The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd: 12/30/2019

Episode Date: December 30, 2019

Colin explains how the San Fransisco 49ers are a modern day heavyweight champion going into the post season, and why they're a clear cut number one seed! The Cleveland Browns are sending out an urgent message to any interested head coaches, you need to be an Alpha male and look to find someone other than Baker Mayfield to be the face of your franchise. New England has finally shown its dynasty is coming to an end by reflecting a mirror image of the San Antonio Spurs carrying Tim Duncan like Tom Brady. Plus, find out where Colin was Right and Wrong going into the New Year!Guest: Brady Quinn 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. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode, we're cutting through the noise,

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Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. 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 iha radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast what's up guys

this is clivert taylor the fourth and on my podcast the clivert show i'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff like being an internet famous referee we're in the middle of a game this linebacker this linebacker walks up to me he goes a ref my mom wants you to wave at her what Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to the best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com Or stream us live every day on the iHeartreact. Radio app by searching Herd.

This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowherd on Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a holiday Monday, live in Los Angeles. This is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, one hour from now. Colin was right, Colin was wrong, plenty of both had last week mostly off. Joy Taylor is joining me. Michael Vic today, Trent Dillford today, Orlando Scandrick today. We may end up having a member of the San Francisco 49ers or Baltimore Ravens on the show today.

Joy, how are you? I'm great. Hope you had a great Christmas. Hope everyone had a great holiday. Yes, yes. Quite an eventful weekend. It was. It was.

Here we go with a plaps. You know, when I was a kid growing up, Muhammad Ali was a heavyweight champ. He felt like a heavyweight champ. The personality, suave and smart and dancing and talented and athletic. And then I saw Mike Tyson. Mike Tyson felt like a heavyweight champ. He could knock over a battleship with a left hook. And there was George Foreman.

And a lot of guys felt like heavyweight champs. Then there was Larry Holmes. He had a good jab. I never liked Larry Holmes. He never felt like the best heavyweight on the planet or should be. When I watch San Francisco, they feel like Ali, Tyson, George Foreman. That's what a number one seed should look at. Eight yards of play, 11 yards of pass, going into Seattle and beating a Hall of Fame coach and a Hall of Fame quarterback.

San Francisco is a number one seed in the NFC, and they look like it and they feel like it. Their coach is an A plus Kyle Shanahan. Their quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is an A to an A minus, but he's clutch. Defensive line talent when healthy is scary. Offensive line tackles are excellent. Add the fullback, excellent. Special teams capable, weapons, business. B plus to A minus, they knock teams out.

That is Ollie. That is Tyson. Green Bay, give me a break. That's Larry Holmes. Finesse, they didn't lead Detroit all year. Now, they beat them twice, but they didn't lead the Detroit Lions all year when they played them. Two-clock expiring field goals to win it. New Orleans doesn't feel like a number one seed because they played San Francisco at home

and they couldn't beat them. Seattle, love them. way too Russell Wilson dependent. And Philadelphia, resilient as hell. Great story. But they're not a number one seed. They're a one and done in the playoffs. I think Seattle beats them.

Listen, we watch San Francisco and Baltimore. That's all Lee Fraser. That's the big boys. Those teams play 10 times. Baltimore, San Francisco split at 5, 5 or 6.4. It was like watching Ohio State Clemson. Those teams played 10 times. They split it right down the middle.

Ohio State, end of the day, can complain about officials, but they had the ball, they had the moment, and couldn't make the play. If they played Clemson another nine times, they'd probably make the play on five, six, or four, or five of them. San Francisco has earned the number one seat in the better conference. I watched Green Bay. I thought it would have been a shame for Green Bay to get home field advantage. I don't think they're a number one seat.

I don't think they're close to San Francisco. I don't think they're close to New Orleans. And I've got to be honest, I think Seattle and Philadelphia could both go into Lambo and win. I have watched Aaron Rogers all year. Do you see what he did in the last month? He completed less than 60% of his throws, had a quarterback rating in the high 70s. He's not very good.

He's just not right now very consistent. So San Francisco, that is what a number one seed looks like. Kyle Shanahan after summing it up, really, the great heavyweight champs can beat you in more ways than one, and that's what the Niners did all season long. I'm very proud of the guys. to win a lot of different ways this year. I keep feeling like we've done it every way possible,

and then we find a new way to do it. I wish it wouldn't have been that close at the end, but it doesn't matter now. Pumped how they finished it. All right. Now, let's shift gears to the AFC and the Cleveland Browns. The Cleveland Browns are going to be giving Baker Mayfield his third playbook and his third head coach in three years.

There was a sportscaster nationally that took a lot of flack. He said Baker's not a number one pick. Freddie Kitchens is a ridiculous head coaching hire, and Baker is not talented enough to overcome the dysfunction he will inherit in Cleveland. Oh, wait, that was me. Here's the problem. Go ahead, fire Freddy Kitchens. But the best candidates, Ron Rivera, not interested.

He'll take the Washington job today. Lincoln Riley, Urban Meyer, sources tell me neither's interested. Urban Wood, listen to the Cowboys. And Matt Rule already came out through a source at another network and said, I'm not interested. That leaves you with two legitimate candidates, neither a great candidate. There's the kid named Josh McDaniels in New England, who's never won without Brady and was a disaster in Denver. And there's Mike McCarthy, Green Bay is winning more without him. And that's the problem when you fire coaches one after another after another.

message is, don't take the job. Ron Rivera isn't even going to interview with Cleveland, instead take the wildly dysfunctional Washington job. He can have both. Josh McDaniels, good luck. Good luck. I saw it in Denver without Tom Brady. Josh McDaniels thought Tim Tebow was a first round pick. I'm a sportscaster. I knew he wasn't. Two things, though, with the new coach for Cleveland. Here's two things you've got to do right. Number one, you got to hire an alpha male. Freddie Kitchens never felt big enough, secure enough, experienced enough. You could see OBJ and Jarvis Landry once they sensed blood. They were talking back to him on every other series. Freddie Kitchens was not big enough to own Baker. That's the first thing. You got to get a man,

a Jack Del Rio, an Anthony Lentite, walks into a room. room and says, zip it. The second thing Cleveland has to do, and this is going to be very difficult, is hire a coach that can go to the general manager and they can reassess Baker Mayfield. He ain't that good. He cannot be the face of the franchise. He's not mature enough. You have to build around these excellent running backs and this excellent defensive front

and John Dorsey, the GM, who drafted the wrong quarterback. and pick the wrong coach, has to have a sit down with a new coach, and they both have to reassess Baker Mayfield, who is currently the third best quarterback in his division, maybe fourth, and when the Bengals get Joe Burrow, he will be the fourth best quarterback in his division. He's not even the top five best young AFC quarterback. He's not close to Lamar. He's not close to Josh Allen physically. He's not Donald.

He's not Deshawn. He's not Patrick Mahomes at Bestie 6th. And after the chiefs take Burrow and the Chargers maybe get Justin Herbert, he's not in the top seven best young quarterback talents in the AFC. And he sure as hell isn't mature enough to be the face of the franchise. So that's where you're at, Cleveland. I'm looking for a bunch of boxes to get checked. There's not really a guy out there.

Oh, there is Ron Rivera. There is Urban Meyer. Neither will take it. So you're going to be left with Mike McCrack. McCarthy kind of looks Cleveland. He's got experience. He's an offensive guy. He does have a Super Bowl,

though we don't give him a ton of credit for it. McCarthy feels like not a great candidate, but a great candidate for Cleveland. And that's where the franchise is at. Six and ten, about to after the draft, have the fourth best quarterback in the division. they have to reassess and re-identify who the real franchise face is. It can't be Baker.

You can't have a guy arguing with Bengal fans, challenging them to fight to be the face of the franchise. Nick Chubb, new coach, defensive stalwart, I'm good with that. But six and ten, that's where we're at. That's what you are. McCarthy checks most of the boxes. I think they're going to offer him the job because Josh McDaniels will have other suitors or stay in New England. And that's where we're at. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. 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, or are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, IHartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies,

and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action, with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slicelife-Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American Soccer is about to explode.

The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to earn a score at the chip. 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 Policicic, 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 quarterfinals 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 and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast.

I don't think it's an overreach. I've been saying this for the last couple of years. I think generally dynasties end gradually. What the Warriors are doing this year is rare. Great, unwatchable. They generally slowly, slowly age. And I think what you're seeing with New England, we've seen before. and it's called the San Antonio Spurs with Tim Duncan.

The Patriots are good enough due to a great system and coach to win a division. But they're not a home field advantage through the playoff team. They're not good enough to get a buy, and they're clearly not athletic and dynamic like Kansas City, San Francisco, New Orleans, or Baltimore. And as Tim Duncan age for the Spurs, they could still make the playoffs, you still respected them. They still had a Hall of Fame head coach, but they weren't dynamic. enough. Golden State got too dynamic. Any LeBron team felt too dynamic. Houston

Rockets in their own state felt too dynamic. And as Tom Brady is aged, you can still win your division. You can still win games. And people respect you. But nobody fears that the San Antonio Spurs this morning. And nobody fears the New England Patriots.

Yes, yes. And both have the same flaw. San Antonio had this great Hall of Fame coach. there was a certain rigidity and loyalty to their culture. And guys like Kauai Leonard are like, eh, I don't really like it. We're not bending our culture.

And in New England, there's a certain rigidity and loyalty to their culture. And all these young receivers are like, yeah, it's hard to fit. We don't really fit here. And if many of those young wide receivers like the NBA could leave, they would. And this is how dynasties end. You have these great cultures. You're loyal to the culture over the place. That's not necessarily bad business.

But you can't really, you don't want to get rid of the Dunkin and the Tom Brady because they've won so many titles and they're still capable in big spots briefly of having a great drive or a great quarter or a great series or a great moment. And I'm the biggest Tom Brady fan in the world. Everybody knows that. But God, you look around right now. The league is changing. You've got to win games with your leg sometimes.

You've got to win a series. You've got to make something happen and extend it. and the game's more wide open. And I'm watching Trevor Lawrence, and I'm watching Justin Fields, and I'm watching Mahomes and Lamar and Tom feels old. He feels old. The system feels rigid. The coach still feels great.

And New England is precisely the way dynasties slowly end. And afterwards, Tom even sounded like Tim Duncan, all class. It was a great chance for us to not play next week, so we didn't take advantage of it. We just didn't play good enough, and we always should have done a better job. Certainly I do. All class. For the record, they could not get Ryan Fitzpatrick off the field yesterday. Why?

Because their defense is tired. Because the offense doesn't extend drives, and the offense has to play perfect to score. And you can't ask anybody in football from the official. to the coaches, the quarterbacks, the linemen to play perfect football for three and a half hours. Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, 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 or 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, Brett. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming.

Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. 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 Polisic, 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 quarterfinals 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. All right, Colin wrong, I make a bunch of mistakes.

I got to be held accountable. And so here we go on a Monday. Where Colin was right? You know I like Carson Wentz? This guy took an injury-ridled stage coach across the desert. He turned Dallas Goddard, Greg Ward and Boston Scott into his weapons. I don't want to hear about, well, he only beat. this team and that team. I thought Miami was a bad team. I thought Cincinnati was a bad team.

It's the NFL. This is not the Big 12. All wins are impressive. This kid is the definition of a franchise quarterback. He's the only quarterback in league history. In league history to throw over 4,000 yards and not have a single receiver over 500, which means he's taken C-minus D-plus nonsense and throwing for 4,000 yards. This is what franchise quarterbacks are. You have to, you have to ask him some months, dude, we got nothing but lawn chairs and deck furniture. Carry us to wins. He did. It's unbelievable.

Where Colin was wrong. I thought Odell Beckham's production in Cleveland would be pretty profound. I said before the year, put him on your fantasy team. Because he runs a great slant pattern and Baker throws a great slant pattern. And instead, career lows in virtually everything. And Cleveland, by the way, was 28 yards passing yards per game worse than last. year. And that's Baker and his rookie year, and that's unbelievable to me. I just thought it would be far more productive. And with David and Joku, the excellent tight end getting hurt, he should

have had an excellent year because only Jarvis Landry was in his way. They also got rid of Callaway earlier in the year. This should have been a huge year for OBJ. I predicted it, and I was wrong. Where Colin was right. Carolina fired Ron Rivera, and Carolina quit the minute he left. The Players told you what they thought about the move. They quit. They went 0 and 4. They lost by 90 points. This guy has been the super glue to Carolina for years.

I got great sources within this organization and have for the last several years. There's a lot of nonsense with Cam and a lot of distractions and a lot of immaturity. And Ron Rivera eats it and hides it. And I'm just here to tell you, the team's response to his firing is they quit. This guy is excellent. He knows personnel. For the record, what coach that got fired had multiple offers within the week? Ron Rivera.

Okay, that's all you need to know. A lot of people in like Howard Stern got fired. Mark Cuban got fired. A lot of people have been fired. When you get hired and have multiple suitors within a week tells you they fired the wrong guy. Where Colin was wrong. I felt the Lakers, I've been saying this. They're built for the regular season.

But the clippers are built for the post. season. But I've watched the Clippers play the Lakers twice and beat up both times, and the clippers are also better than the Lakers in the regular season. Here's the thing. They got 10 guys that can play. They had 10 guys score against the Lakers. They throw three different guys at LeBron. Patrick Beverly's annoying. Kauai Leonard can guard him. Paul George can guard him. And the bottom line is, I'm not sure anybody can guard Kauai, because LeBron can't make those kind of stops against great players in their prime anymore. The clippers are better. They've got a better They got a better bench.

I think their young stars, Paul and Kauai, are closer to their prime than LeBron is. And I thought the Lakers would end up being the superior regular season team. Nope, Clippers are better now, too. Where Colin was right? My issue with Baker Mayfield was not his talent, although I thought he was good, not special. It was his temperament. It was his judgment. It was his maturity.

Before the game against Cincinnati, got into a verbal altercation with a fan, challenging him to a fight. I mean, this is just, I mean, it's, I didn't even, I don't even need you to hear it. It's all over the internet. I'm so right on this. I feel like I'm piling on now. This is why I would have passed on him. And as I said, if I'm a GM, he's undraftable as my franchise quarterback. He's draftable.

I'm not going to deal with this nonsense. He cannot get out of his own way. He needs to grow up. He needs a coach to tell him to be quiet. getting into an argument with Bingle fans, challenging them to fights, come on down here and tell me that, is it's such a bad look.

And we were right on that. Where Colin was wrong. Joe Burrough, seven touchdowns against Oklahoma. I mean, he was just playing catch. Oklahoma couldn't create any pass rush. Listen, I don't think he's a number one talent, but I think he's going to get drafted number one. There's nothing I can say.

I mean, the kid just looks great. He looks poised. He looks athletic. He's accurate. I mean, that was 78% completion percentage on the year. 55 TDs and six picks. I mean, I didn't even know he played for Ohio State. I don't follow backups. You know, I don't have depth chart. Big 10 things plastered all over my internet. But the kids are remarkable player. I still think two is more special. But he's been great. He's answered his critics. Every time they've asked him to make a big throw, he has. I cannot wait to watch them play Clemson. I don't think Clemson's going to generate a pass rush against LSU, so I would suspect he and Trevor Lawrence both have very big days,

and it's a fantastic game, and it's a coin flip game. But Joe Burrell, I never saw this coming. Where Colin was right? Sam Darnold, six and two down the stretch. Seven and five with the worst offensive line in the league, arguably, after Mono. Okay, I got news for you. He doesn't have nearly Baker Mayfield's weapons. They don't have a number one receiver.

They have a worse offensive line. They have coaching issues as well. But down the stretch, 13 TDs, four picks, 93 quarterback rating. I don't think he's Mahomes. I don't think he has the talent of Wents or an Andrew Luck. But I've said before, his temperament, his size, his athletic ability, his ability with that bad Jets O line to just make stuff happen. Now, he still throws bad picks.

And he's not an elite armed talent. He's good. He's not special. But I was right on Darnold. He was better than Baker, and what he's done with similar, similar dysfunctional head coach speaks to who should have gone ahead of the other in the draft. Where Colin was wrong. I thought Drew Brees looked old and tired last year.

I don't know what he ate. Beta carotene, raw juice, I don't know. He looks unbelievable. He looks 32 years old. So far this year, 75% percent. completion percentage, pass-a-rating over 115, and eight turnovers all season. Breeze, not Brady, is the best older quarterback in the league. He looks absolutely fantastic.

I just didn't think Drew, I thought it was done. I thought the tank, I thought he was on the 17th hole. That five-week stretch that he got to sat and watched Teddy Bridgewater, the Saints are for real, he is unbelievable. I got to be honest. I'd figure out a way if I'm the Saints to give him a month off in the middle of the season and just say, dude, start the season and the season, we'll give you October off because he looks energized, accurate as ever.

Where Colin was right? Said all year, Clemson was my bet of the year in the bowl games. Colin, you got lucky. I won Clemson 7.5 yards a play in the second half. Yes, I thought they got a break from the football. officials. They also never threw a pick, never had a special teams gaff,

had this unbelievable run by Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Lawrence, I said before the year, this is going to be potentially the greatest offense in college football. I made a mistake. They'll be better next year because the kids they have coming back and the recruiting classes,

I just think Clemson had a bad first quarter because they had such a weak schedule. They were not used to Ohio State's physicality, but the last three quarters, I thought they were the better football team. Where Colin was wrong. Well, I only predicted six out of 12 division winners. So I got six playoff teams right.

Eagles, Patriots, Chief, Texans, Packers, Titans. But I also butchered Baltimore, St. San Francisco, Minnesota, Buffalo. And I don't think it's very difficult to get half of them right. Because let's be honest, you kind of know Patrick Mahomes going to win the division. I went 50-50 on the divisions. I don't think that's good enough. I think you should be able to go 65, 70% on divisions, because we know quarterbacks and coaches win. So I can't brag because I got half of them right.

Baltimore, Buffalo, San Francisco is way better than I thought. Where Colin was right? We did predict Kyle Shanahan, not Sean McVeigh. The rest of the media was all into this Sean McVey cheekbones, best coach ever. I said, no, no, no. Kyle Shanahan's a better coach in his own division. Mike Shanahan's an all-time coach. Kyle Shanahan four different times, took over

to offense and had four massive upgrades. He made Matt Shaba Pro Bowl. He made Matt Ryan an MVP candidate. We predicted when everybody else was into Sean McVeigh, we said we like Sean McVeigh. This is the best young coach. McVeigh is the second best young coach in his own division. And I think he's created an offense that can beat you in multiple ways.

Why, I think the Rams offense can sort of beat you one or two ways. And if they don't have a power back, they're not the same team. So we also said San Francisco would be the most improved team in the NFL. They're even better, though, than we thought. Colin right, Colin wrong. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Hurd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

Ohio State Clemson played this weekend. I think if they played 10 times, they'd split it right down the middle at 5. It was like watching Baltimore and San Francisco this year in the NFL. NFL. You're talking 15 pro bowlers. Those guys shall meet in the Super Bowl and you wouldn't be surprised. I think both Clemson and Ohio State are good enough to beat LSU. It doesn't mean they would beat LSU. But I think we had three teams in the playoff who were excellent and Oklahoma's offense is fun, but they're not good enough defensively. Big 12 teams generally aren't on the defensive side. But let's talk about Ohio State Clemson. Ohio State fans think there are two replays that

just took the game from their hands. One, I thought, was brutal. The other, I think, you got to learn to deal with it. But let me ask you this. If you're a Buckeye fan, if I told you an hour before the game, you're going to have two interceptions. Clemson will have none. You're going to have more penalties. You are going to settle for field goals, although dominating the first quarter, just field goals. You will butcher a 16-0 lead. If I told you all that. Does it sound like you're beating Clemson? So you had two picks. Or you also had a brutal roughing the kicker penalty. Was that the official fault too? So you want the officials to be perfect and the replay to be perfect, but you had more penalties, more interceptions. Clemson averaged

7.4 yards of play in the second half. If I'd have told you that, okay, you're going to have more penalties, more kicks, you're going to whiff on a block kick. They're going to average seven and a half yards of play. Does it sound like you'd beat Clemson? I've never seen a big game in football in my life without either a bad call or a bad replay. You've got to overcome it. The first bad replay you didn't like is when the quarterback Trevor Lawrence, you had all this momentum, and then one of your guys hit him in the head with a helmet and boom, they said you're out of the game. Now, I don't like that he's thrown out of the game. I didn't think it was, you know, I didn't think he did it on purpose. It was accidental. But folks,

you cannot argue. He led with the crown of his helmet. You cannot do that with a star quarterback. You can't do that with a wide receiver. This whole thing about he's ducking into you. I don't care what he's ducking into or out of. Ohio State's guy led with his helmet against the star quarterback. You can't do that against any star quarterback.

And if you can't figure that out of Ohio State, then you're not watching games because that's an automatic. Now, I hate that he's thrown out of a game. I hate it. It's too punitive. I believe if it's accidental, and I don't think he was trying to end the guy's career, but you cannot lead like that. You put your head down.

You now have no vision where the quarterback's doing, and if he ducks into it, that's on you. Now, the second replay I thought was brutalized on two ends. I never thought it was a catch. The refs ruled it was a catch. And then they overreached on the replay and called it no touchdown. In real time, I didn't think he made a football move. I did not think, I really didn't. Now, in slow-mo, it's like, okay, he's got one foot down, two-foot down, three-foot.

But I got to tell you, that goes either way. Now, I do think Ohio State has a legitimate complaint that the replay official is now overreaching on something that I think is a go-either-way call. I don't think there's enough to change the call there. But for the record, I didn't like the initial call. I didn't think it was a catch. In real speed, I didn't think it was a catch. But I think Ohio State fans have a legitimate beef to say that's an overreach by the replay system, which, by the way, we see way too much in college football.

But folks, football is about overcoming. The New Orleans Saints complained, oh, the Rams, the call. You had overtime. You got the ball first. Score. That's why I had no sympathy for the Saints. You have to overcome bad calls. You had more penalties.

You had the only two interceptions. You couldn't stop Clemson situationally. You settled for red zone field goals. You had a play at the end of the game. Justin Field was there to win it. And you didn't make the play. Here's the play. All sorts of time.

No pressure. And that's the result. That's the throw. Justin Fields has five seconds with all those NFL wide receivers. Great protection. 30-yard line. Plenty of time. and that is the result.

You always want to point fingers. There are no perfectly played, coached, or officiated football games. It's a heavyweight fight. You expect the judge to be perfect and the refs to be perfect. It doesn't exist. Go back to every big football game in the last 10 years. Every big Bama game, Clemson game, Buckeye game, Raven game, Patriot game, Cowboy game, Eagle game.

There's always a butcher call. This, there was, I think, a real overreact. reach in the replay system. I hated it. I don't like the replay system. I like it in limited doses. I think we use too much of it. I think it's a real struggle with all these college games to find great officiating crews and great replay crews. But if I'd have told you before the game, Ohio State, you had two books that had none, you had more penalties, you settled for field goals, you had a play to win it, you couldn't stop Clemson in the second half. You're not winning that game. you're not when you could not stop Trevor Lawrence when it mattered and you couldn't make the play when it mattered.

And that decides Super Bowls. That decides national championships. So everybody likes to point fingers. Point, point, point, point, point. Nobody ever goes in the bathroom anymore in America and looks in the mirror. And they still work, I'm told. Mirrors still work. You can look at them and go, God, we had eight penalties.

We threw two picks. We settled for field goals. We blew a lead. And I hear this argument. Well, these officiating replays kill. momentum? Yes. Who has momentum for four hours in any football game? College football, pro football, I've never done a show in my entire career where I had momentum for three hours. I have good segments, bad segments. I have great interviews, boring interviews. You don't have

momentum for three hours. You had it. There was a call. A guy led with his head. I'm not defending it all in that one. You lead with your helmet and you give up the right to argue once a tackler puts his head down and can't see where my helmet's going. Once you put the head down, you're a pilot flying with his eyes closed. Okay? So I'm not going to defend you on that. I do think it's absurd. We keep throwing these kids out for these incidental blows.

I don't think the kid woke up in the morning thinking I'm taking him out with a head hit. And I do think Trevor Lawrence in an instant did ducked down. But you couldn't see it because you ducked your head. And that's on you. And if you're arguing you lost momentum on that, guess what? Football's a series of, if you think you have a right to four hours of momentum when you play Clemson, you're delusional. Because, by the way, the game was easy to figure out. Clemson had played a soft schedule.

Ohio State played a better schedule. The first quarter, Clemson was just not used to this kind of level of athleticism. They were just bailing water to stay in. Then they got their bearings a little bit. then it's like, oh, they get a call that goes in their favor to go either way, call. I would have absolutely thrown a penalty on that against the Ohio State guy for the helmet. I'm amazed how many Ohio State fans are arguing about the helmet. You think that's not going to be called a penalty?

You don't have to like the ejection, but if you think that's not going to be called a penalty, you're not watching college football. They've made that play a priority, especially to receivers, and absolutely to start quarterbacks. That's just the way the game's officiated. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHard Radio app. All right, Brady Quinn, we got 12 minutes with Brady Quinn. So listen. Ohio State fans are going crazy. Because I said it, Clemson was my bowl lock of the year.

And my first takeaway in the game was Clemson had not played a great schedule. So the first quarter, it's like facing Mike Tyson when you've had sparring partners. Clemson was like, whoa, whoa, slow the game's way too fast. And then they got the helmet call. They got a little momentum. And then it was about seven and a half yards of play for two hours. But you don't like the officiating. No, I don't like the officiating.

And it felt like it went against Ohio State more often than not, excluding the targeting call, which I think that rule in particular, there needs to be something done to change so a player like Sean Wade isn't ejected from that game. Okay, I agree, but it is a penalty, right? Shouldn't it be? You can call it a penalty, but then at least allow him to stay in the game. And then it still doesn't take away from the schematic advantage that you have now having a backup who they targeted right away. When Amir Reap went in the game, there was a shot down field right away.

And you knew they were going to try to pick on that weakness. That was something that we saw when Michigan was trying to attack Ohio State secondary in that matchup. So to me, it played too big of an advantage, I think, for Clemson in that regard, even though that is the rule. It's the catch that was a fumble, that was a return that got overturned. You know, that's the play that I think really changed the momentum in this game. And it's not that Ohio State didn't have chances to win. They didn't have a good red zone offense in the first half. Or you can credit Clemson's defense for stepping up.

But that one play could have drastically changed the momentum of the game. And I think, you know, you have to look for solutions with how do we go about fixing this? Because I'd reverted back to watching a play that was controversial in the Fiesta Bowl back in 2005 when we were playing Ohio State. Anthony Gonzalez caught the ball he turned, got a couple feet down, then as he went to tuck it, he ended up fumbling. Tommy Zivakowski returned it back to the end zone for a touchdown. Could have completely

changed the momentum of that game. That was the first year we had replay in college football. That was the first postseason. We're now 15 years later and we're still having issues with how we go about implementing it. So I just think they need to be more specific in looking at once we go to replay,

do we just need to re-officiate the play and not take into account what what the call was on the field? Because the criticism by Buckeye fans, and I think on the, especially on the, on the targeting thing, listen, don't lower your head against the court. Just, you've got to be taught better.

You lower your head and hit a quarterback. It's over. It's the execution of the play, and that's something, again, you can talk about the ejection, how that impacted it, but you're right. That penalty is not one that you can really point to and say, this changed the outcome of the game.

Again, the fumble return for a touchdown, that one more did. And I think you do have to talk about the merits of replay and how we go about using it moving forward because we haven't seen on a consistent basis then be able to implement it where I think we see a play like this and we all go, okay, that shouldn't be overturned because nothing looks indisputable in that case. Yeah, no, my initial thought was it wasn't a catch. And then they gave him a catch.

So I thought they butcher the initial call. But then I do get the Ohio State criticism of that's a huge overreach because I don't think the replay indisputably turn the call around. Look, bottom line, Ohio State had opportunities to win that football game. No question. You can talk about the first half. We can talk about at the end of the game. We're not blaming this on officiating.

I just think moving forward, much like we saw in the NFC championship game, where you had an egregious penalty or no call in that case, and you're looking for solutions moving forward. I think this is a case where in college football, we do need to find a better solution for replay, how it's implemented, and so we don't get calls like this, where I think you see probably the majority of people looked at and thought it shouldn't have been overturned. Whatever the call was.

Right. Well, it was incomplete or complete, it shouldn't have been overturned. That I agree with. It was an overreach. And by the way, the Seahawks, San Francisco game came down to a call. When you get great teams playing late, these games – these games are – I couldn't tell you the last big game I watched where I didn't think a call or a replay was butchered. And now, you can make the argument calls will get butchered.

Replay should never be butchered. That's a fair argument, too. And that's where we're at. That's the crossroads where we're at is we've got the technology. Everyone at home has the technology and the ability to see – these plays and have just as good of an angle as the officials in the replay booth. And we're having a hard time all coming to a determination as far as how that should be called and what should be made.

And whether or not we want to continue to keep giving credits of what the call is on the field and then how replay ends up impacting that. And if we should just completely re-officiate the play altogether. Okay. So I love Clemson and I pick them to win the national championship. But I'm going to be honest, football is about matchups. And what I see when Clemson plays LSU is Joe Burrow, I I don't think Clemson generates much of a pass rush.

And Joe Burrell is going to have six seconds to throw. Even though I'm a Clemson guy in this stuff, I kind of feel like LSU has the one big advantage. I think Burrell is going to have all day to throw, and I'm not sure Trevor Lawrence is going to have all day to throw. It's a fair assessment in looking at the two teams. I think the fascinating thing about this LSU offense and just how Joe Burroughs operated within it is,

when they brought in Joe Brady, become the passing game coordinator, One of the things he does and allows Joe Burrow to be successful, but all quarterbacks is when you can get answers to the test before the play starts, right? So formationally, when you look at these empty formations, in particular when they use the running back or Clyde Edwards-E-Layer, when he's all the way on the outside of a formation,

it's going to give you a coverage indicator, right? Man or zone. And so if it's man, Joe Burrell is already sitting there saying, where's my matchup? Who am I picking on within this defense? Where's your weak spot that I'm going to put pressure on all game long until you stop it? If it's zone, now he's looking for the weakness, within the zone coverage and what concept works based on the three-man, two-man side of those

empty formation. So those are some of the things that have allowed Burr to win a Heisman this year. The counter to that is with Isaiah Simmons and what Brett Venerables does, their defense coordinator Clemson, a lot of stuff. They disguise a lot of stuff. And Isaiah Simmons, who's their nickel slash linebacker but plays safety. And you don't have to go back any further than just watching the interception he had versus Justin Fields. He gave a look as if he was playing the middle of field safety, right? He all. of a sudden that snap the football runs to the half field and ends up actually picking off that football on the sidelines, Brent Venerables makes it incredibly complicated after the snap.

And that's going to be the challenge for Joe Burr on this game is even if he has time, it's going to be diagnosing after the snap where he needs to go with the football. And then on the flip side with Trevor Lawrence, keep an eye on this. If you go back and watch that semifinal game, House State plays a lot, a lot of man-to-man coverage. Well, they have great corners. And we don't look at Trevor Lawrence as a running quarterback. But if you go back and look at the times he took off the passing game versus man-to-man,

the times they ran some of the zone read and some of the other quarterback run game versus man-to-man. You know who else likes to play a lot of man-to-man coverage? LSU. LSU. And it's going to be interesting to see how that matchup plays an impact on the play calling for Clemson moving forward. Because it worked, by the way. It worked. And they know they've got in their back pocket.

And now that he's capable of that, that to me makes him even more dangerous in the pocket throwing. because if they start playing zone coverage, that young man will pick you apart. He is as good of a prospect for that 2021 draft, I think, if we've seen maybe since Andrew Luck and before that, Peyton Manning, but again, completely different prospect in the sense of his athleticism, arm strength,

pocket movement, all those things. Trevor Lawrence has it all. Okay, I've always said you can tax people, you can tax the rich more, but it doesn't solve poor people's primary issue. That's superficial. Rich people will still be rich. They're not just handing poor,

Americans, the rich money. It goes to a government and programs. It's an easy thing and everybody goes, yeah, more taxes on the rich, but it doesn't solve a lot of the problems. What solves all problems with disparities of income is better schools, freer schools, more access to computers, blah, blah, blah. I have the same feeling about college football. A bigger playoff is superficial. Yeah, let's just let more two lost big 12 teams in. The way to change college football is limit scholarships. If you go to 70 instead of 85, Alabama doesn't have a third great running back and a fourth NFL corner. They have injuries. They have average units. I think we have a lobsided sport and I don't think a bigger playoffs solves the fairness issue. Well, I'll say this,

and a lot of people have complained about the outcomes of some of the semifinal games. I would think this year would be one though where you can't really make an argument because as much as you look at the LSU Oklahoma matchup, then there's Ohio State Clemson, which was a fantastic game. Either team really could have won that down the stretch. So more often than not, the semifinals have been blowouts, but I think if you expand, you're still going to have a few of those matchups, but you're also going to have some more competitive football. Because I think one thing that we've seen, at least over recent years, is it's basically been Clemson and Bama this year being the exception of it being LSU. So it's pretty much been a two-team playoff anyway, at least in recent

history since the playoff has started. So you could probably make a case either way for an expansion or saying you really could have just had it down to these two teams playing off almost every year. They've been two of the best teams every year more often than not. To your point about scholarships, here's the issue, Colin, is what do you do about Title IX? Because you're limiting scholarships now for men's sports, which technically it has to be one for one when you look at what you provide on the other side for female sports. I would take football, specialize it, almost privatize it, and make it a different business than the rest of the athletic department.

And that's taking on a huge challenge. Like what you just said, okay, it sounds good in theory. And then, but then you hear less scholarships. Okay, that doesn't seem as inclusive. I don't necessarily know that we want to take less away, right? Especially with more programs, you know, joining FBS. I think people would want more opportunities. Now, does it make some sense as far as how it would impact teams?

Of course, but at least you earlier say some teams are, you know, they're trying to find players to stash them on the roster so other schools don't have them. That doesn't happen because much like we see with a draft with organizations having a hard time sometimes. be able to make it work for certain players. It's the same thing for players who go to different schools at a high school. It's just as difficult evaluating them and what they're going to be once they come to your university. So we obviously need to do something to try to find a way for more parity in college football. Yes.

I don't know that limiting scholarships is the way I'd go about doing it. Okay, that's fair. That's fair. Finally, I was not a Baker fan. I never had been. I didn't like the temperament. I think being a quarterback takes a certain – I need you to be mature at 22.

It's not my problem if you're not. That's why I'm going to interview your mom, your dad, your cousins, your coach. I don't demand that for other positions. What do you, the baker, Freddie, third coach, can you just put a ball on it? How do you solve this? Yeah, it starts at the top for me. So it starts with ownership because what the Browns lack right now, what they've really lacked since 1999 is culture.

And it's hard to build a culture when you have so many moving pieces. And if you go back and look at the track record since Jimmy Haslam has taken over as the owner, the majority of the Browns in 2012, you've got two times now he's fired a coach after one year. Rob Chazzynski back in 2013 and now Freddie Kitchens. And then you could go on through the list of different head coaches they've had. So at some point, you have to realize what head coach wants to walk into that scenario where whatever you're saying to him on the way in, he's probably thinking in the back of his head like a year from now, it could be an entirely different story, much like Freddie Kitchens is dealing with right now.

And so, you know, I think when you look at some of the problems that Baker has had, whether it's playing or just how he's been off the field, they have been enabled because you've got a culture there in Cleveland where from the top, there's no stability. There's no consistency. I mean, I feel bad for Baker and every other quarterback since I was there because how can you expect them to be able to go through that three-year cycle that I think you're looking for and be successful? First year, you're trying to learn your playbook. You're trying to learn what your offense is mastering that. Second year, you're then learning what the defense is trying to do to attack you. And the third year, you're just playing. That should be the year where you can really cut it loose. We're two years into this with Baker, and he's already had two different head coaches. And two different playbooks. And he could be on to another one. And so now you're talking about

a different language that you've got to speak to communicate those plays, potentially different personnel. I mean, and that's part of that learning process in the first year is, you know, your first year with Odo Becum, how does he come out of his routes? You know, what's he like when he has an option route or downfield with his speed and his burst? Can he hit that next gear to go

get the football. All those things you're trying to figure out engaging your first year playing with that guy. And so unfortunately, because of how Jimmy Haslam has handled the head coaching position, it's not provided an environment or a culture that when Baker Mayfield steps out of line or does something that we kind of sit back and go, ah, that's not what a franchise quarterback does. There's not really that culture there, whether it's a player, coach, anyone within the organization to step in and say like that that's not how we do things here. And so that to me is the problem with Cleveland right now. And unfortunately, you know, now they're looking for their next head coach.

And I think because of the track record, you've got to be worried about who that next guy is. I have no idea why they didn't interview Mike McCarthy last year. It just blows my mind considering the success he had at Green Bay. He's out there for you. And apparently they didn't even get an interview with him. Now finally it sounds like they will this year. But until they provide a head coach an opportunity to be there for a while and then actually get through some of that adversity, I just don't know how you're ever going to be able to build it up so you can make this franchise competitive

with especially some of the other more stable franchise in the NFL when you talk about Baltimore and Pittsburgh who are sitting there right in your own division. Brady Quinn, good stuff comes and disagrees with me. I love that. I love that. Brady Quinn, great having you on the show. I'm told you have a big meeting. Oh, by the way, by the way, you are Rob Stone, Urban Meyer, Reggie Bush, Matt Liner, Brady Quinn.

You guys did an amazing job. Are you guys going to be doing the pregame stuff for the California? I've got to run in the next studio now. Get ready for that. All right. Here it comes. Brady's coming. Stop yelling at me.

Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. And nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. In every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline.

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