The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 12/04/2020 - HOUR 2 - Blazing 5, head coaches

Episode Date: December 4, 2020

Blazing 5: Colin's new NFL picks for the weekendWhy you should go after head coachesGuests: Eric Mangini, Ric Bucher Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

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a couple of minutes. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd, wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening. Fox Sports Radio, IHeart Radio, FS-1. I'm in a good mood today. I ate an entire sausage pizza by myself last night. I've never been prouder of myself, and I can still feel it. And it was just unbelievable. I'm so, listen, I was stuffed halfway through it, and I'm like, nope, forge ahead.

What is your go-to pizza toppings? I don't really have them. I like all pizza. there is none, so I'd never had a sausage pizza at the place I went last night, Sleigh Italian, and we got all sorts of stupid rules in Los Angeles County, and I ordered it, and I got to tell you, I sat there by myself, by myself. I took my mask off, and I had half a glass of wine, and I just, I was exhausted halfway through it, and I said, I said, you have, George Washington, forge ahead. You have to keep going, once you commit to it. And I was so proud, when I was done, I was like, good for you.

You're you, I was proud of what I had done. I usually order sausage, pepperoni, onions, and extra garlic. Those better not be date nights. Listen, I mean, if you want to complain, it's fine. You know, I worked in a pizza restaurant. You did? College, yes. What was it called?

It was called Anthony's Co-Fired Pizza. Oh, I love that place. It's awesome. In Pittsburgh? No, in Florida. Oh, wow. Miami. They have pizza down there?

All right. Yeah, that's where it started. Oh, okay. Pizza's from Miami. No, not pizza. Anthony's Colorado pizza started in South Florida. All right. So excited for my picks this week.

I really like them. They're not as good as like three weeks ago. And last week I went two, two and one. I pushed on the Monday night football game. I bet it at six. It went up to six and a half. And I told people, I hate six and a half. I like six.

So a 500 week, here we go. That's a hot one. Let's blaze it up. Fire it up. It's Collins, Blazing Fife. Browns at Titans. I'm going to take Cleveland plus five and a half year. I like Tennessee, but we're going crazy because they smoke the cold,

sell a little of my Titan stock, but I still like them. Here's why I like Cleveland plus five and a half. Their Brown's offense is the number one rushing offense in the league, and Nick Chubb has had over 100 yards in five straight games. It's rolling. The Tennessee defense will make Baker comfortable. They're the worst third-down defense in the league and have the 29th most sacks. Translation, they'll move the chains on third down.

Baker-Mayfield will have time to throw. And by the way, the Browns are 8-0 this year when Baker. Mayfield just has a passer rating over 70, not 90, just 70. This is a good matchup for Cleveland. I don't think they'll win, but I think it's close. I like to lay the points here. I'm going to take Cleveland plus five and a half. I think the Titans will probably win late. Wouldn't be shocked if there was an upset, but Cleveland's the play here. Rams and Cardinals. Okay, everybody's freaking out because the Rams lost to the Niners. Okay, they're 0 and 4 the last four times.

It's a bad matchup for the Rams. Last time they lost to the Niners, everybody sold their stock. The Rams went on for the next month to play some of their best football in two years. I'm going to take the Rams minus three against the Cardinals. This is a bad matchup for Arizona. The Rams defense is outstanding. They're top five in everything. Everything.

And the Rams are 6 and 0 against the Cardinals in the Sean McBay era. He's got their number. This division's a weird division. Some teams have other team's numbers. Niners have the Rams' number. Rams have Arizona's number. And by the way, Kyler Murray's played Sean McVey in this defense twice. He has struggled.

By the way, D'Andre Hopkins, Jalen Ramsey is the magic elixir for DeAndre Hopkins. You can take that big receiver, put a big corner on him. That's why the Rams match up pretty well with a Seattle and D.K. Metcalfe and with an Arizona now, Jalen Ramsey. Also, Arizona's a rebuilding team, most penalized team in the league. Kyler Murray is hurt. They're not running the ball with Kyler Murray. is less of an offense. I like the Rams, 3327.

I like the way their roster matches up with Arizona. Patriots at Chargers. I'm going to take New England minus one to go on the road and beat the Chargers. Listen, Bill Belichick is officially 5.20 and 5 against rookie quarterbacks. 7 and 0 in the last five years. You take Belichick against rookie quarterbacks, no matter how good they are. Okay, the Patriots defense, only one quarterback's thrown over 300 yards all year, Deshawn Watson. The Chargers defense without Derwin James has given you almost 28 a game.

And New England, they're limited, but they're a fumble away from going to overtime with Buffalo. They beat Arizona. This has been a very interesting team two out of three weeks. I'm going to take Belichick against a rookie quarterback. I think it's a coaching mismatch, Anthony Lennon and Belichick. And I look at New England and I think Damian Harris run the football. Chargers aren't great against the run. Keep it away from Justin Herbert.

I'll take the Patriots 2420. Eagles at Packers. I know this is kind of gross, but I'm going to take Philadelphia plus eight and a half here. I know. Say what you want. I'm going to give you a number here. Philadelphia, the Eagles have been ahead or within one possession in the fourth quarter in every game this year. They gave Pittsburgh everything.

They gave Baltimore everything. They came back and covered against Seattle. I'm not talking about winning games. I'm talking about covering the spread. I'll take Philadelphia plus eight and a half. They're seven and three against the spread in their last 10 games as a dog of six plus points. Meaning when they're a big dog, they play inspired football. Often lose, but their defense has 36 sacks.

Only the Steelers have more. And what do we know about the Packers? They don't like to be uncomfortable. Philadelphia gets in your face. Philadelphia Fletcher Cox. They put pressure on your quarterback. Aaron's not going to be sitting back in this convertible sports car and good weather throwing it.

It's going to be an ugly game. That's what Philadelphia does. I think the Packers win, but the Eagles easily cover the 8.5. 27, 23 Packers. I'm going to take the 49ers. The number has moved some. I'm taking the 49ers side.

I'll say Fox bet, all of our odds, by the way, provided by Fox Bet. I'll say Niners plus one and a half here. The Bill's rushing defense is not great, and the Niners are getting healthier. Rahim Moster, Debo Samuel, Richard Sherman returned last week. Brandon Ayuk returns this week, and you can run the football on Buffalo. Buffalo also traveling all the way west again. And the Niners, by the way, you worry about Jimmy Garoppolo out.

You know with Garoppolo, they threw for 230 yards a game. With Nick Mullins, they throw for 270 yards a game. and they've got all their skill people here. So San Francisco, the seasons on the line in their division, they don't win season over. Seasons on the line. Buffalo's the playoff team. They got comfort and room here.

I'm going to call for the upset. Niners win 2623. For more of my blazing five picks, check out the Fox Bet Social platforms. So in review, I took some dogs this week. So I like Cleveland with the points. I like Philadelphia with the points. I like San Francisco with the points. New England Chargers is mostly a pick-em.

I'll take Belichick over Anthony Lynn and Belichick 20 and 5 in his last 25 games against rookie quarterbacks. And my one favorite is the Rams over Arizona. I think Carter Murray's hurt. And don't sell all your ram stock because they look clunky. against the Niners. It's a bad matchup for the Rams offensive line. It just is the last two and three years. It's bad.

Arizona does not match up with the Rams. Arizona doesn't pressure the quarterback. What do I always say? A comfortable gauph is a winning gauph. By the way, I want to throw this out there. Is the Jets, the Jags, the Chargers, and the Texans?

There's four quarterbacks right now, most of them pretty young, that are really good. The Jets are going to get Trevor Lawrence. the Jags are going to get Justin Fields. The Chargers have Justin Herbert and the Texans have Deshawn Watson. They're all going to get new coaches. This is what I don't get. When you have a star young quarterback, get the coach right.

Wouldn't you think Brian Kelly's name would be just out there? Matt Campbell at Iowa State, everybody loves him. His claim to fame is he got to an Alamo Bowl. Brian Kelly, four places he's been a head coach. Win, win, win, win. One big in all of them. He's been a head coach. 91. He knows how to head coach. If you look right now at the top 10 in college football,

only one program is an academic power, Notre Dame. What does that mean? He's having to compete against Bama, Ohio State Clemson, Texas, NM, Florida, Georgia, at an academic power to much more rigorous class load for the average football player. It's hard to win at Notre Dame. I'm not rolling the dice on a coordinator with Justin Herbert and Deshaun. Watson. I'm not rolling the dice with Trevor Lawrence, with Justin Fields. I don't understand why Brian Kelly isn't mentioned. For the record, well, he's old. No, he's not. He's spent so many days in wind-blown environments that he looks old. All that wind in Cincinnati and Notre Dame. He's 59. Belichick's a decade older. Pete Carroll's a decade older. And he reads almost a decade older.

He's 59 years old. I'm in my 50s. Do I look old? Don't answer that. The point is, Ryan Kelly, Matt Campbell and Iowa State, everybody loves him. He's never won nine games in a week conference. Brian Kelly goes to Notre Dame. They have games scheduled he can't get out of. Like your Stanford's, he owes, goes there every other year. And I'm not saying Stanford, USC are great, but they're a lot better than the teams Iowa State's playing 90% of the year.

And I like Matt Campbell. He may be great. But essentially what Brian Kelly is, he's Matt Rule at Carolina with twice as much experience. And by the way, Brian Kelly, I know he's not an offensive guy. If you're coaching since 91, you can coach offense. But he's not an offensive guy. Right now, in the NFL,

division leaders, four division leaders are coached by defensive guys. Seattle and Pete Carroll, Pittsburgh and Tomlin, Vrable and the Titans, Bill Sean McDermott. Miami Dolphins are not a division leading team, but Brian Floor is a defensive guy. Let's stop the idea that,

you know, you have to be an offensive guy to win in this league. It's nonsense. That's just not the case. Do you look at some of the greatest coaches of all time? They've overwhelmingly been defensive guys, not offensive guys. So Matt Campbell is doing a great job at Iowa State. Deserves all the love in the world. Brian Kelly is going to be the second BCS playoff.

And again, when he's recruiting against Clemson and Alabama and LSU, it is a, Notre Dame is remote, bad weather, religious umbrella, academic workload is very difficult. I just don't get it. He's had four straight 10 win seasons at Notre Dame. They went 20 years, couldn't find the right coach. I don't get it. Head coach, successful.

And by the way, you're going to have to pay him. I mean, he's not, but I think there's this idea that Brian, you know, he, so many windblown games, everybody looks at him and the cheeks are red and he's up there and kind of, maybe he's got an old school personality. He's 59 years old. He's a 59 year old guy. Guys are coaching the NFL. They're almost 70.

I mean, Nick Sabin's like 60s. seven and isn't he? And Nick Saban looks great. Nick Saban could coach for another 10 years. I don't get it. I'm just not rolling the dice in a coordinator with Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields, Deshawn Watson and Justin Herbert. I'm not going with a coordinator. I'm not doing it. And I know what you're, oh, Brian Flores. Yeah, it happens occasionally, but I like head coaches. You know, I like head coaches. Brady got a guy who had been a head coach, Belichick. Tom Coughlin had been a college coach. And then he'd been an NFL coach. And then the Giants hire. I like head coaches.

Urban Meyer's been a head coach a bunch, and Parcell's with a head coach. All right. Eric Mangini, head coach. I'll be joining us next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week,

within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

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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 Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

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

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

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Want to stream what you love all in one place? It's called Discovery Plus, a new streaming service starting next year, U.S. only. Discovery Plus. Exclusive originals. Stuff like the Food Network, which you already love. Eric Mangini won three Super Bowls with a Patriots as an assistant. When he was with the Jets, he was the AFC coach of the year. And he is my buddy, Fox Sports NFL analyst.

Eric Mangini is now joining us. So you live in Cleveland, which, how's the weather there today, coach? How is it? The worst storm in 10 years. A bunch of trees down. Two feet of snow. Yeah, you're not missing anything. Okay. I said, organizations make decisions before they tell you.

And Baker against Pittsburgh blown out, manhandled by the Raiders, crushed by the Ravens. This Tennessee is a pretty good matchup. They don't have a pass rush. And right now, Baker is 8 and 0 this year with a pass rating over 70. When he's comfortable and they run it, he can win games. If he goes out this weekend and lays an egg and plays too fast, I do think the Cleveland guys look at it and think, okay, what do we got here? Like against the good teams, what do we got? I think it's a huge game for Baker Mayfield to show the front office and the coach.

I can go on the road and face a playoff level team and I can go toe to toe with Ryan Tanniel. That's my takeaway on the Browns this weekend. Your thoughts? Yeah, I think it's the exact opposite way that they should be approaching. The last thing you want is Baker Mayfield thinking that he's got to go out and win the game because that form has been bad for them all season. Look, you nailed it with the passer rating. When his passer rating is above a D when it's out of the 60s,

they've won the games. And every time they turn around, they're giving the ball to a guy who's either running it for 6.1 yards of carry or what is it, like 4.6 yards of carry. Baker has to go in and manage this game, first of all, and not lose this game, because that's one thing that Tennessee is really good at is creating turnovers and generating opportunities,

and that's been a problem for Baker. So if he'll just go out and get above a D in quarterback rating, they've got a pretty good chance to win this game, and they've got to see that he can do that and do it on a consistent basis. You know, it's interesting. You know Belichick very well. We were talking this week. I can't believe they're 5 and 6.

They've beaten Arizona. They're a fumble away against Buffalo from going to over. time, a play away from beating Seattle. And I look at it and I think to myself, I don't know how they're in all these games. They've got no playmakers. What do you make of Belichick and they play the Chargers this weekend? My guess is Belichick will give a young rookie quarterback troubles. What do you make of the job they have done? I think it's an incredible job and they should have, or at least could potentially have two more wins and we'd be talking about them in a totally different light. But you look at the volume of guys that they had opt out, the volume of guys that

they have on IR, they lose their special teams coach, they lose their offensive line coach, their quarterback gets COVID, they lose their franchise quarterback. They've got all these, all these different challenges. And they also take a quarterback that nobody wanted and find a way to make them very effective. The thing that New England does great is everybody goes into the season with a plan of who they think they're going to be. And then New England realizes who they need to be. And that's why they get better every single year is because they have that brutal honesty. And Bill has that ability to look at his team like that and say, okay, this is who we have to

be, even though it's not, you know, what we had hoped to be going into the season. And so many coaches can't do that. They just keep hitting their head against the wall. So you like the Steelers, I'm told, more than I do. First of all, outside of Cincinnati, they can't put anybody away. Now they got Devin Bush out. Now Bud Dupree's out. So the one part of the team I love the front seven is not as good.

They don't run the football. They leave a lot of points, you know, on the field. I know. I know they're 11 and no. What do you see? Because I want to know they do rush the passer. No dispute. And that is an absolute asset.

But there's not a lot of other things. I think they're going to struggle now to stop the run without two of their best three linebackers. What do you see as a coach about the Steelers? Well, I heard you talking about the Steelers and then not being serious Super Bowl threats. And I disagree completely. When you look at where they are statistically, the big three, so takeaways, sacks and points allowed, they're number one in all three, and nobody's ever finished number one in all three. Okay, three teams have finished in number one.

in two of those categories, and it was the Legion of Boom, it was the 2000 Ravens, and it was 85 Bears. So they're pretty good defensively by objective standards. Now you've got a Hall of Fame quarterback, and I like Ben Rothersberger a lot, and maybe I like them a lot more than other people having to deal with them year and year out for so long. They've got continuity as an organization. They've got a head coach with experience and a really good good deal.

demeanor and approach. And then they have the biggest thing. There's no drama. The Steelers are always conflict diamonds. We're always talking about the issues that they have as a winning. They don't have this this year. And to me, that makes them even a bigger threat. I don't know why you're not on them.

I think there is as poised to win as anybody. Yeah. So I'm going to throw this at you with Carson Wentz. So he had a little bit of a backup quarterback complex with Nick Foles. there's a stadium outside. And then they draft Jalen Hertz, meaning in the second round, meaning he's going to be asked about that every week.

And I think to myself, listen, I know you're supposed to be above that. But Tom Brady's a goat, and he didn't like Jimmy Garoppolo in the building. I mean, this is the, you know, Howie Longo is jokes. You can't have two Hall of Fame quarterbacks in the same room. One sucks all the oxygen out of it. I don't love drafting Jalen Hertz in the second round

for a quarterback that has to walk past the Nick Full's statue every week. couldn't I say they haven't been sensitive to maybe a young Carson Wentz dealing with one of the most vocal, you know, loud, media-driven cities that they haven't done him any favors as an organization. Well, when Tom Brady was dealing with his issue, Tom had had a lot of pelt on the wall and a lot of success behind him. I mean, you can understand his frustration to some degree. Carson doesn't have that. He didn't win the Super Bowl. He's only won two out of the five years that he's been the starter.

And if you're all the time have to look at your quarterback and figure out what we have to do to prop him up mentally, then he's probably not a franchise quarterback. You see him on the field. There's resilience in the way that he plays. But if he's going to be that affected by a guy who's drafted in the second round, then that's a problem. Now, the reality is they can't move on from Carson Wentz. If this thing doesn't work out, there's going to be a new head coach. He's $59 million in dead money next year.

This has to work with Carson Wentz. And, you know, Jalen Hertz to me is more of a bring him in for a series of plays, change the tempo, create something, you know, a little bit different. He's that type of guy, at least in the short term. By the way, I'm going to throw this out that we talked about this, during the break before we went on the air, and I thought you had an interesting point on it. I said, Brian Kelly's been a head coach four times. He's won everywhere big. Notre Dame's got an academic, a rigorous academic load for students.

None of the other top ten programs have that. He's winning. He's recruiting against the Ohio states, the Bamas, the Clemsons, the great programs, the Georges and all this stuff. And I'm like, why is Matt Campbell at Iowa State the hot guy? He got to win Alamo Bowl. I mean, I got nothing against Matt Campbell, but I just don't understand why Brian Kelly's not a topic of a common. Hardball is having a horrible year. Everybody's talking about a hardball back to the NFL. And your thoughts on Brian Kelly were what? Well, first of all, I don't think he's not getting a job because of how he looks. As I said, there's a lot of unattractive head coaches.

I didn't say it was unattractive. I said he was windblown. Okay, but there are a lot of unattractive head coaches by, you know, fairly objective standards. But it doesn't mean they can't coach. But what I said is oftentimes with college coaches, they are being approached. Their agents, teams are reaching out to their agents. They're actually talking about opportunities, but they can't let that get out

because everybody is going to use it against them and recruit it. They're going to tell the players, look, this guy's looking to leave. He's an NFL. He wants to be an NFL guy. And he saw that to some degree with Nick Saban when he eventually went to Miami and then came back. There was a lot of talk about,

oh, he wants another shot, he wants another shot. And Nick's been pretty, pretty demonstra. of about putting that to rest. So I think he probably has been contacted and will be contacted. And smartly, they'll keep it under wraps so it can't be used against them. Yeah, I think he's a really good football coach. I really do. You know, he's a defensive guy like you, but he yet, he's had effective quarterback

play. He's not easy on quarterbacks. He's run through a few of them. But I don't know. I think he's a really good guy. And I don't buy this thing. You have to be an offensive head coach. I don't buy that nonsense.

Brian Flores is great. He's a defensive coach. Sean McDermott's great young guy. He's a defensive coach. Yeah, I don't think it's got to be that way either. I think if anything, you're looking at the challenges he's had to overcome in Notre Dame, and you should be really impressed with that. There's a ton of guys that have gone in there and failed, and that's a hard place to win. It's a hard place to recruit, and he's done it. Now, transitioning to the NFL has been a mixed bag with a lot of college coaches, so there's some apprehension there to say, say, okay, let's go get that guy and he'll be able to turn around our franchise in this environment. Eric Manjini, have a great weekend, shoveling snow.

Really appreciate you stop by. We'll see you later, Colin. Have fun. All right. I want to say again, I don't think Brian Kelly looks doesn't matter, but it is. People are, I think they think he's too old or something, and he's 59 years old. That's all he is. He's 59-year-old guy. Sabin's almost 70.

Belichick almost 70. Pete Carroll or 70. It's not what's on the outside. It's on the inside, guys. He's fine. I don't even care. inner beauty. It's just Brian's always in these wind-blown games and his cheeks are all red.

It's like, you know, he's still a young, vibrant guy. I don't think he looks old at all. I don't even know why he got into this. Well, he didn't even get into an old. Brian Kelly's a handsome man. Just stop. I'm just saying. He's totally handsome.

What is the issue? I don't know. Something I said was interpreted is it's not about, I think Mangini took it the wrong way. My takeaway is that we never see Brian Kelly's in a jacket. It's a cold air. He's coaching in Notre Dame. Is that a thing? Like he's all bundled up and it's like he's vibrant dynamic 59 year old guy who's obviously a great recruiter because he's going up at Notre Dame is hard to recruit at yeah it's like isolated cold weather eight feet of snow today

I have a friend in law school there so it's very hard hard it's hard they got like uh apple bees you have to get on a train and go two hours to get to a city Chicago it's hard uh what do we got here oh joy with the news No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Zach Prescott still has a long road ahead of him in his recovery from season-ending ankle surgery, but he's extremely motivated to get healthy and back with his teammates. He said every day when I wake up and going for rehab, it's about seeing my leg or seeing my body do something that I didn't do the day before, so I know that I'm continuing to get better.

And at the end of the day, I know my team needs me. So it's about helping them, whichever way that I can, But it's about being right mentally and counting those small victories. Oh, that's nice. Rehab is very, very exhausting. I will say, I feel like it's different for an athlete to rehab than a regular person, because a regular person still has to do their job, like their day job and everything else and rehab. Whereas for an athlete, it's just your job to rehab.

However, the mental part of it is worse for athletes because if you don't get better, that is your job. Right. And a big part of coming back from injuries like this, is trusting yourself. I mean, it's just, it's the process of the injury. Like, obviously, when you initially get hurt, it hurts, right? But then it's going to hurt for a long time because you're going to have surgery. You're going to have to teach yourself how to walk again.

You're going to have to do the stretches at home. You have to ice. It's like an exhausting process. And that's what he's talking about. Like, the way to stay focused through that is the small victories every day. Your knee bent a little bit more. You were able to stand for a little bit longer. You rode the bike for a little bit longer.

But they've obviously been missing, and the Cowboys have. one in five without him, Andy Dalton, Ben Danucci, and Garrett Gilbert. Yeah. Have a total of 1,182 passing yards, six touchdowns, and six interceptions. I do think that DAC is going to be back with the Cowboys. I do, too. I would move off, but he will be back. I feel it.

I feel it. I think he'll be back. Yeah. So the charges don't have much to celebrate this season with a 3 and 8 record, but they can be happy that they found their franchise quarterback. And Justin Herbert has averaged 294.6 yards per game, had a 6. 66.5 completion percentage in November with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. And those numbers have earned him offensive rookie of the year, of the month, I'm sorry, honors for the second straight month.

He's really, really special. I think it's great. I mean, we were exactly on the same page with Justin Herbert. Weren't sure. Felt like he had like the physical type and the arm, but like I didn't see enough from him throughout the season. And in the bowl game, I saw what I needed to see. Yeah, I mean, senior bowl. and Rose Bowl, he was the best player easily in both those games.

And so to me, that's where I went from, to me, there was a narrative both you and I thought at the end of the year, which was I kept hearing from people I trust in the business, like scouts and stuff. They're like Oregon's really conservative and they don't have good receivers. Like he's better. Like Oregon is the thing limiting him, not him. Right. And then when he was dominant at the senior bowl, and then he's, I mean, Wisconsin had a good defense. and he just, he made people miss. He was great against Wisconsin.

Then you're like, okay, the staff didn't feel comfortable with Justin's backup. So they kind of ran a conservative game plan until there was no games left and they let him go. And it's like, wow. I just think it's so impressive how he's been able to step in and take over the team when he was not expected to start this season. I mean, we've just forgotten what happened with Tyrod Taylor. Like, he was not even supposed to be out here. Like, he was supposed to be sitting and learning and has stepped right in, offensive rook of the year for two straight months. I always thought Joe Burrow was a step above

Herbert and Tua. And my questions with Tua were kind of what put Herbert and Tua on the same level to me. I didn't love the injury history with Tua coming in. Like obviously he had the talent and the wow factor, but injuries matter to me. Are you available? That's a skill to me. And Herbert seemed like he was obviously very conservative as a player, but that was really just the system that he was in. So I'm happy that it's going well for them. I hope that they put the pieces of it. around him so that he can be successful. Finally, big fight tomorrow night. We are

locked down here in L.A., so I'm looking forward to sitting on the couch and watching this. Earl Spence, Jr. and Danny Garcia, the two will be battling for the world welterweight title. Spence is undefeated in his boxing career with 21 knockouts, and Garcia is on a two-fight

win streak with a 36 and 2 record. This is a real fight. America gives us about two great fights a year. This is one of them. This is a great fight. Remember, Spence was injured in a car accident in October of 2019. So he hasn't fought for 14 months. I actually saw, I was at Staples for the Spence Porter fight, which was a really great fight. And he won Spence won by split decision.

That was September 28th of 2019. So this is going to be a really well-matched fight. And it could if Spence wins lead to the Terrence Bud Crawford welterweight title fight, which is kind of what this is leading up to. So this is a really big fight on Saturday. You can catch the way in at 2 Eastern on FS1. You can buy the fight now at foxsports.com slash PTV, but I'm looking forward to this.

I'm going to go with Spence. Yes, we should. He's the favorite and should. Well, he hasn't fought in a long time, and this is his first fight since that car accident where he was thrown from his car and almost died. So this is like, even though it's a very, obviously Spence is the better fighter

and is going to be the favorite in this. There is a whole story to this that he hasn't fought since that accident. So it's going to be a good time on Saturday night. Buy it. I will. Joy will. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Heard Lye News. Difference between a great story and a great player or great coach. And Aaron Rogers celebrates another birthday in Green Bay. But you know it's not the perfect fit being Green Bay. That's coming up. 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. 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 where you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clivert Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you're, you're just chasing down a dream. this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jette. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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, Kear Games, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app.

Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Sunday, the NFC South Leading Saints, stake on the Falcons, or Jared Gough, leads the Rams against the MVP candidate, Kyler Murray and the Cardinals or other regional action. Check local listings for the game in your area. on Fox and the Fox Sports app. Steelers Washington Football Team is featured in this week's free-to-play Super

Six contest. Download the Fox Super Six app and make your picks before kickoff Sunday for your chance to win Terry Bradshaw's $100,000. All you have to do is correctly predict the outcome of six NFL games and for top story, scores, and more. Go to the Fox Sports app. Colin, give us your winner and final score for Steelers versus Washington football team. 26, 23 Steelers.

I take Washington plus seven and a half to cover. I think Washington is a good bet this one. week. I didn't put it in my Blazing 5. It was the close one I almost did. But Washington's a good cover. They're ugly up games. They'll make it ugly. And it's a short week. Short week for the Steelers. Good point. Rick Buecker, senior writer, Buker and Friends, podcast, NBA analyst for us is now joining us live. So I was saying this, the James Hardin thing is funny. Everybody tells me he's a one because he's a great score. He can't get along with Westbrook and Chris Paul. And he tells me he likes John Wall. He ran through a GM, two coaches. Can I make the argument Hardin's a great scorer? Magic wasn't a great score. He was a

one. Russell wasn't a great score. He was a one that James Hardens just a really talented two that you can't build around. You can make a case that he's a number one player, that he can be the best player on your team, but he's not a number one leader. And to be honest, there are very few guys in the league that are. I just had this conversation with a GM at the beginning of the week about how many guys that you could say are true leaders of their team, not just the best player, but a guy who makes everybody else better and has that ability to carry a team,

to literally lead a team to a championship. He said you can count them on one hand. And a number of those had to develop into becoming leaders. That's where I don't want to say that James can't become one. any more than Kauai Leonard can't become one. They just aren't right now. LeBron wasn't one when he started. Kobe Bryant wasn't one when he started.

It's a skill set that is separate from just being the top scorer. And as we've seen, I mean, honestly, he can like John Hott Wall all he wants. Chris Paul was as close to the ideal running mate for James Harden as he was going. as he was going to get. And unless he learned about leadership from Chris Paul, who also had to evolve into one, an effective one, I don't know that anything is going to change measurably for the Houston Rockets. Montres Harold, Dennis Schroeder, clearly make the Lakers better.

Are we overreacting to those acquisitions? Should they be the big favorite? Boy, are we? Look, did their car improve? Did they upgrade without quest? And could you make a case that this is the best team that LeBron James has ever had at the start of a season? Absolutely. But look, you're in L.A.

We're both in California. We're looking at across the country. Did we not just experiences? At the starting line, the Clippers also had the ideal car to win a championship. We're confusing the vehicle with the road to get there. And the reason that the NBA designed the season the way they did with no starting training camp now and not disclosing what the second half of the schedule is going to be is because they're anticipating, much like the NFL, we're going to have to reschedule games.

And they have a lot more games to go through and they're going to be traveling a lot more. So you are going to have outbreaks. I still maintain that if we don't have the shutdown, down and we don't have the bubble that the clippers were very capable of winning a championship. I remember how we were all convinced, you and me included, they had what was necessary. The bubble took advantage of their greatest weakness, which was team chemistry and the fact that they needed more time together, not less, that three months killed them. So ultimately, I look at what the Lakers have. Should they be the favorite?

Absolutely they should be the favorite. Can they do again what they did? Sure. But we don't know what the road looks like. We don't know how many games are going to have to be rescheduled. We don't know how the outbreaks are going to impact things. And we don't know if Anthony Davis, if I'm not mistaken, the number of games that he played last season in total, 83,

is the second most that he's played in any one season. Why is that? Because he's had trouble staying healthy. Can he do that in a season that doesn't have a three-month shutdown and then goes to an expedited playoff? Can LeBron James, at 36, maintain the health that he's had? Those are legitimate questions. So I just feel like we've all jumped on this train, not taking it into consideration the unique circumstances with which the Lakers won last year's championship, and the unique circumstances, which we still don't know what they are,

that they could face in this championship run. A couple minutes left, so we have to be somewhat succinct. So the athletic came out and talked about all the special stuff that Paul George and Kauai Leonard got. Did any of it seem bizarre or over the top to you, Rick? Not at all. Not at all. Look, having covered this league for a while, here's the reality. Stars, superstars, get preferrifice. Treatment. John Stockton and Carl Malone got preferential treatment. It's just like they were in Salt Lake City and nobody was paying attention. But if they needed a practice off, Jerry Sloan found a way to give them practice. Damian Lillard, one of the best leaders we have in the game, decides ultimately this is what I'm going to do on this given day and he does it responsibly. Now, there are other things that go into leadership. But in terms of if I'm going to look at the preferential treatment of Kauai,

Leonard and Paul George and say that's why they didn't win a championship. Again, they were getting that preferential treatment all season long. We were watching them all season long and we still believe, you know what, they're playing well enough. They've demonstrated they can play well enough to win a championship. Rick Buecker, covering the NBA since the early 90s. You look good today, buddy. Thank you very much. We're working with a new camera here. Just for you. Very professional. All right. Good see anybody. All right. But you know, preferential treatment. So I don't even have a, I don't even have a parking space here. What is, what could I ask for, Joy, being very important? What could I ask for that would not be egregious? Parking space? I think parking space is reasonable. I think parking space is

important, actually. So I should ask for a parking space. I don't like having to look for a different, I like to park in the same place every day. So do I, but I just never open. So I don't have. Yeah, no. What about, what about, I didn't have that problem on undisputed because no one was here. Goulet, do you get a, I was going to say free haircuts for me. Do you get haircuts? No. So what about haircuts? You get free haircuts.

I know, I do, but I didn't ask for it, but they just do it. So what is something I'm hair and makeup? What is something I should ask for? I don't know. Do you like a particular scent in your dressing room? Maybe you get a special candle. I actually don't even know if we're a lot of candles in here. You know what I do get free fig Newton's.

And by the way, I'm heavy-handed. I demand them. You know what I do think is. and get free stuff for us, you know? A little breakfast for the crew, maybe. I used to do that. I used to do that in Friday, but COVID disrupted that. That's true.

I used to give bagels and coffee on Friday for the staff and then COVID scooted up. You know, I was thinking it's kind of interesting that we're having these conversations about preferential treatment. And one of the big problems was Kauai being late. Yeah. And we talked to Andrew Whitworth about the Rams culture. Yeah. And he said they have one rule. Be on time.

Be on time. That was John Madden. The great John Madden was not a rule guy. I remember years ago, I don't want to call the guy out. So I walked this true story. I'll tell you after the break. I don't want to call this person out. He was a minor league baseball manager for the Phoenix Firebirds.

I had just gotten out of college. And I went into their clubhouse to do an interview. He had 26 rules. And I'm like, okay, I can't remember these. And to me, that's always been my thing. I even tell Goulet, like show up ready to go, show up on time. I'm not a rule guy. Just be ready to play.

Green lights on, red lights on. Boom, let's go. Be ready to go. All right, hour three. 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, Streeter Seidel, help an Acapella 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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84'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 offers. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to learn the hard way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with.

And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.