The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 and Out - Cowboys Woodshed WFT, Josh Allen, Pats Revenge Game, Chiefs ROLLIN, Colts Mo

Episode Date: December 27, 2021

John breaks down the Cowboys taking the WFT behind the woodshed, Josh Allen's revenge game against Belichick, the suddenly red hot Chiefs, and the surging Colts.Follow John and The Volume on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

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

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Look, Valentine's Day is almost here, and you know what that means. It's time to... Luckily, you know what makes her blush. Fresh blooms and gifts from Proflowers. Head over to Proflowers.com and use code Crush 15 through February 14th and get 15% off all the best

blooms and gifts that will really make your special someone on Valentine's Day. Get fresh this Valentine's Day with Pro Flowers. See website for details. The volume. What is going on? John Middlecock, Three and Out podcast. Beautiful Sunday night. Actually, the game's still going on.

I just came to the office and pressed record because I can't watch the Cowboys win 75 to 3. You know, what a absolute beatdown. We'll dive into that game. A bunch of other games, Josh Allen, Kansas City, the Colts are humming, Baker Mayfield status. A lot going on this weekend in the NFL. Obviously, Merry Christmas. Happy New Year, right around the corner.

A great time of year. A little chilly, a little rainy where I am. But, you know, we're right around the corner from playoff college football. The NFL playoffs are now three weeks away, starting to take shape in the, the kind of the playoff, you know, we know basically who's going to win the divisions in the NFC, right? I mean, the Rams haven't officially won it.

It's over. Arizona's done. So the Cowboys have won it. Tampa's won it. And obviously Green Bay. So the NFC is very, very good at the top. Mike McCarthy, I was thinking about this and I've thought about it forever. You know, it's like, if you just met some random dude, it's like, yeah, I played the big

leagues. You'd be like, who'd you play for? He'd be like, oh, I played for the Yankees and the Dodgers. You know, it's like, or, you know, it's like, you meet some dude that played international soccer. Like, yeah, I played for Barcelona and Man City. You know, he coached, like, his two NFL jobs are the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. It doesn't get much better than that.

And we've talked, we, me, but you probably too, we've taken a lot of shots at Mike McCarthy. What's he actually doing? He's not calling the plays. You got to give him his flowers this season. They won the division easily. They've been a really good team, right? They have, I mean, they're potentially going to be the number two seed in the end. NFC. They're going to host back-to-back playoff games potentially. Obviously, you've got to win in

the first round. But here's what I know. If they host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, historically, what has given Tom Brady trouble in the playoffs? A pass rush. Teams that could get after him. What does the Dallas Cowboys have? Pass rushers all over the place. They have one of the most unique rookies we've ever seen. There is no stopping this kid. He's coming from the middle linebacker spot. He's putting him over guards. He's playing like a defensive end. He's a stand up outside linebacker. I don't even know what you would say his position is.

I just know that he sacks the quarterback every game. And he's all over the place all the time. Micah Parsons is a dominant player. And then Gregory and Lawrence, like that's going to translate against Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers and Matt Stafford. Like they have a legitimate chance to win the NFC because they do two things really, really well. They obviously, like I said, rush the passer.

and then their offense, they can score points when they're on. And if they get games inside that dome multiple times and really just have to take their one shot, you know, outside in Lambo in the NFC championship game, I think they have as good a chance as any. Now, it's going to come down, obviously, Dak, I mean, the football team, pretty gutless effort, and Dak hadn't been playing well.

But I know this. Like obviously, Rogers and Brady, you know, Brady's the greatest quarterback of all time. Roger's going to go down as one of top five quarterback of all time. But Matt Stafford. The Rams are going to win the NFC West. Sorry, Arizona. Say hello to the wild card and being won and done in the playoffs. But I know this about the Cowboys and the Rams.

I trust Dakota Prescott way more than I do Matt Stafford. Matt Stafford is a bigger arm. He's more talented or whatever. Dak ain't going to have a three, four pick game. Matt Stafford, you saw today against the Minnesota Vikings, those picks left and right. The Dallas Cowboys have a legitimate chance to win the NFC. We make fun of Mike McCarthy.

We just make fun of Jerry Jones the last several years. this team is really, really talented. They're high end. I mean, they have five wide receivers. Three of them are legit. You saw Zeke tonight, like when he's healthy, would you want to tackle that guy? That translates to a snowy game in Lambo.

Give it to 21. See if Green Bay wants to tackle them over and over. Now, one major difference, I think the Green Bay team and this Cowboy team and some of McCarthy's teams that have flamed out in the playoffs in the 2010s was those teams were soft. Now, the Cowboys obviously are a passing team, but their offensive lines really good.

Their defensive lines are very good. And they're a physical football team. Like C.D. Lamb is a physical football player. You know, Amaris can break tack. Like, he's a physical football player. They have a physical football. That, like that translates to winning big games. Now, I'm not going to pick the Cowboys to win the NFC.

I'm going to pick the Packers because they're going to have home field advantage. But it's crazy to say this. I might like the Cowboys a little bit more of the Bucks, especially not knowing the Bucks injury situation. Because the way you get after Tom is the pass rush. And this team, if they get them in the second round and Jerry's Palace is hosting Tampa Bay, I'll give the Cowboys a pretty good shot to win that game.

Because it's hard to block three guys. Brady's had some really good offensive lines, but sometimes they ran into some teams that have, it's one thing if you just have one pass rusher, right? I can just double team or just build my protection around the guy. when you have three guys in Parsons, you have no clue where he's coming from every down. It's very, very hard to block those guys. You got to give the Cowboys credit for, I never thought this would work,

but getting rid of Mike Nolan, who we all knew was going to fail. But to go to Dan Quinn, who's Dan Quinn's defenses in Atlanta were terrible. Now, I root for bald people. So I was rooting for Dan Quinn. He has been excellent. Like that defense has been fantastic, the majority of the season. And I gave him a lot of credit for Micah Parsons. in part of sucking last year, which they really sucked.

I mean, they were bad. Now, obviously, Dax shattered his ankle, led them to Micah Parsons, which is a franchise changing draft pick, right? So it's just, when you hit on draft picks, sometimes, like, one part of sucking is then if you miss on the draft pick and it doesn't impact you, you're still bitter the following year. Like, the Cowboys have forgotten about 2020, because everyone's just buying number 11 jerseys.

and Dak, they don't need that, but they need him to play pretty well. And he clearly has the talent and the ability in him. And I think this week's a big week playing Arizona. You put the nail in their coffin. You make them be a wild card. And you take your chances with, you'd probably as a two seed,

you know, potentially play the Eagles in the first round. You know, which isn't out of the realm possibility that, you know, if the Eagles get that seven seed, I think they play the Eagles week 17s or week 18. So you'd be like back-to-back games against, Eagles, who I, you know, I think the Cowboys are just going to be, are just a better team, man. Now, they blew them out earlier in the season to probably be a little more difficult, you know, the third time you would play them.

And we'll see how it looks in Philadelphia that final game of the season. But you got to give the Cowboys credit, man. They have, they have bounced back in a big, big way this season when I, most people did not think they were going to be this good. Well, let's face it. I know I didn't. I thought they wouldn't be as bad as last year, but I didn't expect a 12 and 5 season.

McCarthy, man, he's done some winning. For a guy that takes a lot of shit, we talk about being like a middle of the road coach. Now, I know he coached Rogers for a long period of time, and, you know, look at the floor. He doesn't even get that much credit. Now Rogers gets all the credit. McCarthy just a lot of division championships

under his belt, man. Okay, let's dive into the rematch. Foxborough, Bill's Patriots. This game, I left my mom's house really early in the morning, had a long, long Christmas, but I wanted to make sure I was on the couch in my sweats, locked and loaded to watch this bad boy. And it was awesome. And for me, if I had to give an MVP of the day, hell of the weekend, it would be to Josh Allen. Because let's rewind for a second. that game a couple weeks ago in Buffalo felt like it was a symbolic moment, right?

One of the biggest games in years and a couple decades at that stadium. Obviously, the bills just haven't been that good, so they haven't played that many big games. Last couple of years, they've become a playoff team. Last year, there were no fans despite them having an awesome season, right? Now it's happening again. It looks like the bills are poised, you know, to kind of meet the chiefs, you know, maybe for a re-year.

rematch in the AFC championship game. And that game was a force of wills. And it was a force of the Patriots will shoving them around. It was an embarrassing moment. I know the players hide and Poirer got mad with the media member about the word embarrassing. But it was, you know, I understand defensively. They only allowed 14 points. But we all witnessed it.

Like that was an awful loss. and sometimes you have a moment like that, it's hard to recover. And then the following week, they got to play Tampa, and they kind of no show early on, but they battle back, but they still lose the game. Let's face it, their season felt like it was teeter tottering. I didn't have much faith. I didn't bet on this game, but if I had 100%, I was actually thinking about betting on the bills just because I felt everyone was going to take the Patriots,

but I didn't really believe in the bills. Josh Allen was brilliant today. He was incredible. He was the MVP I thought of any player I watched today. Burrow was pretty good too. But Josh Allen, given the opponent, Belichick, that defense, he threw three touchdowns. He did it all.

Throws inside the pocket, throws outside the pocket. He made several plays today like flipping the ball, his underhand stuff. It was just kind of ad-libbing. It was incredible. Running the ball, I think he ran for 65 yards on the ground. A couple huge first downs. He was the best player on the field.

day and I don't even think there was a close second. And I felt, it shows you, right? You know, the best part about football and talking about football and working in football and playing in football is every game matters. And when you have a bad loss or you have a big win, you take a lot from it. And we can make like, we can change our opinions pretty drastically just based on a game. And the best part about huge division games, when you have two really good teams in division, you get to play them again.

and obviously going into Foxborough a place they don't win right it's not a place that Josh Allen not necessarily his fault but like his franchise had a lot of success over the years and they thoroughly outplayed them I mean they took it to him you got to give Sean McDermen who took a lot of heat I thought dable's game plan a couple weeks ago was terrible put this in Josh Allen's hand because the one thing you saw today like Mac Jones and listen it's not fair to compare Mac Jones to Josh Allen. One guy's in his fifth year, the other guy, or I guess it's his fourth year. The other guy is, you know, 75% way through his rookie season.

But if you just look at the quarterbacks in the division, Mac, obviously Tua and Zach Wilson, another rookie. Like, Zach is the most talented out of those three guys, just in terms of arm talent and athleticism. Obviously, Mac, you know, he just doesn't possess, neither does Tua, what Josh Allen has in the bag. And I've come around on Josh Allen because coming out, I didn't see it because he was so inaccurate. He's clearly become a very accurate pastor. Sometimes a decision making can be a little farby in, but the plays he made today were jaw dropping. That was elite. That's why you pay a guy

$150 million for that against the greatest coach ever on the road with your backs kind of against the wall. You know, your season that started off, like you were on a rocket ship to be one of the best teams in the league. It was all falling apart and you got it all right back. You made a huge trade. I guess it would have been last year or two years ago for

Stefan Diggs. He was massive. You need, sometimes we overthink football. Your best players have to play at high levels in big games. Look at the Patriots. J.C. Jackson, who's been one of the best D.Bs in the league all season, really for the last couple years,

got abused today. Maybe Diggs is just a tough matchup for him, but he got killed. And going back to the game a couple weeks ago, it's not normal to be able to win games like that. Several years ago in the NFC championship, the Niners won a game with Jimmy Garoppolo throwing the ball eight total times.

That's not normal in 2019, 2020, 2021. Matt Jones threw it three times. You know, in the Monday night football win. Like, that's, that's an outlier. That'll never happen. and again for him in his career. It's just not going to be

something that consistently ever happens. And you saw a couple times now against Indy and against Buffalo when you have to put it on him, on his shoulders, and in fairness, they're missing some wide receivers, but let's face it. It's not like those wide receivers are Julian Edelman

and Randy Moss and Welker. He's not going to be able to carry you. They have to play good defense and they have to run the football. And when Josh Allen's going to play like this, you're going to lose. You just are. The Patriots aren't good enough offensively to hang with a performance like that.

Most teams aren't. Like probably only the Chiefs, if Josh Allen's going to play, like that's an all-pro performance. That's a performance that only a handful of guys in the league, especially when you factor in the running, even have in the back. When he takes off like that with his size and speed,

how many quarterbacks, obviously there's like Kyler and Lamar, but Josh can take off like a runner and he becomes Cam. Imagine a guy. Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and you. and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games.

And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, 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.

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Newton, on the ground. I mean, it's just, and the Patriots are a physical defense. So Sean McDermott, Brian Daibald, Josh Allen, obviously the, you know, the Bill's defense really responded because they got their teeth kicked in, you know, a couple weeks ago. And they needed this one and they needed this one bad. And now you watch a game like this, you go, listen, If their quarterback's on, they can beat anyone on any given day.

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Brought to you by the United States Forest Service and the ad council. Kansas City, Andy Reid, we were talking about it earlier in the season. What did I say? We got to pump the brakes. They are turning the ball over, which what felt like it was at a historic rate. Every single game, Mahomes and the offense was accounting for several turnovers. And their defense was not playing well. And I didn't know their defense was going to turn around like they did.

But I knew that they were not going to consistently turn the ball over multiple times every game. Well, they cut that out. And then their defense turned into one of the better defense is in the league. So once you cut out the turnovers and you got Patrick Mahomes and you got Andy Reed and then your defense starts playing well, do you know what happens? You cruise to the number one seat. They obviously won the division for the sixth straight time. Now, they've benefited really beside maybe a river's year.

The division has been down. But like it's a little bit like the Patriots with Belichick and Brady, their division can be down and we can independently say that's a freaking good team. like that is a legit powerhouse squad. And right now, they have to be the heavy favorites to win the AFC. Because off the top of my head, I'm pretty sure in Mahomes' career, he has never played a road playoff game. He hasn't had to, right?

He won't have to again this year. Because the one year they weren't the number one seed with Mahomes, Derek Henry knocked out Lamar Jackson and they got the AFC championship game in Kansas City. Well, obviously with the number one seed, they're going to benefit multiple ways, right? Obviously, you're going to have every game. The road to winning the AFC is going to come through Kansas City, one, and two, they get the buy. Because there's no longer, remember a couple years ago when Miami beat New England on the final week of the regular season,

and it flip-flop between New England and Kansas City got that two-seat. Like, that doesn't even exist. I mean, the two-seat, obviously, is there that much difference between the two-seat and the three-seat? Mainly if you both win, I guess you get to host the game, which is a big deal the following week. but you do not get the buy. And the chiefs, you can tell, I mean, they're a little banged up right now. As of recording this, you know, Clyde might have broken his clavicle. He'll be out for the season if that's the case.

And he's really actually played pretty well when he's been on the field this year. Second half of the season, he's been, he looked good. I mean, he had an awesome touchdown today where he was hit by three guys, basically at the line of scrimmage and was like a little bowling ball, bounced off and ran right in the end zone. But if Mahomes, like with Josh Allen, If Mahom is going to play like this and their defense is going to stifle offenses, this team is going to the Super Bowl. And then, you know, if they play the Packers or they play Tampa or whoever wins the NFC, then it'll be a coin flip game.

But this to me is the best team, especially when you factor in, you've got to go through Kansas City easily in the AFC. We are, we're pretty lucky, right? We transition pretty smoothly from Belichick and Brady to Andy and Mahomes. and it's kind of cool that we got to see them match up in one of the better games in the last decade. That AFC championship game where New England was kind of kicking their ass that at halftime, Kansas City came storming back,

went overtime. I rewatch that. I remember during 2020. I think it was during the lockdown. Had nothing to do. NFL network was just replaying games. That game was better than I remembered. And that was the moment. I think I'd said, I know we got a lot of new listeners.

But I remember watching that in like the summer of 2020. Even in a loss, I bet Vech and Andy realized, and obviously he won the MVP that year. But for him to come storming back, that's when I was like, damn, Mahomes, that had to be a defining moment in Mahomes' career. Like when his career is all said and done, it's not his rookie season because it was a second year in the league, but his first year starting to show the moxie, to show the competitive character against one of the greatest dynasties we've ever seen. and the fight that he showed in that game was really, really remarkable. But Kansas City, man, they're just an absolute powerhouse right now.

And I think sometimes, and listen, I think we all can relate. You go through a little adversity, go through some tough times. If you can make it out to the other side, Andy Dufrein style, if you can get through the shit in the mud, it's pretty good on the other side. Because you learn from that, right? Some people will tell you, there's no this thing is failing. There's just learning. Now, in football, especially in a playoffs or not making the, like losses can lead to not extending your season.

So you have to, you can't just lose all the time. Sometimes losing's okay. And because I've always thought that I remember being in the NFL, you could have a win, a game you probably shouldn't have won. And you don't learn that much from it. Sometimes losing is a good thing. And clearly they were able to do some introspection. They were able to coach them even harder. And they came out, you know, on the other side, way better.

for it, now they're kicking ass and taking names. Because they, unlike the bills, who's really ebbed and flowed this season, like once the Chiefs figured it out, they have not looked back. They have not flinched. And they're playing at a really, I mean, the Steelers are cooked and they treated them like a cook team.

I mean, they curb stomped them today. Like that game was a joke. And listen, Raffersburg has probably got two more games in his NFL career, but the Chiefs made them look like a guy hanging on for dear life. The other thing that this happened on Saturday, on Christmas. It's funny. Christmas. And listen, I like the NBA. I'm a big warriors guy. But Christmas was always the NBA's day. Now that the NFL does these Saturday games, if Christmas ever falls on a Saturday, it felt like Christmas is now the NFL's day. If it's ever on a weekend, it's not really a fair fight. I feel bad for Adam Silver. He probably got his teeth kicked in going up against Aaron Rogers and then Kyler and Indy. But I, I've been tweeting about this. I think I've talked a little bit about this on the podcast.

the mid-season hard-knocks with the Colts is excellent. It is really good. It's so much different than the, you know, the hard knocks we usually get. Because, you know, Hard Knocks in August is always based on preseason games. You're always following guys trying to make the team. Like, we've kind of seen that song and dance. And I think, and I've definitely talked about it this year. Hard Knocks is over.

It's now boring. I no longer, after the first episode this year with the Cowboys, I didn't watch another episode. I thought it was trash. It's like a propaganda machine for the team. And I don't blame the team. But I remember where I felt, I was thinking about it this weekend over some drinks.

I was like, I wonder if Hard Knocks indirectly had an influence on my love of the sport. Of like always thinking like I would love to work in the NFL. Because when I was in high school, like in the early 2000s, like 2001, 2002, those Hard Knocks, you got such great insight to the way guys were,

cut the way front offices were, the front office and the coaching staff. I was like, God, that looks really cool. I knew my Davis High football playing days. I had a pretty good idea. I wasn't ever going to play in the NFL, let alone play in college. So my only route to the NFL was trying to do something like that. And that was, you know, for a young kid seeing the inside of it was pretty awesome. And we no longer get that. I think we all agree that Hard Knock sucks now because we don't see, you know, the staff meetings. And the staff meetings are by far always the best content. Well, during the season, it's much more about game planning and getting into it. And you really learn the players that are actually on the team and the coaches.

And Chris Ballard, I guess he's not playing a huge role in this hard knocks. But one thing is really stood out to me about the Colts. Now, Chris and Frank, I'm going to compare them to the Patriots. And when I say compare them to the Patriots, I don't mean they don't have the resume of the Patriots. And Chris and Frank do not act like Bill Belichick. Clearly, Bill would never allow mid-season hard-nots. But in terms of the players on their team, they have a very patriot-like vibe. Their players feel like they would thrive and play and Bill Belichick would love them,

especially their good ones. DeForest Buckner, one of the highest character guys in the NFL, also happens to be one of the best defensive linemen and is one of the more versatile players in the league. Jonathan Taylor, you know what a high-level guy that is? Jonathan Taylor, every team in the league would die to have Jonathan Taylor the person on their team, let alone the player. Kenny Moore, their, you know, guy just made the Pro Bowl this year, actually started his career on the New England Patriots. Their guys are so

freaking high level. It is a very enjoyable watch because of the high level group of players they have. They're good. I mean, they are really good. Watching them, I mean, physically, let's face it, I'm not going to take a victory lap on the Arizona Cardinals, but I think we know they're in shambles. And I think there's a bigger picture question mark. They're no longer in first place. The Rams beat Minnesota today. The Arizona Cardinals who have been in first place all season long. I mean, at one point in time, I thought they were going to go like 15 and 2. Like, you can just, you can't really dispute just wins. I mean, they had played 13 games. They had won 10 of them. And they just, another loss, another loss. Listen, is size the end-all be-all at playing quarterback?

No, it's not. We've seen it with Russell Wilson who's had up until right now he's kind of in Chambles, but has had a Hall of Fame career. Russell Wilson is 225 pounds. He's thick. Look at Baker Mayfield. He's kind of falling apart. Kyler Murray is not built like those guys. He's just much slimmer. And I don't know if he's, if he gets, you know, fatigued as the season goes on, but he does just kind of fall apart. And their head coach just has no history of winning big games, mainly because he never has. But it can't be argued that the Arizona Cardinals have an equally talented team as the Indianapolis Colts. And the Colts, pushed them around.

The Colts are coming. Because the Colts can do a couple things that translate in January. And they're not going to probably host playoff games, right? Because they're a wildcard team. Unless somehow the Titans, you know, lose these last couple weeks, which, you know, probably won't happen. I don't even know. I'd have to look up who they're playing.

But, you know, indeed, they have a culture there with their players. Like, it's obviously they have really good players. I mean, I think they had the most players on the Pro Bowl for any team. And listen, as guys, drop out of the pro bowl, not everyone that makes the Pro Bowl is the same, right? And being an all pro is more important than being a Pro Bowl player. But when you make the Pro Bowl as like the legit Pro Bowl, like right now, before the games

played, that's a legitimate honor, I think. And for the most part, looking at the team, like, it's the best players in the league. And they have a shitload of them. And if their quarterback can just play under control like he did the other night, like they got a chance to make some serious noise in the playoffs. Like, they're the type team who could play with the Chiefs because they have a physical defense and they can run the ball, meaning they can kind of control the clock. Now, you know, the one thing that doesn't have a lot of parallels probably with the Patriots is I doubt Belichick would love Carson Wentz, not really his type player. But if you can just get solid Carson Wentz, not the hero syndrome, him not turning the ball over, this team can beat anyone on any given week.

and they are playing their best football right now. Physicality, defense translates in big games. Especially in games, they're going to be played outside. Kansas City's going to have weather. Who knows? The bills could win that division. They're going to have weather. Tennessee, Nashville's beautiful place, but it can be cold there.

That stuff works outside. Now, you know, last year, Rivers was kind of cooked, was at the end. He was like a better version of what we're seeing right now with Rothersberger. I don't really know how to, you know, describe Carson Wentz, kind of a roller coaster ride. So I wouldn't place a bet on them to win the Super Bowl more because of him. But the infrastructure around him, Frank Reich, I watched their Twitter account after the game, gave the game ball to the general manager.

Now, part of it is this week was crazy, all these COVID guys. If you could just get out of this week with a win, who cares how it looks, who cares how many, you know, points you won by. Someone DM me today like, um, basically getting mad that the Eagles aren't using Jalen Hertz right. It's like, I didn't watch much of that game, but you guys, you guys won by 24 points. Like it's the NFL. You won by three score, four scores.

I guess three scores, if you count, they get every two-point conversion. But you won't by 24 points. It doesn't always have to look pretty, especially on a week when COVID guys are going left and right. You have all these, every team is mix and matching, missing offensive linemen, missing skill guys. You just win, you survive, and get to the next week. And that's kind of what everyone's trying to do. And if you can win in convincing fashion, the more, you know, the better, right?

But there are no style points in the NFL. This isn't the BCS. You're not trying to earn, you know, spots for the committee. You're just trying to win. That's all that matters is the win-lost record in the NFL, unlike college where I saw Luke Fickle had a quote that was like this year was really taxing on them, which understandable because they knew that every game was going to be under the magnifying glass and the microscope.

And if they didn't win pretty enough, that they wouldn't move up. That's not the case in the NFL. You just win. And luckily, with 17 games, unlike college football, if you start like one and three, you got no chance to go dancing, right? But in the NFL, like the Colts, you can start slow. Then you don't have much room for error. You got to rattle off like, you know, six, seven of eight, right?

But you can do that when you have really good players. And Frank's a really good coach. But to me, it just gets back to the culture of the type guys they have. I really enjoy watching them play football right now. I think the Tampa won the division today, some hats and t-shirts, Dallas hats and T-shirts before they even played, Kansas City hats and T-shirts. It's just we're starting to get somewhat of a feel. Still a lot of moving parts.

The wild cards in both the NFC and AFC are wide open. A lot of teams still have a shot these last couple weeks. But I think we got a pretty good idea, definitely in the NFC. You know, who's going to host playoff games. The seating is definitely still up in the air. I think the Packers feel like a lock to be the one seat. Like the Packers in Kansas City, the road to the Super Bowl is going to go through Lambo and is going to go through Arrowhead,

which it did last year, right? And Kansas City took care of business and Green Bay couldn't. There's going to be a lot of pressure, man, and deservedly so. Because last year was the first time that Aaron Rogers ever hosted in a championship game. All his previous championship games, even the year that he won, the Super Bowl, won it on the road. Right? And all the other championship games that he's lost have always been on the road. Last year, it was all set up for him.

I think their team's better this year. Now, they got to get some guys back still, but it's, they got to win the NFC. You know, I picked them last year. I'm going to pick them again. They have the best player right now in football. They have an incredible home field advantage in theory. I mean, they've actually lost a lot of playoff games in Lambo. But they just feels like their time.

Right? We don't even say that about Kansas City. We just have confidence in them. It's weird. Like we have confidence when we watch Green Bay play during the regular season. They just, they win a boatload of games. They're doing it again this year. But it does, it's going to, do they get tight or do they play loose?

Because if they can play loose, they have one of the best players I've ever seen a wide receiver. I mean, Devante Adams is on a completely different level right now than everyone. He is a, just as a fan of football, it's a joy to watch him play football. It really is. That guy, and knowing people that know him really well, knowing his character as a football player in terms of his work ethic, how much he cares about his craft, how much it means to him to be an elite football player,

it shows. Because he's an unstoppable force. He really is. And, you know, I know Colin got some joy with Baker Mayfield. People ask me a lot, and a lot of you guys DM me about what are they going to do with them. I don't think it's that complicated. You're not going to do anything.

You're going to roll it back. He'll plan his fifth year option and just see what happens. You're not paying him any money. Under no circumstances would you offer him a contract. Even if it was $20 million a year. You just play it out. You're in zero rush. Your team is run by two Ivy League guys that did not draft Baker Mayfield.

Now, he still might be their best option for 2022, but they don't need to even offer him extension. One, he probably wouldn't take it because their offer would be terrible. but you just let it play out. I think we're always, like it's a no-brainer with a Patrick Mahomes or Devante Adams or a Jonathan Taylor or whoever, right? The best young players you always want to Nick Bosa extend as soon as humanly possible.

But then there's a group of guys that you just don't have enough information or the information you do doesn't make you feel good. Well, just let it play out. Just let's see where it goes. And to me, that is the category in which Baker Mayfield falls under. Let's just see where it goes. Let's see how he plays. Because as of today and as of right now,

I just, if I was those guys and what I envision those guys doing is nothing, is no contract and just making it play out in 2022. Like I would imagine the Giants are going to do with Daniel Jones. They won't pick up his fifth year option and they'll just let him play it out. See what it goes. Which obviously I'm not comparing Daniel Jones to Baker. Baker's had more individual success than Daniel Jones has, clearly. but I think everyone we just like what kind of contract?

Why do we need to give anyone a contract that doesn't quote unquote deserve it and deserves a tough word to use because deserve can be in the eye of the owner of a general manager who can have biases? But some stuff is pretty clear. And Baker Mayfield to me is pretty clear. Just let it play out. Which is not an ideal situation to be in with the number one overall quarterback. But that's where they're at, right?

The bills didn't hesitate to give Josh Allen all that money. But Josh Allen physically, and the gifts he possesses are in a different stratosphere than Baker Mayfield. So I understood them doing that, even if it was based kind of on one year with no fans. I mean, it was a little risky. But those two guys that paid Josh Allen were the coach of the GM that drafted him. That's not the case with Baker Mayfield. Like a lot of times you're so much, you're going to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

And sometimes this is wrong when he's your guy, when you pulled the trigger on the pick. But when you didn't, and then he's not playing that well, you know, I think that's when you hesitate and just let things run its course and just play out, I get. And I guess then if it runs its course and he's not good enough, you move on. Because I keep hearing like, what are they going to do? I don't know.

It's not like he's great now. So if in two years I have to find a new quarterback, so be it. It's not an ideal situation to be in. But right now having the number one overall pick, you know, from several years ago, not play anywhere near the number one overall pick. is not an ideal situation either. Enjoy the week, and I will see you Tuesday.

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I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app,

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