The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 3 & Out - Detroit Lions OT Win vs Los Angeles Rams, Tom Brady's rough TV debut, NFL Week 1 Reactions

Episode Date: September 9, 2024

John breaks down the Detroit Lions' thrilling 26-20 overtime victory against the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday Night Football. He discusses Rams head coach Sean McVay's heavy reliance on quarterback Matthew Stafford in the passing game, while Lions head coach Dan Campbell leaned into a dominant ground attack with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. In other NFL Week 1 news, John reacts to Tom Brady’s disappointing debut as a TV analyst and questions whether he’ll improve over time. He also dives into the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dominant defensive performance against the Atlanta Falcons, where Kirk Cousins struggled in his debut after signing a big contract. Is the Falcons' roster overrated under new head coach Raheem Morris? Lastly, John does his Overrated/Underrated segment from NFL and College football weekend.  7:28 - Lions-Rams reaction 23:16 - Tom Brady and his debut 31:03 - The Steelers D 37:18 - Overrated vs. Underrated Follow John on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for the latest. Check out Gametime - the fastest growing ticketing app in the US, and the official ticketing app of 3 & Out and GoLow -  for tickets to all of your favorite NFL, NBA, NHL, NCAA teams. Concert and comedy show tickets, too. Go to Gametime now to create an account, download the app and use code JOHN for $20 off your first purchase. #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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NFL Plus premium offer available only to new and former NFL plus subscribers. Additional NFL plus premium terms at NFL.com slash. terms. What is going on, everybody, John Middilcock, Three and Out podcast? How are we doing, my people? Well, well, well, the Rams just lost the Lions in overtime. Fantastic Sunday night game. It was, look for a second, like are the Lions just kind of going to work them?

Then the Rams come storming back. Then they take the lead. Lions kick a field goal, get it to overtime. Stafford almost threw a pick, which might have lost them the game. But he dropped it, then they go to OT, run it right down their throat, big win for the Lions. Impressive, though, given the circumstances with the injuries, I'm going to give Sean McVeigh and the organizations of props. So we'll talk about the Lions, the Rams. I do want to piggyback on, me and Colin hit on a little bit on Tom and the performance.

Deshawn Watson trade. I'm a sucker for just an awful trade. You know, in football, if you think about it, like in basketball and baseball, you get a lot of in-season sweet trades. You know, like Kevin Durant's trade in the middle of the season and baseball forever, or back in the day when it mattered. Great players would be traded at the trade deadline. In football, most of those happen around the draft. And then a couple years later, we know it's just like the Stafford trade. Like, that was one of the great win-win trades of all time.

The Lions get golf and they get a bunch of draft picks. Rams get Stafford. And that is not really. really been the John Watson trade at all. I also going to do something starting on Sundays, I think, a little overrated, underrated, and just things that I saw from the weekend, watch a lot of college football, watch a lot of NFL. So we will do a little overrated, underrated, and then get you out of here. But I went on with Colin, as I do every Sunday. We will have this podcast out every Sunday. We'll record it after the Sunday night game, and then we'll obviously have podcasts for at the week.

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Download the GameTime app today Last-minute tickets lowest prices guaranteed What a game That was the second half of that game Stafford turned on Hall of Fame mode Played outstanding Could have thrown a pick there

At the end of regulation The Lions had guys making plays left and right The physicality of that game The overtime drive And it kind of hit me In most sports You just ride your big brands no matter what because the little brands just don't resonate it is hard for the NBA to

force okayc on people regardless of how good they are they were just the number one seed major league baseball is praying to the baseball gods that somehow they could get yankees and dodgers win every round and meet in the world series in the NFL the lions the overwhelming majority of my life 39 years old have been terrible They have had two good seasons, really just one, because two years ago they didn't make the playoffs, and they can immediately use them. And it immediately works. Last year, they were on the opening game against the Chiefs on Thursday night, and tonight, they were in a spot that was held for a long, long time by the Giants and the Cowboys. It was just like, Giants Cowboys Sunday night, played in New York or played in Dallas.

I felt like it was that game, eight out of ten years for a stretch. And the thing with the NFL, no matter how bad you've been, the moment you become good, the moment you matter. And the moment America will watch you. And the Lions are just immediately watchable. Their coach is cool. Their team is fun. One thing they really have going for them, and we'll see. Like, their back end of their defense is going to be a question until they answer it.

Obviously, they drafted a couple guys. They added Davis from Tampa Bay. They have definitely put resources in there. but the strength of their team, the offense is just complete. If Jared Goff just plays solid, their offensive line is awesome. They have multiple sweet running backs. One guy, a physical player, that overtime drive, you can just hand him the ball every play right up the gut and he will drag players.

The other running back is like the new young Alvin Kamara. They have one of the best, if not the best current possession wide receiver. St. Brown, who can work the middle of the field. The play he made tonight when he slipped, hit the ball down, was incredible. They have one of the best young tight ends in the NFL. And now they have Jameson Williams, who has a little basketball player to him. Every time he goes down, you're like, is he injured? And then he kind of limps off, then he comes right back, and he's fine.

But he has elite speed. So they can stretch the field. They can work the middle of the field. they can get to the edges on run on runs with their quick running back. They can shove it up the gut with their physical running back, and their offensive line is just going to shove your defensive line back. So their offense is as complete as there is in the NFL. You could argue player for a player, quarterback clearly,

like the chiefs now have a more complete offense, and you would take theirs because they have no moham's. But if all quarterbacks are equal, and we're just judging the other 10 guys, I think you would put the lions near the top. And the other thing is, the question with Dan Campbell always going to be was like, what's he doing? Just like with any CEO head coach? Well, we saw Tomlin today.

It's pretty clear his teams are just ready for a fist fight. They live for that shit. And that's kind of Dan Campbell. Like his team has taken on his personality. That is a physical team. And that is a team when you play like that, that translates to the biggest games. Now, Jared Goff got a little iffy with a couple passes. He's going to be their question mark, but I think, I forget the stat off top of my head.

They play a ton of indoor games this year outside of Detroit. Obviously, they play indoors at home. And if they could get the number one seed, McVeigh called it last year that playoff game, the loudest environment he's ever been in, it's a huge advantage. The other thing is when you get a really high pick and you hit on that guy, He usually is an exceptional player, right? It sucks when you miss on him because of the draft capital.

When you take a guy like Trey Lance, you'd make a huge trade or, you know, whoever. I mean, there have been a million swinging misses over the years in the top five. But when you hit a home run and you're like, we got Miles Garrett. We got Nick Bosa. We got Aiden Hutchinson. And it was clear last year that this guy was ready to take a step into the next tier. to become one of the better pass rushers. And the thing in the NFL, it's such a pass-happy league

and the attrition of just offensive line. I mean, you saw it tonight, the Rams felt like they were missing their entire offensive line, they're moving guys left and right, that the majority of guys, even when their starters, are not Penae Sewell or Trent Williams. They're going to be relatively, you know, close to replaceable or a team would be open to replacing. And then when you get backups in,

there are just major question marks. And he was eating those guys alive. And I'll never forget, I was in an office one time in the late Howard Mudd RIP, who many consider one of the greatest offensive line coaches of all time. Me and another scouting buddy, we would just go into some of the old assistant coaches, especially like free agency or the draft and kind of pick their brain. And I remember dropping like, either me or my buddy was like, he doesn't have the feet to play left tackle.

I think he's more of a right tackle. And he stopped. He's like, what did you just say? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. He's like, when I was with Peyton Manning in Indianapolis, we had Robert Mathis on one side and Dwight Freedy on the other side. And any good pass rusher worth their salt can play on either side. And when you watch the NFL now, even teams that don't have two good pass rushers,

the moment they find your weakness, they'll move the guy over there. We saw it on Thursday night with Chris Jones. He was just finding the weak link, and he would just find the weak link. and he would just move over the guy. Whether he was a guard, whether he was the right or left tackle, it didn't matter. And you saw Aidan Hutchison and I moving around.

You see Michael Parsons do it all the time. And greatness, when you're able to move all around the line of scrimmage and you have elite talent, his motor is awesome. Like, he's a guy headed towards stardom. Now, if Jared Goff turns the ball over, anything's possible.

And tonight, he puts some balls in if he spots. But to me, completion of their offense. And they've had the same offensive coordinator now for going on three years. He seems to not want a head coaching job. He kind of just looks like an offensive coordinator. When I saw Ben Johnson, I'm like, you should just stay as the Lions offensive coordinator, make like $5 million a year and just run this out for a little bit.

But that offense is unreal. And if their defense is solid, they're going to be a problem. The thing I respect most about the Rams and any good team, now that I do this, like, I don't have the two deeps memorized, especially practice squad guys. So as the course of an NFL season will go, like any fan, you'll be like, who the hell is that guy? Where did that guy come from? Who's that? Obviously, I know a majority of guys in the NFL.

But the thing about football, unlike basketball, there are a lot of guys on these teams that played for random colleges that you've never heard of that were an undrafted free agent that spent two years on the practice squad. And to play on a good team, to play for the Ravens, to play for Andy Reed, to play for Kyle Shanahan, to play for these good teams, obviously as a starter, you have to be good. But to stick around and to handle training camp, handle the off-season, to handle the intensity of practice during the year, you've got to be a serious cat. You got to be kind of all in. You've got to conform, and you've got to be one of their type guys. it's why when you see the Rams have a million injuries

you're like are they going to get blown out it's 17 to 3 all of a sudden you know three four guys are going to the tent going to the back puka's hurt like how are they going to overcome this obviously stafford you know turned into a hall of fame version of himself and was awesome and cooper cup looked like chris carter on the sideline but to me that's culture is you can implement you can implement and put in guys in an enormous spot on the road

against one of the best teams in the league and go to toe to toe with them. Now eventually they ran out of gas. I mean, that defense was just was shot. If it was a video game one to a hundred, you know, they would have been like close to zero. I mean, they were running on fume, so I don't blame them for getting smoked on that last drive.

But the second half, playing with a bunch of random guys, they came to play because they're ready to play. Because the only way you, you play in that operation is be a ready to play type guy. Take your shit seriously Monday through Saturday when no one's watching. When the majority of your snaps for portions of your career are on scout team, and the only reps you might get are in like individual situations with the starters.

Once you split up in practice, you go to the other side and you service the other team. But do you take that really seriously? the reason the 49ers loved Purdy before he even started because the defenders were all like, God, this guy's awesome on the scout team. How serious he takes it, how good he is against us, how hard he is to defend, like they really respected him. And that happens on good teams.

You earn the respect that way, and that's how you improve. So when your number is called, when this guy gets hurt or that guy gets hurt, one, you know what you're doing, right? It's not easy to play in the NFL schematically, especially for guys like Sean McVeigh. It's very complex. So you've got to know the playbook.

But two, like, it's not too big of a moment. Like you have prepared. And I saw the Rams full of dudes that like, that's a really, really impressive thing they got going. And I'm really glad that Sean McVeigh a couple years ago turned down whatever it was, $15 plus million a year. to go work at Amazon when he was kind of quote unquote burned out because he's a big addition

of the league like that's just he's a good coach and obviously and I think we compare him and I'm guilty of this is like he's synonymous with Kyle Shanahan it's like well he's a Shanahan guy because he works for the Shanahan's right he worked for Mike and Kyle and then they all have the same guys that work under him the little floor brothers like they're all kind of interconnected He's actually much more like Andy Reed. Kyle in that situation with all the injuries to the offensive line, even with Stafford, would have ran it at a much higher clip. Because at Kyle's core, he wants to run the ball because that's what he's learned from his dad.

Run, run, run. And then set up the pass off that. That's not really who Sean is. Sean, like Andy, wants to pass no matter what. And there were points in the game when they were down. It's like, God, Sean, run the ball a little bit more, but he can't help it. Now, he'd go, I got Matt Stafford, who's probably going to be the best quarterback that I ever coach, and Cooper Cups healthy, and Stafford will just figure it out, even if he has to scramble and move around to save his life,

because he did several times. But Sean McVeigh, at his core, has kind of proven, and he proved this last year, he wants to pass. And where he has it common with both guys, because whether you're a run-first guy or a pass-first guy, Do you put a premium on physical practices and physical defenses? Because the only way you get better and more physical on defense is by practicing hard. And clearly the Rams now, we have a sample size, whether Aaron Donald is there or not. And they showed him last night at the USC game. The fucking guy looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

It's like, I get he made enough money to accomplish a lot, but there's no doubt in my mind that if he just showed up to practice Monday or Tuesday, day and played this Sunday, he would get a sack. He looks fantastic. But you remove him and like their physicality didn't skip a beat. Ernest Jones wants more money. See you later. We've got some undrafted free agents that are coming up on the squad.

We'll just move on. But Puka Nakua, like we'll see what his injury is. He had four catches before he got ruled out. Like if he can't go for a while, that's a pretty big blow. He wasn't just like a revelation. last year like, oh, look at this rookie receipt. He got 105 balls. He was one of the better wide receivers in the NFL. Now, part of doing that,

Cooper Cup was banged up in a shell of himself and he looked fantastic tonight. But if I gave you healthy puka and healthy Cooper, even with this banged up offensive line and the way Stafford's playing, you've got major problems as a defense. I don't care who you are. And Stafford was kicking himself. He had a chance to get a big third down there late in the game and he kind of overthrew.

as he's in a lot of pressure because when you're going to pass it all the time and you've got a bunch of backups in against Aidan Hutchinson who's going to be easily a hundred million dollar guaranteed pass pressure it's hard but I think at his core it's pretty clear like he wants to pass he wants to pass he wants to pass maybe Ben Johnson wanted to run in that final drive in overtime but I will guarantee you this Dan Campbell was in the headset run the ball running it down their throat. And then the moment it works for a couple runs, run it again, again, again. Was it Herb Brooks line in Miracle?

Again. I mean, that's kind of what he was doing. And I don't know if McVeigh would have done that, you know? Not because he's anti-successful plays, but you have a core philosophical belief as a coach. And it's kind of clear when you watch these two guys, both of them like physical plays. It's why I gravitate towards certain type of coaches. Why I like the Harbaugh brothers, Tomlin's got his flaws,

but I love the way that he thinks about football. Like Cliff Kingsbury's never really been my style. I'm not into that type of shit. That style of football isn't for me. I like more old school football. Now you can have a new school flavor on it, and like Andy would throw it every single play. But you better believe that his defense,

that he is going to build and draft four, is going to be to inflict pain on you on a per snap basis. And I thought the Rams brought it today. It was really impressive. What a fantastic game, fantastic night for the NFL. Kind of a weird day. Not some, I wouldn't say, great matchups today. But the primetime games, the NFL has come through.

Obviously, the Thursday and Friday Night games, those two brands, I guess those four brands, those games were really entertaining. And then tonight was awesome. and hopefully Monday night lives up to the hype. Colin and I talked about Brady and he gave his thoughts. I said I thought he was pretty bad. I wasn't trying to over one game.

It's not the end of the world. But the one thing, and I've been texting with a lot of friends, watching Sunday night football, I do wonder what Tom's pitch is going to be. Because I thought about it like, who are the greatest announcers of my life? Well, John Madden,

by a country mile is the most popular, the most famous, and easily the best. And then I think in terms of recent memory, the highest compensated, and just the most entertaining, people nitpick them all the time, but we're gruden it in Berkeley. I think, and I was really hard when they hired Drew Brees, I'm like, this is boring. I remember Matt Ryan doing games last year. I'm like, this doesn't work. These guys were great football players. Matt Ryan won an MVP.

Drew Breeze is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Shattered some records. Was awesome for like 15 years. But being good at that does not make you entertaining. And the one thing I hoped, because Tom was such a good teammate, such a guy's guy, I do think it's difficult for that to come out when you're not used to it. Like talking on a mic and being entertaining, whether you're calling a game, whether you're a radio host, whether you're a talk show host,

whether you're a podcaster, is not easy. It's why a tiny percent of people that do it are successful in terms of make money and get people to watch. It's hard. I can count on like two hands the people that I think are really entertaining either on TV or radio slash podcasts. It's difficult to do.

So the more I thought about Tom Brady, of course he was kind of bad today. Like, it's just, he's never done this. He has done these, trial runs when no one is watching and the game has already been played, who cares? That's impossible. The only way to get better at anything is why I've always been a huge believer of playing young players is through experience. Now the hard part is as a player or like a manual worker or something, like you can just kind of just keep doing it and physically go at it. This is not one of those things.

Like Tom, the overall percentage of people that watch football is large, right, relative to all other television shows. It's millions upon millions of people. I saw like 30 million people watch Thursday night football. I'd imagine the number is very similar. You have a lot of people watching. And you watch Collinsworth. And I bet if I got on Twitter or Reddit or something, you'd see opinions all over the place. He's just loose.

And he's fun. And he talks a little bit in football lingo. but there's a reason that the X's and O shows have never had any success on television, in podcasts, even on the blogs, because that stuff's boring for anyone who is not a die, die, die hard football guy. Unless you're truly doing it for a living, it's like it's not going to resonate. So what resonates with people is much more surface level with entertainment value, thin. And I think the hard part for Tom over this next season is like, how can you just loosen up? How can you just kind of be a little bit more relatable? And then it kind of hit me. I do think it's

going to be difficult for a guy who is as rich and famous as Tom Brady to be relatable in that setting, even if he could have a beer with me or you and be relatable. Because I bet he could. I bet Tom Brady could come over to my house, sit in the backyard, have a beer. And we could have a pretty easy conversation. But I think in that spot, when he's feeling the pressure, and he hasn't had a job like this with this many people watching, besides being a player,

when he's been less prepared. I mean, when he was playing for the Tampa Bucks, he had 20 plus years of playing, being coached by Belichick, being coached by guys like Charlie Weiss, Josh McDaniels, Bill O'Brien, playing in the biggest games. He'd seen it all.

And now, like Kevin Burkhart, who's the ultimate pro, who's been doing it forever, is like really smooth. He's fantastic at his job. Tom Rinaldi. I mean, nobody is better at his job than Tom. But that's all these guys have done. And then you put Tom in there,

and all he has going for him right now is he's Tom Brady. He's really famous. But you're watching him. You're like, what's this? What's going on? And I do defend him like it would be a tough situation to be thrown into, and nobody, I don't care how rich you are, unless you're like Jeff Bezos,

is turning down almost $400 million to call football games. But I don't know what his pitch is. Whether you like Tony Romo or not, listen, I've been up and, you know, warm and cold on the guy. He has a pitch. He's really fun. He's really energetic. Chris Collinsworth, somewhat similar.

He's kind of the old uncle who's just like, God, this guy's just having a good time watching ball. Aikman, kind of like an old, school red ass. He will light people up. Tom was lighting nobody up today. I mean, Deshawn Watson is an embarrassment, an absolute embarrassment for the NFL. Think about it. He got one of the most historic trades we've ever seen in terms of draft compensation. He got the biggest contract in the history of the league and he's a bottom five starter in the NFL. Like it's a joke and everyone, there is not a football fan today who was watching that game that wasn't texting with someone

being like, what is this? And Tom was like, yeah, he just needs to work a little bit more. He just needs to get a feel as a group. Like, no, Tom, this guy blows. 30 million people on their couches are literally all saying it. Maybe there's a few. It's like, well, you've got some backup offensive linemen.

He's being paid $60 million a year to run around if he's getting chased. He can't even do that anymore. And it's like, you've got to be able to say something. If you're not going to be the fun guy, right you're not going to be colonsworth like oh mike you know jeet gibbs you got to be achman would have taken a blowtorch right there so you've got to be one or the other and it feels like i don't know if tom well i know he doesn't know because he doesn't have a style yet but he

he was just stylus there was nothing it'd be like a pitcher who just what do you want to throw it's like i don't know well do you got a fastball you got a change up you got a curveball like what's your we got two strike count here we need to get it out what's your go-to pitch I don't really have one. I just kind of, I don't know. It's a problem. And it's going to be a little bumpier than even I thought. Like I like Tom.

I told Colin it, I admire the guy. His life story, the late round pick, how hard he works, how much people like him. But now he's like, he's an entertainer for me. He's calling one of the biggest games of the week every single little Sunday. And it was atrocious. And he couldn't have a better crew. like it's like could there be easier people to work with than tom rinaldi and kevin burkhart it doesn't get any easier and he was bad and i think sometimes i hate it when like everyone's saying something

but i think this is going to be one of those where universally like everyone's in agreement like that's a rough watch uh one thing that was not a rough watch is the steelers defense and that unit today was gave the alana falcons a physical beat down and this This was the same team that told Bill Belichick they weren't interested. They drafted a quarterback with the number eighth overall pick when they had just given cousins $100 million. And I said at the moment they did this. And I like Michael Pennick's more than most.

I think he's a pro-ready plug-and-play guy. I think we looked at the cousins as like you were signing Peyton Manning or Tom Brady, like when Denver and Tampa signed those two guys. It's like this guy who had turned into a good player two years ago and probably for like a five-game stretch last year before he tore his Achilles. But for most of his career, I would say no one was just more polarizing

because he was making a lot of money and people was like, is he any good? We know he's not bad, but like, is this guy a top-tened guy? And he'd have moments where he clearly was, but his equity was always floating somewhere like 12 to 16. And then he goes to this brand new team. It's like, this guy's the savior.

And then the Steelers and T.J. Watt today were working. him destroying. And then he's throwing interceptions. His last pick toward the end of the game was just low-level bad, I mean, bad quarterback play. And you wonder, when a guy has no equity

and is getting worked by a team that, listen, I was guilty of, I thought it was going to stink, and maybe they don't, because the culture of Mike Tom is like, yeah, we'll just win every game. 18 to 15, 18 to 10, 17 to 13. We have no problem playing like that. And if they stay healthy on defense, they probably can. and they worked Atlanta in the second half with Justin Fields,

who is like much more of a runner than a passer, though he made some good passes today. And I do wonder Atlanta, who carried themselves like, we know what we're doing. Rahim Morris said, they asked them, why is your staff so big?

Because they have one of the biggest, if not the biggest staff in the league. And he said, because we plan on winning, and when we lose coaches, we will have reinforcements already here, so we don't need to onboard on board new guys.

I like guys that believe in themselves. That seems like a pretty crazy thing to say. That seems like a pretty... You're not taking over the Mahomes chiefs here. You're taking over a team that's won 21 games in the last three years. And all we've heard about was how great their skill guys are. And then you're like, well, is Bejohn some All-Star? Kyle Pitts has already banged up.

Is he maybe one of the most overrated draft picks of all time? And we just got that one wrong. So maybe their talent is a tad bit overrated. The other thing is Rahim, well, he was an excellent defensive coordinator for the Rams. I would say for Sean McVeigh's tenure, all their defensive coordinator spent good. Brandon Staley was good for them. Shula, McVeigh's buddy from college looks sweet. Wade Phillips was awesome.

Maybe they just draft and develop good defensive players under McVeigh. So to just assume this guy's going to be a good head coach, how can we do? that. And now they're already kind of backs up against the wall, some negativity on cousins. It just gets weird fast. And on the Steeler's side, obviously Russell's calf is banged up. I guess I saw someone on the internet say that he actually heard it a couple days before training camp pushing a sled or something. Just Russell working out 24-7, 365. If he does get healthy this week, under no circumstances can you not just keep rolling out Justin Fields. Does he have some flaws? Yes. But the talent in there,

and his ability to run for a team that just is going to be offensively limited sometimes on the outside beside George Pickens. To me, he has to play. And if I was a Steeler fan, until he either gets injured or has like multiple three or four pick games and we lose, I'm rolling with this guy. I'm rolling with the young guy. I do not want to see Russell Wilson, Dink and Duck. Funny, I was at the gym early this morning, and when I got back right at like 10 o'clock because the games were kicking off, I didn't see that like

And I tried to look it up on the internet I couldn't quite find it if Russell was the third quarterback because he technically wasn't active So I don't know if he technically could have played Or it basically ruled him out He was in shoulder pads So if he was truly inactive And couldn't play in war his shoulder pads

Kind of a geeky dorky move That is the reason no one takes him seriously 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. Yep, that's me.

Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skisks. hits, 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. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape. my behavior and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown

and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. If you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole, this podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to deeply well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, You already know, there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King,

recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the Army. I'm telling us. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic.

I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarter-final.

or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Want to do a little overrated, underrated. Obviously, Atlanta, I mean, we just hit on. I never bought into it.

I just refused to buy into it. And I feel more validated today. The hype on this team talking about like they were just going to win 12 games was crazy talk to me. Like cousins and Rahim Morris were Bill Walsh and Joe Montana. I've been saying this for a while. I understand they played the Panthers, but I thought the Saints were underrated.

Their defense is good. They have a really good defense, a huge part why they went 9 and 8 last year. If you have a good defense, in college or the NFL, you are going to be competitive. But Derek Carr gets to play in the shale. Shanahan system now. It is a very quarterback friendly offense.

It makes four easy throws. When you're running the ball well, which the Saints are going to be able to do, no team has more money invested into their running back room than the Saints. It's really easy to pass the ball. And Kubiak, whose dad played and coached for Mike Shanahan and then started Kyle's career, I would say might as well as last name be Shanahan. knows this offense as well as anybody, not named Gary Kubiak, Mike Shanahan, or Kyle Shanahan.

This is going to work. They're going to be dramatically better on offense. Everyone thought they were going to suck. Like, I just did not get it. Like, Derek Carr has proven if you just give him solid coaching and a solid team, like he can be competitive. He can be Kirk Cousins. But everyone acted like Derek Carr was like Deshaun Watson or something.

And today I know he had a really good game, but I just mean over the course of the season, even if they win similar game 9-10, like they can win the division. The most overrated football team of the last 25 years consistently is Notre Dame football. One of the best things on the internet yesterday

was Thomas Hammock, the coach at NIU. Turns out he actually coached for the Ravens for a while, former running back at NIU, had bounced around a little bit and has been their head coach now for several years. They got paid $1.4 million, like a lot of these games, right? You get paid between $1.2 to $1.8 million to go play one of the big boys. Because the big boys view it as a lock win.

We get an easy 10, 20 point win, give you a check. Win, win. He went in there and he won as a 30-point underdog. And listen, Notre Dame last week beat Texan M, who had a quarterback who could throw it about as well as me. and then to lose this game Riley Leonard, I read a great article on the athletic,

seems like a fantastic human being and he's obviously a good runner. He couldn't throw, he couldn't hit water if he was in a boat in the middle of the lake. He's an awful thrower. And Notre Dame is just always so overrated. I mean, that program,

the moment the Oregon game was on last night on Peacock, they're literally doing live hard knocks of Notre Dame. People want to annoy. them, like, I'll give the Cowboys credit. Like, at least they win their division and beat good teams throughout the regular season. Notre Dame last year lost a fucking Marshall. And now, or two years ago. And this year, lose to NIU, it's got to be one of the worst losses in the history of the program.

Absolute embarrassment. And no program, they got to just be the most overrated. They still talked about like it's Lou Holtz, 1987. Like, no, guys, it's 2024. Your skill guys are never good enough. And maybe it's because of the academic requirements, they can't get in the guys to school like Ohio State or LSU or Alabama or whatever. Regardless, you don't have them.

And they do. And to play NIU, who I guarantee if you had to do 1 through 50, an NFL GM on the rosters, there wouldn't be many NIU players picked. So just a horrendous loss. This guy was rated the most overrated player in the NFL by players. might be one of the most egregious things in the history of the league. Tyreek Hill being number one overall in the players vote.

A little crazy just because, like, how is Patrick Mahomes? But I think all of us would agree. Tyreek got a little Scotty Sheffler treatment today. I didn't know Tyreek, who I think I've seen on a podcast, said that he wanted to be a porn star when he was done playing. I think he has like 12 kids. He literally said that. He also wants to be a cop. And I think he said when he was getting arrested, he was telling the cops, like, I want to be a cop.

which can you imagine Tyreek Hill when he becomes a cop and someone tries to run away? He's like, hey, I'll give you like a 10 minute head start. Just take off down the road. You're screwed. I'm going to get you pretty quick. He'd be a fast cop. But I get it. Tyreek, to me, is one of the best players of his generation,

one of the greatest players I've ever seen. But people saying Josh Allen is overrated, are you guys on drugs? Are we watching the same stuff? are we Josh Allen on the Bills? Is there another Josh Allen, another team? Josh Allen, the guy, does he play for the Panthers or something? Because the dude on the Bills is one of the best players I've ever seen. Easily.

He's definitely one of the more physically talented players I've ever seen. And he wins. And he produces every single year. Today they're getting their ass kicked by the Cardinals, who were just a tough team to play week one because of Kyler. It was like, yeah, I'll just figure out a way I'll score four touchdowns. Break my hand, tweak my hand, whatever.

Wrap that shit up. I'm ready to roll. What are we talking about? Lamar Jackson has so many defenders. Every corner of the internet, every podcast, everyone's defending Lamar. Which, again, I root for the guy too. I want him to get better.

But he's a very flawed player for being a great player. A huge reason for his greatness. He's arguably the good. greatest runner we've ever seen at the position. But as a thrower, he's very hit or miss. Josh is an infinitely better thrower, and while he's not as fast as Lamar,

he's got some Cam Newton to his running game. Running guys over, running over guys, an incredible red zone runner in terms of quarterback sweeps. Overrated? It's fucking laughable. Overrated. I had a little money on this game, and it was tough. I'm not going to lie, when Tyreek got arrested,

I don't root for any of this stuff. But when you do have money on a team like I did with the Jags, and you see the best player of the other team get arrested, my first thought was, God, they're going to win.

He's not going to play today. And then obviously cuffs off, he's playing, and by the middle of the game, he's hitting like a 70-yard bomb over the middle. I'm like, fuck. Doug Peterson today,

and I still quite, is Doug Peterson calling the plays? Is Press Taylor calling the plays? they were dominating that game. And in the second half, from their own 30, he went for it on fourth down. Now, Miami ended up missing the field goal, but the play call, to do that, I'm all for being aggressive. I'm a pro-aggressive guy.

Not Brandon Staley aggressive, but there are points in time. Go for it. Totally get it. I can't get behind and understand the logic. I don't give a shit how many Harvard and MIT graduate. that are handing you Excel spreadsheets that tell you to do stuff like that, if you don't get it, they have two incredible offensive weapons in Waddle and Hill. You're giving them the ball with 30 yards to score a touchdown.

30 yards. That's insanity. He missed the field goal, ultimately whatever. It didn't cost them points. They ended up losing the game. But that's a game that I don't know how Doug sleeps well at night. You cannot lose that game. you're killing them.

And they got, their offense just became putrid in the second. They couldn't move the ball. They have too many offense of weapons. You're paying your quarterback, $200 million guaranteed. How can you not throw for 200 yards on the Miami Dolphins? And last underrated, honestly didn't know much about this guy until last week when he scored six touchdowns. Well, last night, Oregon, Boise State was an incredible night game. It was on peacock.

their C team there. It kept blacking out. Not an easy watch by any means. And I'm not anti-pecock. I pay for it. But the peacock game, Thursday night or Friday night, Eagles. Eagle, who they play? Eagles Packers.

I was wrong on Jordan Love. Thought he rolled his ankle towards MCL or MCL sprain or whatever. He's out three to six. So take the L on that. Maybe I'm not a good television doctor. But the peacock broadcast, Oregon, Boise State, who I had a little money on Oregon because I thought they would, Boise State, great program, has never lost Oregon,

but like Oregon just got embarrassed against Idaho, I thought they would kill him. All of a sudden, Oregon's losing. And Boise State's running back. Last year, his name's Ashton Genty, ran for about 1,350 yards, six yards per carry, 14 touchdowns, caught another 43 balls and five touchdowns,

some scouting buddies, like I really liked the guy. Last week, he almost ran for 300 yards and six touchdowns, but it was against Georgia's southern. against Oregon, he had 25 carries, 192 yards, and three touchdowns. I'm texting around, I'm like, is this guy going in the first round? And I had a buddy say, well, he's probably closer to 5'6 than 5'8. He's really small, so he's not a first rounder. But he is easily one of the best players in the country.

So I googled Darren Sprouls, who when he played for Kansas State, was also one of the best players in the country. But he was tiny. He went in this guy, his physical runner, he's fast, he can go outside, and he obviously can catch the ball. I'm not saying he's exactly Darren Sproles, but I think there are some parallels, really small guy. Darren Sproles went in the fourth round. I looked yesterday.

Darren Sproles played 14 years in the NFL. Not saying Darren Sproes should have gone on the top 10, but I promise you this. He probably should have been drafted in the second round. And that's where this guy's going to go. So if you get a chance, Boy of State's on, watch their running back. because Ashton Genty, and I've watched a lot of college football these first couple weeks, I'm not saying he's going to get drafted the highest, but there can't be 10 better college players right now

that play on Saturdays than that guy. So props to him. He's got nine touchdowns. He has nine touchdowns. He played eight quarters of football. He has nine touchdowns. Just an incredible effort so far. It was September 7th.

It was September 7th, and he finished with nine touchdowns. So maybe he can get to 30. The volume 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel Help an Acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends

on the I-Heart Radio app. or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok.

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. 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 IHare radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating

May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the ice planet. hot or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.