The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 09/13/2021 - HOUR 1 - Rodgers-Wilson, Browns-Chiefs, Steelers

Episode Date: September 13, 2021

Colin compares how Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers handled their offseason dramaWhat to take from the Browns-Chiefs gameSteelers won but Big Ben looks oldGuest: Michael Vick Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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.

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IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, one hour from now, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, plenty of both. Michael Vick, Carson Palmer, loaded today, smorgasbord. of topics. Joy Taylor is joining me. I sat there, wife's out of town. Me and the dogs and the NFL, I watch parts of every game. I ordered chicken parm after the Rams, Bears game, crash for seven hours. What a world we live in. So much normalcy, felt so great to see the fans. It did. Oh, the fans were amazing around this country this weekend. It did. Yeah. I mean, college football fans even starting from last week was amazing to see. But it feels like we're back.

The NFL is back and there was some great games yesterday. God bless America. God bless American football fans. So I'm a big believer in this. My life is not about actions. Actions are easy. Went and got a coffee this morning. I drove to work.

My life's about 75 to 80% about reactions. How do I react when my kids have a problem at school? When somebody's health goes sideways. Life will be determined how I act, react to things that don't go as planned. I think about that all the time because life is not linear. There's always a boss, a spouse, a kid, a teacher, something goes sideways. How will you react to it? And you'll find that people's personalities are amplified in crisis, jerks are bigger jerks.

compassionate people are more compassionate. I mean, folks, we have a tiny percentage of America that can't wear a mask on a plane. They just completely unravel. It's too much to ask. That's how they react to being asked to do something that we all think stinks. I hate it too. I'm just a grown-up. So I want you to think about this.

Russell Wilson and Aaron Rogers both got mad at their organizations this offseason. Now, there was limitations on what Seattle or Green Bay could do because Russell makes so much money and Aaron make so much money. So the organizations were somewhat limited. And so Seattle went out, got Russell a new offensive coordinator, an old left guard, probably a one-year player, and a nice tight end. But they didn't have a lot of money. They couldn't rearrange the deck chairs and they didn't have a lot of draft picks. Green Bay drafted a wide receiver, tried to redo Aaron's contract. How did they react to it? Russell Wilson viewed what Seattle did, which was very small, as a positive step. He quickly pivoted to what his agent Mark Rogers told me was the greatest

offseason he's ever had. He became Mr. Seahawk, making calls, trying to get players signed. And yesterday he was brilliant. 18 of 23, in a true road game against a team. that will probably win their division. Well, the Colts will. Buttoned up slick. How did Aaron handle his offseason bumps? Brooding, condescending, still talking about it up until a week ago,

taking shots at the organization, making you know he does not need football 50-50 retirement. He actually said that publicly. Look at how both of them handled an off-season crisis. It amplified their personality. Russell tends to be optimistic and hopeful and a unifier. When he transferred to Wisconsin, within 10 days, didn't know a player.

They named him captain. Farvin Rogers didn't get along for years. It amplified it. The moody, prickly, condescending errand, as they say, the sins of summer are people. paid in the fall and winter. The Packers were disorganized, looked lost, looked gassed. The Seahawks were brilliant.

Green Bay didn't even play a true road game. They played a rebuilding team. Isn't it interesting? Life is overwhelmingly how you and I react to non-perfect situations because we mostly control stuff. You get up, you drive to work, you get your coffee, you go to work, you do a good job, you come home, your dogs and cats love you. A lot of action.

That easy stuff. Our life is only difficult. Joy is mine. Ryan's yours. Stuff goes sideways. Teacher calls. Spouse drives you nuts. Boss gives you limitations.

How do you react to it? Going to throw a fit in an airplane? Going to be brooding, petulant all off season? Or do you do a Russell Wilson and quickly pivot to, I make a lot. We don't have a ton of draft picks. They got me a better guard. They changed offensive coordinators. LFG.

Let's go. that's what Seattle's quarterback did. And what you saw was a result of it. And Green Bay's quarterback, even after the game, kind of the typical, no big deal, relax, RELAX, Aaron Rogers. It's just one game. You know, we played bad. I played bad.

Offensively, we didn't execute very well. One game, we got 16 to go. We've come off a couple of NFC championship games. and obviously feeling good about the unit that we have on offense, as we talk about a lot. So this is a good kick in the unit where hopefully get us going in the right direction, going back home and playing division opponent next week. Is it just one game?

I don't know. I looked at your schedule. Steelers are around the corner. I saw your offensive line. Is it just one game? Cincinnati appears to have a punch. Be playing them soon. Is that just one game?

Crisis amplifies a man's personality. You see the two on TV right now? You know which one I'd choose. And to that, let's talk Baker against Mahomes. That was a really good game and really fun. I know what you think this morning. Colin, you're going to be very critical. Okay, listen.

If you had to boil down, the difference between great quarterbacks and competent ones in this league. It comes down to this. The great ones are unaffected by score. They lead, they trail. It doesn't matter. Tom Brady Thursday night, great example. He gets the ball back minute 20 left.

Every single person on the Cowboys. Everybody in the stands. Every security guard, every popcorn vendor, every player, knows, Tom's got to throw in every down. So what? It doesn't matter. I mean, basically Dallas pinning their ears back, pass rush, he's got to throw. It doesn't matter.

Tom was so effective, he threw three straight balls out of bounds because he got there so fast. And think about Baker Mayfield. When Baker had a lead, a running game, by the way, Kevin Stefansky is one of the top five play callers in the world. He is a great play caller. Baker's throwing on third and two, second and four. Very effective. Now let's throw in some variables or punter fumble, Nick Chubb fumbles. Games close.

Now it's on me. I've got to throw. Interception. Jared Goff in 2018 and Jimmy Garoppel in 2019. Playing with a lead, a good play caller, an excellent running game, got to the Super Bowl. Ryan Tannahill with Derek Henry playing with a lead very effective. Gough, Garoppolo, Tannahill. But the minute yesterday, Kansas City knew, oh, those couple minutes left, Baker's got to throw.

That changes everything. Because Goff, Baker, and Garoppolo, this league, the separation is this. Mahomes trailed all first half and most of the second. And especially as you got into the late third and early. fourth. Oh, Mahomes has to throw. So three touchdowns, no picks, 143 passer rating. Literally the score is irrelevant with Brady. It's irrelevant with Russell Wilson. It's irrelevant with Patrick Mahomes. The minute you knew Baker in the last two drives had to throw, wasn't the same quarterback. Because now everybody knows what the quarterback,

linebackers drop into coverage. Pass rushers, pin their ears back. And Baker's a guy. And by the way, again, golf Garoppolo to a Super Bowl, Cleveland's going to win 12 games. Don't take a ton from this. But that is the difference. Cleveland coaches know there is a script with Baker. Do not let him add lib. Do not leave him to his own judgment and devices. Manage the game. And by the way, this offensive line is good enough. They are going to manage this and control the tempo on almost everybody on their schedule. They don't have to have Mahomes firing back at Arrowhead. That's the toughest game.

We told you all week. This is the toughest game in their schedule. This is no fun. By the way, I believe Mahomes now in September has 35 touchdowns and no interceptions. This was a loss. And you played really well. But for the great ones, it doesn't matter what the score is. Hey, I love Lamar Jackson.

He's better with a lead than trailing. And I think he's great. Aaron Rogers is great. he's always been a better quarterback with a lead than trailing. Always. It's got very few come from behind wins. And to Baker Mayfield's credit, he acknowledged the only time of the game that matters is

everybody knows you've got to make a play. Can you or will you? It's just all the little things that matter. And, you know, it's very frustrating because they're there. They're there. But like I said, when you play the Chiefs, the teams are that caliber. If you don't execute, you're going to lose critical moments. You have to execute critical moments.

Nothing else matters before those moments. It always comes down to those three, four plays. And those critical moments are almost always for a quarterback. They know you're throwing. They know you've got to throw. It's why Mahomes has separated from the league. His Super Bowl run that he won, he trailed in every playoff game. He trailed 24-0.

So. So. he is more than any quarterback in football, score irrelevant. The only thing that affects Patrick Malmes is the one thing that affects every quarterback that's ever played the game. If he's running for his life on every single play like the Super Bowl, Manning, Aikman, Wilson, it doesn't matter. Nobody wins with that.

Nobody wins with that variable. We can't literally can't protect the quarterback. He's running for his life. But the other variables matter very. Very little for Patrick Mahomes. For the rest of the league, mostly, and Baker, the difference between great and good. Coming up next, Rams, bears, lots of thoughts on this.

45 minutes from now, Colin right, calling right, calling wrong. 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 fourth. 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-tapped 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 Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a 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 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 Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own

experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, 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. Wolf and Shepherd wearing mine today. Dress shoe made and worn by athletes like Steve Nash and Gronk. Business meets athletic shoe.

Wolfenshepard.com. Check out their merch. So much today. Thanks so much for joining us today. Joy and I feel like we're on cloud nine. By the way, tonight, Raiders, Ravens. I'll take the Raiders with the upset. I don't know what they'll be after Thanksgiving,

but I like the Raiders with the upset tonight. So Bears Rams, Matt Stafford averaged 12.3 yards an attempt. That's why they got Matt Stafford. So it's interesting. When you look around, I mean, you all do this. What I'm about to say, we do this, Joy and I do this, you look around at your competition, you look around, what do they do better than us? What do we got to get better at?

Because there's a lot of things we feel like we come in every day, we do a good show. But you look around, Fox looks around, hey, what can we do better here? What can we do? That's what companies do. That's what your company does. That's what my companies do. And the Rams looked around. You know, I talked to people in the front office. They looked around and said, you know what we need? We got Mahomes in this league for 10 years. Okay, we need more Mahomes like touchdowns. Home runs, quick strikes over the top. They like Jared Goff. They won 10 games a year with Jared Goff. But they felt like they had to coach perfectly with Goff. Nothing came easy. It had to be nine play drives, 10 play drives. One, four.

fumble, one tip pass, one penalty, blows the drive up. And they felt like Stafford gave them 30% more playbook. The Mahomes stuff. I mean, Mahomes and Zeke yesterday or Tyreek Hill yesterday had a one play drive. I mean, even a Browns fan. I don't even know if it was a good throw. It was like, yeah, they just do that once a game. You just get a free seven points. Let's just start every game with a free seven points for Kansas City. You can't explain it. McVe privately liked golf, but they felt like there was a ceiling. They were limited. Nothing came easy.

You had to coach perfectly. One offensive line injury. One tweaked ankle. One drop pass. Blew it up. And if you look at the chart of where Stafford threw last night, sprinkled it everywhere, 30% more playbook.

Deep left, deep right, deep middle, short left, short right. And I think that's the difference. And I also feel fit matters. Right? Like in Los Angeles, Magic Johnson is a better fit in Los Angeles than Boston. A guy named Showtime, Magic's the greatest fit in the history of basketball for a city.

He literally, his game was flashy, the big smile, the nickname is Magic, Showtime. That's what the Lakers star should be. This is Los Angeles. Jack Nicholson, Diane Cannon are sitting five feet away. Like, fit matters. And there's a reason when the Pistons have been good, they're tough. Because Detroit's tough. Detroit's physical.

They make cars. They make trucks. They got factory. When Pittsburgh in the 70s was dominating, it was Steeltown USA. They were tough. Bradshaw was tough. They threw it over the top.

They punched you in the neck. They felt like Pittsburgh. And the Pistons always feel like Detroit. Kobe. Magic. Big. And Stafford feels like the Rams. You saw the stadium.

The stadium feels like L.A. The stars. Gough was a good kid. He's a good player. He never felt big. Stafford, the arm, the talent, the big plays, the home runs, the quick strike. Stafford feels more like what a ram quarterback should be. And that's what the Rams wanted.

It's nothing they didn't like golf. They won 10 games a year with golf. But the minute they had to pay golf, there's limitations on what they could do with the roster. And since they're not going to get rid of Jalen Ramsey or Aaron Donald, arguably the best players in the league at their position, they said, okay, if we're going to have to pay for a quarterback, we'd rather pay for a quarterback that feels more like us, can do more things like us. And I thought the whole night last night on NBC, just Stafford felt big. The game's big, the stadium's big, the star power, the Rams, everything felt big and he fits

perfectly. Sean McVeigh after. He's got a great ability to be able to change his arm slot and make all types of throws, whether it be short, intermediate, or down the field. But you're not limited in anything that you can do with him in the past game. You could just see there was a look in his eye. He had confidence in his teammates. He expected to play well. And he did a great job. It's hard to say that there was one thing, Jim.

I loved everything that he did tonight. I've never seen Sean McVeigh smile more. I swear to God. It's like a honeymoon period. Wait till Stafford throws a costly interception. We'll see then. But I thought it just felt big. It felt ripe stadium to Stafford to McVeigh.

McVeigh's got star power. The stadium, the city, the quarterback needs to as well. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I was thinking the same thing in that press conference. He is gushing, honey.

Everything is great. love the way she snores. It is a hoddy moon. Well, not such great news for the team that played the other LA team yesterday. Washington took a huge blow in their loss of the chargers. Ryan Fitzpatrick went down in the second quarter. Hip injury and is expected to miss multiple weeks. He'll get an MRI today to determine the severity of the injury.

If it is broken his hip, it would up his recovery timeline from weeks to months. So Taylor Heineke will be the starter, or is expected to start Thursday night against the Giants. He did finish the game. He went 11 to 15 with 122 yards in a touchdown against the Chargers. And according to Albert Breyer, Washington believes in Heineke. Kyle Allen is expected to be the backup. And they did sign Kyle Shermer to their practice squad today.

So this is bad news for Washington. I think Taylor Heineke is a nice replacement. He's okay. He's okay. He's a gamer. How about that? He's a Gardner Minchu. He's a gamer. He's going to do some nice things against a team that has some holes. But in a division like the NFC West, he would be fourth place team.

Like you can, in this division, in this division, you can stay afloat. I mean, obviously I didn't know this was going to happen, but I had Dallas winning the division. The quarterback situation was a question for me for Washington going into the season. Obviously, you know, Fitzpatrick is who they wanted to start. so this is not ideal. Although Taylor Heineke has shown some moments. I know everyone's going to rush to the Cam Newton solution, and I just don't think that's going to happen.

If Ron Rivera wasn't there, yes, 100%. I would say sign Cam Newton right away, and that makes sense. But I don't think that Cam and Ron are getting back together. We said this, though, there's going to be injuries throughout the season at that position, and the opportunities will open. I just don't think this is the place. Right. We're one weekend.

the very good football team needs a quarterback. They don't think they do, but by week eight, when they lose another game to a better quarterback, because that game, if you watched that game yesterday, it came down to Justin Herbert. Justin Herbert made about four back shoulder throws. That game was very even. Chargers got some bad calls. It came down to, and Justin Herbert is just really good.

That was the game. With a defense like that, you're going to be in the game. Yes. But you've got to have everything. When the other side of the ball is on the field, they got to make it happen. So a very anticipated matchup between Mac Jones and Tua. He had a solid start for his first NFL start. Mac Jones did 29 of 39, 281 yards, and a touchdown, no turnovers.

But the Patriots lost to the Dolphins 1716, and Jones took responsibility for his part in the loss. Yeah, I think we can get better. That's just how we have to look at it. Definitely wasn't good enough starting with me. Yeah, so we got to watch the film and we lost, so it's not good enough. I think, yeah, being the quarterback, I need to do a better job demanding better in practice. Like sometimes I just let things slide, myself included. That's interesting quote.

That's interesting quote. That's interesting. I thought it was a little symbolic. It doesn't mean much. But when they tried to give him the game after his first touchdown, he said, I don't want it. It's not that big of a deal. But it is a little symbolic. No, people are talking about it.

Everyone noticed. It's almost like, no, no, no. It's a reflection. Listen, if he had taken the ball, I would have thought nothing. Same here. Like it's not, I would have expected him to take the ball. It is your first NFL touchdown pass.

But he was telling you, I'm not interested in my personal stuff right now. Right. I'm in the middle of a game. This is us, not me. I'm not interested in this moment talking about my first touchdown. Right. I liked that he didn't, but I would have thought nothing if he did. That's exactly how I felt.

I would not talk about it. And I don't think it's that big of a deal. But it goes back to my paper cup DAC theory. Years ago, DAC first year, on the sidelines. The game going on, DAC walks by the garbage can on the sideline, crumbles up a Gatorade cup and throws it. It misses. He's not a very good Gatorade cup thrower. He turned around, grabbed it and put it in the garbage.

It's not a big thing, but it shows how conscientious DAC is to get stuff right. What's that? Again, it's just always to me it told me, DAC is a guy at practice, when I don't watch him, wants to get stuff right. Right. Getting stuff right at practice, throwing a. cup in a garbage can bothered him. Wait, no one. Put that in.

And that's that kind of responsibility. I like Dak, we've always said. Dak's intangibles are as good as anybody including Brady in the league. Yeah. His intangibles or his leadership is out of this world. It matters a little. How you do anything is how you do everything. So I like that.

What Mack Jones is saying is maybe in practice he didn't get something right and he didn't focus on what he didn't get right. And then he noticed that in the game. But I thought it was a nice debut for Mac Jones. Obviously, New England has, and their fans have Super Bowl standards every year, as they should, being a dynasty for the past two decades. This game was a total coin flip to me. Yeah. I'm not sure the best team won or the worst team lost.

It was like if they played 10 times, I think the games would all look exactly like that. Well, they had four fumbles and two of them were turnovers. So that's not going to work. And you have four trips to the red zone and don't convert. Miami wasn't particularly great. You know, it's on the offensive side of the ball either. I thought Tua looked nice, though. 16 and 27, 202 yards.

You have an interception, but so what? Like, you're going to throw interceptions. Don't think it's the end of the world. It's how and where you throw the interception that matters. The dolphins host the bills next week on Fox. And the Patriots are at the Jets next week. Oh, good luck, Jets. That's interesting.

Well, one takeaway from that game, though, obviously we knew this, is that Dolphins defense is great. Yeah, it all starts with their corners. They just take your best receivers out of the game. I just, I love watching their defense. So the Steelers started off slow in their season opener, down 10-0 at the half to the bills. But they rallied back scoring 17 in the fourth to beat Buffalo 23 to 16. Ben Rothesberger warned early in the week that the new offense was going to have some bumps early in the road.

And the defense stepped up when they needed to, holding the last season's second highest scoring offense to just one touchdown and three field goals, despite crossing midfield and eight of their 11 possessions. So defense came up big. Big Ben was 18 of 32. for 188 yards and a touchdown. It's a limited offense, and I don't think it's going to get significantly better, but I will say this. If your offensive line is just okay, Pittsburgh will eat you alive.

Now, they're not going to eat Cleveland alive. They're not going to beat New England, eat New England alive, or Baltimore. But if your old line is suspect, the Steelers are going to wear you out for three and a half hours, because that front seven is, I think it's the best front seven in football. And the newly paid T.J. Watt had two sacks, five quarterbacks. in one-force fumble. Unblockable.

He's incredible. It's really fun. Naji Harris had 16 carries for 45 yards. Again, I mean, the beginning of this game was very, very clunky on both sides. And the Steelers were having some trouble in the red zone. But, yeah, I mean, this game felt like a trap game. This was in your... No, I took the Steelers in the point.

I said it would potential upset Pittsburgh, but I like Pittsburgh in the points. They're too well-coached of a team to be that big of an underdog in week one. And they showed that. So good start for the Steelers. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard lied news.

He was a four-time pro bowler in 13 years, and Michael Vick, Fox Sports is joining us live. Okay, so I said to start my show that Russell Wilson and Aaron Rogers both had off-season disagreements with their teams. The difference is Russ, once it got solved, put his head down, had a great off season, worked his butt off, and it looked like that yesterday. Aaron was brooding about it. Even last week was talking about it. And I watched Aaron yesterday in Green Bay, and you can say it's just one game, but it didn't look right to me. Michael, how did it look for you?

I viewed it the same way. It didn't look right at all. It looked like Aaron Rogers was just uncomfortable out there. I know they was playing in Jacksonville, a different location where it was almost 90 degrees humidity, where they practice in, you know, probably on average 75 degrees. uh, during training camp time in Green Bay. Can't say that was the issue, but Aaron Rogers just didn't look comfortable out there. He made some errand throws, throws that was uncharacteristic of him. And we've never really seen him put the ball in harm's way. There's always accuracy,

is always ball placement, ball going to the right places. Yesterday, he just looked like he was all over the place as opposed to Russell Wilson and the new offense, you know, with a new passing game coordinator who came from the Rams, look real comfortable. You know, At some point, you know, and you're saying you have to just put all things, you know, you got to put all things aside and just let things go. You can't keep hopping on the things that happened in the past or the things that, you know, didn't go right. You got to play ball.

And this time of the year is just putting everything to the past and playing ball. And that's what Aaron Rogers has got to do. Yeah. And I mean, Aaron's been very public with his spat. They were both public, by the way, in the summer. The difference is Russell shut it down, focused in, full speed of him. head and Aaron looked gas yesterday. So I want to talk about Jalen Hurst, because when I first saw Jalen Hertz at Alabama, my takeaway

was more of a runner than a thrower. I thought he was more of a third round draft pick. They took him in the second, and I'm like, I don't know. And I watched him yesterday, and I was like, all right, that works. A lot of good tight ends. By the way, both their young receivers are really fast and appear to be hits. They're both good. Your interpretation of what you saw with Jalen Hertz and the Eagles yesterday.

I was very impressed. You know, I didn't know what to expect from their offense, really couldn't get a reading on what they was doing in preseason. He didn't play that much, and they didn't put a lot on display. So I was very anxious to see how Jalen Hurst would come out and perform. You just said it. The receivers, very speedy guys, very reliable and clutched. And they made some key plays in the game.

And I think Jalen Hertz, he just played within the offense. And even coming out of Oklahoma, I thought the same thing. you know, more of a runner than the passer. But he's shown, you know, just throughout the course of the time you played last year, to be efficient in the passing game, have a general understanding of what the passing game supposed to look like. And yesterday went out against the Falcons, who I thought would pull a game out and was able to come up with a win and beat him.

Okay, Bears Rams last night. I already talked about the Rams. Give me your takeaway. You're Matt Nagy this morning. You look at the tape. What would you do going forward with the quarterback position in Chicago? Oh man, Matt got some decisions to make. He got to make him soon.

Like this is a decision that has to be expedited, Colin. You can't sit around and wait when you got your true QB number one on the sideline. You got drafted this guy for a reason. We all know at some point he's going to show up, and I don't think that Andy Dalton will have an issue being a backup if that's what it came down to. You know, you got to put Justin Fields on the field. I think it's time. I know we might be just.

we might be jumping the gun. And I know it's only week one, but at the same time, why not let him get that experience? Why not let him learn on the fly? Make some positive and negative plays. Go back, watch the film and build on it. You know, I should have bet that Arizona, Tennessee game, because it was the last game I didn't put my Blazing 5. And I was talking to somebody yesterday in the league, and he said, if you go back to

Kyler Murray's first 10 games last year, he was often the best football player on the field for both teams. And I watched them yesterday. And Arizona went and they added J.J. Watt. And they already had Chandler Jones. And then they got, you know, you start looking at DeAndre Hopkins. Isaiah Simmons appears to be a hit. He's a playmaker.

And I watched Arizona and Kyler yesterday. And I got to tell you something. Take out the end of the year when he was hurt with a shoulder issue. What did you make of that? I mean, it looks a lot like early last year to me. Yeah, it was probably their most complete game. And Kyle Murray in year three is looking even more comfortable than he looked last year. And now he has a defense that can go out and get stops, create short fields, get sacks,

and give him an opportunity to go out and put pressure on the defense. And, you know, Cala, when he steps into a stadium in any stadium versus any team is probably one of the top five players on the field. Right. You know, his skills are, you know, his intangibles, you know, are unmatched. So he prevents problems, he creates problems for the defense. And, you know, he makes defense as uncomfortable. So his skill set alone, you know, combined with the playbook and the way they call plays, I think it's going to help them, you know, stay at the top of the NFC West

if they continue to play defense the way they play yesterday. Because I think that was the key component to the game. You know, a lot of my life, quarterbacks were either pocket guys who couldn't move or runners who had limitations as a thrower. Russell Wilson to me and Kyler Murray can do both at a high level. Kyler may be a small guy. He throws as catchable a ball. They're both baseball players, by the way.

Kyler and Russell are baseball players. So they both throw a beautiful ball. I want to go to this. Mahomes Baker, I mean, sometimes you can lose, and I look at you and I think it won't, like you have successful traits. Listen, I mean, Philadelphia looked perfect. The Green Bay Packers look terrible. I don't think that's literally who they are this morning.

But what did you make of, let's just go Kansas City, Cleveland? What did you see? What did you like? What was your takeaway? You know, and I really liked what Cleveland was able to bring to the table. I felt like they had a chance to win, and they was in control of the game up until midway in the third quarter. And up until Nick Chubb's fumble, you know, I felt like they was going to win the game.

And, you know, I said it on the show yesterday, who was going to meet Kansas City at the finish line? And we had a debut of what that could potentially look like, you know, in terms of the postseason. And I do think these teams will meet again. But Cleveland, they had every chance to win the game, you know, turnover, you know, a punt block at the end or whatever happened with that situation. It was ugly. And it led to Kansas City scoring points. And, you know, I think if they take anything away from this, it's learning how to finish. They'll go back and watch the film.

And they'll probably kick themselves in the butt for what happened. But they got to learn how to finish games because a team like the kids. Kansas City Chiefs, you got Patrick Mahomes, Andy Reid, and then Chris Jones, they're going to get you at some point. So you got to take advantage of them, especially when you got them down. Mike, good day today. You're on all the shows. You're working your tail off. You've earned your pay today at FS1. I appreciate you stopping by, man. Go hit the links. Go hit some golf balls, buddy. Thanks, man. I'm headed to the PGA Superstore. There you go. You know, it was funny. On a day like today I like to touch on all the games.

I will say this. The most impressive rookie I saw was the left tackle for the Chargers, Rishon Slater. And we're not going to spend a lot of time talking about a left tackle. He had to face Montez Sweet and Chase Young. Sweat, excuse me. Montez Sweat and Chase Young. Shut out. They couldn't get to Herbert.

Of all the rookies I watched, and there's a lot of good ones, That kid. Think about this. If you're the Chargers and you just said, listen, we got two Hall of Famers because Tom Telesco is a good GM. And you said, listen, of all your picks in a two or three year period, if you had to get two right and you said, star quarterback and left tackle. And I watched Herbert yesterday and Rishan Slater. And I'm like, oh, they got that stuff right. Because Herbert is insane. He may throw the second best back shoulder throw in the game today. And Rishon Slater went up against Chase Young. By the way, did this in college, by the way, at Northwestern threw a shutout. And Chase Young devours people through a shutout. It was like, wow. So the

Chargers know, quarterback, check, left tackle, check. That was like, that was not a good feeling. And that is not an easy place to play. I mean, that, they didn't get a couple calls. There was a terrible end zone. They called it a fumble. It was like awful. They had a couple of not go their way. That was an impressive win by the Chargers, and they have found a stud at left tackle. He looked like a pro bowler yesterday. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. He's by Carmen. I'm Dan Byard. We have a brand new fantasy football podcast called I Want Your Flex. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, we come up with new episodes to not only look back at what happened, what you need to do at that

minute and also look ahead of what's coming up in the fantasy football world. That's right, Dan. Every week we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup. Sit, starts. Fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready to dominate the competition. Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, Dan Byer on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, and wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. While it grotesque, others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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-tapped 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 a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. But just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed, correct. So I'm starting to see 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, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Top of next hour. So Pittsburgh bless their steel curtain hearts. They think I'm always picking on them.

And I said last year, when they got up to an 11 and 0 start, I said, I don't think they're very good. I think they're beating bad teams, their schedule, they got some breaks. And I said, I just, I just, there's certain things in football that. I would call them traits. Cleveland has very good traits this year. Excellent O-line. Strong running game. And Kevin Stefansky is a tremendous play caller.

That is going to wear very well every week. Pittsburgh is built. They're so good in the front seven defensively. If you don't have it buttoned up on your O line, they are seek and destroy. They will completely disrupt you. And so yesterday, Big Ben average 5.9 yards an attempt. Ben is not accurate. Ben is not efficient.

Ben's not great at the line of scrimmage. Ben's a home run hitter. Ben looked old in week one. He looked old yesterday. They can't run the ball. They don't throw the ball down the field effectively. What are they going to look like in week 17? I don't see the traits.

What I see is a great front seven. And I mean, best front seven in the league. And that is going to, that's why. I said they're an eight and nine, nine and eight team. That's going to win them nine games or eight games. Maybe he'll win nine. Maybe I had them low at eight. I said they feel like a team that wins one way.

They're defensive line. And I said this about the Dallas Cowboys Thursday. Cowboys can beat you one way. Shootout. The Cowboys have lost 17 straight games when they didn't score 30 points. They have to score 30. This team has to face average offensive lines. And when they do, this is what will happen.

It's why I bet the Steelers this. weekend. But I don't see their traits. And by the way, it's week one. Super Bowls are not one in September. If they were, Andy Reed would have seven and Bill Belichick would have one. It's Belichick's weakest month, Andy's best month. But if you look at the best teams in this league, Cleveland, excellent O-line, Rams, excellent O-line, Kansas City, Baltimore, Tampa. Most of your good, Buffalo is rare. Good team, shaky O-line. Most of the good teams will not be completely utterly unraveled by the Steelers' excellent front seven. When I watched them yesterday, it's not a shot, but they can't run the ball last year.

They can't run it this year. They get no push. Naji Harris is fine, but he and Ben didn't click. Chase Clay Bull is amazing. The rest of the receivers you can have, Chase is great. And this game played right into it. They're a very proud team. Now, Mike Tomlin, and he's impossible to argue with, he is the greatest quote in the history of the league. shots guys like me up, and he does make a point. We're not worried about style points. We'll let you guys write whatever stories you want to write, man.

We knew it would be tough sledding. They got a great defense. They got continuity, not only in players, but schematics. We were playing them in their place. We had a bunch of new pieces. You know, we weren't style point oriented today. We just had to win this game. I'm not going to argue with that.

And that's my point. They have to win ugly. because their offensive lines not good enough to win pretty. Ben is a home run quarterback, not an efficient guy, not the accurate guy, and he's averaging 5.9 yards an attempt. Matt Stafford averaged over 12, and he's more accurate generally as a thrower. So I don't see traits that wear a while. Cleveland has great traits.

By the way, when Cleveland leads everybody at half, they're not going to face Mahomes and Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelsey. Cleveland's going to win this division. Cleveland's traits are excellent for the season. Pittsburgh is just going to monster front seven. But watch when Cleveland and Pittsburgh meet. Cleveland's offensive lines the best in football, first or second best.

Cleveland will not be completely disrupted by the Steelers front. I still think I have the number right on Pittsburgh. Maybe they're nine and eight, not eight and nine. Escape QuickBooks, QuickSand, with NetSuite by Oracle, the number one financial system. Special financing is back. Go to NetSuite.com slash herd. NetSuite.com slash H-E-R-D.

Colin Wright, Colin Wrong next. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Street or Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

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

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which 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 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 a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's 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. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.