Justin Herbert off to a 2–0 start & Can Caleb step up vs the Dallas Cowboys? | FIRST THINGS FIRST

Justin Herbert off to a 2–0 start & Can Caleb step up vs the Dallas Cowboys? | FIRST THINGS FIRST

Herbert Herbert. Danny here are
Herbert’s rankings. Might as well call him
Herbert’s second passer rating. Second in yards per pass. Tied for second 5
touchdowns, no interceptions. Those are pretty good. Over 300 total yards and fifth
in completion percentage. Before you even go to Danny. Yeah, I have terrible
news for everyone. What is it. What are you doing. I have terrible news. Danny’s agenda has
broken contain. See what FanDuel tweeted. FanDuel is tweeting stuff. FanDuel is Justin Herbert really
the next Peyton Manning victory. A career victory comparison. Now, to be fair, DraftKings is
our preferred betting sponsor. However, FanDuel
does have a reach. And how about that. FanDuel is, quote,
tweeting this goofball and then putting up their own
stat panel asking the question. Now you can get
back to it, but I don’t like that
one bit over there at FanDuel and Brou ball Noah. Hey number one on
the MVP ballot. Well done. Yes, absolutely. I mean, I’m back to
rooting against you. Yeah What Herbert. Top five. I mean, officially
a top five QB. Yes, obviously. Wait you can’t. You have number one. You have the best in the league. I got him as the MVP right now
after two weeks, officially. And look, I know
my thing is fluid. We got the top four. I thought we were
lying after two weeks. Well, we. There is no official
number 5 yet. There is no official
number five right now. It’s still fluid. Yeah we got to see how
this season plays out. Now, if he plays this way,
say, wins a playoff game, then you can throw him in there. Maybe but we got what if he
bombs out in the playoffs. Well like he did. That’s an A block
topic for January. OK I’m just saying official. I can’t officially say
he’s number five right. We did a whole thing. Bruce ballot, you
have a little outfit. You have the trophy. And you said. And my number one vote. Well, right now, after
two games this season, I don’t think he’s
better than Lamar Jackson or Patrick Mahomes. Danny’s take but
get what I’m saying. Yes Brou doesn’t think Baker
is the third best quarterback in football, but he had
him third on his ballot also for the record. There is no official. We were just talking sports. But but but there’s kind
of an official top four. Yeah I mean it feels pretty much
everybody mostly universally agreed upon top four. Yeah So I’m just saying
I’m not saying Danny 5 is like it’s a top five, isn’t it. Go ahead. I think the 5 is locked
and it’s partly based on. Yes, what we have seen through
these two games, but also what we’ve seen through five years. But those numbers
that you just put up, we can put them up again. Well, I’m just saying all those
numbers are in the top five and it’s 2 weeks. It’s a two week sample. But all of those numbers
are in the top five. And if he needs to do
it for a full year, he needs to win an MVP. He needs to do those
sort of things. He is starting hot like MVP
candidates have started before. If you have 600 yards,
five touchdowns, no picks, and a 2 and 0 start to
through your first two games like you come out of
the gate that hot. Your list is MVP winners. And guys who had great
years but lost to the MVP. So I mean it is out
of the gate hot. And I don’t feel like because
because FanDuel is doing the heavy work for me there with
the Peyton Manning thing, what they haven’t done is they’re not
tracking year six Peyton, where he won the MVP with
year six of Herbert and Justin Herbert’s
crushing him. I mean, better
completion percentage, more yards, more touchdowns,
same number of wins, both undefeated. Would you and I don’t
want to get into I know Wildes will kill me. We don’t want to
get into a historic. But the numbers. It was different
playing quarterback. Yeah well that’s why
he got throttling. That’s why the numbers are so
it’s not an apples to apples 5 0 versus 1 2 is is something
so quarterbacks the the point is the wins now through
two games have caught up with the eye test. You said earlier like no one’s
ever denied like his ability to throw the ball. Well now they’re letting him
throw the ball because the rest of the team,
including the coach, has figured out,
oh, yeah, we have this truly elite quarterback. I mean, they came on at the
beginning of the broadcast last night, and they’re
like the Chargers think they maybe have the
best quarterback in football. The Chargers believe they’ve
got an MVP candidate here. And I know that’s a team
talking up their own guy. But they are game planning
around him as such. And so now that he’s empowered
I don’t know why anyone would think he can’t be top five
or eventually be oh listen, I think he can be. I think calling him that
right now is ludicrous. I think that he has because
this is he’s to your point. He’s always had the talent. It’s always been about
have you produced. And there is literally nothing. In my opinion, a player can
do through the first two games of year 6 to cement that
stamp that we’re talking about. So because we’ve
known in a weird way, a rookie would have a
almost a better chance of like stamping it
because a lot of people thought it was Jayden. And that’s that’s
kind of my point. Like Jayden, because
all we’ve seen was excellence and then a real
playoff run and all of that. That to me was
almost more evidence than a player who we have seen
play awesome in regular seasons. We have seen to your point,
the whatever record he has as a rookie, he broke a record. And he still has most touch,
most touchdowns for a rookie ever with 31 and most passing
yards ever through five seasons and start a career. And for me at least, that
still wasn’t enough to have him in contemplation
for the top five, because we have other
quarterbacks who maybe don’t quite pass the eye
test as much as him, but have done so much
more and played their best ball in the biggest spots. And so I do think Herbert
is off to an awesome start. I don’t love and I’m curious
where you guys stand on it. I don’t love how many hits
he’s taking running the ball. I think that is I think
you don’t sign Najee Harris and draft Omarion Hampton to
have some of your best runs of the year be from
your quarterback. I don’t like that Mahomes
is doing it with the Chiefs. They’re doing it out
of utter necessity. They can’t move the ball and
their running game stinks. These guys have I don’t totally
understand that element of it. And it’s a little
concerning to me. But he’s off to a great start. But to just say
he’s stamped ahead of whether it’s Jayden
or Stafford or Baker or Wildes guy sky Hurts. It could become. J I mean J.Lo if he continues
to like has a great. And J.Lo passes a good
test to in a different way than Herbert does. He puts the ball in harm’s way,
though more more than Herbert does. Well, I mean, in
the playoffs, they both put it in harm’s way a
lot, like you know what I mean. Like I’m not. Herbert had the worst
game of his career in one spot where
two interceptions went off his guy’s hands. But but how many do
you have in that game. It was four. It was. I mean, two of them were on. This guy’s breaking the ball. Four interceptions. I mean and that
that’s and I also and Wilde’s your point for our
show I think smartly has been we can’t make every
single conversation about the postseason
when we’re in week two. And I agree with that. I also like last night when
I heard on the broadcast that he has now has
30 touchdowns to three interceptions in his
last however many games, those asterisks,
those those stats, the four interception
playoff game almost weighs heavier because
he only threw three interceptions all of last year. You know what I mean. That makes it feel more out
of the so far out of the norm that it felt like it
was a real flaw in that. And so I will need to see more. But you’ve believed he’s a top
five quarterback since Oregon, I think. Yeah, for years. And some one team drafted
Tua in front of him. Yeah insane Chargers
defense for this is their fourth game
allowing under 10 points. Are you at all worried that
you’re going to have to go down the Jalen Hurts MVP
candidacy route, rather than the Joe Burrow
candidacy MVP route last year. Burrow like we got
to light it up. We got to score 40. You know they could have scored
14 and won this game I mean, obviously and Nick’s made the
point before a great defense helps a quarterback. It’s invaluable. But there’s no AJ
Brown Davante Smith Saquon Barkley on this team. And his offensive
line is very good. But it’s not the Philadelphia
Eagles offensive line. The Slater injury. I don’t think the
Chargers overall roster can be compared to
the Eagles, especially on the offensive side. Also, he’s throwing
it a lot more. I think Wildes is
saying that they take the ball out of their hands. So yeah, they just have to win. They just need to win
the game that you can play a more like
what you did last, like what they did last year. You can play a more conservative
style of football that doesn’t fill up the stat sheet. And we’ll see if their
running game comes on. But right now he’s doing it. Last year they were
a great running team. Yeah for two games
this year, they’ve been a terrible running team. He’s throwing it so much this
year, which is it’s incredible. Greg Roman and Jim Harbaugh
it’s shocking how much they’re leaning Absolutely. Yeah What did Baker and
the Bucs prove last night. I mean, for Baker, he is a
continuation of what he’s been proving the last couple
of years that he is, as Brou mentioned
in that argument, as one of the very best
quarterbacks in football. And I don’t Christina, if we
have it or not, but what Danny and wild stat for Justin Herbert
with his ranks for this year. That stat exists for Baker with
the ranks over the last season to this season. You know what I mean. The 20 games I mean, that. That’s stunning. The touchdowns are wild. Yeah man. And since he became he’s second
or third in passing touchdowns. I don’t remember what the number
is but I know he’s top three. Or it might even be first. But I know he’s top three. And so he has
become not only one of the more clutch players at
the position and amazingly, one of the more reliable
players at the position, but also the heartbeat
of that team. You know what I mean. Like, I think as much as
I hate some of the Herbert runs, and the Mahomes runs,
I I’ll take it with Baker because I think that’s
part of like what makes him him is like the play last year. And I should have had him pull
it when it was fourth down. And Nick Nicky Bosa had
him and he just held on to Nikki Bosa’s face mask. Basically while
completing a pass. Like the gritty, tough plays are
part of what makes Baker special and makes his
teammates love him. And I think Brou,
given their schedule, I think the one
seed is very in play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Yeah, I heard you
say that earlier. Look, it’s in play. But I think because
like, I don’t think the NFC North
is as good as we thought it was going to be. Now Minnesota might
not be that good. Chicago might not be that good. So you got two teams. So I think that the
winner of that division could have a much better record. So it’s in play for him though. But they proved
they’re a contender. I agree with everything
Nick said about Baker. And I agree even with
the running part, that’s part of Baker like his story. If you look at his story his
entire life in high school, people didn’t believe in him. In college, they
didn’t believe him. Then finally people
believe in him. And he goes, number one
and it doesn’t pan out. Then he becomes
this underdog again. And now he’s back to at the top. So look it’s great for him. But they’re they’re
a legit contender Danny I would have
Green Bay Philadelphia and Detroit ahead of them. But I kind think
they’re a second tier legit Super Bowl contender
though I think they are too. And what they’re doing right
now with Wirfs being out, I mean, maybe the best
tackle in football. That’s a huge piece. And then the other guy got hurt. Clancy yeah, their other
tackle got hurt last night. And Clancy obviously is
a big injury for them. So we’ll see how you
know injured they are, which is a huge determining
factor in every season. I heard what you said
about Baker earlier and how you would process
it if you were a Browns fan, and I’m with you because I mean,
they have all of this history of quarterback futility. But I went back
and looked at it. If I heard you said it, he
did play 59 games for them. Yeah And the last year it was
17 touchdowns and 13 picks. So while you were like, I
want if we get Baker on, would he be this player if
he would have stayed there. My hunch is he would say. And the true answer is no. Because like the part
of that question, what did Baker and
the Bucs prove. Just focus on the Bucs
piece of it for a second. When we talk about best
organizations in football, we talk about the
ones that have hoisted the Lombardi Trophy,
understandably, Philly, Kansas City. Well, the Bucs have. They’ve hoisted it. Sure with with Brady. I think Brady gets
more credit for that. But you’re right. But what they’ve done
and what Baker has done, like Chris Godwin had
reportedly $30 million more on the table
from New England. And he went back to Tampa. They brought back all 11
starters on their offense. Liam Coen left and they’re
still winning like he’s done it with multiple coaches. I think two straight because
Canales left then then Liam Coen’s, they are
just quietly Jason the general manager,
the Todd Bowles you resurgence as a head coach. They are quietly a top
five organization and just in terms of
stability production, they win the
division every year. They win the
division every year. We don’t talk about
them in those terms, but I don’t know what
else to say about them. They are just underrated
and underappreciated. Cowboys, Bears on Fox. You know Russ just threw for
450 yards against the Cowboys. So is Caleb going to light
up Dallas in Chicago. Well Ben Johnson has
seen improvements from his quarterback. Take a listen. I did see significant growth. It’s not perfect yet I did
think he got better from week 1 to week two. I’m encouraged by
what I saw, and I’m hopeful that we’ll continue to
see another leap here this week. Danny, you’ve been
following Caleb. Do you think he’s going to take
a leap against the Cowboys. Yes, I do. I also don’t think that
progress is totally linear. Like, I think there
will be a step forward and then a step back. And this is going to be a
flight with some turbulence here in his first
year with Ben Johnson, and changing his style
of play and being more on time and in rhythm. And adjusting to this. But ultimately, it
will pay dividends because the stuff that he
can do that is so special is not going to go away,
and it will always be there. You want that to be
your your changeup. You want your fastball to
be in the pocket on time. And that’s what Ben Johnson
is coaching him to do. And if he beats the Cowboys
where they’re favored and then he beats the Raiders where
they will likely be favored. If they beat the
Cowboys, they’ll be 2 and 2 heading into the bye. And I think
everything will be OK. So I do expect him to
take a step forward. I do think he is
going to be fine. And I think a lot of the
sky is falling rhetoric out of the Detroit game
specifically is silly. So is it possible that
Caleb will be fine, but the sky is
falling in Chicago. Because that would
be my my concern would be this
because the Chicago Bears just allowed 52 points. Yeah And all. When we’ve talked about them,
we’re talking about Caleb, like, you was that a positive,
I think it was a mistake, right. Well, here’s the thing. He is going to be the
epicenter of the attention. Of course, you know what I mean. People don’t care. You know about oh Jaylon
Johnson is out for the year. Like that’s not. And Ben Johnson’s not
a defensive mastermind. He’s an offensive mastermind. People are going to
be focused on that. And so my my concern would
be that even if Caleb takes positive steps like you think
he can against a Cowboys defense that has not, aside from post
weather delay in week one, has just let every team go up
and down the field at will. Yeah, that. Why do I think that the Bears
defense is going to slow down what right now looks to be like
one of the most prolific passing attacks in football, and
will that muddy the waters to a degree on what progress
Caleb is or isn’t making if they get blown out again. You know what I mean. Like that would be my. And I’m not saying
I’m picking it, but I don’t know that I can
pick the Bears right now to beat any team with
a good quarterback, because I just don’t know
how they’re going to get stops against those teams. They better not
lose in a blowout. They can lose, but it
better be a shootout. You like like I
mean, I don’t expect him to throw for 450 like Russ. But if they lose
because like I said to me now this season for Bears
fans is about Caleb, it’s Caleb. Does he prove to us that
he’s our guy for the future. And if he goes out there
against the Cowboys and throws for 290, something
like that, a few touchdowns, 3527 yeah, you can handle that. That would be great. If he doesn’t Cook the Cowboys,
if he looks kind of like he’s looked at his
first two games then that that’s
kind of problematic. Would you be happy
with that Danny that it’s like a Caleb how many
times I’ve done that Bears show on the radio like, hey, there’s
a little bit of progress, but they lost. Would I’d be happy with it. No, because I’m not ready
to give up on this season. Hold on I’m not ready yet. On that. I will get there soon. I have a question. What is at your core. And you’re right now an avatar
for Bears or Bears fans. Yeah good. A 9 to six Bears victory
where Caleb throws two picks and you know your
game I’ve seen. Yeah, 700 times or 3531. Caleb’s awesome one I
knew it Really Yeah. So you. So you’re not ready to give
up on the Bears season, but you’ll sacrifice it
at the altar of Caleb. Oh oh.
And three. They are done. Yes I’ve seen 9 and 6
with the quarterback. Be bad so many
times that I would. That’s what I think. Offensive explosion. And I know not all Bears fans
will agree with me on that. But Forest through the trees. Yeah the more significant
thing is oh, wow, we do have a quarterback. Yes, that’s right. That’s the bigger thing. We also need to see Ben Johnson
get in rhythm a little bit. Yeah that would help.

Nick Wright, Kevin Wildes, Danny Parkins, and Chris Broussard debate if Justin Herbert has officially entered the Top-5 QB conversation, what Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers proved in their win over the Houston Texans, and whether Caleb Williams can make a leap against the Dallas Cowboys.

#FirstThingsFirst #NFL #Cowboys

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Nick Wright, Chris Broussard, and Kevin Wildes team up on First Things First. The trio offers their take on a bevy of sports stories alongside special guests from across the sports world.

Justin Herbert off to a 2–0 start & Can Caleb step up vs the Dallas Cowboys? | FIRST THINGS FIRST
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