The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 01/06/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: January 6, 2021

Colin wonders if Baker Mayfield will step up without his head coach in Cleveland’s Wild Card game vs the Steelers and explained why you need an elite head coach and QB to win the Super Bowl. Plus former Bills Pro Bowler Eric Wood talked about why Buffalo won’t be overconfident vs Indy and Washington WR Terry McLaurin discussed Chase Young’s comments toward Tom Brady Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

Then after that game 7, Mark keep coming to him. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS.

Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1.

Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Wednesday. I can't believe how many good topics today, live in Los Angeles. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening or watching. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Nick Wright this hour, it is a pleasure to have you in. a lot of political things going on last night.

The country is changing and moving, and Joy Taylor is joining us, and we're not moving. We're just sitting here today where we always are. It is my birthday, and Joy got me cookies. Happy birthday. Thank you very much. You talked a lot about oatmeal raisin cookies during the holidays.

And you're a good listener. I am. I'm very good with gifts like that. You're very good. Pay attention. I learn things about you every day. Well, we're a complicated person. Very complex.

Yes. So something happened yesterday to Baker Mayfield, and I will say it's not ideal. I mean, let's be honest. It's not ideal. Kevin Stefansky won't be on the sidelines, his head coach, play caller. And they'll be missing a really, really good guard and a backup receiver. It's not ideal. But let's not make any excuses.

Baker gets rolled this weekend. He is officially a game manager, not a franchise quarterback. You know the difference, right? Game manager is everything's perfect for you and you can win games. Case Keenham. Let's start with he's missing Kevin Stefansky. Sean Payton, maybe the best play caller in the NFL. It's funny, they didn't work as well with Taysom Hill as they did with Drew Brees.

Kyle Shanahan's probably the second best play caller in the NFL. He is 7 and 27 in the NFL when Jimmy Garoppolo not playing. Josh McDaniels. That guy can call plays. It's funny. They didn't work well this year without Brady. The quarterback drives the bus on that, not the play caller.

Bill Walsh's plays. The great Bill Walsh's plays were never quite as crisp outside of Joe Montana. Well, he's missing a top guard. Aaron Rogers this year didn't have dad. David Bactiari, the best pass blocking left tackle for several games, four or five. He threw for 15 touchdowns and no picks. This past weekend, they didn't have David Bacdiari against the Bears pass rush and defense. He had four touchdowns, no picks, 79% completion percentage, 148 passer rating.

Patrick Mahomes has not had Mitchell Schwartz, a Pro Bowl offensive lineman since week six. He's not lost a game. I think Josh Allen would unravel because he's missing a wide receiver who's a backup and a guard. But by the way, Lamar Jackson's missing the best pure left tackle in football Ronnie Stanley. He's actually gotten better without him. That's because Aaron Rogers and Lamar Marcus Jackson and Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen, they're franchise quarterbacks. They're not game managers.

See, because the world's not a. ideal. This is the way it works in the NFL. You're playing crappy weather. Oh, Baker did a couple of times in Cleveland. They couldn't score. You're missing a left tackle Ronnie Stanley, David Bakhtiari. You're missing a star receiver. Sometimes with COVID, you miss a coach. Baker, no excuses. You get rolled. You're a game manager. I don't want to hear about a backup wide receiver and a guard. The other advantage Cleveland has here is Stafansky. They got five days prep for this. So the quarterback coach, who's been around, really good quarterback coach, been around the NFL for over a decade, is going to call plays.

The first 12 to 15 will be scripted. Those are the play calls. That's what the late Bill Walsh did. He script the first 12 to 15 play, so the Niners played with a lead. Games are different when you play with a lead. As Lamar Jackson, great player, better with a lead than trailing. All quarterbacks. we've looked it up, done this topic, are better with a lead than trailing.

And the first 12 to 15th, Stofansky, Van Pelt, they'll be scripted. And then play callings completely utterly overrated. The other break the Browns get, they're playing the Steelers. There's no tricks here. Play callings not winning the game. Players are winning the game. That's why the Steelers gave Big Ben and T.J. Watt the day off. They're best players.

They probably will run 75%. of the same plays they ran last week, and so will the Browns. The Vegas line moved a point for missing Kevin Stefansky, the best guard Cleveland has and a backup wide receiver. I don't want to hear about the excuses. I'm seeing all these built-in excuses. Josh Allen would not completely unravel if Sean McDermott wasn't on the sidelines. He was missing a guard in a backup wide receiver.

He would still be six-six. move elegantly with a shotgun arm and an unbelievable amount of quarterback confidence. Maybe a player or two that wasn't as keen, wasn't as perfectly timed. But if Baker gets rolled, everybody in this league, Case Keenham, when everything's perfect, when everything's ideal, can win games and playoff games. Let's see you go do it. Go be a leader. So Trevor Lawrence, Clemson quarterback, has officially declared for a,

the draft, that's not a big shocker. Fans often push back on the media. And I know I've heard it before. You guys are just hype masters. It's just about hype. You guys are hype, hype, hype. That's all you guys do is a hype, hype, hype. And I'm not listening.

Over the course of doing three hours, 250 times a day, sometimes, you know, I fall into a theatrical phase or a goofy phase and I'm a little over the top on games I pick or blah, blah, blah. But we're not wrong on this. And here's where the media is not wrong. When we guarantee you that this blank athlete is an all-timer, I don't think we've ever been wrong. There have been eight athletes in my life where not only did you talk about them when they declared for a draft,

you talked about them for years at the college level or amateur level. And the eight are John Elway and Peyton Manning and Sidney Crosby and you. Shaq and LeBron and Tiger Woods and Bryce Harper and Andrew Luck. I don't want to hear about Bryce Harper underachieving. He's a six-time All-Star. He was the youngest MVP ever, rookie of the year and hits the ball further than anybody in baseball has on a long time. He's great. And by the way,

Andrew Luck won 11 games, 11 games, 11 games, with the worst offensive line and worst roster in the game, a terrible GM and a bad head coach. Tom Brady's great. not win 11 games with that unit. He couldn't. No way. Magic Johnson. What about Magic Johnson?

He had a lot of critics. I'm old enough to remember when he came out of college. The knock was, he can't shoot and he won't defend. He still never defended well. He got better at shooting. Kobe Bryant was picked 13th. Michael Jordan. Actually, Akeem was considered the log.

He went number one. Zion. Zion wasn't the number one recruit on Duke. It was R.J. Barrett. When we go out and say, no, no, that is all time. That's what we do is Sidney Crosby. Three years before he came out, there were Sydney Crosby articles. Bryce Harper covers Sports Illustrated in high school.

LeBron James, the chosen one. I remember Tiger Woods had an agent at 11. I lived in Portland, Oregon. He won a junior tournament in like Beaverton, Oregon. He goes, Pumpkin Ridge was the name of the golf course, if I recall right? Beautiful course. Played golf poorly there many times. And I remember people saying, well, that's the greatest golfer of all time.

I mean, it was like 16. And my friends who were like, you know, really good golfers, they were like, oh, no, no, that's not what you look like at 16. That like he could be on the tour now. It's 16 years old. He could be on the tour. He's a year away from winning on the tour. And we all know he won a lot. So the media can sell hype.

I'm not saying that we don't have. problems and flaws and we don't have you know there's biases and political and sports and you know all that we always take care of our sources more than we take care of the people we don't like but this kid is a he's the ninth in my life he's the ninth that i mean literally we've been talking about him for three years we talked about chack i can remember i can remember having a beer with the late jerry tarcanian i remember this at sharkies he got a you know it's the name of the club. He got a percentage of it for putting his name on it. And he said, there's a kid named Shaquille O'Neal at LSU. He said he will fundamentally change the league.

Shaq was like a freshman at LSU. He's like, he's going to literally change the sport. You'll not be able to guard him. He goes, he goes, wait until he gets strong in a weight program. So Trevor Lone's going to be really good. With the right coach in GM, he's going to win Super Bowls. if they just screw up and get him average people, he's going to be a pro bowler. I said this last week. I said it was Zion, and Zion is not this good. I said Zion would be a top 25 player at some point his first year and he was. He'll be the 12th best quarterback in the league, 10th, 12, 13th, 14th,

if he just gets a competent coach. A little protection and a competent coach right out of the shoot. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. So Jerry Jones, owner with the Dallas Cowboys, talking about Dak Prescott's contract. First, he announced his love devotion and, frankly, concerned that he doesn't have a lot of leverage

with DAC in negotiation. I don't know how he could. His evolving into an NFL quarterback has been nothing short of a perfect pitcher. and he has great ability in my mind to win games. He's talented. He, what's been offered him in the past had you not thought he was very special. All right, they're going to pay him. And then Jerry followed with this.

We've got to fit potential defense in here. We've got to pay additional defense this year. And any dollar that goes there doesn't go toward another player. you're not going to pay them. So here's the thing is sometimes you get caught off guard. We all do in life in business and sports. Something happens that's never happened. If you go YouTube and look up the play, Stanford, Cal, the band's on the field.

I've got to be honest with you, if you didn't prepare for that as a special teams coach, I'm going to give you a pass on that. But if it happened like every couple years when the band was on the field, you'd be like, yeah, it's weird. Every time we play Cal, there's a band on the field. precedent matters, history matters. So we looked this morning. Name the last NFL quarterback that won a Super Bowl with a top three salary in the NFL.

We looked, we gave up after a couple of decades. Eli Manning once had like the fourth or fifth highest. Dak now wants over 40 million. folks we all have budgets we all know the truth on this if you look at my top five teams in the herd hierarchy after this season and I think most of you would agree if not with the order with these five teams right now here's their quarterback cap hit Josh Allen Buffalo is 30th Aaron Rogers 10th Drew Brees 8

Mahomes 32nd currently, Lamar Jackson, 39th. You cannot win Super Bowls. Brady took pay cuts, last three contracts. You just can't do it. I mean, you find me a top three quarterback. I've said this about Mahomes. Brett Veach is a really good GM. Once you pay Mahomes $40 million,

you're going to lose one of your best offensive linemen, one of your best corners and you can't have two great pass rushers. The games get tougher. And then there's going to be some young quarterback like a Josh Allen. You don't have to pay for two more years and they're going to take your best corner. And they're going to take your best bass rusher. And you're going to wake up and go, they've got better players than us. And they've got a good quarterback.

So, I mean, we all have salary caps in our life. You spend too much for the kitchen rebuild. You don't get a second vacation. You want a really nice car to lease. maybe you don't get a vacation. You know, this is a, we got a precedent. I'll say, Joy and I talked about this yesterday. I'm not here to tell athletes to take less.

I'm not. But boy, 32 million in Dallas, Texas, that's a lot of home. Four or five-year deal, spread it out. You're going to get a lot of commercials you wouldn't get. Tony Romo, undrafted, number one broadcaster for CBS. He's not getting that if he's a quarterback of the Jags. I'm going to assure you right now. Live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the only score at the chip. I'm Tad Ramos.

I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Polisic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions.

If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos

on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcasts presents soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely.

Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip. Just a little bit bigger hips. Wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drinks. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer?

instead of beer. Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white color or something here? Just hit it. Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album?

Oh, I would. Come on. Can you imagine? I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict.

You're lucky. I'm not an alcoholic. You are. You are. You're lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team, and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Oh.

Listen to soccer moms on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So Mike Lombardi used to work at this network. He's a former GM, Belichick guy. I think he works at the ringer now and writes books and stuff, and he's got podcasts and stuff. And it's interesting. He's always been a big culture guy, culture over strategy, culture, culture, culture, culture, culture. And he was ranking the six job openings. And he had the Jags won, the Texans 2, and the Jets 4.

and they're all awful cultures. And he said, hey, Jags is one because they got Trevor Lawrence. So I think culture is really important, too. But those are bad cultures. So what does it mean? The most important thing to do with the Jets and the Jags and the Texans is not a play caller. It's a culture changer. Urban Meyer is easily the most qualified culture changer.

Now, I know there's Urban Meyer's sketch. Peter King on my show yesterday. I would love to interview Urban Meyer for an NFL head coaching vacancy. You know, how are you going to like losing in Jacksonville? And I'm not saying you can't win in Jacksonville, you can't. But you will undergo significant days and weeks and maybe months of losing. Brian Daible and Eric B. Enemy are great potential play callers. and hard workers with experience.

They've never changed a culture. But Colin Sean McVeigh did not get his job because of his playbook. He walked into the office, and if you've ever met Sean, he just pops. He's so dynamic, Stan Cronkey's like, we're not letting him out of the office. What about Matt Ruhl?

To my point, he's a culture changer. He went to Temple and Baylor, bad football programs. You didn't give Matt Rule the job in Carolina, and I thought he had a very good year despite not winning much. He changes cultures. Because I agree with Mike Lombardi. I think culture over strategy, overplay calling. You've got to change the culture. The greatest culture changer in the history of college football was Barry Alvarez at Wisconsin.

They were a terrible program. They were the pits, like cold weather, no players. They have been for the last 25 years since he coached. and was the athletic director, a top 10 football program. The state still has no high school football stars. Like, that's changing the way people view themselves. So Urban Meyer four times has not only changed the culture, he's done it overnight. Bowling Green was awful.

Two and nine next year, eight and three. Utah, I was there, was a mess. Five and six next year, ten and two. Florida was talented seven and five to nine and three. The next year they won a national title. Ohio State 6 and 7 to 12 and 0. That's just not changing a playbook. That is changing the way young people view themselves, how the program sees itself.

You've got to have confidence. That's what Urban does. He is a culture changer. Now, by the way, not every coach needs to be a culture changer. Let me give an example. When Matt LaFleure got the Packers job, you didn't need a culture changer. Packers, culture's fine. Packers went all the time.

Get Aaron Rogers. You didn't need to change the Packers culture. What you needed to do, you needed a tweaker. You needed somebody that could get in there, Matt LaFleur, and kind of connect progressively young, good-looking smart guy with a young, good-looking smart quarterback. Just kind of tweak it. Just kind of tweak it a little bit, kind of refine it.

Push Aaron a little bit. Make Aaron just a little bit uncomfortable. You didn't need an overhaul. We didn't need a culture changer. By the way, I don't think the chargers need necessarily a culture changer. They may just need a play caller. They led in most of their games this year.

Competing and leading was never a problem. Holding the lead was. They may just need just a play caller. Get leads, figure out how to get first downs. That was their issue late. So I get an urban's not a fit for everybody. He would be, I'll give you an example. I don't think Urban Meyer would be,

a great fit with Aaron Rogers if he wanted to gone to Green Bay. He's too big. He's too powerful. I mean, he comes in there and just blows through the door. He may have been too much. I'd say the same for Sean McVeigh. Sean McVeigh's system and style, Aaron would have been, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, I'm good here.

I got Super Bowls. There are, you know, the Rams post-Jef Fisher needed somebody to blow through the doors, changed the playbook, change the practice schedule, change the way they viewed themselves. So I'm not saying Urban's perfect for everybody. Jets, Texans, Jags, yeah, you need to blow through the doors, change the way. Everybody in the room views themselves. So I was thinking about this this morning.

There's a story out that the Miami Dolphins, they're good with Tua. Listen, it's early. Let's not go crazy town. He won some games, had some nice plays. But this morning, I looked at the 14 teams in the playoffs. and the nine teams who you'd kind of think should be favored to win games this weekend. The Chiefs, the Bills, the Steelers, the Titans, the Ravens, the Packers, the Saints, the Seahawks, Buccaneers. What do they have in common?

Nine of the 14 teams. Those are all A's. Bruce Ariens may be an A minus to a B plus. McDermott, Tomlin, Harbaugh, Vrabel, Reed, Matt, Lafleur, Sean Payton, Bruce Ariens, Pete Carroll. Those are A-coaches. Ariens, maybe A-minus, little risket-biscuit thing. And the quarterbacks, don't you dare scoff at Ryan Tannihill, since he started last year

Week 7, he's a pro bowler. He's an A quarterback. Josh Allen, Ben, Lamar, Ryan, Patrick, Rogers, Breeze, Brady Wilson. Those are A quarterbacks. Now, you can argue some of those quarterbacks, like Big Ben, it looked like a B-plus, a B for some of the year. But if you combine the coach and quarterback, your average is at lowest because Brady had an A plus year, A to an A plus year.

Arians maybe had a B plus year. They all average A minus. They're all teams we think could win in the playoffs. Then there's the Browns, Colts, Washington football team, Rams backup quarterback bears. We don't feel that way. So here's my issue. Brian Flores appears to be an A. It's early, but I'll give him that.

Tour right now looks C minus. The problem is his ceiling looks like C plus. He's small. He is not hyperathletic. His arm strength is okay. Now I'll give you an example. It's not about winning games. When Josh Allen from Wyoming came to the NFL first year,

he really struggled. It was some ugliness. But we went this morning and found his 13-minute highlight film of his rookie year. It is a bunch of woe, followed by a bunch of wow. At 6-6, out running people to the end zone, running over people, jumping over people, 65-yard post routes on a dime. His ceiling? You couldn't see it.

The house had no roof. looked insane. He was just inconsistent. But you could see the A. He just had a lot of D. So the average was about C, C, minus. If you went and found two as

13-minute highlight film as a rookie, there'd be about four minutes of it. And then at the four-minute mark, Ryan Fitzpatrick would come in on that tape and finish it out. That's the problem. is that if Flores is an A, Tua could be a B plus A minus and get you into that A-A-minus needed average coach quarterback that we see as a Super Bowl team.

But if your ceiling looks like a C-plus, even if Flores is an A-plus, I'm not saying you can't win games. I'm not saying you can't occasionally win a division. But if you're in a division with Josh Allen, that's my issue. Now, we went and looked at the last 15, last 17 Super Bowl winning quarterbacks. 15 will get into the Hall of Fame. There are two exceptions in the last 17 years. Joe Flacco had the greatest four-game stretch not only of his career.

It was one of the greatest four-game stretches of a quarterback's career. And then Nick Foles had his best game as a pro. And since then, it's been nonsense. The other 15 are going to get into the Hall of Fame. And when you start watching, I go back to the woe or wow is what I need to see early. I saw it with Burrough. I saw it with Herbert. I saw it Josh Allen.

I saw it Lamar Jackson. I saw Patrin Holmes. I saw it with Aaron Rogers. Woe or wow? You got to give me a little bit of that. You watch Justin Fields from Ohio State. Trey Lance from North Dakota State. You watch Zach Wilson, BYU.

What you see on YouTube and you saw it with Justin Fields last week. You see some woe and wow. You see inconsistencies. You see, they got a lot of room to grow. But you've got to give me one of those words, hopefully both a bunch of times. Whoa, wow, oh, I just don't see it. I see B minus C plus, size, arm, escapeability. Maybe I'm wrong.

It would be the first time. It doesn't happen. It's infrequent. But I don't know, stuff I worry about. Nine of the 14 teams that you think have a chance to win a playoff game, the head coach and the quarterback combo is in that A plus. Andy Reed and Mahomes, A plus, McDermott, Josh Allen, A, Brady Arians, A minus. That's kind of where you got to be.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Eric Wood was played for a decade in the NFL. He was a pro bowler. First round pick, by the way, on the offensive line. Now doing some broadcasting. The former Bill Pro Bowl Center is joining us live. So, you know, Buffalo is a unique place. Yesterday I had Josh Norman on, and he's like, I would, Buffalo was the last place I ever wanted to play.

And he's like, I'm having a time of my life. Eric, explain to people, and I've never been to Buffalo, but explain to people what it's like to be a member of the bills. It's pretty special. And you just hit the nail on the head when you said places like Green Bay and Buffalo are different. Because it is a smaller town. There's not as much to do when we leave the stadium. night, there's more people getting together. It's that more family atmosphere. You've heard Sean McDermott talk about it as a lot. But when the free agents come into Buffalo, they're always

amazed by what the family culture is in Buffalo. And some of that just comes from having a small town. But Bill's Mafia has gotten a lot of notoriety lately. And it's a passionate fan base. You compare it to SEC football. And I would compare it to a college crowd at times, the way they live and die with everything that the Buffalo Bills do. What concerns you about the bills? We know McDermott's excellent. Josh Allen is special. Stefan Diggs is unguardable.

Is there something you could see in the first quarter against the Colts? And it does, you may not want to talk about it because you love your bills, but it does, you could see something this weekend and it worries you about this favorite in round one. Yeah, they've just played so loose and so good these last six. weeks that any adversity early on could maybe remind them back to that 16 to nothing playoff game last year when they had the lead on Houston and they ended up not being able to complete it. So just something getting them tight because right now they have it absolutely rolling on both sides of the ball. So could Indianapolis come out in Frank Wright, the former Buffalo

quarterback? Could he go up there with his team that rushes the football well, suck the life out of the ball a little bit? They're number two in the NFL. The Colts are. and turnover differential. Maybe they get a turnover early. That kind of stuff would scare me, but this team in Buffalo is so good that their confidence shouldn't be shook by one or two bad plays early.

So you retired, you would have played and been a pro bowler for multiple years. You had a neck injury, a little like Chris Spielman. You're like, I'm going to hang it up, be safe, be with my family. You did that. You were both great players. But some guys, you know, I watched the special on Tony Bisselli last night. He played seven years for seven of them.

He was the best left tackling football. that's the sport. But you know Sean McDermott, and you know Anthony Lynn, by the way, too. But when it comes to Sean McDermott, when did you kind of know? You know, you still have a lot of connections there. What's his secret sauce? Every coach has a thing. McVeigh's dynamic, Belichick's intellect. What's McDermott's secret sauce? It's likely culture. He started it with talking about the process. And the process started in training. camp, my last year in the NFL, his first as a head coach, when we got rid of Ronald Darby and we traded away Sammy Watkins and we would not long after get rid of our previous highest

pick and that was Marcel Darious. But what Sean McDermott wanted to do was get guys that fit his certain DNA and those are all really good players, superstars in the league in some sense. But when you looked at how Sean McDermen wanted to build, the team was a little bit different And I'll never forget sitting in a meeting before the season. We still had a lot of talent on that team with Sean McCoy, Kyle Williams, a number of pro bowlers from that season. Ritchie Incognito, Tyron Taylor. And we're looking at Sean and saying, hey, if you want a tank,

you're going to have to get rid of a lot more of us. He said, no, no, no, no, this is a part of the process. And people in Buffalo, I mean, there are shirts about it. There's Joel Embed references to it. But it truly has been about the process there. and that is setting up a culture, a culture built on trust. He's very good at communicating with the guys. He walks the walk.

He's extremely organized. He works out himself. Everything he does is consistent. And the consistency that he brings on a day-to-day basis is what makes him special. Now, you know, Eric, there is a big difference between a regular season game and a playoff game. And the bills, I still tend to think of the bills as mostly a youthful team. They feel youthful. And some of that is just frankly, Josh Allen.

Right. But the difference when you've talked to pros or you've experienced from regular season intensity to playoff intensity. Yeah, so I only got one experience at a playoff game myself in nine years. But we did break the 17-year playoff drought in my final year, which was pretty special. But it does go up a notch. It feels like a primetime football game where the defensive line all tries a little. bit harder. It feels like that, but it's everybody on the team. And when it's go home, winner go home, there's just so much on the line. Luckily for these guys, these guys either

experienced the game in early 2018 that I was a part of the playoff game or last year. Most of the team played in that game against Houston last year or came in through free agency with playoff experience. I'm glad that this is no longer Josh Allen's first time in a playoff atmosphere. Eric Wood joining us, Pro Bowl offensive lineman formerly of the Bills. Not that I didn't think Stefan Diggs was great, but Josh Allen was young. Stefan Diggs is a star, and there was part of me thinking, okay, here comes Stefan, like OBJ to Cleveland. I'm like, I'm not sure if this fits. Josh Allen's a kid. It's Buffalo. Stefan Diggs feels like New York City feels. And it was a little bit of me that thought,

I got to keep my eye. It's been great. Are you surprised? Are you surprised? surprised a little that it's not only fit, it's the best combo right now in the league. Yeah, I'm honestly surprised. I'm not surprised if you said make a take maybe week four or five of the season on, but if you would ask me preseason, I could never have foreseen this. I would have never foreseen that Brian Dayball, the offensive coordinator, would open up the playbook to even give him the amount of opportunities to lead the league in receptions and catches. You combine that with the fact that they had no OTAs.

They had no preseason games. So really a lot of their reps with full speed was happening in games. And we got to see them grow throughout the season to where this last month of the season, Stefan Diggs is virtually unstoppable. Yeah. So pro football focus put Josh Allen number five. When you, so you didn't get, you were 217. When did you first hear, when you're retired and you still got all your buddies in the locker room,

Josh Allen gets drafted. When was the first text or call you got from a former teammate that said, dude, this guy, holy crap. Oh, brother. Like, do you remember the first impressions by your former teammates? Let me start off with this. My first interaction with Josh Allen was I was with Ryan Fitzpatrick down at the Masters in early 2018 prior to Josh getting drafted.

They have the same agent. We connected down there. And my career had just ended from the neck injury. which came out of nowhere. So for me, I was thinking, hey, I just signed a contract extension with the bills. Maybe I get a young guy to pour into, especially at the quarterback position, to where one day my kids go back up to Buffalo, like, hey, that's daddy's buddy, whatever it may be.

I meet Josh Allen and I thought, you know, I'm not really going to be bitter about this season at all unless they take Josh Allen and he's a stud because this is my type of guy, just spending the weekend with him. And, Colin, I'm sure you've had experiences with him. If you spend any time with Josh Allen, he's one of the most likable, people you've ever been around. He's also hyper competitive. He's tough. So that all kind of rang true. So my opinions of him that were formed in a weekend as training camp started and OTAs and everything else that was going, all the guys on the team were like, man, you would love this dude.

I'm like, I know, I know. And you know what, Josh has been so gracious to me. I'm selling my foundation up at Buffalo. He's so generous with his time. He's just a phenomenal dude. He's so easy to root for, though. Yeah. Well, I know you'll be nervously watching this game because I know how much Buffalo means to you and your charity and your family. And I know you're going to be watching this thing getting anxiety like you're playing in it. I'd love to have you on again. Eric Wood. Doug Gottlieb said, get Eric Wood on the show.

We did. You're great. And thank you so much. I appreciate it. Bill's win. Let's do it again next week. And before I go, I just want to say, happy birthday, Colin. And I've always been a huge fan of the show.

So it was an honor being on it for the first time. Oh, that's nice. Look at that, Joy. Isn't that nice? That was very nice by Eric. Wood. It'd be nice that Baker Mayfield came on and wish me a happy birthday, but let's not go crazy here. He might still tweet you.

We still have a day left. That's right. Now, that would be good TV. That would be great content. Yes, it would. Thanks, buddy. Nice talking to you. Eric Wood. We're going to have them on again. All right. That was fun. One more, Herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search

Heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in

sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean.

I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive.

Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How hard can it be? How can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard, well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura podcast network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHart Podcasts presents Soccer moms. So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the hips since high school. Absolutely. Now a redacted amount of years later, we're still joined at the hip, just a little bit bigger hips, wider.

This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. with all the snacks and drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here?

Just a hit it. Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. Can you move? I would buy it.

Cuts through the defense like a hot knife through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. You are. I love this team, and I'm really,

trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Terry McLaurin has just been great. Third round pick, Ohio State. He has been, he is over-delivered. He probably didn't see it that way, but he's been unbelievable. A second year in the NFL.

And he has now led to Washington, almost had 90 catches, 1,200 yards. 134 targets. He is a number one receiver in the NFL. And they got him in the third round. Not supposed to work that way. But he's a Pro Bowl level guy. Terry McLauran is now joining us live. He's also an Ohio State Buckeye.

So I know he's in a pretty good mood. He's an Ohio State Buckeye. And first of all, you've been great. And not everybody is great. This is a hard league. When did you know first practice? You got into the NFL and you thought, hey, I'm pretty good.

This is going to work out for me. When did you know? Everything happened so fast once I got here. I was getting first team reps a little bit. I was doing special teams. So my head was kind of spinning. But when I got in, because I didn't play, I didn't play special, I didn't play in the preseason.

So when we first game was against Philly at Philly. And my first target, I was like, okay, I could do this. And then I scored that long touchdown from Case Keenum. Yep. And then I was like, I can hang in here. So after that, it was fun, though. So I was fortunate to come into a situation where I can compete for the job early.

Hey, listen, Alex Smith is an amazing story. I know Alex. You're starting to be a star. He's now going to be leaving soon. What do you take from Alex? What does he teach you? What is it like to be around a guy that's had 17 surgeries in one year and his leg? Yeah.

The moment's not too big for Alex. his poise, no matter what he's been through from his 17th surgeries to the ups and downs of the season, to being hurt and having to be called upon to help us get into the playoffs. I mean, no moment is too adverse for him. And, you know, he doesn't make it about him at the end of the day. It's always about the team. It's always about how he can help us put us in the best situation to be successful. And you always want to go to a battle for a guy like that.

I mean, I've had some things that I've been dealing with this year, but seeing all the things that he's been dealing with, it pales in comparison. So I'm glad he's on our team, and I don't know how much longer he has playing, but the number one thing I've learned from him is you can overcome any situation as long as you put your mind to it. And the one phrase he says every time we go out to the field is just live. And there was a time where he didn't know if he was going to be able to live or not. So I feel like that fits really, really well.

Wow. Ron Rivera is a guy that walks. big dude. He's a former player. He's a man's man. And he walks in. And you guys got off to a slow start, new coach, new playbook, new system, one in five. And all of a sudden, it started to click and talk a little bit about Ron's influence. And when you knew in this season, you're like, okay, now we're all kind of jelling. Yeah. When we were going through our ups and downs in the season, Coach Rivera, the message stayed the same. And it started with the way we were practicing. and we had to bring more intensity to practice.

We had to bring more consistency to practice. And we started to seeing the benefits of that during our games. Playing four quarter football was one of our Achilles heel. I feel like we would have great first halves and we had tough second halves. We'd have great second halves and have tough first halves. So I feel like over the course of the season, we've really played more consistently, I feel like. Although, you know, we haven't necessarily played our best ball yet. I feel like we put ourselves in a situation to have a lot of success because we started to play some complimentary football headed by our defense who are having a great year.

But we've got to coach like Coach Rivera where you know the standard, you know the expectation of what's expected when you come into the building every day. It gives a sense of clarity throughout this whole building that has been very refreshing for us this year. So to see what he's been going through and it seems like he hasn't even missed a day, missed a step, the energy that he comes with every day is really cool. So your Buckeye buddy, Chase Young's out there talking some smack, and Brady's just probably smirking at all that stuff. So when Chase said that, did you think, man, shh, still say anything? What did you make of it? It was funny because we were running off the field at the same time when I heard him say it.

So, I mean, at the end of the day, Chase is a grown man. And I say that with a lot of respect because, you know, the way he's came in and help change our team this year has been nothing short of amazing the way he comes in every single day. But we're going against one of the best players of all time, not just at his position. And he's been in this scenario more times than we can count. And this is my first playoff game, and this is probably his 40th or something like that. You know what I mean? And, you know, they're going to be very poised coming in here.

You know they're going to be ready. And they got a very great offense and a good defense coming in here. But Tom knows what it's like to be in these situations. And, you know, I feel like Chase is going to come out and try to back up what he said. But I like his confidence. And, you know, we're going to try to support and rally around him and have a good game on Sunday. By the way, one of eight players with a thousand plus receiving yards in 15 or fewer games this season. Terry McClure, if you're listening on radio, has just been an unbelievable third-round pick.

So Ohio State Alabama, I think it's very competitive. I don't think either defense is going to stop either. Kyle, your kind of take on, you know, you probably play with some Alabama guys, and they love to talk, blah, blah, blah, and you probably play against some Alabama guys. I actually think Ohio State can win. I'm not sure they will. Your thoughts, I mean, I know you still watch Buckeye stuff. Can they compete with them? I mean, I think we're built very similarly.

The teams very heavy in the trenches offensively and defensively. I feel like that's where that game's going to be won. We pride ourselves of being tough on the offensive and defensive line, and they're going to have to control the line. and they're going to have to control the line of scrimmage, get some pressure on Mac Jones, and try to limit those big plays from Devonte Smith and a lot of the dynamic players that they have, Najee Harris. But we got dynamic players, too. We got Justin Fields.

We got Chris Olive. You know, Tray Sermon is playing really great right now, Gary Wilson. So, I mean, I feel like it's going to be a heavyweight fight, and that's why you come to Ohio State to play in these big games. But I probably have about eight or nine Alabama teammates on my team right now. so I'm not going to make any predictions. But just in case I got plenty of gear for them if it comes out on the right side. Well, you're an incredibly easy guy to root for. Terry McLaurin, congratulations.

You had, by the way, I'm just looking at your stats here real quick. Seven catches, Week 17 went over the Eagles, so you're hot. You're ready to play, dude. You're ready to go. Good luck to you. I'd love to have you on the show again. And what a future you have. You what a future you have, man.

Appreciate it. Appreciate that. Thank you very much. Happy birthday to you, too. Thank you very much. Look, this guy is, sir. This, this guy, you serve. He calls me. I wish my coworkers were his respectful as Terry McLaren is to me. Thanks, buddy. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with a They're between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all. embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, and on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood

as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas, to scheduling sex. Wait, what sex? Is it just me? Or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes?

They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, The Playoffs. We're digging into the biggest

surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come until he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.