The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Sep 08, 2020

Episode Date: September 8, 2020

Aaron Rodgers "replacement" can't even win the backup jobThe Clippers defense is suffocatingThe Bears keep trying to justify their bad decisionWhy do people think the Raiders will be good?It's not hating to say the Patriots will struggle in 2020The Herd Hierarchy, Colin's top 10 teams in the NFLGuest: Joe Thomas, 10x Pro Bowl Offensive Lineman Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Clifford 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 IHeard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 Sports Radio.com Or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. This is the Best of the Heard. with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio.

Oh, here we go. It is a Tuesday. We are live in Los Angeles. I've got a beard. Joy's got a haircut. It is 2020 reboot. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, live in Los Angeles. This is the herd.

Thanks for joining us on Fox Sports Radio on FS1. Joy is back after mechanical issues with a certain airline. Let's not get into it. Yeah. We're here, though. We made it. You know, it's different now. In COVID, there's not as many flights either. So if a flight just gets canceled, it's you're stuck where you are, even if it's Miami where there's two airports. No, Joy called me panicking Sunday, and I'm like, it's okay. I get it. The airlines, half the seats, a third of the flights. Yeah. Great to have you back. Do we all understand that Tom Brady is playing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneer Sunday? Crazy. Football season is here. It starts Thursday. Sunday, you've got the Saints Drew Breeze and Tom Brady. So hello, football. Football. season's here. We haven't had a preseason, therefore you haven't had as much marketing. Everything's changed with COVID.

Football season, Tom Brady is playing Sunday. Now, I want to start with this story. There's two types of fans. We're not fans. We have been fans, but there's two types of fans. The first fan is, you know, often born in a town, never left his town on a message board all day. The media is just the bad guy. out to rip his team, and he's often 42 living with his parents. No bad news he doesn't want to hear it.

There's the other type of fan. He's a grown up. He doesn't call his mom in his 40s if he's got a big decision. He asks his wife. He's not on the message boards all day. He kind of finds him amusing. He's probably traveled a little more. He's okay with bad news. He roots for his team. He wears a sweatshirt. It drives him nuts when they lose. It ruins his Sunday when his NFL team loses, but he's a grown-up. He can handle bad news. Here's a kid. story that will divide a fan base. Green Bay's first round pick, Jordan Love, isn't even Aaron Roger's backup. He's number three. The backup is somebody named Tim Boyle, who played at some place called, well, he's undrafted. He played it, do you play at St. Francis or Yukon? He's

undrafted. Oh, no, Eastern Kentucky. I'm sorry, I'm not familiar with him. He beat out Jordan love the first round draft pick. Fan one Packer guy, Cheesehead, never left his hometown on message board. The media's out to get us is going, it's just a developmental pick.

This is no big deal. I understand it. But fan, too, a little more sophisticated, can actually handle some occasional bad news, is saying, was Aaron Rogers ever number three? Didn't we get crushed twice last year by San Francisco? Shouldn't we have people?

capable of playing this year? This seems kind of bad if you can't beat out Tim Boyle, right? Whose last big win, I'm told, was in 2017 over something called St. Francis. Isn't it kind of something? The story today, according to the GM of the Packers,

our first round pick, who we moved up to get, he said, obviously, Tim's quite a bit further ahead than Jordan Love. He's been here much longer. folks it didn't take long for peter shrager at this network to come on my show and said this kid named patrick mahomes this is his rookie year when he didn't play he's going to be the next star it didn't take long two practices for people in baltimore to say Lamar's not ready yet but you're not going to believe what this p. Carroll did not want to start russell wilson his rookie year he just gave matt flynn

10 million a year. Second week of practice, he was a team captain. So what kind of fan are you? Are you the fan that thinks we're the enemy and we're just out to get clickbait? None of us were to get paid that way. Or are you a fan that's actually realistic and thinks, didn't we get boat race twice by San Francisco?

Weren't we down by a combined 50-0 at half to San Francisco? Couldn't we draft people in the first round that would actually potentially play if Aaron Rogers gets hurt? I don't know. All I know is Joe Burrough's going to do. start game one. Cam Newton's been in New England 45 minutes. He picked up the offense. He's going to start.

A third of the NFL either has a quarterback with a new system or a system with a new quarterback. And I'm not counting new coordinators. And they're all playing. I'm sorry. But I was always fan too, even as a kid. I didn't mind bad news. I was okay with it. I didn't love it, but I was okay with it. I got to be honest with you. first two draft picks for Green Bay. Both this morning are third string. There's two groups of fans. If you think Jordan Love not being able to beat out Tim Boyle is cool, come on now.

I mean, come on now. Undrafted quarterback beat him out. Offenses are not easy to figure out. They're not calculus. I mean, Joe Burroughs starting week one. All right, so last night, the L.A. Clippers trailed for most of the game against Denver and they won. And this is why, when it comes to the NBA playoffs, there's very few upsets.

Had last night been a regular season game, Denver would have beaten the Clippers because they outplayed them. The young kids with a bright future led for almost the entire game. In the regular season, the young team outplays the veteran team. In the regular season, the young team plays with more urgency and the Clippers. are in too big a hole and they got a game tomorrow night and they had a game two nights ago. And one guy didn't play because, you know, his left ankles kind of sore. But last night was the playoffs.

So trailing 97 to 90 in a playoff game, Doc Rivers goes, time out. He gets all the veteran, the men, not the kids, the men. And he goes, fellas, let's play some defense. And Denver was then outscored 21 to 6. and then Michael Porter couldn't get all those dunks. And Jamal Murray wasn't as good, and Yokic couldn't find open cutters. In the regular season, Denver wins this game.

In the playoffs, and this is what I've said about the Clippers, why they're going to win, the Clippers win the game. Doc Rivers, the veteran coach, calls a timeout, looks at veteran Paul George and veteran Kauai Leonard, says, fellas, okay, let's go. See the clock? Let's change the game. saying, I always think this is the silliest, most overdone segment in sports talk radio and

television debate shows. Can you flip a switch? Yes, we all flip switches all day. All day. Oh, boss walks into a room. Hi, bossaruni. How are things? Can I get a couple coffee for you? Wife walks into the room. Listen more. Kids walk into the room. Talk more. our whole lives are a series of conversations flipping switches, changing our personalities based on, are we talking to a boss, are we listening to our wives, are we dealing with our kids, are we dealing with employees, are we the employee? Of course you can flip a switch. Last night the Clippers did it. Great teams have always done it.

When Tim Duncan and the Spurs and Popovich were in their prime, and really an incredible dynasty, they never dominated in the regular season. They took nights off. they didn't care about the number one seed. And I was saying, switch, flipped, they won. Basketball maybe is unique. Maybe you can't do it in hockey. Maybe you can't do it in baseball.

Maybe you can't do it in football. But in basketball, we all know who the best players are. We know who the best team is. We know who the deepest roster is. And Denver is a terrific young franchise. Joy and I have said this. Dallas is going to get way more press because of Mark Cuban and Luga. I'm not sure anybody's got more good young players than Denver.

They're really good. Miami and Denver, watch out. Really good for the next five years or more. Last night, Denver wins if it's a regular season game. It's a playoff game. Time out 9790. Fellas, time to put in the handcuff defense. No easy baskets.

Get more physical. Doc Rivers talked about it late in the game. Just all our defense down the stretch. You know, the game came down to one of the two teams. teams was going to play some defense. And for three and a half quarters, you know, both teams are basically scoring. And then the last six minutes, it was our defense. We had our lapses.

There's no doubt about that, Andrew. But overall, when we locked in, we're really good. Yeah. I've said there's eight teams in the playoffs. Seven are good to pretty good. One is occasionally capable of being great. It's the Clippers. And they were for six and a half minutes last night.

Regular season, they lose it. Playoff game, they win it, and that's why they'll end up in the Western Conference finals, and it's why they'll beat the Lakers, and it's why they'll win the NBA championship. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now, bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

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

or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on The Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

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

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people

scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free,

iHeartRadio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Guys, I'll speak for men here, especially alpha males, you know, like successful guys. It's hard to admit they're wrong. Wrong.

Not wrong. All right. And so we make me. mistakes and we try to justify it. In 1990, I bought a blue tile for my kitchen. So I justified it for the next two years buying furniture that matched it. And then somebody came in and told me, nobody puts blue tile, dark blue tile on a kitchen floor. But for two years, I bought a bunch of crap that tried to match it, furniture literally around the kitchen to justify it. And then I realized I don't like blue furniture either. I made a big mistake. You've all gone to the home

shopping network at night. You buy that knife that can cut a quarter. But you've never really needed to cut a quarter. You need to cut anchalada for dinner or something, right, or a steak. And you buy a couch that's uncomfortable. And you sit on it night after night and you're like, this isn't comfortable. I'll go buy a bean bag for $32. This is what the bears are doing. Ryan Pace drafted Mitch Trubisky. He's trying to justify it now. He's talking about all his new qualities that he discovered as he came into camp. Here goes. A lot of confidence right now. You can feel it in his comfort level in the offense and his command with the offense. And just really the moment camp started at him, the moment he walked in the building, you just felt a different presence and a

different mindset. And that carried him throughout camp. So just just proud of the way he's conducted himself. His presence has never been the problem. His professionalism has never been the problem. The problem is he's an average armed talent. They ain't no special. He wasn't special in college. He's not special in the NFL. He throws for about a touchdown a game. And that's with a really, really clever offensive coach. He's a good kid. He works really hard. This is not personal. But I've said this. Joe Burrow, who I've been critical of, is much, much better prospect. Baker Mayfield is a much, much better prospect. Andrew Luck's not even in the same galaxy.

He's a good kid. Guys struggle to acknowledge. They make big mistake. Chicago, you bought a steak knife that cuts through a quarter. You don't need to cut through a quarter. You got blue tile for your kitchen. It'd met you whiffed. You could have had Mahal.

There's a lot of guys you could have had Deshaun Watson. You made a mistake. Eric Mangini's thoughts on what the bears are trying to now sell us. This is one of those situations where it's just going from bad to worse. You don't pick up the fifth year option. You obviously don't have a ton of faith in Tribusky, and you go and get someone that you think you're going to bring in and is going to start and going to be an upgrade,

and you've got to give away draft capital to do it. You've got to make a significant financial commitment to do it, and then he can't win the job. And there they are. They're stuck with two guys that, you know, the whole, not just the coaching staff and the organization, but the whole team knows there's no enthusiasm for. You cannot fool the players.

You lift, own it, move on. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Peter King was on yesterday. There's two things. First of all, I believe when I'm a talk show host,

They come on and I tell you authentically what I think. This is what I think about stuff. It's amazing to me. You go on social media, and if a conservative has an opinion, everybody's like, he's doing that for clicks. If a liberal has an opinion, they're just woke. Has anybody ever really thought that conservatives give conservative opinions? Democrats give liberal opinions on the internet. We're not all making stuff up to make you happy.

I tell you what I think. I don't troll. That's not my thing. I poke people in the ribs occasionally. But I'll give you an example, is that Raider fans are just, they just can't believe that I don't like them this year. And there's this narrative out there.

The Raiders are going to play. I think they're going to be terrible. So yesterday Peter King came on. And I was shocked by this. Peter King has the Raiders as a playoff team. So let's play the tape here, Peter King, yesterday. The last two years, Mike Mayock has basically said in the draft, He said, look, I love big-time players from big-time programs.

He's picked the best players out of the biggest programs. And he's done that for two years in a row. And I think he is gambling that the chemistry experiment they do is going to pay off. I like the Raiders. I feel the same way about Carr that everybody else does. You know, he's kind of in proven mode to me. Okay. There's three reasons.

don't like the Raiders at all. And I think they're going to be a bad team this year. Two of them are just a gut feeling. The third is not disputable. Number one is, I don't think the personalities of Gruden and Derek Carr are ideal. John, I know John, John is blunt. Derek is sensitive. Number two is relocating teams historically struggle. Most of relocating teams ever won is nine games. But the third, is not disputable. This is a bad team last year. They were blown out six times last year by 18 points or more.

That's like a college. That's a bad college outcome. They never beat a playoff team. They were 0 and 6 and usually blown out. Week 12 on, they scored the fewest points in the NFL. Now, I want you to think about that. Week 12 on with John Gruden, Derek Carr, who's capable, and a bunch of rookies that popped, they scored the fewest points in the NFL.

And we like that part of their team. Don't confuse interesting pieces with good football team. Go look at their schedule. This was a terrible team at the end of last year. They were getting crushed. They couldn't score. Everybody always says, you know, I like the Raiders offense. It's the defense I worry about.

No NFL team, including Cincinnati. scored fewer points week 12 on. Look at their schedule. Their gimmy is opening up at Carolina against Teddy Bridgewater and Christian McCaffrey. Then it's the Saints. It's Bill Belichick. It's the Bills. It's Patrick Mahomes.

It's Tom Brady. It's the loaded Cleveland roster. It's the really talented chargers. The games they should win, Atlanta, Jets, Carolina. They're all on the road. This is a rough schedule. for a relocating team that was blown out six times last year by 18 points or more. This one I do not get.

I don't get the Raider love. 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. Now is time for another edition of Collins says obvious stuff and yet gets yelled at and hate mail. like the Raiders aren't going to be very good because their schedule's tough and they were awful last year. Now it's time to say something else that's obvious. The Belichick Cam thing has worked better at least from a PR standpoint than I thought, but this is going to be a really bad football team.

But I will acknowledge Belichick likes Cam, Cam likes Bill, Kumbaya. Belichick went on to say, Cam's worked really hard, he's done everything we've asked, so far so good. But this feels really obvious to me. Let me just point out a couple little odds and ends. After Halloween, which is late October, the Patriots scored 25 points once against the dreadful Bengals. That was with Tom Brady, who had memorized the system. They were four and five in their last nine games. they have had eight players opt out and they lost several key starters to free agency and replaced

none of them. Oh yeah, the draft, they're not great at that and never, never draft somebody that makes an immediate star impact. Oh, and let's throw this out there. Peter King on the show yesterday brought up an interesting point on how little firepower they have offensively. Pro Football Focus has been doing numbers on every NFL player for the last 14 years since 2006. And collectively, the receiving core of the New England Patriots in 2019 was the worst as a team that they've ever graded on any team in 14 years.

It's like this is not disputable. No functional tight end, no deep threat. The legendary offensive line coach is gone. Brady's out. Grong's gone. It's bad. So here's the good news. I have them at 5 and 11. That's where I have them finishing 5 and 11.

I have until Thursday to make amendments to my predictions. I'm thinking about 6 and 10 because the Cam Belichick thing has worked pretty well. But I thought they'd be 500 when Cam arrived. Then they had eight players opt out. Didn't replace anybody in free agency. It's like, okay, this is a bad team. So look at their schedule. Now here's the good news if you're a Patriot fan.

Belichick historically is a nightmare for young quarterbacks. I mean, he literally eats him alive. Josh Allen and Sam Darnold have faced Belichick about a half dozen times. They've been awful in all of the games. So the good news is they face the Broncos, Bills, Jets, Cardinals, Dolphins, Bill's Jets, young quarterbacks. Those are the games where I think New England has a chance to not score much, but just win a game based on turnover, special teams,

you know, a Belichick win. But the rest of that thing is 37-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick, Russell Wilson, Derek Carr, Mahomes, Garoppolo, Lamar Jackson, Deshawn Watson, at L.A. and at the Rams, Gough and Tyrod Taylor. Tyler makes no mistakes. Been around the league a long time. He's not going to be duped into a four-interception game.

And Jared Goff's got a lot of weapons. I just don't think they're very good. And as I've said before, I don't believe the NFL, you know, Jacksonville's tanking. You can call it whatever you want. I don't care. But I think Belichick knows there's three world-class quarterback prospects next year. He knows because of Brady, you can't win in this league at the elite level without superstar quarterback play. And I think Belichick knows he had a losing record in Cleveland when he didn't have that.

And I think New England is targeting a restructuring year. Take the year off guys. Won't replace free agents. Drafted projects more than star players. I don't think New England's a good football team. I think they're 5-11, 6-10 max, and I think the Raiders are equally abysmal, and I don't think they're hot takes.

I think if you look at the schedule, I look at last year at the end of the year, the Patriots were bad and couldn't score, the Raiders were bad and couldn't score. I don't think in a year with no OTAs in pre-season, you can flip that around. I don't think you can do it. I think if you're bad last year at the end of the year,

you need OTAs, you need a good draft, you need free agency, You just don't shake a wand and go, we'll be good. They were bad. Raiders were bad, and the Patriots at the end of the year could not beat good teams. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger

than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes

of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me

or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

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

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

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross.

Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different. levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, 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 hard way and listen now.

Yeah. Time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college, number 10. L.A. Rams. Sean McVeigh, let's not go crazy here. The fewest games he's ever won is nine. A year ago, we said he was the next Belichick. They're bringing back Sean McVeigh, Jared Goff, a lot of the same pieces. They've also, by the way, the star of the camp has been rookie wide receiver Van Jefferson, and they're already loaded at receiver. Cam Acres, by the way, has also had a great camp replacing Todd Gurley. Joy and I said this last year.

I thought it was addition by subtraction. I thought Gurley, eggshells. I thought the whole organization was walking on. eggshells with Todd Gurley. I don't think it was a great locker room last year. Let's just not sell our stock. McVeigh is a great coach. This roster still has the best defensive tackle in football. Jalen Ramsey, star receivers, Rams 10. Number nine. Green Bay. I like Green Bay because I do think linebacking core back into their defense is more formidable. I think their division is easier. Now, here's the bad news.

Devante Adams led this team in catches last year, receiving yards, and he missed a month. They don't really have a second guy in the perimeter that you can trust. And also Aaron Rogers last three years. Pro football focus has been brutally honest. It has not been the same quarterback.

But I think their back end of their defense is formidable. I think they have a chance to win their division. I don't think the Rams do. So the Packers at 9. Number eight. Coin flip. I'll go with Minnesota because I like their overall roster better. Stefan Diggs, losing him hurts, but they have Adam Thielen, good tight ends, Delvin Cook.

I don't think they're a Super Bowl team. And I said that about Green Bay last year. I thought they were a 9 and 17 that got to 13 and 3. They got blown out by the Niners in the NFC championship. Kirk Cousins is 6 and 29 in the regular season against winning teams. We got a book on him. He's a good quarterback. He's got a real low ceiling.

He gets tight and big game. I like their coach. Mike Zimmer, although I think he's a bit conservative for my taste. This is a very well-run, smartly built, great GM, really good organization. I just think they have a ceiling. Them and the Packers to me is a coin flip. I like the Vikings roster more, but Aaron Rogers is special. Number seven. Seattle.

They gave up 381 yards a game last year. That was the worst in the Pete Carroll era. Now, they went and got Jamal Adams, who is a playmaker, and they got Quentin Dunmarsh. trade with Washington. So the secondary will be better. There is no question. They will be better on the back end. They still have Bobby Wagner. They have Russell Wilson. My issues with Seattle, I've got them lower than a lot of people. It's a tough division. I do not like their offensive line, and their defensive line is one of the worst in the NFL. I think they've upgraded on the back end. And Jamal Adams will play linebacker as much as he does safety. So they've got three unbelievable players. Russell Wilson,

Jamal Adams, but too many holes on the line only at seven. Number six. Philadelphia, fewer holes than Seattle without perhaps having three superstar players. They're one of four teams in the NFL that's made the playoffs each of the last three years. And that's with a ton of injuries at wide receiver, a ton of injuries at quarterback, a ton of injuries in the secondary. They added Darius Slay, who I think is the top three corner in the NFL. They went and drafted a wide receiver in the first round,

and they can't possibly be as injury riddled as last year. It's not possible. think it's a pretty drab division, whereas Seattle's got two games against the Niners, two against the Rams. Eagles get the Giants twice and Washington twice. That feels four and O to me. Eagles at six. Number five. Tampa Bay. Listen, this team with 40 turnovers was seven and seven through 14 games last year. Brady's here. Gronks here. Shady McCoy, Leonard Fernette, Tristan Wirf's right tackle. They have made massive upgrades. Also, it's Bruce Erie in second year. It's Todd Bull's second year. Don't overthink the room here. All

these critics of Brady. Folks, they made massive personnel changes. It's the second year with a coach and a very smart defensive coordinator, Tampa Bay at 5. Number four. Saints are a Super Bowl team. I always say my final four should be Super Bowl favorites. Added two really smart veterans, Malcolm Jenkins,

the safety, and Emmanuel Sanders to a Super Bowl level roster. So they added maturity. Why does that matter? Because we didn't have a preseason. We didn't have OTAs. Smart veteran playmakers. Malcolm Jenkins, Emmanuel Sanders to a great roster ready to perform game one Saints 4.

Number three. 49ers. Don't outthink the room. They led the Chiefs for three quarters. They outplayed Kansas City for three quarters. Best young coach in football. Garapolo's 21 and 5 as a starter. Can we stop banging on Jimmy Garoppolo? Good God.

He was 21 and 5. As good as Kyle Shanahan was, he couldn't win until Garapolo got healthy. Number two. Kansas City returns 18 to 22 starters. I don't think they've come close to hitting their peak. You know, even Patrick Mahomes was 11th in completion percentage and seventh in passer rating. I don't think he's close to his ceiling. They're only going to get better.

And Andy Reid made a great point this week. He goes, you know, a lot of times teams win Super Bowls and they get flashy and crazy and they party too much. He goes, we couldn't. There's a pandemic. We couldn't go out. So we just kept our head down and coach football and played football and practice football. Love the Chiefs. Number one.

Baltimore, I have them at 16 and own. I don't. It's really funny about this. This whole Lamar thing. Lamar Jackson. What do you need to see? He was better at the end of last year than the beginning. They're fine.

They've added Clayas Campbell on the defensive front. The Earl Thomas loss, I don't think hurts much because I think their corners are great and their pass rush is better. There's nothing I don't like about this team. I like their work ethic. I like their front office. I love their coach. I like the way the coach and the quarterback embrace each other.

And I love that Lamar Jackson's got a total chip on his shoulder. I love it. He just every off season, he's like, yeah, I listen to my critics. I got to get better. And he does. He's got to play better from behind. That's a real thing. But I think the Ravens have a chance to go 16 and no, and that sounds ridiculous.

But I think in a season where we've got no preseason, these veteran teams or these teams with returning quarterbacks and coaching stars will do very well. All right. Now, I don't have Cleveland in. I have them 11. I don't have Denver in. I have them 12. I don't have Buffalo in. I have them 13.

Again, I don't know what Stefansky looks like as a head coach. Just give me a week. So I have Cleveland 11. Denver lost their right tackle. So now I don't like Denver at either tackle spot. I love the rest of their roster, but I can't go with a team in the top 10 who's going to, they're struggling already at left tackle. Now they lost their right tackle with a young quarterback.

And Buffalo, I think they coached the hell out of that team. But Josh Allen scares me. And with that, one of the great left tackles in the history of football, 11 NFL seasons, and 11 Pro Bowls. Yeah, he was good day one. Is Joe Thomas, NFL network analyst, joining us now via the Coward Global Satellite Network. All right, so let's just get to this.

I do think Cleveland's going to be a playoff team. I think they're going to win nine games. I don't know what they're going to look like in September. So you tell me, what are you hearing? What are you seeing, Joe, from the Browns at camp? Well, this year it's all about managing expectations, as you talked about. Last year, they came in with some high expectations.

the Browns players and coaches, and even the front office wanted to talk about how great things were going to be. And obviously, it didn't exactly turn out the way everybody had hoped and expected it in Cleveland. And so this year it's all about managing expectations. Don't go in and give anybody the impression that you're going to blow the world away,

especially with this pandemic shortened season, the pandemic shortened off season, a new head coach, new offensive coordinator. So I think right now the Browns are going to be better than people expect, but the big thing for them will just be to kind of go in and try to sneak up on some people, especially early on in the season. So it's interesting. In Chicago, they've named Mitch Trubisky, the starter, and the GM and the coach, they're just laying praise on Mitch Trubisky. And we've already seen 42 starts. You can fool the media. You can fool fans. It is hard to fool players. Do you believe bear players think Mitch Trubisky can take them. to a special place.

The bear players will not believe that Mitch Trebisky is going to take them to that special place, that Super Bowl, until he can show it on the field. You know, when you look at his career, he's had a few good games here and there, but he hasn't been able to put it together consistently. And if you want to be able to lead a team and you want to be able to stand in that huddle and convince people that what you're going to call right now when it's third and 10 and you need a play is something that he is going to be able to deliver on, you've got to be able to do that consistently. And if you want to take your team to the playoffs, if you want to

take your team to the Super Bowl as a quarterback, you've got to be able to do it week in and week out. And so far, Mitch Trubisky has not been able to do that. And it didn't help it all last season when he kind of dealt with some of the things in the media where he seemed like mentally he was a little bit taken aback by what people were saying about him outside the building where he was turning TVs off in their facility. And so those are all things that players on that roster are going to think about and they're going to wonder about until Mitch is able to do it consistently on that field. You know, it's interesting. So when you go to camp, and I've asked players this many times, you were great right out of the shoot at left tackle. But now, not everybody is. But generally,

players can watch the draftees. And you can tell by about five or six practices, okay, we, we missed on this guy or this guy's really special. Should it be concerning that Jordan Love, first round pick for the Packers, they moved up to get him, is not even the backup. He's third. He's behind a guy that was undrafted. Does that tell you that, I mean, what are Green Bay players thinking when Jordan Love, we could have gone out and gotten a starter? He's third on the depth chart. What do you think Packer players think? Does that mean anything? I guarantee they're scratching their head going, why would we waste an opportunity to give Aaron Rogers a weapon so that we can win right now for a guy that we're going to draft in the first round and then he's not even

going to be the second string quarterback. To me, if I'm in that room, I'm expecting the head coach to address the team and talk about it, right? Because everybody certainly would expect that your number one quarterback pick from this year would be the backup at a very minimum. And when he's not, everybody's going to kind of wonder and say, well, why not? And if you're a head coach and you have to address why your quarterback that you took in the first round is not the backup quarterback, then there's definitely some questions. And there's a lot of people kind of scratching their head thinking, well, maybe we should be playing for this year and not playing for the future

because we got a pretty good guy quarterback right now and Aaron Rogers, who did pretty well for us last season. So I think it just adds a little bit of a question mark. And some of the players in that locker room were probably maybe starting to wonder what the front office is doing, what they were thinking. Because when you're looking at Jordan Love, you're saying, why wouldn't he be number two, right? If Aaron Rogers got dinged up for a couple weeks, you'd want to give him that valuable experience.

If for some reason Aaron was going to be out most of the season, you're not going to have a better opportunity with Tim Boyle as the backup in there than you would with Jordan Love. And you're just wasting an opportunity to give Jordan Love some experience for the future, which is why you drafted him in the first place for the future. So it really doesn't jive with what they were trying to tell us about why they picked him in the first place now that he's not even the backup quarterback going into the season. You know, it's interesting. Kansas City, Joe Thomas joining us, Kansas City, Andy Reid made a great point yesterday. He said, you know, a lot of teams get to a Super Bowl and then they party. He goes, we couldn't party because of the pandemic. And if you think about it, Joe, because the economy closed down, there weren't a lot of endorsements thrown at players. And if you really look at last year, had Miami not beaten New England in week 17, they would have been a three-seat. They would have been in the wild card round. Is that my take away in Kansas City is,

really aren't close to where I think they'll get. They didn't play particularly well in the playoffs. They trailed Tennessee. They trailed Houston. They trailed San Francisco. Like, I don't see a step back for Kansas City. Do you worry that they were, Mahomes won so fast, he got the ring so fast that there is this natural letdown.

Well, I think there's always going to be a letdown when you're a Super Bowl winner because you've reached the pinnacle of everybody's career, of everything that you've always wanted since you started playing football. But I think the great thing with Kansas City is Andy Reed and Patrick Mahomes. They're very stable and steady personalities, right? Andy Reid wants you to believe that there would have been all this partying if it wasn't been for the pandemic. But Andy Reid is just the same guy every single day. That's what the players love about him. That's what the fans love about him. Everybody that's ever worked for him loves him because he treats every day the same and he treats every player exactly the same. So whether they win the Super Bowl or they don't even go to the playoffs,

I feel like the offseason for Andy Reed and his team is going to feel very, very similar. He doesn't ride the roller coaster like a lot of coaches, but that's what makes him great. And so I think, you know, there's a potential to have a little bit of a letdown. But for the most part, when you've got Andy Reid and you've got a quarterback like Patrick Mahomes, so I think they both understand, hey, we did win the Super Bowl, but that doesn't mean we don't have anything to work on. The reports out of Kansas City was they had a really good competitive camp. There wasn't guys that were, you know, resting on their laurels, just kind of reflective. on the greatness of winning the Super Bowl. And so I think that will really play really well for them

this season. But in addition, I think this is a season where if you have an offense that have experience being in that offense with the same players, the same scheme, the same coaching staff, that's going to be an enormous advantage because of the limited offseason that a lot of these teams have had. And so being in that Andy Reid offense for Patrick Mahomes now in year three, I think is going to be a tremendous advantage. And you're going to see that, especially early on in the season. So I don't like New England or the Raiders this year. Many do, and they both really struggled in the last seven to eight weeks.

I think it's very difficult to be a bad football team, have no OTAs and no preseason, and just flip a switch. I think that, I think in football, they, those bad teams need to have an OTA, a preseason, get the bad vibes out, get some new personnel in. I don't like New England. I don't like the Raiders because of that. in your career, does it matter how you finish the previous year, the last six, seven weeks? I think it does matter.

And we talked about it when I was a rookie. We were going into the last week of the season. And we really had nothing on the line because we needed the Tennessee Titans to lose in order for us to get into the playoffs. But we still played hard. And Romeo Cornell was our head coach at the time. And he gave a very passionate and what I agree with what he had to say, argument in that game. and he said, how you finish is the momentum that you're going to carry through the offseason. Whether we make the playoffs or not, has nothing to do with what we do in week 17.

But if we play well, we'll be able to build on that confidence from this week through the off season. And we'll have a building block right there. Because if you go into the off season with a letdown, if you go into the off season sliding towards the end of the season, there's going to be a lot of question marks about are we the team that started the season? Or did people figure us out? And maybe we weren't as good as we thought we were from earlier. on in the season. So if you're a team that kind of backs into the playoffs and then maybe loses right off the bat, you're going to have a lot of question marks and there's going to be

a lot of wondering about maybe who you really are in the offseason and without OTAs with no preseason games with limited training camp, you really have no opportunity to kind of prove to yourself and to build that confidence back up that, you know, maybe we are a really good team. We are the team that showed up much better earlier on in the season and that a blip on the Raider at the end of the season was not who we are. So certainly I definitely buy into that. But I think with New England specifically, like they've got a lot of question marks on offense for the first time

and a long time. And with a new quarterback, new quarterback working with a new system potentially, it's going to be a big learning curve, I think, for those guys in New England. And there's going to be some pointing fingers, I feel like when things don't go as well as they're used to. Yeah, at Joe Thomas 73 on Twitter.

He's got the Tomahawk podcast with Andrew Hawkins, former NFL player. Good dude, Joe Thomas. See, we like Cleveland, folks. We bring Cleveland people on all the time. We even say nice stuff about Cleveland right now. There you go. Thank you.

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

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

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Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the... 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

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