The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 12/24/2020 - HOUR 2 - Dancing Isn't the Steelers Biggest Problem

Episode Date: December 24, 2020

Doug Gottlieb is in for Colin Cowherd as he and Joy Taylor discuss the latest around the NFL in this hour Doug discusses the news of Steelers WR JuJu Smith Schuster announcing he will not dance on the teams logo anymore during pregame, and Doug says they have much more problems than JuJu dancing, including QB Ben Roethlisbergers inability to throw the ball down the field. Plus, NFL the Steelers problems, former NFL Scout and host of the 3 & Out Podcast John Middlekauff joins Doug to discuss the Eagles QB situation moving forward and more NFL! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening to the show. Thanks so much for taking time out. When you're driving about, getting those last second gifts, or maybe some food to cook tonight or tomorrow. I'm Doug Gottlieb.

Going in for Colin, Joy Taylor is here as well. Tis the season. I've noticed this in Southern California. I've lived here. I moved here in 81. I went away for college.

95, but was back in 96, 97, then back here for two years, and now I'll be here for four years. So I've been here most of my life, enough in my life. You ever noticed that nobody in Southern California says Merry Christmas? Very few people.

You know what? I hadn't noticed until you just said that because I say Merry Christmas to everybody. I've been saying Merry Christmas all week. And people have only been saying it to me after I say it to them. Or they say Happy Holidays. Like I... Well, happy holidays doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me, but it's like I don't...

I am Jewish. I was raising a reformed Jewish household, but, you know, we're Jewish-ish. I generally believe. But, you know, I married into a Christian. family like we celebrate both and we're pretty cool like look it's it's merry good like i wish somebody merry christmas it's like the least offensive thing you can ever say to anybody even if they're jewish you're like oh i'm merry christmas you too like it's it's it's a just hey hope you're great that's really what it is but this time of year it's okay to say merry christmas i've never understood the

holy and i walked in i i've become a convert to phil's coffee ever had phil's coffee that's pretty amazing i don't think i've had phil's yeah i'm sure i have expensive and pretty good but like hand I'm like, we make everything, every little ingredient we add in. I'm a hipster. I brought my own coffee today. I like that. I think the beard fits you, too, too, as well, right? The rolled up pants.

I could pull up a beard. But I never understood the, like, I walked into Phil's last two days, and I grab my cup, and it says my name there, and I go, hey, Merry Christmas. And no one said a word on my way out. I'm like, man, I was into Whole Foods where we're both parking, hopefully, legally. And I wish people Merry Christmas, and nobody says Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas, do you? I think it's a nice thing to say. It's a nice thing to say.

I'm generally a greeter, though. Like, I try to give people that are around a little bit of energy. So, like, I say, like, have a nice day or something. Right. We just need to collectively, as a people, get away from that mentality that sometimes women have had. But she's like, hey, you look great in that, you're like, or have you lost weight? Was I fat before? Like, no, I was just trying to give you a compliment.

Like, I don't know. Merry Christmas. Hope you're great. Most important thing we have to get to today, John Goulet, are you a gift card guy? Now, here's what I mean, okay? So you go and you put presents around the tree and whatever,

the Hanukkah Bush and whatever, and like you open it up, and there's a gift card. Are you good with that? Like, is that a gift card guy? Absolutely. Would you prefer a gift card to an actual gift? Yeah, pretty much.

Is there a minimum gift card amount, right? Like, I have gotten in the past, like, here's a Starbucks card for $5. And I have to go like, it's a thought that counts. It's thought that counts. I mean, that's basically a cup of coffee. It's a cup of coffee. Well, not coffee, but it's a cup of, like, expensive espresso drink type deal. But is there a minimum cutoff for the gift card that you had?

Like, you got to do like $25 in his family. It's like $50, right? I grew up in New England. so you get a lot of the $5 Dunkin' Donuts gift cards. But other than that, it's got to be at least 25. Otherwise, it's just wasting time. See, I am a big, my preference is to, if you're getting me a present, get me a damn present. I can always take back the present.

But at least it's saying that I spent a little bit more time and tried to pictures you enjoying something. Now, I get that it's hard, right? Like, for the kids' Xbox, you can't find these Xbox, the new ones or the people. ES5s are really expensive. So you get somebody a card so they can go load up on Fortnite and spend all that at money. I understand that there's a little bit of a gray area there. But to me, like, I do reach for Omaha steaks.

Like, I can think of nothing better to send to a dude. I would much prefer you send me, you know, a $50 griller set than give me a $50 gift certificate because you're like, DG, I know you like to grill. I know you like me Let me just Let me save you a trip to the market Like I I honestly prefer gifts to gift cards

Save the gift cards I think it depends entirely on who is Giving it to you Like Family Okay so family Yeah I don't care I'm a hard person to ask

I really don't care about this stuff If it's like someone I'm like it's my boyfriend Yes Or a fiancee or husbands Yes You have to actually get me a physical gift, you cannot get me a gift card. Pretty much anyone else, I really don't

care because Christmas, to me, is not like, like, cliche, like it's not about the gifts, but it's really not. And for me, I have to buy for like 50 people, so I have nine nieces and nephews, I have five brothers and sisters. Do you get some of your nieces and nephews? Yeah, everyone.

Oh, man. So it's like, it's a lot of work. Yeah, and I don't get them gift cards, but like if I get you a gift card, it's truly because like, I'd want to get you something. but I would prefer you get yourself something that you like. I also think it's where you get the gift card too. You know what I mean? Yeah, you can't like go to, do you do it.

Like I guess a teenager, you go to Tilly's like, you're like, eh, I got nothing here. You're, like, I love a nice, like Nordstrom gift card. Don't hate that. Like, Bloomingdale's great. Like, that's, I'm going to appreciate that. Okay, but you get a Bloomingdale gift card. Like, you got to go to Bloomingdale's and apply it to something that I like.

Yes, but like, if it's like a $25, it's like, eh, kind of dropping the bus. I mean, that's like basically a discount. It is. I don't mind gift cards. And also, I'm very aware. Now, if you get a gift card, don't you, do you hold onto it and wait it out? And you go like, oh, I'm going to wait until the post-Christmas sales and now I'm going to use it. Now it becomes kind of a good thing.

But the problem with that is you can't, you know what ever says like, hey, I use this, your gift card to buy me this shirt. Something to do. You do? Yeah. I don't know. To me, I'm probably the wrong person to ask. I just, I really don't get that crazy about it. And also, I feel like if you're, like, spending your money on me, I'm happy.

to, you know, appreciate that. Music, are you a gift card person or not? Yeah, I have no problem with gift cards whatsoever. Okay, so you're newly married. Are you getting her a gift card? I am not getting her a gift card. We did something much different this year. What'd you do? Well, we had to build the patio for our house that we bought, so that was Christmas this year

for each other. Yeah, but see, that's what I'm saying. I don't know. If it's like your partner, it's different, but everyone else, I'm cool. I want you to go out tonight. I want you to get her a gift. Because she's going to say, I don't need, I'm good. I'm good.

We got the patio. We get the house. We got the wedding. We got all this other stuff. We got all this new stuff we got. I'm good. Ryan, I'm good. It's not the worst advice that has ever given you.

It's not the worst advice. I would agree. It's a really good advice. I mean, one, I would do flowers on the way home. And you guys love wine. You guys love wine. Maybe even go out together and shop together and find something. or just...

Yeah, it doesn't have to be something expensive. It doesn't have to be expensive, but it's just got to be something... Something thoughtful. Yes. Like a gift card to Tilly's. Yes, exactly. She'd love it. All right.

I want to do this before Middilkov joins us and we'll talk some hardcore football. Okay, so you said, and I agree with you, Joy, that juju dancing isn't the biggest thing in the world. But it now is... Considering they've lost three and a round... row, right, that now is a good time to shut down the dancing. And I think what's interesting, Ben Rothsberg came out yesterday and said, like, we had players-only meeting. It had nothing to do with the losing streak.

We had players-only meeting. Like, Ben, do you think the chiefs are having players-only meetings? Do you think the chiefs are like, fellas, we're going to get this together? All this winning close games and a Super Bowl, and we should have been in the Super Bowl the previous year, we got to meet. No, it's because he lost three games row. Right? Like, I don't...

The Rathus Burger, nothing is wrong. God, I'm old, but somehow I'll play. I'm really banged up, but don't worry, guys, I'm here. You can set your watch to it. Here's the thing with the dancing. I don't care about the dancing stuff. I don't think that anybody hits anybody harder in the NFL because you dance on their logo.

Guy comes across the middle. He's a wide receiver. You hit him. that's your job is to hit him and to dislodge the football. That being said, it's a lot like the DeAndre Hopkins thing. Like, look, if DeAndre Hopkins wasn't the best wide receiver in the NFL, then missing practice would be a gigantic deal. And if his timing was off with Kyler, he wasn't where he was supposed to be.

And it's a big deal. But he seems to be exactly where he's supposed to be, exactly when he's supposed to be there, so we're good. The Pittsburgh Steelers have a litany of problems. And I do think that losing Devin Bush and losing, Bud Dupree have made those problems on the offense even more pronounced. You cannot undersell how well

Bud Dupree was playing this year as he was getting a little bit less attention than T.J. Watt was on the other side, right? And they were just dynamic coming after quarterbacks. You lose those two guys, Pittsburgh's built around their linebackers. It's going to change you. But as you and I discussed before the show, Ben can't throw the deep ball anymore. But also the wide receivers are dropping the football a ton.

If you're catching everything that's thrown your way, if you're making all the plays, then I don't care if you dance. I don't care if you moonwalk across somebody's logo. But Jujo, who everyone I know who's come into contact with loves. Like, he's just a good good dude, right? Like, I don't think you need to shut it down, but you're not playing well enough to be doing all that nonsense. Win games and you can wear whatever shower shoes you want.

That's really the way I look at it. John Middokoff joins us upcoming next. Does he think Carson Wentz is a bad teammate? One former NFL star thinks he is. Plus, can we see any scenario where Cam Newton is in the NFL next season? And, oh yeah, by the way, how did we all miss on Justin Herbert being awesome? We'll get to that next in The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD, weekdays, and New Neatis.

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A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

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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?

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It's fascinating to me how, like, our perception of others, and, like, look, we all bring in kind of our own biases. Tiki Barber is interesting. I've gotten to know Tiki pretty well. I work with him where he currently works. And he said this, and should be pointed out that prior to last Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals, Adam Schafter report that Wence isn't interested in being a backup quarterback

and would want to leave Philadelphia if he is behind Hertz on the Debt chart for the foreseeable future. Tiki has a show called Tiki in Tyranny. He said, quote, Carson Wence is being perhaps the worst teammate that you could possibly be ever. Now here's the problem. There's a narrative around Carson Wence that as good as he is or potentially could be, he's just never been able to be the man. The championship was won by Foles, who they love, and Peterson, who has a good relationship with him. Foles ran the offense a lot more efficiently than Wence did. But coming back, you get rid of Foles, there's no quarterback controversy, and it's Wence's team. There's a litany of things that I actually

disagree with there with tiki. Fools was great for two games, right? The Vikings who frankly should have lost to the Saints, we remember. The Vikings and the Patriots who didn't play their best cover corner instead played three safeties

in Malcolm Butler only playing one snap. He was great in those two games. Foles also started the next season and was terrible and has been bad ever since. Like literally very little glimmer of hope. No one sitting there going, you who's better than Carson Wentz, Nick Foles.

But Nick Foles did perform incredible in the biggest sporting event in America. So, like, I don't think Carson Wenz not wanting to be a backup to Jalen Hertz after this year is anything profound or anything we didn't expect. And, oh, yeah, by the way, I think Shepter also reported that he's being a good teammate and helping Jailen Hertz get ready, get ready for every week. I guess the question is, like, if you're Philadelphia, what do you do? Let's bring in John Middokoff. He's worked in Philadelphia.

He's worked as an advanced scout as well. Of course, now you can download as I do his podcast, the Three and Out podcast and the Hurd podcast network. He joins us in the herd. If you're Philly, Hertz was okay the first week. They won, but much better energy for the team. He was good in week two against Arizona. And that's against a coach that knows him

and against the defense that had to know some of what was coming. if you're Philadelphia, what do you do? I just think you play this year out, so that means he's playing the next until the season ends. You know, they're not going to go to the playoffs, you wouldn't think. And then you go into the offseason with an open competition because you're not, the way NFL contracts work, you're not just going to eat the money and trade them. And you're also not going to trade a guy whose value, like you don't sell your house ideally when it's an all-time low value, right?

And they paid a lot for that house if Carson went to the house in this analogy. So they invested all those picks when they drafted them. They invested all that money. And if all these other teams, which they would be lining up to get them, that means you're not going to sell it at its lowest point. So to me, you give it an open competition. And if he can't beat out Jalen Hertz in the offseason, then you probably got a problem.

But I also think there is kind of the elephant in the room of the teammate stuff. here's a reality. The Jalen Ragers, the Miles Sanders, some of the younger guys on that team, they're experiencing success offensively with Jailen Hearst. They're not caught up with dead cap money and draft slots. They're just trying to win every week. Plus they saw Jalen play in college. I think it's people who think it's powerful. They saw jail and play and play well in college. They are, they speak the same language. They play to the same, they play to the same crowd. I actually think that's a much more powerful thing than people. Yeah, so it's just, you know, if they keep having offensive success like they have the first two weeks,

and guys are scoring touchdowns, they're scoring points for a four or five-week period to end this season. If you do go into the off-season with an open competition, there is just a human element where those guys, you know, as a player, who do you want to play with? Guys, they're going to make you look better. It's just human nature. So Carson Went, if this keeps going as well as it's going, it could create a bigger problem. But if Carson Went is who he thought he was, right, and this 100 million, million dollar man, this big time talent. Jalen Hertz, I don't care if he's better than everyone

thought he should not be able to beat him out and be a better player. Now, let's get to the Jailen Hertz part because look, there was a ceiling at Alabama, right? Like, let's just be honest. There was a ceiling, and the way to break through that, ceiling was to put Tua Tung of Ioloa in instead of him, and the offense just took off, right? Then he goes to Oklahoma, and while he had success, it wasn't what Kyler did. It wasn't what Baker did. There's a ceiling. there. Matter of fact, if you look, mid-season last year, they kind of scrapped a lot of the advanced stuff, and they just said, hey, dude, we're going to more design runs, right? If you don't have it, just run. So,

if there's a ceiling in college at two different schools, there's quite obviously going to be a ceiling in the NFL, or do we have it all wrong? And there is another level to it. We've seen, I think Josh Allen, I'm not saying he's going to be Josh Allen, we have other examples in this kind of modern-day football where it's just easier to play of guys improving dramatically. You know, I mean, the coaching in the NFL, I guess Lincoln Riley's probably as good as it gets, but he was only just a one-year starter.

It was a transfer period where, you know, Baker was there several years. Even Kyler got to sit behind Baker for a year and then play. Jaylon Hurts played football from the day he got to Alabama. Like this was, and he played for NFL. He played for two. Top five pick. You know, and two of them was right. Again, I thought Jalen Hurks was a running back.

Hold on. Hold on. Middle Cough, hold on. I didn't think he could do that. What's the matter with your cell phone? Can we get him to a better area? Are you on a landline? Is that what you're doing?

Yeah, can you hear me? Yeah, the landline's terrible. Go to the cell phone. I'm telling you, this is, things have changed in 2020. We used to only call people on landlines. Now landlines are terrible. Cell phones are where it is. Okay, let me call you back.

Yeah, call us back. Here's what we're going to do. We're going to get to Joy Taylor with the news. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So I really like this story. Rahim Morris has gone four and five with the Falcons since taking over as the interim head coach.

Team president, Rich McKay, said this week that Morris has earned an interview and will be considered for the permanent position. Morris said it means a lot to be in the running for the job, but he feels like he's been interviewing all season. He said everything we do is an interview. We will always be and always has been. You always have to remember that with everything that you're doing. I actually think that Rahim Morris staying with the Falcons is the best thing for the Falcons to do, mostly because Matt Ryan. So if you're a new head coach coming into the Falcons, you're going to have Matt Ryan. The Falcons owe him $23 million next year with a $40 million cap hit and $16.5 million in 2022 with a $41.7 million cap hit.

So he's going nowhere. They were 1 in 5 with Zanquin. It was clearly a time to make a change. I'm not a big fan of firing coaches midseason, but I actually think this, look, I know the Falcons are not great. They've blown big leads. They still have a lot of issues. But I do think that Rahe-Morris deserves another chance.

And it seems like a little right fit. He's also right, and I want to point out what he said, everything we do is an interview. That's why I always say players and coaches don't tank. He's absolutely right. Everything you do is being put on tape. It's part of your record. It's part of your resume. There's no such thing as a coach that's tanking unless he has a 10-year contract and there's a 0% chance that he's going to be fired. In which case, he may make some adjustments to allow himself to get, I don't know, Trevor Lawrence or something.

But obviously, Adam Gates, we know, is gone. That's not the situation. Coaches and players don't tank. So Joe Judge is committed to Daniel Jones as a Giants quarterback moving forward. He said Jones has earned his respect and that he's demonstrated the toughness and leadership and knowledge to make the team confident in building around. him for the future. I think that the Giants are in a great position moving forward. This was a team that I thought also we need to be patient with. We were talking about this with a mellow ball earlier. This is a year for every sport where we just need to be a little more patient

with rookies. I thought we need to be a little more patient with first year head coaches, first time quarterbacks and new systems. Obviously, Tom Brady's not going to get that flexibility, but he's the goat. So that's fine. You've learned a higher expectations. I thought Joe Judge did a great job this year. I wasn't buying into all the antics at the beginning of season with the running and all that, but the raw, raw stuff, but the team seems to have bought in. They're getting Sake 1, Barkley back. They're going to have a high traffic. I just, I think that the Giants are in a really good position moving forward. I like Daniel Jones. I think he has a ceiling, but if they can put the pieces around him and the fact that he can run,

I think that's a great situation for the Giants. If I was a Giants fan, I'd be excited about their future and their trajectory moving forward. Finally, expectations for the Nets with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are sky high this season, especially after Their 26-point win over the Warriors Tuesday, and Kyrie says he is committed to doing what's best for the team in order to reach the ultimate goal of winning a title. It's been a long journey to get here and to be able to master this craft and to learn that it's not just about hero basketball. It's about how great the team is. And, you know, I think I got caught up in that in my career a few times and just trying to play hero basketball where, you know, the team success is really going to dictate how great you are as an individual and how great you play your role. I don't need an all-MBA.

I don't need an MVP. I just want a championship with a great team that I can look back on history and say, we did it our way and we have fun doing it. Sounds great to me. Sound good. That sounds good. Let me see it when the – look, Kyrie – that's a bright dude.

He understands what to say. It's putting into practice, right? It's what happens when dudes aren't playing well in the playoffs, and your default has been to, I'm going to do it myself. I do it myself. I think him being alongside Durant, I want to think that will change things. As much as they're friends

and they've got their thing going on there in Brooklyn, I do think Durant and Kyrie have really different personalities. And Durant has shown up in the biggest moments, as has Kyrie, but he was alongside LeBron. And obviously, we know who Katie had around him. But I think that they're going to come out of the east. I just don't know who's going to be able to put up more points than them. And I don't think they're as bad defensively as everyone is projecting.

I don't think they're bad. Like, look, they have a rim protector. They have actually two rim protectors and Kevin Durant. If Kyrie is their weakest link defensively, that's not terrible considering. If Dinwiddy can guard somebody and Joe Harris can guard somebody and they have dudes out the bench. I think, no, my concern is the health. What we've seen is it's not just the Achilles for KD. it's when you blow in Achilles, a lot of times you come back and then something else goes.

And for Kyrie, I mean, dude, he's hurt essentially every part of his body. So if they're healthy, they absolutely have the talent and I think they have a great makeup in terms of the roster and the coaching staff to get there. The other question is Kyrie says all the right things. But he said that when he got to Brooklyn, when he got to Boston, he was saying all these incredible things. then they got to the playoffs and it was a disaster. Well, yeah, and this team should be measured by the playoffs. You have Kyrie, you have KD, you have Steve Nash,

you should be measured by the playoffs. That's Joy Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. All right, back from the Wendy's drive-through. Hearing every other word is John Middilkoff. I've completely forgotten where we were.

But let's jump right in. let's jump right back in with Buffalo, right? Colin has annoying them the best team in the NFL. And I mean, Josh Allen is balling. Stefan Diggs might be the best wide receiver in the league. I mean, he's always been a great route runner. Now he's getting the ball more. How much of a buyer are you of them in the playoffs?

You know, yeah, sorry about that Wendy's Drive-Draft. I'm playing on a way turf here at my parents' house. But the hard part for that, one for me, and I'm a big Josh Allen guy. I mean, what he's done this year is incredible. I mean, he looks like Patrick Mahomes light, you know, in 2020, just his physical gifts. I mean, I hated him coming out in the draft. How could you like a guy that threw like 40% completion percentage? And now if he's going to throw 70% with Diggs and Cole Beasley and just that offense looks fantastic, two things make me nervous. One, their defense isn't

as good as has been. So they're very dependent on a quarterback that we just haven't seen, you know, produced at the highest level in the biggest games in January. Last year, you know, he kind of crumbled down the stretch in that Houston Texans game. And the other thing is, like, I saw them play the Chiefs, and the Chiefs destroyed them. Like, they weren't, it wasn't even close. The score was actually much closer than the game. So I have a hard time seeing that they're just going to go and beat the Chiefs, especially because they're going to have to beat the Chiefs in Kansas City.

I'm not buying that one. Can I ask you a question? The McDermott thing, which I don't know how much the story's been told, in Philadelphia, you go back and you know this because you weren't there. Andy Reid obviously is an offensive mastermind and he's great. But he had Jim Johnson was his longtime defense coordinator. Get sick. Cancer dies.

McDermott was his protege, right? He takes over for him. It's a disaster. It does not work. He gets run out of town. He goes to Carolina and rebuilds it. They go to a Super Bowl. And then he gets the Bill's job and he brings Brandon Bean with him.

And so they work together. How did, has he changed since the Philadelphia thing? Why did the Philadelphia thing work so poorly and then seemingly most everything else has worked since? Honestly, I don't think it's as big of a disaster as people think. I mean, the personnel that my first year in Philly, we made it to the playoffs and lost Aaron Rogers in the playoffs. And he ended up winning the Super Bowl. Our personnel in defense wasn't very good. I mean, we had a couple of good players.

The good players were all in office. So I think part of it was like Andy had been there. a long time. The expectations were crazy. They were just, it was like Super Bowl or bust by that time. And it was a decision, I would imagine, if you'd go back, they would take that one back. And I think that was a little bit out of Andy's hands. I think Sean, you spend five minutes around him. He is just really, really impressive.

Honestly, I've talked to Lincoln Riley before, and when you talk to Sean, he kind of has a Lincoln vibe, but just on defense. Yeah, no, or McVeigh. He was McVeigh before McVeigh. But he's really impressive. but he's a guy's guy. I don't know. I mean, I just people love him.

I mean, I think Andy still loves him to this day. Ron Rivera obviously swears by him. The guys in Buffalo. He's just very kind of steady, Eddie. And, you know, I just think you're as powerful as the players you have. I mean, he gets to Carolina. And what do they do? They immediately draft Luke Keekely.

They had Thomas Davis. Their defense was just good. You know, I mean, you give good coaches, good players. They're usually going to be pretty good. And then I got to give the Bill's organization. obviously Sean, the general manager, a lot of credit. I mean, to me, Josh Allen was a little bit like an NBA pick, right? You were swinging for the fences because it didn't really add up

besides just the raw talent and they hit a home run. And it honestly might change the guy's career to become like they might win a Super Bowl one day if he can just maintain this level of play, right? So he was a good coach, but like any good coach, you're as powerful as the quarterback you have, and it looks like they drafted the right guy. And now I think also Buffalo being there, it's been really cool, right? to see the reaction. People root for that franchise,

but they've been so crappy for the last basically 20 years. And it's just kind of a cool story. And I think he's from around that area, so it's just kind of perfect. Yeah, it'd be interesting to see if they can maintain this level of success if Brian Daibble gets head coach. Yeah, to me, that's always the hard part with, and you're going to see this hiring cycle about defensive coaches

or leadership coaches, right? The one thing you have when you have an Andy Reid, you have a Sean Payton, you have a Kyle Shanahan, you have a McVeigh, you're not worried about your offensive coordinator. Like, you can find defensive coaching. coordinators, obviously guys are better than others, but the guy that impacts your quarterback the most is the play caller. So having that guy moving around, that's always, you know, Belichick and Brady were able to overcome it a lot, but you just never know. You absolutely never know. Is Pittsburgh fixable?

No. I mean, Rathesberger, to me, just looks, he's gotten really old, really fast, he can't move. I mean, listen, I'm a huge big Ben guy. He's one of the best players the last couple decades. You know, obviously Brady and Manning and Rogers get all the hype. In his heyday, I mean, he's not that far behind those guys, just as a pure raw talent and just his production. But he can't move really anymore. And part of his game was extending plays, not running, but like running behind the pocket, breaking tackles and throwing guys. Like now they're, I think, were they getting rid of the ball, like almost in two seconds? No, he's playing like Brady played in New England.

And that's not who he is. Like Tom, he can't move anymore. Or he doesn't want to move. Yes, but Tom's game has always been. you know, accuracy and, and, you know, picking a part of Devens. Whereas Big Ben, Big Ben played the way that Ariens really wants to play because he played for Arrians. New England built their team around that type game. When you look at Pittsburgh, they're really built like Aryans would die to have that.

Yes. Just go deep, throw bombs. I mean, that's what they're made for. So it's just, I actually kind of like Benny Snell. I know people crush. They can't run the ball. I think he's a good young back. but it's just when your passing game is so predicated on just like quick outs and slants

and you can't really throw deep like he could earlier in the season. And plus it's harder to do that when it gets cold. I mean, part of people like kind of not diminish but kind of talk smack about the way New England did it, that translates because what translates in the playoffs when it's freezing cold and snowing, right? Run game and defense. Well, what also translates? Well, the quick passing game, just slants and wheel routes and screens.

Like that stuff works. That's kind of why Aryans got ran out of town. in Pittsburgh because he didn't run the ball. Yeah. Yeah, with Tommy Maddox, right? Yeah. Okay, so I look at Pittsburgh and how quickly Ben has fallen apart. Maybe we should have seen it coming, right?

He did have Tommy John surgery. He's just old. Yeah, but I look at Pittsburgh and I think, boy, Green Bay looks really smart. They look really smart. They have a great team. And anybody they would have drafted, you know, maybe defense, though, would have struggled to get on the football field. And they want to protect themselves against that rapid.

decline. And by the way, I don't know if you saw this. Aaron Jones signed signed with Drew Rosenhouse. Right? Yeah, I saw that. Right? He's gone. Correct. So look at their first two picks, right? They drafted a running back.

Who could replace the running back? Who's going to get a paycheck and go somewhere else? And they dropped a quarterback because they look around and Aaron Rogers is great. But in two years could he be Rothesberger? But, like, I'm with you. Like what they did in theory works, but those players got to be good. I mean,

AJ Dillon, the reports, again, running back's hard to tell, but the quarterback, he couldn't beat out Tim Boyle. So now he's a big-time project. To me, there's still some question marks there. Like, he's kind of a raw talent, a little Josh Allen-y, like a poor man's version. No question. They got a lot of work to do there, but I'm with you. Like, you've got to – I mean, the Niners are a good example this year, right? Jimmy goes down, and their backup plans are Mullins and C.J. Bether, and they got no shot.

Because if they just had middle-of-the-road quarterback play, they'd probably be right in the playoff mix. So having – and the Steelers are good. example right last year when rothusberger went down that defense was elite and they still went eight and eight but their just quarterback play was probably the worst in the league right and look and they drafted quarterback play and your team's good and when i say decent i just mean like top like 22 players the league yeah yeah you can win nine games if you have an elite defense and a good run game and and why didn't the sealers you know they used what a third round pick on mason rudoff he's like yeah actually they've tried no no no no but listen remember but remember though that

big ben was push was always pushing back against, you know, drafting somebody early first or second round, right? And, and so there's a reason guys around in the third and the fourth round. Speaking of, there's a reason. All right. How did so many people who I really, really respect, how did everybody miss on Herbert? That's a good question. I mean, he wasn't, he didn't quite look like this in college, and he still went six overall. There was, to me, he was like a better version of Josh Allen coming out, where it was still like the raw talent. He was better in college.

But it was weird. His stretch, especially the last couple years at Oregon, they didn't have like NFL wide receivers or even running backs or tight ends. He wasn't playing with much skill guys. I also think when you look back, Arroyo, who's now the UNLV head coach, might just not be that good.

And sometimes, and this is always the hard part about an evaluation, is who's coaching a player at the time at any college. you just sometimes you wonder is he getting the most out of it is he tapped out because you're talking to that coach right you're not necessarily talking to Herbert when you go into the school and he's telling you his side of the story and it's just natural you might believe that or you know you're trying to weigh it and I just think sometimes it's hard and sometimes like he went to a situation despite coming from one you know like a top 10 program in the country at Oregon just in terms of name recognition they recruits and stuff but from the skill guy standpoint he goes to the chargers it's better. Well, look at Tua. Tua went from Alabama. He took a huge step back going to Miami. So it does impact where you land, who's coaching you, but definitely who he's playing with. I mean, Telesco doesn't get enough credit for, he's kind of Pittsburgh Steelers. Like, he finds these random wide receivers that are good. And they got speed there. Obviously, they got Keenan, who's a star. Hunter Henry's good. So it's just, I think his personnel is way better. And he's

just, you've got to give him credit. I mean, he's just, I don't want to call him a league, but he's had He's had an elite rookie here, just relative to rookies. And in fairness, as much as they didn't have an offseason, right? They also aren't playing in true road games, and it's a lot easier. And I think it helps. He's really smart. Yes. So in these situations when it's all, it's weird, you're on Zoom, you're not practicing,

a smart guy can kind of separate from the pack. Now, he has the physical tools, too, but, you know, part of that 4.0 GPA, but, I mean, James had a good GPA. You know, it doesn't always translate, right? You just, you never know. There were some signs there that there was some things missing with James. There's definitely some signs there. Last thing, you said to your parents' house.

Would your parents be okay if you gave them gift cards for Christmas? That's a good question. You know, I mean, they just, they probably wouldn't even use it. I don't even, I don't know if they're too locked in on the gift card market. Like if I just handed them $200 from Amazon or something. Yeah. Yeah, it'd be pretty hollow. Amazon would be pretty hard not to use.

Yeah. Because you don't have to move, and it's like there by the time you press send. Yeah, I mean, that is true. But, you know, technology, you know, they're different a little generation here. But yeah, I mean, I can pull that off. All right. Well, I know you come from money, so tell the butler to really cook up something good for Christmas. And have a Merry Christmas.

We'll talk to you soon. See, buddy. All right, that's the one and only John Minnukoff. Three and Out is, in fact, the podcast. Okay, so there was a cancellation of an NBA game. last night. And it did and did not involve and revolve around James Harden. But there's a bigger story at play here. We'll get to that next in The Herd.

Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays at 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'll say it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where

you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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, in this month. I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast,

learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. The NBA postponed the Oklahoma City Thunder Houston Rockets game last night. that's because the Rockets didn't have a league required eight available players need to proceed with the contest. By the way, this is made worse because this year, I don't know how many people know this,

but instead of the traditional 13 on the active roster, there's 15 on the active roster. So you have 17 guys, 15 on the active roster. They couldn't field eight. Normally, eight out of 13. This is eight essentially out of 17. Could not get it done. The NBA said three Rockets players have returned.

tests that were either positive or inconclusive for the coronavirus under the NBA's testing program. In addition, four other players were quarantined under contact tracing protocol, and Chris Clemens, ruptured his Achilles tendon, was unavailable to play because of injury. The league also said that the Rocket Star James Hardin was unavailable due to violation of the health and safety protocol based upon a video, published by BSO that has been circulating in recent days where he was maskless at a Houston club. What's amazing about this is

yesterday we read a post. Ryan Music, do you have the post again? Could you read me the post when you do have it? There was a post that was deleted, put up and then deleted by James Hart. Go ahead, read that post if you would. One thing after another, I went to show love to my home girl at her event

in parentheses, not a strip club, because she is becoming a boss and putting her people in position of success and now it's a problem. Every day it's something different. No matter how many times people try to drag my name under, you can't. The real always end up on top.

Ah, the real always end up on top. The real always end up on top. I will, part of this does remind me of Marcellus Wiley, Daddud, you can see on Fox Sports One. He had a great post on Instagram last week, I think, where he's like, imagine smoking weed at a family gathering

and the weed was the legal part, right? That was amazing. That's the time we're living in now. But that is the time we're living in. And like I think James Hardin thinks that we're all moralists and we're like, you cannot go to a strip club. Like, no, dude. Like the league depends upon all of their players buying into the,

I can't go to these public gatherings. That's a tradeoff. You know, you're going to make $45 million per year. you're guaranteed for the next two years. We ask, we ask basically one thing from you. You got to just go home after work until you get the vaccine. And then you can kind of go back to doing what you want, right? Not that big an ask, but he doesn't get it.

And this is the problem with James Hardin. He just doesn't get it. Doesn't understand that his, like, I would be mortified if somebody retired my jersey at a strip club. I would be mortified by it. Not because, again, the moralist, the idea, it just makes you look like such a clown. Makes you look like such a clown.

Chains are not India. Sorry, dude. You're just the guy with the biggest wad of bills. I would be mortified at the fact that my coach, my general manager, guys that believed me, got fired because I couldn't win and play well enough in the most important games. Or that there was a turnstile of first Chris Paul

And then Russell Westbrook was a friend. Like they were legit friends. And there was a fissure there because Russell West was like, yo, this dude is not about winning. But instead of being mortified by your own actions and by the culture that you have created, not absorbed, he didn't come to Houston and be like, oh, I just fell under there. No, it was all built around how you wanted to be. Instead, it's let's post something. Everybody's got it all wrong. It's about, it's not about the strip club.

It's not about the strip club. It's about everything that you've done says that none of winning is not important to you. And being a good part of the NBA, if I'm the players union, I'm pissed. Yo, man, we're trying to have a season. Get paid. Play basketball.

All you got to do is go home. That's it. That's it. Wait a couple weeks. You're going to get the vaccine. We're going to get the vaccine. Everybody knows that athletes are going to get the vaccine before the common person is. Sorry, you don't like it.

that's the way it works. Life is not fair. They're going to get the vaccine. Not before first responders, but not long after. But instead, it's about woe as me. People are judging you because of the strip club. We don't care. We do know that the strip club is a losing proposition,

but we don't care. We care about trying to see professional sports. See sports in general. All right, we'll get into that with Rick Buecker. will James Harden play basketball this year. But coming up next, we're going to turn back to the NFL. So among the other kind of long-lasting storylines in the NFL is the Tampa Buccaneers. And Bruce Ariens and Tom Brady, if you listen to them, they love each other.

But do they find out next in The Hurt? Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite, unhumor me with Robert Smygle 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. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kier 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. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. It was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I mean, 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. Thank you.