The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Niners Dominate Cowboys, Bears Coaching Fiasco, Eagles Soar, Jets Crash, Star-Studded World Series

Episode Date: October 28, 2024

Colin’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down all the week 8 NFL action! They start with Sunday Night Football and the Niners holding off the Cowboys. They point the finger at Jerry Jones for signing bad contracts and mismanaging team personnel (7:00) and point out that Brock Purdy and Dak Prescott are very similar quarterbacks…with wildly different paychecks (15:00) Then, they break down a crazy hail-mary finish between the Commanders and Bears and rip the Bears for their absolutely horrific offensive game plan and explain why they made a mistake drafting wide receiver Rome Odunze instead of drafting an offensive lineman (30:30). They point to a total “systemic breakdown” for the Jets after their third straight loss since firing Robert Salah and highlight their defense getting progressively worse (40:00). They both agree Colts quarterback Anthony Richardson can’t function as an NFL quarterback and agree that if the Colts want to win they need to start Joe Flacco (55:00). They call the Eagles win over the Bengals one of their most important, and call out Bengals ownership for being cheap and refusing to support Joe Burrow with a quality supporting cast and coach (01:09:00), and contrast that to the coaching job Sean Payton has done with the Broncos in order to get a subpar roster to a 5-3 start (01:17:00). Finally, they discuss the huge ratings so far for the Yankees vs Dodgers World Series and point out to the star studded lineups for both teams as one of the drivers of huge fan interest (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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business, and totally tied into the San Francisco 49ers who hold on to beat Dallas 30 to 24. I didn't, I didn't think it would be that close. Yeah, we'll spend 15, 20 minutes on this. Listen, there are things San Francisco does well. They run the ball. They had, you know, 200 yards rushing. Dallas doesn't run the ball. We knew that going into the season. They adjust. I thought they adjusted really well at halftime tonight. They were really struggling, stopping Dallas in the first half. Dallas was getting a push, and then they kind of exploded in the third quarter.

I do not trust this Niner pass rush or team late in games. They've been burned late in games. I thought Brock pretty really struggled low, off target. Early, I thought later in the second half to gain confidence, he used his legs a little bit. started moving, kind of gained confidence, hit on some nice throws. Kittle had a great night. You know, I think there's a difference between Dallas and San Francisco. I think San Francisco is a good team that is just physically, like the Rams in the first month, just beat up. They just don't have enough good players. I think Dallas is a bad team that actually played pretty well tonight. They got

a break when the couple of Niners banged into each other and C.D. Lamb got a wide open touchdown. And I've been saying this for a while. Dallas almost, if you're a cowboy fan tonight, you're like, wow, we've made it competitive at the end. I think they've got to take a swing, John. I think they have to do something in the offseason. I think they have to sell some pieces, get too high draft picks. I don't see the way out for Dallas. DAC is ordinary.

They're paying him a fortune. They're locked into him. If CD Lamb twisted his ankle, they don't have a guy on this offensive roster that you you would be forced to roll coverage over. I think it's, despite the score tonight, I think it's grimmer for Dallas than people think, especially with Washington now, like looking like the next decade, they're going to be locked in with Jane Daniels. Yeah, you know, this is not a game.

I guess you need to worry about most people box score scouting because everyone watches it. But that score, I mean, they scored two touchdowns in the last five or six minutes of the game. One of the drives was a 70-second drive. which, you know, is pretty unheard of in the NFL. Obviously, the Niners, the first touchdown drive playing way off. You don't hit me tonight is the 49ers have beat these guys now four times in a row. Twice in the playoffs.

They Molly Wapped him last year on Sunday night football. And they were up in this game, 27 to 10, missing a lot of guys. This matchup, which is one of the biggest matchups of my life in terms of brands and the history, is currently Kyle Shanahan, who's, you know, for a young guy who's been, coaching in the NFL for 20 years and his dad is one of the most famous offensive coaches of all time. So he's been around football his whole life. And John Lynch, who currently last year or two years ago, just went into the Hall of Fame. That's the 49ers brass building this team against an 80-plus-year-old Jerry Jones.

It just, it was like, this is not really a fair fight. Because it's not like, they both hit on some high-end players, Micah, CD, Nick Bosa, right? I mean, they've both hit on high, trade for Trump Williams, paying a bunch of money. but the 49ers team is littered with guys in the fourth, fifth, sixth round. That Isaac Grendo is a fourth round rookie running back. And boom, plug and play. What's the whole thing? Cowboys, no running back.

They're playing Zeke who can't run away from me or you. Who's tough physical guy but can't move? They draft Isaac. Well, guess what? I think he went a couple picks right after the pick that they traded for Trey Lance. Who is their third string quarterback? Right. listen, I admire Jerry's clearly from a business standpoint. He's been incredible for 30 plus years.

I mean, hell, they sell practice facility tours to make a little extra income. But he tried to strike oil on that one. And sometimes he does that and you're not going to strike oil, Jerry. Like, you're going to take couch. Who are you bidding against on that one? And the other quarterbacks in his draft class, who are way better, went for like six and seventh round picks, Fields, Mac Jones, Zach Wilson. So that's kind of. of a microcosm of Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, but you can just go right. Less need, Sean McVeigh.

Dan, Brad Holmes, Dan Campbell, Goudicins, LaFlor. How is Jerry compete? The NFC, even, you know, the Eagles, Siriani's under question, but no one questions how he's intelligence. So from a football standpoint in that conference, doesn't have the high-end quarterbacks

of the Mahomes, Allen, Lamar, Burrow, Herbert, but it does have very, very high level front office and football guys. Coach and GM combos that I would say and have built very, very good teams. Because you watch the Cowboys, they got injuries. Like you said, how many guys are on the sideline for the Niners? Hell, halfway through the game, Debo's got a 17th injury of the season.

And he's in the blue 10. Didn't even matter. To me that score, like, don't get me wrong. I mean, you're on the edge of your seat those last couple of minutes. Not really indicative what we witnessed when the Niners really put pedal to the medal there and when the game mattered. Yeah, I mean, what's discouraging is for a long time, the Niners were 50% on third down with a lot of time to play.

They had 450 yards. And Purdy was, like you said, atrocious in the first half, missing base in throws. Yeah, underneath stuff, like layups and beat up. I mean, they have like seven starters out. It's just, this is almost encouraging for Dallas because they were competitive. Off a by, though, you know, with Jerry talking about. bunch of crap. They were kind of motivated. I don't know. I thought they threw the kitchen sink and they

ran out of juice. That's what I think. I mean, Mike McCarthy actually, he's not Andy Reed, but he's top five or six coach in the league off a buy. So, and they had a very solid first half. And then, and then again, you can only tweak, you know, I mean, it's just interesting to watch, like Ricky Pearson. He got a little run. I mean, they're using cowling on punts. They're getting a lot of different guys involved. You know, and it's, funny in the NFL, you're allowed to whiff. I mean, John Lynch has whiffed on some guys. I mean, you know, he's taking swings and missed on guys. That wide receiver from FSMU, he was a second or third round pick gray. Yeah, it's terrible. Yeah. Yeah. So having got, yeah, I mean,

Les Need and McVeigh missed on Logan Bruss, the second round guard who's just a perennial backup. Second round guard, two, two at well, you know, he'll be gone here soon. So, I mean, it's okay to miss. People miss all the time. Pete Carroll had hits. He had misses. I mean, he had Rashad Penny in the first round as a running back. That never panned out, really. No. So, but it's just, I just feel San Francisco, also the advantage that San Francisco has, they're better at drafting, but they also have a coach that has a certain style. So stylistically, there are things you can draft that almost always work with Shanahan, like running backs, slot receivers. It's they almost always work because, you know, it's like they're like with Andy Reed. I mean, they've missed on some wide receivers, which, by the way, is the hardest position to draft in the first round in the NFL because, I mean, for a lot of reasons, a lot of times you get a mature quarterback. He's just not patient.

He just doesn't want to wait for some kid to figure out the routes. They don't trust him. That was Brady in New England. He just didn't trust that. Historically, it was one of the bigger busting positions to the last six or seven years when the college football changed. Yep. But I feel like with Sanford. Francisco, when you got the coach right and you have a player and a GM and a coach relationship

that's strong, you kind of know, you kind of know where to draft. I mean, like the guy, George Patton in Denver was Sean Payton. If you look at Sean Peyton's history, Mickey Loomis and New Orleans drafting for Sean, he knew positions that worked for Sean. So he didn't miss on certain positions. Dallas, it feels like you've just kind of taken the best value in the draft and you're not quite, I mean, they've hit on their first round picks, but a lot of misses, a lot of, you know, Tyron Smith, they hit on Zach Martin, then on C.D. Lamb. They hit on Michael Parsons. They've been pretty good in the first round. But I don't feel like they find enough elite. They don't find like San Francisco Kittles fifth round, Janning, six round, Brock Purdy, seventh round.

I don't feel like Dallas creates that. Well, look at that last drive when they get the ball back. There wasn't 45 seconds left. There was almost three minutes with a two-minute warning. You could just run a normal drive. What do they? They can't run the ball. Well, Garendo is the 49ers. He's not their backup running back. He's their third string running back. Because, I mean, what would they do to have Grendo or Jordan Mason on their team? But they can't run a normal drive because they can't run the ball. So they have to attempt to throw it. And they go basically four and out. The game, the game immediately ends. And this gets back to building the team. Like, I get where Jerry's like, we didn't have the money. Derek Henry would not have looked like he did on the Cowboys. But

You should be able to find good running backs with ease midway through the draft, undrafted free agents, guys for a couple millions on the scrap heap. Instead, what did Jerry do? Kind of like Bill at the latter end of his career with coaches, right, brings back all these guys. Zeke Elliott? Like, who else? How is Zeke Elliott getting run for you? It doesn't make any sense. So this is what happens when, like, ultimately there has to be some checks and balances. Do you think John and Kyle agree all the time? No, but they have an offensive philosophy. a defensive philosophy, and they can find middle ground, and they can help each other out. Veach and Andy are the best example. Like, personnel guys and coaches, butheads is it's natural.

One guy's living in the moment. The other guy sees it, you know, kind of from a 40,000-foot view sometimes. And you about, Jerry has no balance. You're not listening to anything. Mike's telling him. I mean, Stephen is in a tough position as his son. It's like maybe he can influence him a little. But at this point in time, we all know anyone that's ever been around a really, really old guy

who has a lot of money, they're naturally very stubborn, and Jerry is that on steroids clearly right now. I mean, the words he said, I mean, that article that came out this week about the tours. Yeah. To me, that is not coming out if everything hadn't happened the previous couple weeks. It was ripe for the taking right there. And Jerry, like, that is a product of Jerry Jones. No one was talking about those tours were going on last year when they were 12 and 5 and hosting a playoff game. But no one cares, right?

But the moment you start leaking oil. things get weird. Jerry's being, I mean, he's being, it's a little different, but he's got some Mal Davis 2007 vibes right now, doesn't he? Yeah. Yeah. You know, the other thing watching this is that I don't see a big separation with Dak Prescott and Brock Purdy. The difference is Brock is free and DAC's $60 million. I mean, when I watched them play, you know, they both can be a little spotty with their accuracy. I think at this point Brock runs better than DAC. I think Dak ran better about three years ago, but Dax, you know, he's been banged. So I think Brock runs better. I think accuracy, they're both kind of the same. Neither has a big arm down field, good enough. They both see

the field particularly well. They're both grownups. I feel like pre-snap, they're both fine, but the difference is one's free and one is now paid top of the league. And so, I mean, and you got, that thing hasn't even kicked in yet. So I just, I look, and I look at the NF see, John, and I've said this. I'm watching Detroit today, kick the you know what out of Tennessee. Detroit may be the best team in the league. And here comes Washington. And Chicago can play. Philadelphia had its best game in forever today. You know, Green Bay is just stacked offensively if Jordan Love can stay healthy. I think the Rams are going to go on a run here now, now that they got the receivers healthy. If they can get their interior O line healthy, I think they'll go on a run. Hell, Arizona's a tough out.

They're four and four. They're technically in first place right now in the division. So I just, I mean, let's concentrate on San Francisco instead of lamenting the Cowboys. I do think if they can get healthy in the next six weeks, what's their ceiling? I think they can compete for a Super Bowl because they beat all these teams. all the teams you just rattled off. I mean, they've owned Sean McVeigh. They actually play the Lions and the Packers here coming up,

and they beat both those two teams. Now, they got them at home, and right now they're not hosting those teams, even if they pull off this division, right? I mean, it looks like Detroit's going to be the number one seed. They get a buy right now. So you're four and four, you take a deep breath. This season has been the season from hell. Yeah.

To me, every team has it. But what are your standards? The Jets have it. They're done. The Niners have it. It's like four and four. okay, does Christian McCaffrey come back in two weeks? And then their schedule opens up a little bit at Tampa,

who just lost their best two players, and they gave everything they had today, and it's just not going to be enough, and they're in shambles. Then they get Seattle, who they own. So you could look up pretty quick, and then the 49ers are six and four, and they can take a deep breath.

Now, they have to, they have a trip where they go, I don't know, I don't know the order, but it's at Green Bay and at Buffalo. Yeah. So, I mean, those two games, and then they played Detroit at home late in the season. So to me, if you can win one of those three, games, handle some division games.

Like this could be a 10-7 team win the division. And then the one thing, the advantage you have is a coach and a bright lights battle-hardened team. But you saw George Kittle tonight. Lights are the brightest Dallas Cowboys. I'm going to fucking dominate. Yeah. Same with Fred Warner, same with Nick Bost.

So they are not going to be intimidated by any of these teams. Now, they need Christian McCaffrey back. They need Debo Samuel to stay healthy. And Drey Greenlaw would help as well. But these guys are all, I mean, I think Debo would be fine. But if they can get Christian back, like, that would be a pretty big addition. If you tell me, Christian McCaffrey's 80, 85% of the guy we saw last year, I mean, there's not a team in the

league that could trade for a better player, given what he means to this team, right? I do wonder about the defense, third coordinator defensively in three years. They weren't that good last year, though, and they made the Super Bowl. But the NFC is better. I think, I mean, you know, Green Bay was too young. Now they're not. Detroit was the hunter. Now that the hunted, I think they're better. Washington's real. I mean, I think Atlanta's a tough out.

And if Atlanta, if you had to go to Atlanta, you just, you know, Atlanta is the kind of team. I think the Niners would like their chances in that one. The NFC North would be a problem for them. I think Kirk Cousins, they'd be licking their lips. But non-n mobile quarterbacks, they historically have been really good, even though their pastoral isn't as good. To me, the Jordan loves the Detroit, they don't have a mobile quarterback. but their offense is so dynamic. Do you think the Niners are well coached defensively?

Yeah. I think one thing that's hurt them that they always, I think their coaches probably got too much credit. I mean, D'Amico was legit, but Sala probably got too much credit. And when they've played well this year and last year, is when you just got four great pass rushers, I mean, like that's a D-line coach and just pure talent.

That makes everyone look better. I do think their defensive backs are pretty good. good. And so, Fred, Fred Warner is, you know, the best linebacker in the league. Do they have Steve Spagnola or, you know, Brian Flores? No, they do not. But they do have on every level good players. So I don't know what the hell happened there down the stretch. That was pretty embarrassing, especially like, it's one thing of a couple random guys break plays, but 88, like that cannot happen. But I do think they have the talent to compete with all these teams. Would I bet my money for them to, for them to, win the Super Bowl as we sit here right now or to win the NFC, I would not. But no team in the NFC, and it includes the Eagles who got to the Super Bowl a couple years ago, have had more recent playoff success in the 49ers. They've won on the road. They've won at home. They're coaching mismatch, their player mismatch in terms of their comfortability in those moments. I mean, they have a lot of guys who have been through the ringer. So they'll probably

be an underdog if they're on the road in Green Bay or, you know, Detroit or whatever. But you wouldn't just say, God, obviously health, you know, impacts this. You wouldn't say they would have no shot in these games. The other thing, as you saw in that game, you know, once Dax shattered his ankle, he clearly has never moved the same. Yeah. Purdy, that looked a little like the second half in some of those playoff games where he just gets you

some extra first downs and he doesn't turn the ball over. When he turns the ball over, the Niners offense bad. When he doesn't, they run the ball, they tend to win. I thought at halftime, it was fairly clear that Kyle had told him, You know what? We're going to move, run, keep it yourself. And I also think to Purdy's credit, I think, you know, I used to say this about LeBron for most of his career. He'd lose confidence in the jumper and he'd say, okay, I'm just going to take it to the basket. And then over the course of two or three games, he'd hit some jumpers and he'd get his confidence back. I thought Purdy

lost his confidence a little bit in the first half. He threw behind a couple receivers. He threw low. And it kind of felt like, and he knew it. And it kind of felt like, okay, I'm just going to start moving here a little bit. You know, I want to, I want to kind of get the mojo back. And I thought he did. And I thought, you know, he's a pro athlete. And then I thought he got confidence back. And then it's like getting your jumper back. And then he made a couple of big throws down the field, one really nice throw to kiddle. And so I thought in the second half was a truer, a truer copy of what brought pretty is. I thought he had a bad first half. I thought in the second half, that's a truer version of him.

I think the thing with him is we just need to put him into context. Like, separate from the contract, he's not as good as the top guys. Yeah. But when he plays well, he can be good as that next tier that you can win a lot of games with as you build the team. And my whole thing is, if you have any question marks, like, you would just play it again next year. This isn't one of those where the Niners are some poverty franchise like the Jags. We got to give $200 million. And then you regret it.

No, take a deep breath. He's making a bunch of money. He loves being here. there's no better spot for him. And you just, this is a fluid situation. But he plays like that, plays winning football, like he's got a place with Kyle because that's the other thing. With this coach, you kind of need a specific type quarterback.

The one problem with the Niners is, and we talk about this all the time, is, you know, their offense can be so run dependent because the past then comes off that. They can't really. The one thing, McCarthy and Dak have no problem doing, spread it out, playing the shotgun. Like they're comfortable, a lot of teams all over the NFL. Phil. It's not really the 49ers passing game.

No, they're not a come from behind team necessarily. Now, I mean, I think they tend to get leads because I think they're really schematically ahead of the curve. So, I mean, when you watch them play, there's just two or three things I always feel like. They always have a good early drive. They always run the football. They almost always have a pass rush. They create turnovers. I mean, there's a lot of really good things that they do.

They're not special at quarterback, but in the second half, when you watch Purdy, you're like, oh, I get it. They move the pocket. I just, I think you have to feel if you're San Francisco tonight, 30, 24 over Dallas. You played a pretty poor first half. Your quarterback was off. You're missing seven to eight key players. Debo gets hurt in the game. And you're like, we won.

I mean, we got 500 yards of offense. I think in the end, I mean, they lose tonight. They're three and five. It would have been, it would have felt like the season. And it would have been a disaster. I mean, you would have had to look yourself in and go. So do we peel off a guy or two at the trade deadline? Like, we have to get picks.

It would have been one of the worst losses I've ever seen in my entire life of watching this franchise. And for a minute, you're on the end of your seat. You're like, this isn't really going to happen. I do think there's something to be said when you have a coach and you have the core of your team that has seen it all, good and bad. And that's one thing the Chiefs have. I know they've won the two Super Bowls, but they've also gone through some crazy bad stretches these last couple of years. They're very comfortable in every environment. And the 49ers over the course of these last three years have had slow starts, I think, 22.

They started three and five. So it's like they are used to some madness for a really, really good team. And they're comfortable in these environments. Now, they got some big games. I got to get guys back. But it all comes down. If Purdy's playing well, they have a chance to beat anybody. When he plays like he did last week against the Chiefs, they become very average to below quick.

Because their defense, like you said, it's not as dominant in years past. But at any moment, they could get an interception. Fred can force a fumble. They have, like, they could be disruptive at a moment's notice and all of a sudden they get the ball and flip a field like that. They're not as likely to, like, hold you to 200 yards. Those days are done. 3024, San Francisco over the Cowboys.

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It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life. mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast.

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledom. and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid.

has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running the court licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball.

So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a paramedipausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, What the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be.

Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How hard can it be? How hard can it be? Getting naked at 50 with a new guy. That one's kind of hard, you know? Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be?

I cannot believe I'm about to say. Say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong and Will Ferdell from PodMeets World.

And now the PodMeets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traders, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you.

I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion of the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of ha, who. Again, we are experts.

So make sure to tune it at a pod meets Twitter. world for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to Pod Meets Tworold on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Our week eight reaction presented by Uber Eats could almost, almost anything for game day. Greatest ugly game in the history of the NFL, Washington beats the Bears 18 to 15 on a Hail Mary. Let me just start with this. Washington was the better team. They were the better coached team. I thought Chicago's offensive coaching at the end of the game was egregiously horrible late in the game. And I give, I give, let me just say, Caleb and his movement and his sidearming stuff, you can see the Mahomes comps. He's running around. The O lines getting overwhelmed. I mean,

first of all, it was nine nothing at half. Chicago had 33 yards passing in the first half. I thought the game was over. But Chicago, you know, their defense, you know, kind of kept him in the game, and then Washington's offense stalled. But I got to, John, the third and goal were the Bears did the Fridge Perry, the following drive on a third down to win the game, you thought. They did a draw, essentially putting in the hands. The whole game came down to one play. Thank God, Keenan Allen, it was past interference. I didn't get that.

I mean, they made no attempt. It felt like the third down was just setting up. fourth down and they had to have a touchdown to take a lead. So I just couldn't stand Chicago's offensive coaching. And I know it to Hail Mary, but my take was Washington was a better team. 100%. Could not agree more. There was a stat that popped up. I think in the second half that said he was four of 13 for 36 yards. That being Caleb, I thought on this drive can't be the game. And I had to double check. It was the game. Their offense was horrendous. Their defense was standing. I wrote down, I mean, even when it was 9-0, it felt, I mean, 28 to nothing.

Yes. Complete control. Jaden didn't just look like the best player in the game. He looked like one of the best players in the league. The thing I wrote down is if you could pick these two coaching staffs, Iber Fluse, Waldron, and Dan Quinn, Cliff Kingsbury, the gap is like going from a star-starting quarterback to some random backup. You're like, it's not even close. That's why when they take the lead, I'm like, listen, it's sports, crazy things happen. But there haven't been many games this season where a team would have came away with a victory that was like, you didn't even come close. To call the play to a backup offensive lineman on, like I was one years old with the refrigerator

Perry plays, but he did it a lot, right? It was part of their arsenal. They weren't a good, obviously Walter Payton, but they weren't some dynamic offense. You got, you drafted a receiver nine. you got Keenan Allen, you got DJ more, your running backs are the reason you're in the game. Yes. I mean, if it wasn't for Swiss, whatever, huge run.

Oh, huge run. It wouldn't even have been close. It was like that gave them life because they had none. None. They had none. To give them that play, even they ended up taking a lead with 20 seconds left. I think that has to go down as the most egregious play call of the season. Second would probably be that.

Remember that fake play? The bills ran against the Ravens when they were torment. But that was way worse. To get backup offensive linemen, I mean, it's not even, you can't even blame him. Belichick would say it's not on the player, it's on the coach. You can't call, you can't put that guy in that position, right? It'd be like me, hey, John, make this video edit. I'm like, what do I don't know?

What do I do? That was crazy, Colin. It really was. They got lucky the bounce or something didn't land where the guy did take it to the house. That could have been historic disaster on a given play. And here's the other thing. You know I beat up on defensive. coaches. The bears were off a buy. The first half, no clever. Nothing. They weren't quick to the line.

They weren't quick out of the huddle. It was just, it was just plotting. There wasn't any energy. And I understand off a by, you know, when we watch a McVeigh off a buy or some of these really well coached teams. I mean, and or even Shanahan, you're like, Shanahan opens with the jets. You're like, this is a mismatch. You can see the plays off a by. It, like, we're like, was a Saryani. It's like you got nothing. You have no design plays. And it's one of those things where in the first half, Jaden Daniels was the best player on the field. I will say Caleb won't show up in the box score. But his ability, because I mean, Washington's pass rush, John, especially in the early portions, I think what happened sometimes, Washington's defensive line control the first half,

these are 300-pound guys. I thought they wore down in the fourth, and it gave Caleb another second to a maneuver around. They just, they're big. They mean, these guys like pain. You can't get 60 snaps out of these guys at the same energy level. And I thought Caleb bought time. I thought he made a couple of really, really high end throws in the fourth quarter. But John, that drive that gave them the lead, on third down, this is not a field goal situation.

You're going to score. They run another quarterback draw. And I thought, just after. running a previous one. I thought, well, what are we doing here? Now, first down, they ran a, they ran a fade into the corner of the end zone. Like, what are you doing to slam the ball in? You're running the ball right down the throat. So I just hated the Bears play calling. And not just because I had Washington as a side, but there are moments in the season where I feel bad for teams where like they outplay, they out scheme, they out. And they just, they end up on the wrong side of a game.

I always kind of root for the team that looks like. They put the effort in. They had a plan. I don't like luck wins, but they happen in football. Shit happens. I mean, guys get hurt. You get bad breaks. But I will say-

happens in all sports. Could have happened last night in the Yankee game if they would have came back in the ninth inning. It's like they deserve to win that game. It's just that's why we watch. But let's let's just say this right now. In terms of entire staff, Washington's got to have, I think it has a top five to six staff in the league. If you're counting both coordinators,

I don't know. This past defense was egregiously bad in the first month. Even that's gotten better. It was the worst past defense for three weeks. So they're coaching the hell out of that thing. Well, the two rosters, they spent a lot of money on their offensive line in Washington, and it's actually pretty solid. But the rest of the roster relative to the bears, right?

I mean, the bears got better wide receivers. They definitely got a way better defense. I mean, they got a fantastic secondary. I mean, how good does Montes sweat look? I mean, the guy looks like, Jesus. You know, Miles Garrett or something. A couple things. I think you give Caleb credit for competitive character,

because that was a game where he could have just folded like a cheap tent. And, you know, you could tell he was pretty down on the sideline. And then those last couple drives, the second to last one, he made a couple miraculous plays. Little Alan Iverson juke move of a defensive lineman to keep a play alive, throwing across his body. It looked like like USC last year versus. Arizona. Remember when he was just making some of these plays, you're like, holy shit, he did that

tonight. Yeah. Another thing I think if Chicago could have a do-over, I'm a huge Rome-A-fan. He's going to be an excellent player. He would play for any team in the league. They had an opportunity with a top-10 pick, and their offensive line is not good. Yeah. And there were several offensive linemen on the board. It's, you know, I get it. Receivers are sexy. You can find wide receivers all over the league. You can trade for him in the middle of the season. To not draft the Penn State guy, the Oregon state guy who can play five different positions. Yeah. So everyone, and I would imagine, you know, the way the game ending that ended, that's going to be the headline. But if it had just been a Washington just dominant victory,

it would have been shitting on Caleb. And he did not play well. That offensive line was getting worked. And this was my concern. Like, I don't give you, you get credit because you've been an underachieving team. So you take care of teams like Carolina. That's the first step of like becoming good. You got to beat the bad teams. But it doesn't translate when you play better teams. It's why, like, you watch that first half. You're like, this team, they're going to let a lot of people down in that city because they're not going to be able to play with good teams.

And it starts with their five offensive linemen. Washington is not, Joe Gibbs, I would imagine, had a pretty good defensive line. That's not what they're rolling out. I mean, this defensive line, I'm having to Google some of these guys. It's really more Dan Quinn, Ra, Ra, coaching these guys up. And they are getting beat like a drum on like every other play. So, yeah, Caleb, obviously you're kind of freaking out back. there. You don't have any time and balls start flying all over the map. But how many times did he

step back two seconds later? And there's like three guys coming at him. It's crazy. Well, it's funny. I was talking to somebody this weekend. Harbaugh was either going to take Joe Alt or Thomas, the wide receiver in Jacksonville. Mike Thomas. With a fifth pick? He apparently, this is what I was told. I mean, he loved Mike Thomas. And he's like, we got to protect our asset. We got to get Joe Alt. And, you know, people had Mike Thomas at like 15th, 20th, apparently. Well, he's good. He had a touchdown today. I mean, a guy makes plays every week.

Yeah, he's just on. And Harbaugh was like, I think Harbaugh recruited him. You know, Michigan could get him. And so, and so unlike the Bears, and the Chargers needed a receiver much more than the Bears did. And they went with Joe Alt because the take was, I got to protect, I got to protect Justin Herbert. So I like Roman. And remember, Harbaugh said that we view offensive linemen as weapons. the tip of the spear.

Yeah, and today was the classic ugly Chargers win where, yeah, it was just, you know, boy, though, we'll talk about it later, but Jesus, Herbert's talented, freaking talented, not working with much, talented. All right, next game, New England beats the Jets 25-22. So, you know, it's, we could just beat up on Aaron, but I mean the field goal, they can't hit a field goal, they can't hit a P-A-T. But here's, here's my bigger takeaway. You haven't won since Robert Sala left.

And when they fired him, I said, you just let your best coach leave the room. You just let him leave. And the defense is not as good, John. They're not as good. I mean, actually, I mean, look at that final drive by Brissette. He had time to throw. And so in Aaron, Aaron is a pocket quarterback who had 17 completions and no longer moves well. I mean, they have weapons. They've got Lazard. They've got Garrett Wilson. They've got

DeVonte Adams who had, you know, five catches, 50 yards, whatever, four catches, 50 yards. But you can't say they don't have Breeze Hall. You can't say they don't have weapons. But it's actually, it's the truth is they're not as good defensively now. Well, they're bad on defense. This is classic jets. They are now a mediocre defense with a 40-year-old quarterback who's a total pocket quarterback. And Ian O'N. O'Connor had a tweet during this game. He said, the Jets talk about energy. They're slow out of the huddle. They're slow to the line. He said, they're just a plotting, slow, energyless offense. Well, that's on Rogers. That's on Aaron. And so I can blame it. But the Jets had eight penalties.

New England didn't have as many penalties. In New England's the younger team. I think it's just a systems failure. It's just a mess of an organization. I think they got so many things going on. when they fired Sala and they make Ulbrick become the head coach, you're basically losing out twice, right? Your defense is going to get worse because he has to focus on other things and the things he has to focus on.

He has no clue what he's doing because he's never done it. He'd be like, hey, John, we need to keep rolling with the podcast and now also be the head of sales. We would probably lose out on both. The podcast would get worse than sales might go down.

Why? Because it makes no sense to put me in that position. So you put Oldbrick, Colin. I don't think I've ever seen this my entire life, high school, college, or the pros. Going into the second quarter of the football game, the Jets had zero timeouts. They used all of their timeouts in the first quarter. And it was offensively, I mean, they, I don't know how many delay of games they had. They literally had a delay of game when they scored the final touchdown to take the lead in the game on the two-point conversion,

on the two-point conversion. So Oberg's going to take a lot of shit. I can't blame him for the delay of games. he has nothing to do with Aaron Ron's right nothing I mean absolutely nothing now in fairness to Aaron they go down they score not in a million years and I'm rooting for this Jets collapse because it's pretty fun I never thought Jacoby per sec could lead him down the field and score

touchdown even how bad the Jets defense has played the last couple weeks since Robert Saul has left that was that was jarring to watch that and now I think we have to acknowledge their defense which has been held to high esteem is just it's not only average it's just not good at all yeah and this

notion that like you can just have a team full of mercenaries. We've learned over the last five, six years, it doesn't even work in the NBA, which is much more individual meets team. It 100% over the history of football, you can sign a big name guy who shows up in OTAs income. They're just, the Reddick thing is a classic example of Drew Rosenhouse when they signed him was quoted of saying, yeah, I just went right to the owner. Like, how is that normal, you know, in a situation?

So your GM is useless. This guy, you basically give him all. And then I even saw today, he's like, yeah, it's pretty rusty. Of course he's rusty. I mean, he showed up three days ago. I mean, this team is really an embarrassment to football. And it's something that, listen, I'm not trying to give myself credit or anyone that bet against them, but I didn't think it would be this bad.

Obviously, today is, I mean, this is one of the lowest points for any high price team of my lifetime. I mean, to be two and six, Colin. Well, right, you've played what you've played eight games. You got nine games left. To get to nine games, you'd have to go seven and two down the stretch. This seems not, they can't be the Patriots. They're not going seven and two.

They'd be lucky to go like five and four. Yeah. And, you know, as I watched that game, whereas, I mean, we both said this. I thought the Bears were a poorly coached S show today. It's the Bears have talent. New England doesn't have much. I mean, the Jets have, of the 22 starters would probably have, 17, 16 to 17 starters of these two teams.

I think the Patriots were missing a bunch of guys today, too, on defense. They were, sure. So, I mean, it is, I'm getting text here. It's just, I'm getting, as we do the podcast, I'm getting a text from a general manager in the league that says he cannot believe what he saw with the bears. It was crazy. He goes, oh, it's great. I wish I could share this with the audience. I'm getting a text in real time here on, I mean, everybody.

everybody's going to talk about this. It was the worst coat. Okay, let's, let's stay on task here. So, yeah, I think the question becomes, does Aaron come back? Does Aaron say to himself, this isn't going to work. Aaron tends to get into his manifesting vision board, you know, sanguine. He used that, you know, that optimistic kind of metaphor this week or word. I think he would come back. But if you're the Jets, you have to draft a quarterback. You have to draft the quarterback because frankly the roster doesn't have a ton of needs you have to go get a quarterback and it's a bad quarterback class you know one thing with these youtube tv four boxes sometimes you have a game right above each other and i had the packer game right below the

or above the jets game and jordan loves who got hurt again i mean the guy's been pretty banged up this season but what what a job by lefleur but his mannerisms are just like a young prime rogers the way he moves, the way he just flings it and lets his arm go. And you're watching him just throw some of these balls. And he can be a little erratic with just such confidence to those young guys. And then you look down. And one thing I wrote down is Rogers used to throw with such confidence in the prime of his career. And then even those couple years when he really got to roll on the floor.

And you watch him now, like we have to acknowledge he no longer can move. He's getting peppered. Okay, he's 40 years old coming off of the keel. He's understandable. I feel like he just throws these lollipop. Like sometimes you see with Caleb, like he doesn't really know where it's going. Rogers never really played like that. It was either thrown it away or throwing a dart to a guy and hitting him in the hand.

And now these balls go up into traffic like, well, I can't move to save this. I got to get rid of it. Fuck it. I mean, it's the Jets. I mean, it feels like he's as loosey-goosey because you've been on him as much as by far anybody that talks about, you know, football. That he really is sneaky, like kind of high. from risk taking. It's not really his thing.

And now it's like he just kind of lets it go all over the place. So they have gone all in on this player who is, you know, I mean, if Peak Rogers was a 98 out of 100, the guy they're getting now is like 70 or something on good series. And he can look sometimes like a 50. And sometimes the ball just flies up. You're like, that could be a disaster. And that was never his thing, ever his thing. So they got this player who is no longer good enough.

enough, like, he's not a top 10 quarterback in the end of the end of the other. God, no. No. But I'm saying, like, when last year, and even coming back into this year, it's like, hey, if we get a guy between like eight to 12 and be really good, like, he's floating. Like, he's, I mean, look it in all these really talented. I'm watching Josh Allen today. Like, he's in a different universe as Aaron Rogers. Baker Mayfield and Sam Darnold, this moment, are better than Aaron Rogers. For sure. Much better. Much better. A much better player. I mean, all these guys are better players. Now for a segment called Making It Look Easy, brought to you by.

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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 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 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stopped by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying.

He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking. through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a paramedipausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Anamaria Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate

Midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that Ness was going be mood swings night sweats fupas sex drive wait what sex dating at 45 how hard can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy that one's kind of hard well that's lighting they say we can't polish a turd but we're sure going to try so let's get blunt with laughs tears or tears of laughter and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask how hard can it be i cannot believe i'm about to say this out loud in public listen to how hard can it be with diana maria riva as part of my culture podcast network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, everyone, it's Ryder Strong, and Wilfredel from PodMeets World. And now the PodMeets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors, and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of the show. I'm just going to remind you.

I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it? Like what was just because we? Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists to a bunch of

ha, hoo. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into PodMeets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Okay, I've got to talk about this. Texans beat the Colts 23 to 20.

It's not an overly sexy game. I have so many notes on this game. So Chris Ballard is built. It's a good roster. Just offensive players. Jonathan Taylor, stud, Pittman, Josh Downs, workable tied ends.

With Shane Steichen, he cannot get close to completing 50% of his throws. His judgment's horrific. He is totally big play reliant. I'm watching that game today. He left, I think it was the third quarter I wrote it down. He left the game. He said afterwards, I was just tired.

Like, I'm sitting there watching this, and they have players. This team had opportunities to beat the Texans. They have dudes. I know it's, I mean, C.J. Stroud is going 25 and 37, 300 yards, dominates time of possession. The Colts can't sustain drives with Anthony Richardson. They were horrific on third. John, I knew he was young coming in. But the bottom line is he is so far behind that if you stay with,

it may be two to three years for Anthony Richardson to be able to go to the line, audible to a third play, scan the field. I watched him. He's a great athlete. John, he can. You cannot win in this league. That's a bad division. You can't win in this league.

They have players in Indianapolis. Today I watch the game. And with young quarterbacks, I always feel like, let's give him Thanksgiving of the second year. Unless he makes, unless he makes, I mean, you watch Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams, there's self-awareness in these. Bo Nix today is chopping it up. This kid is not even in the stratosphere of those guys in self-awareness, pocket-awareness. pocket awareness.

It was jaw-dropping how bad he was today. Yeah, he was 2 of 13th in the first half. And the only, I mean, one of the passes was a blown coverage for a touchdown where the guy was wide open. And even when the ball left his hand, you're 50-50 in the air if it's going to hit the guy. He's a horrendous football player. And let's face it, when he came back from injury, they chose, we have to see if this guy's going to be good enough slash development over making the playoffs. Joe Flacco plays out this season. Like, they're going to win 9-10 games and be in.

in the playoffs. They could barely beat Miami last week with Huntley and Tim Boyle. I mean, barely won that game. And it's because of the quarterback. Jonathan Taylor, every time I looked up today, he looked like Walter Peyton out there. Jukin guys breaking tackles. Nobody. Even their defense was hit CJ's crowd nonstop.

You can't bring down Jonathan Taylor on the first hit. Can't. They were peppering C.J. Stroud today. So their defense, which most people don't think is the most talented and people are very critical of Gus Bradley was, I think I read today hit him on like 29, a 30-something drop.

I mean, they were hitting him constantly, and they're right in the game, and this guy just can't, you cannot function as a NFL quarterback. Like, to be a great quarterback, you have to be able to do it all. But just to play quarterback, you have to be able to hit a wheel route. You have to be able to

hit a quick out route. You have to be able to run the plays when they are working, and he cannot. And you get to a point where, you know, forever, up until Josh Allen, most people thought it was impossible to improve accuracy. That's why most people wouldn't touch you if you were an inaccurate quarterback. Really one of the only examples in NFL history is like Warren Moon,

who got dramatically more accurate as he got. But he was an complete outlier. And then Josh Allen, like, I'm pro just in general in life, take a big swing, totally understood Anthony Richardson. But there's a huge risk reward in that. Like this isn't like invested in the Apple. Like this is invested in something that could go belly up or 500X. And right now you are staring bankruptcy in the face because you can't play.

Obviously, the Texans are a playoff team, but you're playing shitty teams like Miami and getting by by the skin of your teeth because this guy can't complete basic routes. Everyone likes them. High character guy works hard. At the highest level of pro sports, it's like, well, there gets to a point where all that stuff, okay, we're rooting for. But are you good enough? And he's not even remotely close to like average on basic things. Yeah. And I think it's most.

The most inaccurate quarterback in the NFL. Oh, listen, it is Tebow just didn't have the arm strength or the mechanics. This kid's got arm strength plus. And, you know, the other thing that you have to think about, remember when the Niners moved off Traylands. What do you do, Colin? I mean, they drafted them fourth overall. Yeah. You bench them and just go to Flacco and try to win games?

I would. If you want to make the playoffs, that's what you have to do. Yes, I would. And they could go on a six-game winning streak with Flacco. There's no question. They have players. They would have won today, probably. But when Kyle Shanahan moved off Trey Lance, you're like, wow, Kyle made Matt Schaub a pro bowler.

So if Kyle gives up on you, you don't give up a fourth round pick for Trey Lance, unless you're the Cowboys. When Shane Stuyken and these weapons, I mean, two of 13, these are the scripted plays with one of the smartest coaches in the league in Shane Stuyken, who we saw him with a rookie Justin Herbert. We saw him make Jalen Hurts, who has regressed into an MVP level player. So I think you just have to say, listen, we're just going to go. We're just going to roll with Flacco and go because I wouldn't be shocked. If Flacco won five out of six games, I wouldn't be shocked. I like the Colts, weapons, downs, Pittman, Taylor, I like their players. Well, up until probably five or six years ago, a guy like Anthony Richardson, based on his small, small collegiate history and inaccuracies,

would not have sniff the first round. I mean, we entered this quarterback inflation post Mahomes and Josh Allen where everyone thinks. Like, those guys are both like once-in-a-generation players. Yeah. I'm never been a big believer in, you know, and I think we saw like the Kenny Pickett's and Mac Jones versions are the worst case. Like, they don't even have the physical skills and they're clearly not good enough. The physical skills, I mean, he says, I was exhausted. Well, no shit, they have to run you because they can't pass.

Because when they pass, they got a punt. And I think we all acknowledge, like, this guy's a really good coach. And he's proven it now with countless different type quarterbacks. Like, this is not a coaching thing. This is a basic, like, some guys in basketball just can't shoot. They get with every coach under the sun and they're never going to be able to shoot. Yeah. He could, the best shooting coach in the history of the league, nothing would change.

And I think that's, the more you watch this kid play, you're like, he would be inaccurate for the next 10 years. But how much longer is you going to get to play? because you could pull the trigger right now and go to Flacko Monday morning and just say, hey, we're going to give you a breather, buddy. I mean, listen, Cam knew that struggled with mechanics and accuracy. But Cam would have a 23 of 33 game. I mean, when Cam cleaned his mechanics up and threw off his back foot because he could get a little sloppy, Cam had a beautiful looking posture mechanics. He got loose.

Hell, Stafford can get loose. Mahomes gets loose. But it was always within Cam to be a beautiful thrower of the football. Like with Anthony, it's just, again, the layups, he misses badly. Yeah, to me, Cam, when you looked at that Auburn season, even though it was only one year, like, kind of knows how to win. Yeah. Like, he just knew how to get shit done. And then over a course of a couple years, once the team in Carolina got better, they were just, obviously they were up and down because he was.

was a roller coaster ride, but when he was on, it was clear, like, this is a top five quarterback. Then he could turn into, like, the 13th best. He was all over the map, but his high end, like, you don't even really see that with the Anthony Richardson beside one given throw. The other thing is Cam was a way more dominant runner. I mean, Cam's the most physical runner in the history of the NFL. Yeah.

I mean, he was, he was just bigger and stronger and played more powerful. And he didn't break down early. I mean, this guy, every time he goes down, you're like, is he going to get back up? Like right now, Bryce Young is obviously, has a chance to be a historic bust. Like he's probably not going to be on the Panthers next year. I don't know if this guy is that far away. He's just bigger, stronger, faster, right?

I mean, they're kind of similar. Like, what the hell is the difference of the two? One guy plays actually in a better organization. One that when other functional quarterbacks come into play, Minchu and Flacco, they win. Yeah. So you could argue that there's really, he's just bigger. He's a bigger, strong.

throws harder version of Bryce Young. I thought Philadelphia Eagles 37, Bingle 17. I was on the wrong side of this one. Bengals had no run game. And first of all, I thought this was about as important a Philadelphia win the way they won. No turnovers. Saquan ran 50% on third down.

Seven yards of play nearly. Harts. Again, 10 rushes, 16 to 20, touchdown, no mistakes. This was a game very easily against Burrow. Burrough is a very good first quarterback. Eagles are not a good first quarter offense. This is a game you could have gotten behind and it could have unraveled. But as I watched this game, I had two big takeaways.

Philadelphia, it feels like to me, John, you're a former scout for the team and you have good contacts there. It feels like they're asking Jalen to do less in the passing game. They've just come to terms with we're not throwing it 38 times. That's not what we're going to be. We're not going to do that. And that's fine. I think the Houston Texan sometimes without Nico Collins kind of feel like we're going to we're going to box in what we can do offensively. Let's not put our young quarterback at risk. That was my first take. My second take is we've always, both of us have felt like Herbert doesn't have the support he deserves. But Herbert now, they've paid for Khalil Mack. I mean, they've paid for Jim Harbaugh. They've paid Herbert. They're going to pay Rashon Slater. They paid Kenan. They paid Mike Williams. the Chargers have spent money for Justin Herbert. He's had some bad breaks, but we can't call the Chargers cheap anymore.

This Cincinnati team, they let go on Mixing, which, by the way, even very good quarterbacks need run games, right? Like, even the good ones need run games. They've already moved off defensive players a year before they're going to pay Jamar Chase. And I just watched- Be on the team next year. Yep. And I watched Cincinnati and I thought, you know, we can say what we want about the Chargers, but they have damn good players.

They moved off Keenan and Mike Williams because they were older receivers that couldn't stay healthy consistently. They kept Mosa. They kept Kaleel Mack. Those are expensive players. They paid Herbert.

They're going to pay Slater. They paid Harbaugh. I feel bad for Joe Burrell. I think the Bengals are what the Chargers' reputation was. Like they won't spend the money. Joe Burrow has... You take Burrow and Chase

and that pass rusher off this team. John, they don't have a lot of players in Cincinnati. They don't have a lot of dudes. Yeah, I mean, I would say this. If they fired their coach tomorrow or at the end of the season, he's not getting rehired. So they have a coach that no one else would want. If we just play that game with most good teams, right, the Eagles have such a good roster because you would say they fire Siriani, no one's hiring him. That's true. But like, I do think their coach, once you have less talent, you have to lean on them a little more. Like, why are the Chargers going to end up winning 10 or 11 games?

Star quarterback, star coach. It's not because they have a roster like they have, I would say, for a lot of the last 20 years. Joe did miss the throw a little bit short today that led to the interception. Yes. Snowballed, right? Then they got a touchdown. Then they fumble the kickoff. And it just snowballs and the Eagles ate them alive.

To me, there was a talent gap today overall in the team. Oh, God, yes. I do think the Eagles, and this ties into the Giants who will see Monday night, Seekwans elevated their team. he's clearly one of the best players in the league Jalen throws as pretty I would say wouldn't you say Jalen is like the 2016 version of Russell Wilson in terms of that deep ball

when it's in the air you think it's going to be completed to one of those two guys? No, and we've come to realize there are limitations to Russell Wilson and once he loses sort of the magical elusiveness you get what you can get out of Russell. I think we elevated because of with Stuyken, we elevated Jalen

Hertz to a level that's unfair. a second round pick. He's not a great pocket thrower. I think he throws a pretty deep ball. I think the Russell Wilson comp's very accurate. One's a second round pick. One's a third round pick. And I think, I think Philadelphia, it's easy to fall in love with a player because he was so damn good with Stuyken. But since he's left, and this is your reality, you know, today was the classic 60 to 20, some runs. I think they just kept the game in front of Jalen Hertz. He's definitely running it a little bit more. And he is a fan. To me, he's a better runner because of his power than even Peek Russell, who was a really good runner as well. I mean, he's got to be one of the more powerful

running quarterbacks we've ever seen. He turns into a running back. And then once you get to the goal line, I mean, we've never seen a play like that. I've been watching football for 30 plus years. I mean, they get to the one or two yard line. It's like an automatic touchdown. There's nothing you can do. When have we ever seen that? Even if you stop it once, they go right back to it and then they score. Yeah, I mean, they've had some injuries on the offensive line, so he was running around a little bit. But do I totally trust their defense, not, but their talent. I mean, you get AJ Brown, Devante, Sequin, him, you'll end up getting Goddard back. Like, how many lions and the fully healthy 49ers?

I mean, there's a short list. I watch the Chiefs. It's like, do they have one guy that would start on that team besides like, of their skill guys? You know, even Travis Kelsey when he's now at 35 of Godder's healthy. So you're just, it is a special. And Sequin clearly has this chip of proving himself and he's healthy. I mean, today he ran a guy over. You get him in the open field.

They've had good, you know, DeAndre Swift used to be the running back. They've had Miles Sanders in the past. They've never had anything like this. This feels a little bit like, remember when Jalen was at Oklahoma with Lincoln Riley? It's like, this feels like a collegiate offense. And the one thing that I think slows them down sometimes, the coaching staff can kind of get a little tricky. And Jalen, you know, sometimes wants to prove he can be a pocket guy and get himself

in a little bit trouble. But I thought that second half, that's the best half of football the Eagles have played, it feels like, in two years. No, I literally sat there and I want my takeaway was, if you took the best 22 players in this game, Philly's got 17 to 18 of those 22 players, like the talent gap. But again, Philadelphia spends money. Jeffrey Lurie, he'll spend money on anything. weight room everything.

I mean, shit, Cincinnati doesn't have an outdoor practice facility still. They're the only northern team that doesn't. You know, what I wonder is like, let's say the Bengals end up six or seven wins, right? Obviously, they're in a tough spot now. They fire the coach. Like, what peers he fishing off to go get his head coach? Historically, it's Zach Taylor's. There weren't a lot of people lined up for him, and he's cheap.

Like, he's not talking to the Vrebles to the Belichicks to, you know, the big name guys. That's just not where they're going to go. go. So when you sign up, this goes back to Carson Palmer, like this organization, like a lot of the complaints haven't just been entitled athletes bitching and moan. This is like, this is, this shouldn't be this way. And you have to wonder like what, hell, it took Dean Spanos, who's down in LA, around the Dodgers and Lakers, a long time to go, okay, I need a $15 million coach. Yep. And he wants to bring his three, four million dollar defensive coordinator. We'll do that too. It's going to be the best thing he's ever done.

Because, I mean, eventually, if they, I trust they'll build the thing up. They'll be in a Super Bowl in three years. Yep. And they would not have been hiring these four or five million dollar coaches. And listen, you can't tell me would Joe, I thought for most of the game, like, I was like, God, Joe looks good. And people wouldn't be lined up. But they're also not taking the job for $6 million. That's right.

You're telling me Belichick wouldn't be interested in coaching Joe Burrell. I don't think he would be. you know, if the organization paid and they would listen to them, but they're not going to change. I mean, they kept Marvin Lewis forever. I don't think they'll fire Zach Taylor because the Brown family won't pay a dead cap coach money. They won't pay it. They just refuse to pay 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.

Anthony Richardson, disaster. 10 for 32 and a loss to the Texans, a pick, a fumble, left the game at one point. He said he was tired. Every game this season, Richardson has failed to complete 50% of his throws. That was this week's Uber Eats player of the week and 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 podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athlete, 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 it. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger.

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

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something

bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. What's up fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges

of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers while he got the ball.

After you go through a training camp with that, IZE, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman

walking through life, one hot flash and hormonal crime, jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a pair of. I'm an apazal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamania Riva,

where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex?

Dating at 4. How hard can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, How Hard Can It Be?

I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey everyone, it's Rider Strong and Will Fidel from PodMeets World. And now the Pod Meets Twirled podcast. We're two men who were completely clueless to reality TV, who now have covered Dancing with the Stars, traitors,

and we're gearing up for the season finale of Survivor. So yeah, now we're experts. I know we annoyed a lot of our listeners by our severe lack of survivor knowledge. That is the point of this show. I'm just going to remind you, I have watched some Survivor. I obviously haven't watched enough. Did people not like it?

Like what was... Yeah. Just because we... Yeah. We'll be recapping the big conclusion in the 50th season from the final attempts at gameplay to the desperate pleas of finalists

to a bunch of... Ha, hoo! Ha ha, ooh. Again, we are experts. So make sure to tune into PodMeets Twirled for all our Survivor 50 takes. Listen to PodMeets Twirled on the IHeard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And I want to pivot to this game. Denver 28 Carriarch. Carolina 14. Denver's now five and three. So here's a prime example of coaching. One team has Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, elite pass rusher. One team has Bo Nix, Cortland Sutton, and no elite pass rushers. Now, Patrick Sartan, I wrote this down today. He may be a top 10 defensive player in the league. He is just absolutely phenomenal. But this is what coaching does with Sean Payton. Bow Nix today, who in his last game, I text Sean. I said, man, his mechanics are off.

Sean's like, hey, the kid's great. We're going to get it cleaned up. Three touchdowns, no picks, 280 yards, nine different wide receivers, tied in targets, only one penalty. When I was watching the game, there may have been more, but when I wrote it down, only one penalty. They were tremendous on third down. No, Carolina, I get it. Denver was picked to win five games by Vegas. They're at five and three, halfway through the season. they are coaching the you know what out of this team. John, this is the same defensive personnel. Remember, because of Russell Wilson, they didn't have any draft picks.

They got the Ellis kid out of Utah, I think third round. They got Franklin, the wide receiver who dropped a ball right through his hands today, a deep ball. And I don't even think Bo Nix would be this good. And he struggled in the first month. But I watched him today, back foot, confidence. This, if you think we're being hard on Zach Taylor, Denver is squeezing every. Every ounce of juice. You tell me how they're generating this pass rush.

You tell me how Bo Nix is thrown for 300 yards behind kind of an okay offensive line. I watched Denver and I think that is coaching. That is coaching. That's what I see. Yeah, I mean, I totally agree. I mean, I don't think Denver's roster is very good. I also think, I think Vance Joseph last year when they scored, would Miami score 70 on them? Yeah.

And Sean Payton stuck with them. And by the end of the season, they were playing good defense. their defense, like you said, beside the corner, you have to Google some of the guys on the team. Yeah. This is not Neil Smith and Bill Romanowski that you're like, oh, I don't even know who these guys are. And now we're going to find out a lot more about them. On Thursday night, playing that New Orleans team a week ago. I mean, that was kind of a joke squad.

And I didn't even think Bo Nix was that good in that game. The Ravens and the Chiefs coming up. But hell, they don't have to win those games. If you get to 9 and 8 with this roster and a rookie quarterback, what a great building spot. this is the thing with hiring good coaches. Like, look at LaFleur. He's six and two with a starting quarterback in and out of the lineup, completely unfaced. You're going to look up, I don't know how many games Jordan Love.

Who knows how long he's out? They're going to be an 11-12-win team, no matter what. The power of that position in this sport flies by everything else. Is it Aaron Boone's fault that Aaron Judge has no clue what's coming out of the pitcher's hand? There's nothing he can do. Right. Where in coaching, you watch in college last night. Texas A&M has been one of the biggest jokes in college football the last couple years.

And you watch them now, you're like, holy hell, this looks like Alabama or something. It's because it's not even just about the play calling. It's about the messaging. It's about the structure. It's about the discipline. It's about basic things like, you know, how you practice the first 10 minutes of warmups. What is okay and what is not okay? If you come out with the wrong stuff, do I make you go back in and change or do I let it slide?

And I think you just see the separating, you see the Jets are a good example. They got no clue what they're doing. It's one of the worst coaching staffs in the league. It is the worst coaching staff. And then you look, I think Denver and the Chargers are very, very good examples. They have no business. You could say the Chargers a little bit because they do have a good quarterback, you know, an experienced quarterback to win 10 games with their roster.

If I give half the coaches in the NFL those teams, they don't sniff 10 wins, right? but I give Jim Harbaugh and Sean Payton, and what do they make a combined $35 million? They make it for a reason, because you're going to feel pretty good about them winning double-digit games every year going forward. And the other thing that we don't talk a lot about with coaches, who do you hire your staff?

It's one of the Harbaugh family's great attributes. I would say Sean Payton, for the most part, has always had good coaching staffs. Dan Campbell was assistant. Dennis Allen's not a good head coach, but he's an excellent defensive coordinator. So he had a staff, and now, listen, I was skeptical of advanced,

Joseph, but you got to give them a lot of credit. Like, their defense is flying around. So that's, your job is more than just calling plays or the draft. Like, it encompasses a lot. Yeah. And the other thing, this is one of the things Sean McVeigh does so well. You're often asking yourself, how did Cooper Cup and Pooka Nukua get so open? Well, that scheme.

I mean, it's like in the Super Bowl when Andy Reid has Sky Moore in the red zone wide open. You're like, there's only so much space. How is Sky Moore not covered at the top? 12. I'm watching Denver. And there were multiple times today. You're like, now again, it's Carolina, but I'm seeing this time and time again. When they beat the Jets, we thought it was a fluke. No, Denver is better with Bow Nicks. They're a better football team than the Jets with Aaron Rogers. And the Jets have significantly better players overall. No, not even close. And so I'm just watching Denver today. And I'm like, this is like, and I've,

text, Peyton a couple times, like, this is what a well-coached team looks like. They should have beaten Carolina badly. They did. They should have beaten New Orleans badly. They did. But they're also winning this, that Jets game you look at and you think, God, it was terrible weather. Bo Nix had no, there's no reason in the world. Bo Nix goes and plays cross-country. If I recall, their travel was bad and beats Aaron Rogers in a, in a, like a semi-tropical storm. You're, you're, Peyton won't get coach of the year, but he should be honorable mention because I think what he's doing with this roster is incredible. Yeah, I think you just see so many examples of guys that, like, sometimes they might inherit some talent, and then as time goes on, I think Mike McDaniel is a good

example. Listen, he's got a lot of friends in the media. I think, I don't know him personally, but I just think his teams have been one of the most overrated squads over the last couple years. And now, you watch them today, lose to Arizona, they're soft. I mean, and they, and they really have been down the stretch of the last year when they should have cruised to that division championship right in the AFCs. Then you watch them this year, I'm not blaming them for poor offense when two against the concussion, but the whole team just falls apart. And then you get him back and they look dramatically better. Like Mike McDaniel, like, yeah, he can scheme up some good plays, but can he be a good head coach? And to me, the answer is no. And they're going to be

terrible. And then you look around the league at some of these other guys like D'Amico. He's got injuries. He's got all sorts of shit going. His quarterback's not playing well. And then you just look up. It's like, yeah, they're going to be like 12 and 5. Some guys just really know what they're doing. And because like when times get tough, Tomlin's a good example of this, the standard in which you make guys practice every day has to be really, it's really easy now to just, oh, another walk through. You don't need to do pads a day. Like that's just not allowed certain places. And then that translates to these games because 80% of the games you play in the NFL. are going to be pretty tightly contested in the second half. This is not college football where you look up and it's 30 to 10 in half the games. That's not the way the NFL works.

And even the morning, you look at the slate this morning when I turn on the TVs at 10 o'clock. I'm like, this is a shitty slate. Halfway through, it's like, ah, that's pretty entertaining. Okay, great stuff. John Middletalcalf, former NFL Scout, three and out. I'll tell you, the Chicago Bears, there is going to be stories written for the next two weeks on that coaching mess. Yes, you say they should have won.

I say, I can't believe it was that close. I've never been happier. I root for better coaching. Chicago's coaching was a disaster today. Go back and listen to the first 10, 15 minutes of this podcast and check that out. John, we'll talk soon. You see the ratings on the old Yankees Dodgers? It's like 14 million people watching these games.

16 and a half million watched games. two the last two or three innings. Sixteen and a half. Let's talk about that for a second. So for years, people have said to me, I would say about 12 years ago, I just stopped baseball. I just said, I'll talk about it in October. And a lot of that was I was getting more and more information from ESPN and Fox on minute to minute ratings in cable. You can get minute to minute ratings. And what you were finding out is that, and I just poured over these ratings every day for years and years. This is what you found out, the audience rewards you when you talk to things. Urgency. The games have to matter. And stars. Well, there's no urgency in baseball until October,

like none. And the sport doesn't have a bunch of stars. And then Otati goes to the Dodgers, Aaron Judge, Yankees start, you know, get to the World Series, and Mookie Betz, and Bryce Harper. Now you got about four guys who you can just put on the screen and people go, oh, that's Mookie Betz. Oh, that's Shohei Otani. I'm watching that game. I don't remember a world. I grew up with a Reds, Red Sox in 1976, Bench, Rose, Morgan, Perez, Carlton Fisk. You know, like, you go back.

I can remember the names now. Yeah. But I'm looking at that game, and I'm thinking, Jesus, there's seven Hall of Famers here. Now, Judge is having a terrible world series. And I had said before the series, I think Shoah is the best player in the series. I think Mookiee Betts is actually the second best player. His versatility, shortstop, second base, outfielder, speed, average power. But it proves once again, the consumer is always right. The consumer was telling you for years. We're just not that interested in Alabama, Georgia. College football dipped for about a six-year, eight-year stretch. It got too regional. The audience said we're fatigued with Alabama Clemson. Now college football ratings are going up. Alabama doesn't dominate. Georgia's not quite as good. Here comes Texas. Here comes Ohio State. Here comes Oregon. The audience tells you what to do is a top.

show host. And I watched the National League playoffs, the Dodgers Padres. And I'm like, there's like, there's like eight great players here. Dodgers, Mets Phillies. Met's Phillies. And it's like, so 16 and a half million people, that's, that'll beat some NFL games. And it's like, yes, we'll talk baseball. You have to give us urgency. I've argued for years. I'd cut the, I'd cut out April and half a May. I'd have 120 games. I'd get rid of 40. I'd start the playoffs, August 8th, and by Labor Day, you'd be heading to the World Series playing in the same weather you did for the entire series instead of night games in October, November. So I just think the series has been, you can't take your eyes off it. No, it's riveting theater. I do think, and it really

hit me last night watching Judge, who looks like, you know, me in Little League or something right now, it's the only sport where the, you know, the guy that has the best season, you could argue, the best player in the American League this year, he's going to win the MVP, can, you know, even Russell Westbrook or Lamar Jackson, guys that had bad playoffs, they have bad games, but they are not completely useless. When you can't hit like that, I mean, he can barely make content. You're just useless. Remember Arod had some moments when he was on the Yankees when he got there.

You're like, God, they've got to move him down in the lineup. You're just worthless. And to me, that's even more riveting. It's like, is this guy going to get it? Can this guy even get bat to the bowl? And to me, that I just think we've obviously haven't seen this matchup since when. in like 1981. So it's part of it.

You know, you said the Alabama-Georgia thing, you felt if we got Dodgers Yankees seven years in a row, it wouldn't quite feel as cool. That's right. We've been, it feels like we've been waiting for this thing for a decade because both these two teams have been so good. I think the Yankees are in trouble. I mean, clearly.

I mean, they've lost some deficit. There are guys can't run. That's the thing with the Dodgers. I mean, Shoai Otani, six foot five. He runs like he's Justin Jefferson. Right. Mookie Betts is an NFL athlete. Staten can't run, but he hits home runs.

But if he's not hitting home runs and Judge's not hitting, And they got no shot. Well, I mean, Tommy Edmund. Who's that guy? He's incredible. Where do they find that guy? He was the National League MVP. In game one, he hit eighth.

I mean, people talk about the big red machine was the greatest offense in 75. But by the time he got to like the seventh in the batting order, it was Dave Concepcion and Cesar Geronimo. I mean, the last three guys couldn't hit. When you have guys like, I mean, like Will Smith and Tommy Edmund, you're like, These guys are on fire. They run. They can hit for power. The Dodgers lineup, I mean, it was really interesting in game one when Aaron Boone,

and I thought to myself, this is going to be a bullpen series, especially for the Dodgers. It's going to be a bullpen series. So, you know, keep Yamamoto in or a flerity as long as you can because you're going to, you're going to just test your bullpen. The Dodgers don't cross your fingers on Walker Bueller gives you five innings. But the Yankees, they have better starting pitching. you could argue. And when Aaron Boone pulled Garrett Cole after 88 pitches, I'm like, Aaron, you have like seven elite hitters in this lineup. If you have to go to a second and a third

bullpen guy, you're in big trouble. Until you face the Dodgers lineup, it's, I mean, you and I watch it because in the summer, I just keep baseball games are on in the house. The Dodgers have had 40 different pitchers and they're in the World Series. What is that tell you about their lineup? 40 different pitchers. I know that Bruce Bochy would need his third stint before he pulled out Garrett Cole in that moment. And he's the best postseason manager in the last 25 years. That's, I get that, you know, the front office. That's insane. That really is. And that, to me, is the deterioration of baseball. Like, when I was a kid in the 90s, baseball is huge. Their star players weren't just Ken Griffey and Barry Bonds. They were the

pitchers. Yes. You know, because. Because those guys on any given moment could go 130 pitches complete game. And he had 88. It's not like, it's one thing. It's like, well, we didn't want to push him past 110. 88 pitches. And he was mowing people down. Mowing.

That's insane. Even last night with Otani's buddy from Japan. What'd they pull him with? Like, 85? Like, what are we doing here? This is the World Series. This isn't August. But that's the sport.

And I would argue, at least with the Yankees, judge isn't hitting and the back part of their lineup isn't as scary. No, they're in trouble. Yeah, Jazz Chisholm's not hitting. So, but you look down to the Dodgers and you get into, I mean, Max Muncie gone on base 12 straight times. I said, you don't see that in Williamsport, 12 straight times in the playoffs. I, I mean, I grew up in Northern California. I hate the Dodgers and the Lakers. And right now Anthony Davis looks like Will Chamberlain and the Dodgers look like they're about to sweep the Yankees. This is my worst

nightmare. John Middlethoff. Great stuff, bud. See if. The volume. Thanks so much for listening. If you've enjoyed the podcast, take a moment, rate and review. Another podcast from some SNL late-night

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A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball in 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 unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not

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