drop somehow, according to NextGen, I guess because he had to turn his body.

12:46 A little bit.

12:47 He's gotten nothing from the run game. He has gotten nothing. not nearly enough from his wide receivers. As you mentioned, his offensive line is injured. But every pass that Jordan Love throws out there is hitting his guys right between the numbers. He's been excellent this year. I hate to admit it as a Bears guy, but he's been simply fantastic.

13:05 So the NFL tends to be a buy low, sell high league. And I sold all my Lamar stock this offseason. And I said, I want I like my movies to have mystery, not my quarterbacks.

13:19 Is he practicing?

13:20 Is he playing?

13:21 Nobody knows. Is he mad at the team?

13:24 So they get rid of Harbaugh because he's the reason they blow leads. And then he goes to New York, a team that blows leads, and they've solved it. And Baltimore still blows leads. So it's like, you know, you're going to fire the coach. You're not going to fire the star quarterback. But I said during the offseason, the minute I get mystery and I'm not saying Kawhi Leonard level, but there were moving in that direction.

13:45 Where I'm not. Is he practicing? Is he playing?

13:48 The team was shocked, according to Tracy Wolfson last week. Shocked he didn't play. That's not good. Where are you today on the ascension? If there is any with Lamar, where do you stand today with him?

14:02 If you told me right now Lamar Jackson was going to play every game the rest of this season, I would tell you the Baltimore Ravens are a Super Bowl contender. But I would also ask you, how do you know he's going to play every game the rest of the season? It's just like, I know it's a league where there is injury, but there was a front page article at ESPN.com this week. about the mysterious case of Lamar Jackson's injury history with the Baltimore Ravens. And it had a quote in there from Marlon Humphrey, longest tenured Raven, extremely respected player, who's like, we know that if Lamar is good to go, he's going to go. And then the article has four separate incidents from four separate seasons of

14:43 which Lamar Jackson and the team were not on the same page with whether or not he was going to go from injury.

14:48 And Marlon Humphrey's like, it's not fair.

14:50 It's this media creation.

14:51 Other guys don't get it.

14:53 And then the writer's like, Except for A, B, C, and D example where the team said one thing and the player did something else. So I agree with you, mystery isn't good. But again, he is so special. He is such a singular talent in the league. Honestly, if you told me you were going to get a guy's A-plus game, he might be, because of the dual threat nature of it, the single hardest player in the league to game plan for if you know you're going to get his A game. They're a contender, which is why no team is going to be able to quit him.

15:23 even if it is weird with all this injury stuff that keeps happening.

15:26 So Monday Night Football, you get the best defense in the league, Seattle. It looks the part. It is the part. I mean, they can play nickel packages. Their safeties and corners tackle so well, it doesn't really matter. Even their secondary, they play like linebackers. Against the best offense, Caleb Ben Johnson and the weapons. I like Chicago in this. I tend to think great offense, great defense in the NFL.

15:51 Even the Seahawks defense last year, the Rams had no problem moving the ball up the field. And now I get a quarterback playing like Stafford with mobility. How do you see the game? What do you what do you project? What will it look like?

16:03 Listen, I think that Caleb Williams and the Bears' offense will have more success than anyone has had against Seattle this year in terms of statistical production. The Niners scored 32 points, but they got four takeaways. There were giveaways, honestly, from Seattle. The Commanders scored 33 points. They got three turnovers.

16:23 The only team to crack 300 yards of offense against them was the chargers and over 220 of those yards came when they were down three scores in garbage time so i think the bears offense will look better than any offense has looked against them this was a game i predicted the bears to lose before the year just like everybody predicted it's going to be seahawks bears quentin nelson guarding uh blocking jeffrey simmons like the So all I will say about this, I'm keeping it away from Parkins picks. You know, I'm not terribly confident that they're going to go into Seattle and win in prime time.

16:59 But if they do, I just want it on the record right now that I'm reserving the guest bedroom at your condo or the house, whichever one parade weekend. And I've already looked into red eye flights to get back to New York to do the show after the Super Bowl. And so if I if they win this game, I've got a soft hold on it. They are Super Bowl contenders officially Tuesday morning if they win this game.

17:20 Danny Parkins as always, buddy. Great seeing you.

17:22 All right, buddy.

17:24 We'll talk soon.

17:25 All right.

17:25 Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the iHeartRadio app.

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18:56 And we've talked about this. It's not just that he's great. It's who he is as a guy, and here's Poles on the move.

19:04 You do this type of move when you have a combination of impact player on the grass as well as someone that can enhance your culture as well. I don't think it can be either or when you talk about a move this size. You need to have both, and that's what Jeffrey does. We believe he's going to impact us both. at a high level on the grass, but also in the locker room too.

19:29 And one of the greatest compliments you can have is ask a coach who faces Jeffrey Simmons twice a year. And that's D'Amico Ryans, the coach of the Houston Texans. Here's his take on Simmons.

19:45 Jeffrey Simmons is one of the most elite D tackles in our league, right? way he plays with an edge, the disruption that he causes, the effort that he plays with down after down. It's fun to watch him just as a football guy. Like he represents everything you want in a defensive tackle. We want to have any successful plays.

20:06 It starts with how do we handle number 98?

20:09 For the record, he leads defensive tackles last three years in not only sacks, but run stuffs.

20:16 He's the starter and the closer.

20:18 And I was trying to think, you know, during the commercial, I'm like, if you said, name the players in the NFL where there's the biggest gap between them as the number one player at the position and number two, I think it's Simmons. I mean, we love Josh Allen, but he didn't have a Super Bowl.

20:38 You know what I mean?

20:38 Like, so like wide receiver, we love Justin Jefferson, but his production isn't as good as JSN. So, I mean, think about the players in the league right now. I mean, I like Brock Bowers, but is there as big a gap to the second biggest tight end?

20:51 There isn't. Think about the best players in the league.

20:56 What's the gap?

20:56 And I always said this.

20:57 I remember watching Michael Jordan in an NBA finals against Charles Barkley and the Suns.

21:02 And I was sitting with somebody who was a basketball player.

21:05 And I said, Barkley's arguably the second or third best player in the league. And Barkley was great. And I'm like the gap between him and Jordan is it's just, it's, it's much greater than the fifth best player in the NBA at the time. And the 15th, like they're kind of close. So I would name another player in the NFL.

21:26 Who's number one at his position. Like Fred Warner is an unbelievable linebacker. He may be second. I'm not sure there's a linebacker. Although the kid at Cleveland is really good out of UCLA. He is really special. So I'm just looking at all these numbers on Simmons. Yeah, he's the second most double team player in the NFL this season.

21:50 I don't even know who's first. But number one in sacks, number one in run stuffs. There's nothing else quite out there like him. Jay Mack with the news.

22:04 This is the Herdline News.

22:07 You know, there's nobody else out there like Dan Campbell either, Colin. He is an interesting individual, coach of the Detroit Lions. And he was talking about going for it on fourth down. Obviously, he made some puzzling decisions against the Packers. So he takes a lot of risk. And you'd think someone who does that studies the analytics deeply and the numbers. Well, Campbell was asked just about that, Colin.

22:28 And I don't know.

22:30 Here we go.

22:31 I don't do this big study on, well, how did, you know, what, what does it look? What's the success rate? What's it not? Um, cause to me, every week is different on how you, how you're doing it, who you have, who they have, what's the, and either you're going or you're not going, um, more than the actual numbers, you know?

22:48 I mean, I'm always going to say within a yard, two yards, three, you're down in the red zone. Um, your odds are pretty good, um, that you're going to have success, but you know, Like.

23:03 I say, I don't know.

23:04 I think it's just part of my flavor, what I believe in a little bit.

23:09 Too aggressive?

23:11 I mean, if you're going to be aggressive on anything, fourth down is a good thing to be aggressive on, especially when you have Gibbs, Laporta, Omer on St. Brown, Williams, and Goff, and Panay Sewell, and I think their rookie tackle's been good. So I think if he had. The Tampa offensive weapons, I think it would be foolish.

23:35 I think Dan Campbell, with this operation, this talent, should be super aggressive on fourth. I think, by the way, Stafford, Puka, Devontae, Corum, those tight ends. Like, the Rams should be a go-for-it team once you get to the 45. Just go for it.

23:50 Plus, the kicker stinks.

23:51 Detroit's interesting.

23:52 So, with Ben Johnson, I totally understand being aggressive on fourth down. That guy was amazing. Fourth down calls left and right. Ben Johnson's gone now. I don't know that you... Sometimes it feels like Campbell's allergic to points. He's like, I don't want the field goal. I need touchdowns. Like, I'm just telling you, this game against Minnesota, if they stay aggressive and don't kick field goals, they will lose.

24:12 Because this is going to be a low-scoring game.

24:13 Well, and also, last year, the Vikings gave Goff not only trouble, they sacked him 10 times. 10 times, yeah. So the downside, there's only one downside to Detroit's offense, and it's Goff is a sitting duck. So if they have O-line, interior O-line injuries... and they're not running it well. Goff's not a great third and long quarterback versus Brian Flores.

24:34 I mean, I don't know. There's no right answer to this.

24:38 There's no automatic you go on fourth down if you're inside a certain area.

24:42 There's injuries. There's situation. There's opponent.

24:46 It's fun, but the highest leverage plays in football are those fourth down plays.

24:51 Let's move on to Arch Manning.

24:53 I keep calling him future quarterback of the New York Jets. A lot of people are pushing back on that. His numbers have not been great this year. Texas is a massive favorite at home against Mississippi State tomorrow.

25:05 The Bulldogs quarterback is done.

25:07 For the season.

25:08 Here's Steve Sarkeesian talking about how Arch can be the best version of himself.

25:14 I do think he's a conscientious player and is mindful of the ball and is about the team. But at the same time, I do think he's at his best when he's aggressive throwing the ball. I do think he's at his best when he's aggressive using his legs. And so I want him to remain aggressive. But at the same time, have a little discretion, obviously, as it pertains to the ball. But I don't want to take his stinger.

25:38 He's definitely at his best when he plays that way.

25:41 Yeah, I... I like him running more. We've said this about Bo Nix. Bo Nix should run more. It's what he's really good at. I mean, last year, last week, you saw him peel off like a 50 plus. Yeah, I think Arch Manning should run more. And I think I think there's a psychology. They don't want to make Arch a running quarterback, but he's really good at it.

26:01 And if the team ran more, he'd throw more often on third and short. So do we call Caleb Williams, Josh Allen? Are they running quarterbacks or quarterbacks who can run?

26:14 Cause there's a huge difference.

26:16 Yeah. I don't think there are running quarterbacks don't exist.

26:19 In the NFL.

26:20 They're too expensive. Well, you can't have your quarterback running around.

26:23 I always thought Lamar was undervalued as a pocket quarterback. Great. By year two, he was fine. And year three was good. So I don't think running quarterback, I think that's a college term. Yeah. And I think, I don't think arch is a running quarterback. I don't think Bo Nix is, they should run more when you see his tools. And again, they're not always on display. Some of this makes me wonder, uh, Damn.

26:45 Maybe Arch just isn't being used correctly by Sark, and he just needs the right system in the NFL.

26:51 You get him the right coach. Like, Patrick Mahomes was.

26:53 Like a wild horse in college, doing crazy stuff. He gets to Andy Reid, and it's like, oh, this guy's one of the greatest quarterbacks ever.

27:00 Well, there are players who are better as pros.

27:03 Terrell Davis, the running back for Denver.

27:05 Like, he goes to the NFL, and for like a short period, he was the best player, you know, arguably he was one of the top five players in the league. So there are players that get the right coach. I mean, Jordan Love, is a more consistent top quarterback in the NFL than he was in his college.

27:20 Josh Allen's a prime example.

27:22 You know, you're getting Wyoming coaching and Wyoming teammates. So there, there are now in the Texas case, the players are fine, but there are players. The other thing is players mature differently emotionally and physically players. You know, sometimes you're at college. You got a wonky coordinator. Then you, I mean like Jackson dart, uh, had Lane Kiffin.

27:45 For three years.

27:46 So that's really way better than average college offensive coaching. arch has sark that is way better than average college coaching so you would think when he gets drafted that's an advantage that guys i i've done the pro system i've had a pro coach who's been in the sport that's what i.

28:08 Would think but quinn ewers had a pro coach he was a big time prospect and what is he buried on the bench in the nfl he's not a starter he was like a seventh round pick was.

28:15 He ever a great college quarterback I've put up big numbers.

28:19 He was in the Heisman mix. Like they got to the playoff a couple of years with him.

28:22 I'm pretty sure.

28:24 I don't know.

28:24 I just remain.

28:25 I look at the tools and the traits and I see Arch Manning being a star with the right coach in the end.

28:31 I mean, Brock Purdy is a star, right?

28:33 Yeah.

28:35 What do we think of Brock Purdy coming out? Like he didn't have the tools, the traits. He was a seventh round pick. Arch has better tools.

28:41 Well, what you're saying is basically where you land is, matters much more.

28:46 75%.

28:46 Oh yeah.

28:48 I mean, I do think Andrew Luck was one of the rare players Elway. They would have succeeded regardless, but I mean, Trevor Lawrence is a great example of, we loved him in high school. We loved him in college and it took Liam Cohen where you're like, okay, that's a really high end quarterback and he's good. I mean, he is a 6'6, big time arm, moves well. It took the right coach. I mean, I went into this season, I'd kind of like sold my stock. He was too many turnovers. Then you're like, or last year. And you're like, oh, no, he is good.

29:19 Did we not forget Joe Burrow at Ohio State? Could not get off the bench for three years. Goes to LSU, was middling, and then has like the greatest season ever. And now Joe Burrow is on a stacked roster.

29:29 Yeah.

29:29 Unbelievable stuff.

29:30 Anyways, final story is the Seattle Seahawks in that Quinton Nelson trade.

29:35 Yeah.

29:35 Um six time all pro now he showed up and spoke to the media about getting acclimated to his new team uh he's got an interesting look here at the podium take a take.

29:45 A listen colin.

29:46 You know the reaction i gotta admit was like a little bittersweet um formed a lot of great relationships and in the great community there um but definitely excited for this next chapter Everyone's super welcoming and they understand that this is a whirlwind situation for me.

30:04 You got to step in and play left guard and pretty much get a whole offense installed.

30:14 You know, I always think we as just regular civilians do not understand what being traded is like. I mean, I can't imagine if Fox is like, we like you, but we're going to trade you to another network. He didn't really like me. So there's a psychological part of it. Like, you kind of feel like.

30:31 Well, I don't know that there's network tanking, but it's clear that Colts are, like, season over.

30:36 Go play for a contender. But the idea that you could go from the Colts, that have been a tire fire, bailing water for years, and then you get not only a great city... a great team, a great new owner, GM, coach, and you don't even have to be the dominant O-line. They have Graves Abel. So they're not asking. There's no pressure on you to deliver. Same with Jeffrey Simmons. Titans to the Bears, and they have Montez Sweat. So these guys, Quentin Nelson and Simmons, great guys. They not only go to winning organizations, but you're not demanding. It's not like a wide receiver. We need touchdowns now.

31:14 Yeah.

31:14 Simmons is like, Hey man, just do you. We're good with you.

31:18 I mean, Simmons could be.

31:21 Less productive in Chicago and it would be, he'd still be an all pro and, Quentin Nelson, just be good.

31:28 Just be good.

31:29 You don't have to be the third best guard. If you're the eighth best in the league, you're actually that valuable with our run game.

31:35 By the way, you need a judge's ruling here.

31:37 The backwards visor at a press conference for an offensive lineman.

31:41 Are we good with that?

31:43 Old linemen can wear whatever they want, whenever they want. Quarterbacks on Wednesday, turn it around. The QB forward hat on the... Right, and I don't want an image of Brady with a hat on backwards. When you think of Johnny Manziel, you think of hat on backwards.

31:58 Right, but offensive linemen do whatever. It's fine. You're not the face of the team.

32:03 They're lifting sofas on the weekends. These are the big boys. You wear whatever you want whenever you want. Yes, yes, yes.

32:08 Jay Mack with the news.

32:11 Well, that's the news.

32:12 And thanks for stopping by.

32:13 The Herdline News.

32:15 Something that you don't want to pay.

32:18 Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays at noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

32:23 So I'm watching Bryce Young last night. Trust your eyes.

32:27 Jordan loves 6'4. He's 220. He's athletic. Got a plus arm.

32:33 And Bryce Young is eligible for an extension, but he doesn't have a big arm. He's Tua with more athletic ability. Things have to be lined up for him. And I think he's the best high school football player Southern Cal's had probably in a decade. But this is a winter league. This is a fall, late fall, winter league. And I, when I see him sometimes, I think it's a little like Tua where everything has to be lined up for him.

33:02 He's got great receivers right now.

33:04 Chuba Hubbard's been a tremendous middle round running back. Their own lines beat up. Jordan loves his worse. Their cornerbacks are thin. Almost everybody in the league, not named the Seahawks are thin at cornerback. So it's a prime example of a franchise quarterback can win a when it's a mess around him. So to see Jordan Love on the field and Bryce Young juxtapose that last night, you see what a franchise guy is. I mean, Green Bay's O-line is worse. Green Bay's run game is worse. Green Bay's receivers drop more passes. And Jordan Love was great last night. Well, Green Bay's O-line is worse than Carolina's. Their receivers have dropped twice as many passes. And you can say, well, Green Bay's got better players.

33:53 I'm not sure.

33:55 I think Dan Morgan's a very good GM. I think Dave Canalis is Matt Lafleur's equal. So that I thought last night was a prime example of two rosters, two battle lines, two banged up rosters, two teams that aren't great. Do things that bad teams do. One's a franchise quarterback, Jordan love. Where's the check. I'll sign it. Bryce young.

34:17 I got a pass, but I do think he's too good to be a backup. I think he's a bridge quarterback. Here he is after the loss.

34:24 Yeah, they executed better. A lot of stuff was on film, but they do a really good job. Good job disguising. They're a good defense. We have a lot of respect for them. They were better than us today, for sure. They deserved that win. We should have been better.

34:39 You're either a franchise quarterback, which means you elevate average around you. You're a force multiplier. You're a bridge quarterback. You can win, but you need everything lined up, or you're a backup. If our starter's gone, you can win one of the two games. But if you see Tyson Bajent too many times, it gets ugly fast, even if Ben Johnson's the head coach.

35:02 So....

35:04 Back up the truck, sign the check, bridge quarterback, too good to be a backup, but I'm not building around you, and backups. And he's in that second class. Nothing wrong with it. It's going to make a lot of money. Jacoby Brissett's gotten very rich being a bridge guy. Arizona's also incredibly cheap. Carolina's not cheap. That's not what would be the barrier to paying him. But if you watch it, you know, trust your eyes. Last night, one's a franchise guy, one's a bridge. Because I'm telling you, Green Bay is a lot wrong. They have no running game, and Carolina does with Chuba Hubbard. Here's the NFL schedule this weekend.

35:44 You know, J-Mac, you asked a question during the break. How is Baltimore only a three-point dog? The mystery line of the week that doesn't make sense. How is Buffalo off a buy only a field goal favorite over Baltimore? That usually means the NFL, the odds makers see some. Yeah. So it's the mystery line of the week. You would guess four and a half to five.

36:09 Ravens just announced Lamar is going to start and play on, on Sunday. The problem is he's coming off the ankle injury, not a ton of practice.

36:16 He goes down awkwardly. It's back to the Snoop Huntley show. And we've seen that.

36:20 I think historically Lamar has a small edge in the regular season over Allen.

36:24 Allen's two and O against him in the playoffs. Yeah.

36:26 I don't, I don't see it.

36:28 I don't think this Ravens defense is great.

36:29 Do you?

36:29 I mean, I know the Buffalo bills defense.

36:31 Is not good, but so defensive head coach gets hired. You and I don't love that. We love offensive coaches. Harbaugh John's a special teams guy. So we like offensive. So you went with a defensive guy. Now he was well-respected people like him and it's a great operation, but But the most interesting part to me is for the last five or six years, the Lamar era, the big knock is they blow leads.

37:03 Yeah.

37:03 Okay.

37:04 Harbaugh leaves. The problem persists. The Giants have a blown lead issue. John Harbaugh arrives and fixes it. So the blown leads is not a John Harbaugh thing because J.J. McCarthy and Jameis Winston and Jackson Dart have been able to solve that. So I think there's a big lack of leadership in Baltimore.

37:26 Don't confuse.

37:27 This isn't the NBA where I don't need you to be a leader. Just get me 26. This is not the NBA. I don't need all my stars to be great leaders. I need you to be a great finisher. Jokic is a great finisher. I don't need you to be a great leader. I need my quarterback to do more than throw the football.

37:44 1 p.m. Slate has two bangers.

37:47 I mean, Lions-Vikings is a great game, and Ravens-Bills is an excellent game, both at 1 p.m. There's some big point spreads ones. We've seen some huge favorites fall flat on their face. We'll talk about that in headlines today. At the end of the show. But yeah, I'm not seeing any major upsets this week. I think favorites kind of start to restore order after a clunky start to the season.

38:10 Well, this is as you get near the trade deadline, like, you know, the Colts at the Jaguars. I almost put that out because the Colts have traded two of their best players to the Colts.

38:21 Just mail it in. I don't think they wanted to move

38:24 Off Jonathan Taylor yet because then you just get a locker room in disarray.