The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Chiefs Are Best In The Clutch, Shanahan’s Worst Loss, Darnold Dazzles, Nabers is a STAR, Bo Nix’s Breakout

Episode Date: September 23, 2024

First, Colin reacts to the Chiefs hanging on to beat the Falcons on the road and Colin rips the Falcons play calling in their final two drives (3:00) Then, he’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of ���3 and Out” to break down all the early games! They start with the Rams coming from behind to upset the 49ers in what Colin calls one of the worst losses ever for Kyle Shanahan (17:30). They move on to the Eagles beating the Saints in a game that exposed the Saints but showed the limitations of Jalen Hurts at quarterback (25:00). Then they react to the Vikings and Sam Darnold demolishing the Texans and why Kevin O’Connell’s coaching has brought the best out of Darnold (40:00). They explain why the Cowboys have regressed and won’t have a cakewalk in the NFC East with the Giants finding their footing with Malik Nabers emerging into a star at wide receiver (49:00). They wonder if Matt Eberflus could be fired midseason if the Bears can’t find an offensive identity after losing to a struggling Anthony Richardson and the Colts (59:00) and break down a breakout performance from Bo Nix and the Broncos (01:09:30). Finally, they shout out Matt LaFluer for the Packers’ hot start and his ability to develop talent (01:15:30), and conference realignment for making college football much more exciting (01:25:00)! (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates!  #Volume #Herd #3andOutSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw unfilts of coverage. 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. The volume. Okay, former pro scout, my buddy John Middlkoff, as he does on Sundays about to stop by. Before we start with John, grab your smartphone. Going to take 90 seconds. Download the game time.

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What time is it? Game time. All right, instant reaction before we get to John Middilkoff for an hour. 22-17, Chiefsbeat the Falcons, I hated Atlanta's decision-making and play-calling late in the fourth quarter in the last two drives. Absolutely hated it. Listen, Kansas City's defense, it's not the, you know, 85 bears or the 7.5.5. 75 steeters. But in terms of speed, it is, they are fast. They are young. They are athletic. And they are fast. What are you doing trying to run outside on fourth downs? And the first fourth down you got deep in Chiefs territory, kick a field goal. There's like six, seven minutes left. Kick a field goal. You get a lot of time. You know, Kansas City's offense is going to get a little bit conservative. You know, what are you doing? Then the second one, it's all these outside runs and quick passes outside. side, the chiefs are sure tackling and they are really fast. And when they get you within their

grasp, you're not getting out of it. So points are hard to come by. Opportunities are hard to come by. You know, and I hear all the belly aching about the officials. The chiefs have won nine in a row. I lived in Connecticut for the 10-year run, 10-11 years there. And I always heard about the officiating. Listen, there are a handful of teams in the NFL. Right now, Minnesota's got a great head coach and a great defensive coordinator. And when the Patriots were at their strength, they had Belichick's brain on defense, Josh McDaniel, not a great head coach,

but a great coordinator. Most Super Bowl teams have that. Steve Spagnolus, the best defensive coordinator, Andy's the smartest head coach in the league. So they've got all their grounds covered. They also draft and develop incredibly well. They're very young. They're very fast, very athletic on defense.

Atlanta's trying to run outside. It's fourth and an inch. Kirk Cousins is 6-2, 220 pounds. do a sneak, do something. I just hated. Zach Robinson is their offensive coordinator. I just didn't like it at all. Too clever.

It felt the most collegiate. It was tricky, clever, finesse. Bejohn Robinson, over center and guard, over and over and over, if I have fourth and one, three and one. Because Atlanta's got a very good offensive line. So I just, I thought that was, that's the ball game. Situational football. Atlanta wasn't very good at it. Kansas City's excellent at it. And it used to be Kansas City would win these games, always with a great drive. But Kansas City's winning some of these games. What are they won nine in a row off defensive stands? They're just hard to get in the end zone against. It's very bend doesn't break, very New England in their dynasty. You know, it's defense. Kansas City's figured it out. You want the Rams right now have a very young defense. What you want is a young defense because defensive players get hurt more often than offensive players.

And so you want guys that if they do get hurt, they recover quickly. You can, your offensive players, you know, you can have an old tight end or an old right tackle. They just don't get hurt as often. But defensive guys, you know, they're banging into people. They're trying to, you know, blow up piles and blow up ball carriers. And it's a more violent side of the football. And so keep your defense young and it'll help your offensive coach. spend your money on offense, draft your defense, and Kansas City's done incredibly well.

That's why they can get rid of the cornerback sneed, let him go, because they have Trent McDuffie and Reed at safety. They're just so talented. Atlanta's a very good football team, though, and this, I was undefeated going into tonight, 3 and 0 this afternoon, Blazing 5, and I had the Falcons tonight in the points, but over the course of the game, Kansas City dominating time of possession, I will say this, Rishi Rice, has become a. really, really great player. He is a one. He is, I don't know if he's, you know, he's Justin Jefferson or Jamar Chase, but Rishie Rice is a really, really good player. And they've been looking for that number one since they moved off Tyreek Hill. Worthy's going to be a gadget player. He's not going to be a big

volume guy, but, and he reads the best gadget coach in football. So that's fine. Juju Smith-Schuster's another guy. He's been around. He's been in the system before. They brought him in. He had a productive year. They didn't want to pay him even off to New England where they overpaid him, and then they got him back. So Hollywood Brown gets back with Worthy, Rishie Rice, Judeo Smith-Schuster, Travis Kelsey, they have another tight end. They're going to be fine offensively, but it's defense for Kansas City that decides things. They're excellent situationally. They have a consistent pass rush, and I like what I see. Very good football team, and you can complain about the officiating all you want. You know,

It's not a surprise. Brady and Belichick, you know, it's not like the NFL. If the NFL wanted certain teams to win, the Cowboys wouldn't keep getting dusted every time they play a big game, right? Think about who's good in the NFL now. Kansas City, small market, Green Bay, small market, Buffalo, small market, Baltimore, small market, Baltimore for the last decade, small market. You know, the New York teams, actually, for the first time in a long time, both had a good weekend.

Aaron Rogers on Thursday and the Giants offensive line gave Daniel Jones some protection today. Neighbors is a stud. New York finally had a good weekend. But this sport has been dominated by, you know, whoever the best coach is with the best quarterback. If you have that symmetry, you're going to win a lot of games. Kansas City's a tough out. And, you know, there's a lot of these teams I really like, but I don't trust them late in games, big spots. Like Detroit, I don't trust Dan Campbell's play calling. Mike McCarthy at Dallas, don't trust him. They're just quarterbacks or coaches. I don't know in big spots, Dan Campbell. You know, Lamar Jackson in the playoffs.

Even today, Lamar Jackson has had opportunities to seal that game earlier for Baltimore and missed open tight ends or receivers. Kansas City is just the most confident team in the league in big spots because they've had so much success doing it. So it's a lot of rinse and repeat. I mean, you know, when it got down to fourth and one at the end, I'm like, no, no. just, just they'd move the ball outside. The minute they handed that thing off, I'm like, nope, not going to happen. You're not going to run outside on Kansas City. In that kind of situation, they're just too fast and too well-coached and too disciplined.

So had ourselves a good football game, though. It was a wild Sunday. John Middlough and I have a lot to talk about. We don't break down necessarily every single game, but the big headline games, underdogs continue to do very well in this league. It's why I liked Atlanta tonight is when you can get value. and you get those, you know, quality quarterbacks and points, usually where I go. I do think after three weeks, we have a pretty good set.

How many surprises do we have after three weeks? Well, it looks like Minnesota is the surprise team in the league. We thought it was the Saints. They came back down to Earth. It looks like Minnesota. And we looked at the Viking schedule before the season started. We thought, what a god, the first six or seven weeks. You know, if they go, they're three and oh.

You can play 500 football for almost to the end of the season. season and still be in the playoff race. So Minnesota is the surprise team in the league. You could say Pittsburgh, it's still an offense that's just tough to watch. But I thought the Steelers would have a couple of losses by now. So each conference has a team that I think Minnesota's surprising start is more redeemable and will last longer because it's an offensive league and they're just scoring a lot of points with a lot of different playmakers. I think Pittsburgh, you know, they beat Bow Nicks. They, facing some quarterbacks.

Justin Herbert today is limping around the field. You know, I think they've gotten nice matchup so far. I don't think Pittsburgh's an 11-12-win team. I think Minnesota looks like it absolutely could be. I'm going to doing everything, right? Every week it's a different defensive star. Offensively, they're spreading the ball around multiple targets, the coaching, the quarterback play, the kicker.

I mean, everything works for Minnesota. I think Pittsburgh will come down to Earth. But what Kansas City is doing is what great teams do. Coach, quarterback, speed, situational defense, and Rishi Rice has developed into a tremendous playmaker, big-time player now. So O.N2 teams went five and one today. The Titans are the only O'N3 team. So it was desperation week. You get down to weeks three and four and teams that are winless. They're playing. That's why I took Denver over Tampa. You get down to it. There's a sense of desperation in this league. And, you know, Tennessee's not going to win a lot of games. And I think they have some good personnel. But, you know, Will Levis just makes too many mistakes. It is what it is.

A lot of these young quarterbacks, first, year quarterbacks, are so dependent on the situation and the coach. I mean, Malik Willis and Green Bay. He's got a great coach. People bailed on him. Kids played well. Good for him. Thursday night football is on.

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It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast. 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, 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

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Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two.

Listen to Stuff to Boar Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right. Our week three reaction is brought to you by Uber Eats. Get almost, almost anything with Uber Eats. They're all crazy Sundays. They're all crazy Sundays. I have to start Rams Niners. Los Angeles stole a win. I mean, Matt Stafford. It really was a team win. It was special teams. It was a couple of huge defensive plays. I don't want to give Stafford all the credit because he, you know, he didn't have a couple of his top targets. but and Christian McCaffrey.

I mean, you go look at his numbers, highly efficient. John Jennings is the best third receiver in the NFL by a long shot. John, you watched this game. I saw Atlanta do this to the Eagles. We watched this a week ago. They just walked out, stole a win. I honestly felt like Dallas tried to do this against Baltimore, but they were in too big of a hole.

What was your big takeaway or two when the Niners blowing this thing? Well, I think the culture of the Rams, speaks for itself. I mean, we've seen some gutless performances over the last couple weeks, and they kind of had one last week, and they showed up and they fought. I mean, even when that game, they were getting worked, but the score wasn't out of range. I think this, for as much as it's about the Rams, I think this is the worst Kyle Shanahan loss of his era. Wow. In terms of their good teams, I mean, they've had some bad years, but in terms of their Super Bowl contending teams. I mean, Colin, you play a team without their two best wide receivers. How often when a guy

made a tackle on the Rams, I fall football as closely as any human that doesn't work in the NFL. I had to Google multiple guys. They are rolling out players I've never heard of. And to lose that game, Purdy was excellent. He was incredible. Special teams has killed Kyle Shanahan. Call shanahan is an excellent play caller. He, for an offensive guy, values defense. So that has never been a concern with their team. He does not care about special teams at all. And listen, you're going to make and miss some field goals. But they had a punt, fake punt that led to a first down, and then that play at the end of the game that, I don't know how many yards it was, at least 40, that basically ended the game immediately when he took that across the 50. And it has been a thorn in the 49ers side. When you look

at Belichick for 20 years in their dynasty, special teams, he takes them seriously. What does Andy Reid do. Hire Dave Tobe, the best special teams coordinator. Even look at Sean McVeigh over the years. I've always had good coordinators. The 49ers with special teams, this is not college football, even if the Niners, you play that game 10 times are winning at nine times. Yeah.

But because it's the NFL, these scores are never going to be 40 to 15, right? It's just like, oh, it's 17 to 10. It's 24 to 70. It's just, the margins are so small and one bad play. And you look at the end of the game and miss field go, Boom, Rams will win. Yeah, I mean, great win for the Rams.

Awful win for the, awful moment for the Niners. Yeah, it saved the Rams season because if you go 0 and 3, statistically, you're out of the playoff race, and it's not only a win, it's a win against your rivals, it's a division win,

and it feels, it's the kind of win that's, it has a domino effect. They had multiple misplaced offensive linemen. I mean, they didn't have their center, one of their guards.

They were moving people around. They've been doing that all season, no puka, no Cooper cop. They've always had a bunch of capable wide receivers. Like 2-2-at-well was a second-round pick. He felt like for two years he was a bus, but he made a huge, huge catch late.

And you know the thing about Stafford? You know, when I watched Matt Stafford play, you have to love football to get how good it is. Like, he's not going to move around. It's just there's an ease of picking up third downs. He just, I'm not sure there's anybody in the league that on a second and 11 with backup receivers could consistently get 13 yards. Matt just, and I think he's in step with McVeigh, and you've got to give Stafford credit here.

He hasn't had his offensive line or his top receivers all year. It's a mess. And the fact that they won this thing today, and it's not Brock Purdy, because again, I will say this about San Francisco. Brandon I, Yook made a calculated mistake. He's not, he is just not valuable to that office. right now. No, he's irrelevant. I mean, Purdy, Joanne Jennings, who has been one of the better third wide receivers in the NFL, was elite today. I mean, he had a career day. He dominated the game. Right. And Purdy can't play any better. But like you said, with Stafford, he is such a physically

gifted player, right? His, I mean, his physical gifts, I would say parallel like Rogers, just in terms of how he's a little older now, but how athletic he is, how big his arm was. But the game tying touchdown, Now, what did he do? Chains to play at the line. His hands were up laying Kempin style when the guy was five yards away from the end zone. So his brain, him and McVeyer are in sync. Obviously, when you have that many injuries, and the Niners have owned this team. Yeah. The other thing is the hard part for the Rams when you play the night, that's a Niner home game. I mean, it's even Sanchez was saying it's 65, 70 percent Niners fans. Just what a turn of events. I mean, they were up seven points late with a chance to make it 10, which would have ended the game. he missed the field goal and the rest is history.

But isn't that what makes Sunday so great? You're like, oh, it's kind of sleepy. All of a sudden, you look up, you got the Cowboys within striking distance, the Rams are right there. That's what makes the NFL pretty special. But, man, the Niners are lucky they're playing the Patriots this upcoming week. Because in a couple weeks, they have a short week against Seattle, who while they've dominated Gino, they look like a pretty well-buttoned up team.

I know you were beating the drums on them. Not that Miami's any good, but they have played pretty good this season. Right. I'm thinking when the Rams, it looks like it's inevitable, they're going to lose halfway through the game. How do you overcome being 0 and 3 in this division? Losing to the Niners. Seattle's often running. You have so many injuries. It's almost like your season's over before we even get to October. Now you just get a little life. All of a sudden, you get one more win. You're two and two. You're feeling pretty good. I know. McVeys had a lot of big wins. I'm not sure outside of the Super Bowl or maybe a big NFC championship. I'm not sure there's a more gratification. season. It literally a more gratifying win. And it really was, if you go look at who made the big defensive plays for the Rams today, there were like six different guys on a big third down. They just had a, they had corners, rush ends, linebackers. I mean, it was the classic team win, special teams, McVeigh, Stafford, Kyron Williams to flip into the end zone. So the Rams

come back to beat the Niners, was it 27? You know one thing on the nineers really quick, Colin. I mean, they're paying a lot of guys, a lot of money who are on the sideline. I mean, Kittles just a guy who gets banged up a lot now. He makes a lot of money for a tight end. Debo makes over $20 million. Love the guy, but he misses games every single season. And they gave Christian McCaffrey a raise this offseason. And he makes $18, 19 million, which relative to other positions isn't crazy before running back. It's the highest. And he's, who knows when he's ever going to play again this season. So that's, you know, this is what happens when you invest in some older guys, injured guys. They got lucky they have some guys that

can step up. But man, I mean, it's just that they have a lot of valuable assets sitting in street clothes on the sideline next to Kyle. And it caught up with them today. All right. Eagles beat the Saints 15 to 12. I had said after the loss on Monday night football, I had said Eagle fans, take a deep breath. Your offense is fine. Without A.J. Brown, it's not the same. And so I thought the Eagles, I mean, listen, they had, they doubled the yards than the Saints. They average like 6.8 yards of play. And I'll give Jalen Hertz credit here. Basically, without A.J. Brown, he just said, I'm going to throw to Dallas Goddard.

I'm going to throw to Devante Smith. Between the two, they had 17 catches. I'm going to use my legs a little bit here. But I will give Jalen Hertz credit. He's just like, I got two guys I trust. I'm just going to go back and forth to him. Those guys had 17 catches. That was my first take. And they had a lot of yards.

You can get into Nick Seriani and I'll let you go there. But I also think it was a little unveiling of the Saints. Alvin Kamara was kept in check and Derek Carr was average. In the first couple of weeks, Alvin Kamara was so special and so dynamic that you, I mean, it was like you had this balanced attack. You shut down Alvin Kamara. Eagles front seven played well. Suddenly Derek, there's limitations. He missed a deep ball. He had a deep ball and under threw a guy. So my takeaway was, Philadelphia is really good. They're not the same offense without A.J. Brown, but most Eagle fans today, and I think you're going to probably be on this as a former employer, is the Nick Seriani question. Well, I think at this point, you wouldn't be that.

I don't even know how to just cavalier, just whatever about going for it on these fourth downs, if the guy signing your checks wasn't behind it. And the one thing Jeffrey Lurie is, he's a big numbers guy, and the organization loves to be really progressive. Yeah, they love to be like Silicon Valley in front of every team. And now a lot of teams over the last couple of years have implemented that go for it on fourth down. It does seem like they've even taken it to another level. I'm all for going for it if you're playing in high scoring games. If you're like in the Cowboy situation, field goals do you nothing when you're down 20, 30 points, right? They are playing in low scoring games, Colin.

Field goals, I mean, the Saints, it was clear. It's like, I don't think they're getting to 20 today. So three points, if they're only going to score 12 or 15 points, just do the percentage, do the math. They are extremely valuable. And sometimes going for it, like on the 45, okay, if you're not comfortable with kicking a field goal, their offense is not playing well. It is not moving the ball against you. Your defense is coming to play.

Vic Fangio is neutralizing this kind of Kubiak- Shanahan offense. So just play defense. And they just refuse to do it. and that game, like you said, shouldn't have been as close as it was. It would have been a nice, easy game for the Eagles. Relative to the score, they still would have won by nine points. But he refuses to kick field goals. And at this point, I know he's emotional and he gets, I can't believe he's doing this without the blessing of the owner.

I'm even going above Howie. You would not be doing this if your owner's telling you, like, let's kick some field goals, right? I mean, I don't care what you do for a living. Whoever signs your checks, if they come, like, hey, let's not do that anymore. any human being is going to change, unless you just want to get fired on the spot. Like, to me, the owner's behind it, the organization's behind it. But it's kind of jumped the shark, hasn't it? Like today was, like Derek, the last drive of the game, they're down three, not six.

If you're playing up a more just, that's a low football IQ throw. You don't need, you're not down, you know, you don't need a score a touchdown here. A dump down throw it away. You just, a field goal ties the game. So they got lucky to be in that. But they were in that situation for a reason. Yeah. Because he just never kicks field goals.

So I'm a Hertz fan. He was 29 to 38, eight rushes. I am a fan. But we have to acknowledge this, John, this is something I've talked about, and it's in your wheelhouse. Kyler Murray is as elusive, including Lamar as almost anybody I've ever seen. But we know mostly, as offensive linemen have gotten bigger, there are guards now at 6-6. that it helps for a quarterback to be 6-2 to 6-4. It's really an advantage.

And sometimes Tua, Kyler Murray, Russell Wilson, and I think Jalen Hertz, I'm not always sure they see the ball over the middle of the field. I like Hertz. I think he's a class act. I think he's an adult. I think he's an easy guy to rally around.

I think he's a great athlete. Do you ever feel like watching them sometimes? And I think this is sort of the A.J. Brown thing. You don't have to throw over the middle to A.J. Brown. You can throw over the top. That was always Russell Wilson. thing. Greg Hosell said he doesn't see the middle of the field. We didn't have to. Russell was great at the tear drop throws. And I think AJ Brown, when you take him out, there's some

limitation on the big playability. I don't know if Jalen Hertz always sees the field. Do you believe you buy that or not? Well, he 100% doesn't. He's not great from within the pocket. Whether that's physically he doesn't see it great or just the speed in which everything happens. He doesn't operate at the fast level of the elite guys. Yeah. Of Mahomes, of Rod. I don't even think that's debatable at this point. It's why when he scrambles outside the pocket, the good version of Deshawn Watson, the prime version of Russell,

they become elite when they do that. They can see everything, and they're comfortable throwing the ball far. But he's not a great layered throw. Of all the little guys you listed, by a mile, Kyler spins it the best, right? Kyler just spins the ball out of his hands

like he's Stafford or Rogers. I'm telling you, you're even watching today. I know they kind of got work. he just, he's a remarkable talent. I don't think Jalen is like a remarkable talent from a throwing perspective. I don't either. He's a remarkable athlete, powerful, his running, he turns into a running back, right, with his power, his elusiveness. He's a great outside the pocket thrower.

Inside the pocket, I would say he's pretty average for NFL starting. Right, he ranks higher on the list as an overall player. But that individual skill, close to middle of the. pack. Like to me, Tua is a much better rhythm and timing player. Yes. Because he doesn't have what Jalen has to run around. Right. You watched Lamar today. He just has so much more to bring to the table. Those guys can always go, okay, I don't see it. Fuck it. I'm just going to take off. Well, I think Jalen doesn't throw it like Kyler and doesn't run like Kyler and doesn't throw it like Tua. He's a bit of a tweener. It's what I've always said about Dack. There's no

wow with Dak. He's competent. With Jailen, it's not a wow arm, not wow accuracy. He's elusive, but he's not like Lamar, Kyler Murray, or Josh Allen. So I think with Jalen, he does feel like the best of the B-plus quarterbacks in the league. I like him. And I like his character. It's why I like Dak. I like Dak's character and maturity. But when I watch Jalen throw, it just looks prettier with Stafford.

It looks easier with Josh Allen. It looks at Kyler Murray, the ball just, you can tell you played baseball, just flies. Aaron Rogers still throws a pretty ball. So, I mean, listen, Philadelphia escapes with a win. I feel like I'm going to watch Philadelphia. They're going to win the division. They're going to win about 10, 11 games. And at some point, coaching or defense will lose them a football game.

Well, I know this just based, we talk so much about these contracts during the offseason. And they have gotten so massive in the NFL, right? Yeah. NBA level status. From an economical standpoint, there can't be a better value than $27 million guaranteed to Seguan Barclay. Right? I mean, they just can't. I mean, he won in the game that he was dominant.

and on that big run that ultimately sealed the game, that was like, oh, this is the Penn State version that still can run about 4-2 in the open field. So adding that guy, while they've had some disappointments, I think their defensive line, Jalen Carter was really good today. But Jordan Davis, they drafted over Kyle Hamilton. I think they'd like that one back. Bryce Huff, who they signed from the Jets, basically did the flop with Hassan. He's not an every down player. He's more of a pass rusher so he can get run on. but Sequin has been incredible for them.

And this was clear during the hard knocks, when John Morrow was saying this, you went, it's not going to go well because Sequan's going to look good. He's looked even better. Yeah, the drop, a little freakish.

I know his hands aren't exactly Marshall Falk, but today, just how good he looks and how confident he's running and his speed, he's a game breaker and relative, they're paying Brandon Ayyuk. They gave him over $75 million guaranteed. Seekwon got a third of that. So when you just,

look at impact and look at the running backs right now in the NFL. I know it went like everyone's like, you know, Mel Kuyper's comment last, it's harder to throw right now. Defenses are making it more difficult. The offensive line plays down. Well, what's up? All these running backs. Well, who's really shining? All the top running backs. And Sequin's near the top of the list because he was, and that's a tough place to play. That place was rocking. He was elite today. Now for a segment called Making It Look Easy, brought to you by Morgan and Morgan, America's largest injury law firm. Today, Sequin Barclay made it look easy,

147 rushing yards, a couple of TDs, both in the fourth quarter, including the game winner. Just like Sequin made it look easy, so does Morgan and Morgan easy to submit a claim to have over 100 offices nationwide, more than 800 lawyers, with over $15 billion recovered for over 300,000 clients.

Morgan and Morgan has proven a track record of fighting to get you full and fair compensation. They've been fighting for the people for over 35 years. If you're ever injured, go to for the people.com slash Colin or dial pound 529 to check out America's largest injury law firm. Winning in the NFL is hard, hiring Morgan and Morgan is easy. 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, with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this person. 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 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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, literally. 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. So. 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 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 iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun,

thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Before I get to Dallas and Baltimore, Sam Darnal, four touchdowns, no pick. So 34 to 7, Vikings did everything right. hammered Houston, and I was thinking about this, is that what makes it tougher for Caleb Williams

is if you watch what Matt LaFleur is doing with Malique Willis, who looked like he could not play the position a year ago, and you watch what Kevin O'Connell is doing with Sam Darnold, and listen, I don't think Dan Campbell is situationally a great coach, but he's a culture builder. We got three coaches in that division who are. really good at what they do, right? Like, I'm watching Kevin, and I look at Matt Eber Fluse, and I'm like, bro, you're not in that class. Forget that for now. I'm watching Kevin O'Connell. Everything Darnold does now. This is the USC version, and I keep waiting for the bubble to burst. Accuracy, playmaking, running, deep ball, and these reckless plays, now, he got, you know,

he tried to extend a play today, ball gets on the carpet. But, but, It's not just that Donald's winning, John. He's clean. Four touchdowns, no picks. And this has been with banged up players. Like, I keep waiting for the bubble to burst, but I watch them today. And I'm like, shit, that wasn't competitive. Houston got smoked.

Yeah, I mean, that was a team that I don't think any of us would be shocked as playing the chiefs in the AFC championship game. Right. And that was, and listen, one thing, Darnold and that franchise, their home field advantage is pretty awesome. Yeah, you can tell Houston today was out of sorts of the line of scrimmage. The other thing they got going for him is this guy has some serious question marks with his ability to relate and deal with quarterbacks. But I don't think there's any disputing that Flores is right up there with Spagnola as the two best defensive coordinators in the NFL. Non-head coaches. Right.

True defensive coordinator. Last week, Kyle and Purdy were like, we didn't even know what we were seeing. And clearly Sloick and CJ were just over their head today. what has happened to Sam Donald these last couple weeks? It lasts three weeks. Lead. A little pressure off. Then he plays comfortable. Obviously, they got skill guys.

But as we talk on September 22nd, we got a long way to go. Like, we're talking like an MVP candidate. I mean, if you just vote today, he might win it. But, I mean, this guy, and back to the Bears, you go, I don't think the Bears have any chance to not be the fourth best team in this division with what I'm seeing right now. Because these other teams from a coaching, LaFle is pulling like a Picasso right now. It's incredible.

I mean, they dominated. He had Malik Willis looking like a varsity guy versus Willis that looks like a peewee guy. I mean, it's just like not even a fair fight when they just handed you Malik Willis three weeks ago. So that's insane. Obviously, the lines are good. And what Minnesota is doing, once you get to like three and O or four and one, you can have a two game losing streak and still get to 10 wins pretty easily. You watch the Bears, they look as dysfunctional as a team. I would say is any team in the league?

When you just watch them play, you just go, this is not good. And when you watch Minnesota polar opposite, you go, it feels crazy to say, but like, is this an NFC contender? Well, it's funny. First of all, the three or four things that we think create that. Great head coach. Got it. Yeah. Quarterback playing at an elite level.

Donald is, weapons. Usually there's a great coordinator on a Super Bowl team. D'emico Ryan's the Niners. Okay, so they've got a great coordinator. And then usually situationally a good defensive team, there's a pass rush or somewhere. Well, they're playing good situational defense. So, you know, it sounds crazy. But, you know, if they go four and oh, you can go 500 until week 17 and you're a 10 and 16. You go 4 and 0. You can scuff it. I mean, you know, if you're, You go back to last year, the good, Kansas City had a bad month in November. It's like the Super Bowl year when the Rams won it, they had, they were choppy early with Stafford. Remember two years ago when the Vikings, they ended up losing to the Giants in the first round, but they won the division.

And they had that crazy record and all those one score games. I think they went 12 and 5 and they had like a historic record in one score games, like 12 and 1. And everyone's like, this is smoking mirrors. This team isn't that good. This team looks completely different than that team. Yes, right? They look real. That team look a little fraudulent. It is, I mean, Sam's by the time they get toward the big games, is going to keep getting a lot of reps and be really comfortable. And the other thing is your head coach gets to really know what he's good at, what he's not good at. And when you got that good of a defense, it is just, we talk about like a running game and a tight end being a quarterback's best friend. You know what's the quarterback's best friend? When the other team can't score, that's what the other team can't do. They can barely move the ball past midfield. The Texas is, offense has one of the best young quarterbacks we've ever seen, just based on record and stats. They are loaded with skill guys and have a coach that basically everyone has already put into a head coaching position by next year or the next two years in Bobby Sloick.

And they got ransacked today. Well, at the other, you know, not only do the Vikings have the components of a really good team, but I had said this when they exchanged Darnold. Anne McCarthy, by the way, who they drafted for her cousins, they just lacked juice. Like, they can't do anything off script, which is always been, you know, Goff actually ran for a first down in the game stealing play today, which I thought was kind of funny. But by and large, with Kirk Cousins, you can win a lot of games without a quarterback that moves. But Darnold gives them what they were hoping J.J. McCarthy gives them with Kevin O'Connell. He just gives you juice. Now, Stafford doesn't give you a ton of that, but Matt is as good as Brady pre-snap and throws the prettiest ball, arguably, in the league.

So when you're that good, Brady in the pocket pre-snap, Brady throws a ball. like that. It allows you. And also, Brady and Stafford move great within the pocket. They're great between the tackles. They move constantly. But I, you know, I just, I'm just watching them and I'm like, the coach, the coordinator, the quarterback, and Darnold, the knock on Darn. I always said this. There's a little Andrew Luck, a little, and a little Carson Wentz. And he became a bad version of Carson Wentz, which is he's big, he's strong, he's athletic, he's tough, but Jesus is he reckless. You take out the reckless from Darnold, and I get the big, strong, tough playmaker. You know, this is why people drafted him early. Yeah, I think last year changed his life.

I think, you know, seeing Brock, who's not as talented him, and he even said this, he's like watching the way that guy prepared. And then being around Kyle, who is like, you know, an old school 1980s coach in terms of how he wants things done, I think gave him a whole new perspective on just his football career. And then Kevin O'Connell came through. The Niners wanted to keep them, but they couldn't pay $10 million. Right. I think I said this last week, and I don't know how I can't say it again, if this continues

and they make the playoffs and they win a playoff game, it's not like they traded up like some of these other teams to get JJ. He just fell into their lap, essentially, right? They didn't mortgage three first round picks. Do you just let him go? I mean, everyone's like, why do we talk? These are conversations that you start having. a real life thing. JJ's on a cheap contract. He wasn't the number one pick. He was like the 10th or

11th. So his contract's not crazy. Do you extend Sam Darnold if he win 12 games and he's that good with your head? Isn't the whole point of this just to find a quarterback? Yeah. Right. So it's like you don't just let him hit free agency and go, we'll see you with JJ. Because we're going, we're going, we'll see you with Caleb and how's that going? By the way, you could probably get Darnold for him. He's so appreciative of five. You know, Sam's made some money in his career. You can get him for a steal. Well, wouldn't you just give him like two years, $60 million guarantee at all? I'd offer that to him right now. Yeah. Now, maybe he wants to hit the market. Maybe you go, well, we could franchise tag you. These are good problems to have because clearly they like JJ. But you can't just go with the hope and a prayer and fingers crossed. Like, I know he looked good in that preseason game, but already hurt. You know, I mean, this was a guy that had some developmental question still.

This is a 27-year-old, highly developed from a much, seen it all. That's the thing. You cannot fake going through the shit and coming out on the other end when you do have the, we've seen this historically in the NFL. Now, Rich was older when he got to Gruden. Some of these guys just resurrect their career. And they just become what you kind of always thought they could become. And that's what Sam has done through three weeks.

Today was like, today was an eye-opener. For their team, him specifically against Domingo in that defense, that was, that's one of the best wins of the year by far. Yeah, J.J. McCarthy had a tweet today, by the way. It was Sam Darnold's really good at football. I thought that was. And that also speaks to why character matters so much in the NFL. Look at panics. Handled it perfectly. Haven't heard a peep. J.J. McCarthy doing stuff like that. When you get in these weird positions with some of these questionable guys at that position, you can get weird. So it just won't get weird, right? Because JJ is such a high level, dude. All right. Cowboys Ravens. Cowboys made a furious comeback late, but we should go back to the

first half where Baltimore had a huge lead, average 8.8 yards of play. Dallas was demoralized, and it looked like the fourth time between Buffalo and Green Bay last year, the Saints and Baltimore this year. Dallas was getting their doors blown off. Now, again, Baltimore's now, they lost a lead to the Raiders. They lost a big lead. This is kind of, I mean, Lamar Jackson struggled with some accuracy when he could have sewn stuff up. He had Mark Edwards wide open on a play on a third down.

You know, I've come back to Dallas once, and I said in this game, 40% of Dax wins are against the Giants in Washington at the height of their dysfunction. The New York Giants now have cleaned up that offensive line a little bit, and they actually look pretty good today. Daniel Jones doesn't look as nervous. neighbors is an absolutely freaking stud. Jesus, is he good? Holy shit, is he good?

He looks like the real deal. Yeah, so all of a sudden, you know, the Giants had, now Dallas is going to New York pretty soon, and Dallas is offensive line. This Thursday, I think it's Thursday night football. Yeah, and so, by the way, Giants old line is pretty good, and the Dallas D lines get pushed around.

So that game's going to be really interesting. But my take was, and I said it this week, is in a big game I'm going to take Lamar over Dak, I just don't think Dallas is that. talented. I do think they're a little better at wide receiver that I gave them credit for. But the defensive line, Baltimore average through three quarters, nine yards of play on the road. So my take is the better team won. It wasn't already that close. And that we've got to, I said this at the end of last year, John, I felt the Niners had peaked because of their age.

And I felt Dallas was going to slowly regress. We were going to see now that we're going to go on 10 wins from 12. And the next year, it'll be nine wins. I look at Dallas, and the blame to me is not on DAC. Jerry, you've missed on too many picks. This past draft, nobody's already popped. I just don't think Dallas has elite personal. I look at Philadelphia. I look at Kansas City.

I look at the Niners. I see Elite Detroit. I don't see it with Dallas. Well, I would say this. One thing with Dallas, the last three years, winning 12 games. Obviously, last year, DAC had a career year, but their defense under Dan Quinn.

There's a reason he became a hot-head coaching candidate. They were really, really good. At one point in time, early in that game, game, it felt like Baltimore was going to rush for 400 yards. It was insane. It was crazy. And we say this a lot about Dallas. They're a great frontrunner because they get a lead and their defensive line is fast.

I think we're learning they're not very powerful. Right. And you can run the ball right down your throat. And I understand passing league, everyone, these teams now have no problem. Obviously playing the Ravens, the Saints, all these teams, they're good running backs all over the place. They will run it all day long on you until you can prove. you can stop it. And when you're giving up five, six yards of carry, there's no point to call passes.

So did you think that was, I know it was impressive the last seven, eight minutes, a little bit of a hollow comeback. That's what I thought. They hit an onside kick. It was just like, John, I thought the Rams. The score does not reflect what I witnessed. Right. Like I thought the Rams Niners, I thought the Rams played their ass off. They were hanging around. The whole game. They were making big plays on third down. Listen, Jennings just is a, he's the best number three receiver in football. Jennings, he was a great college player at Tennessee. I mean, they stole him in the six round, and he just gets better every year.

Like, that kid just, and he's a weird body type. Like, there's just not a lot of six. He's massive. Huge hands, huge length. He's just hard to defend, and the Rams don't have great corners. But I felt like Dallas, sometimes you just get into these games, and it's hard to ask your play, especially if you physically dominated, John, it'd be one thing if it's trick plays or over the top.

When you physically dominate Dallas for three, you. quarters, average nine yards of play. It's hard to ask your guys to bring their best stuff in the fourth. They feel small on defense. They just feel small. You know, one thing you saw with the Rams today, I don't know much about their linebackers, and they let Ernest Jones go for a reason. They felt good about some of the random guys they had. They were making place. Yeah. They had a lot of just tackles in the hole against the 49ers vaunted running game. Obviously, the Niners have Fred Warner. You see, who do the Ravens have? Roquan Smith. You watched Dallas, their linebacker plays bad and their defensive tackles clearly aren't that great. And I wouldn't call Micah exactly

Reggie White against the run. No. No. So it's like when you attack them, where does Micah kill you? When they're up 20 to 10 in the third quarter and he can just tee off on second and third and long. Well, they get down. They just get leaning on you and it's happened two weeks in a row. It just feels like Dallas gets overwhelmed. It's crazy to say, but must win this week at New York. You start one and three. I like Dallas to be a playoff team this year, but after these two weeks, shit, I got to reconsider. I watched every play of the Giants game. Again, I don't buy Deshaun Watson, but Daniel Jones does not seem as nervous. He's throwing with confidence.

You look better today. Yeah. Neighbors is an absolute bona fide number one. There is no, forget developing. He's a number one in the league. Now all their second, third, and fourth receivers feel slotted in the right side. spot. They got a lot of threes. Their offensive line, this is like, you know, in New York, Aaron Rogers, going to get all the love. If you pay attention, the Giants offensive lines actually

play it. And they put draft capital into it. They hit in a left tackle. So, and I think we both agree that Brian Daubles, I like him more than you do, but I think he's clearly good, I think he's good offensive coach. I don't mind him as a head coach. I mean, he approved a couple years ago. Even this year, like it's not, to me, they got more personnel issue than Brian Daibald. Yeah, but I a little emotional bit of a roller coaster, but it feels like he's calmed it down a little. Yeah, I think Thursday night's a real game. I would take Dallas to win it, but I think Thursday nights are real game. And I think the years of Dallas, you know, for years, Big Ben just rolled over Cincinnati and Cleveland. You know, then Joe Burrow shows up and then Cleveland gets Baker.

Okay, now those are real teams. I mean, for 10 years, Big Ben just put down like three out of four or four out of four wins. And I feel like Dallas for years, 40 percent of Dax wins are Washington, in New York. Well, Washington's got a good staff. Jaden is a little electric. He's got some stuff. The Giants aren't great. They have a chance to win this home game. I feel like, John, I feel like Dallas, like the Steelers, had this like eight-year window of total dysfunction in Washington, New York, and Philadelphia was a little up and down. Philadelphia, the giants in Washington now feel formidable, at least formidable. To me, Dallas, too, like the Niners clearly had a Super Bowl window there where they just couldn't get over the hump a couple times against Kansas City.

And now it's going to be, they got their backs against the wall. Dallas had just get the monkey out their back, get to the NFC championship game. They had a home field advantage in a couple, two of the last three years. That's over. That's over. So it's like, and now I had been saying when you kind of look around, Belichick's got about seven million jobs. You can find him everywhere.

I mean, this guy could be doing anything in the world. He's just watching tape 24-7. I thought Jacksonville was a team to keep an eye on. They played Monday night. That thing could implode. That owner's got some money. The Cowboys come back to the forefront if all of a sudden they lose on Thursday and this thing starts to get away from Mike.

And I got to change my tune because a couple weeks ago I was like, you know, Mike and Dak have such a good working relationship. It's going so well. But now you start losing. He doesn't have a contract. That conversation, don't you think, is going to get, the fire is going to get lit under it? I mean, Jerry, they by no means on what they've looked like last two weeks against obviously two talented teams. They didn't even look close.

That's the scary part. Yeah. They're not a lock playoff team by any means, clearly. I got to, I might be wrong on that one. So I think in previous years, you could have blamed McCarthy. I don't think this is, I don't think this is Mike. But he, but does he, if they go eight and nine, does he doesn't have a contract? Right.

So it's like, and what are the cowboys going to do? Like, they're not going to hire some Ben Johnson guy, are they? No. You know, Jerry, because the thing is with Mike, say what you want is, it's, you're not going to upgrade with some coordinator more than likely over him. So you got to, it'd be Vrable or Belichick. You'd almost have to get a proven name that you feel good about. They're really just a couple options for them. I would go with Vrable, who I think's a great coach.

And I also think he doesn't need to dominate personnel. I think one of the things that really hurts when you watch New England play on Thursday against Darren Rogers, and you go, Jesus, Belichick handed Gerard Mayo a mess. They have no players offensively. Those standalone games with New England, it's a reminder that Bill controlled personnel for seven years. Tennessee's got players. They just don't have a quarterback. Tennessee's got guys.

You know, Will Levis just, isn't it? It's time for this week's player I thought might give almost, almost anything to redo his game, brought to you by Uber Eats. This week it's Caleb Williams. Hey, an NFL season high, 363 yards, but two really costly interceptions against the Colts. That was this week's Uber Eats player of the week. Get almost, almost anything for game day delivered with Uber Eats. The official on-demand delivery partner of the NFL order now. 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 pod.

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 which I'll say. 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 what 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 a little kill? 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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you 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, this month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the middle 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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app.

Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away,

such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Bears, Colts. Bears lose to the Colts.

21-16, ugly game. So, I mean, Anthony Richardson went 10 for 22 picks and he won. So it is not pretty. I mean, it was like an orgy performance yesterday in Michigan. It was a mess. But here's the thing. This is incredible. Chicago had more yards, a 2016 to 15 first down edge, dominates time of possessions, four for five on fourth down. Caleb's 34 of 52 with a couple of touchdown. But again, no run game. I don't know what they are offensively. They're very Caleb Williams reliant. And on deep balls, he's just not accurate. Like, he's not. He can run around. He can do stuff. But I say it again. I watched Bo Nicks today with an offensive coach. You know, we could acknowledge now that Steelers defense is freaking great. Okay. So Bo Nicks struggled with it. I watched him today run past tear apart Tampa. So again, Bo Nix taking huge strides, and you can tell exactly what Sean Payton wants Denver's offense to be. You can see it. They're using Bo Nix's, I don't know what the bears are.

They're just yards. They're just yards and plays. They don't run. What are they? To me, Caleb's stats were a little patted toward the end of the game. He was pretty bad. The first half was atrocious. Two things can be true, because I think we see this.

with like Bryce Young and Andy Dalton situation, is the situation for a young quarterback is not ideal in terms of the coaching around you. Right. And some personnel, it's hard because we applauded the talent on the field. And then you're watching them, you go, well, the offensive line is not very good. And like you said, they can't run the ball.

Well, running the ball helps a young quarterback. Of course. So, you know, the bear's history speaks for itself. But then you watch Caleb in individual plays, he feels a little overwhelmed slash he's just out of source. He has not played well. And there are basic layup throws. And this goes to Bryce Young too that like independent of the organization and independent

of anything going on, he should be making. And he's not. Like, Anthony Richardson is kind of clear. Might just be a disaster. That would be a major problem for indie, indie, right? He just might be an inaccurate quarterback. He's a 50% completion guy with Shane. Stike. And I think the receivers are not, you know, they're good enough. Pierce, Pittman,

they're good enough. He's a 50% completion quarterback. And it doesn't even feel close to the wide receiver. Or Caleb has these guys open and maybe he's thinking too much. I think he feels sped up. When you don't build confidence early, you start kind of overcompensating. You start thinking instead of just playing. The one thing he did a couple years of USC, he just played. Right? Just let it play. Now he feels like everything he's kind of feeling out. He's running into sacks. He just, everything looks out of whack. I mean, he doesn't, let's face it, given the hype, which I thought was mainly justified. It has been a disaster. And like to me, when you watch that game, like the way he's playing equals coach get fired. That's what I thought. Right? Because, you know,

so it's like all those guys, given how good their division turns out to be, we knew that. But I mean, LaFleur, what he's doing with Malik Willis, like what happens if you just gave LaFleur Caleb Williams, right? That's what you're talking to yourself about if you're Ryan Poles. That to me is another team, and this is back to Dallas with Brable. Ryan Poles, offensive

lineman, tough guy. Like, Vrable makes a lot of sense in Chicago. A lot of sense if I'm Ryan Poles. So all of a sudden you start going, Iber Fluss is in major trouble. He was in trouble coming into this season. And now, instead of being like, oh, you know, coming into the year,

I pumped the brakes on everyone. You know, people are like 10, 11 wins. If they went 9 and 8 with a rookie quarterback and they look promising, that'd be awesome. They look like a 6-win team right now, Colin. Indianapolis was like historically poor back-to-back weeks on defense. Yeah. And they were kicking Caleb's ass today. And I get it's on the road.

But man, that was, if I was a Bears fan right now, I'd be pretty despondent. Because it's like, this is exactly why we never get excited because it always turns out to this. And remember, Green Bay is going to get Jordan Love back. They've got about a five-year... Probably this week. And they got a five-year window where outside of Jordan Love, they're paying nobody on offense. They have drafted and developed so well. And that we know with Kevin O'Connell, their offensive pieces are great. And Detroit finally today figured out we're a run team. Montgomery and Gibbs had 35 carries. So you're not winning in this league scoring 23 points. This is the best offensive coached. and the best offensive person.

You can do a Pro Bowl team with the NFC North. Just do a Pro Bowl team. I get all the coaches. I'll take Flores on defense. You know, whoever you want an offense, you can compete in a Pro Bowl. And so the downside, you have a defensive coach, a rookie quarterback,

and both are over their head at times. And so what's happening to this division is, in 2024 and beyond, is the Bears have to score 27 to win some of the these games. That's just the reality of it. I just pulled up their schedule. I mean, I read it. The McCaskies, I don't know if they'd pull the trigger super early, but you could argue

if they lose these next two games at home, Rams, Panthers. They're not beating the Rams because the Rams are getting healthier. And the Panthers today with Andy Dalton have a pulse. So if all of a sudden you're one and four with back-to-back losses at home to those two teams, do you just kind of pull the trigger and just start your new? And that's, this gets back to Caleb. This is why start, pick your coach last year. Instead of having a guy come in on the hot seat, this is the dysfunction.

This is what Bryce went through. It just gets weird. Here's the problem with the interim coach stuff. Let's say you're one in six and you go with Shane Waldron and he goes 500 of the rest of your way. And then the guys like him. And then the locker room loves him. The media jumps in and Shane Waldron, nothing against him, but he's not Bobby Sloick. He's not Brian Flores.

I am so against the interim thing because you've seen this, we've seen this 20 times as adults. It's like in college you always hire the coordinator and nothing against Michigan football. And they deserve the W yesterday. Their D line just engulfed USC's O line with freshmen and sophomores everywhere. But in the end, that coach for Michigan would not have been a top five candidate any other big job. And so, and that's okay. He's a Michigan guy. But if you bail on Iber Fluse and Waldron goes 500, you're hiring him.

And maybe he would work, but I don't think he'd be a candidate otherwise. Yeah, I mean, that's to me, if it's, you know, some of these crazy owners, Iber Fluse would be in major, like, you would be like no chance he makes it a Halloween on this pace. But given the McCaskies, more than likely, they just ride it out. He gets canned. But it's, it has not gone well. I would say no team had more hype, rightfully so. You get two top 10 picks.

You get this quarterback. And they have looked lifeless. They really have. And some of it, to me, I think, listen, I'm hard as anyone on coaches. But individual players, when you're in a position in the guys open, you have to make the pass. I mean, the difference between Bryce Young, some of these guys coming out to Bryce Young's defense, like this is the NFL. Yeah. And if you can't make basic passes, there are 52 other guys in the locker room.

where 90% of your roster is not on guaranteed contracts. They don't give a shit about his feelings. We're trying to win. I'm laying on the line. And they look great today. And today, Andy Dalton comes. He looks like Joe Montana. I mean, he looked incredible.

Yeah. So I think, listen, it's easy to rip on the David Tepper and the organization, and they've earned a lot of that. But can't we just admit today, like Bryce Young has had one of the worst, I don't know, 15 game stretches we've ever seen? Right. I was in the car the other day when he got benched. I'm flipping around on the radio. I hear Rich Gannon say they hadn't had a lead for 10 straight games. Hadn't had a lead.

They'd won two games on the last second field goals. Hadn't had a lead. Today, Andy Dalton, they had a lead immediately. Think how hard that is to not just have a 7-0 lead in one game. They had a con and clearly part of it's him. And the difference of like Caleb, Caleb has physical attributes. Bryce just doesn't. Like that's just a 5-10 guy that can't move.

move in has an average arm. Like, there's a chance. And this happens in sports sometimes at every level. He's just bad. Maybe he's just not good enough. Good guy, tries hard, not good enough. Andy Dalton, up and down career, he's an NFL player. Like, we can look back in five years.

The story today that people were thinking about trading for Bryce Young, I thought was kind of crazy. He's the number one overall pick. Now, I understand they wouldn't trade much, but he makes a lot. Andy Dalton, like that's a backup. Sam Darnold last year, that's a backup. If I'm going to pay $5, $6 million, that's how much Bryce makes. I better feel pretty good about my backup.

Those guys play. You put Bryce Young in a game right now. You're guaranteed to lose. Guaranteed to lose. I'm watching some of the Bears wide receivers. Tyson Badgett, like, if you're DJ Moore, like, get me the ball. Like, what are we doing? Wide receivers sometimes turn on the guy before the coaching staff and the fans.

You know, they can be a little divish, rightfully so. they used to get in the ball. The ball starts flying over their head. This is just uncharted territory for Caleb, you know. It's just like any player. I mean, you become a rookie, you've got the hype, you get the money. Think how much easier it was for Trevor. He was in Jacksonville.

How many fans they have. I mean, this Chicago, this is tough. It's going to be a long week there. I can't imagine sports talk radio, the article. I mean, the open locker room for the press. This is welcome to the NFL, Rook. Well, I had said before the season, let's go to Tampa Bay, Denver clobbers them 26 to 7. And I had sent in the first couple of weeks, I said, listen, Bo Nix opening against Mike McDonald, the Seahawks crowd, corners, and a pro in Geno Smith, that's a bad open.

Then we go next week, it's the Steelers, and it's like, oh, this is a real defense. Go ask the Chargers today. Today, a Tampa defense that's dinged up, Vita via the back end, Bo Nix, four. 47 rushing yards, 25 at 36, Denver blew him out. Wasn't competitive. Second straight week, I'll say this. I'm not anti-Baker. Second straight week, he was really rough on third down.

He was just not moving the chains. Awful interception today on the side line. Yeah, Baker is off. And again, second straight week, they couldn't make crucial plays on third down. But when I watched Bownecks today, this is what Sean Payton kept texting me. It's like, you know, it's going to be bumpy. but he moves, you and I talked about this, he moves much better than people think.

I'm not, you know, it's like, Jalen Hertz isn't fast, but he's elusive. Bo Nix is not quite as elusive, but he's kind of quick. Like he can get to the corner, and I'll say this again, they're not babying him. Remember Big Ben's first year with Pittsburgh?

He'd throw like 16 times a game, even to the Super Bowl. It was like Michigan. Yeah, they just were protecting him. Sean's not protecting him. he threw it like 40-some times against the Steelers. He threw 36 times today. They're running an offense that you would run with Gino Smith.

They don't care. And I said before this season, all these young quarterbacks, Caleb, Jaden, they all have defensive coaches, Drake May. Sean Payton, I think the development of what this kid is doing is I'm watching him. He made a leap today, John. He looked like a grown-up. Yeah, to me, when you can run the ball and your defense plays well, Sean Payton, like, he's going to learn what I can call and what I can't call for this player and what he's comfortable with. And the only way you learn that is through going through it.

Like you said, Seattle looks freaking good. Yeah. And obviously Pittsburgh's defense is elite. But today felt like the Buccaneers spent all week looking at their record and looking at the Broncos record. And we're like, yeah, we're not really going to pay attention. We'll see you on game day. And they just got boat raced. And this is the thing with the NFL.

All of a sudden, you're 0 and 2, 0 and 3. Yeah. Teams do not want to get embarrassed. Bob had that awesome play with his legs. You don't turn the ball over. That helps because he's been throwing the ball to the other team. I mean, he's had some passes that also did not get picked that should have been. He just looked like in complete control.

And you have to wonder, mature guy, a little older, maybe his speed up process, like maybe we don't have to wait until December. Maybe within three or four weeks, he's going to look more comfortable. Now, their talent around them when they play the better team, I think they play the chiefs next week. it's going to get overwhelmed at times. Look at Sean's quotes. He had a quote last week. Like, I feel great about it.

We're on face. That to me speaks to when you get these veteran head coaches, like, what's Eber Fluse going to be able to say? You know, I can lean on my seven playoff appearances. Like, he can't say any of that. And that's where Sean, everyone, we're going to be okay. Even though, like, what do you think best case is for them this year? Seven, eight wins?

That's best case. Listen, I thought they would. People said they were five, five and a half. I thought they would get eight. They don't have a consistent pass rush. Bo is still young. They're in a tough division. The charters and the chiefs are really good.

So, you know, their schedule is pretty damn formidable. I think if you get to seven and you... Probably the Jets next week. Yeah, if you get to seven, because I thought they weren't one of the better over teams, I've always said, I think they're receivers. I think they have more talent on the perimeter. But I think they have more talent on the perimeter. I thought they're, they're a running back, make a hell of a run today around the corner.

I did a, I forget the name of the player. Sorry about that. I just think Denver's got a little more juice offensively than people give him credit for. But I just like, and Bo had some bad throws. He had a really, he missed on a couple. But I just, I like what I see. First of all, he's older. He's married.

61 starts. The offensive coach. Pretty damn good receivers and backs. This, I think he's got an advantage. that the market isn't recognizing between the college starts, the maturity. I bet he had five coordinators in five years in college. This kid's seen everything. I just, now, he may be really close to his ceiling, John. Like this may be, you know, he may be 70% of the ceiling, but I see an athletic guy who's accurate, coachable, gets rid of the ball

quickly. If they can improve their offensive line, I think you can, you could, this is a wildcard team potentially over the next few years. Well, let's face it, we talked about this last week, 12 wins for hardball. And then you're watching the first half today, you're like, God, this classic hardball. Then all of a sudden that foot, that ankle, whatever's going on with Justin Herbert and the way, kind of like, did he re-injure that plan of fascia? You know, because he already had the ankle. That is extremely. And then once he goes out, they got no shot. Right. Right. But that is one of the biggest wild cards in the NFL, because if he's just in and out of the lineup, if he's fully healthy, they probably win the day.

and I feel pretty confident, like this classic Harbaugh team, 11-12 win-lock. Then the moment he starts limping around, you're like, did someone fall on him and they show the replay? No, he just re-injured it stepping, handing the ball off. You're like, oh, this is something that is just not going to go away, clearly, which is scary because I love watching Jim Harbaugh when he has like a C-plus B-minus roster saying, bring it on everybody. And he was doing it again today.

I got to tell you, I think we should do an award every week for Coach of the Week. So Green Bay tags Tennessee, 30 to 14. Crushes him. Matt LaFleur on scripted stuff. Now, you and I know, first couple, first quarters scripted. Green Bay gets 17 points quickly. That's scripted for Malik Willis. Malik, they 190 passing, 188.

rushing. The kid goes 13 for 19, a touchdown no pick. Seven different targets. This is a young team. It's not like he can rely on a veteran third down receiver or he's got a Devante Adams. These are all kids. These are 23-year-old receivers. For them to take Malik Willis, I'm watching today and I'm like, they had almost 400 yards offense. And on the scripted stuff early, that's what really worries me about Chicago. They're horrible in the first. They're terrible on their first three series. Anemic. It's like that's the scripted stuff.

Green Bay, I mean, I'm Matt LaFleur. You know, for years and years, it was always understood that Aaron and him kind of almost shared offensive duties. Like, Aaron's going to do some of his own stuff. And he'd earn that. I'm good with that. What he's done with Malik Willis, I mean, I'll say this one year ago. I mean, good God, Tennessee got rid of it. I mean, they bailed on him.

I mean, you almost always just keep a guy, make him a backup. They didn't even want to give him a shot to start. They thought Will Levis was an upgrade. Matt Lefleur is a great football coach. That's my take. They traded him to a team that they were playing three weeks later. I mean, you just never know, right? I mean, you traded him a team that you might have to see,

and they probably never even thought twice about it. And within two, if you would have told me two weeks ago, that Malik Willis looks like everything we thought Anthony Richardson was going to look like. That's the crazy part. I mean, today he's running around. He's obviously been much more accurate than I think anyone anticipated. Give him the game ball last week. He gives it to the entire team.

It really is people, you know, Mike McDaniel is a media favorite. Like he's got, Shrager loves him and some of the guys love him. And I get it. He's a nice guy. Might be the most overrated coach in the NFL. I mean, that look he's got is going to wear thin when he goes five and 12. But LaFleur does not get discussed nearly as much. And part of that, like you said, get a little overwhelmed by Aaron Rogers.

Aaron's been gone now for a while. Yeah. And he had Jordan Love through 33 touchdowns. Jordan Love gets hurt on a night game halfway across the world, comes back and wins two games with a guy that no other team probably would have traded for. And pretty convincingly. I mean, today they beat the shit out of them on the road. Yeah.

I mean, it's one thing, okay, at home, playing a bet. Then you go on the road and win a game? With a team that knows this player, like all the defensive players, who do you think they had been seeing for three years of scouting quarterback? And that thing was, of all the games a day, and that thing truly was not close. It was over fast. And I think LaFleur, I don't want to just throw out the elite status because you've got to win in the playoffs. He did last year, though, and easily could have beat the night. I think LaFleur is easily one of the best young coach.

I mean, the way McVeigh, Kyle, Kevin O'Connell, we got to include LaFleur. and we got to kick Mike out for right now. He hasn't won an important game ever. You know, the other thing is we know this in college, John. It's recruiting and development. Saban did both. Urban Meyer did both, right? There are not a lot of guys in this league that, I mean,

Kevin O'Connell is developing a really talented guy who all of us always had a feeling. I think Donald can actually play if he didn't have a dysfunctional team. Nobody thought Malik Willis could play. Not a goal. Jordan Love, one of my most trusted general managers was like, I wouldn't draft Jordan Love. He's like, there's just, you know, and this is somebody with a ring. I'm watching Malik Willis in this transformation.

This guy is one of the best developers of talent. By the way, that's why this Green Bay story is so much fun because the whole team is 24 years old on offense. Well, how did Andy Reed become a legend before he ever won a Super Bowl? Because he could coach that position. And no matter when McNabb would get hurt, he could play with anybody. and they would still make the playoffs. He could take a washed up Jeff Garcia. He could take a Jay Feeley.

He could take Mike Vic from prison. I mean, he could do anything. When you can coach that position, it's my conversation with Brian Flores. If he was an offensive coach right now, we'd be talking about him like one of the best offensive coordinators we've ever seen. But he coached his defense. But even that his defense has been so good,

you're like, just like, can he deal with the quarterback? Like he doesn't even seem to like those humans, right? It's like he doesn't even, if I'm an owner, how does my head coach handle that guy? Say what you want about Tomlin. Like he can just massage that position. He's not coaching them on their fundamentals on a daily basis, but he can handle that situation's weird.

He's handled it seamlessly because that's Mike Tomlin's go-to strength. LeFleffler clearly is pretty level-headed guy, but can coach that position. Took Jordan Love, like you said, your GM wasn't alone. A lot of people wouldn't have drafted him. By the way, John. John.

Jordan Love, the first year he started. was awful his first five weeks. He was the best quarterback in the league by week 14. The other thing it does is it allows you to do something like they just did. They traded nothing for a backup quarterback who makes no money and you can win games when you're $50 million quarterback. Why Rush Jordan Love back this week? I don't know who they're playing.

It doesn't matter. You can take another deep. You're not in a rush. What happens when you get in positions when your backup quarterback's Detroit? You kind of force that guy and it has a snowball effect. he re-injures his knee. I am given Jordan Love zero rush. Malik Willis for sure is getting another start.

If Jordan Love says, I'm not 99%. What the hell is the rush? I mean, you just play like this. It actually gives your team a different pitch, forces other guys, let this guy come back fully healthy. If they're able to make the playoffs, which they sure look like one now, and have Jordan Love miss a month,

what an incredible accomplishment. I mean, seriously. That is awesome. Yeah, it is the no ownership doesn't hurt him because Mark Murphy keeps getting the offensive position and the quarterback right. Shit, they've got, they got Fav right, they got Rogers right, they got Jordan Love right, and Malik Willis looks like the steel, the in-league steel of any acquisition. I mean, it's the most important position. They give up nothing for him. It is one of the great heists.

if this kid goes on a three-game streak, it's one of the heists of the season. Yeah, definitely. Without question. John Middlecock. Can I say one thing before you get out of here? Because you were on this, and it's been so evident yesterday.

I love the PAC 12. It obviously died. And just conference realignment felt weird. But watching these matchups all over the country, I mean, Michigan, USC would be awesome no matter what. But Oklahoma hosting Tennessee, even Utah playing Oklahoma State. This conference, Colorado playing Baylor last night. Great.

Realignment from it's not quite the NFL because the talent is not the same when you're 19, 20 years old, not every guy is a pro. College football is better off in terms of the matchups on a weekly basis with this conference realignment. John, I always felt I've been a college football fan. I'm an old guy for a long time. my biggest knock on it was the lack of great games. There's three or four weekends a year in college football. And you look up and you're like, God, I hope USC Michigan turns out to be a good game. There's nothing on this damn schedule.

It's like Tennessee, Oklahoma. And then you'll get surprise games. Like Colorado Baylor became great. But nobody was sitting around waiting for. Illinois, Nebraska became great on Friday on FS 1 or Fox. So, I mean, stuff becomes great. But they always had a big game problem. Well, now I even watched, you know, like Washington Northwestern.

It's like, I'd never seen them play. Just let me go watch them play. You know? So it's like to me. Stanford Syracuse, I thought was kind of entertaining. Yeah, I mean, so listen, I just, I'm one of those guys that there's a lot of things I love about. I'm not anti-tradition. There's a lot of old stuff.

I'm peanut butter and jelly is my favorite snack. Like I eat like a, you know, like I'm not a real experimental guy on some things in my life. But in sports, we too often fall for stuff that's just not that interesting. Like, I think baseball should go down to 120 games, start the playoffs August 5th, and this past weekend, and we'd watch the games. I don't think anybody says, stamp, you know, these historians that love 162 games. Most of us just can't get through that many games. It's double the NBA season. So I just think we fall in love with the history and the romance, but I always say this.

ESPN created a channel called ESPN Classic. Nobody freaking watched. nobody watched. It's like one of those things that we talk about something more than is reality. Like, I like the Manning cast, but it has, you know, let's say a million viewers. Joe Buck and Aikman have 18. But if you went to Twitter, you'd think everybody was watching the Manning cast and nobody was watching the game. No, that's the inverse of what's true. Nobody cared about Cal, Oregon State. I'm watching Oklahoma State, Utah. I'm like, it just looks new. Yeah, it does. It's fun. It is.

It worked. Yeah. I mean, it worked. John Middilkoff. Podcast is three and out. Great job, buddy. See you, Colin. The volume.

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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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional

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Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.