The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 08/24/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: August 24, 2021

Colin discusses the quarterback situation in New England right now and why the latest setback for Cam Newton perfectly sums up his NFL career. He has bad news for a promising young star in the NFL and the reason he is going to struggle this season. He also believes all the pressure is on Baker Mayfield this year to win games with a Super Bowl caliber supporting cast. Plus, former NFL linebacker Channing Crowder joins the show to tell Colin if Tua Tagovailoa is the real deal for the Dolphins and if Urban Meyer will succeed as a head coach in the NFL. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

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

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 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 Heard. with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio.

Here we go on a Tuesday, live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. One hour from now, the highly anticipated first amendment to my NFL predictions. I get two, just two. July every year, I lay it out, entire playoff format, every division, and two days. I just tweak, tweak, tweak, tweak, tweak, and I have, let me count real quickly, Joy,

hold on. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten tweaks. Wow. That's a lot of tweaking. Well, you know what? I feel like your first tweak usually is pretty extensive. And then the last one, the final one is almost an injury one. Like if somebody gets hurt.

Yes. Yeah. So it's great to have you in today. You look so summery and look so happy and it is. It is. So I, you know, Joy, we've talked about this. When a story gets out, it only gets out for one reason, be it politics, sports, business. It gets out for a reason.

Somebody wants it out. There's been a lot of stories that you read a book about later and you're like, I didn't hear about that because nobody wanted. the story to be leaked. All right? So people can keep secrets, right? We all know. You have something in your life that you'll never let out. I've got a couple. Joy is perfect, so she didn't have any. But the point is, we all have secrets we don't let out. So when stuff gets out, somebody wanted to doubt. Sources in New England saying there's a level of frustration internally with Cam Newton. It has opened the window for Mac Jones.

They want that out there. New England wants that out there. You know why New England wants it out there? Because when they move off Cam, hey, we gave them a chance. COVID last year, COVID situation this year. A little protection, little insurance. So when they move off Cam, players in the locker room,

players around the league know. Well, I mean, two different times with COVID. He caught it. Now he's going to miss practice. That gets out because somebody wants him. And by the way, you can blame whoever you want. I'm not into the blame game. But this stuff doesn't happen to Russell Wilson.

It doesn't happen to Brady. It didn't happen to Mahomes. We've all had a friend that struggles to get out of their own way. Sometimes Cam struggles to get out of his own way. And I've been critical of Cam for years. I've said, I like my presidents to be presidential. like my quarterbacks to be quarterbackial. Grownups, adult, focused, self-reliant, self-motivated, coachable.

There's certain traits, forget all the athletic stuff. There's just certain traits I'm looking for. My president and my quarterbacks. And sometimes Cam's not always great with those. And that's led to eroding mechanics, lack of efficiency, you know, inconsistent production, week to week, half to half, you don't know what they get. And here's the issue. You know how I do that segment every Monday called Colin Wright, Colin Wrong?

I think the rightest take I've ever had is that Cam and Russell Westbrook would age poorly and age quickly. Cam is now 32. He feels like he's inches from out of the league. Russell Wilson's 32. And I feel like he just entered his prime. Russell Wilson has better quarterback-eeled trait. maturity, constantly working on mechanics, Uber-focused.

By the way, Russell Westbrook, 32, fourth team, fourth year, Steph Curry 33, just signed a max contract, and there was an argument to me made he should have been the most valuable player. How you age depends a lot on your traits. Brady has aged gracefully. Breeze aged gracefully. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar aged gracefully. Greg Maddox, never reliant on just sheer talent.

He was a professional pitcher painting the corners. Greg Maddox aged gracefully. Ray Allen's a basketball player. Just kept working on his skills. Like, legendarily the best cardio performer in the league Ray. Allen, like could just run for miles. He kept tweaking and tweaking and tweaking his game, modernizing his game. And so when Westbrook and Cam were in their athletic, hyper-athletic prime, they just

blow through their inefficiencies. I mean, there'd be nights with Westbrook here like, God, he can't shoot. He finished with 36. How's that possible? Because he was Westbrook. He was the best athlete in the league. There would be games with Cam. You're like he completed 52% of his throws.

How did he win? because he was Cam, he was 6,6, he'd run over people, he had 142 yards rushing. But as they have aged and dipped athletically, now you just get their inefficiency. That's all you get. They can't just blow through it. That's why LeBron has been so smart about this. LeBron realized, after about year seven, year eight, I'm going to get a jumper. I don't want to go to the rim all the time.

And LeBron has brilliantly aged. He's just added dimensions to his game. That's why he, LeBron is aging well as his body is, you know, kind of falling apart now. Like, LeBron gets hurt. But he is still a brilliant basketball player because passing never erodes. Ball handling doesn't erode. Leadership doesn't erode. Mechanics don't have to erode.

Shooting doesn't have to erode. I mean, Dan Marino could still grab a football and sling it 45 yards. What erodes is you're vertical, your speed, your athleticism. your ability to get hurt and be back on the field in a week. And so this story is out because somebody wants it out. And I'm not here to blame anybody, but Cam has had a career and not getting out of his own way sometimes. Westbrook, similarly, hyper-athletic, can't get out of his way sometime. And I look at this story with Cam and it's out there for a reason.

They want it out there. And Mack Jones, listen, success in life is often born of opportunities. Mac Jones may have just gotten a terrific opportunity with the best coach, arguably the best offensive coordinator, a top three offensive line, a really good running game, and a top 10 defense. Born of opportunities, maybe Mac and Cheese got one. All right, so I watched Jacksonville last night.

What was emitting from my television was pretty honestly the worst football team in the league, the worst roster. Jacksonville's awful. And I know Urban Meyer and I like him, but the offensive line is awful. The defensive line is awful. They don't have a single defensive star. Miles Jack is good, not elite.

They've got some wide receiver running back talent that I'm interested in, but this league is not about perimeter stuff. The reason the Cleveland Browns are good this year, their offensive line's great and they have Miles Garrett. OBJ will not be as important as that offensive line, and you can't name four of them. The Jags are trying to mesh their college offense. with Urban Meyer and their pro offense

and they didn't build the best offensive staff. Darrell Beville and Brian Schottenheimer are bounce around the NFL guys that have been fired multiple times. First thing I would do, I would trade Gardner Minshue tomorrow and get a starter on the offensive line or Trevor

Lawrence is going to be in big trouble. Listen, there are two types of rebuilds in sports. There's the long rebuild and then there's the short rebuild and I'll give you Miami is a short rebuild. Why is Miami a short rebuild? Because they had commodities to sell. Minka Fitzpatrick.

Hey, we're going to move him and get a bunch of picks. Laramie Tunzel, offensive lineman. Hey, Bill O'Brien, I got a deal for you. Move him, him, get a bunch of picks. Say what you want about Ryan Tannihill. He's a B quarterback, B plus quarterback. So they had commodities to move. And let's be honest. Brian Flores appears to be unbelievable. He and Greer, the GM, are just doing an unbelievable bang-up job. They've hit on virtually everybody. But they had commodities to move.

Jacksonville doesn't. They don't have, yeah, they have a commodity. It's called Trevor Lawrence. So this is a long rebuild. You know, I always say you've got to give a GM and a coach two free agency periods and two drafts. I think Urban Meyer needs that to get. in that 500, barely above 500 space. That's what I think you're looking at.

They don't have anybody they can move to get pieces. So they're going to have to rely on hitting on like five draft picks, 10 players over the next two years. Hey, as good as Urban Meyer. Now, Pete Carroll did that, college to pros. Remember Pete came out, he was grabbing guys in the fifth and sixth round that were stars. And I think Urban's got that potential. J2Afele, fourth round defensive linemen last year.

Multiple GMs told me that was as good a pick as you're going to get in the fourth round. So he has the ability to do it. Now, the Jags and Urban have two advantages. Number one, they play Houston twice. There's two wins probably. And they do have the easiest schedule, fourth place schedule in the league. And it's a bad division. And their second thing is Trevor Lawrence is really good.

It's a really good player. Big, tall arm, you can see it. But Urban in college, remember, had very quick turnarounds. This is going to come down to Urban Meyer. How patient is he? At Utah, he did not take over a dumpster fire. They were 5 and 6 next year, 10 and 2. Utah, Utah's won 12 of its last 13 bowl games.

Utah's a fine program. Florida was 7 and 4. They were not a dumpster fire. He turned them in a 9 and 3. Ohio State was 6 and 7, but it's Ohio State. They've always got 20 NFL guys on the roster. They were 12 and 0. So these are Utah, Florida, Ohio State's a top 3 program.

Florida is a top 10 program and Utah is a top 20-25 program. Those were not messes. This is a mess. This is an absolute mess. Worst brand in the league, worse facilities arguably in the league, although they're trying to build those, and the worst roster in the NFL.

And I don't think his offensive coaching hires, I mean, listen, he's a college coach, moved into the NFL, Daryl Beville, Brian Schottenheimer. You know, they bounced around the league a lot. I don't know him personally, but guys have been bouncing around six or seven teams. you know,

Urban Meyer after the game knows offensively they're boring and not very good. We're not balanced right now and when you get, you know, you get stuffed on. We're too many second off-scheduled plays in the first half, you know, three-threes and out other than that one first down. So that and then the red zone today,

you know, Trevor did a nice job on that two-minute drill and maybe it'll pound it in there. And got to get our offense line back and playing better, you know, and run the ball. I think they'll win a handful of games. I would say about five or six because they're in a weak division and because they play Houston twice. But this is going to be a slow rebuild. This is going to be a long one. There's Miami had three really nice pieces.

You can move. And by the way, not only did they move Laramie Tunzel, but, you know, they got a lot for it. So Urban needs to find the weak spots in the NFL. Get on the phone. Move Gardner, Minchew. and get that offensive line better fast. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app.

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

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple 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 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. Thank you for 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 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 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? 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, Keer Gaines, is 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. So the NFL, there was an agent survey. 33 NFL agents were anonymously interviewed and asked

a series of questions, one of which is which team had the best off season. The Buccaneers got 11 votes. Cleveland was second with four votes. I strongly agree. I love what Cleveland did. I thought their draft was okay. I thought their free agency moves were really, really smart. And not that their draft was bad. They got a linebacker from Notre Dame who I like, and they need a line. That's kind of their weakest unit. So it is interesting, though, many of you, and this hurts. I try not to take it personally, but this hurts. You think I don't like Baker Mayfield. Now, he drives me nuts, but he's talented. I think if you go back and look last year, I always talk about where you land matters. So Baker Mayfield entered the NFL with nothing but chaos,

a general manager with a big ego, coaches over their skis. If you go to the last nine games of last year, Baker Mayfield had one pick. Look it up. He's pretty good. Why? Because he had a grown-up, and you have to harness Baker. Baker's got a little James Winston. He gets real loose. He gets real loose, real gunslingery, real 1980 quarterback. It's kind of his style. He's a walk-on. He's got a lot of hutspa. But at the end of last year, Baker was a really good player because Stavansky said, I'm going to pull back about seven throws a game. You know, when you take little kids bowling and you put those bumper things in the, so there's no gutters and you kind of, you make sure the balls kind of, Stephansky did that with Baker. I'm going to

I'm going to get those four or five really bad throws off, and we're going to keep you in the fairway here, and Baker was terrific. But it does show you the reluctance that people have with Cleveland that they opened as a nine and a half win team in Vegas. Now, I told you, I bet it the first day. I think they're an 11, 12 win team potentially. Vegas experts, they all love Baker, right? Nine and a half wins. It's been bet up to 10 and a half. but the organization similarly, unlike Buffalo or Kansas City with their young quarterbacks,

wants to see him play this year. Why? He was great at the end of last year. So it's interesting, Vegas's reluctance and the organization's reluctance. It's Baker. There's no other reason. Folks, they're running backs. Elite.

O-line, elite. Receiver, elite. Tight-end, elite. I think they're secondary talents, elite. I mean, offensively, they don't have a single grouping that isn't elite. it is the best running back tandem, the best offensive line. Now, I do think if Miles Garrett got hurt, I would question the effectiveness of their D-line, but he doesn't have a history of getting hurt much, and he's great.

To me, he's the best pass rusher in football, he and T.J. Watt. So, but look at their schedule. It's amazing. I still think everybody is reluctant for Cleveland. Look at this schedule. Six games they're going to face, in my opinion, last place rosters. Houston, Arizona, Cincinnati, Detroit, Las Vegas, and Cincinnati. Three other games, they're going to face what I perceive as third place rosters,

Chicago, Denver, New England. Nine of the 17 games, they will have a significantly better roster, many of those at home. And yet the overrunners, 10 and a half, and had to be bet up by the sharps. So, you know, this season does come down to, do you trust that guy in the picture? It's not a criticism. I think he's going to have a very strong year. I do not believe he's an MVP candidate because I don't think Stefansky, number one, he's not going to trail that much.

Cleveland's going to ball control people to death. They're going to have the lead in most of their games and just kill the clock and run and eat the clock. So he's not going to be trailing and get garbage passing yards in the fourth quarter. Last year, despite playing very well down the stretch, I think he finished for like 3,500 yards. He'll probably be about 4,100, 4, 200. And again, not that they're going to limit him, they're not going to need to throw the football a ton, in my opinion, because their offensive line and running game,

and their coaching right now is so effective, they will lead a lot of their games. But it is interesting that there still is that reluctance. How many articles have you read in the offseason where people have said this? Cleveland's got the second best roster in the AFC. And I believe that to be true. So why are they at 10 and a half? Why aren't they at 12? Why aren't they at 12 and a half?

So I can't wait to watch it. I still think there's this reluctance about Cleveland. And ironically, I don't have it. My only question is, Miles Garrett stays healthy. And again, I'm not saying it gets hurt. I just, I think they got rid of Sheldon Richardson in the offense, defensive line, who I think's always been underrated. I think they're a little Miles Garrett dependent on that D line.

But again, if you're going to be dependent on somebody, he would be the guy in the NFL. I'd be Aaron Donald. to him, those are the guys I'd be dependent on. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22 minutes of piping hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names and newsmakers in the sport. Whether you believe in analytics or the eye test, we've got all the bases covered.

New episodes drop every Thursday. So do yourself a favor. and listen to Inside the Parker with Rob Parker on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast. 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 them. and muscle grave. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, 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 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 Jek. 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 all 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. 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 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. 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 iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Channing Crowder is a former NFL linebacker played all six years with the Miami Dolphins and has a podcast. I Am Athlete Podcast alongside my buddy Brandon Marshall and Chad Johnson and Fred Taylor. He's also an afternoon drive, big popular radio guy.

I love when players end up going on radio and then they see how hard our life is. How difficult this is. Channing Crowder joins us live. You think playing's hard, Channing. All this talking is just exhausting. Oh, my. Colin, Colin.

Yeah, me and Joyce started in the same market and now she's doing big things and she left us behind. Man, once I found out they will pay you to talk. It was over for me. Ten years in, baby. I love it.

Give me that check. Okay, so I have been critical of Tua. I have said, I feel like he's a quarterback where the play has to be kind of perfect for him, and then he can be accurate. I mean, he's got some leadership skill. He's accurate, but he's not a guy that's going to make plays off script. Thank God he's got an improved offensive line. In Miami, I'm probably viewed, you know, a very negative guy.

He doesn't like Tua. And I think Tua and Mack Jones kind of remind me of each other. They can win if all the elements are in place. Is that an unfair opinion on Tua? I think it's very unfair, Colin. And yeah, I'll tell you, they don't like you much down here. I know, if it was a question in your mind, just going up, it's not a question anymore. They do not like you.

But with Tua, man, it's funny when you come from Alabama and you have all the success around all those five-star first-round pits. The assumption is, okay, there was a part of the system. He was a system guy. And we know the A.J. McCarrens and we know some ex-Alabama quarterbacks that weren't NFL guys. But y'all must have forgot, like Roy Jones song said. Tuel was the most efficient college football quarterback of all time. His accuracy is off the chain and he's showing it this year. The one thing, and I do not give people passes, Colin, I don't give guys passes.

The one thing I'll give a guy a pass for is on an unprecedented pandemic year, no OTAs, no mini camp. A new OC and Chan Gaylee and Chan Gaylee retired after that, so he didn't know what the hell he was doing. Like, you have to look at it and see what Tua went through. And this preseason, Tua is making some amazing throws, reading, moving in the pocket, making some off-timing throws, creating some things. So I'm actually on the other side of that. I am a Tua guy. I love Tua Taka about Loa. Okay, Brian Flores, and I said this, even though it's preseason, I watch Buffalo. I can say they're well coached. I watched Baltimore. I'm like, they're well coached. I watch Miami, and I've said this with Brian Flores. That team in the middle of a rebuild last year had the best third down

defense in the league. They were like, I mean, they had stats that a rebuilding team should not have. They don't have a complete roster. So I love Flores. What's the secret sauce with him? We've seen half of these Belichick guys bomb, flail, whiff. What is it about Flores? He's got a physical presence that jumps out through the TV, like a Mike Tomlin thing, or even a Mike Vrable, like a Mike Vrable, like I think players are like, don't, they don't, you know, they're not going to push his buttons. Is it his physical presence? What is it about him that's the secret sauce? Well, he hasn't missed chest day. I don't know what my leg day, but Flores is doing the butterfly machine. He's a big dude. The one thing with Flores, I'll say, is we have alumni

meetings. And when Flores walks in the alumni meetings, he has a message to deliver. And he's a nice guy, charismatic. He smiles. You know, he's a pleasant dude. But once he delivers his message, then he says, thank you guys. And I'm, you know, as an alumni, I'm way down to the totem pole there. Marino's in the meeting. Joey's brother Jason's in the meeting. Zach Thomas is there in the meeting. But he walks in, he delivers his message very kindly and pleasantly. And then he gets out of the room. Like he is so laser focused. And they hate when I say this. Miami. This is what Belichick does. Listen to his press conferences. Listen to how he delivers, you know, the information or on the other side holds back information that people are surprised.

Why would he hold it back? We don't even know who's calling the plays because we have co-office of coordinators this year. What's the big deal about telling us who's actually calling the plays? That's that New England, that Bill Belichick, anything you don't know is an advantage to us. We've went through coach after coach after coach. And Flores is the first guy I sat down with as a man and looked at him and known he is a leader of men through the camp cameron's tony sperano god rest of soul loving to death he was he didn't have what brian flores has yeah you know urban mire transitioning to the nfl you were on the dolphins for both of nick sabins years there what would what what worries you about college legend to the nfl the player

not even player management personality management that's what i would say where Nick Saban is God to Alabama football. He was God to LSU football. Like when he asked your child to come and let him take over what the parents did. So he's looked at as like your father. When you get to the NFL, when Nick Saban got to the Dolphins, he had 37-year-old Keith Trailer. He had seven-time pro-baller Zach, I mean, Jason Taylor,

six-time pro-bowler Zach Thomas. You can't cuss me out as a grown man with $50 million in the bank. If I miss a tackle, tell me to break down. and, you know, grab claw. Don't, don't, don't, don't, F-bomb me to death because I'm a F-bomb you right back. And that's my thing with Urban. I love Urban.

I'm a Gator. He brought us two national championships with Tebow and Chris Leak back in the day. I love Urban Myers, the college coach. If he cannot transition to dealing with players like men, guys that have four or five mortgages, six, seven kids, maybe a couple of baby mamas, have some stuff going on in their life. You're not, you're not in control of me.

You are my football coach. to let me succeed on the field. If he can't transition there, I think that was the biggest problem with Sabin. And also his offense. I was watching that game last night. He was working on the one-on-one matchups trying to take advantage of the last defense you saw.

D.C.'s in the NFL, they have a maturation of defense. They're going to show you cover three to come back and run cover zero to go and run a zone blitz. They're a step ahead of you. And I was worried watching last night. I know it's in the preseason, guys.

But last night, they were a step behind off. with the defensive calls and then just transitioning man like i said that that understanding that understanding that these dudes are grown men and they're their empires almost they're not just rb1 qb2 they have their own thing going on they are totally they're in total control of their life and you're not coming into talking to me like a child i think that's the biggest part spurrier pops up in my mind as an offensive guru who failed chip kelly offensive guru who failed if i had to bet i think Irma Myers going to fall right in line with them. Wow. Hey, what, what, I love Chicago.

It's a big, loud city. They want Justin Fields to start, and he will eventually. You coach them. Here's my issue. So let's say you play for them. And this team last year finished 8 and 8. Like there's players on this team. There's some stars.

There's some Alan Robinson, Khalil Mack, right? And even though at practice, Justin's probably tearing it up. 6-3-2-20, got a big arm. but then there's that man, it's preseason. He hadn't seen any of these coverages. As a veteran, I think a lot of people

think all the players are pulling for Justin Fields. But I would get a veteran going, I don't know. Like Andy's seen everything in this league. If you're a player in that locker room, at least early on, who you want to start?

Who do you think's the guy? I would personally want Fields because of the fact that he can extend play. It's kind of like what you talked about your question of Tua. He can extend plays and make, you know, off-scheduled plays. Andy Dalton, we saw him in Cincinnati for years.

Andy Dalton, he's a Ryan Fitzpatrick. He can win you eight, nine, maybe ten games. He's not winning a playoff game. We gave him a decade to do it. So in my mind, Justin Fields would be the guy. Like you said, strong, fast, young, charismatic. O'Connor reminds me of a young Cam Newton. I'm not saying he's winning NFL MVP, but a young Cam Newton,

how his body type is and his skill set. He needs to get more accurate. you all know it. He needs to get better. But as a veteran on the team, I'm looking at who gives me the best chance to win. And with Chicago's O-line struggling, Andy Dalton, if they do struggle like I've seen in the preseason, Andy Dalton is a sitting duck in that pocket. Justin Fields can get out the pocket, create more throws. I saw in one of the preseason games. He hit like 21.9 miles per hour. That was the fastest time. Any Chicago bear has ran in four or five years. Justin Fields did it in his first preseason game. So as a vet, I want the guy that gives me the best chance to win. And I really,

in my heart, believe that's Justin Fields in Chicago. Okay, you people in Miami listen to it, WQA.m. Hockman and Crowder radio show. I love you NFL guys going on the radio and chopping it up, Channing Crowder. So you guys work together, Joy, what was the story here? Well, I mean, I've known Channing forever since I was a child. Oh, really? Yeah. We played with Jason in Miami the whole time. believe people don't like me in Miami. I work with Joy. They don't like me anymore either, apparently. Oh, no, Joy. They love you, Joy. They're bad at me. No, but Channing and I, that was my first internship was at QAM. And then I was the executive producer for Hawkman, his co-host. So yeah, we go way back. All right, Channing. We'll bring you on again. You're pretty good.

I don't know. I think you're pretty strong today. I'm bringing you back, buddy. Good seeing you. Good meeting you. Thank you so much, bro. Watch all the time. Joy, keep doing your thing, man. We're real proud of you and calling man you're a legend bro. Thank you. Channing Crowder. He's fun. 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. So I was saying before the break is that agents, their job is to have their ear to the ground. And that's how they get compensated. They have to know things before their clients know things. Otherwise, why would anybody pay for an agent? You got to tell me

what's going to happen before I get to the corner you got to see around it. And 33 agents were NFL agents were asked about various teams. And which team had the most disappointing off-season, Green Bay was voted the most disappointing season. And during my NFL predictions this year, I just had an amendment. I have Green Bay as a 10-win team. And there's two or three reasons for it.

Number one, many of the agent quotes during. this. I'll just give you a handful. There's like four or five other ones, but many of the quotes, forget the Packers. What if this was about your football team? The quarterbacks won it out since January. It's a culmination of bad management, bad relationship management. Aaron's stubborn, very stubborn. The organization has shot itself in the foot many times, seemingly stupid reasons. There's also a quote, discontent off season. Now they've got a Devante Adams problem. So that's the first issue. Does that sound like a Super Bowl team? That's not a good offseason. Secondly, they got a bad break on the schedule. So the NFL added a game. Do you know what game they

added for Green Bay at Kansas City? Oh yeah, they also faced the NFC West and the AFC North, the two best divisions in football. So they have to go to San Francisco, to Arizona. They have to go to Baltimore. Oh, but they get Cleveland at home and the Rams at home and Seattle at home. And Pittsburgh, these are really good teams at Kansas City. So the schedule's brutal. It's a, you know, ear to the ground agents are saying it's a mess, the relationship, the management. You also have the way the season ended last year where Aaron, the coach took the ball out of his hands.

And so it's not a great way to end the season, Aaron losing to Tom Brady at home, right? You could see Aaron's discouragement or disappointment on his face. So will he trust Matt LaFleurre? Well, back in March, there was a very interesting quote by Marquis Valdez Scantling, their number two or three receiver. And he was talking about the offense in Green Bay. This is not the first time I've heard it, but he said it on the record. He said, people don't understand how our offense works. We play in code.

There are two separate playbooks here. The one that's written down, the one Aaron has. It's not easy to come in and play. What is that saying? This is what Greg Kosell said for years. Aaron's kind of doing his own thing all the time. And my question is, if you look at the way this season ended and the acceptance, this is Aaron's last year in Green Bay, will he become more about his playbook than the team playbook?

He's going to control the narrative here. We saw how Aaron tends to control. He likes control. He doesn't want you to think he needs football. I'll do jeopardy. I'll have my friends. I don't need football. I was 50.

Control matters. For whatever reasons, I'm not a psychologist. Aaron likes to control it, right? So off that offseason loss to Brady, is he going to go more to the Aaron playbook than the Matt playbook? And, you know, and so I start looking at all this stuff also, where did their roster get better? They let go over Pro Bowl Center. Randall Cobb is not a difference maker.

I don't think they got better. I think their division could be. I think Minnesota is going to be the most improved team in the league. So that's kind of where I land on Green Bay right now. Why I have them as a 10-win team, tops winning this division, and winning it narrowly, is I just don't like the sounds of the offseason. 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. The other thing I want to talk about,

so James Winston played well last night. And, you know, everything in sports, all we talk about is talent. But the NFL is really a fit league. There's about eight, ten guys in this league that are so talented they'd fit everywhere. DeAndre Hopkins, Stefan Diggs, Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes.

And they're going to kind of work everywhere. Travis Kelsey. You have a handful of guys. Aaron Donald. There's probably 10, 15 guys. Miles Garrett. They're going to work in any system. The rest of the league is about fit. And I think James Winston fits New Orleans better. And here's why. James and Baker Mayfield, but let's stay on James, plays sort of an old school football. He's loose. He goes gunslinger. when you combined him with Bruce Ariens, who's an old school coach, who likes to keep it loose, go over the top, and do the gunslinger thing. Oh, that was a bad fit.

So, James ended up being highly productive and mistake prone. James is the kind of athlete because of his style that he needs a coach that will harness his ability. That is Sean Payton, who to me is a more exact coach than Bruce Ariens. Bruce is old school, gunslinger. By the way, what was Brady's issue with Ariens over the course of last season? How many people have come on our show and said it was the buy week where finally the offense pivoted from Bruce's to Tom's? Tom tends to be more precision. Bruce is more let a rip.

And the Bruce letter rip style to the buy was seven and five. And then it went undefeated when Tom kind of. I said, listen, Bruce, I'm a scale back on your offense and work with mine. And so with Ariens and James, you had a very loose quarterback playing in a kind of a loose offense. And what it meant was a lot of yards, 5,000 yards and a lot of picks. I think what James needs is a more precise, exact offense. And that's not a knock on Bruce Ariens.

but the reason Ariens and Brady win a Super Bowl, there's a balance there. Tom's highly efficient, Mr. Details, needs to be a little pushed a little out of his comfort zone occasionally by Bruce, and he does. Bruce has to relinquish some of the over-the-top stuff and let Tom bring kind of his New England style of efficiency. So there was a nice check and balance, and it took him to the by week to figure it out. it's one of those things where if two artists marry each other, you got more than enough art.

That's not what you need. Like, that's why Hollywood marriages don't work very often. The ones that do, like Paul Newman, Dolly Parton, the partner isn't an actor or an actress, right? So, like, fit is huge in football. All we talk about is talent. There's probably 15 guys in the league. maybe 20, I doubt it.

Miles Garrett's going to work everywhere. DeAndre Hopkins is going to work everywhere. Most guys, they got to fit right. And I think James is not talented enough to just, I'm going to do my thing. I mean, that is, you're talking about Peyton Manning, Brett Farr, like two of the guys that could do that. Maintain your edge with MDrive.

Go to MDrive from N.com. Free shipping 60-day money back guarantee. It'll keep you tight. It'll keep you lean. added nutrients and vitamins to your diet. Hour three coming up. 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 Smygel 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 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, but the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok

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 you here, 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. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.