The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 01/07/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: January 7, 2021

Colin defends Lamar Jackson and the notion that this is a must-win career game for him and gave his Top 5 people with the most pressure on them this weekend. Greg Cosell gave us his keys for every Wild Card Game and Joe Burrow talked about his rookie season and when we can expect him to be back on the field. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it 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 Thursday. I mean, the show's just keep getting better.

The guests keep getting bigger. Joe Burrow on the show today. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, Fox Sports Radio, Iheart Radio, and FS1, it is Greg Co-Sle-an hour from now, NFL meat sandwich, you bet football, you play fantasy football, you just want to get smarter at football. Also today, the return, we do it on an annual basis of the quarterback face bracket. Now, it was a disaster the first year I tried it, which is I bet I take the NFL playoff bracket

and I choose only who I perceive to be the better quarterback right now today this morning. I just pick quarterbacks. That's it. I pick the game based on the quarterback who today is hot, who's playing great, who's better. and the first year it was an abject disaster. Last year is pretty good. So I had the courage to go into the face of the criticism, the wind after my first year disaster.

So we bring it back, the quarterback face bracket. And it's just, I just take the best quarterback in the moment. I mean, solid strategy. Coach, defense, skill, none of it matters. How was your birthday? How was the banana cream pie? I had two giant pieces. It was great.

I got a lot of potassium in me right now. Calories don't count on your birthday. They don't. That's a new rule on the show. Calories do not count. Here's what's going to count. What happens to Lamar Jackson this weekend? I just love this.

Oh, my God, the pressure. Lamar Jackson's got all the pressure this weekend. Let's see. He's won 81% of his games as a pro and has reached 30 victories faster. than any quarterback in NFL history. Yeah, yeah, if he loses this weekend, I'm sure Baltimore will bail on him. It suddenly means he has no talent. It means he can never win a playoff game.

Folks, Lamar Jackson's the only young quarterback we demand playoff excellence. Baker Mayfield, a number one pick. Lamar got drafted end of the first, almost second round. Baker Mayfield, first pick, but in the league longer. Nobody says he has to win this weekend. I mean, people are already making excuses for him. He's missing a backup wide receiver and a guard. I mean, Josh Allen drafted much higher than Lamar Jackson,

who was awful, like Shackton a fool awful, like goofy playoffal in his first playoff game last year. Nobody's saying he has to win this weekend or, oh, I don't know what you're going to do with him. Tyler Murray finished the year eight and eight. By the way, they started five and two. Kyler Murray wasn't very good at the end of the year. He had a bad last two or three games. There's no pressure on Kyler Murray. In the last three years,

12 quarterbacks have been drafted in the first round. None have won a playoff game. Sort of hard to do that and stuff, but all the pressures on Lamar Jackson. Why? It is 24th birthday today. Happy birthday, Lamar Jackson. He's the youngest quarterback in the playoffs.

Every other quarterback in the NFL that's younger than Lamar Jackson, and there's 10 of them, oh, they're not in the playoffs. They're not good enough to get in the playoffs. Folks, NBA stars, entire careers are about flaming out in the playoffs. Westbrook and James Hardin, you still worship them. The kid's 0-2. Peyton Manning, top five quarterback ever, started his career 0-3 in the playoffs, including a 41-0-drubbing at the hand of the Jets.

Bill Parcells. He had a couple of playoff games in Dallas. Oh, and 2. New England, 4, 500. It's hard to win. He's a kid. Now, let's talk about because you know I've been defending Lamar Jackson all year. When the rest of you bailed on this stock,

I doubled down on this stock. I said, I'll take the stock you don't want Lamar. Let me give you five people who there's real pressure on in the playoffs. Let's start with Bruce Ariens. Okay. Tom Brady, 21 years, never had to go into the playoffs as a wild card. Don't screw it up, Bruce. You're facing a losing team, Bruce.

You're facing the 32nd ranked offense, Bruce. Brady's never had to go in as a wild card. You got great weapons. There is pressure on Bruce. Bruce Ariens. You get to face the losing playoff team whose coach was dealing with physical situations, Alex Smith, they got rid of the quarterback. They've been in chaos all year from the weakest division.

His job, Bruce Ariens' job could be on the line if he loses. For the record, the more this offense with Tampa in the last six weeks has been Tom's offense, the better it's gotten. And Bruce Ariens doesn't have a reputation as, you know, a guy that grinds. all night. Bruce Ariens got pressure. He loses, my guess is, he could be gone. Number two, Aaron Rogers.

Folks, he is so far beyond regular season excellence. It's one of the great talents of all time. He's got unbelievable weapons. No more excuses with a coach. He gets a buy. There's no other great team in the NFC. This is the year he's got to win.

He's got to win this year. Aaron's got to win. I think he's going to win. win, a lot of games in the playoffs. But come on, he's going to be a huge favorite at home, off a buy, he's got elite pieces. And again, he hasn't played enough home games at Lambo. Now he gets them in a year when kind of the NFC's top teams are all kind of shaky right now. Jared Goff has hurt. Drew Breeze is old. Seattle's offense is right now atrocious. Pressure's on Aaron Rogers. Here's a third one. Drew Breeze.

dude, you open with Mitch Trubisky at home. You have, in my opinion, a stacked roster. I think the Saints have the best roster in the NFL. I really do. I mean, we talk about their offensive pieces. Alvin Kamara, Emmanuel Sanders, Michael Thomas, their O line. Their defense is top five and everything. He's at home.

His arm, he got hurt. His arm should be fresh. This is the end of the road for him. You want to be a great broadcaster. You don't want to end your career. to Mitch Trubisky at home. There's real pressure on Drew Brees. I'll give you another one.

Big Ben. He's got the best trio of wide receivers in the NFL. He's got the defensive player of the year on his roster. He took a week off to get refreshed. He gets to pay Cleveland. Do you know he's 24, 2 and 1 against the Browns? He gets to go up against a rookie head coach. The Browns have COVID issues in the building.

They won't have their head coach, which is overstated, but it's something. There's a lot of pressure on Big Ben who took a week off to get rested to play at home against a COVID-plagued football team. And then number five, I'll say Lamar Jackson. There is a narrative building. I would acknowledge that. It's silly, but it's a narrative. But even with Lamar Jackson, if he just wins one,

one playoff game. The narrative ends. And right now it's a silly narrative. He's won 81% of his games. He's what, what Lamar Jackson is, is what you see with great players. He's a victim of Lamar Jackson.

He's so good, so early, so explosive, so fast, we think, well, how can he not win playoff games? Because Bill Parcells struggled to?

Because Peyton Manning's career playoff record. 27 playoff games for Peyton Manning. He went 14 and 13. And for the record, even the last Super Bowl, he was mostly carried by defense. I want to hear about Lamar Jackson pressure. Aaron Rogers, Bruce Ariens, Breeze, Big Ben. That's real pressure, not just a narrative. Lamar's is overwhelmingly narrative.

And if he wins, it will thankfully go away. Oh, so excited today. Very excited. You know, it is interesting that with birthdays, the closer you are to death, you get rewarded with sugar. It is interesting. Isn't it how it works? I feel today, full of potassium and energy. There'll be a crash probably.

We have Greg Kossel, the start of next hour. We have Joe Burrow on. And let me just say this about Joe Burrow. So sometimes the media, and I think we kind of laugh at this. We push back at this a lot. there'll be these stories that aren't really stories. It is hard to fill three hours a day. It's hard to write four or five columns a week.

Sometimes you make a reach. But this idea I didn't like Joe Burrell, I've been communicating with him on social media. I push back on the idea that he was LeBron, Brady, Peyton, Manning. No, I'm not joking. He was compared to those in articles, and I kept bringing him on. I said, he's Tony Romo. Going to be popular, a gamer, win a division at some point,

win games, talked about successful. Plays like him, looks like him, games like him. And it's amazing how that became you don't like him. No, I just said, could we take a deep breath? He's going to the Bengals. We all know where you land kind of matters. Don't you think Josh Allen's elevated a little by Sean McDermott? Don't you think Lamar's elevated a little by John Harbon,

the great front office of the Ravens? You don't think Big Ben's been elevated through the years by Tomlin and the Maroonies. So Joe Burrow is an adult. Joe Burrow has reached out to me and I've reached out to him and I'm like, come on the show today. So I'm very excited for it. It's very exciting.

And I said earlier, I'd like to be his friend. Well, I thought it was very nice that he said, you guys talked and he said he was going to come on the show. And then he backed it up. He said, I made a commitment to come on your show and I would like to realize that commitment. I'd like to be your friend. So, you know, this idea that you've worked with me now, how many years?

Two, three years? Almost three years, yeah. It's like, I'm not here to pick on people. By the way, even Baker Mayfield, I always say, you're welcome back. Baker came on the show. Yes. And you're welcome back. And I would bring Baker on tomorrow.

I bring Baker Mayfield on my show tomorrow. Not today, though. I've got Joe Burrow on today. 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. 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 is a win. I don't care what you're 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 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, everyone, it's Ryder Strong

and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the Podmeets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners

by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of this show. I'm just going to remind you. I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Yeah. Just because we...

Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of... Ha, ooh. Ah, ha, ooh, ha, ooh.

Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune to Pod Meets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

agency, the ability to know that we're the experts in our own body. On the podcast cultivating her space, Dr. Dom and Terry Lomax create a space where black women can show up fully and be heard. I wholeheartedly think, you know, you hit 30. You shouldn't have to share room with anybody. Mm-hmm. From navigating friendships and healing to setting boundaries and prioritizing your mental health. These are real honest conversations. We don't always get to have out loud.

totally unreasonable with different parts of life, right? Like, oh, have all three meals and make sure you're mindful during all of them? Absolutely not. During one meal, I'm standing. I'm standing and handing my children food. Because healing, empowerment, and resilience aren't just ideas. Their practices. And this Mental Health Awareness Month, there's no better time to pour back into yourself.

Listen to cultivating her space on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm going to say something. In your going to think it's crazy, but 2004, Big Ben, Philip Rivers, same draft. If Big Ben gets drafted by the Chargers and Philip Rivers gets drafted by Big Ben, Philip Rivers has the trophies and Big Ben just has a nice career and occasionally some Hall of Fame votes. Now, I know you're going to push back on that. Big Ben has been to three Super Bowls. He's won two. But Big Ben is the definition of very fortunate to have landed where he landed.

That is not disputing his size, armed talent, his overall talent. First of all, he was never as cool as Montana, Aikman, or Brady. He was never iconic like Manning Farver Elway. He is one of only 12 NFL quarterbacks to have two plus Super Bowls, but he never beat a legend like Eli beat Brady twice. He played poorly in both Super Bowl wins. Big Ben's never won an MVP. He's never even been an all-pro, first or second team.

He has no national commercials, even his safety had a shampoo deal. To me, I think we forget that 30% of his wins are against the Browns and Bengals. He's 48, 10, and 1. Well, Brady. Oh, no, Brady was great in the playoffs. Two, you put Big Ben behind worse, inferior offensive lines in San Diego with an ownership group not willing to spend that kind of money. I'm not disputing the talent.

But he got two Hall of Fame head coaches, a Hall of Fame owner, a great general manager, and an unbelievable brand that a tributtal. tracks-free agents. Just trade Philip Rivers and Big Ben. I'm going to throw something out and you didn't know this. How about this one? Philip Rivers actually has been in more Pro Bowls than Big Ben. Worse offensive line. Don't have the ownership group. Never had the receiving talent. In Ben's first Super Bowl, five Pro Bowlers. He wasn't as good as Jerome Bettis, Heinz Ward, Troy, Lamel, James Harrison, Joey Porter, James Ferrier, Alan Fannica.

Not in the first one. He played poorly. His wide receiver in that first Super Bowl had more touchdown passes than Ben did. His second Super Bowl, all three playoff wins, despite great receivers, he never threw more than one touchdown pass in any game. Great owner, Hall of Fame coach, lousy division. Never been an MVP, never been a first or second team pro bowler. I am not disputing, disputing his talent. But I hear this a lot of times from successful people.

They love to give themselves all the credit. I am just a great attorney. I'm an amazing doctor. I am a top salesperson. Go look at the genetics. Your parents were probably pretty smart. You don't become a four-point Harvard anything, unless mom and dad probably had a little brain power as well,

probably had mostly stable life. Don't kid yourself on Big Ben. Don't kid yourself. Philip Rivers and Big Ben swap different legacies. By the way, Ben should get into the Hall of Fame, not disputing that, not disputing his talent. And I do think he has more natural talent than Philip Rivers. Philip Rivers was a much better college quarterback.

Philip Rivers had more offers. Philip Rivers from a very early age was a more mature quarterback, and Philip Rivers had certainly more to overcome. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. By the way, I saw this article. I don't know who wrote it. I didn't want to know who wrote it because it's not great. And I don't want to be out there hammering media people. But somebody wrote it, and I really don't know who wrote it. Ranking the NFL playoff offenses 1 through 14.

Which team's offense do you trust the most? It's based on trustworthiness. It's got Kansas City number one. What? It's not the most dynamic. It's not the highest ceiling. Trustworthy? Have you watched them play?

Why couldn't they score any points against Atlanta and their horrible defense? Brady picked him a parse twice in the last three weeks. Kansas City struggle with that defense. trust is about consistency and production. If I said right now, which one of your kids do you trust with the money? You'd say, well, who's consistently most mature? Trust is all about consistency, not talent. There's a lot of people with talent.

I don't trust. Trust is what do you get every day? What do you get every week from your kids, your boss, your coworkers? Aaron Rogers has had one bad game all year. Number one is Green Bay. I trust Aaron Rogers more than anybody. Number two, Baltimore is on fire in December. Buffalo Bills 10 straight weeks of dynamic performances.

This isn't a movie poster question. If it's a movie poster, Kansas City wins. Fastest receiver, greatest tight-end town I've ever seen, most clever play designer, and the crazy town in Patrick Mahomes. They are the best, movie poster in the NFL for any offense. But Patrick Mahomes last five games.

He's got six turnovers. He had two in all the other games combined. Patrick Mahomes last four games. Passer rating under 90, completion percentage 60? How's that possible with that offense? By the way, in December he took more sacks. In December, they scored fewer points. Trustworthiness.

is about consistency. It's not a movie poster. We're not asking most dynamic. We're not asking highest ceiling. Green Bay and Buffalo's offense, I trust way more than can't. Even when Kansas City's offense is great, it's usually great for a half.

They have these spurts. They have these Golden State Kevin Durant, Steph, Clay spurts. They're not great for the entire game, but for like seven minutes, Durant, Clay, and Steph got hot. And you're like, okay, we'll see you tomorrow night game over.

Thanks for Flying United. That's what Kansas City, even in the games they win, they fall behind. So let's go to Greg Kossel. 41 years. NFL films joining us now live. Speaking of trustworthiness,

I would have sworn, if you'd have told me a month ago, okay, Seattle's running backs are going to get healthy. I would have said, all right, baby, this offense is going to fly to the moon. I've watched Seattle three weeks in a row, Greg. What is wrong with this offense?

Well, I think it starts with Russell Wilson, and now they're trying to figure out what they should be, Colin, because obviously the first six or seven weeks, it was less Russ Cook. He cooked. He's not been very good over the last month or so. So the past game right now was kind of the perfect negative storm. Wilson's not seeing things clearly. The O'Line struggles at times to protect. Wilson now perceives pressure. The result is there's no rhythm. There's kind of an undisdiscay. discipline randomness to Wilson's play right now. Now, he can make plays that way because of his high level second reaction ability, but he's not played well. Keep this thought in mind. In the last four games, D.K. Metcalf has not had a reception of 20 yards. Think about that for a minute. There's been no big play element to their offense over the last four games and even going back further. Wow. That's interesting. That's why I've said, if you're a better, Rams and a bunch of points is interesting. I think that game comes down to a final series.

Now, everybody's going to talk about Buffalo in the Buffalo Colts game, but I want to talk because I loved, I think you did too, I love Jonathan Taylor at Wisconsin. I thought he was just. I did. About every third year, the Big Ten gives us a Zeke, a Sequin Barclay, a Jonathan Taylor, and I just, I love all of them. But it took a while for this offense. Maybe it's because he's a rookie and there's no preseason.

But when I watch that offense, and if I was Buffalo, I get the nightmare, which is, oh, brother, we're going to be watching the second half of this game, him running. What triggered Jonathan Taylor in the offense to finally click, in your opinion? Well, I think they wanted him to be that guy early on. That's why they drafted him. My sense was early on, and I don't know what's in his head, but my sense watching him early on was that he was trying to figure out how to run in the league. You didn't see the decisiveness that he ran with it in college.

And I think as he's gained experience and understood the blocking schemes, understood the NFL speed and the pursuit angles, I think he's shown the traits now that we saw coming out of Wisconsin. And they've leaned on him, Colin, much, much more. I mean, he's averaging close to 20 carries a game over the last six games. They've used him as a closer. They've used him to start games on their opening drive where he'll carry six times, seven times. So they've almost made him the foundation of their offense right now, and it'll be very interesting to see what their approach is versus Buffalo, assuming Buffalo continues to play at such a high level offensively. Is the Buffalo story, Josh Allen's improvement, schematically, Stefan Diggs, like it's made a significant leap in the last 15 games.

What do we credit that leap to? So much of it to me is Josh Allen because, look, Brian Davel's been there. They've ran a lot of the same plays the last two years. I think Josh Allen has gotten so much better in two distinct areas. Number one is his ability to make sustaining throws. I'm talking about throws under 10 yards on third down in particular that will require pace and touch, not a rocket arm. And then the second part of that is his ability on the intermediate. and deeper throws to be much more precise with his ball placement.

The one thing we're not seeing, Colin, and you mentioned the 10 games that they've been great offensively, is we're not seeing him miss throws now. There used to be stretches where he would just miss throws where he'd say, wow, you've got to make that throw. He's not missing those kinds of throws. His ball placement has been so much more precise. And one other point, if I may, patience. I think he's no longer trying to force throws.

with that big arm. I think he's, if it's not there, he's either leaving the pocket or he's throwing something short of a checkdown variety. So those three things, I think, really stand out watching the tape of Josh Allen. All right. Let's talk Tampa Bay playing on the road against the Washington football team. And the question that I think is the one that jumps out to me, if Washington makes Tom uncomfortable, you got a football game. How does Washington get after Brady? because that is the story of the game. If they can do it, we got a game. Well, I think here's the way I think it'll play out because of Bruce Ariens.

I think it'll play out this way. He'll start the game getting all five eligible receivers out, seeing if they can pass-protect versus Washington's defensive front with their five offensive linemen. If they can do that, and I'm not saying they will, but if they can, then I think they'll have a very difficult time on defense because Brady, Colin is throwing the ball so well right now. it is coming out of his hand with juice, with velocity.

He looks like he's 25 years old where he's throwing the football. If they can't protect with five, then that changes the dynamic of this game because the past game is all about numbers. You want to get your five eligibles out. But if you can't protect, then now you have to keep either a sixth guy in, maybe a seventh guy, depending on how it goes. And that changes what you can do with your route concepts in the past game. So I think they'll start with a five-man protection with their O line and see if they can protect against that really, really good Washington defensive front. Yeah, that's interesting that you say Brady's throwing that well. I mean, you know, really well.

Some of it is. Really at a high level. This will sound crazy. Some of it is. It's 78 degrees. He's old. And I wonder, some of it, he's loose. Yeah, I don't know what the weather is supposed to be in Washington.

But, I mean, I don't think it's supposed to be terrible. Yeah. All right, let's go to Saints and Bears. And New Orleans is obviously the story here. I think it's a really, really talented roster. But the story will be this. If Tribesky can get in any kind of rhythm, you may have a football game. Chicago's got a good defense.

I thought the Tribusky winning streak felt like a little fool's goal to me is everybody gets hot. Tebow got hot. What do you do with Tribusky? You see the film. What do you do going forward here? I've always been a believer, and I actually learned this from coaches early on in this business when I really started watching coaching tape, and I was trying to learn from everybody I could. Coaches often tell you what they think of their quarterback by what they ask them to do and what it's clear that they're asking them not to do.

And I think it's evident watching the tape now that the bears are really trying to minimize Trubisky's limitations because he has limitations. They don't ask him to do very much. So one thing I think you might see in this game, because he does have good legs, I think you might see more designed runs. They do use a lot of play action and play action boot, getting him out of the pocket by design in the past game, but it would not surprise me against that really aggressive Saints front if they do some more with design run game.

Because I think you need to do that with Trubisky. He's not a drop-back passer. That's his limitation. And so obviously their defense becomes very important as well because if they fall behind, then he has to become a drop-back passer. And that's not his strength. No, this is obvious, right? But it's something that's not talked about.

What a coach, when I watch a football team play and I watch Buffalo with Josh Allen, they're telling you, oh, he can do everything. There's no limitations of the other. When I watch Tua, I don't feel that way. No, I mean, I just don't. I don't. I see a team coaching him and I see a box. I see invisible borders on what they want him to do.

All right. So Pittsburgh, Cleveland, let's discuss this. I think the story of this game is not on the Pittsburgh side. I think Ben's rested. They've been here before their favorites. Is Stefansky's out and Baker will not have his play caller. Right. Will it matter in your opinion here? The way I look at it because there's no way to know is philosophically their offense won't change in terms of what they would like to do.

Now you're getting into specific play calls in critical situations. And that's impossible to know what Alex Van Pelt might call. But philosophically, unless their defense falls apart and the game gets out of hand early, if it's a relatively close game, we know what they want to be and what they are philosophically. It's a run game, it's play action, it's play action boot. If the game flows in which they can do that, we know that's what they'll do. The question becomes third and seven, red zone, then it's specific play calls, and that's what we just really don't know. It's so hard to be predictive in that way.

Interesting. So one of the more maddening teams this year has been Tennessee, depending on the weekend or the half, you see them. I can't get that lost to the bingles out of my head. I mean, they just were completely dominated. But you also can't get some of their better performances out of your head. So it's interesting to me. I would think they'd be more consistent because they're very Derek Henry led.

And I get the same Derek every weekend. He's very dependable. I would think, just give the ball to Derek. I'll get the same team. But can Derek Henry with this offense lead them on a long playoff run? Well, they made it to the AFC championship game a year ago when we're ahead against the chiefs, I guess, in the second half. Their defense is probably the biggest issue. Are they a championship caliber defense because they have two major issues?

They can't rush the quarterback and they've got issues in the secondary. So their past defense can really struggle at times. And when your past defense struggles, that's an issue because of the explosive play element for the opponent. But they're another team. They're defined. We know what they're going to do. Now, Ryan Tannenhill is a pretty good thrower. You know, and there's always a debate as to whether Tannehill is kind of built for this offense

or if he's more than that. And in a sense, we don't know because right now this is the offense in which he plays and he functions very effectively and very efficiently in it. But we saw last week in a game they had to win to win the division where they got down with, what, 18, 16 seconds to go, and they actually called a play to take a shot. and he made a phenomenal throw. That's a throw that was not play action. It had nothing to do with Derek Henry.

And he made a phenomenal throw. And we're going to show that play. Let's show it. Let's show the Tannahill play. Yeah, here it is. I think it was 18 or 16 seconds when you talk about the Tannihill play. And, you know, this was a real interesting play. He's in the gun, and they've got two receivers to the field.

It's A.J. Brown and Corey Davis just inside. Now, I think they anticipated the coverage here, Colin. They got cover four quarters, which the Texans like to play. It's a foundation coverage. And they attacked this coverage. And here's how they attacked it. They had Corey Davis from the inside run vertically. And when you run vertically against cover four, that safety has to match up.

That's his responsibility. So now you end up with one-on-one on the outside with A.J. Brown against a corner. an outside leverage corner because it's a zone concept. So they specifically attacked this coverage, and you can see it with the ISO, you can see that the corner is playing outside leverage, and there's no safety help because of the route inside by Corey Davis. So my sense is they anticipated this coverage.

They called a play to attack the coverage. We can debate whether it's the right coverage call. That's a different question. But they attacked that coverage. There was no bust, no breakdown. they just won against that coverage call. Greg, CoSell, NFL Meat Sandwich, you bet it, you play fantasy, you just love the sport, nothing better.

Greg, thank you so much. Thanks, Con. I appreciate it. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd 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 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 is a win.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast.

We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you.

I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season, from the final attempts at gameplay, to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of

again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into PodMeets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Agency, the ability to know that we're the experts in our own body. On the podcast, cultivating her space, Dr. Dom and Terry Lomax create a space where black women can show up fully and be heard. I wholeheartedly think, you know, you hit 30.

You shouldn't have to share one with anybody. Mm-hmm. From navigating friendships and healing to setting boundaries and prioritizing your mental health. These are real, honest conversations. We don't always get to have out loud. Totally unreasonable with different parts of life, right? Like, oh, have all three meals and make sure you're mindful during all of them? Absolutely not. During one meal, I'm standing. I'm standing and handing my children food.

Because healing, empowerment, and resilience aren't just ideas. Their practices. And this Mental Health Awareness Month, there's no better time to pour back into yourself. Listen to cultivating her space on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And Joe Burrow is now joining us. He's in Los Angeles right now. So, okay, so let's just get this part out of the way, and then we'll talk about real stuff. So when I don't even think I was critical of you, I said you're going to be Tony Romo. But when all this stuff's going on and I'm a loudmouth, did your parents or a friend or anybody go, oh, coward? Oh, God, you want to know. I mean, did you hear any of it?

Yeah, there was definitely some of that. But, you know, if I took into account every person's opinion from the last five years, there's no chance that I would be where I'm at right now. So I just kept my nose down and worked. That's all it was. Yeah. You know, it's interesting, Joe. Years ago, when you were a high school player, you went to a college and then if you transferred, you'd be like, oh, that's trouble.

He couldn't, he could. But Kyler Murray transferred. And Justin Fields transferred. And Baker transferred. And you transferred. So the stigma's gone. The reality is you guys want to play. So let's go back to Ohio State.

because my initial feeling was why that kid transfer? I don't understand. I mean, J.T. Barrett, he can beat him out. So why did you transfer from Ohio State? So J.T. was the starter there for, you know, my first two years. And, you know, he's the Big Ten passing touchdown all-time leader. So he was the starting quarterback. Nobody was beating him out.

And then my last fall camp there, me and Dwayne, Haskins were battling. and I break my hand the, I think it was the practice after fall camp had ended two weeks before the first game. So I couldn't throw for, and I came back a little sooner than I should have, but I didn't throw for about four or five weeks. And Dwayne went in against Team Up North, Michigan, the last game played really well, ended up winning the game. And then, you know, he was kind of the starter from there on. Yeah, and you kind of knew, okay, I got to get reps, because your dad's a coach. You know the game. You got to get, nobody's going to draft you if you don't get reps.

So you go to LSU and you obviously don't doubt yourself. You had a solid year, not spectacular before the great year. Has there ever been a moment in your journey? You know, injuries change the way you think psychology. Was there ever a moment, Joe, that you thought, you know, maybe I'm going to go, I'll be a coach. This has been fun. I love it. Did you doubt yourself or the journey for a minute?

Never for a second. You know, I think I felt like I worked really, really hard for three years. And for those three years, I wasn't playing. And I had faith that that hard work would pay off because if you don't have that faith, then, you know, all of that is for nothing. And I couldn't really, you know, bring myself to think that I'd worked that hard for no reason. So I just continued to do it and, you know, put money in the bank, money in the bank, money in the bank,

and hoping that it would pay off for me someday. And, you know, it eventually did. I thought you had a spectacular year until the injury. We had said by week two, I mean, I just said, this kid, there's an it. He's better than Romo, and I loved Romo. I thought Romo was a gamer. How would you evaluate your rookie year? Let's take the injury out of it, the games you played.

You know, I think I played well for the most part. You know, I have some pretty tough games. Pittsburgh, Baltimore, come to mind that, you know, going in the next, next year I need to be more consistent in those big games. But I think for the most part I played well, I was really efficient. But, you know, there was still some things that obviously need to be corrected. I wasn't great with the deep ball, which I was pretty disappointed in because I've usually, you know, I've always been pretty good at that.

So that's an emphasis for me going into this offseason is hitting those big plays and creating outside the offense and creating those big plays on my own. This may sound like a weird question, but you're an Ohio kid. and all of a sudden you're quarterbacking in Ohio team, you're facing the Steelers, you're facing the Browns. Was there in a moment in your rookie year when you literally went under center and thought, this is surreal? Literally my dad's a college coach.

I'm a high school player. I left Ohio. I came back. Now you're in this division, which is tough Cleveland and Ohio and Pittsburgh. Was there a pinch yourself moment this year for you? You know, not during the season. Leading up to the draft, you know, knowing where I was going to go,

I think it was exciting for me to come back to Cincinnati, come back to Ohio and actually get to play for the fans. But, you know, during the season, there's no time for that. You got to win games. You got to play well right now. Otherwise, you know, you see what's happening across the league. If you don't play well, you know, people are trying to run you out of town. So there's no time to pinch yourself, say, wow, that's the Steelers.

Wow. I'm playing Thursday night football against the Browns. You got to play well. Did you hit it off with Zach Taylor, your head coach, quickly? Or did it take a while? It was immediate. I think Zach is going to be a great coach for a long time. I'm happy to be in the position that I'm in and to help build this organization,

but it's going to be on Zach's back. He's the leader of what we're trying to do, and he's awesome. Yeah. Does he ever, you know, your dad's a coach. So you're obviously coachable. You've known it. Does he ever say things, do things, and you think of your dad, that you've had that coach in your ear, your entire life, you know, as a quarterback with a dad as a coach.

Do you think it actually makes you a little more coachable, that you have a little advantage of the lexicon and the language that you grew up with? Yeah, I think it does definitely. make me a little more coachable. But as far as my dad goes, he kind of stayed away from the coach role with me. I think he got his coaching fix in when he was coaching with his own players. And he was kind of just a dad to me. But then when he retired, he didn't get his coaching fix in.

So now he's starting to coach me a little more and getting in my ear a little bit. So that's fun. But I think growing up around football and around a coach definitely probably made me a little more coachable. When you go look at a Trevor Lawrence or a Justin Fields, these are super talented guys. If you could say, okay, here's two things, guys, that'll make your transition easier. Maybe somebody told you what they were. Maybe they didn't. But are there a couple of things that really do help college to pro in the transition process?

You know, I think the transition is easier than ever. back in the day you had to be a six foot six two hundred and fifty pound 50 pound strong arm quarterback and you know those days are kind of gone I think coaches in the NFL are getting really really good at understanding what their quarterbacks do well and adapting what they do to what the quarterbacks do so you know I think it's easier than ever but I think the biggest thing is just being able to adapt

adapt very quickly. You know, during games, gone are the days where, you know, you go into a game, you see two or three defenses the entire time, you know your adjustments, you know exactly what you're getting every play. Teams have a new defense every single week, a new third down defense, a new blitz. So you're going to see things that you don't know what they are, and you just have to be prepared to adapt to those certain things that defensive coordinators throw at you and have answers in your back pocket for, you know, a lot of different defenses.

So when you look, SEC is the best conference in terms of overall defense, the speed of the athletes, Alabama, Florida, LSU. I mean, you practiced every day against NFL dudes at LSU. They had 14 guys drafted. And then you play the Steelers who have, you know, six Pro Bowl level guys. When you look at a call, let's go pre-snap. You walk to the line at the college level at LSU. You walk to the line against the Steelers. You're talking about now 28-year-old man, Joe, they've been in the league, a long time Mike Tomlin.

Does it force you before the ball is snapped? Do you have, is it a lot cognitively? Can it be a real challenge at the NFL level? What do you see that's different and how do you adapt to it? Yeah. So, you know, my pre-snap process has never changed. I, you know, look at the front, look at the linebackers, look at the safety rotation, look at the leverage of the corners, their eyes inside on me,

are they playing man and eyes on the receiver? So my pre-snap never changes, but you just see a lot more things. I was giving an example. We were playing the Colts. We were up 21 to nothing. And in college, you're up 21 to nothing. You probably have one more series left. In the NFL, you're still

to have to keep your foot on a gas pedal because Philip Rivers is over there getting ready to score 24 straight. And that's what he did against us. And then the last play of the game, we were in a two-minute drill. The Mike linebacker and the Sam linebacker walk up on the ball.

we're in a three by one formation. I'd never seen that in my life. They just had two guys covering three. I'm like, what is going on? What is this defense? And then they run the safety. They were given a single high. I'm sorry, I'm getting a little technical right here.

But they're in a single high shell. Or the safety comes down into a quarter shell, and they just play two over three to the field. And I'm watching film. I ended up throwing a pick in the two-minute drill to this game. And I'm watching film like, I could have just checked to this play. Like they don't have enough people over there.

And so it was games like that plays like that that, you know, through my first year or big time learning experiences for me. And I think are going to help me a lot going forward. Yeah. Anybody talk trash because you're a rookie quarterback? I mean, T.J. Watt or somebody get in your ear a little bit? Fletcher Cox. Fletcher Cox for sure.

We played the Eagles in Philly. And he kind of shoved me out of bounds a little late after a, after I threw the ball away and I look at the ref, I'm like, that was a little late. And he said, you know, you're not getting that call rope, not yet. So I think there are a lot of little things like that throughout the year. They were pretty fun.

Yeah, Fletcher Cox doesn't, that answer doesn't surprise me. Thank God there's not many Fletcher Coxes in the league because he is incredible. So now you're in a part, I know where you're at in L.A. You've done your rehab. Let's talk about that. It's scary. Rehab stinks.

Joy was a great athlete. It's no fun. Was there a moment when you went under the knife? You were anxious. You were worried. How was it gone for you? Yeah, you know, as soon as the injury happened, I was obviously devastated.

You know, I wanted to finish out the year. And, you know, finish strong. I thought there were a lot of winnable games in this part of the schedule that we had. And then the injury happened. That was devastating for me. but, you know, rehab has gone really well. I'm past the worst part.

I'm starting to feel like a normal human again. I can walk around, you know, put my clothes on, do what I need to do. You know, the first week and a half, two weeks was pretty miserable. Yeah. things are on track to start the season the way I need to practice a little bit in fall camp and get ready to go. Wow. Now, some suggested you wouldn't be ready for the opener.

What's your gut feeling? I think I'll be ready. All right. I think it'll be just fine. Okay. All right. I know what I'm rooting for, but I hear all those things. Well, I think you're a remarkable player.

You're a good sport. You're just going to be great. and I love that you're doing this. You're always welcome. And by the way, I'm thick-skinned. So if I say something stupid, just go to my direct message, rip me for it. I'm totally comfortable with that. I'm really good.

Joy knows sometimes blah, blah, blah, blah. I can't cash the checks I talk about sometimes. Oh, by the way, Joe's going to be joining Joel Clat and Reggie Bush next Monday for the Fox Sports College Football Watch Party. Good for you. It's on Fox Sports Digital platforms for the title game with Clat and Reggie Bush. Joe Burrell, we're honored that you stop by, buddy. I appreciate it.

Thank you so much. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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? 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. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifers show. This is a place for raw

unfilts of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. 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's podcast network on TikTok. On The Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.