The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 01/11/2021 - HOUR 1 - Browns-Steelers, Lamar, Brady, Rams

Episode Date: January 11, 2021

It's time for the Steelers to move on from Big Ben or suffer the consequencesLamar Jackson proved his doubters wrongWhat the Browns win over the Steelers tells usTom Brady moving on to the next roundJared Goff's contract is a problem for the RamsGuest: Howie Long 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.

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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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

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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 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. Thanks for listening to The 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 Hurd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, it is a Monday, and maybe you noticed there was some football this weekend, live in Los Angeles.

This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are on Fox Sports Radio. We are on IHeart Radio. We are on FS1, one hour from now, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, plenty of both. Joy Taylor is down in the chair. Ready to go. I'm ready to go. How are you? I've been better.

Yeah. Not going to say. I wasn't nervous. I said all week I'm very nervous about this game. I'm the honesty broker of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, another playoff dud by the Steelers, their first six drives. Fumble, interception, punt, interception, punt, interception. In the last decade, they have three playoff wins over A.J. McCarron, Matt Moore, and Alex Smith. Welcome to the reality of the Pittsburgh Steelers. I'm not really a sports romantic. I don't

collect stuff. I don't collect baseball cards. I'm not into watches, clocks, whatever people collect. And I'm not a sports romantic. Very easy for me, for whatever reasons. I don't know why. Probably part of my childhood. I don't like to look back. I have a tomorrow infinitely more fascinating than yesterday's news. This morning, at noon, I'd move off Big Ben. And not just because of yesterday, but partly because of yesterday. Just think about this. Next year, according to reports, there's going to be now 17, not 16, not 14 like I grew up with.

There's going to be 17 regular season games. Let's say Ben participates in one pre-season. season game. That's 18. Let's say he makes the playoffs for a game. That's typical for Pittsburgh these days. 19 games. That's like 60% more than a college football season and those athletes are younger. Does he look like a 19 quarterback game? If you don't move off Big Ben, you deserve all this. He's not a Brady Breeze 38 years old. We've all worked with people who you know, close the place down, play really hard, never in great shape, not into details, don't save money in their 401K, lifestyle, lack of dedication, this is how it ends.

How Brady's career is ending tells me all about the last 20 years and how Ben looks overweight. He's not into details. Don't give me Philip Rivers. Philip Rivers was never a great athlete. Big Ben was a great athlete. athlete. He's 38. He's not 44. You play hard. If you're offseason is beers and maybe an occasional yoga class, this is what you look like. I don't want to hear about his 500 yards throwing 400 of those were when the game was over. Cleveland at halftime goes to a prevent defense. They gave

Big Ben, Juju, Smith, Schuster. All these guys are making catches. Game was over. Game was decided. I don't want to hear about his stats and his yards. This is on Ben. Listen, Mike Tomlin has some questions to answer. Okay? We didn't do enough. Yeah, I mean, let's be honest about Mike Tomlin. They weren't prepared.

It wasn't all Big Ben. I mean, they just weren't prepared to play. Special teams, defense, gaping holes. So this is not all on Big Ben. Mike Tomlin's teams in recent years have dissolved at the end of seasons, Mike Tomlin's teams, especially in big games against Belichick. You'd watch it and you'd think, not really buttoned up, not really look like they're prepared. And sums on Tomlin. But Pittsburgh doesn't fire coaches. It's not what they do. But you can fire essentially move off

quarterbacks. Stop living in the past. Next year we got 17 games minimum. Does Ben look like a 17 game quarterback in this league. Old, slow, plotting, unprepared. Here's Tomlin after the loss, the ugly loss. We didn't do enough. We didn't position them in enough good circumstances. We didn't make enough plays, particularly in the critical moments. You know, we were a group that died on the bind. Listen, you can blame Tomlin, and he deserves a lot of heat too. In the end, we know the reality of this organization. They don't fire coaches. And we know the reality of what they are at quarterback.

I mean, if you watch three teams this weekend, the Saints, the Colts, and the Steelers, these go from good rosters to great rosters. But they're all missing that like, that kind of dynamic it. With Breeze, this is his last year. With Rivers, it's probably his last. or next to last year. Ben look worse by far than both. It's time to stop being a sports romantic.

Move on or don't complain when your seasons continue to end like this. All right, there's a lot of narratives in sports and some I buy. James Hardin is not built for the playoffs. No, I actually watch that, and I don't think his style, which is very ball-centric, I don't think it's built. for 82 games in the playoffs. I buy into that narrative. Clayton Kershaw is not as good in the postseason as he is in the regular season.

Yeah, I watch that. I buy that, too. He struggled to get out of the seventh inning against good playoff teams. But here's one I didn't buy into. Lamar Jackson is not built to win in the playoffs, and he cannot win coming from behind. Okay. Well, he trailed in this one, came from behind, and won a playoff game.

Yeah, he's good. enough. Number one, he's a kid. And every year I watch him, he is better at something. These days, he's better in the red zone. Number two is winning the playoffs is hard for everybody. Bill Parcells, 58% wins. Lamar Jackson, 81%. And by the way, he's no less dynamic an athlete in the playoffs than the regular season. If you look at what is happening in the NFL, this weekend's a prime example. The Colts bills were very even rosters. What was the difference? It was Josh Allen, a guy that could move.

The Titans Ravens, very even rosters. What was the difference? Lamar Jackson, a guy who can make plays off script. For both Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson, love both, think Josh is a better passer. Lamar's a better runner. But in both, they were the difference in the game. Colts bills, I can argue the Colts have the better roster, the better O-line, and the better defense, and an equally deft head coach. The difference was Josh Allen, and the difference in this game was Lamar Jackson.

That was it. His mobility is not a negative. You start looking around the league on a weekend that was dominated by defense, and it was a special player in the Ravens game. It was a special player in the Bills game. That's it. That's the difference in those games. That's the difference between the Bills winning and losing. That's the difference between the Ravens winning and losing.

It was Lamar. It was Josh. And by the way, he's 24. Most 23 and 24-year-old kids are looking for their first job. His resume, Lamar Jackson's resume at 24, two division titles, MVP, quarterback all record for rushing yards, a playoff win, and 81% NFL victories. The great coaches are at about 58%. Lamar's at 81. So there are a lot of sports narratives. The James Harden, the Clayton-Kircheon,

I buy in, I watch, I see, I understand, I buy into it. Lamar can't come from behind? Lamar can't win a playoff game is nonsense. His biggest issue is actually the Kansas City Chiefs, not his inability to throw up the sidelines. Yeah, there's this thing called Kansas City, Andy Reed, Patrick Mahomes. That's his roadblock. And he may never beat him. But that's not going to be on his inability to look pretty and throw the ball up the sideline. Congrats to the kid.

John Harbaugh asked after the game about the weight now off Lamar Jackson's shoulders. It's a big cheer. You know, there's a lot of cheer and a little bit of dancing. And, you know, I think everybody was really happy. It's, you're right. There was a lot of attention on it. You know, that's how it works. We understand that's the nature of it.

You know, that's really not the main point, I don't think, but it's a team game. And I felt like our guys all played well. They were just happy for him. It's something that he won't have to talk about in the future. And that's a meaningful thing. You know, when you're a parent, by the time you're 45 and 50, we're all kind of embedded in the way we live. But I'm a parent.

I've got kids. I'm looking for small, little growth pockets. A little more maturity, little more accountability, little better student, little more patience. My kids are young. Every year with Lamar, he just gets a little better. This year, remember the first year he came in? Next year, he's a little bigger. He's like, I'm going to put on some weight.

And then the following year, oh, he starts to read last year. Read the defense a little better. MVP. This year, he runs a little less, and he's a little better in the red zone. That's what you ask of kids. Not these monumental, gigantic Grand Canyon leaps from immature to could run a company. Just incremental little moments of growth. Every year with him, he's just a little better.

and my guess is he's never going to look like Mahomes or Aaron Rogers outside the sidelines. But I thought there was a play in the game late that he would not have made his rookie year. Maybe he would have, but he iced the game, he split through, he ran down the right sideline, and he sat down in the field. Did you see those last couple of drives for Lamar? He doesn't make those rookie year. He doesn't make those last year. He iced the game, he sat down, he ate the clock,

total self-awareness for the moment. I thought the last two, three drives of the game for Lamar, it's like, oh, he doesn't do that last year. He doesn't do that as rookie year. Just little bits and pieces. Congratulations. By the way, the losing teams this weekend, Seattle lost, the Colts lost, the Titans lost. There were some really good teams that lost this weekend. That's why playoff football is so amazing.

All right. Time to talk Baker Mayfield, but first a commercial. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart 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 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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series

because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing.

That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong, and Wilfredell 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 of the 50th season, from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha, who, ha, ha, who. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune

into Pod Meets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Weather can be... 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 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 which 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 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves,

I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night bases on offense.

And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that IZE, you figure it out real quick.

Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 the... 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, who. Ha, ha, ooh. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune in to Pod Meets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Unpredictable. Be prepared, Michelin Endurance X-D silicone wiper blades. last two times longer than all other blades available at Walmart, the Hall of Fame or Howie Long in about 10 minutes. So when Kevin Stefansky got the job in Cleveland, he'd never been a head coach. He was smart. He'd been around the Vikings.

People said he's a good fit. He had the background of a coach. He was loyal, smart, well-schooled. It had success in the NFL. But the question is always for a young coach, if you've never been a head coach is not drawing up plays. Kevin Stefansky would be good at that. That's not the issue.

The issue is, oh, can he create a culture? And it's very dubious in Cleveland looking at their history. Could he make them grownups and adults? We've always known Cleveland last few years. Baker's on a rookie contract. That's how it works. Jared Goff in a rookie contract. Carson Wentz in a rookie contract.

Philadelphia can spend more money on, free agents. Patrick Mahomes on a rookie contract. Lamar Jackson on a rookie contract. If you look at who's left in the playoffs, it's quarterbacks on rookie contracts or legends. Josh Allen on a rookie contract. You can spend more on a just Stefan Dix. It's never been about talent for Cleveland. Could they be grownups? Could Kevin Stefanski change the culture? Not easy if you look at their vast and recent history. But what was important about yesterday is if the mom and the dad, if the parents create a great culture,

then it can withstand them leaving for the weekend and the kids don't burn the house down. Kevin Stefansky wasn't there last night. Dad left for the weekend. And the kids not only didn't burn the house down, they cleaned it up. They were more organized. That win was about Kevin Stefansky.

That's not a shot at Baker. That's not a shot at Nick Chubb. That was about building a culture. The parents leave for the weekend and the kids clean the house up. Don't burn it down. A lot of stuff could have gone wrong. Your play caller's not there. Your coach isn't there.

Your second best offensive lineman. Maybe your best offensive lineman isn't there. You're going on the road. You've only got 15 players on the roster who have ever been in a playoff game. Fewest of any team in the playoffs. This thing could have been a mess. I thought it could be a mess. And it was the opposite.

Very rarely in sports does the first play of the game set the tone. Last night did. Did you see Big Ben and James Connor on that fumble? Hey, you get it. No, I'll get it. did you see the urgency of the Cleveland Brown defenders, their focus, their aggressiveness, how their running backs broke tackles last night.

Cleveland this morning feels like grown-ups and adults and responsible. To play that well on the road, fewest playoff guys, and your coach isn't there? This, not Baker, not Miles Garrett, not Jarvis Landry, not Nick Chubb. are great players, most of them. The point being is, we watched New England do this for 20 years. Culture over talent, with very few exceptions. Here's Baker Mayfield. We're here for a reason. There's a new standard, and I keep talking about it. No, I wasn't here for the things that have happened in the past, some of which I was too young to even remember.

And there's a new standard, we're going to try and keep it that way. I will address his hat later in the show. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Great weekend of football. It's not done yet.

I know, that's right tonight, Bama and Ohio State. It's like football Christmas. I know. So the Rams got the best of their division rival, the Seahawks, by winning 30 to 20 on Saturday. LA's defense was the star of the show, holding Seattle to 278 total yards, and sacking Russell Wilson,

five times. That defensive front owns the Seahawks offensive line the last three years. Owns it. Aaron Donald was on the sidelines for most of the second half. Cam Acres also had an impressive game, setting a Rams playoff record with 176 total scrimmage yards as a rookie. Let me tell you, that organization drafts running backs, tight ends, and wide receivers and defensive backs at a really high level. It's not a bad way to draft. He is really a good running back. He was so impressive. And Jared Goff did enough coming in for the John Wolford to get the Rams win and match up with Green Bay next weekends. Wolford took a hit early in the game. A stinger.

Goff is still recovering from thumb surgery. McVeigh would not name a starter for next week, and they will evaluate the health of each quarterback and go from there. You know what? Man, I got to give Goff a lot of credit. They showed him on the sideline. Did you see that shot where he was looking at his thumbs? His thumb was this big.

He was like this. I mean, I couldn't believe it. I'm really honestly impressed with these players going out there playing through injuries like that. Listen, nobody plays perfect in a playoff game except the Browns yesterday. It never happens. It's a lot of attrition. It's a lot of overcoming stuff. And that's what the Rams did.

They overcame an injury. Not only did they start the backup, but he got hurt early. I felt like this was the obvious upset. You know, it's Rams Seahawks. Like, they play each other a lot. It's similar to why I was very nervous about Brown's Steelers. He was like, yeah, the coaches out. They play.

They're division rivals. They play each other all this. This is their third time playing. Like, how many adjustments do you need to make? So the Steelers blew them out once. Then the Browns won close. And then the Browns blew the Steelers out once. So, I mean, that's your classic division rival.

If they played a fourth time, the Steelers would probably win. You just don't know what you're getting with division rivals. Yes. So this is why this game wasn't, how it turned out wasn't particularly surprising. Obviously, you don't want Russell Wilson getting sacked five times. That would probably help them in that situation. But Camakers had an incredible. credible game. He was running all over the place and looked great. Aaron Donald reportedly has

torn rib cartilage. Cooper Cup suffered a knee contusion. The Rams expect both of them to play against the Packers. Foxbet has the Packers favored by seven against the Rams. That is, and I think I like the Packers. Yeah, I mean, Tom Brady got a break. First, Alex Smith couldn't play. And now he doesn't have to go to Lambo. I mean, I like the Packers to win, but I think I'd take the Rams and the points there. I'll have to talk to the wise guys and see when they went on it. Okay.

Well, the Bears hung in there with the Saints in the first half Sunday, but New Orleans pulled away late to get the 21 to 9 win in advance to the divisional round. Michael Thomas fell in the end zone for the first time this season, and Alvin Camara also scored

in his return from the COVID list. Saints' defense held the Bears to their lowest points of the season and only one third down conversion. That bear's offense was... Do you know? Painful to watch. I will say this, though.

The stat of the weekend, Drew Brees and Michael Thomas before last night had nine completions together. It's amazing the Saints are here without their number one weapon. Because the Saints distribute the ball to everyone on the field. It's not great for fantasy,

unless you have Alvin Camara, but he throws it to whoever's open. Like, he's going to distribute the ball He doesn't feel compelled to push it to one person. I actually felt like it was kind of strange they didn't throw to Alvin Camara more. We have. Yesterday. But you got to give the Bears defense credit.

And I also didn't think that that game was on Mitchell Chubisky. I mean, he wasn't spectacular. But I mean, man, can you get anything going on offense? It was absolutely brutal to watch one third down conversion in a playoff game. That's unacceptable. Not that I expected much from the Bears yesterday. But the Bears defense did a great job. are averaging 30 points a game this season.

So hold them to that. Great. I love Chicago's defense was amazing for most of the night. Can't blame them. Fox bet has the Saints favored by three against the bucks next week. We'll be talking about that all week, I'm sure. So for the first time in 25 years, the bills have won a playoff game. I'm really glad that we called off that bet with Nick Wright. I would have been really nervous.

You would have been sweating. Hey, the Colts, say this about the Colts. I'll make a bet. They'll never be a seven seed again that talented. No, they're just, they need a quarterback. They are really well-schooled. They played a wonderful game. I mean, and look, Phil Pervers wasn't terrible.

He just, he's limited. Yeah, the second half didn't make, listen, Buffalo did what they did all year. They were very good situationally in key defensive spots. They're not a great defense. They didn't get any pass rush. But about three or four times in the red zone defensively, they made a plus. Well, Josh Allen had another strong performance. He was 26 to 35 for 324 yards, two passing touchdowns, and one rushing touchdown.

It was a little scary there for a second with Josh Allen. And then I felt like once he broke loose on that first run, I was like, okay, he's in the groove now. Well, it is interesting. If you watch Lamar in the first half and Josh Allen in the first half, when you watch these teams that come in his favorites, you know, they do let the game come to them a little. because you know they're telling Lamar and Josh. This is what the staff is telling them. Don't press. Right.

Don't, don't, don't. We'll ease you into the game. So your first quarter with both, you're like, that doesn't look like it did in the regular season, but that's because there's more at stake than the regular season. So you can tell Baltimore staff and Buffalo is like, listen, we're going to, the game's going to come to you. Warm it up a little bit. Yeah. The game's going to come to you.

Don't freak out. Well, the bills are favored by two and a half against the Ravens, according to Fox Bet, next week. I can't wait for this game. Bills favored by two and a half. I think I like Buffalo there. Yeah? Listen, I said Lamar's going to win a

playoff game. I didn't say he's going to win a bunch of them. He's got my homes and Josh out. We just have some great matchups though. All right. Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping the herd line news. The, you know, it's, if you

look at this weekend, defense, mostly dominated the weekend. The only little bit of a shootout feel, I did think, and by the way, I don't want to hear Cleveland Pittsburgh was a shootout. No, it wasn't. Cleveland was the better football team. A lot of that Pittsburgh stuff was prevent defense. I don't want to hear that it was close.

It wasn't close. But the one game that had a little back-and-forth offense was Tampa Bay. And if you want to know why Tom left New England, it's not because he didn't get along with Belichick. They reportedly didn't go to dinner once in 20 years. He wanted weapons. So that game was the classic, oh, Tyler Heineke's kind of scoring points here. They can't stop it.

Tom's like, I just need help. Remember the late Kobe Bryant threatened to lead the Lakers? It's not that he didn't like the Lakers. He kept saying, I need help. Tom wants to be the man. He doesn't want to be the only man. And Washington and Tampa got into a little bit of a shootout. And weapons.

Ronald Jones is out. Oh, we've got Leonard Fernette. By the way, the Leonard Fernett deal, did it pay off? That was the best Leonard Fernettes played all year. He was terrific. Howie Longs, a Hall of Famer, 13 NFL seasons, a Super Bowl champ among other things is joining us live. Brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing.

I never like to overreact on Monday, but we are moving into a 17-game regular season. And, I mean, it's not 14, what you grew up. Now it's 17. and you throw a preseason game in that's 18, postseason that's 19. And I watched Ben and I thought, he looks old. He doesn't look like a 19 game quarterback to me, Howie. Does he do you?

I thought, interestingly enough, I thought Ben looked more fresh from an arm perspective towards the end of the year. The question with Ben has always been, it's not talent. You know, when I look at Josh Allen, you can't help but think Ben. a young Ben, you know, and think back to what Ben was when he first got in the league. Ben, you know, if you believe what you read and what you hear, is not someone who necessarily is at some state-of-the-art facility training in the office. Right.

You know, if Ben is willing to rededicate himself to the point where he could come back and, you know, he's under contract and it's guaranteed money to the best of my knowledge, and they have to work something out because the cap number is significant. I would like to see Ben come back. I mean, I love watching Ben play I have over the years. He's been one of my favorite players to watch. Could I do without all the drama on the periphery? Yeah, sure.

But I love the way Ben plays. And it seemed like they struggled to find an identity during the course of the year. Were they a run team? They were 11 and O, but, you know, and I said it on our show, and people were looking at me like the RCA dog. You know, I just wasn't that impressed. And, and I felt like the good teams that they had beaten all had the ball at the end of the game with an opportunity to win the football game. Yep. I think they're just, you know, it's a well-run organization. Mike Tomlin is a great coach. I think their general manager is great. They do a great job drafting wide receivers.

The offensive line needs to be refreshed a bit. They need a true 1A running back who can give them that kind of a capability. I think the injuries in the front seven on defense, I think it hurt them both versus run on defense, and I think it hurt them in coverage because I'm a big proponent of pressure equals coverage. And they got so much pressure in the past with, you know, those booking outside linebackers and the loss it inside linebackers bay.

You know, Buffalo is an interesting team because I thought the Colts had the better running game, the better offensive line, the better overall defense. And then there was Josh Allen. Josh just sort of is the difference. I was talking to Chris Battle of the GM last night. He's so proud of his team, but you just can't duplicate what Josh Allen does. And I wonder watching Buffalo, and I sat there and I thought, I think the better team is Indy, but Josh is Mahomes.

He's just taking them to places nobody else in the planet can. Can a team carried by a star young quarterback? Can they overcome some of their limitations in Buffalo? I think you can if it's a well-run organization and you have, you know, I think pieces around him. And certainly the Diggs acquisition was huge for Buffalo. and it's so fascinating, and I'm fascinated by him, and I liked him coming out, and people were questioning the Wyoming schedule, your receivers there. He checked every box, full free, cannon firm, athletic, all of the, but the one thing that

he struggled with was accuracy, and when you talk to back, and you talk to general managers and coach is accuracy. And all of a sudden, he figured out how to throw the ball. I'm not sure, but the leap that he took physically, I think mentally and in terms of his ability to understand what they're doing and how to manipulate defenses and what he brings to the table, he's so big, he's so athletic.

As I said, he reminds me a lot of Ben, only he's running to run at times, but for the most part, he's running to throw. Yeah. So I was particularly happy with Lamar Jackson. I've said this before. There are certain sports narratives I buy into, and there are certain ones I don't. I think Lamar every year, you got a bunch of kids. I got kids.

With kids, you're looking for just incremental improvement in maturity. And every year with Lamar, I feel like he's like 10% better. and I thought those last couple drives, Howie, he was so mature, had great self-awareness of the clock. We've got a lead. Let's secure the ball. I thought his decision-making late was really, he couldn't have done that two years ago.

No rookie quarterback could have. So I was really happy for him because there's a lot of naysayers with Lamar. What did you see? Well, I think with most folks, when they don't understand something, they tend to be afraid of it and not like it. Lamar is in a league filled with the greatest athletes on the planet. And this is, and he's one of a handful of players over the last 20, 25 years he could say this about. He makes great athletes look average.

And you don't understand, well, how can he possibly continue to pull it down and go? He's not RG3, so much more physically, so much. stronger and thicker. And his ability to throw outside the numbers, I think, is underplayed. I think the ammo on him is crowd the middle of the field, forcing to throw outside the numbers. I think he, what he did over, you think about last year, they were kind of the front runner for most of the season.

They were playing from ahead, from a win-loss standpoint. what he had to do this year was so much more impressive. And you forget that he's younger than Joe Burroughs. When you think about what he had to do to get in the playoffs just to qualify, I think it takes him to another level and you forget how young this guy is. You know, if you look at who's in the playoffs now, it's mostly teams with quarterbacks on rookie deals. I mean, that's the reality.

Baker's on a rookie deal. Mahalm's still on that. Aaron's not obvious. It's either Hall of Fame guys mostly or quarterbacks on rookie deals. And then there's the Rams where Goff is not a Hall of Famer and he's not on the rookie deal. And they've done a lot. They've done a lot right, Howie.

But boy, when I watch the Rams, it is though they are, they don't feel great about Goff. Goff doesn't feel great about Goff. Can that kind of offense go to Green Bay and compete? Is Aaron Donald's at full strength? Yeah. I mean, no, that's a huge part. Jalen Ramsey, you know, the impact that he's had on them.

I think his play is infectious. I think you could make a case for him being defensive player in the year. And we saw there where Russ is trying to force the ball of DK Metcalf. And Russ was under pressure, you know, most of the year was carrying that football team early. But for the Rams, I think to me, and I've been saying this for the longest time, I, you know, listen, Jared Goff showed me a lot playing last week with two screws in his thumb, having surgery two weeks ago. Having done that, I know how painful it is, particularly the quarterback position, on his throwing hand. I mean, that says a lot about Jared Goff. That being said, I think they're a quarterback team, a quarterback away from being a true Super Bowl.

team. Yeah. And I think, I think Sean McVeigh has had to kind of, I don't want to say, and you know, Troy mentioned this in the broadcasts. He kind of felt like at times they were protecting Jared Goff in this offense. I've always felt like if the run game's working, the play action pass is working, and Jared Goff is on schedule, and you have free runners in the secondary, Jared Goff can throw the ball as well as anyone. If it's off schedule, if something's not right. He's not Josh Allen. He's not Lamar. He's not, you know, all the

quarterbacks who talk, hey, the kid out with the Chargers, I'm not so sure I wouldn't take him over a lot of guys. Howie Long, the Hall of Famer, 91.5 career sacks. It looks like you're in some beautiful, nice, warm, wintry place.

I don't know where it is, but it looks nice. That's all I know. We're at the top of the McDowell Mountains. up here in Scottsdale. Yeah. I knew it was somewhere nice. You know, you're our age, Colin. You should be.

You should be someplace that makes you happy. Park, pretty. You look happy. Howie, it's great seeing you. Good seeing you, partner. All right. Howie Long, good dude. Coming up next, my thoughts on Tom Brady.

My God, swear to a guy. He and LeBron, there's some serum that's hanging around America because they don't look. They're not aging. They're just not aging. I watched LeBron last night, not aging much either. Be sure to catch 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 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 which 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 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.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows, without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson,

we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flanks. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball, like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court,

and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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,

traders, 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?

Yeah. Just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion of the 50th season. From the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of Ha, ooh, ha, ha, ooh, again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into Pod Meets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Good to have you in. Thanks to Howie Long, who stopped by, top of next hour where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Ohio State and Alabama do play tonight. We'll have a lot of thoughts on that. Joel Clatt will be joining me next. hour. Can't wait for that one tonight. Ohio State and Alabama, as far as eye test goes, should be competitive. Very rarely in sports, do I make a prediction months in advance, and do you make a prediction? And it's almost right all the way down. It checks all the boxes.

And I was watching Brady win this weekend. I thought, this is one of the rare times. I mean, let's be honest, we all kind of admitted New England's offense probably wouldn't be very good. And we predicted Brady's going to have, just based on weapons and Bruce Ariens, more toys to play with. We all thought they would have a winning record, but probably wouldn't win the division, the Saints would. But we felt they were going to be a wild card team. We also felt they would probably be good enough to win a playoff game, but none of them. of us, most of us didn't think they were in the Super Bowl. We all thought, okay, there's no preseason. Tampa's defense is going to kind of have to carry the day until Thanksgiving.

And after that, they'll probably be pretty scary. Check, check, check, check, check. You were right on all of them. We were all right on all of them. This is what we thought they would look like. A team good enough to beat rebuilding Washington, a sketchy play. off team, but probably not good enough to go to New Orleans and beat the Saints and their underdogs. You know, there was always this, why is Brady leaving? One of the things that surprised me about Tom Brady leaving, because I thought he would stay, he's such a creature of habit. He loves habit. I mean, we saw the Tom Brady documentary sitting there, you know, a protein blueberry smoothie. I could just watch film all day. That doesn't seem like a guy that's going to uproot his face.

family and leave a dynasty. But he never left this dynasty because he didn't like Belichick. They were never tight. He just didn't want to be the only man. He loved being the man. We know that because his wife, Giselle, said, Tom just wants to be respected. He wanted to be the man.

He just didn't want to be the only guy. And if you go and look at what happened this weekend for Brady, it was the one game that had a shootout feel to it. Mike Evans had six catches, Cameron Brate had four, Chris Godwin 5, Antonio Brown, two key catches, Leonard Fernette for, Scottie Miller won, Gronk was great in red zone blocking, Brady only had to throw 40 times, he wasn't sacked much, 104 passer rating. Some of this is Brady has aged well because he's got great aging traits. But this is kind of what we all thought it would look like. This is one of the ones we got right. whiffed on the Minnesota Vikings.

I figured out the Steelers really were not as good by last night as even I predicted. I said they were an 8-and-8 team. They weren't even an 8-and-8 team last night. But in the end, this is the one prediction I think almost everybody was realistic about. Our expectations weren't Super Bowl. Our expectations weren't them trampling Seattle or Green Bay on the road in the playoffs or New Orleans. They're exactly where we thought they would be. and I think their season will come to an end next weekend against the Saints.

You know, the Rams situation is interesting because the Rams, obviously, it's hard to figure out how they scored 30 points. But the NFL is interesting. You can do, the Rams have done almost everything right since they moved to Los Angeles. The league's turning into an offensive league. They found this super smart young progressive offensive coach, home run, A plus higher. They've done an amazing job to draft running backs, wide receivers, tied ends in an increasingly weapons-driven league. They went and made a big splashy trade, Jalen Ramsey.

Oh, yeah, it's been great. And they kept Aaron Donald, extended his deal. They've done almost everything right. They've drafted well. They've traded well. they went head first into offense and weapons very well. The new stadium's amazing. And then there's the golf contract,

which is now a bigger cap hit. I kid you not, than all of the remaining AFC quarterbacks combined. But I defended Philadelphia with Carson Wentz's deal, and I defended the Rams with Goff's deal. but it just goes to show you you can do everything right in this league if you're staring at a big cap hit

and your quarterback has lost confidence you look like what the Rams will going to Green Bay this weekend a really tough game to win and by the way this is why Dallas keeps telling us they're going to sign DAC oh we'll take it and they can't quite pull the trigger

on the DAC deal. Because you can do everything right. But if you get a quarterback and he's real costly and he gets hurt or he loses confidence, it is a roadblock to everything else. Rams have done almost everything right. Everything, drafting, trading, coaching. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong next. 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 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. 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 Clifford 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 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam Jay. 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 podcast. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.