The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 01/21/2021 Best of The Herd

Episode Date: January 21, 2021

-Why would Deshaun Watson allow a trade to the Jets?-Aaron Rodgers has the easiest path to titles the next 5 years-Typical game for Kyrie Irving, scores but plays no defense and loses-Colin creates a standard for the NFL Hall of Fame that will keep a lot of players outGuests: Greg Cosell, NFL FilmsTom, Rinaldi, FOX Sports Broadcaster & Sideline Reporter Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Thursday, lively as ever in Los Angeles. This is The Herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on Fox Sports Radio,

IHeart Radio and FS1, one hour from now. Doesn't get any better than Greg Kosel. You bet football, play fantasy football, or just, love to get smarter. Four decades at NFL films. Greg Cosell is joining us. And 16-time Emmy winner, Tom Rinaldi's on the show today. Known Tom for a long, long time.

Great guys. Joy Taylor's joining me. It's really fast, right? What's that? This week went really fast. It really did. Tom Rinaldi called me a month before he was coming to Fox. And he asked me a question.

And we talked for about 15 minutes. I've known Tom for a long time. And I got off the phone and I was like, I wonder why he called me for that question. And then he signed with Fox. Oh. When friends, and I hadn't heard Tom in a long time. And I'm like, that's great to hear from you. And he asked me a question.

And we prattled on for 15 minutes. And I want to know, Tommy became a teammate. And by the way, he's already done his first story. And he was amazing. Yeah, like just get your tissues out for, you know, an hour and a half from that. So do you get like a finder's fee, a recruiting fee? Exactly. Thank you, Joy Taylor. You know, I was thinking about this.

Yesterday I had to drive around and do a bunch of stuff. So I was listening to all sorts of sports talk radio and, you know, just everybody chopping it up. You know, I was thinking a lot of people talking about Deshawn Watson. And in fact, Richard Sherman, great, you'll be a Hall of Fame player, right? He's talking about Deshawn Watson. Everybody's like, you should get out of there and you should go to the Jets with their new coach, Robert Sala. Here was Richard Sherman on a Chris Collinsworth podcast. It would be the most beautiful.

Decent offensive line. They'd have to find threats. They'd have to find some offensive weapons. But I think there would be a lot more people excited to be there. I think the free agency market this year is going to be oversaturated because of the salary cap. But that's what I would do. I would be out of there on the first thing smoking. Okay.

I know the teams. It would work with the teams. The Jets have a lot of draft picks. and the Texans need draft picks. And the Jets have a lot of cap space and the Texans don't have any. I can make an argument for the teams. Has anybody asked Deshawn Watson?

Since Deshawn Watson entered the NFL, not only have the Jets failed to make the playoffs, they have the worst record in the league, worse than Detroit. That's what Deshawn Watson sees. In fact, in the last, decade, the Houston Texans have made the playoffs seven times, excuse me, seven winning seasons and six division titles.

That's the last decade. The Jets have one winning season. Nobody's asking Deshawn Watson about this. And remember, because he's a star quarterback, he has a no trade clause. He doesn't want to go to the Jets, does he? If I ask you, who are the five most dysfunctional teams in the NFL? NFL today. You know what you'd find? Most of them were dysfunctional 15 years ago. Why? Because they've had the same owner. Unless you get rid of the owner, you don't get rid of the dysfunction.

That's why Cleveland for years and years could, they changed a lot of stuff. They had to go through so many coaches and quarterbacks. They finally appear to have the right coach because they had the same owner. So if I'm the agent of Deshaun Watson, no. I'm not letting him go to the Jets. Go look at the Jets roster. Where is it better? than the Texans. I found one position, punter. And if you are playing for the Jets and you're a punter,

you get a lot of work. But offensive line, Texans, actually. They have a star left tackle. Jets don't have a star anywhere in the O line. Receivers, Texans. Will Fuller, Brandon Cooks, that's way better than anything the Jets have. Jameson Crowder's a slot guy.

Doesn't run particularly well. Running back, Texans. Tight end. Texans, where are they better? Jets didn't have a pro bowler last year. That's hard. I mean, it's not baseball where everybody gets an all-star for the all-star game, but they didn't have a pro-bowler. There's a lot of places Deshawn Watson could go. Miami's a great fit. Indianapolis is an unbelievable fit. Texans aren't going to trade them in division. New England's a good fit, San Francisco potentially. But something lost in all this.

Everybody's talking about Robert Salo. Oh, this would be great. Does everybody understand when we look at the NFL draft, we often talk about how many players don't make it. There's a lot of busts, even in the first round. We looked it up this morning, even in the top 10 picks. Like two to three of the top 10 either bust every year or they really disappoint. There's occasional outlier years. But just think about this. There's only seven head coaches in the NFL currently.

who have been with their team more than four years. There's 32 teams. That's not even a quarter. In fact, Ron Rivera is currently the longest tenured coach in the NFC East. Ron Rivera is. Folks, 50% of coaches are an abject bust. Of the remaining 50%, maybe 10% become great. You think players bust?

coaches bust at a much higher level. So I just think we should probably ask Deshawn Watson where he wants to go. Because as much as I lobbied yesterday for the trade to happen, it makes sense for a radio guy when I'm trying to connect the dots with draft picks and salary. You can't let Deshawn Watson go to the Jets. Two weeks ago, I was imploring Trevor Lawrence shouldn't go to the Jets.

Deshawn's better than Trevor Lawrence today, isn't he? I want to talk about this. So Aaron Rogers is, he's very happy this year. He's very, very happy. He's talking a lot and he should. I like when Aaron talks. He's smart. I like when smart people talk.

Dumb people, not so much. Smart people talk all you want. So Aaron was talking about his future to the Green Bay Press Gazette. That's a newspaper there. There's like 12 left in the country, apparently. He was talking about his future in Green Bay and how it's, he doesn't know how it's going to end up. I'm thankful for the opportunity again to be leading these guys, to be, to have played the way I want to play, to be called upon for a greater leadership role. Those things are really, really important to me.

But all that other stuff, Rob, is stuff that I'm just not going to focus on them. Because it's me, it is a beautiful mystery and what happens down the line. I don't think it's a beautiful mystery. I said this three days ago. Aaron Rogers of every star quarterback in the league has the cleanest and clearest path to multiple Super Bowls over the next decade. Many of you would say Patrick Mahomes, but the AFC is loaded with great young quarterbacks and almost all of them outside of like a Justin Herbert appear to have a winning proven veteran head coach or a good head coach. What about Mahomes? What about Josh Allen?

They have to face each other for the next 12 years. Let's just go to Aaron Rogers' path. So let's start in division. That's why Tom Brady won those Super Bowls, right? He dominated his division, got to buy in a home game. In division, Minnesota is trapped with Kirk Cousin's contract. Detroit is currently, quote, evaluating Matt Stafford's contract. And the Bears in Trubisky, oh, just stop.

Let's look at his peers. equal talent, like guys in his class in the NFC. Because that gets you to Super Bowls. There's two. Russell Wilson. Seattle just hired a new offensive coordinator. And to say that Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson have an enigmatic relationship is kind. And they have a battle line.

And then there's Tom Brady. Love him, but he's 43. All right. All right. So let's go to the young guns, the young talented quarterbacks, GMs have drafted in the NFL. C. Jared Goff, his coach essentially benched him this year. Mitch Trevisky, stop it.

Kyler Murray, yet to have a winning season. I'm not sure he's got an NFL head coach. Jimmy Garoppolo, according to an NFL reporter, a seasoned NFL reporter a couple weeks ago, I think it was Chris Mortensen. If I'm wrong, I apologize. The Niners are looking to upgrade. And Dak Prescott, I don't know his future. And by the way, after watching Aaron Rogers this year, your thoughts on Mike McCarthy, kind of like mine? Not Mahomes, not Josh Allen, not Aaron Rogers' future is not that big of a mystery.

He has got one similar aged peer that has at least resembles his level of talent in the entire conference. It's not the young guns. Brady is old. It's not his division. it's Russell Wilson, who has a defensive older head coach, a new coordinator, at best outside of left tackle, a shaky offensive line, and a relationship with his head coach, which at times feels strained or weird. I think Aaron's future is not a mystery at all.

He's going to get to the Super Bowl after this weekend, not sure if he'll win it, and I think he gets to several. Remember, easier the path for great players, the more Super Bowls you get to. Brady's talent and coaching, no, it was By's home field advantage in Cold Foxborough was the biggest part of getting of those things. I mean, Brady was a field goal from losing every single Super Bowl you want, except the Rams game. So I think Aaron Rogers' future is not a mystery at all. It's clean, it's clear. Stay healthy.

He's in a bunch. 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 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, Clifford 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.

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 Jek. And I'm Alex English. 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 y'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 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 Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, Ryan,

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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free Our Heart Radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Kyrie returned for the Nets. They lost to awful Cleveland, and he scored a bunch of points. It's funny because they were 4-0. The Nets had won four straight without Kyrie, and they were 2-0 with Kui. Katie and Hardin, and he comes back against dreadful Cleveland, and they lost, and the guy he's

guarding Colin Sexton scored 20 straight points in overtime. By the way, James Hardin, not only did they lose to Cleveland, and Colin Sexton, who's Kyrie's guy, score all the points in overtime for Cleveland, James Hardin in 51 minutes had 14 shots, which here's the problem. And if you go look at the plus minus numbers, Katie and Hardin on the floor were plus six, but Hardin and Kyrie were minus three, Katie and Kyrie were minus seven. So they were better when he was off the floor. This was the same thing with the Nets last year in Kyrie. It's very interesting. What I'm about to say, fans always get this. The media doesn't. Fans understand. For years and years, Joey Sindelar would win the golf long drive contest. He never won

tournaments because he couldn't putt. Everybody knows that you can be a great talent. Fans always know this. OBJ is a great talent, but he's hurt a lot and Baker Mayfield was better when he didn't play. Fans get that. media struggles with it. The Nets will be worse with Kyrie Irving. He's the only NBA star I can think of in my adult life. Maybe there was another I couldn't think of it. That I would be willing to trade for role players.

And I think it would upgrade. Now, it never works that way. You're trading a great player. You know you're not going to get equal value. You're just getting draft picks. You're basically crossing your fingers. With Kyrie, I would trade for role players. And I think a lot of the.

of NBA. NBA is very unique. Ratings indicate we don't watch the NBA games. We watch the highlights. And Kyrie Irving is an Instagram basketball star. In 15-second clips, he's amazing. If you watch 47 minutes, not so much. He plays no defense. But NBA fans are younger than other sports. They play more video games and often fantasy than other sports. And so you need stars to win video games. fantasy. So in the NBA, it's the one sport where guys that aren't winning basketball players just get defended. Oh, Westbrook still gets defended. It's like he's not a winning basketball player. He's just talented. In the NFL, we don't do that. In the NFL, if you don't help the cause to winning, fans are like, I'm out. You ask most fans in Cleveland today, if you could

trade OBJ this afternoon in Cleveland and get a really good safety. like get an equal player on defense that would shore up the back end of your defense. 75% of Cleveland fans would be like, absolutely. We want to beat the Chiefs. We got to beat Josh Allen. We've got to beat Patrick Mahomes. But the NBA is different. We don't watch the games.

We'll watch clips. And in the world of clips, Kyrie is amazing. I was just saying during the break, he's probably the best small finisher I've ever seen in my life. Left hand, right hand. You know, generally your great finishers are, you know, Michael Jordan 6-6 and Kobe and Shaq and LeBron and. Durant, and they're big, they're tall, they're long. Kyrie's like my height, he's six, one and a half.

Unbelievable finish. I've never seen a small player finish like him. And again, he's an Instagram basketball star. In clips, he's great. But if you watch over time, last night, Colin Sexton, good player, not great, scored 20 straight points for the caps. So I think Brooklyn has a chance to be incredibly special with Harden KD and role players. I'm just not sure they can.

come to terms with giving up Kyrie for guys that don't need to score that need to defend. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. So I was listening to a lot of sports talk radio yesterday about Philip Rivers and Eli Manning and should they be in the Hall of Fame, blah, blah, blah. And I've always thought there's a difference between me having an opinion on a radio show. I'm not affecting people's legacy. But if I was a Hall of Fame voter, I'm not only, I'm affecting a player, a dad, a husband, a brother, a legacy. That gold jacket gets you bigger contracts, bigger endorsements.

I am changing your children's life. I'm going to take it much more seriously than ad-libbing about Kurt Warner on this show. And though I believe what I'm saying, standards change. You can go out with your wife for dinner, okay? And you wear a polo shirt. If you go to a wedding with your wife for dinner, you wear a nice suit, right? It's still going out with your wife for dinner. standards change, you're going to a wedding.

It's more respectful. It matters more than just going out and getting some chicken piccata. So the reality is, I can have opinions, but based on the standards, if I'm a Hall of Fame voter, what would my standard be so that for years and years and years, if players came to me, why didn't you vote me in? I would say, well, I had a standard. Jimmy Johnson used to have this joy for drafting and trading players. people didn't use to trade in the NFL. And Jimmy created a chart.

It's still used today. The value system. The value system. This is what players are worth. So you're not making it up. I would have the same system. So what would my system be for Hall of Fame? Were you, and it would be different than NFL than NBA, because NBA, you don't

have all the injuries. It's not as violent. So I'm not asking you give me 10 to 12 years of great, like the NBA or baseball. Were you top five at your position for two countries? contracts. That is seven to eight years. You can't be great for a contract. That's just a, that's not, that's, this is the Hall of Fame. I'm not putting Tom Brady in the same place for a guy that gave me one good contract. I'm not putting them in the same room. That diminishes Tom. Remember, the top of the Hall of Fame doesn't frame it. The bottom does. The bottom does.

If you lower the standard, it affects the hall. Montana, Brady, Peyton Manning, Far, that, we know they're great. So the bottom is the key. What's the least amount you're letting in? And so my standard would be, if anybody came up, I'd say, were you top five at your position for two contracts? Now, if you're a running back, I'd give you seven years because it's more violent, quarterback I'd want eight. And some guys do sign two contracts a four and a three. but I want two contracts.

Is that a reasonable stand? Now, in that case, Eli and Philip Rivers, neither is a Hall of Famer. They were not top five quarterbacks. For eight years? For eight years? No, they were.

They were never top five. Eli was not. No, I'm saying that's, I feel like eight years is. That's two contracts. So Terrell Davis does not get in. Well, he's in the Hall of Fame. I would rescind it.

You would take him out. Because he was only great for four years. Okay, I would call him an apology. I would say mice. And I don't know Terrell, but I'm not diminishing it. He was great for a contract. So Brady's great for eight. You got one guy's great for one.

So you, there's no formula. No, I have an absolute formula. So there's no emotion, no opinion. Two contracts, top five position. You come up to me at a bar. Frank Gore. Nope. So Gail Sayers, five-time All-Pro. Sorry.

Out because he only played seven years. Listen, that's the one that'll take everybody off. One contract. Now, you can say, Gail's interesting. Because Gail, if he played today with the medical advancements, probably his career doesn't end. So if you want a medical exemption, listen, Sandy Kofax in baseball was great for three years.

He was the greatest pitcher ever, so they let him in. If you want a medical exception or something, but again, under your standard, Sandy Kofax wouldn't get in. No, no, no. Baseball, I'm just saying, this is two football. two contracts top five. No exceptions. I'm not going to be whiffing and wavering.

Does winning the Super Bowl count for anything in this formula? Because to me with Eli, it's the longevity. It's the... Longevity? The consistency was never hurt. Hey, a lot of people come to work every day. And he beat Tom Brady twice. He beat Tom Brady twice.

If I just came to work every day, you'd put me in the Radio Hall of Fame, even if I was just bumping into the walls and couldn't get hockey scores right. you for two years of your career, you were better than the best, the new Howard Stern. Yes. No. For two years, you beat Howard Stern and you also were that consistent. Yes.

Beat him in what? Thumb wrestling? No, you beat him. Like you beat the ratings. Is my standard? I don't think it's unreasonable. Top five position, two contracts. Eight years is a lot.

What about Kurt Warner? Yeah. You said in the past he would put him in. Again, I would call him, take him out for some sushi and say you can't be in. Now, I've said on this show he's in. But my standard changes when I'm affecting families. If you were voting, this is what you would do. If I was voting.

So you're not voting. So is Philip and Eli in? I don't want to. That's another segment. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. All right.

Greg Hosell, 41 years, NFL films is joining us live as he does on Thursday every time at this time. So what do you make in my goofy Hall of Fame standard? Top five player at your position two contracts. I don't know if that would be my standard. I haven't necessarily thought of a standard per se, Colin. But I think you'd be hard pressed to find many players at the position with the career of Philip Rivers. So now, to me, you have to decide what matters. to you. I mean, obviously he did not play in a Super Bowl, and Eli Manning won two Super Bowls.

Who would you say was a better quarterback throughout their career, Eli Manning or Philip Rivers? Philip Rivers. Eli Manning will likely get into the Hall of Fame based on Super Bowl wins. Which shows you how stupid it is. That's how screwy it is. Eli had four great moments. Philip had like seven really good years, eight years. More than that. More than that. So again, it depends, and I understand both sides, but to me, there's not going to be many quarterbacks with Philip River's career. That's fair.

I like Philip. I like Eli. All right, here we go. Let's start with Green Bay, Tampa Bay. It's really remarkable. As I watched the Packers play Sunday and saw 71 percent of the plays had motion, all I could think of was, this is not a good look for Mike McCarthy because all these plays. players were here two years ago, Greg, and the offense did not look like this.

There's got to be a coaching Matt Lafleur is doing something special. Oh, without question. And in fact, the difference is this. The difference is that now this offense is a highly schemed offense in terms of personnel, formations, motion, progression reads with, because of Rogers and Devante Adams and other players like Valdez Scalin, who is a matchup type player. it still has the matchup element to it. So when Rogers sees matchups that he likes,

and we always think of Devante Adams, and obviously, in my view, he's been the best receiver in football this year. He can still attack those matchups, but it's much more highly schemed in a number of different areas this year, and that makes this offense really difficult to handle because Rogers is obviously a great, great player. Oh, by the way, I think he'll be in the Hall of Fame.

Yes, yes, he will. I'd put him in today. Now, he had his worst quarter as a pro in Tampa. Let's go back to that game. Do you believe it was just a random Sunday, or can the bucks with V-to-Via coming back? Do you think they'll duplicate the pressure they got on Aaron Rogers? I never think anything in the NFL is just random or fluky.

I think that they created a lot of the issues with all their multiple fronts, their pressure looks, tying in coverage with pressure. But there's no question that the Packers will look at that game closely. and they'll be better prepared. Now, Todd Bowles won't do exactly the same thing. No coach does exactly the same thing in a second meeting with a team, but I'm sure he'll still have different front looks. He will have pressure concepts,

and the Packers will be far more prepared for it in this game. The question to me is what will be the Packers approach? Last week against the Rams, they were really balanced. If you remove the kneel downs at the end of the game, they had 37 called passes and 32-called round. runs, which by NFL standards is incredible balance. They run the football because that's Matt LaFleur's background. He comes from the McVeigh-Shannahan background.

So I'm curious to see what the Packers' game plan approach going in is. You tell me, athletically, talent-wise, the Bucks had success, their offense against the Packers' defense. How does the Packers' defensive personnel and schemes match up against Brady? Do you believe on film? Well, that's a great question. here's what I would think would happen. I think because we're not sure about Antonio Brown,

I think you're going to see a lot of 12 personnel, meaning one back and two tight ends with Grankowski and Brate. Brate's become a factor the last number of weeks. We know that Mike Petton, the defensive coordinator for the Packers, would much prefer to play in his sub-defences, meaning nickel and dime, five Dibs or six DBs. They've in fact played with six defensive backs far more than any team in the league this year.

Wow. So if the bucks line up with two tight ends, what will Mike Petton do? Will he line up in base personnel, which he does not like to do? Or will he line up with five or six defensive backs? At times in that first matchup, week six, he lined up with six defensive backs versus two tight ends. To me, that personnel matchup will be critical to this game. Last two games for the bucks, they're running the football. Is it health?

I mean, you tell me, is it because guys are healthy? because the offensive line's getting more of a push. They've been very effective running last two weeks. Yeah, I think they realize with that old line that has struggled at times throughout this season and pass protection, that they do need to have some semblance of a run game. Ronald Jones obviously gives them some juice. You saw the difference last week. Fournette, he just does not look very good.

I know he's had some success, but he certainly does not look anything like he did coming out of LSU. So Jones gives them a little more juice in that run game. I like Green Bay in this game. What's the film tell you? Yeah, I do too. You know, again, these games are hard for me. I'm not a good picker of games, Colin, because I can give you five or six reasons on either side.

But, I mean, you asked me, I would pick Green Bay to win this game. All right, let's go to Buffalo, Kansas City. You know, it's funny. I said all through December, Buffalo is the best team in the NFL. But then you get to the playoffs and you face better coaching, better coordinators, and better units. and over the last two weeks, I, you start, I start inspecting Buffalo and like, they can't run the ball at all now. No.

At all. And I think to myself, boy, they're becoming really Josh Allen reliant. Does it look like that on film? Oh, yeah. Last week, their first 20 plays were called passes. They didn't call a run until the 21st play of the game for their offensive snap. So, I mean, Josh is playing well. I mean, obviously last week, they only scored one offensive touchdown.

The Ravens did not. blitz as much as I thought. I think Steve Spagnola, who's known to be very aggressive and has been this year, I think you're going to see pressure. Now, obviously, he's going to have to feel comfortable in the secondary because one thing the bills do a lot of is line up with four wide receivers. They do that close to 20 percent of their offensive snaps. So I don't know how he'll feel about matching up in the secondary versus four wide receivers. But this team is Josh Allen's team right now. They throw the ball. They want to throw the ball. They do it by choice. They put him in the gun. He's got second reaction ability, so they do feel that if there is pressure, he can somehow

get out of it to make a throw or a run for a meaningful play. I don't think they're going to change that. They're not going to come out with Alan Under Center and hand the ball off to Devon Singletary 20 times. That's not going to happen. So I think Steve Spagnola will be aggressive. I want to talk about Mahomes. I was kind of blown away. He limped in the first half. He left with seven and a half minutes in the game, and they won. If you had taken Baker out, eight minutes to go on the third, Cleveland's getting shelled. I was shocked at the ease, especially on the perimeter of Kansas City's offense against a very good Cleveland roster. I tend to think NBA teams are better with the flip the switch thing.

I didn't like December what I saw from the Chiefs. Did the film tell you it was as effortless and easy as it looked on television? Well, the Browns do not have a great secondary. That's the thing. And we're going to assume Mahom plays. I mean, you know, I can't believe he's not going to play. So let's talk about Mahomes for a minute. Number one, he has not been great over the last month or so.

He's been a little loose, a little undisciplined. He obviously can compensate and camouflage for that with great second reaction plays, but it hasn't quite happened as much. So it'll be interesting. But one thing, and this is a, this is kind of an X and O point, but it's a very difficult matchup, Colin, for, teams is when they line up Kelsey as the single receiver to the short side of the field. And they go three wide receivers to the strong side of the field.

That's a very difficult matchup. That was the 20-yard touchdown he caught last week against Cleveland, where they actually left Denzel Ward because he was the boundary corner for the Browns. It's just like Tredavius White is the boundary corner for Buffalo. But that matchup is really, really difficult when Kelsey's the single receiver. And by the way, when Tyree Kill is the inside slot receiver to the three receiver side, because he runs those deep overrouts, those deep crossing routes, he runs away from people. One of the reasons I like Kansas City this weekend, and I like Buffalo the last month, is that Kansas City's defensive weakness appears to be run defense and the bills don't run it. And so I kind of think just schematically, this is not a great matchup for Buffalo.

They lost a running back Moss a couple weeks ago, and it's just gotten worse. when you look at film, my gut feeling is, is the weakness of the chiefs will not be unveiled by Buffalo. And that's why I like Kansas City. No, that won't happen in this game. Look, Buffalo makes no bones about it. They're going to throw the ball. They put the game in Josh Allen's hands. The thing that is, you know, everybody talks about Josh's improved accuracy, and that's correct.

But the other thing that has stood out is he looks so much more in command during games. They clearly feel that he can. control the game, that he's not going to make the kinds of plays he made in his first two years where there'd be three or four plays in a game that you just scratch your head. It appears that he's past that point. So they feel very comfortable putting the game in his hands. All right. So give me your big play of the week. This is the Bill's defense, which by the way, will be challenged. I do think, I do think situationally in the red zone, they're very effective. I do think they'll hold Kansas City to a lot of features.

field goals. I do. I think it's going to be a lower scoring game than we all predict, but give me your play of the week. Well, it's interesting you say that because the bills are really good in the red zone, but they're defined in the red zone. They play a lot of two shell cover two, and that's the play we want to show. And let's go to it from last week. It's obviously the interception return for a touchdown by Terran Johnson. And they were in what we call Red Zone 2, which, as I said, they play this kind of coverage basically more than any team in the NFL when you get into the red zone. And you're going to see here, Lamar Jackson is in the shotgun. This is a third down play. Now, he wants to get the ball to Mark Andrews, who's in the inside slot

to trips. You're going to see the two split safeties, Hyde and Poir, who I think is the best safety duo in the league. And then you're going to see Tremaine Edmonds. He's on the line of scrimmage here, but he'll retreat because this is going to be, as I said, a red zone two look. And there's Terran Johnson. Now, he's a landmark player. He drops to a spot and he watches the quarterback. Now, what Lamar Jackson wants to do is get the ball to Andrews, but notice Edmonds is inside of him, so he has to throw it to the outside. But Johnson is sitting right there. Lamar Jackson has to see this, Colin. This is just a play that the quarterback has to see. It's red zone too. The bills play it as a foundational coverage in the

red zone. Lamar Jackson has to know that, and he has to understand that he cannot make that throw. But the bills are very good situationally, and they're very fundamentally sound with two really good safeties. Yeah, defensive head coach, Sean McDermott, one of the reasons why. Greg CoSell, NFL films. Great talking to you, Greg. Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me. 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 Podcast, 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's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day but just so y'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 finishing that sentence 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 in American history

Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear 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, Tript 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Well, I've known him since Portland, Oregon.

Since that time, he's won 16 Emmys, and I've won none. He's one of the great guys, great writers, a storyteller, and now a part of Fox, and we just could not be happier just talking during the break. Tom Rinaldi, a sideline reporter working the Bucks Green Bay game now joining us live from New Jersey. By the way, I hear you have a bone to pick with me in my Hall of Fame standards. But first of all, before we even get there, Let's back up. I think you've done just fine without the Emmys there, Cowherd, okay? I think it's working out just fine for you. Let's go right to the Hall of Fame. This is one of the reasons I love the show

so much because of the clarity, perhaps wrong, but never in doubt. That's Cowherd. So here he has, he's going to walk around with the card and the wallet, a la Bob Costas, with Mickey Mantle, and everything else. And Joy immediately cuts you down to the pretext. proper size. So you're going to say then that Gail Sayers and or Sandy Kofax or any of the other folks that Joy talked about who are not just one story. I get it. But can you tell the story of the sport beyond this two contract time limit that you've created? Can you tell the story of the sport appropriately fully without Gail Sayers and without Sandy Kofax? As usual, cowherd bold, but then is kept in check by Joy. Well, Joy keeps me in check for a lot of things. I did acknowledge that Sayers is the one that I get crushed on. And that baseball is going to be different than the football. Yeah, but Gail Sayers, he's the best play.

It was the best running back five years, five pro bowl's injury, which, by the way, by today's medical standards, maybe he would have played longer. He couldn't at the time. So listen, every even great policy in Washington, D.C. has a hole in it. I got a little hole in my argument. All right. Okay.

We'll give you that. So were you, let's talk about this. Were you surprised that Brady's performance, Chris Godwin didn't play great, Gronk was an on factor, Evans was shut down. And I told you before the game they had seven catches. You would have thought, oh, they got blown out again.

Were you kind of surprised by Brady's success? So two things, Colin. When Brady went up and did the interview with Aaron Andrews right after the game, the very first thing that, And I thought Aaron asked him a great question. She didn't start with his performance or what it meant. She started with their defense and all that they created to shorten the field and give Brady an opportunity to reverse what had been two subpar performances against the Saints. And he quickly credited the defense.

Essentially he said, yeah, that's why we're here. Did he execute properly? Yes, he did. But the defense really was the headline. And of course, Brady making his way coming to the other conference. teaming with Aryans, going down to Tampa Bay, and now getting back to a conference championship game is just, it's incredible. But in a way, right, it's the matchup.

We all want to see the greatest of all time, perhaps against the greatest of his generation. I don't know you had said, Con, you know, we're just licking our chops. We can't wait for Sunday to get here. Now, do you ask him about the weather in Lambo because he's used to it, so does Grong, but almost nobody else on that roster? He obviously, he's more than familiar with all the practices that he's had. He's had great snow games, the epic tuck rule game, et cetera. And he really said it's much, much more, Colin, and I don't think this will surprise you,

about the wind or about rain or moisture or wet conditions than it is about the cold, unless it's truly bitter, meaning 25 or 20 or 15 or below. Now, with that in mind, mid-20s forecast for the high Sunday. a 60% chance of snow at Lambeau, and we wouldn't want it any other way. Could there be anything greater than a conference championship game, perhaps with that kind of machinery coming across and blowing the snow so we can see the lines, et cetera, evoking the tuck rule game, all of that. It is a dream scenario if it works out that way, and it's a close game heading into the fourth quarter.

The players you talk to, Green Bay, Tampa, the difference between Super Bowl, and conference championship. Conference championships have a little bit of a Super Bowl feel to me. These are the two games, the country's watching, $35 million. You talk to players about that. I think, Colin, that this is a sneaky answer here. A number of players acknowledge that they felt as much or more pressure in a conference championship game because you're this close.

It's that tantalizing to be one game away from making. it to the Super Bowl, obviously the ultimate stage in the sport. And to win this game, as Tom Brady said, this has proven to be the most difficult game to win. And probably he's in his 14th version of this, which is mind-blowing, more than twice as much as the next person on the list, which is Montana at 7. But the pressure connected to try to take that next step cross the threshold into the Super Bowl is a real big factor in these games. the two games will see Sunday. Devante Adams and Aaron Rogers, I thought, had the best year, maybe Alan Stefan

Dick second. But in terms of quarterback wide receiver connection, you have any sense of why it's so special? I mean, it's like they've been playing together for 15 years. They have a real sense of each other. Even though they haven't been, right? And it didn't necessarily start with them, like two peas in a pod or with the telepathy that they've built here pretty quickly. And it exceeds the statistical measure.

or the simple metrics on a page. It comes down to, Colin, the very best you like to see manifest between two teammates. And that's wordless communication. It's done even without language. It can be done in a subtle hand gesture, in a look across the line, in a single expression that suggests this is what the defense is giving us. I know what the plan was, but you and I have our own plan. Because we have our own communication built on trust, manifestation, execution.

and that has really, really borne fruit. It is a premier connection in the sport, and if Tampa can't control it, it's going to be a long day. What did you make of the interaction between Breeze and Brady Sunday? I thought it was pretty – I saw it virally. I got millions of retweet. I thought it was pretty cool. I did in a way. I thought it was a bookend to the week, right?

The week it started with the great social post there by Brady's team with the History Channel. They had texted each other at the start of the week. They've known each other going all the way back to 99 when they faced each other in the Big Ten with Michigan against Purdue. But that scene of Brady coming out with Breeze and his wife tossing passes to Breeze's children, I think tells you all you need to know about the enduring connection between these two who can understand each other, Colin, in a way that so few others can about the commitment to endure and prevail and persist through doubt and injury and change. And that's what each has done. In this case, the matchup itself perhaps didn't live up to the storyline, but that was a beautiful post script, that scene.

Finally, A, B. Antonio Brown, certainly in the last six weeks, became a very interesting kind of a problem for opponents and an interesting kind of element added to Tom Brady's arsenal. What's the latest on his injury? I think that's going to be a bit of a mystery. here. He's progressing, at least that was the characterization that we heard from the B. But we're going to have to see that they were caught off guard. And I think AB was as well by being limited in the game. There weren't any suggestions, pardon me, Colin that he would be

heading into the Saints game. But clearly, he was limited. As he continues to work through practice this week, he is a very key weapon for Brady. As you suggested, later in the season, in particular in the last six weeks, the connection. between the two was only increasing and peaking at the right time. He's a really key weapon for Brady, and we'll have to see, particularly when they've been putting him in the slot card, and we'll have to see how much he's able to go and how explosive he can be. By the way, one other quick thought here about the cold, Brady suggested in the cold, quarterbacks have an advantage. I thought this was fascinating because you can throw the ball just as fast, you can process just as fast mentally, but everyone else,

when the temperatures get really cold slows down a bit. So that shifts to quarterback advantage. That was an interesting point. Yeah, also, by the way, a receiver knows where he's going and the DB doesn't. So footing can be huge. All right, he's Tom Rinaldi. We just couldn't, as a company, be happier. And buddy, when you get out here to California and when they allow us to have a glass of wine at a restaurant, it's on me.

I don't know when that's going to be in California, but it's great seeing you. and welcome to the team. So appreciate you having me so much, Colin. Great to see you. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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, it's celebrated. So let's get to it. 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.