The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Best of The Herd for Sep 14, 2020

Episode Date: September 14, 2020

-The Cowboys need to temper expectations, they aren't special-Tom Brady and the Bucs will be fine. Losing to the Saints was expected-Joe Burrow was surprisingly good-Baker Mayfield is the same guy we saw last season-Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrongGuest: Jimmy Johnson, NFL on FOX & 2x Super Bowl Champion Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

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

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 herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. It is a Monday. Football is back in America. How much fun was that live in Los Angeles? This is the herd.

Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, Fox Sports Radio. And right here on FS1, I sat on a couch yesterday and watched 10 hours of football, ordered to go food twice. Pet my dogs, had a beer, had the time of my life. I'm sure you did something similar without the dogs. I made tacos and had a chardonnay instead of a beer. But yeah, it was many, many hours on the couch. It was wonderful.

I'm a creature to have it to begin with. The normalcy I felt yesterday, I was so deliriously happy. You know, I tweeted it's a blessing. and I know that kind of sounds dramatic, but it was incredible. I still can't get over it. I literally, like, we're having a football Monday. It's amazing.

I didn't think about COVID once yesterday. Now, of course, I didn't leave the house. That helps. You know, let me start with this. The stadium looks great in Los Angeles. That's good for the league. Good imagery. But expectations will overwhelmingly in your life and my life control our happiness.

What are expectations? I look at the Dallas Cowboys, and I think they have a pretty good head coach. He's not bad. I think they have a pretty good quarterback. And I thought last night they had a pretty good performance. Those were my expectations. I think Sean McVeigh, this is why I picked the Rams, is a much better head coach. They were at home.

And frankly, I think they have a slightly better overall roster, not as many holes as Dallas in the back end. And that was the result. Folks, there is something wrong with this office. offense. And now you're delusional if you can't admit it because I've seen it over and over and over again. Dallas has a top three offensive line, maybe top five, a top two running back, maybe top three. They may have the best receiving core in the league, let's say top three. And they had three points in the second half on the road with no crowd against a very so, so Rams defense. Aaron Donald's great. Jalen Ramsey's talented. That's not a great defense. L.A.'s talents on the offensive side.

And y'all love DAC, but at some point now, the people that are angry about this, if you're a cowboy fan, this is about managing your expectations. Your expectations are out of whack. Once again, DAC, a little uncomfortable, on the road, above average football team. Here are his second half numbers with Zeke, with the receiving corps, with that offensive line, with an offensive coach.

His passer rating is 57. Okay, so the Dallas team I saw, this is what I thought I would see. Said on Friday, close game, I'll take the Rams. Sean McVeigh told you everything he thought about DAC and the Cowboys offense. Five minutes left, Rams had outplayed the Cowboys, led by only three, and got the ball. Five plays. All runs. In fact, one time Jared Goff had an open receiver, he made him go and slide.

He told Jared Goff, run, run, run, eat the clock. Fourth and one at the 50, Rams punt. At home moving the ball, punt. They punt it to DAC with 2.28 left and a timeout and Zeeke and that receiving core and that offensive line. At home, they'd outplayed Dallas. They basically gave Dallas a chance to win the game. And Dallas in 10 plays move 15 yards.

So at this point, if you're struggling with expectations, it's on you. this team looks a lot like what we think. Alden Smith played pretty well. Dak made a couple of good throws. Now, you don't like the pass interference call late. I get it. But those things even out. Earlier in the game, Jared Goff got picked off and hit in the face.

That's the illegal. And they allow the interception. Those things work out over time. Okay. The saints don't think that. They think the world's against them. In the NFL, you get a good call, you get a bad call. Over the course of a season, you get about six good calls go your way,

six bad calls go against you, whatever. But in the last four days, games. Dallas is five and nine. That's the reality. Dallas and DAC, 22 TDs, nine interceptions in those 14 games. That's in a division that may be the worst in football. That's the reality. I mean, yesterday we all saw special. We saw it on Thursday with Mahomes. Russell Wilson, ridiculous. Lamar Jackson, hello, Aaron Rogers. Oh, old Aaron Rogers. We saw special all day. U.S. he's between both those teams. They're not a lot of special.

Rams are better, but there's not a lot of special here. So at some point, I just think we have to be honest with expectations with Dallas. They have a pretty good head coach. You don't think he's as good as Kyle Shanahan or Belichick or Andy Reeder Champagne. They're a pretty good quarterback, but you don't think he's Russell, Lamar, and Rogers. And it was a pretty good opening performance. Anything beyond that is on Cowboy fans. It's not on the team.

They are exactly what they should be. All right, so let's talk about Tom Brady. So I have a theory in life, and we all potentially can get caught up in our emotions in the moment. It's very, we all do it. You get caught up in the moment, and you're all, the world's ending and you're overly dramatic. But I have a theory called the Say It Out Loud theory. I got six kids, none are in jail. I'm a good enough parent.

If they're successful or failures in life, it'll be on them. I kept them out of jail. I kept him alive. I fed them. They're healthy. It's good enough. Now, day to day, I may go crazy. They may drive me nuts. They'll yell at me. I'll yell at them. But if you're a parent with a bunch of kids, none are in jail, they're all still going to school. They're good kids. They're kind. They're empathetic. Semi-curious. You did a good job. Don't out think the room. You're going to have bad days and great days. So just say this out loud. A 43-year-old quarterback with a brand new coach and a brand new system and brand-new teammates

with a so-so offensive line and his best receiver missed most of practice this week, went on the road and lost to the NFC favorites. Okay. There's a reason Tom Brady was an underdog for the first time in what, like five years. When the schedule came out and you saw this game, didn't you think New Orleans was going to win? In fact, you thought they were going to win by more, but because of COVID, there's no fans in the stands. This was a 43-year-old quarterback with a new coach for the first time in his career and a new system and a new offensive line with no preseason and no OTAs. And Mike Evans was hurt during camp and didn't practice this week.

When Brady made mistakes yesterday, and he was better than everybody is saying, he had a couple of deep balls pass interference that would have been completed. So if not for that, Brady didn't play terribly. The Saints are maybe the best roster in the NFC. I don't think they're Baltimore. I don't think they're Kansas City. This is the Saints. When you got your schedule, this was an L. You put a big L there.

Even people in Tampa that were realistic are like, this is a bad opening. I think when the schedule came out, we said that. We're like, Brady didn't get any breaks on the opener. This is what it looks like. Mike Evans and Tom Brady had a communication error. Yes, of course. You didn't have four preseason games to work any of this stuff out. I mean, what I saw yesterday, the good teams look still good.

The bad teams are still bad. the good teams missed preseason, but they had momentum from last year, didn't get anybody hurt in preseason, and the bad teams didn't have time to sandpaper the rough edges off, and they were still mostly Cleveland and Cincinnati. That's what the league looked like. All Tampa's been doing for weeks and months is new player, new guy, new tackle, new draft pick, new tight end.

Tom Brady said afterwards, it's mistakes. Mistakes a new coach, a new team, a new system clearly are going to have to get through. Anytime you turn the ball over like we did, we had opportunities out there to make plays and it just came up short. So there's no excuses. We're the only ones I could do something about it. The Saints kind of play how they always play. They did a good job on offense.

We hung our defense out to dry on some short fields with not moving the ball, not doing very well on third down at certain times, not the turnovers really hurt us. You know, got to clean that up for next week. We've got to do a lot better job. I'm going to make a prediction. They're going to look much better against Carolina's defense next week. They're going to look much better in October.

And when they play the Saints in Week 9 in Tampa, they'll probably look better then. Now, I do believe one of the things I really kept preaching over and over again, New England, you saw it yesterday. Efficient, no mistakes, no penalties. Tampa's different. what Brady is going to have to get used to is he's got more weapons, but Tampa as a franchise has got more baggage. Special teams in Tampa have been bad forever. Yesterday they got a pump blocked.

That never happens in New England. Yesterday, Tampa had nine penalties. That doesn't happen a lot in New England. That's what Tom's going to have to get used to. This is a different scenario. the most rigid, perfected, well-oiled machine in the NFL is New England. Tampa's often just well-oiled. Not much machine stuff.

They're just a little sloppy and a little loose and a little weird and a punt blocked and nine penalties. And this is what Tampa is. That's to me the struggle with Tom. I mean, when you go, you know, remember that old, I don't even know if it's still on the air. It was like called Family Swap or Wife Swap or something. When you go from like a family that. puts their money away and they sit together as a family and read at night and they're very

efficient and very quiet and they go to bed early and they eat their vegetables and then you go to another family it's like potte it's Tuesday night what potte Wednesday night what Tampa's a little loose they can't get special teams right they're a little wild cocktails earlier not very buttoned up they weren't yesterday that is Tom's issue Not losing to the Saints. That's a great team that has a chance to win a Super Bowl. You were there. They brought all their pieces back.

Say it out loud. What happened should have happened. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. 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. Human documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space.

For honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a 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 picket here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so 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 finishing that sentence. Yes.

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

your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness, in this month. I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth,

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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. So I watched Joe Burrell yesterday, and I said going into the season, I thought he was a B-plus prospect. I thought he was Tony Romo. I think that it's about once every other year. I think we have an A prospect. Next year's weird.

I think we have two or three A prospects. But I thought Burrell was a good player. I think the comparisons to Brady and Manning are stupid. It's too much pressure on the kid. I mean, he had one really good year of college. But I got to tell you yesterday, when you consider the circumstances, I thought he was really good. I thought he was really good.

No TAs, no preseason. The Chargers have the best corners in the league. The Chargers have two of the best pass rushers, Bosa and Ingram. You're talking about a young kid, young head coach, below average offensive line. You've got to grade this kid on the curve. You've got to consider circumstances. My first 45-second reaction, just what did my eyes say? He's a little bigger than I thought he would look in the NFL.

He's clearly jacked up his arms and shoulders. He looks like a Lamar Jackson. You see him and you're like, oh, he looks a little bigger than I thought. Joe Burrell put on some upper body weight. He's a little quicker and more elusive than I thought he would be. He's clearly trained for this and put a lot of hours in. I thought he looked really good. He gave himself a D, which I love because he's humble.

I thought it was a B to a B plus performance. That's what a franchise quarterback looks like. That's what they look like. And I'll tell you something, that last drive on that, these are against great wide receipts, great corners, great edge rushers. He'd been hammered on the day. He threw for almost 200 yards. He rushed for 46 in a touchdown.

He'd gotten his lunch handed to him. He had a bad, bad late fourth quarter turnover. All that could get into his head. Nothing. They gave him the ball in the last drive. He marched right down. He was cool. He was calm.

He was poised. His feet were good. He wasn't locked in on one receiver. Tyrod Taylor, the veteran to me yesterday, was too often locked in on one receiver. Burrow, the kid was not. I could sit here today and bang on him. He had a 66 quarterback rating and a terrible late game turnover. I thought he was really good.

I thought he was really good. He's a much better prospect than Baker Mayfield. I believe after watching him yesterday, he's not as erratic, although mistake prone a little yesterday, he's got more ups. Maybe, I don't know the upside. He looks better than Darnold, who's still making dumb mistakes. Baker still feels like the same guy with a fourth coach. if that's the opening act for Joe Burrow, that is a good opening act.

He never looked nervous. And remember, he won't face the rest of the year. Corners that good. Those corners for the Chargers, they got three guys that can play. Three guys that have made a Pro Bowl. I think two or three are still in their prime. So tip of the cap, I thought he was good. And by the way, I said this before.

When I compared him to Tony Romo, Tony Romo is a minus B plus quarterback. Tony Romo is a good player. Y'all dogged him for you. I swear to God, when I was at the other company, all I did was defend Tony Romo. Tony Romo, he looked like a Tony Romo. He can move. He's prone to an occasional big mistake, but he's kind of a gunslinger. He's athletic.

He moves well. He's got a nice arm. He's got a nice arm. He looks like an athlete. I mean, he reminds me at Romo. And that's a really good comp. If you go look at Tony Romo's final stats in his career, he's a strong B-plus or a weak game on his quarterback.

Cincinnati hadn't had that in a long time. This is a way better prospect than Baker, a way better prospect than Andy Dalton. This morning, I think he's a better prospect than Sam Darnold, who I like, and better than Josh Allen. He's good. He's a good player. You've got a player in Cincinnati. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Don't overreact.

But I take what I saw last year, and I take what I've seen the last year, and then I take what I saw yesterday. And a lot of stuff's not going to stick. Manville won, San Francisco lost. Don't overreact to stuff. But I got to tell you, you know, everybody always talks about their top 10 quarterback list, top 12. I think three guys are separating from the league. I think Russell Wilson, Patrick Mahomes, and Lamar Jackson are separating from the league. And I think the fourth best quarterback depends on the Sunday.

Yesterday it was Aaron Rogers. Sometimes it's Carson Wentz. I like a lot of quarterbacks in this league. I don't think there's ever been a time I liked more quarterbacks. But I'm telling you, the guys. now Lamar Mahomes and Russell Wilson are frightening like they can move, they can run,

they can throw their playmakers. I like Jared Goff, but Sean McBey protects him. I like Jimmy Garapolo, but the coach protects him. I like Carson Wentz, but his highs are highs and his lows are lows. I like the Sean Watson. But again, highs are highs, lows

can be really low and he doesn't feel like this group. I mean, I'm watching Russell Wilson yesterday. That is one of the greatest performances. I I mean, he was flawless. And they got bad offensive line play on the road against the Pro Bowl quarterback. Lamar Jackson, I just kind of feel like I don't have a top five quarterback list. I've got a top three and they're separating.

Again, Brady and Breeze are good when everything is going right. Wentz and Deshaun and Rogers can be spectacular. But Aaron leaves way too much on the field. He didn't yesterday. Deshawn doesn't throw a beautiful ball, and he has, like Wentz, some really bad moments. These guys are sick. They're just unbelievable.

You get all the ceiling. Very, very rarely get the lows. I mean, they're playmakers. So you're going to make mistakes because you're just made me. Yesterday, Lamar took a shot in the sideline, and I'm like, dude, get out of bounds. But a lot of what I see yesterday doesn't stick. I got a top three quarterback list.

And then four is about six guys, depending on who they play. Aaron yesterday was spectacular. I don't think he's going to look like the rest of the year like that. But I wouldn't be surprised if Lamar has 12 more Sundays like that. Or Mahomes has 12 more Sundays or Russell's got 12 more Sundays like that. I don't think Aaron Wentz or Deshawn will. They feel like they've separated. I mean, just they just are, you can't take your eyes off him.

Here's the other thing. So I pick Baltimore to win the Super Bowl. And they look great, blah, blah, blah. So, you know, again, they were going to win that game. It was the only game this way. I wouldn't even touch the Jack's Colts game. The only game I predicted a blowout. I said, come on, you got to give me a break on this.

Cleveland's got a new coach. Cleveland's not as good. Baltimore. Cleveland beat Baltimore last year. So Baltimore is not going to overlook Cleveland. It was a blowout. It wasn't close. Two things I take away from that game.

Number one, Baltimore's fantastic. They would have blown out a lot of teams in the NFL yesterday. So let's not bury Cleveland. Okay. Baltimore is packed. They're dynamic, physical. They didn't even run the football particularly well yesterday. They're still dropping point.

They could have gone to their third stringers, backups by the third quarter. Baltimore is a, in a salary cap era, that's about as good as a roster can be. They got deep threats. They got tight ends. They got a star quarterback. They got a good old line. They got star corners. They got a star pass rusher.

In a salary cap league, they got everything. They got everything. But the second thing, you can keep changing. head coaches. Baker Mayfield's the same guy. Number one, he continues to think he's way more athletic than he is, tries to run around. He's not. Number two, he still has no relationship with OBJ. Was it 13 targets, 10 targets, three catches, it doesn't click. Baker still wildly inconsistent. His accuracy, which was a strength at Oklahoma, is all over the map. He sails the ball way too much. this football team in Cleveland,

you can keep changing the coaches. You got a limited quarterback. Mistake prone, not as accurate as he should be, not as athletic as he thinks he is. And they ran the ball very effectively yesterday with Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. They had like 123 yards. That's what they are.

That is what they are. And I think Buffalo's figured it out. They like Josh Allen, but they're not led by Josh Allen. You know, most teams with young quarterback. Now, Arizona's different. They just, Kyler, go save us. But when I watch Cleveland, you can keep changing everything. But they were a mess early.

They were a mess late. OBJ and Baker have no relationship. And Baker's got to get out of this feeling that he's some like athletic guy, hyper-athletic can move around. Dude, you're a guy that throws well on third and two. Pick it, stick it, get it done, get it out, get the ball away faster. Don't hold on to it. That's not your game plan.

But I still think Cleveland can go nine and seven. I'm not bailing because I think Baltimore would have blown out everybody but Kansas City maybe yesterday or Seattle. They would have rolled everybody yesterday. But you can keep changing coaches. I see the same Baker. I saw more potential with Joe Burrow in his first game. He's bigger than Baker. He throws a better ball than Baker.

He's more athletic than Baker. He feels more poised. He feels more consistent, more calm. I just look at Cleveland and I'm like, you know, Baker afterwards on the Ravens. Here's what he said. Sometimes a wake-up call is pretty good for everybody. You know, a nice punch in the mouth. And that's how we should take it.

We should, you know, not dwell on it. Realize that we just got beat today. They played better than us. Look at it and get better, move on, and go play the Bengals. That's all we can do. I don't think it's a punch-in-the-mouth moment. I think it's a realize what you are and play to your strengths moment. And by the way, I know what you're going to say.

What about Sam Donald? He doesn't have these weapons. He doesn't have anything close to this. The Jets have a completely rebuilt offensive line for new starters, and they're not high-end guys. One's a rookie, and the other guys are kind of like bounce around the league guys. These are not superstar offensive linemen. So, you know, I didn't think it was a punch in the mouth moment. I thought it was a moment of clarity, which is if Baker's going to be thrown it 35 times in these games, this is what's going to look like.

This is what it's going to be running around more than he should, inaccurate more than he should. And let's stop pretending OBJ and Baker work. It doesn't work. They've had a billion practices. They've had a bunch of games. It doesn't work. This is why I think, I think OBJ, I think Baker feels like he's got to get him the football, and I think it distracts him.

I think it gets him out of his kind of rhythm. OBJ is a great trade piece. I'd be happy if he went there. Cleveland doesn't need another great receiver. What Cleveland needs to do is just pound the rock, throw it on third and two, second and four. That's what they need because they ran the ball against the Raven yesterday. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHard radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

So we do this every Monday, Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, during the football season. It's just my favorite segment of the week. Here we go on a Monday. Where Colin was right? Finally Pete Carroll gave the offense to Russell Wilson. Did you see what happened? It was unbelievable. Tip of the cap, Pete Carroll, finally, first quarter, nine for nine, 86-yard.

and two TDs. This has been my knock on Pete. Give, let Russ Cook, give him the offense. And they finally did nine straight Seahawk receivers. And you know what it felt like? First of all, it was sensational. But when you go on the road and you're aggressive, there's something about the spirit and the vibe of Seattle. They went on the road to win the game.

First series. They came out hyper-aggressive, more aggressive than Atlanta. they finally gave the offense to Russell Wilson. 31 to 35, he was sensational. Where Colin was raw. Blazing 5, 2, and 3, we had the Rams right over Dallas. That was our pick of the week. And we also thought the Ravens would blow out the Browns.

But I'll never bet Atlanta again. They break my heart. I don't even know why at this point I'm stupid. I'm tired. I'm over it. I am so disciplined in my life. My diet, my exercise. I cannot stop betting Atlanta.

I knew I had something to yell at you about this morning. I saw you on Instagram. What do you do it? I have no idea. I won't allow you to do it again. Nope. I will be the gatekeeper of that. I take on that responsibility.

God, it's ridiculous. All right. Where Colin was right. The Bengals are Joe Burroughs's biggest obstacle. This is why I worry about him. They lose a game, even though I thought late they outplayed the Chargers, getting offensive pass interference in the end zone, dropped a couple of key passes. Then the kicker pulls a hammy trying to kick a potential game winning field goal.

The offensive line in. fairness. They need another draft to sew up the offensive line. But Joe Burrow was excellent. This is why I said he's going to win very few games this year. It's not just on Joe Burrell. Young quarterbacks need stronger support systems, especially when you ask him to start game one in a brutally talented division. That is exactly what I thought I would see. Burrow played fairly well and his organization just did what they do. Where Colin was wrong. Adam Gase and the Jets were the worst-looking team.

I don't care if you lose. You can't look disorganized. The Jets' first half was embarrassing. Does he get along with anybody? Does he have any allies? Does he communicate with anybody? Sam Darnold wasn't good either, but Darnold's got a new offensive line. This is a mess.

This is just a hot mess. They had nine penalties. Two or three of them were at the inexact times. Nobody's getting better. That's what I worry about. Tell me the young players for the Jets that are getting better. Because I think I see in San Francisco with Kyle Shanahan, young players getting better. That is coaching.

It's not just drafting guys and drawn up plays. That's not what they do in New England. They develop players. I'm not an overreactor on coaches being fired, but I'm not, I don't, if you see that three or four more weeks, Gaze doesn't get past Thanksgiving. Where Colin was right? I fell in love with Kyler Murray's second game in Arizona. This kid is just a handful.

I contend he throws the prettiest ball in the league. Secondly, like Andrew Luck, they've just given him the playbook. They're not protecting him. Jared Goff is still being protected. Garoppolo's being protected. This kid threw 40 times against that defensive front. This is Andrew Luck. Kid, here's the playbook.

Go make stuff happen. I thought he was fantastic. DeAndre Hopkins had 14 catches, 150 yards, his best game as a pro. And this is their first game together. This kid is special. Coaches tell you what they think of their quarterback. Kirk Cousins threw five balls in the first half. They have unloaded the playbook on this kid.

To have a guy, he also ran from 90 yards. I just, I know you guys don't watch Arizona games. Watch him. This kid is a potential superstar. Where Colin was wrong. Cam and Belichick never felt right to me. I didn't get it. It's weird.

Rigidity and personality don't mix. I thought it was really efficient yesterday. Now, it was Miami, but I thought that's how you do it. You know, Tom Brady used short passes. That's how he controlled the clock. And then you let the defense win. Cam just ran the ball. And it was really efficient and really effective.

I just always thought this thing is weird. The biggest personality in the league and the organization that's almost anti-personality, but it works. Belichick complimented him yesterday. And you know what? I thought Cam was accurate. I thought he made really good decisions. They played to his strengths.

It surprised me. I thought Miami had a shot to win this game. And from the first series on, you're like, no, Cam's got it under control. Where Colin was right? We said the teams with new head coaches and quarterbacks, we said eight of nine are going to lose. Well, they're two and six,

and they'll be two and seven because the Steelers will beat the Giants tonight. Now, Washington pulled off a stunner, but by and large, we said there with no preseason. The bad's going to still be really bad. And if you have new coaches and you have new quarterback, this is almost too easy, you were going to struggle. Yeah, I mean, Belichick won. I should have known better on that. Where Colin was wrong. Gardner Minshew, dude can play. He can play. You know what he is? He's Baker Mayfield without the mistakes. They look like each other. They play like each other. They got about the same arm.

strength. The kid is accurate. He's got a bad offensive line in Jacksonville. They have a rookie undrafted wide receiver. He throws an accurate football. He plays with a ton of confidence. You know, in 2020, the NFL quarterbacks look different. Some are tall, some are small. Some run, some are pocket. We just got to, I got to come to terms with it. There is no prototype anymore. Gardner Minchu wears a bandana and denim jeans. And it looks like it used to be in a Paul Newman movie. And you know what, man? the dude can play. He can play. And then he got nothing around him. But confidence is really big in this league for quarterbacks. And he looked big in big spots. I was really impressed by him.

Where Colin was right. Houston Rockets. I didn't buy in small ball. I don't buy in James Hardin as a championship player. Westbrook and Hardin had their moments, but I didn't buy into it. They quit. Listen, I've said with Hardin, he's a score. There's nothing wrong with that. I would vote him in first ballot. He may be the best score in the last score in the last. league. But a leader, an MVP, elevates franchises. He's a scorer. But how many times do I have to watch Hardin or one of his teams quit in the postseason? It's not that they lost. They had no spirit. They didn't want to play in the bubble anymore. They wanted out. They just didn't know. The coach wants out. The team wanted out. A lot of why you're seeing the Lakers play so well is the

leadership of LeBron James. He's like, fellas, two more weeks, three more weeks. This is where leadership is crucial. That's why Philadelphia unraveled. It's why Miami was Spolstra has been great. It's why LeBron's playing well. Leadership, not talent, is now the key in this bubble because we're talking about two months. People have been away from their families. And Houston looked to harden for leadership and it's just not who he is. Where Colin was right? I don't get Matt Patricia in Detroit. If I had to listen to another guy, tell me, keep your eye on the lines this year. Yeah, I'm watching what I can tolerate. they're 923 and 1 with Matt Patricia.

They let go their best player, Darius Slay. I don't want to hear a guy dropped a ball in the end zone. Mitch Trubisky looked like the early leader for the MVP. Late fourth quarter Mitch was unbelievable. You either rise to the occasion in crucial moments or you lose. And this team figures out ways to lose. They're now 1, 15, and 1 in fourth quarter opportunities to win, meaning they're trailing. they trail by a score, they have the ball, they have a possession, they're 1, 15, and 1.

I don't get Matt Patricia, I don't buy the team buys into him. I don't think he has a great eye for personnel. Matt Stafford's talented, but a lot of guys are talented in this league now. There's a Matt Stafford every Sunday. Everybody's talented at quarterback it feels like in the NFL. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, good stuff. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

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, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford 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 same. scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space

for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is 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, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the 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, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now well i've said this before i've learned more football from jimmy johnson than anybody i've ever worked with he's just one of my favorite people and uh i love the fact that he's still on the show he's down in the keys and he was one of the great college football coaches won a couple of super bowls in the NFL and he is just one of the reasons i like working on the weekends i can talk to jimmy and i just pepper him with questions and he's always got thoughtful answers and he is joining us live a hall of famer now richly deserve we complain about for years. We didn't understand why he wasn't in. Now he is. He's joining me down in the Keys via the Coward Global Satellite Network.

So let's start with this. So no preseason. And everybody like me can come out and criticize Mike McCarthy. And I don't think they look very multiple on offense. And then part of me thinks, well, settle down here. How good can they be? What are the expectations? When you watched the Cowboys offense, which struggled in the second half, what's the problem?

Where's the blame? Am I being too harsh saying they just don't have, they're just too vanilla? I think you're right on as far as not having a preseason, not having the offseason, not being able to implement some of the things that McCarthy can bring. Right. The one thing, they are a very talented roster. Prescott is a very good quarterback. The more I evaluate Prescott, more it reminds me,

of a quarterback that I used to have when I was at University of Miami. I had Bernie Cozhar and Vinny Testaverdi at the same time. And people wanted me to compare the two, Testaverdi or Cozar. Testaverdi, big, strong, could run like a deer, had a rocket, bullet arm, could scramble, could run, could do it all. But the offense had to be precision for him. It had to be take the step, throw up, it here, throw it here, look, read the safety, throw it here or throw it here. That's it.

Cozar, you could throw him out there with a bunch of rag knots on the sandlot. And he was going to make plays. You know, I mean, he just made plays. In some ways, not as talented and not as good, obviously, but in some ways like Aaron Rogers can just make plays. You know, throw off your back foot, sling it underarm, you do all these different things. And I think Prescott's a lot like testiverty. You have to have a very precise offense to be successful. But as far as letting him go and just drop back and read the field and make a lot of decisions, that's not his game. So McCarthy, I'm sure, will implement some of his stuff in time.

But they are at their best, you know, when they are taking the lead, pounding the foot, rushing the passer, but playing from behind, or even in a tight game, is not their game. By the way, you're a fan of McVeigh. Last night, your interpretation. I like golf more than people do, but I think McVeigh is a pretty special guy. What do you see as a Hall of Fame coach with McVeigh? I thought he did a masterful job last night, knowing that they've got the pass rushers, knowing that, you know, he did not want to take the negative play. You know, and the negative play, the interceptions are the sacks. So he ran the ball.

He ran the ball. At times, it was boring. He was running the ball. When he wasn't running the ball, it was play action, dump it over in the flat. Very rarely did he have to go down the field. Yeah. He did a great, great job there. Hey, and they played coverage against those receivers.

And we're able to rush the passer. He did a great job, kept it tight, and then, of course, won at the end. So Bruce Ariens, very critical of Tom Brady. And, you know, Tom's been around the block. Your thoughts, even though it was our first game together, were you often publicly critical of a quarterback? Are you okay with that?

I probably was at times I shouldn't have. It should have been a one-on-one conversation. So it's hard. I mean, anytime you call out one of your players publicly, especially a quarterback with their egos. You're going to cause some tension there. And I think it's tension that you don't really need. But sometimes all of us, you know, reporters asking questions, you know,

right off the cuff, you want to give them the right answer. A lot of times you shouldn't give them the right answer. Belichick's got it best, you know, owned to Cincinnati. And so, yeah, I don't think it's good to publicly criticize as your quarterback. Yeah. You know, I tried to consider the circumstances with Joe Burrow. I thought I looked pretty darn good.

I thought that last drive, his feet were good. You could go back to Aitman, compare. Like, even when you were losing with Troy early, there were probably things you saw that you liked, and you knew deep down, I just got to get him better players. What did you make a Burroughs debut? I thought he did a great job. You know, first time, you know, right out of college, you know,

with no preseason, you know, no offseason work. I thought he did a great job. He put him in a position to win against a decent, not great, decent football team. And so, you know, he was able to tuck the ball down, run, actually got the score that way. He's going to be good. And, you know, Norv Turner worked him out when they were getting ready for the draft. And he said, hey, this guy's got it all.

He loved the guy. I think he will get better, better. It's almost like the conversation I had with Troy Aikman. his second year. I said, you know, if Troy hadn't hurt his shoulder, we would have made the playoffs the second year. And I grabbed him in practice one day. I said, Troy, I said, I tried to get you in the Pro Bowl,

but it didn't work. I'm sorry. He said, coach, don't worry about it. I'll get plenty of Pro Bowls. You just keep surrounding me with good players and we'll be fine. And that's the same thing for Burrell. If he gets enough good players around him, he'll be fine. You know, it's interesting.

Baker Mayfield plays Burrow on Thursday. And Cleveland's got better players right now. And Baker's on his fourth head coach, one of them interim, you know, three head coaches. And I watched him yesterday. And, you know, I've been critical of the kid, so, you know, my word doesn't carry a lot of weight anymore because I've been so critical of him. But, God, we're on a fourth head coach. He still is hot and cold accuracy. He and OBJ doesn't work.

I still think he thinks he's a little more athletic. than he is. At some point, Jimmy, as a staff, as an organization, you're either in or you cut bait. Where do you think, I mean, is there going to be a point this year with Baker if it's the same stuff that you have to go sit to the owner and say, we got the wrong guy. It's not going to work. Yeah, I think you've just got to scale him back and do what he does best. I mean, that organization is so just here, there and everywhere. They've got some talented players, some that probably got more talent than they've got since. But there's something wrong there.

It's been something wrong there for quite some time. Yeah. You know, I watched Minnesota in Green Bay yesterday, and it's funny about this. So when I watch Arizona with Kyler Murray, I mean, Jimmy, they let him throw 40 times. The coaching staff, they're really. really handing the playbook to him, and they're letting him go. And then I watched San Francisco with Garoppolo, and I don't know if Kyle trusts Jimmy in certain spots. And I wonder about that from a coaching perspective. Are you sending a message in San Francisco to the players that the

coach doesn't trust the quarterback? Because I watched Seattle yesterday with Russell and Kyler. Those coaches just said, throw it. And I feel like that, the players can figure that stuff out. Would you worry in San Francisco that they're taking the ball out of Jimmy's hands a lot now. Well, they may be doing it for a reason, Colin. I just throw it to you. You got Russell Wilson or Jimmy Coropolo. Which one do you want? Yeah, Russell, yeah.

Yeah. And even though it's only been a little over a year, Kyle Murray. Connor Murray is better. Probably, yeah. I mean, so maybe the coaches are doing exactly the best. that they can do to get the most out of their player. You don't want to throw stuff at a player that he can't handle. They're doing the best that they can do to win ball games.

And they say, hey, this gives us the best chance to win. If we open it up and we start doing all this, you know, we're going to barely be eight and eight. And so they're doing what's the best thing for them to win ball games because their quarterback is not as talented as the other two. With Russell Wilson, you can do about whatever you want to because he's got that much talent. I mean, the guy's great. Aaron Rogers, you know, hey, what do you want to do?

Aaron can handle it. You know, they're great players, you know, but every quarterback's not a great player. So you do what you have to do to win games. That's interesting. You know, it's funny yesterday, New England only through 18 times with Cam. But I got to tell you, Jimmy, when I watched them, I thought it was an incredibly efficient game plan. I thought it was, you know, it was like, wow. That's what you do with Cam.

Hey, would you expect anything different from Belichick? I know. Yeah, he's not going to let Cam Newton lose the game for him. He knows what his talent is. I've talked to Josh McDaniels two or three times here in the last, oh, in the last month. And they are so pleased. Of course, Cam, Cam's got to prove himself. You know, Cam's a very proud, egotistical individual,

and he's gotten beat up the last year or two. Yeah, he's healthy now, and he wants to prove. that he is a premier quarterback. But, you know, being a premier quarterback is not necessarily dropping back and throwing it, you know, 40 times. Right. You know, his strength is running the football. And, hey, this is going to be a very difficult offense to get ready for.

You know, don't forget, Josh McDaniels had Tebow and won with him. They're in Denver. I mean, one, a few didn't win big, but won a few. And, you know, here they're running the read option. They're doing all kinds of things that Cam can do. Now, as time goes on, Cam has shown he can throw the football as well as anybody. But it's got to be a little bit like I talked about on Prescott. It's got to be precision, read the safety, throw it here or throw it there.

Don't drop back and look at the field. Right. And so I think they're going to be fine. And then once people spend all of that time working against the read option and working against Camp running the football, that's going to open it up for Cam to throw it. it down the field. I mean, I thought they did a great job yesterday doing what they had to do to protect Cam and to win the game. By the way, you're going to go fishing today?

Now, I may go tomorrow, though. Can't go two days without fishing. Okay. Well, I want to be ready for your show, so I didn't want to go fishing this morning and then be real tired and not want to do your show. You're the best. Absolutely the best. the Hall of Famer Coach, it's great. 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 I-Heart 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 I-Hard Radio app. or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. 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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.