The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 11/27/2020 - Hour 1 - Cowboys Blew It When They Paid Zeke

Episode Date: November 27, 2020

On today's episode of The Herd, Doug Gottlieb fills in for Colin. When it comes to MVP candidates, Doug feels we need to pump the brakes a little bit on the Dashaun Watson chatter. These days, Ezekiel Elliott is just an "okay" running back for the Cowboys, not blown away. Pat Forde joins in to talk College football rankings, SEC, BIG 10 and how the eye test is slightly skewed this season. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

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

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The 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. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. What up?

Welcome in. This is The Herd, wherever you may be. And however you may be listening to this show, thanks so much for making us part of your day. Doug Gottlieb in for Colin Cowherd. Happy Thanksgiving to you, and I'm going to be the first to say it. Merry Christmas.

Right? We got ahead of ourselves. We got ahead of ourselves. We're live and live. Sanchez and the IHeart Radio at Fox Sports Radio. You download the podcast as well. By the way, quick note, I have an all-ball podcast. Awesome stuff with Ron Baker.

Remember him he played at Wichita State, played in the NBA. You know, Greg Marshall, the Wichita State coach got fired. He was there during some of these alleged incidents. You want to download that. Then I got another one dropping tomorrow. Frank Martin from South Carolina. Incredible stuff. All-Ball and the HARD podcast network.

Yeah, we kind of got ahead of ourselves because of COVID and quarantine and not being able to celebrate things. But the truth is this, that while holiday lights, it felt like went up earlier than they ever had before. Like, you know, as soon as as Halloween was over, I saw people putting up holiday decorations. The truth is, Black Friday, Black Friday is the first day in which, you can officially say, happy holidays, or Merry Christmas. So when you walk around today and you see somebody and you haven't seen them in a while, I go, hey, Merry Christmas, you'll know that, and Gottlieb said it first. It's a good reminder.

And just so you know, I am Jewish and it's totally okay to wish me a Merry Christmas and for me to wish you a Merry Christmas. Does it mean that, no, it doesn't mean anything in terms of belief. It's just a really nice thing to say to somebody. Don't take it as any other way. Oh, hey, Gottlieb, happy Hanukkah. Okay, thank you. Anyway, Merry Christmas to you.

It's a Merry Christmas to us because, oh, the Sunday games couldn't be any worse than Thursday games. Those were not two great games. And can we pump the brakes a little bit? Just a little bit. Let's pump the brakes on the, you know, Deshawn Watson could be in the MVP discussion. No, no, no, he couldn't. I understand that 15 touchdowns, no interceptions, last four games. granted that they played in terrible weather in Cleveland and they lost to the Browns.

The wins for the Houston Texans this year, but Deshawn Watson, who is widely viewed as a superstar quarterback, are as follows. The Jags, the Jags, the Patriots, the Lions. That's it. That's who they've beaten this year. So, you know, forgive me if I don't go, oh my gosh, this is the greatest thing. The lions stink. They don't, apparently don't really want to compete for Matt Patricia.

They also were down several dudes, especially on the offense, without Kenny Gallaudet and without Swift, their new running back. Like, it wasn't really a fair fight. The lions were going to line. Shouldn't take away from the fact that Romeo Crenel has done a nice job of keeping this team going and getting them to the finish line. But that was a game of two bad teams and one, two, really good quarterbacks one better than the other. I'm not saying that he's bad, but the old

MVP thing, when you're winning games that don't matter against teams that would rather lose than win, I cannot take you seriously in the grand landscape of the NFL. But what I do want to get to is the Dallas Cowboys. You know, many people could point to Dak Prescott's injury as the straw that broke the camel's back. That was the moment where the cowboy season officially officially collapsed. But the truth is the downfall of the Cowboys, we saw it yesterday, clear as day. It was with Ezekieliot,

who's what in sports we call a JAG. No, I'm not talking about the investigative unit in military. No, a JAG is just a guy. Just a guy. Ezekieliot is a JAG. Now, can we point out that they're without Tyrant Smith, they're without Lail Collins, and now Zach Martin goes down with an injury, they may be without him, one of the best guards, is not the best guard in football?

Yeah, that, that stinks. No one is going to run the football or throw the football well behind a depleted offensive line. Look, Carson Wenz has a depleted offensive line, and when they return, they're just old, and has young inexperienced backup wide receivers. He's not playing well, but it's very much a factor. very much part of it is the fact that he doesn't have the time, doesn't have the confidence to know who to throw the football to. So I just, I look at this thing and I'm,

I'm, I was trying to factor in and wonder when it all went wrong. And I realized at the time I was right and I got a little confirmation bias yesterday. Was anybody blown away by Ezekieliot? No. Well, he just doesn't seem to have the same explosiveness. Well, first, part of it is the makeup of their team. They always had a tremendous offensive line. That always allowed for a push and gave him the space to get going.

And he responded in kind. But the bigger part is this. Dude's just okay. Right? That's what happens with running backs. when they get used a bunch, they're not as good as they used to be. And let's not compare him to Adrian Peterson,

who's, he had been like a fine wine. I mean, he's been suspended, he's had injuries. He's 35 years old and he's still finding a way. And he's kind of a one-trick pony, right? He's not a pass-pro guy per se. He doesn't catch it out of the backfield. Like Adrian Peterson can still find a way to get yards. But Adrian Peterson was also, he's a freak of nature.

He's the guy who came back from an ACL. and was the MVP the next year. Again, freak of nature. Most running backs are like a Zeke Elliott. And that's when it all went wrong for Jerry. Zeke held out and instead of taking a breath and he talked about his backup, people thought that was a slap in the face. It was kind of reason when he said Zeke, Zeke who after a preseason game.

I mean, think about this. Last year before the season began, Zieg held out. Now the Cowboys had Zeeke under contract and could have very easily just driven the hard bargain. But Jerry, as Jerry does, gave in. Really gave in. First, he signed Jalen Smith to a contract way too big

because why? Jalen Smith is loyal. Jailen Smith's a great story. But great stories don't big contracts, great contracts make. It shouldn't take away from Jalen Smith coming back from Dropfoot to become a starting linebacker in the NFL. But dude, that doesn't mean you walk into the office one day and go,

I need somebody to sign just to prove that I still want to pay people. I just don't want to pay Zique as much as I got to pay Zique. And then he went and paid Zik. Right? That's exactly what happened. So in sequential order, had Zik not cut the line, had Zik not cut the line, they could have worked out in a Mari deal.

they probably would have worked out a DAC deal. They then would have gotten Jalen Smith under a reasonable contract. And then in last offseason, worked their way around to giving Zika a new contract, just not at the level that he thinks is commensurate. Or maybe not because Christian McCaffrey got a huge deal. But the numbers were bad. The timing was bad. It was way too early.

And more than anything, it screwed up the entire order of things. And now, well, now the Cowboys were not only better off going for it on fourth down twice and not getting it, but losing yesterday. Look around. Yes, they have injuries. That's absolutely fair to point out. It's totally fair to go, hey, what's our team built upon? Tremendous offensive line.

Dak Prescott, some big players on defense, run the football, big name players on offense. And then, you know, but when you're built around an offensive line, and any NFL guy will tell you that offensive line is not nearly what it used to be, especially with the retirement of, of, uh, of, uh, Travis Frederick and with Tyron Smith aging and having some injuries. Like it's not what it used to be. It's still very good if healthy. But that team sucks.

That's not a good football team. You don't get run off the field by the Washington football team. You don't get run off the field on Thanksgiving Day unless it's time to wave the white towel. And think about it. Coming into the day yesterday, they would have had the fourth pick in the draft. The Eagles who are having to have. half game up on them had the 19th pick in the draft. So they're better off.

And I mean, now they're in a position where what are they going to do with Zieg's contract? They got to figure out Dak, who's coming off of a broken ankle. You think he's going to be back. But what is the proper value? It's not at franchise tag value, $40 million a year. On the other hand, do you want to sign a long-term deal with him? Are you absolutely sure? because the best financial answer to their problems is to draft a quarterback and play the rookie.

When you play a rookie on a rookie scale, you got a bunch of money to spread around to fix the rest of defense. And oh yeah, by the way, when you have the fourth pick, it's not just a fourth pick in the first round. It's the fourth pick in every round. It's one of the big reasons that the Patriots have struggled in drafting because once you get into the 20s, it's really hard. it's hit or miss. The Cowboys are in perfect position to tank. Right? They have a first-year head coach who can do crazy stuff

and play like it's a bowl game and try and have double passes and fake puns. And you know what, it's a no-lose. You don't go for it. You don't get it. You're like, well, at least he went for it. They're now buried and mired in the muck of the bottom of the worst division

far and away in football, and it's not the worst thing ever. But the reason that they're there after walking into the season thinking they can compete with the elite of the NFL is because of Zieg's contract, the timing of which, the dollars of which, and how it screwed up the order that the Cowboys could pay their star players. Make no mistake about it. The moment, you ever read the book, the tipping point, the moment that this thing tipped or the butterfly effect, if this hadn't happened, this wouldn't happen, was when Ezekieli had held out. and Jerry, as Jerry always does, acquiesced and gave in to a running back and paid him way too much, way too early at the wrong time, considering all the other guys who rightfully deserved a contract extension based upon where they were and where they stood. Coming up next. If you don't think this is the weirdest year in sports, we have no idea what's going to happen with the Steelers and the Ravens.

We have one college football team has played one game. another one's undefeated through three games, and these are big-night-name big-time programs. And oh, yeah, by the way, the number one team in college basketball has two guys shut down after playing Kansas yesterday and playing Auburn today.

Pat 40 will try and make heads or tales of what we do with college football. That's upcoming next. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of the HARD weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1. and the IHard 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 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 Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. 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 IHeartRadio 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, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we, are in possession of the thing.

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on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Doug Gottliebind for Colin. This is the Hurd Happy Thanksgiving posthumously. Right? Is there anything more overrated than day old turkey? Right?

Oh, no, I have leftovers. Then you have leftovers. Like, that was not as good as yesterday. I will say that we kind of nailed it in the home front yesterday. It was like a rare bird wasn't dry sort of thing. Bird wasn't dry. Dressing was good. And none of us ate.

And then just a family meal getting together. And we all crushed it. And then everybody was like, I'm so tired. Was yesterday long for anybody else? I think not having Steelers Ravens really, you know, and those games being awful. Those are bad football games. There's nothing of you're like, well, Deshawn Watson's on?

Yeah, yeah. Alex Smith's leg almost fell off, and now he's back playing quarterback. Like those two parts were cool. But, and whose decision was it to give us techno-Cain Brown? If you make the decision to have Kane Brown perform at halftime of the Cowboys, well, then suck it up. It's going to be country music.

You know, this is the old cowherd used to say this about women's basketball. don't know if he'll cop to it now. He is a great line. I like spaghetti. I like ice cream. I don't like spaghetti and ice cream together. I love women. I love basketball. I don't love women's basketball together. It's a great, right? I like a good pop remix. Who doesn't? I actually like country music. I really like Kane Brown. You know what? Doesn't go together well? No, it wasn't like the Grammys where you suddenly feel like the oldest human on earth. You're like, I have no idea who these people are. I know who came out. Brown was. I just knew that that wasn't what the song actually sounded like.

Call me crazy, but I like it as it sounds when it's downloaded. That's just me. Anyway, yeah, I'm, I'm kind of fascinated here, fascinated by what the weekend looks like. I'm not sure if you followed this, but, okay, so the Ravens, they lost, their top two running backs to COVID, one of their linebackers to COVID. Then yesterday, six more players Test pop, including Lamar Jackson. This is a Ravens team that needed a win, but there are no more buys on the schedule.

They can't shift things around based upon how the schedule actually looks. So then last night, Schefter reports that John Harbaughed toward the team, hey, can't come to the facility until Monday. Well, yeah, we play. Okay, but they play on the road. week. They play on the road so you don't have to go to the, but the game still on. Game on!

But everything now is very much in doubt. Like, all right, we can have RG3 go out there? Against the Steelers? Without his two top running backs? Does not seem like the best plan. Don't even get me started on college football. Where they're trying to move some stuff around against LSU and Alabama are going to play. USC is 3 and O, but they're not going to play this weekend as their game was canceled. Utah, who they just beat is 0-1. And I think they found a way to play a game. Like, the whole

thing is nutty. Nuddy. So, like, if you're scoring at home, or if you're by yourself, Tulane has played 10 games this year. Utah has played one. I don't even know what to do with that. The college football rankings came out

and, look, I'm with you on USC. Like, I've been utterly in completely unimpressed, especially the escape over Arizona State. But that was the first game. They didn't have spring practice. They didn't have any buy games that they could lead up to. You know, they beat Arizona State and you end up 1 and 0. Now they're 3 and 0.

But USC, who I don't think is great, is not in the top 8? Okay. I don't know really what to do with that. We'll ask Pat 40. He's going to join us in a moment. First, though, let's get to Lee with the news. This is the Herdline News Happy holidays, Doug

Happy holidays to you You can go Merry Christmas It's okay, I'm not offended Christmas People always do this Aren't you Jewish That's okay Like I'm not gonna be like

Oh my God How did you not know That he's not my lord and savior Go ahead anyway All right We started off with the Cowboys Did you see the fumble rusky yesterday I did see the fumble rusky

I did see the Although in fairness I don't know if that's That's called the fumble rusky but it's not actually the fumble ruski is when you're supposed to pretend like there's a fumble, right? That was where they handed. But some people were bothered by, it was only for six-yard gain. It was like, well, the idea is to get a first down.

They got the first down. The play worked. Right. And in fact, Rivera, he had attributed it to a famous movie. And, of course, the famous play from the Little Giants called the Annexation of Puerto Rico. Yes, annexation of Puerto Rico. That's the play. I love it.

Yeah, six yards of J.D. McKissick, I thought it was a good play. Fun to see. Matthew Stafford yesterday, by the way, had an all-time passing. Touch passed Joe Montana on the all-time passing touchdown list. Did you see that? I did. It's just one of those. And I think Stafford is better than he's given credit for, but it's really hard when he's been on so many losing teams, right?

Like the greatest season Calvin Johnson ever had with Matt Stafford throwing to him. They won four games that year. Right. Do you think Calvin can be a first ballot hall of Famer or no? Yes, Calvin Johnson will be a first ballot hall of family. Also, just so you know, he's Matthew Stafford here, is the first quarterback ever to pass for 3,000 yards on Thanksgiving Day. Hit it on the mark.

3,000 yards on Thanksgiving Day. I did not know that. That'll go down as a historic mark. All right. Did you know match three is going down today? The match three? A match three. Yeah, so it's Mickelson and Tiger.

Actually, Tiger's not going to be on today. It's going to be Mickleson and Charles Barkley. And Manning is going to be paired with Steph Curry. Okay, so wait, Mickleson is playing against non-prose? That is correct. And in fact, he's actually not favored to, win against these guys. But are they getting strokes?

They have to be getting strokes. There's just no way. Like, Steph Curry is a tremendous golfer. There's no, like. But you're playing with Charles Barkley as your partner. So are they playing best ball? Like, what are they? There are going to be best hole in one balls.

There are going to be different crop bets along the way. I mean, just, I don't know how many people understand this, how good pro golfers are and how good Phil Mickelson is. even at this age and with his health issues. Like, how they even view a golf course is so, so different than how we do. I did not know the match. Part three is being played. It does feel like we're getting to the Police Academy 6.

You know, was it Police Academy 5 with Citizens on Patrol? Is that what it is? Citizens on Patrol, which I believe is the plan in some cities is to go with Police Academy 5 Citizens on Patrol. But Steve Gutenberg, once he was out of Police Academies, I stopped watching. Just so you know, Curry and Manning are minus 170 favorites over Mibbilsen and Barking in this game today, or plus 140. Yeah, I'd have to see how it's how it's being scored. And that's the lead with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Line News. The Heard Line News. All right, we're going to welcome in Pat 40 in a moment. Of course, 40-yard Dash, been writing covering college sports for years. As yesterday, we got the first little, got a little nibble. got a little nibble of college bass with Gonzaga stomping Kansas,

a Kansas team which, of course, still kind of waiting to figure out what their NCAA verdict is. And, you know, they lost their point guard and their center to the NBA. And so they're very much a work in progress, whereas Gonzaga looked and felt like a true number one team and a made-for-TV event on Fox. We'll see the Zags a little bit later on. But they're going to be without two players because of contact with somebody who tests

positive for COVID in their traveling party. It's really hard to keep track up. And then you got college football games that are currently going underway. More are going to be played this weekend. And more, of course, are going to be canceled. Let's get to Pat 40. He joins us here in the herd. Texas, by the way, up early 10-0 on Iowa State.

Pat, is Texas back? We're going to do the, is Texas back thing? Texas is not back. No, no. But they are much, much better than Iowa State so far today. Each team's only had the ball a couple times, but it's a mismatch at this point. We'll see if they can maintain it, but they're not back. The biggest game of the day is Notre Dame, right?

Up until they play Clemson in what should be the ACC championship game, this is the one game that they can lose, will they? I don't think so, though. There are some injury concerns on the offensive lines, two other starters are out, and North Carolina can absolutely score. so, I mean, it's not going to be an easy game by any stretch, but I think if you look at the four units that are in play here outside of special teams, Notre Dame's offense and defense are really good,

North Carolina's offense is really good, and North Carolina's defense is really not good. And I think that's where the advantage is for Notre Dame. So I would expect Notre Dame to win, but I wouldn't expect it to be easy. All right, let's get to the college football rankings, which I understand the difficulty in it. I do. I mean, you have BYU is 9 and O and USC is 3 and O, right? Wisconsin is 2 and 1.

You have teams that have played 8, 9, 10 games, sometimes against nobodies. And of course, BYU catching heat because they appear to have ducked Washington and offered no true explanation as to why. What do you make of the first college football rankings? I thought they got the top four correct and in the correct order. after that, you know, I think maybe Northwestern could have been a little bit higher. I certainly thought BYU should be higher. There's no doubt they need another marquee game.

And not getting that game scheduled is a problem for them if they have any aspirations for getting into the playoffs. But if you just have watched them play, I mean, they are extremely good. And, I mean, they have pretty well destroyed everybody they've played. They've got the largest margin of victory in the country. They have the largest differential between yards per play for them versus yards per play allowed. I mean, there's not been anything like soft or fluky about being undefeated to this point other than the fact they just haven't played enough good teams. But I think they would fare well in games against other good teams. What do you do with Cincinnati?

You know, boy, they're a tough one. I mean, I like them a lot too. I think you look at them and see a pretty darn complete team. the question is, like, if my rankings, I would have Cincinnati 6th, I would have them ahead of the one-loss SEC teams. So I would have it Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, Ohio State, Northwestern, Cincinnati would be the way I would look at it right now. And so I would have Cincinnati at least there in the further, a little further into the conversation. As it stands now, if I were Cincinnati, I'd be a little bit kind of demoralized or disappointed that there's basically an SEC roadblock in front of you. There's three SEC teams in the top six, and there's very much a chance for a second SEC team instead of an undefeated Cincinnati.

Yeah, and I guess the question becomes, and their one survival was against Central Florida in the last game, and it's not the, it's not Scott Frost's Central Florida. I kind of agree with the rankings. Like, I'm sorry, I just, it's really hard for me to put together their schedule and not be impressed by what they've done, but understand that it's a completely different level of football. than playing in the SEC, especially when the SEC is playing a mostly full schedule. Yeah, I mean, look, I don't think it's like a travesty or anything. But again, I think that trying to rely a little bit more this year, especially on actually just watching them, you know, more eye test, which is very subjective than because there just isn't the non-conference play.

You know, I think Cincinnati passes the eye test pretty darn well. But here's the problem with the eye test. And you and I, we've discussed this in college basketball for years, and it works in college football the same. Last week, you look at Ohio State and you're like, wow, if Indiana doesn't screw this thing up, and there's just so many mistakes, some of them were mistakes helped by Ohio State, but some of them were just self-inflicted wounds. If not for that, you beat Ohio State on the road in the shoe, granted no fans.

And then you calculate it like, wait, wait a second, Indiana needed a controversial call going for two just to beat Penn State who hasn't won a game, right? you do the transitive property thing. So the eye test thing, the problem is, one, when are you watching? And two, who are you watching them against, right? Like you watch them against East Carolina, and they're kicking an onside kick for style points. And you're like, man, Cincinnati's a bunch of badasses.

Then you watch them against Central Florida. You're like, eh, eh. I mean, so the problem is level of competition and when you actually see them. Well, sure. And that's why you can hopefully try to see them every week, as much of as you do as you can of all these teams. you know, and hopefully that's what the committee is doing because they're watching them watching them

is making matters more than us watching them. But, you know, they are thinking like Central Florida is a better team than East Carolina. So that game should be closer. I mean, Central Florida, their record is not great. They're really good offensive team. Yes. I figured that was going to be a close game.

And it was. So, you know, I mean, yes, are they probably weakening? You know, when you're playing East Carolina, is that weaker than everyone in the SEC? Probably, although there is Vanderbilt in that league. and Tennessee is pretty darn bad and Kentucky's not good this year and so on. But yeah, there's

almost assuredly a higher level of play in the SEC than in the American Athletic Conference. But, you know, could Cincinnati get on the field against Texas A&M and Florida and play with him? Yeah, I think they could. What do you make of Scott Frost and Nebraska?

It was, you know, he had built up that Central Florida program to being undefeated. and playing in a New Year's Sixth bowl. He comes back home and, I mean, it's one of those everybody thought it would work. And I know that in many ways in Lincoln, what's more important is Colin Miller, the kid who suffered that spinal concussion. Looks like he's going to recover, but it was really scary from last week's loss to Illinois.

But they, you know, you lose to Illinois, you lose to Northwestern, you get stomped by Ohio State. Now it appears that Adrian Martinez, who was his first recruited quarterback, has now been, as now, you know, he's basically anointed the backup as Luke McCaffrey, the freshman, whose Christian McAfree's brother is going to be the starter, and he said he's the future. But what do you make of Scott Frost and the struggles to get Nebraska back above water in the Big Ten? Well, I am certainly surprised that they're not better, you know. I'm not sure I thought they were going to, you know, challenge Ohio State for conference supremacy. but I absolutely thought they could win the West or being contentioned to win to the West.

They're not even close. I mean, they're bad. They are bad. This three straight years of bad Nebraska football under Scott Frost. He's getting paid $5 million plus to not be bad. So it's been a huge crashing disappointment. And, you know, you could probably give a, you know, a COVID mulligan to about everybody this year. But they went to such, you know, chest beating extents.

So we want to play, we need to play. You know, we're coming after the top of the league. We're getting better. No, you're not. You're going the other way. It's anything. And so that's just been, there's been all hat, no cattle from Scott Bross so far in Lincoln. Well, here's the problem, okay?

And I don't know if people understand this. This is really, this is, what I get frustrated by Pat, Pat 40, joining us, Doug Gottlie, filling in for Colin, this is the hurt, is in our industry. Oftentimes, we have people talking about. about things that don't actually matter, where things that do matter are what make teams, what make teams better. This is the best example. Why is Notre Dame, why do they have so much more talent than Nebraska? They're two historic names.

They're both in the Midwest. They're both in Big Ten country. And yet, one is able to recruit at a much higher level and been able, like, Notre Dame has become an offensive lineman and tight-end factory. And then they're starting to get better skill position players as well, whereas Nebraska that used to pump out these offensive linemen, they used to have the black shirts on defense simply cannot. And I'm telling you, it's moving to the Big Ten is only financially successful for him.

It's an abject disaster. Why? They don't play in Texas anymore. That's where the players are. Now, the thought was that Scott Frost, because of the ties to Florida from recruiting in Florida, he'd bring that back with him to Nebraska. But Nebraska can't get into California anymore nearly as well. Martinez obviously is from there.

They're not, they used to have the pipeline from the East Coast. East Coast, that's more difficult now, even though they're in the Big Ten. But more than anything, Florida, Texas, California, tougher. Whereas Notre Dame, the genius to them is they play in the ACC, so they get to play in Florida once a year. They're playing in Virginia. That has players. They're still recruiting New Jersey well.

They recruit locally pretty well. but they get into Texas because they've played Texas. They've played those games. And they play two California teams, one on the road every year. A lot of it is a product of who you play and where you play them, because when a kid is going to go away to school, their parents wouldn't want to see them play in person. They want to see them play on TV every week.

And that happens at Notre Dame, and it's not able to happen in the Big Ten. And walling off Texas and not playing those Texas schools has been a disaster to them. Yeah, no. I mean, there's no doubt that they have geographically, inhibited their brand, so to speak, you know, even more than it already was, quite frankly. You know, I mean, it's been 25 years since they were at the top of the heap. And, you know, they had already been not able to recruit in the talent-rich areas as much as they have been.

But now, yeah, if you take yourself completely out of Texas, that's a problem. And then, you know, if the product you're putting on the field for players is just bad. Yes. You know, I mean, you're like, hey, come join this exciting. You know, they're not exciting. They're not good. They're not good at anything at this point. So how are you going to get people excited to come to Lincoln, Nebraska?

Well, well, if you can't, you know, if you can't say come, you know, well, yeah, we'll play it. We'll come back. You'll play in front of mom and dad in Texas and everything else. And, I mean, they just, they don't have a recruiting advantage at this point. Well, the other part, they used to have the recruiting advantage of they had the best facilities. They had the most investment. They're all in. The problem is in the Big Ten, most everybody's out.

Right. The top of the left. You're at the top of the last. of the financial heap. It's, you notice this with Missouri, your alma mater, right? Like, if you go all in the Big 12, you're just, you can spend more than, than most of the schools. Then, then, you know, especially in Iowa State or a Kansas or a Kansas state, like they just, there's a, there's a limit there to what they can do. And so Nebraska can just go into those, anybody who's recruiting against them in the Big 12, with exception of Oklahoma and Texas,

just say, hey, we got all the resources in the world. They don't. We're all in on football. They're not. You can't do that. in the Big Ten. You just can't. Because everybody's got financial resources. Everybody. I mean, like Purdue now has just unbelievable indoor facility. Minnesota has an unbelievable indoor facility. There is no, you can't out facility anybody really anymore in that league. Yeah, yeah. Pat 40 joining us. What do we make of the college basketball start to the season where you do have a ton of cancellations and move? We did get a little, we did, they wet our appetite a little bit yesterday with Gonzaga beat in Kansas, maybe not the best camp, but we don't

bail her right now with some COVID concerns. Now, Gonzaga with COVID concerns, what do you make of our early foray into college basketball? It's messy. It's really messy. And I mean, I guess it's not a surprise because this is just set up to be even harder than football. And it's been pretty hard in football. But, you know, I just, I don't, I, you know, we're just going to have to be accustomed and ready to routine disruption, routine cancellations, games, players, coaches, all coming and going. And that's just going to have to be the way it is. I mean, frankly, I'm a little surprised Gonzaga is playing today against Auburn.

They have, after some testing issues within their team while they're in Florida. So, you know, this whole thing is just going to have to be piece by piece and hope that we can can have it, get the season going well enough that there's no need to, you know, to just shut the whole thing down. I'm hoping we never get to that point, but it's not going to be easy. Pat, great stuff. Hope you guys had a great Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas to you and your family. Thanks so much for joining us. All right.

Thank you, Doug. All right. That's the one and only Pat 40, writer for Sports Illustrated, 40-yard dash. Check them out. Follow them on social media. All right, as we get ready for this weekend's NFL games, NFL games, One note jumps out to me that I think many are glossing over because we're worried about Steelers, Ravens, will it be played? I'll share that with you next. I'm the Gottlieb.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games. and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, 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, 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 are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the... look back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here,

unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it, including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, yeah, literally, 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. Trip 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 Hardway and listen now. Doug Gottlieb in for Colin. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be making this part of your day. Thanks up. Oh, Snoop Dog. Do you guys see Snoop Dog? Commenting on UFC is amazing. I want Snoop Dog commenting on me commenting.

That would be amazing. One of the, like you have one of those moments where you feel like you made it. Here's mine, okay? This is a true story. It's an Uncle Doug story that I shared actually with my son. The cool thing is Snoop Dog is still cool. So an 11-year-old's like, really? All right.

So summer of 2001. Okay. So I finished college 2000. I played that season several places. And the USBL is the number one overall pick of the USBL, by the way. I'll put that in my tombstone. And then was in Italy and then in Idaho. And I got cut before I played a game in the CBA.

And then I called a couple games and played in the IBA, or maybe it was IBL. It was in Salina, Kansas with the Rattlers. I played six games. And then I flew to Russia and played with a team called Eurograde, where we won the Russian championship and our European League championship. And one of the reasons that I didn't want to stay around for the celebration.

I did the victory parade and we drank vodka out of this massive vodka bottle was because I had gotten an invite to play with the Lakers in their Summer League team. I'd done a free agent mini camp before camp, their vet camp, the year before and didn't make it a guy named Mike Pemberth who he's now in the system with them, beat me out. Guy could just shoot. I mean, he's an unbelievable shooter. and now he's one of the shooting coaches with the Lakers.

Go figure. So, I mean, think about how your career path changes, right? Like, if I just could have made a shot, maybe that could have been me. Anyway. So summer of 2001, I got to play for the Lakers in their Summer League. And it was at long, that was back when Summer League was at Long Beach State at the pyramid. And I go back far enough at Long Beach State. I moved to Southern California because my dad in 1981 was an assistant coach at Long Beach State.

played downtown at the Long Beach Sports Arena, which is right next to the Queen Mary, and Craig Hodges was their star. Tex winner was the head coach. You know, Triangle Tex winner? Okay. So Tex was on staff at the Lakers. He helped me out. I got a chance to play on the Summer League team.

So I'm playing the Summer League team. I'm doing all right. My dad would go to just not just my Summer League games, but other Summer League games. And we were having dinner one night after a – after like a night we didn't have games. And my dad said, somebody named Snoopy Dog, somebody named Snoopy Dog,

told me that you're all right and hope you make it. And I was like, wait, who, what? And so some of his, my dad was also an AAU coach. And some of his players, like, what happened was Snoop Dog came out to him and said, tell Doug he's, I. I hope he makes the squad. But how it got relayed to me was Snoopy Dog said, you're all right.

So I lose my mind. I was like, Snoop Dog knows my name? He's like Snoopy Dog? Is that a big? That's like Dad is like Dad, it's Snoop Dog. He's pretty much the biggest, coolest, best rapper on Earth. Doggy style is like my favorite album ever. Yeah, it's kind of a big thing.

Anyway, there's my Snoop Dog note. I saw this note. So what becomes game of the weekend if we don't have Ravens Steelers? Doug Gottliebend for Colin, this is the herd. You do know the Buccaneers take on the Cannesity Chiefs. And as Colin and I, and it's really weird, I swear to you on, there's no Bible in the studio, on my pets. I swear my pets that this is true.

So Colin and I talk several times a week. I think he's in town. We were talking about tennis later today. I don't know. Plans with him, they change. Plans with me. they change all the time. It's beautiful here. He's enjoying a little staycation day. But what's weird is, I watched the Bucks game on Monday night. He, on Tuesday, I said as much,

on Wednesday, he said literally the exact same thing. He had not listened to my show, and I had not discussed it with him. But we both kind of came to the same conclusion that, like, it is a lot like a marriage where opposites attract between Arians and Tom Brady. And it seemed like a good idea, like, man, what would Tom Brady be like if somebody just just let him throw it instead of that underneath dink and dung stuff. Turns out Tom Brady's actually great at the dink and dunk stuff. And it's a marriage that doesn't feel like it's going to be a good one. Opposites may attract, but it's really hard to live with the other person.

Did you see these notes from Tampa? Their center is a guy named A.Q. Shipley. Now, what was feared to be a stinger could be a career-ending injury for the starting center of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They're already without Ali Marpet, who's missed the last three games with a concussion. Okay. So in the ways in which you beat Tom Brady, right,

how do you beat Tom Brady? You have to force him off his spot. Now, part of it is their offense has caused him to hold the football longer. Tom Brady wants to get it and get rid of it. He wants to get up at the line of scrimmage, find the mismatch underneath option routes get rid of it quickly that's not what you do with tampa i mean all the discussions about deep throws like he hasn't thrown the ball deep downfield since he had since he had

randy moss tom brady's o of 19 his last last three games throwing the ball 20 yards or further and if you go back to the fourth game the raiders he missed his last three throws he's actually missed his last 22 throws of 20 or more yards he likes underneath stuff but you don't You don't have Ali Marpet. You had to move Ryan Jensen to left guard. You got all kinds of movement in your offensive line. And the coach and the quarterback are seeing completely different things. There's a nugget.

When you hear AQ Shipley may have a career-ending injury and you don't have your left guard either, center left guard. And your offense is already a mess. And the way to get to Tom Brady is to get them off that spot. I like the Buccaneers a whole lot less. After reading that. All right, coming up next in The Herd, what you need to know about Ravens Steelers and why it matters.

I'm Doug Gottlie. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 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, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered 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 it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to be.

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.