The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 01/15/2021 - HOUR 2 - Packers

Episode Date: January 15, 2021

The Packers are better than a lot of people thinkGuests: Gerald McCoy, Eric Wood 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

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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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversation. 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 Heard at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. It's our two. We're all loaded to bear here. Can't Wait, live in Los Angeles. It's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Fox Sports Radio, IHeart Radio, FS1. Gerald McCoy, the former Buccaneer and Cowboys. Career's Not Done is going to be joining us in a couple of minutes. Eric Wood, former

pro bowler for the Buffalo Bills. Akeed to leave joining us. Joy Taylor's joining me. Joy, how are you? I'm great. Really looking forward to this weekend. So my. Joy made herself a rum drink last night by yourself at home.

That's really experimental. These are the times that we're in. Yeah, I know. I like, where'd you go? Well, normally if I'm like just going to have dinner at home and I want something to drink, I'll just have wine. It just goes better with food. You went and just said, I'm going to make a...

Because if I have like a mixed cocktail, it's like I'm out at a restaurant and they have like a special cocktail menu. I'm like, I'll try that. Plus rum is not really. No. Be careful experimenting with rum. You're going to make sure rum is for you. It's not for me. So one is fine.

Let's start with this. Urban Myers, the coach at Jacksonville. Now, I think it's going to work. And I don't think it's going to take very long. Now, Urban only lost nine games in seven seasons at Ohio State. So he's not used to losing. but here's why I think it's going to work. To the level it works,

you know, to me, if he has winning records, if he leaves the NFL with a winning record, then it worked. You don't have to win Super Bowl. I mean, Marve Levy didn't win a Super Bowl. Marveevy's a great coach. You don't have to win Super Bowls. Can you get to Jason Garrett?

One playoff games, one division. That's a successful NFL run. Nobody except Belichick lasts anywhere in this league. Andy Reid got fired. Everybody gets fired. Pete Carroll got fired twice. Belichick got fired in Cleveland. So here's why I think it was.

it works. College football in the NFL did not even resemble each other in the 50, 60, 70s. College football was running wishbones. And then in the 80s and 90s, college football started kind of looking like the NFL. I mean, you watch the games. It's like, okay, you drop back, you pass. You have three receivers. Steve Spurrier implemented stuff.

You know, even in the South, it was like, okay, four wide. College football in the NFL looked very similar now. They look very similar. And I don't think it's going to take that long. I think he doesn't have to change his playbook. He's got to be a little more patient. But Bill O'Brien went from 2 and 14 to 9 and 7. That's what he took the Texans.

2 and 14, he got there. They went 9 and 7. Fast. Bill O'Brien won his division four times. Chip Kelly went 10 and 6, 10 and 6 with a quirky college system. He's a better coach than both those guys. Now, I do think the first year is going to be rough. He's learning the NFL and Trevor Lawrence is a rookie.

I think if Jacksonville had a veteran, Kirk Cousins, Derek Carr-level quarterback, he would win year one. It's going to be a bumpy first year. There are a lot of skeptics and a lot of cynics. I'm not one of them. I think he's a significantly better coach than guys who have gone college like Chip Kelly and won games. Now, Peter King, very respected media guy, came on this show a couple of weeks ago. He has his doubts about Urban Meyer. This guy has been a great coach on the college level, Urban Meyer.

He's never been less than three games over 500 in any year he's ever coached. And I just would ask this question, you know, how are you going to like losing in Jacksonville? And I'm not saying you can't win in Jacksonville, you can. But you will undergo significant days and weeks and maybe months of losing. That's just the way it is. Now, I just don't think it's going to be losing as long as everybody else thinks. I look at Chip Kelly. I look at Kevin Stefansky, who'd never been a high school head coach.

I look at Brian Flores. I don't think the NFL and college football are as different as they used to be. And by the way, Big Ten football has never been as spread-oriented as the Big 12. So Big Ten football's power running in defense. That's what he's done everywhere he's been. he's coached a lot of NFL players. I think the first year is going to be a little rocky, but it's a division that's winnable.

There's no Patrick Holmes in that division. There's no Aaron Rogers. There's no Russell Wilson. There's Deshaun Watson who wants out of the division. Outside of that, Philip Rivers, Ryan Tannahill, guys that don't feel like they'll be in their places forever. I think he's going to do fine. I think successful people as a rule,

what they struggle with is patience. That's what Urban's going to struggle with for a year. Patience. I don't think he's going to struggle with a playbook. He's a curious guy. He'll figure it out. But you're going to go six and ten. And that's more losses than you've had in one season in your life.

In fact, he's never had more than five. So can he just understand a little bit? It's a process. It's going to take a year. I don't think it's that difficult. I don't think we're asking Urban Meyer to lose for four years. I don't think he will. Bill O'Brien and Chip Kelly won fast.

They've got some good offensive pieces. They get Trevor Lawrence. They got a bunch of draft picks. They've got a ton of cap space. I say one year in, he's going to be going into a second draft, second free agency period with new facilities. They're going to be a pretty decent team.

Gerald McCoy played in the NFL for 10 years. He was a pro bowler for six of them. And what Urban Meyer needs is more Gerald McCoys. And his career is not over. And he is now joining us live on a Friday. By the way, so this is interesting. you know Brady very well and you also know, because you played in Tampa, you know the Saints roster very well.

And we're asking the Saints now, Gerald, beat Brady in the Bucks three times in a season. That's a big ask. It is. It is, Gerald. Do you think it's, will it be hard to get Saints players motivated knowing they not only beat them twice, Gerald, they thumped Tampa Bay twice? I don't think it's going to be hard to motivate the players, but I think it is going to be hard to win this game as easily as the outside world

is thinking it's going to be. I love the bucks. I always will, always have. So I went back and watched these games. And the Sunday night game, it was bad. Okay, 383 had the card timeout to kick the field goal just so they didn't get goose egged. But opening day was a lot closer than people think. You know, the Bucks had no offseason like everybody else,

but this is a new group, new office with Tom Brady. They're implementing a lot of different things. So they made a lot of mistakes. But the game was actually a lot closer than people think. And the Bucks are hitting their stride. I think the Bucks, Baltimore, Buffalo, those three teams probably hit their stride at the end of the, year and came into the playoffs with the most momentum.

So it's going to be difficult for the Saints to pull this one out as easy as people are thinking. And opening day, no Antonio Brown. The second game, it was his first game playing. Now he's comfortable with the system. Let's see what happens. Ah, very interesting. Raven's Bills is fascinating.

So I've been on the Bills bandwagon for about two and a half months. That said, I love Lamar Jackson. I don't get the credit. critics. But I do wonder, when I look at Lamar, I do wonder Josh Allen is kind of the same quarterback leading behind. Even though Lamar won playing from behind, I think he's better playing with a lead. I kind of feel like Baltimore's finally going to hit their ceiling this week, and I'm going to take Buffalo. What do you make of Josh Allen? What do you make of the Bills? If I'm correct, I think you're a Bills fan this year too. Yeah, yeah, I got I got Buffalo.

picked Buffalo to go to the Super Bowl. I picked Buffalo over Kansas City because I just like the Josh Allen, Stefan Diggs dynamic. Josh Allen, you know, I was talking to one of my close family friends the other day and he said he believed Josh Allen may have

made the biggest jump from last year to now with what he's been able to do. And I said, I don't know. I think the biggest jump we probably seen was probably Lamar Jackson from year one to year two. But Josh Allen has made huge strides. And the reason I picked Buffalo over Kansas City to go to Super Bowl is because Kansas City has been a little rocky.

They've been winning, but they've been a little rocky going into the playoffs. They don't have a lot of momentum. Patrick Mahomes hasn't thrown a game day pass in over three weeks. And Buffalo, man, they ended the season so hot. And they kept it going, you know, in the first round of playoffs, man. I love Lamar Jackson. I think he's got the most dynamic legs we've ever seen in this league. And he doesn't turn the ball over and takes care of the ball.

They might can pull this thing out. But I'm leaning towards Buffalo. So let me ask you, your point about Kansas City is interesting. We all kind of consider them. I mean, it's like they've won one Super Bowl and everybody has annoyeded them a dynasty. And it's like, hey, that Seahawk dynasty didn't last as long as we thought. the Harbaugh-Niner dynasty. They never, ever do.

Let me ask you, taking time off, I'm sure in your career you got injured or took a week off, off a bye, can even a great player get rusty and never get in sync over the course of three hours? Do you think that's a real concern for Mahomes in Kansas City against Cleveland? Yeah, I do. It can happen. You know, I'm not saying it's going to happen. You know, I love Andy Reid. I always been a fan to Andy Reid. And he's made everybody he's coached better.

You take a talent like Patrick Mahomes, the arm talent we've never seen before. Probably closest thing is a Dan Marino or Aaron Rogers. But you take a talent like that and put them under Andy Reed. They're going to be hard to stop. But momentum is real. And going into the playoffs with momentum is real. We've seen it over the years. A team could come in Rusty.

Even though the other team is not better, they could play better that day because they're hitting their strike. They have the most momentum. Look at the Giants when they made that Super Bowl run. Look at the Packers when Aaron Rogers made his Super Bowl run. You see a lot of teams coming to the playoffs with momentum. They play a team that people expect to win, but they don't have that momentum. And you sit to start us for three weeks, they could be rusty.

And Cleveland, man, they can run that ball. And if they can control the clock and get an early lead, Kansas City can come back. They're the offense that can't come back if anybody can. if they can control that clock and Baker can hit all his throws on third air, I think this could be an upset. Yeah. So you go and play in Tampa, it's warm weather. And occasionally maybe once, twice a year, late in the year, you've got to go play a cold weather game.

And I look at those soft L.A. Rams going up to L.A. 72 degrees in L.A. You tell me, can weather affect, because you were a warm weather player, can weather affect? a team in the NFL in the playoffs? Yeah, weather can, but you mean, mental toughness is stronger than weather to me. You know, if you got mental toughness, then weather doesn't affect you. It's about how bad do you want it. Now, some team may be used to it, and they may never have to adjust to the weather,

but if a team is mentally tough, it may take a few drives to adjust to the weather, but then it's just football. You know, I wouldn't use the weather. word soft at L.A. Rams as long as Aaron Donald's there, you know, just saying. But I think the Packers do have the advantage in this game. And my three favorite players in the league, Aaron Rogers, Aaron Donald, and Levante David. Unfortunately, two of my favorites are going against each other, but if I have to pick one out of three, I'm not betting against 12. You know, Aaron Rogers is just that guy. If the Packers can run the ball, then I think the Rams will have a long day,

because then Aaron can do his thing. And, you know, I just think it's going to be a long day. I hope AD plays well. You know, I know he has the injury, but he's a warrior. He's something we've never seen before in this league. So I'm sure he's going to overcome, and it's just going to be a great game. By the way, let me ask you about your rehab. You played 10 years.

You were a pro bowl or six. Everybody in this league wants a defensive tackle. You're not done playing, right? No, I'm not done by a long stretch. you know, a lot of people, I've been getting this question, you know, are you going to retire? Are you done? And I'm like, because I got injured. Am I the first person to be 10 years in and get injured? If you ask me, am I done or going to retire? I'm kind of taking that as disrespect because that means you was kind of thinking I was about to be done in the first place. So instead of getting angry and taking this disrespect, I'm going to use this motivation. It's a blessing in disguise. I got a lot left. And now I'm motivated to just show that. You know, Anybody who's listening, I've got a lot left, and I'm ready to rock. And you're a good dude, good locker room guy as well. By the way, I don't need to talk about anybody specifically, but I do think NFL and college football, Gerald, look more the same than they ever have.

Matt ruled, it doesn't matter who it is, I used to be, if a college guy went to the NFL as a coach, I was like, it's not going to work. Increasingly, I'm like, I think it can work. I mean, you tell me, will veteran NFL players struggle with a college guy when they walk in the locker room? It just all depends on the coach. You know, I was listening here earlier, and you were saying how the game is transitioning. And the college game and the NFL games becoming very similar. That's why we're seeing more Lamar Jackson's. Yeah.

We're seeing more columnaries because the game is evolving. Now, it's up to the coach. these players want to win. And when you bring in a coach, they're going to initially say, okay, let me humble myself, see what they have to say and buy in. Okay.

It's all about the coach and how they approach the players. You have to understand. You're not talking to kids anymore. These are grown men. You may be talking to a guy like me. I got five children. I've been married eight years.

You can't talk to me any kind of way. You know what I'm saying? But some coaches try it. And it doesn't work. And I think the times where you see, a coach who's a great coach in college, it doesn't work in NFL, I don't think they understand the dynamic. If you talk to these players as grown men, as NFL players, guys, you make a lot of money who have families at home, kids just like you, I think guys would be more willing to buy

in and great coaches can adapt. And when you're a great coach, it doesn't matter the environment, you learn to adapt. And if they can understand that dynamic between college and NFL, NFL players, then I absolutely believe that college coaches can be successful in the NFL. Yeah. Gerald McCoy is a free agent defensive tackle. If you are one of those franchise could use a little beef, a little intelligence, a little moxie, that's the guy you got to go get. And your rehab's going well?

You feel good? I feel great. And I appreciate you guys having me on. I'm in the middle of rehab right now. I'm working out, but I consider you guys family. Absolutely. So I took a break to talk to my long-distance cousin, my cousins. Joy and Colin, I love you guys.

You know, we're family. We're distance apart, but long-distance cousins. Always going to be family. Thank you guys for having me, and I'm feeling great. All right. Ten years, six Pro Bowls, go sign him. Easy guy to root for Gerald McCoy. Thanks, man.

Appreciate it. Thank you. All right. Awesome. Good dude. We got a lot of stuff today. Eric Wood, former Pro Bowl or Buffalo Bill. We had a defensive lineman on.

Let's bring on a big husky from the offensive side as we get ready for an incredible weekend. Also, I think the Packers, you know, it's funny. It's hard to be a number one seed and be a little undervalued. I think because of the way the Packers got rolled last year twice by the Niners, I think we're forgetting something about Green Bay. I want to talk about that coming up next. One more herd?

The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the iHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say

it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to

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

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clivert 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 Clivert 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people. people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway

with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Tomorrow on Fox, the Rams take on the Packers.

Coverage begins at 2.30 Eastern. Then on Sunday, Tom Brady and the Bucks square off with Drew Brees and the Saints at 6 Eastern, the NFL divisional playoffs, presented by TurboTax Live on Fox and the Fox Sports app. Big event. Oh, oh, oh, there's another. big event this weekend. It's Joy's birthday.

And we have a special present for Joy. We do? Yes, come on, bring it out. Folks, we... Now, what kind of pie is that? Is this key lime pie? It's a key lime pie. Oh my god, amazing. Thank you. Thank you, Greg.

That's all. That is, that's my favorite pie. It's my favorite dessert. I remember, I think I've told you this. You lived in Miami, so it's got it. It's an incredible dessert because it doesn't feel it's not heavy. So the first time I ever had it, I interviewed for a job in Tampa. I went to the Hyatt and they had

a restaurant down, so I'd never had it. I can remember where I was. Remember turning to the guy. It was Daniel Webster was the news director. I'm like, this is the greatest thing I've ever eaten in my life. Because it's a key lime pie. We have it like three times a week. I'm like, I'm from like Seattle. We don't eat this stuff. Yeah, they don't have key lime pie

in Seattle. Thank you guys. Thank you very much. My birthday's on Sunday. I appreciate that. Thank you. We don't ask AIDS. You look a radiant as ever. It's on the internet. It's fine. But thank you. I am going to eat this, actually. Thank you. Joy Taylor with the news. No. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. So the Bucs lost the Saints both times they played in the regular season. Their last matchup was particularly bad. The Bucks were blown out at home 38 to 3. But Tom Brady says we're going to see a different Bucks team on this

Sunday night. Well, I think we've certainly come a long way. I think we're just going to keep improving. The more we're together, the more we're talking about football, the more we're trying to be on the same page, the better it is. And we got a big test this weekend, one of the great teams in the NFL, and consistently been one of the great teams for a long time. And we're going to have to go play a great football game.

By the way, Antonio Brown not there for the first matchup. First game as a buck in the second matchup. So he's become clearly a more disruptive force for that offense. He's actually the key to this game to me. That's a very significant factor. It takes a little time to get things going. I had a lot of questions about if this was even going to work. He has clearly bought in, and it is working,

and the Bucks finished the regular season, 5 and 2. After that blowout loss to the Saints, and Brady was 22 of 40, 381 yards, and two touchdowns against Washington, which admittedly was a blowout. But listen, Washington has a great defense. So Taylor Heineke had a exciting game. They actually, I feel like, played better than the Saints played against the Bears. Now, the Bears have been known to make it ugly.

But so does Washington. And they weren't. No, I think it's close. I'll still take the Saints. But I don't think this game will look. Listen, Tampa's had five straight great weeks. If nothing else, they think they're really. good. I love the Saints.

I love the Saints before the season. I picked them to go to the Super Bowl before the season. But this is the game this weekend that has the most upset possibility to me. Oh my God. Can you imagine if Brady first year leaving New England gets to the NFC championship? That's just going to be

delicious. That's 10 segments next week. I mean, it's no disrespect to the Saints' defense. I think they're amazing. And obviously, their offense is very dynamic. I just think that this is the game. I just think that This is the game that will be the closest, will be a shootout, and maybe the upset.

I don't see the Browns upsetting the Chiefs, but Odell would disagree. The Browns pulled off the shocking upset of the Steelers last week. The upset to me last week wasn't as shocking as the way the upset happened. Yeah, 28-0-0 lead. Yes. But a lot of people are counting them out on Sunday against the Chiefs, and Odell won't be playing,

but he has a lot of confidence in his team. He tweeted, don't be surprised this weekend when they win, just throwing it out there now. So he is still behind the brownies. They are 10-point underdogs to the chiefs, according to Foxbet, which neither one of us can seem to figure out why that spread is so big. I do think that they cover. I don't think they're going to win by 10.

But that's not really a knock on the chiefs to me. Like, it's the NFL. I think we've gotten a little, and maybe this is a product of us building the chiefs up so much that we expect the chiefs to blow everybody out. I think we like, we're sports opinion. You were more of a reporter into the opinion space. I was always just sort of a loudmouthed. But I think we're all rooting for the same thing.

We just like fascinating and interesting and fun. In Kansas cities, all of those. And so we're kind of like thinking, okay, we just came out of a boring dynasty where it was about efficiency and picking up third downs into this Golden State Warrior-type shack Kobe-type dynasty. And I've got to be honest for it.

A lot of people in the media are rooting for it. And it's also it's Midwest. It's Andy Reed. It's very fun. Everyone's likable. There's no villains. No, they're really, everybody wants to see Green Bay in Kansas City, Indianapolis. It's fun. It's the small market, middle of the country. It fits sort of the NFL shield, which is market size is irrelevant. Tough football.

I love the Chiefs. I just, I don't know why it's expected of them to win by two scores in every single game when most NFL games are decided by three points. Like, they haven't blown anybody out, which is, as of recent, which is why the spread is so strange to me. Like, I don't think they're going to blow the Browns out, but I do think that they will win. So soon we'll get to see how Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Hardin played together in Brooklyn. And GM, Sean Mark, said the three stars have made it clear they want to play together, and he is confident they're going to make it work.

They understand that there's, without a doubt, going to be some nights where one or two need to sacrifice for the other and so forth. But I think they're all looking for that common goal. We're all looking for that common goal. I spoke to Kai and Kevin yesterday as this was going down, getting their thoughts. And I enjoyed hearing that conviction. And, you know, we've got some time to see how it translates onto the court. It's a lot of first going on in this situation in Brooklyn.

The one thing I'll say is everyone's kind of comparing a situation to the heat and the last time that Brooklyn did this is a very different situation. First of all, don't compare the heat to anything. The heat already had a championship. They had Pat Riley. Great culture. They had a great culture. Wade was already there, had already won a championship there.

Functional players. It's not the same thing. So just stop comparing to that. Highly functional players. It's not the same thing. James Hardin, obviously, and Kevin Durana played together before. That was a long time ago, and they were two different players. So they are familiar with each other.

So there is that. Kyrie Irving is out here skipping work to go to birthday parties during a pandemic, which we now know is the case because he's been fined and he wouldn't have been fined if that didn't happen. Right. Maybe it wouldn't find him. So we know that that's going on in the middle of the season, in the middle of a pandemic. Yeah. With very strict health protocols, he's taking time off to go to birthday parties.

Okay. So, and I'm saying that with the tone, I'm saying it, because people miss stuff all the time in this, during this pandemic. You can't go to the birthday party. Yeah. Zoom in. Just, we figured out a way, I went to a Zoom wedding this year. One of my best friends, it was fine. She's very happy.

We all figured it out. So there's a lot to put together. On top of the fact, they have a first. time head coach. Yes. Who has not established a culture there, clearly, because Kyrie is skipping work to go to birthday parties. To me, it works.

If Kevin Durant, he's the best player, if Kevin Durant's got to really make it work, and by the way, in the end, LeBron couldn't solve the riddle of Kyrie, so LeBron couldn't, and that's what he does better than anybody since Magic has kind of

solved the chemistry issues. You know, Magic entered the league with Kareem. Kareem was kind of prickly. and a legend and could be difficult and magic's like putting his arm around him and they're hugging like Magic and LeBron figure stuff out always did and LeBron struggled at the end of

figure Kyrie out so can Kevin? I think it's tough I think I picked them to win the East before the season started but that was because of Kevin Durant I have a lot more faith in Kevin Durant than I think most people do especially coming off of that injury a great player I James Harden has to get in shape and they have to

figure out a way to make this chemistry work and in basketball I think more than any other sport chemistry is so important. In the NFL, if you don't get along with the quarterback, your receiver, you're probably gone. Like, he's the one who's getting you the ball. Right. The three of them have to find a way to do it. And to Sean Mark's point, people have to sacrifice. And that's not even talking about the rest of the team who all have to find a way to play their role to the best of their ability. We're just talking

about those three. Would make teams that had three great players work like the Miami Heat is all of the role players knew exactly what they were supposed to do and did it to the best with their ability. There's a lot of moving parts here. You know, I had a GM tell me 15 years ago in the NBA. It's not about getting stars. It's about getting the right stars. That's why Bosch, LeBron, and Wade worked. High functioning. You know, they're selfless guys, all understood sort of, you know, I mean, they kind of understood the world beyond just hoops. Like, can we get along? We're villains. I don't see that functionality with these guys. But we'll see. I mean, it's interesting. I'll watch. I'll watch. And I think Hardin won't take long to get into shape. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. We talked about this earlier this week. There are narratives in sports that I do buy into. Like James Hardin's game is not going to work in the playoffs. I believe that. I've watched that I see it.

I just don't think you can be that ball-centric and play 100 games over the course of a season. And I think you, as the late Kobe Bryant told James Harden, man, you've got to change that game. You've got to pass more. It's just a hard game. We've seen Westbrook, the Energizer Bunny, run out of gas. You know, you got to pass the ball more. You got to be a little more LeBron. You got to pass it. Give others opportunities. But there are other narratives I don't buy. And the kind of Aaron Rogers carries the Packers, I think because the way they lost last year and they got mauled and were

overwhelmed by San Francisco, we tend to think this team doesn't have a ton of talent. But Green Bay's got more talent, more veteran talent than the Rams. The Packers had seven pro bowlers. The Rams had two. I went this morning and I put the top ten points. players in this game in terms of talent. So Green Bay has number one Aaron Rogers, number four, Devonthe Adams, Alexander the corner number five, Aaron Jones number six, Corey Lindley, the offensive lineman, eight, Zadaria Smith, 11. So they have six of ten.

So the four Rams are Aaron Donald, Jalen Ramsey, Andrew, or John Johnson, the safety. But if David Bakhtiari would have been here, the left tackle, they would have had seven of 11. Seven of the 11 best players, to me, are Packers. So the Rams have some very promising, talented young players. But when you get into guys who have been in the league, and this is what wins in the playoffs, four years or longer, these are 27-year-old men, Green Bay has got more good players. Also, Kenny Clark for the Packers, defensive tackle, did not make a Pro Bowl, but he's really good.

And the safety, Adrian Amos for the Packers, did not make the Pro Bowl, but he's really good. So if you look at the Packers, in every unit except tied end, quarterback pro bowler, running back pro bowler, wide receiver pro bowler, offensive line two pro bowlers, linebacker pro bowler, cornerback pro bowler, defensive line, Kenny Clark, about as good as you can be and not make a pro bowl. Outside a tight end, every unit's got pro bowlers. You can't say that with the Rams. I think the Rams have tremendous young talent. And I think they have a deeper wide receiving core. But I just don't buy this that Aaron's carrying. There's a reason they're a touchdown favorite, and it's not because it's cold.

Packers have better players, and especially better veteran players, and I think they win this game by more than a touchdown. 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, 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, 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.

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Eric Wood is a former Buffalo bill. Played there for nine years. He made a Pro Bowl. And it's interesting because Buffalo's lines over the week, their O and D lines got pushed around a lot by the Colts. And here comes Jacksonville with, excuse me, here comes Baltimore with Lamar Jackson, feeling confident, very unique contrarian style of offense.

And Eric Wood, the former Bill and Pro Bowler, is now joining us live. So let's go back to last weekend. Any concern for you that the bills on both lines at times felt a little overwhelmed? A little bit, especially the lack of pass rush in the last game. Philip Rivers had zero. They didn't sack him at all. really didn't even hardly knock him down. So the lack of pass rush from the defensive line I thought was concerning.

As far as offensively, you know, I thought the offensive line played a solid game. You know, the Buffalo Bills aren't going to road grade anybody. That's not what they're looking to do this year. They're looking to throw the ball around. Josh Allen may have got some happy feet. I feel like the bills came out just to touch tight in that game. Yeah. Maybe that comes with a 13 and 3 record.

You're a home favorite by six and a half points and you're expected to win your first playoff game in 25 years. I thought they were a little tight early on. I thought Josh maybe scrambled outside the pocket a little quick, but as the game went on, they really settled in. Now, let's talk about Lamar Jackson. You can't really, Eric, I think one of the issues facing Lamar is you can't duplicate it at practice. You know, you can go watch film all day, but when those first couple of plays for Lamar Jackson, it's a video game.

There's nothing like it. Right. Kind of your sense of what Buffalo needs to do defensive. to slow down Lamar. Yeah, so I'm super familiar with Lamar. He went to my college, alma mater, University of Louisville. I played in Greg Roman's offense in Buffalo. Their offensive line coach, Joe D'Alessandras, was on Chan Galee staff in Buffalo.

This is a Baltimore offense I'm super familiar with. And this Buffalo defense played extremely well against Baltimore in 2019 when they set the whole league on fire, and Lamar Jackson was the unanimous MVP of the league. they held Lamar to under 200 yards of total offense, which in 2019 was completely unheard of. And I thought what Buffalo did a good job of was they didn't completely abandon what they do defensively. I played under Greg Roman. We had Tyrod Taylor. We watched a lot of film of when he had Colin Kaepernick with the 49ers.

When teams try to match speed with speed at the quarterback position, we would simply run them over. When they would put safeties that could maybe match Tyrod's speed in the box, would just crush them. We'd run power right at them. So what the bills did last year is they played very disciplined ball and what got them in last year's game was play action passes. They had Mark Andrews go down the seam for a 75-yard touchdown and that ended up costing them the game. Yeah, you know, it's interesting. You know Lamar because you went to Louisville and he went to Louisville, so you've heard all the stories. One of the things I like about him is, and I have enough kids in my life, with kids, I'm always looking for small incremental growth. I don't expect, you know,

kids to go from, you know, immature to wildly mature at 17, 18 years old. And one of the things I like about Lamar is the first year he came and he felt thin. Next year he comes back, he looks thick. I thought last year he became a more patient thrower. This year, I thought he got better in the red zone situationally. I mean, when you, coming into the league, did you expect Lamar to be this dynamic? What did you heard? What have you seen?

You know, I knew that with the right offensive coordinator, he, could have great success in the NFL, no doubt about it. Just watching him what he did in college. And, you know, and that wasn't against slouch teams. It was Florida State teams with multiple NFL defenders on it. He was still making plays. I knew he could. But if you tried to fit Lamar into just a prototype NFL offense, sit in the pocket and throw the football, he wasn't going to excel, especially early. When I found out that he was going to Baltimore, their run game coordinator at the time was Greg Roman. They ended up promoting him to offensive coordinator after Lamar's first year. And I knew that that was a match made in heaven.

Would I have guessed that he'd be the unanimous MVP in a second year? Probably not, just because it doesn't happen that often in the National Football League. But what he was able to do, excelling in that offense with them building the entire offense around his skill set, allowed him to just flourish early. Eric Wood does some radio analysts work as well for the bills who are on fire. And we have said for the last six, seven weeks, we think they're the best team in the NFL. couple of broad questions here. You tell me, I think Urban Meyer's going to work mostly because I think he's a culture builder. And the NFL game looks more like the college game, and it didn't in the 50s, 60, 70s, and 80s. But I do have a question. Go to the end of your career, your eighth, your

ninth year. If a college guy would have walked in, would you have been cynical? Because I do wonder about how veterans view a college coach. Yeah, and this is a college coach that's never been in the NFL to give you some perspective, Colin, I was there in Buffalo when we brought in Doug Marone, who was previously the head coach at Syracuse. But Doug had been in the NFL. He was under Sean Payton in New Orleans. He had some different staff. So he had NFL experience.

It's a little bit different. I think with Urban Meyer, it's going to be about getting coordinators that truly understand the NFL game. And not that Urban Meyer can't run an offense that would excel in the National Football League. It's just I would be a lot more confident in success. if he brings in coordinators that have NFL experience. All that said, I think he is a culture builder, like you said. He's the third winningest coach of all-time win percentage-wise in college football.

And I reached out to a former teammate of mine in Buffalo, Brandon Spikes, who played on the national champion Florida teams. And I said, hey, you think Urban is going to be able to treat guys at the NFL level like they need to be treated? If that makes sense, you know, Sabin didn't do well, you know, hopping into the NFL. And from what I've heard, it's a lot about how he treated guys. And Spike said, if you are a baller, he will treat you right.

And so in Jacksonville, I would assume that some of the young guys are going to get the college urban Meyer treatment. But I'd imagine that at this point of his life, he knows how to treat those vets in the way that they want to be treated. Finally, Eric Wood, give me your upset. Which game to you do you look at and think, okay, underdog, this is tasty. Where's the upset for you this weekend? man i mean history would say there's going to be one i would love for it to be the browns over kansas city but i just don't see that happening and the reason i would love for that to happen

would be because then buffalo if if they got a win against baltimore that would give them their third playoff game you know i guess just based upon uh my experience with him in the past and know what he can do in the in the playoffs i guess if i had to pick one i'd say tom brady pulling that upset there. You've got the Rams, their defense is so good. But with Jared Goff and his thumb, I just don't love them getting the win in Lambo. And then I'm not going to pick against my bills. I've done enough media this week. And I don't give, we're not making bets on here. It doesn't be no good, not to blow my Homer status on here. So I guess give me Tom Brady and the bucks if I had to pick one. By the way, last question, you were in a playoff game before. Is it

different? Do you get, I mean, did you feel a little different in a playoff? game. Yeah, definitely. And throughout my career, I'd always heard that from the preseason to the regular season, it goes up a notch, whether that's intensity, speed of the game, the stakes are higher. Going to the playoffs, it goes up another notch. And I got to only experience in one game. And I feel like with Buffalo last week, having most of their team back from the year before, when they blew that 16 to nothing lead against Houston, I think that benefited them a lot last week. I thought they, even though they came out a little tight, it wasn't like they were making bonehead mistakes. It wasn't like they were caught off guard by anything.

I think they were more prepared, and that's where playoff experience could be a tremendous asset for teams. Good stuff, Eric. We'll talk soon. Go Bill's. Thanks, man. Appreciate it. Yeah, my pleasure. Thanks for having me. That's the smallest spread. That's two and a half. So the odds makers think Baltimore beating Buffalo is the most likely upset. I don't. I actually like the only game I played this weekend. I took the Packers, minus six and a half against the Rams. I like Green Bay to win that game by a touchdown or more. But if I was forced to take a second game, I would take Buffalo. I think a lot of the Sharp, a lot of the wise guy money is on the Ravens. But I think the Colts offensive line is

so good that it makes Buffalo's defense look worse than it is. And so I think Buffalo's defense will play a less dominant O line. They'll be more spirited. They've got that one. Playoff when done, I suspect Buffalo is going to win that game. Buffalo is really good. Buffalo is a really good team and they're playing with great confidence. Go the extra mile in your very own upfitted Mercedes-Benz van. Yep, six TVs, swivel, chairs, grills. All you have to do is go to Fox Sports Radio.com.

Enter by January 24th, it's Fox Sports Radio's ultimate tailgate rig sweepstakes. Mercedes-Benz vans. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guide, 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, S&L'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. 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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to and learn the hard. way with your favorite therapist and host, Kier Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

A win is a win. win is a win. I don't care what you're 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, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrating. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clivert Show on the I-Heart Radio app,

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