The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson Contract Drama, Lions>Cowboys, Eagles Unraveling, College Football Playoff

Episode Date: January 1, 2024

John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” joins Colin to break down all the week 17 NFL action!  They start with the Ravens dominating win over the Dolphins and marvel at the evolution of Lamar Jackson’s game (3:30). They both agree that the media backlash to Russell Wilson’s benching and contract dispute was completely overblown (17:00), and that the Lions are better equipped for postseason success than the Cowboys (22:00). They weigh in on the Eagles late-season meltdown (29:30), and what the Bears should do with Justin Fields going forward (41:00).They also break down both college football playoff games between Michigan and Alabama (51:30), and Texas vs. Washington(58:00). (Timestamps may vary based on advertisements.) Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates! #Volume #HerdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Terms for eligibility and deposit restrictions, terms and responsible gaming resources. Hi, everybody, and welcome in. It's our customary Sunday night, hour-long podcast with my buddy, former NFL scout, John Middlkoff, who has the podcast, the very popular podcast at the Volume 3 and Out. There is a ton to discuss NFL, college at the end. Let's start with Miami, Baltimore for a lot of reasons. You know, you add an extra week into the regular season of the NFL. I was not a fan of it.

I have defended Thursday night football, though I don't think a lot of veteran players are ready to go. But here we are. Teams falling apart. Miami, Chubb probably out for the playoffs, to a banged up. Howard, the defensive back banged up. You know, here you go to last weekend, you feel pretty good. you know, Baltimore is a little like San Francisco. They pound you.

You come out of these games against the Niners or the Ravens, and I look at what is Miami today? They're going to be a wildcard team, a real possibility of that. What to you, because I got thoughts on Dallas just isn't close to the team that I thought. They should have lost to Detroit. What's Miami to you today? Well, to me, I think they're a one and done team in the playoffs, you know, assuming they lose to Buffalo, which I'm sure you, and I know I'm going to take Buffalo next week.

Yes. And that's a team that's, you know, obviously trending in the right direction. You know what sucks for Miami is they were having an awesome season for them? They're not like some powerhouse franchise over the last couple decades. And now it all comes unravel. And here's the thing. What has been their downfall when they've played good teams? They did take care of business last week against Dallas, right?

After Dak let them on that drive, they drove and they won the game. But today they were manhandled. Like that was a difference in class. And here's a thing with the, you know, not winning the division. Do you like this team on the road in Kansas City? No. Do you like this team on the road in Buffalo? Like this is not even an indictment on McDaniel and to it.

It's the history of the franchise. They don't play well in weather. Like, listen, Kansas City's comfortable playing these 25, 20 games. They'll do it all day long. And say, come on into Arrowhead. You're not going to beat us because that's got the three six. written all over it, right? Or however the seating breaks down.

Now, maybe, I guess, depending on how it breaks, could they, I guess if they lost next week, they wouldn't even be the five. They'd be the six seed. So you'd be looking at going on the road in Kansas City. And I don't think there's a soul that's going to pick them. And they would be, you know, a one and done team, which sucks because they really did make some good strides. I do think big picture, you got Fangio, you keep improving the roster.

Like, they're not going away. but like physicality is a huge part of this league. And the Niners who were clearly one of the more physical teams got shoved around by the Ravens. And today was, did that look like Alabama playing Cal Poly or something today? You know what, John, think about this. In the last 20 years, who has dominated the NFL? New England, cold weather team. Baltimore has been a great team, cold weather outdoor team.

San Francisco. It's the Bay Area, but it's chilly. You get some in the late year, it's windy and Chile. You don't see. Think about the warm weather teams. Brady goes down to Tampa quickly. But there is an argument that the Philadelphia's and the Baltimore's and the New England's. You know, it's, and I'm not saying warm weather dome teams can't be really, really good.

But we've watched Buffalo, Cincinnati, Kansas City, New England, you know. And Baltimore and the AFC. And the Steelers have underperformed the last 10 years. They've still been viable. So I do think there is something. I mean, John, there's no question. I live in California. When I go on the road, a 47-degree day, I'm like, get me out of here.

What is going on? When you play in Miami, it's not a criticism. It's a reality. I just don't trust them on the road in January. Well, think about two of the better organizations with Drew Brees and the Saints. and Peyton Manning and the Colts over the last couple decades were not great outdoor teams, you know, in the playoffs, right? They had to be in a confined environment to have their best opportunity. And they had Drew Breeze and Peyton Manning, right? Just because the culture of your franchise,

offensive cultures, both those two teams, right? Look at Miami. And today was less about Miami. I didn't think they were going to win. Was much more to me about Baltimore, who now checks all the boxes of a Super Bowl level team. They have a Super Bowl winning coach. They have a quarterback who's going to win the MVP and is playing the best football of his career. I texted with a buddy who's on the staff after they kicked the Niners' ass, and he's like, I don't think people quite understand how good this defensive coordinator is. He's like a boy genius. He's pretty special. And so they have incredible coaching, great talent, nailed some draft picks. I mean, Zay Flowers looks like Tyreek Jr. The personnel department has always been top-notch. What happened last year? Trade for Roquan Smith,

leading tackler in the NFL. They have guys on that defense on their front four that, that aren't sexy, huge, T.J. Watt, J.J. Watt, Nick Bosa. You don't even, besides Clowny, they're not famous group, they dominate. So, and that's always kind of been their thing up front, physicality. We know they can run the ball. Now Lamar's throwing like this. I think the pressure, listen, I think the two one seeds is Super Bowl or bust. Like anything less than a Super Bowl championship for the Niners or the Ravens is going to feel like a letdown. Now, you would say in the AFC, just playing Kansas City, who has championship medal, Buffalo, if they win with Josh Allen, they're going to be a tough out.

It's still, to me, a little harder in the AFC than it will be for San Francisco. But I think Baltimore is clearly the heavy favorite right now. Yeah, you know, and I got to be honest with you, whenever I see this on the internet, and I don't mind when fans do this. Not that my standard for fans, fan is short for fanatic. So when fans want to get all fiery, I have no problem with it. But when I see the media to this stuff, you know, if I want Baltimore, I'm really, happy for Baltimore and Lamar Jackson. I had real doubts. He was skinny and ran too much.

And my takeaway was, I don't know if it's going to work in the pros. If these GM, if there was a secret to successful quarterbacks, then 77% of drafted quarterbacks round one through seven wouldn't fail. Like nobody knows. I mean, outside of Andrew Luck, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Elway, Marino, it's like, you don't know, but I will say this. I think one of the things I really and I can explain it with Lamar. He was so magnificent, stylistically, and so unique, that people just don't know what to do with players like that. I grew up with a player named George Gervin in the NBA. There's never been a player that played like him.

The guy weighed, I swear to God, he weighed 150, he was 6'7, everything was a finger roll. He was an All-Star for years. But he never got listed among the greats because nobody played like George Gervin. he was this 6-7 wiry small school odd game and Alex English led the 80s in the NBA in scoring didn't jump angle angle jump shooter he didn't make top 75 team he led the 80s in scoring yeah so you when you get these players that are so unique we don't know what to we don't know what to do with Lamar but we have to acknowledge this he just keeps getting better he's clearly coachable and he is the so of that team. Those, he's the opposite of Russ. His teammates love him. I mean, they love him.

He, to me, you know, for a guy now who's worth $200 million, still has a humility around him. And there's a connectivity to him clearly in the locker room that I think Jaylen showed last year that you can't fake that. You either got it or you don't. It comes naturally to you. And like you said, this is why you draft on character, work ethic, and love of football,

because that's how you improve. But you don't improve what happens to six months when you're not practicing in the offseason. He's gotten dramatically better. The other conversation on the internet is laughable is like, I can't believe no one went after him. It's like the Ravens were never letting him go. Never. It's one of those things like in the NBA with restrictive free agency. Why did no one make Austin Reeves an offer?

Because the Lakers were going to match it. The Ravens weren't trading you Lamar Jackson. Right. And clearly, you know, here's the other thing. Young people, situations financially impact, you know, mentally we get impacted by all sorts of things. And clearly last year threw them off the contract. This is a business, though. And I'm sure we'll talk about Sean Payton and Russell.

Like, we're talking a lot of money. So sometimes they get kind of contentious. Last year was weird. They figured it out. Everything's good. And not only this year, don't you feel just for the next several years? He's kind of come into his own a lot like Mahomes did several years ago, Josh Allen. I mean, he's one of the best players in recent memory.

I remember when Aaron Rogers was in his prime and Vegas said he was worth 11 points a game. If you look at the Ravens with Lamar, 28 a game, without him, 17. So he's worth 11 points. He is Aaron Rogers in his prime. And what I like about him, whereas Aaron's sort of a finesse player. You know, he throws it off his feet, throws it away if he doesn't like to play. Lamar has a weird physicality about him. Like, you kind of likes to get hit.

He's kind of physical, and I think players feed off it. I think he is so much better than he was when he won the MVP and kind of took the league by storm. He's so much under control. You know, for a running quarterback, he feels much more poised now when he's scrambling around because he's scrambling looking to throw. I also think he's always kind of had a knack. When I was in Philly, Michael Vick, was kind of reckless. He didn't know how to slide. He went into a lot of contact and got Molliwop.

Lamar's pretty good at like kind of hitting the ground on some runs. He's not trying to be a hero. And no one questions that. Like it's like Lamar, we've got to pick your spots. You're too valuable. And he's just come into his own with his talent. Like I, he's going to have a lot of pressure though in the playoffs because it's now home games. He hasn't much had much, you know, postseason success.

This team's built to win big. It's a tough place to play. He's got, you know, they kind of get two weeks now. This game doesn't mean anything next week. You get the two week rest a lot like the 49ers. And it's just, it's, everyone's looking at them. Like if you're not in the Super Bowl, it's going to be a major, major disappointment. All right.

Let's pivot. And this, it's not necessarily the game, but it's the situation. Denver Chargers, Denver wins. Stidham's not the future. So my first takeaway on this, because we're going to talk about cowboys and lions and Justin Fields and Michigan, Alabama, Washington, Texas. But this is interesting. So I know Sean really well.

I know Russell pretty well. I know Russell's agent through texting. I was a Russ fan forever, but I say this before. When new data surfaces, I have to reassess. So I got three coaches now that have moved off Russ and not for legends. Mike Glennon, Jared Stidham, and Gino Smith. So you have to reassess. But what's interesting about Denver, the contract situation aside,

there's so much shit going on in this league. There's a lot of contract stuff. Fans have no idea. obviously Russell's side leaked it because they were ticked off and I get it and I support that. But here's the thing. You can solve a lot of issues quickly. If right now they're drafted about 13th, 14th, that's probably where Bo Nix is. Well, Bo Nix is Drew Brees with mobility.

He completes 75% of his throws the last two years, Stidham slides into the backup roll, and suddenly a lot of your problems are solved. You have a high completion scheme up guy. I like Denver's roster. I know a lot of people look at this and think, Sean Payton's a big trouble. But my take is they would give up some stuff. They got a couple fives.

I think they have a one, no two, a three or four, two, five, a seven. I could see them, I don't think they want to move off Patrick Sertan, but I could see them doing it to get a second one to get an edge rush or a quarterback. But your takeaway in the Russ thing, the Sean Payton thing, I think every problem is solvable. I think if you go and get Bo Nixon that 12 to 15 spot, I think. think I think you're fine immediately. I thought the reaction was laughable. Like, this is a billion dollar business. If you don't like a player, you move on.

Like, you get, you ask guys to take pay cuts all the time. Their offense had been terrible. To me, it gets back to John Snyder wanted to short Russell Wilson in Josh Allen's draft. Remember, they wanted to trade them and draft Josh Allen that they've been trying to get rid of them. One huge red flag for Russell Wilson in the history, in my life, the great quarterbacks. All the Hall of Fame guys, from Steve Young to Aikman through Peyton to Brady. All their offensive coaches go on to get head coaching jobs.

Aaron Rogers. It's a pipeline to success. Great call. Russell's offensive coordinators have always been fired. They've always been fired. In Seattle, he went through a bunch. Obviously, so far, Nate Hackett was a disaster. Now, Sean Payton wanted to get, we found out wanted to get rid of him in October.

So you ask him to take a massive pay cut. He's not living up to it. business, if you have a $50 million asset that's given you probably $15, $20 million worth of ROI, something doesn't work. And they ask them, it's his prerogative to say no, and they can say, okay. Now, clearly to me, they kept playing them, you know, probably the NFLPA. What it came after him, it wasn't worth it, and they kind of, you know, went out the street. We saw this happen last year with Derek Carr. These injury, it happens all the time in football, right? And why? And I always think this just in life, why do you want to be somewhere where people

don't want you. That's right. Russell Wilson, why would you even want to be there? Sean Peyton doesn't want you. You move on. But like, who's really going to want him? Because I think I heard you say this and you've said it forever about like the famous guys, the Tebow's the camp. It's not easy to bring him in. If he's not your lock starting quarterback, some of these teams are going to be drafting quarterbacks. He's going to be in a weird space. It's going to get weird fast. Yeah, I mean, Tebow, Cam Newton, you can't have him as backups. Russell's too good to be a backup, but you have to bring him in and build a franchise around him. And I think one of of the things that I've had two different people in the league say he means well, but two people

in the league have told me he can be difficult. You scheme stuff up and this Sean Payton stuff work with Teddy Bridgewater, Taysam Hill, Drew Breeze. Yeah. And it doesn't work with Russ. By the way, I watched them today. He's a backup. You know, he's a spot starter. He's, you know, you can start him, but he's not a guy you're going to build around. And he made some throws down the field. God, Denver doesn't make throws down the field. And I know Sean Pate. Satan's looking at that thinking, that's what I want. And I contend that it was never going to work. Sean is a no-b-s, authentic, flawed, emotional being. Russell is relentlessly optimistic, highly religious. It's kind of a Kirk Cousins, Derek Carr on another level with HGH, like relentlessly optimistic.

like Derek Carl Swear and you've seen outburst by Kirk Brief. You know, Russell's just not happening. Also Russell got young kids, beautiful wife, massive businesses. I'm not saying he's somewhat distracted. You know, you don't know this. Young kids, I don't care if you're rich. There's just emotional stuff you've got to deal with all the time. I got teenagers, older kids.

It's easy street for me. They barely return my calls. Russ has a very broad, deep life. life. And I just think, I just think Sean Payton looks at him and just thinks, stylistically doesn't work, personalities don't work, salary doesn't work. It's just the reality of big business. Well, you know what turns out, he's not a very good player in the pocket, and he could mask it forever with his great athleticism when he was younger and his great playmaking outside the pocket. Well, the moment that kind of died at the level in which it used to be,

he no longer was close to the money he was getting paid, and too, he couldn't function in this offense. You still always have to be able to throw within the pocket. And that was always, it was hard for Pete and John. We all thought they were crazy because he looked so awesome when you watched him play. But they were right. That was always a major. He's small. It's hard to see. And he's not comfortable really playing like that. But as it's like a, it's like a NBA player, right, who can't Russell Westbrook. Well, he never could shoot. But when he was an elite athlete, didn't really matter. You get away with it. The moment your athleticism starts a dip and you're not a great shooter, your flaws get exposed really, really fast. And I

I think his flaws got exposed really, really fast, especially what does Sean Payton have? One of the more complicated offenses in the league, right? Same with Andy Reid. You got to be able to handle a lot. He was bitching and moan about that three months ago, right? Three months ago, he was talking about the arm band. He said twice on record, we have to simplify the offense. That's not a good sign.

That is a, that's trouble. I mean, there are times, you know, I've heard this, Brandon Staley. his defense had so many checks and alerts that, you know, I talked to somebody on that staff and they just said it was like Vic Fangio's defense is complicated. They thought Staley had a simpler version of Vic Fangio's defense. It was more complicated. That's why you slow the defense down. Offense is always complicated. And when I heard those sort of public comments, that's Sean basically saying, I want you guys to know what.

what I'm going through. That's Sean protecting his face. But to watch the media, sometimes, I mean, the media is sourced and is informed, and most people I've worked with are smart. But Jesus, can the media be naive about business? It was embarrassing. It was like, guys, this is the way the sport works. I've done 12 negotiations. They can get pissy. And I'm, I've had a big brand. I've had good bosses. We get along. We have cocktails. It gets pissy. They threaten, you know, you pull back, you get angry. Like, this stuff is Russell was ticked. It got leaked.

This is the way the game works. It's the NFL. Joe Montana was traded. Payton Manning was cut. Bill Belichick told Tom Brady to kick rocks. Like, how's anyone shocked that this is going on? I don't get it. It's not like he's, you know, going to be eaten in McDonald's.

He's still getting his money to be paid to go away. Like Russell Wilson's fine. But he's just not as good of, he's just, he's an average player now who's being paid like an elite guy. All right. Let's move segue to Dallas beating, I guess, Detroit. So, John, it really, you know, I mean, seasons are weird. Like the Niners were great, then they stumble, then they're great, then they get crushed. You know, so we know they're good.

But it is an Eb and Flow league, right? Miami early in the season is dropping 70, and now we look at them. They're injury riddled. They can't be good teams in the road. So it is a largely a situational week-to-week league. and I bought into Dallas. But I was saying this last night on my instant reaction. Is there are things every week that I get with Detroit?

Sam Leporta, high volume. Two excellent running backs. One Gibbs, electric. Great O line, golf has protection. Pass rush. Now, back end, dicey. James and Williams can disappear, but he's electric. Amaran St. Brown's, if it always feels like more of a two than a one, I'm probably wrong.

But there are flaws with Detroit, and they play better at home. But I know what I get from them. A risk-taking coach, a real run game, a pass rush, a highly productive tight end. If C.D. Lamb twisted his ankle, I don't know what the hell I get with Dallas. The O line is two O lines. When Tyrone Smith is healthy, it's excellent. When he's not, you get the game in Miami. Like, DAC, home and away, I have no idea. Pollard looks like a three. He's not even a two. Brandon Cooks is what he is.

You're not going to build an offense around him. I know that C.D. Lam's great, and Michael Parsons is great. John, they need to win this division because if they don't. They're going to. They're going to win this division because that team cannot win a playoff road game. When you go into the playoffs and you have more questions than answers, you can't. can't win multiple playoff games. It felt like Jerry got karma from finally giving in to Jimmy Johnson, putting him in the ring of honor.

He wins that game, and then the Eagles blow it today. It kind of all turned out cowboys. Last night, I thought Aikman hit it on the head. They're at the 50-yard line with a minute left, and he said the game should be over. To me, there's, like Dan Campbell at the end of the game being aggressive, I thought I should have kicked the extra point of the seven-yard line. Like, seven-yard line is kicked. But to me, for Mike McCarthy, not just call multiple runs.

Like, what are we doing here? They're going to have a little less than a minute. They're going to have no timeouts to go to the field. Your kicker's good. What are we trying to prove? And it's just always that with him, which just terrifies you. Because he's clearly pretty good, right? They're going to win 12 games for like a third straight year in a row.

Dax's playing pretty well, but he terrified. That was inexcused. I can't even imagine Jerry, Jimmy Johnson. People watch. This is crazy. Now, at the end of the game, you know, everyone bitching a moment about the officials. The official clearly screwed up and called the wrong guy. But when they don't announce 68, Dallas didn't cover him for a reason. Why would they cover a tackle? They didn't know. So that

play, it's hard to just assume that that play's working if they announce 68 is the eligible guy, right? So the refs screwed up, but they never should have been in that position in the first place because they shouldn't have had the time. Dax throwing the ball 700 yards out of bounds. That's crazy. And to me, it's. And to me, It's on McCarthy for even allowing a pass play. It's also on deck. You're talking about basically a 10-year vet who makes a ton of money. Like, you've got to hit the ground.

You're better off just taking a sack and just keeping the clock moving. Yeah, that really jumped out to me is that, by the way, though I do know what I get with Detroit more than Dallas, I thought Dan Campbell not kicking the PAT was stupid. He was reckless. He was reckless from the 7-yard line. Even the 4-yard line. I don't like that. So I think what you look at Detroit and Dallas is there are things I like about both. But the coaches are factors here.

They really are factors. I mean, I'm sorry, but what Sean McBay is doing and what Kyle Shanahan has done, I, you know, I watch the Rams again. And I will talk about this later. But when I look at Dallas, and I think I said this with you a couple of weeks ago, Mike McCarthy gets fired. and he concoxed this story that he was down in his basement doing analytics. Watched every play of the Cowboys.

Well, first he said he watched every game of the year in his basement, bullshit. Then he later said he watched every play from the Cowboys, later acknowledged it was BS. Then when Callan Moore left, he said, I want to run the football and be more physical and less DAC reliant. All three are nonsense. This is the same team. They are totally DAC reliant. and they're DAC and CD lamb reliant. So, you know, it's like when you have an ace on a pitching staff, it just makes everybody's

job easier because the bullpen gets rest. So the two and the three pitchers generally have a fresher bullpen. When Zeke was in his prime, you know, Tony Pollard gets nine touches, pops on two, and nobody's paying attention to him. Now that Tony Pollard's the guy, like I had said this, I think we talked about this. at the trade deadline, I said, listen, you don't want to pay a fortune for a running back. But if I could gobble up the rest of Derek Henry's contract, Tennessee is ready to move off him, because what they miss is what you watched, that deck wouldn't be throwing if you had Derek Henry to eat the clock. I think Dallas either blows you out, not going to happen in the playoffs.

They have a problem. And I thought the field goal kicker eliminated it. even if they lead late, they have no run game consistently. That's a problem. I always believe this in coaching. I think it's like in life, like the older you get philosophically, the way you think, like that's who you are. Mike McCarthy can say whatever he wants and a lot of coaches do this.

You look back to his time in Green Bay. They were a pass heavy team. Yes. Why they let down a lot in the playoffs. Now, they had Aaron Rogers, but they relied so much on throwing the ball. He never had a great run game there because deep down he wants. wants to call pass place, as a lot of coaches do. And what happened to Andy Reid last year?

He leaned on Pacheco, won him another Super Bowl, because that's been a knock on him for a long time, pass happy. He wants to call pass place. Kyle Shanahan wants to call run plays. Philosophically, as a play caller, you want to do specific things. Ben Johnson clearly likes, you know, he's got a little like, Kellan Moore wants to have some fun, do stuff, but sometimes that can cost you.

Because we see Belichick over the years in Josh McDaniels, You got to be very, very buttoned up when you do that stuff. When you try to get tricky, what did they do? They sent three guys out to try to throw off Dallas. Well, it ended up confusing the referee. That's what happened. They were trying to confuse Dallas instead of just sending 68. Well, they didn't want to do that because everyone would have pointed right at him.

And it wouldn't, the trickeration wouldn't have been as obvious. So sometimes you can outthink yourself. And like Dan Campbell, both Dallas, Philly and Detroit, to me, are no lock to win in the first. round because they just cannot be trusted in big spots coaching. Mike's, I mean, does have a resume of winning playoff games over the course of, you know, a decade plus. But when you look at Dan Campbell, it's going to be the biggest game he's ever coached in. And Siriani, let's face it, I mean, you talk about a team leaking oil right now.

Holy shit. So let's let's talk. I have it written down. So if you did not watch the Eagles in Arizona, I'm going to throw some numbers out for people. Arizona had the football for 39 and a half minutes, 32 first downs, 6.2 yards of play. Kyler Murray, and you know I love Kyler.

I know he plays too many video games. I freaking love that guy. Great town. Oh, my God. He is. It's like Chris Paul in his prime. It's like, it's just, it looks easy. It's just he is.

So, you know, I'm watching that game. So that was one of my favorite bets of the week, like 12 and a half. I'm like, I'm sorry, Arizona. And this game was funny because you saw Arizona control late. Arizona controlled early. They just had that, they had that touched. The Eagles got that 95-yard. Pick six.

But Arizona was, I thought was in control. This game didn't feel as close. And I look at Nick Seriani. And my takeaway was they struggled early. Then he let Shane Stuyken call the plays. They were great. Shane Stuyken leaves. They struggle.

Is that Siriani may be one of those head coaches. Now we know. Mike Tomlin isn't this, and we know Pete Carroll isn't this, and we know Andy Reid isn't this, or McVeigh. But there have been head coaches that need a great coordinator or a great play caller. And, you know, when Dan Quinn lost Kyle Shanahan preimposed, not the same coach. And I look at Nick Seriani and your point, they're leaking oil. Some of these are personnel issues on the defensive side. but I think I'm more bothered by the inconsistency of the offense.

I don't know. Have they had four good quarters of offensive football this year? I don't think they have. I think relative to the contract and the hype coming in, Jaylen's had a bad season. Now, some of its injuries, but they have not looked good. And it's not a lack of talent. I mean, they got guys everywhere.

I always struggle with CEO head coaches, especially younger guys. Like, what are you hanging your hat on? Like the one thing with John Harbaugh, CEO head coach, he's a tough guy. So his teams are going to be tough. When you get him the right coordinators, they're going to be really tough to deal with, right? Now he has a great offensive coordinator,

great defensive coordinator, the Ravens are kicking everyone's ass. What's Siriani hanging his hat on? Like motivation? Like is that what he's doing? He knows nothing about defense. And like you said, so he's an offensive guy.

Wide receiver coach, coach that side of the ball. Well, he's clearly not influencing anything. I'm telling you, that place is a pressure cooker. This thing is an all-time unraveling. they're going to play a road playoff game. Now, they're going to be the 5C, so they'll play Tampa or New Orleans.

If they lose that game, though, I mean, are you just, they have a lot invested into a lot of people. This is an organization that has no problem spending a lot on assistant coaches. And never forget, they lost to Gannon today. They went after the Cardinals for Gannon because he got hired late. They wanted to hire Vic Fangio, but Vick's like, I can't wait around what's going on. So he takes the Miami job. Losing the Gannon today of just all the people to lose with, Because of all the bad teams, the Cardinals are easily the hardest to play because of that little guy.

I mean, he is on a different level of the Giants and all these shitty, the Washington team. But to lose the Gannon at home, given what's on the line, I think they're going to be like, is Siriani in any trouble if they were to lose in the first round of the playoff game? And this was a team that gave their quarterback all this money. And let's face it, had hopes of being at worst being in the NFC championship game and being on the custom of Super Bowl again. Look at, they lose their defensive coordinator. Where did their pass rush go? They lose their offensive coordinator.

Their giveaways have exploded. Like, clearly, they're not as buttoned up. And by the way, Nick, and I think it hurts Nick, can come off as a little juvenile. Yeah. On the sidelines. I also think you've got to be in the great coaches in the history of the league, right? Walsh, Belichick, Andy's good at this, being very careful with older players and doubling down. Like last year, James Bradbury, they probably.

probably should have just moved on. But they were so close, and they brought everyone back on defense, and now it's a disaster, right? And they're paying Bradbury and Slay a lot. Slay's hurt. Bradbury's not any good. So you have some older players making a lot of money.

You have to play them, but they're simply not good enough. And you watch today, their defense is just soft. I mean, beside the defensive line, and their back seven is awful. I mean, Kyler and James Connor

made them look like a four or five win team. And let's face it, their point differential, I looked before we hopped on. Yeah, not good. It's basically right around like teams like Tampa, Houston, Indy. The Saints, for example, have double. I mean, they're a team that's going to win 11, 12 games.

Their point differential is 22. They're a pretty average team with a record that probably is a little different than the actual team we've watched through the four months of the year. Yeah, and we knew it. I mean, I said before the year, I said they're going to lose significantly more games. They're playing much better quarterbacks on their slate. They lose two great coordinators. Some of this was predictable. But one of the things I've always appreciated about Philadelphia, and I just love the Northeast and how much they love football.

I just love Baltimore and I love Buffalo and I love all these teams that just care. Philadelphia won a Super Bowl, Nick Foles hit the road. Doug Peterson hit the road. Carson Wentz, MVP, hit the road. He was having a great year. This franchise, and this is very rare, they're the opposite. same state opposite mindset of the Steelers. They're not loyal to anything.

And I think it's because the Roonies are Pennsylvania. Jeffrey Lurie's got Hollywood ties. He's more global. His thing is, man, this is big business. And I don't think Seriani would get fired, but I think they would, they give him one more chance, you know, on coordinators. And I know people say, boy, that's a dubious way to do business. But say this about the Steelers. They're going to be loyal to pick it to the end.

Mason Rudolph comes in and figures out, you know, I'm going to throw the ball to Pickens every time I can. Pickett, you know, Kenny Pickett would go a half without targeting him. Rudolph's like on the sidelines for the last three months going, he's the, T.J. Watt and Pickens are two best athletes. Don't want to him every time you can. And it's like, oh, it's not that complicated. So I don't know if he's in trouble, but, you know, Jalen Hertz is one of those all supporting because I think he has a DAC. quality, and I like this quality. I don't think he either throws the ball like Matt Stafford where Mahomes are out. No, no. But there is something to be said about intangibles and leadership and a grown-up and an adult. And Jalen does in a raucous environment, to your point, a highly pressurized environment, he's kind of a centered kid. And I do think Philadelphia, eight Carson Wentz alive, eats coaches alive, Chip Kelly. I do think Jalen, I don't think he's an A plus talent.

But I do think he's a very centered guy. And I think DAC is. And there is value in these pressurized cowboy eagle markets. I think Jalen, in a weird way, is the least of their worries because of that. But where it does impact you is once that cap hit starts kicking in, I need, you know, once your cap hit right now, the first year of the contract is lower as you go. You know, Dax played better, right? Kirk Cousins got better as he got more. you're going to need Jaylen, like, I need you to be a pro bowler every year because we're going to have to skim at some other positions.

But to me, the downfall of the Eagles this year, especially down their defense is falling off a cliff. I mean, they feel like one of the worst defenses in the NFL. I think they have a very, I think they're in major trouble come to playoffs. I mean, they have no momentum. There's just a lot of negativity. You know how that city gets. Everyone's going to start coach and just all the weird stuff. Matt Patricia now.

And legitimately, just from a personnel, they're just not very good. Like, they can't cover you. So I can give you the motivation, I can give you the scheme. If I can't cover a guy one-on-one and they cannot. I mean, Kyler and James Connor, they look like, I mean, Steve Young and Walter Payton out there today. It was crazy. Listen, we've all had fender benders in our life. Sometimes it's even more serious.

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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

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,

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And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and a 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you 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 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, let's talk. They're not a good team, but I wrote this down as one of the topics today, Chicago, Atlanta. So the bears are beating bad teams, but Justin Fields is playing better. So Chicago's not a well-run organization, one of the oldest and poorest ownership near it in the league. They want to move stadiums again. former Big Ten presidents now, their president. You know, I've heard things that I don't love.

I don't, Ryan Poles, it's unproven. Matt Eberflu's defensive coach. I talked to somebody last week who had interviewed him a couple years ago and just said, nice guy, good coordinator, doesn't feel like a head coach to me. This was an executive in the league. So, but the story is Justin Fields. So Caleb Williams projects, again, projects. He was a better college quarterback in terms of dynamic.

I mean, USC. Better throw the ball for sure. Yeah, and USC's number one in the nation last two years. And it has not had Ohio State's kind of personnel like Justin Fields did. So he throws the ball better and he's considered a better prospect. And you get to re, so there's two things. That and you get to restart the rookie quarterback clock, which is a thing. But I do, this is an organization, the weaker the organization and leadership, the New York Mets, the New York Chats, they get pushed around by the wind and the volume of media.

And the volume in that Chicago sports talk, that's one of the cities in the country, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Sports Talk. I mean, everybody listens to it. And I can very much see them just saying, nope, we're going to trade down, get to. a zillion picks and let Washington at two and New England at three both want quarterbacks come up. My guess today, it's not what I would do. I think he's never had more value. I think you can get a number one form in Atlanta. I really do the way he's playing. Now, most people disagree with me, but his value is an all-time high. You've got to start paying him here pretty quick. It's going to change. But my hunch is weak management goes where the wind blows and the wind is blown in Justin Fields' direction.

your thoughts. Yeah, when I saw yesterday, I think Ian Rappaport put out that Iberflux is going to come back potentially. You know, this is one of the biggest off seasons in the history of the franchise. But who would want them back? Kevin Warren, the president who wants to run everything, right? Presidents, even if I'm paying you $5 million to run my NFL team, you're not doing anything in football. So no one cares how many seats. If you sell the naming rights of the building, you get credit for running football. Well, those guys answer to him, right if they fire him and then they go sniffing around other coaches they're not going to want to have anything to do with that guy so i i think to me it all starts at the top you got to blow out the

organization bringing someone who knows jim harbaugh a real coach who then can make this decision because i'm with you uh i think not trading justin fields and going with caleb williams insanity i think i think you 100% have to do it but i'm not confident that really anything's going to change in chicago i could definitely see them running it back and then everything would be on the table. I still believe that Ryan Poles, though, who spent a lot of time in Kansas City, worked for Andy Reed,

obviously saw what Mahomes did would be insane to not throw his body up against. Like, we're either doing this or I quit. One of those type moves. Because that's happening in the history of sports, right? You either make this trade or just fire me now because I'm not standing for this. So fans listening to this may find this hard to believe,

but it happens. If you're Washington and you're New England, you start leaking stuff on the season ends about flaws with Caleb Williams game. Yeah. Real concerns about maturity. So reporters start reporting. Caleb Williams' dad's an issue. Maturity's an issue.

Why? Because Chicago Sports Talk Radio and columnists pick up on that in the slow season. And they talk about it all day, all day. And it creates this avalan. Because you know, Washington is praying Chicago. Ray, Chicago, doesn't take Caleb Williams. So is Belichick. All these teams are.

So watch the, and I know the Caleb Williams situation better than I think most national guys. I know his dad briefly. I know Caleb and people around him. He's a good kid. He's emotional. He can be moody. Okay, these guy, he's the first NIL superstar in college sports, right? But good kid, five-tool player, like Barry Bonds in baseball, can do everything.

Run hit power glove, but watch, watch the teams that want them because everybody knows the people around the league don't respect the Bears front office. It's a wind's blowing and you're going to start hearing all this. Caleb Williams is trouble, bad locker room guy. And Chicago Media will seize that. You know who those leaks usually impact? Most people think it has a huge impact internally. The GMs have all the information. Well, these guys, their scout, they've been through. The coaches learn this stuff as it impacts the owners. The owners are the ones driving around their car listening to it and they get freaked out. And then they start asking questions.

That's the unkind of told story, I think, in football is the information getting to the owners and the owners freaking out about stuff. So I'm 100% with you. But I still believe, as we sit here today, December 31st, I'd be stunned if Caleb Williams isn't a bear in six months. I would make the move. I would get a first or a second from Atlanta. And I would, and then, you know, it's not like if they keep Justin Fields and move down. It's not that there's not value. They could get two firsts, two seconds.

I mean, yeah. They get a hole. They get an absolute haul. All right. So we've got a lot to talk about. And I do want to talk about some college stuff because Michigan, Bama, Washington, Texas play tomorrow. I first want to broach this. So Don Yee, there's a story that was leaked to Adam Schaefter, that.

that Jim Harbaugh has signed with Don Yee. So that's not really a big story. Everybody knows Don Yee is close to the Chargers and Harbaugh. That's not the story. But it got leaked and Harbaal wanted it leaked. So the question becomes, I have been told by two sources, one in the building, one out. Chargers absolutely do not like the image in Los Angeles that they're cheap. So they're, you know, they're saying, hey, we're building a new facility. Now to that, I would say, you have to. You can't be an LA team with an Orange County facility and force your players to drive an hour and a half in traffic. But be that as it may, they're building it in El Segundo, which is by SoFi and it's going to be a beautiful facility. They've also argued they spent on Bosa, Herbert, Linsley, the center. They're not cheap. That said, they have a smaller staff than the Rams, the Eagles, the Niners. Be that as it may. I have been told they are going to aggressively pursue Jim Harbaugh. Belichick's view is more controlling, older, not great. energy, sort of a downer in the building. Harbaugh is relentless, but there's optimism and energy and fun, and he's going to have more control, and the span ofusers are willing to relinquish some of that.

It got leaked, though. So as the Chargers lose to Denver today, why did it get leaked? What's your interpretation of that? Well, to me, he's coming back to the NFL, and I think the only question is, will the charge, he has a hundred plus million dollar contract waiting for him in Michigan, right? They have no problem paying him. I think the Wildcard is the Raiders. I mean, this is a guy whose career started as a coach with Al Davis. History of football means a lot to him. Now, you could say Mark Davis, Antonio Pierce, listen, he's taking some big swings and it's backfired. The difference is Jim Harbaugh is a guarantee to work.

It's a guarantee. He's 4 for 4. At a high level, 4 for 4. Not like, you know, it kind of worked. No, it's worked in spades everywhere. So I think the Raiders, the brand, I think, you know, Mark has no. Mark doesn't care. Like, he wants to hire you.

He did it with Gruden. He did it with Josh and Ziegler. He doesn't want to do any of this. See, John Spanos, he's like essentially the GM slash owner, right? He plays a big role. Like, those guys, what are they going to do? It's in Harbaugh's very uncomfortable. Mark Davis, the Davis family's used to uncomfortable.

His dad was a crazy man. John Gruden's a crazy man. Like, they embrace that. So I think the Raiders are a major, major curveball. Don Yee. What are the connections? Well, who just went there? Jimmy Garoplo.

Who represents him? Don Yee. Tom Brady. You know, he bought a team, part of the team, then they claimed it wasn't enough money, but that's not dead yet. Donnie, he's got connections to Vegas written all over. No state income tax. You know, Harbaugh spent a lot of time on the West Coast. I do not think it's a lock.

Like, I think the Chargers could be bitten against Mark Davis. They have a prior relationship. They've met before when the 49ers met him. You know, Antonio Pierce, fun story. I think it's a pretty big stretch. Now, I do think he was a leader in the clubhouse. If he kept winning games, he'd have beat by the Coles today. Their offense is terrible.

I mean, Jim Harbaugh immediately fix you. The Raiders are a lot like the Chargers. Now, they are a bigger deal in Vegas because they don't have to compete with anybody, but they are very, very irrelevant in a city that does not do irrelevancy. So I think that the Raiders are a team to keep an eye on. Now, you know, I mean, do you think Harbaugh is, I feel like he's 100% gone. He wins the national championship. He's for sure gone.

We'll get into, I kind of like Washington to win it all. But regardless, I mean, he almost left. a couple years ago. So I think he's ready, especially with everything that's happening with the NCAA. So let's pit, this can be the same topic,

Michigan Bama. So I, Michigan Bama is this. It's the most consistent team in the country, Michigan, against the surging team Alabama. So I've seen Jalen Milrow be awful a couple times this year.

He got benched. He got benched a season, Colin. I mean, he was bad against Auburn, and Auburn stinks. Yeah. So, but they're a surging team.

and Harbaugh has not been great in Bulls. No. There's a lot of different reasons and beliefs on that. But I like Michigan because I know what I get. My issue with Michigan, if they had one over-the-top star receiver, if you put Marvin Harrison on that team, I think they'd really hand it to Alabama, but they don't. And so they sort of suffocate you and pin you down. Does it affect the way you think at all that the SEC's been great in bowls and the Big Ten's

looked awful? Does that influence your thoughts on Michigan Bama? Well, yeah, simply Sabin versus Harbaugh. Like you said, Harbaugh has been, it's safe to say a flop. I mean, in some of these big, big games, obviously the Super Bowl until the lights went out was a disaster. The last two bowl games, I mean, Georgia manhandled them. Now you can say that's one of the great college rosters of all time. What about last year?

What the hell was that? So to me, the Sabin thing, I could not put any money on Michigan. Now, I think they are going to win. They have all my scouting buddies, have 18 guys who are going to get drafted, teams load. more complete than Alabama, but Nick Saban's used to this. Nick Sabin's the opposite, right? Won all these playoff games.

So I would be very, very nervous if I was, I think if he, I think there is a ton of pressure on Jim Harbaugh, right? You can't win with this team, with all these guys, against a flawed Bama team. I had buddies that do the SEC that were like, at the beginning of the season, Nick's going to go eight and four this year.

This is the worst team he's had of the last decade. It actually shows what a great coach he is to get this team by the end. the season, you know, beating Georgia. But this is not, you know, your seven, eight years ago, Alabama team that is just, you know, they got good players, but it's not. Jalen Millroll. Another thing that the media, I saw the reaction to Bill O'Brien telling him to change, because it happens all the time in college football. Jalen Hertz, Nick Sabin told Jalen Hurtz sit on the bench. People get told they're not good enough in college football. This football,

people get benched, transfer, leave teams all the time. He has improved, you know, he's a good deep, He's got a big arm. He's not very accurate, not much touch, great athlete. But, listen, Michigan should win this game, but Harbaugh in these moments has to make you nervous. A ton of pressure, I think part of the theory is gets a little tight. He's got a little Peyton Manning. He wants it so bad. Yeah.

And it's just, you know, Nick's used to this. This is, you know, another day at the office for saving. Well, what, it's really interesting you say that. Michigan went six and O without Harbaugh on the sidelines. It's almost like, hey, my kids are always. like if my wife doesn't go on the vacation, my kids just don't want to go with dad because dad's intense. Dad's young at the airport.

It tells you that Jim's a great culture builder, but sometimes on the sidelines, his assistants are more chill. I mean, what does that tell you? There's six and oh without Saban on the sideline. And I think it's a really good point about Jim. Jim builds a terrific culture. But sometimes bowl games, this is why Kaelan D'Or is scary to face the Washington coach. Get to that in a second. Sometimes bowl games reward clever coaches.

Urban Meyer could be very creative, just creative enough in a bowl game, just create. Lou Holtz. Some of these guys that are just intense and kind of this alpha, and this is Jim, and repetition, and they don't bring a lot beyond that. And that creativity. I think Jim's offenses are somewhat dependent on a younger creative set of eyes to elevate Jim. And I do think there's a patent man in quality where his teams feed off his intensity. But Michigan has been very consistent.

Alabama has not be so. Now, win or lose, I actually am in the minority here. I don't think it matters. I think Jim's going to pro football eventually. I don't think if he wins or loses a nattie, I don't think it matters because Michigan's still going to be good. He's beaten Ohio State three in a row. He's done what he wanted to do. Dominate the series of Ohio State, bring Michigan back, and make him an elite team that's playing in the playoffs. Win or lose the nattie, he also knows that the South has far greater high school programs and he's at a disadvantage.

It's why Brian Kelly took the LSU job over Notre Dame. Everybody knows this. So I don't know. I don't don't think winning and losing a natty changes Harbaugh. Do you? No, because it's no one, anyone that's around Harbaugh thinks he's impossible to know anything he's ever thinking. You know, so Harbaugh's just in his own little world. If he wants to go, he's going to go. If, you know, he's got a good thing going. They love him there. He's resurrected this program. They pay him a lot of money. It's not, he's not leaving from the money at this point. Like, Jim Harbaugh's absolutely loaded from coaching football, let alone playing. To me, the question, though, is like, bowl games are hard to judge, but not a great couple days for the Big Ten.

I mean, Ohio State scored three points. I know they're quarterback transferred. Penn State's fucking terrible. Those are Michigan's two best wins. Look at who Alabama beat Georgia. I don't know. That's a pretty good win. LSU's not bad.

I mean, they've had a lot of just, they've been tested events a lot of NFL. The Big Ten turns out this year might not be that good. So, listen, Alabama should not win this game. You know, I don't think, one thing Jim is good at with things going on outside, like Will He Leave, it doesn't really impact him and the way he carries himself. I know some coaches can get weirded out by that. Just the way it just impacts them, the way they interact with their team. Jim is probably normal Jim Harbaugh to his team. I just wonder if they're tested enough.

I know they beat the shit out of everyone they played early in the season that are not any good. And then the two good wins they have, I don't know if those aged great, especially Penn State. I mean, that was a good win for Michigan. and they are laying destroyed them. Yeah. All right. Finally, Washington, getting four, four and a half against Texas. I'll take Washington and the points.

I think this game's actually pretty simple. Like when Detroit and Dallas played, they had 800 yards offense, six yards of play. You knew there was going to be a lot of offensive firepower. Score didn't reflect that, but there was a lot of offense. Texas has better athletes, and their interior D-line could give Washington's guard, center guard's real problems. Washington's talents at quarterback receiver, left tackle, and an edge rusher. Texas has more players. Texas, on the other hand, has really a weak secondary, bad at corner. So if Texas can't create pressure on Michael Pennix, who will sit there to the last second,

Washington is going to get the ball down the field. My feeling is over the course of four quarters, three and a half hours, Sark will have some tricks, they'll be clever, and it'll be a shootout, 3834. That's what it feels like to me. You, I will say this, though, and I told this to a friend yesterday at the gym, he was, he's a diehard college football fan. I said, I'm not so sure Kaylon DeBoreen, the best coach in the country. Like, I, when you watch Washington's receivers block, when you watch Washington, the emergence late in the season of their run game, that's coaching. They don't have four and five star running backs. They're doing stuff that's beyond their players. I mean, if you, if you look at them, panics came from Indiana, and I don't,

all sorts of physical injuries. Virtually every unit on that field, outside of maybe receiver, is over delivering, playing over at skis. My guess is they both score a lot. Eventually, Texas's ability to run and pound the football helps to wear down Washington, but you don't feel that way. Our partners at Draft Kings built a sports book about five minutes from my house. I'm going to get in the car tomorrow, probably around noon after I work out and place. one of the biggest wagers I've ever have on Washington. I don't like Washington.

I love him. Caitlin DuBores 4-0 is an underdog at Washington. He hasn't lost the game basically two years. I think that him and Grubb, his offensive coordinator, right-hand man,

have been together now for almost two decades, winning at every level. I mean, big at every level. They do not lose. And it's not just, they don't always have the most talent. You saw that Oregon game.

That was one, they had the underdog card to play, and it was, we're going to out-coach you. And to me, Sark, and I know everyone likes them and I know I know you know them. A lot of people I know know them.

I don't know them. People like the guy. He has never won. This is easily the best season he's ever had. The Big 12 was fucking terrible. He has the highest payroll in college football when it comes to NIL. Like they have the highest, they have the most talent money can buy, and that's the rules they're playing by him.

Kaelin Dubour, it's not like he's like the little engine that could. They got NFL players on the offensive line on the defensive line. They got star wide receivers. And they have a quarterback who's proven in big moments on the road in neutral sites to be incredible. And to me, it all gets back to the coaching. I will take Kalin Dubor over Steve Sarkeesian every day of the week. And I think they win this game, which I expect them to do.

I think there's a decent chance they win the national championship. Right now, there's seven to one on draft kings. I don't think it's crazy, right? If they win this game, why couldn't he beat Harbaugh? Well, yeah, and the other thing is you get an offensive coach against potentially say, but a defensive coach. There is a little bit to be said about. you know, Michigan Bama beat each other up.

I mean, that's going to be a physical. A war zone game. Washington, Texas may look like a big 12 game. It may be spread out, fun, moving around, and all of a sudden, you know, it's not a finesse game, but it's not a pound game. Michigan, Bama, I can tell you right now. I mean, Michigan would love to throw the ball 13 times and just pound Alabama and never get, I mean, that's their game plan. Washington could throw 45 times. could look like flag football. So the winner of Washington, Texas may come out of sort of a

like a flag football game where it's a lot of throwing and healthier and have more energy. I'd give it to the SEC, but you could make the argument in 2003. The best conference top to bottom was the Pac-12. Washington didn't lose a game. And the second best team, which easily could be a playoff team, they beat twice. And really, they beat three times in a row. Right. So, I mean, this team, the Big 12, we act like Sark blew everyone out. I watched a lot of Texas games. He was in some weird games throughout the season. You know, they are. And he has a little quality when he should run the ball.

He gets a little pass happy. And he's not a guy. It's not like this is his fourth playoff appearance as a head coach. He's like a seven and a half lifetime average win a year guy. You know, this is an outlier. See, Kailen DuBore is used to playing in championship. Now, they're at different levels. But he's gone to the Pac-12 immediately dominates.

I love them tomorrow, Colin. And I'm not, this is taking, I think Texas is good. I'm not acting like they stink, and this is not going to be a close. game. But I think the differential of him, if Jim Harbaugh leaves, who's Michigan's first call? Oh, it's Kaylon Du Boer. Yeah. So if Ryan Day would have got fired yesterday after losing 14 to three, who do you think they're calling? So it's like, this is a guy that in five years are we talking, is he the next Kirby Smart? You know, I think it's very possible. I think he's as good as any coach in the country. I talked to an Ohio State booster yesterday. He said, if you asked me today,

who's the coach in the year, I'd say, Kalen DeBoer at Ohio State. And I said, well, Washington's going to get to $8 million. And Washington's a funny program. It's the one, I'm a Husky, right, since I was a kid. It's really an interesting program, despite their geographic isolation. And the fact that Washington has about 12 Division I players a year of the state, they've had four great coaches, Don James, New Heissel, briefly, Chris Peterson, and Kalin DeBore.

And all of them, they were in the national championship. championship discussion with Don they won it with Peterson playoffs, Kaelin playoffs, and New Heysel had an 11 and one team. I think Marcus Tuyas Sobo beat Purdue and the Rose Bowl. I mean, they were very, very good for a couple of you. Beat Miami, remember? I think if you just removed, part of it is no one really knows this, like the betting market, right? Like, why are they such a big underdog? If you removed Washington and Kalin Dubor and USC and Lincoln Riley just had the same season, USC's probably favored in this game, right? But it's Washington. It's Kalin Dubor. Where was he coaching 10 years ago and MAIA, I think they are insanely undervalued.

Now, that doesn't mean they could lose tomorrow. Texas is loaded. But I don't think it's out of the wrong. Seven to one to win the national change. All you got to do, you win this game. They'll have beat Oregon twice in Texas who killed Alabama early in the season. I think Washington, honestly, I don't think it's crazy if they win by like 10 points, because I think he's that great of a coach.

His assistant, Nick Sabin tried to hire Ryan Grub as his offensive coordinator last year. I was reading an article the other day, I think by Pat 40, and Ryan's like, listen, obviously Washington matched the amount of money, but he's like, I value being around my guy. He empowers me. We have a great team. We set out to do what we're doing. And I think that tandem of that group is kind of got some vibes. Now, they've got a long way to go of like Kirby and Nick. It's like a power tandem.

And they have taken the Pac-12 by storm the last two years. His name is John Middlough, wildly connected, former Eagle Scout in the NFL. Well, three and outses podcast at the volume. We do an hour on Sundays, and it's my favorite hour of the week. Tomorrow, two big ones. You've talked me into Washington. Well, I was going to take them in the points. I'm taking a money on.

I don't think you're wrong. You know what? I don't know why I'm talking myself out of Washington. I should be a homer. It's the one team I beat the audience would allow me to be a homer. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest. I thought Oregon was going to roll him the second time. And I think Dan Lanning's good.

They were a nine-point underdog and he kicked their ass. And I think Dan Landing, I watched Oregon twice live. Excellent staff. They manipulated. First snap on manipulated the game. It's like, what am I watching here? John, enjoy your T-dos tomorrow, buddy. I got a case waiting for you in my garage.

I'm ready for it. Go dogs. The volume. Another podcast from some SNL. 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, S&L'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.

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Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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,

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