The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast Prime Cuts -Kyler, Russ Takes, Joe Burrow on Wk 6 Chase GW TD, Coughing Vid + Week 7 Best Bets

Episode Date: October 22, 2022

This is Prime Cuts! The best of The Colin Cowherd Podcast. First, Top Takes, where Colin defends the frequently maligned Kyler Murray, gives his immediate thoughts on the late breaking trade sending Christian McCaffrey from the Panthers to the Niners and explains what’s really behind Russell Wilson’s dramatic drop off in Denver. Then, Bengals Quarterback Joe Burrow on Bengals Week 6 win over the Saints in New Orleans, what he saw on his game winning 60-yard TD pass to Ja’Marr Chase, how his understanding of the QB position has changed since his rookie year, why he feels comfortable coming from behind, why he transferred from Ohio State to LSU, his first impression of Ed Orgeron, if he holds a grudge against Ohio State for not giving him a shot, his recall of passes to some of the lesser known targets in his NFL career, how he plans to stay focused heading into a softer part of the schedule, the real story behind the viral “cough video”, and what common phobias he’s scared or not scared of.  Finally, Action Network's Chad Millman tells Colin if his NFL Week 6 picks are "sharp" or "square" for Steelers/Dolphins, Chiefs/Niners, Jets/Broncos, Seahawks/Chargers, Giants/Jags, Browns/Ravens, Packers/Commanders, and Texans/Raiders. Follow Colin and The Volume on Twitter for the latest content and updates and check out FanDuel for the best wagering and daily fantasy action! #herd #volumeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

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Fandul-Sportsbook app, sign up. This is Prime Cuts, baby, the best of the Colin Coward podcast. NFL heads into week seven. Joe Burrow stopped by. Another win for Joey B. What happened on the game-winning touchdown pass to Jamar Chase? the story of that weird viral coughing video plus sports gambling guru chad millman sharper square i was i was almost flammable i was so hot last week check it out let's start with cliff

kingsbury and kylmerer murray they blow up in the sideline so it appeared that kiler murray i'm not a lip reader but i could tell calm the f down he yelled at cliff kingsbury So I think something that we know to be true, people have a lot of courage on social media. But I've been doing what I've been doing for 30 years. I am considered polarizing. I don't think I've had three people ever come up and be rude to me. People are overwhelmingly kind and gracious and thoughtful. People don't like confrontation.

That's not who normal people. That's not what normal people act like. And the reason I bring this up, Bill Marr once said the same thing. He was interviewed on some show. And he said, you know, he goes in 25 years of being politically polarizing, I probably had one person come up and be rude. People don't like confrontation, mostly because people are normal. But in sports, because of that, people don't like confrontation. So they're uncomfortable seeing confrontation.

Folks, sports is all about collisions, confrontation, arguments, yelling, volume. It's not your job. And when Kyler and Cliff have a moment, that happens constantly. We just see more things than we've ever seen. That's football. Hell, my high school coach yelled at me one time, you are effing. uncoachable. I was 17. He's screaming at me. You know, a minute later, I'm throwing a game winning touchdown. I don't remember that. But the point being, that's what sports is about.

It's live. You don't get do-overs. You're not an actor with 38 takes. It's live. Careers are on the line. Million dollars at stake. Shit happens. People yell. I don't have a problem with it. This stuff's been happening forever. We didn't have 45 cameras. in stadiums. You see everything now. So that's the first thing. Secondly, outside of maybe the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, maybe the Ravens, Chargers, bingles. Minimum, 24, 25 teams in this league are better tomorrow with Kyler Murray as quarterback. His mobility is insane. He throws a beautiful ball. He's accurate. He's got touch. I wish he was taller. But you know what? I wish Tom Brady move better.

You don't have to love everything about Kyler. But people have been defending prickly, eloof Aaron Rogers for 15 years. Kailer is a star. Arizona just won't treat him like one. Putting addendums in contracts, making it public, calling him out. 25 teams in this league are better tomorrow. with Kyler Murray. Look around the league right now. You know, maybe Philadelphia would say, no, we're going to let this Jalen Hertz thing play out. In Kansas City with Mahomes and in Baltimore

with Lamar Jackson and the Chargers with Justin Herbert, Cincinnati, Joe Burrow, the chiefs, Patrick Mahomes, come on, man, 24, 25 teams, if there was an opportunity, would make a run at him. Stop. Stop. The mobility, the accuracy, the back. The shoulder throws. We don't know if his coach can coach. His coach had a losing record in college with Patrick Mahomes' quarterback. There's things I know about Arizona. Rosters got ballers everywhere, speed everywhere, playmakers everywhere,

Kiteers super talented. The thing I don't know, is Cliff Kingsbury a good coach? And after three years and his college career, my answer is, He's certainly not upper crust. Is he middle of the pack? I think we'd all say, maybe. You can keep barking about Kyler Murray. But if you've been defending Aaron Rogers for 10 years

in the passive aggressive nonsense, you've got to understand. Stars act differently. They should probably be treated differently. And most teams in this league, if Aaron and Kyler were available, would take it today. All right.

Second story. Christian McCaffrey, this broke just a couple of minutes ago, has been traded to the San Francisco 49ers. Details later. I think this is another sign, and I think the Niners and Philadelphia are the two most talented teams in the NFC.

I think this is another sign that the 49ers believe with Jimmy Garrow. Upalow upright, they're a Super Bowl team. You don't, they've already given up three first round picks for Trey Lance. They're giving up more picks for Christian McCaffrey. You do that. You're putting your chips all in, meaning this GM and this coach believe this is a Super Bowl team.

I think it's the right move. Listen, Buffalo and Kansas City in the AFC are absolutely the two best. teams. This morning, tonight, in the next 24 hours, Philadelphia appears to be the best team. San Francisco is the most talented. They just had 11 starters out last week. Macafrey added to this roster, they're telling you, we're not worried about the future. This is a Super Bowl winning team with Jimmy Garoppolo playing quarterback. You don't give up draft capital, more draft capital, because you think you could make the playoffs. They're looking around and going, Elijah Mitchell's coming back, Trent Williams coming back, all these weapons, let's add another one, go all in.

I think it's the right move. I've said this. The Rams push their chips all in. They want a Super Bowl. Now, what happens when you do that, you get cluster injuries. They're thin on the offensive line. Andrew Whitworth retires. Brian Allen in the center gets hurt.

All of a sudden it looks really, really ugly. I thought the Rams may go in on Christian McCaffrey. But like the Niners, they don't have a lot of first round picks. But I've said this before. Aggressive wins in sports. You can sit back. You can wait. But you win a Super Bowl like Les Need and Matt Stafford and

Sean McVeigh did. It gives you like a three-year safety net. You know what I mean? There's a lot of pressure. There's billions of dollars at stake. Kyle Shanahan's a good coach. But you start looking at that Tray Lance situation. You don't know what the future is in San Francisco.

But with Garoppolo Healthy, you know what the present is. It's Philadelphia and you probably vying for the NFC championship. You have no idea what Tray Lance is. Could be great. don't know. You know what Garoppolo is, like the move. So people, especially sports fans, love to be right. I don't get paralyzed by it. I'd rather be interesting. And so I've had some good predictions this year in the NFL. The one that's a stinker is Russell Wilson. And people think Colin just admit he's terrible. Well, in my life, I've never seen an athlete go from an A to an A minus athlete

to a D athlete. Was he hurt? Is he going through? a personal crisis. That's why I don't believe Russell Wilson, who was either an A-minus or a B-plus quarterback, is now a D-minus to an F-quarterback. There's no injury history. He's still young. He didn't go through a divorce. I would blame the coach. Now, it's possible to go from an A-minus athlete to a B-minus athlete as you age quickly. You take some shots, you take some hits. But Russell's had no major surgeries. None. And his numbers, the last four years in Seattle with a bad offensive line and a 70-year-old defensive coach was 106.5. Albuquerque's best rock.

Just kidding. The point being that there's got to be something behind it. Is Mr. optimistic Russell Wilson playing through injuries? Now we hear he's day to day and may not play this week. Don't forget about coaching. I want you to Google something. Matt Ryan's MVP year. And then Google the following year, he lost 35% of his stats going from Kyle Shanahan to Steve Sarkesian.

And we think Sark is at least capable. What if Nathaniel Hackett is Steve Wilkes offensively? What if he's just a whiff? What if he just is Ben McAdoo? What if he is Freddie Kitchens? Is it possible? We all know coaching affects players. you can't get me to buy into a B plus A minus quarterback becomes a D minus quarterback.

It doesn't happen for 33-year-olds. There's got to be a component in here. We do not see. Mark Schlerath came on the herd on Fox and said, you know, Denver's receivers are overrated. They're not as good as everybody thinks. They're young and they're incredibly immature. That could be part of it. But I don't believe in my life, just like you, if you were.

were great at something and then you were suddenly awful at it. My guess is you got a health issue, a marriage issue, or a boss issue. It's got to be one of those. Nobody goes from really good to awful without an explanation. My guess is it's the coach. Tip off the NBA season with Fandul America's number one sports book. New customers. Get 150 bucks in free bets guaranteed. $150.50 when you place your first $5 bet. Plus, Fandle is the only sports book, gives all its customers.

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

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

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

So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the 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. All right, 28 to 37, four touchdowns, 300 yards passing.

Bengals now 3 and 3. It does not suck to win Sunday. Is there, seriously, I'm watching that game. That game, because there was other big games on, didn't get the publicity it should have outside of Ohio and in the South. It was a great come from behind win. Did it feel different at all being in Louisiana, different than any other road game? Yeah, it was definitely louder. It was interesting to be on the other side of playing against those fans.

you really realize how loud it can actually get in that stadium. It was a really great atmosphere. You know, it was funny. And I've said this. It's almost like your heartbeat comes down in crisis. Like when they put trips to one side and there's a single receiver, Jamar to the other side, and you see them bringing pressure, the automatic is go to the single side, right?

So to me, when did you realize they were. were bringing pressure because people decoy that. That's the read for you always is here they come. Okay, the safety's moving. I'm going right to Jamar. When did you, did you think it was a decoy? Because you could clearly tell they thought, we want to get this guy at a field goal range. We're going to create a minus play.

When did you know for sure, here they come? Well, it's always, I had a feeling pre-snap that they were going to, but you always got to make sure because, you know, teams like to show that and then end up. bailing out to double Jamar. And so I didn't expect it, but I kind of had a feeling that they would do it pre-snap. And so I knew exactly where I was going when I saw the safety rotate down one-on-one. Got to go to that guy.

And Jamar knows it's coming. He's looking at you. I mean, that's the hot read, right? Always trips to the one side, single to the other. Pressure comes. You're going there. And for the record, when that happens, do you always run the same route?

How do you know what route he's running? That was just a called route. One of our called plays. He didn't have to adjust his route for any reason because of the blitz. We had protected up front. O'Ine did a great job. And then Jamar did what Jamar does. It's funny.

Of all the cities I've been doing in the country, New Orleans is the loosest. It's a different city. Like when you go there, you drink more. you eat more, you stay up later. It's just a different vibe than the rest of the country. And you can go back to your college days or Sunday. There's a certain vibey, swaggy thing to New Orleans. Did you feel different in your college career or Sunday?

You just feel there's just a little vibe to you playing in that state. Yeah, it's just, you know, I sat out on the balcony for about 30 minutes. It's just hearing the sounds of the city. There's always music playing. There's always people having a good time. The energy of that city just kind of makes you upbeat, makes you happy, gives you confidence. So it's always fun to be there. So it was a really important win for you guys.

You guys are also getting into a terrible habit of falling behind. It's like just your thing. You're the opposite of the Ravens, who lead every game by 10 points. You trail. When you get into that, could I argue there's an advantage to repetitively falling behind? You're very comfortable at it. You did it in the playoffs. It's not ideal, but, I mean, you go to your rookie year and to today.

Do you feel different trailing than you did your first game as a pro? For sure. You know, the last two years, I mean, really, we had the same problem last year. We were a second half team all last year. We were down 24 nothing to the Chargers, ended up coming back and tying the game. had a chance to take the lead. I mean, every game felt like we were coming back. So we're very comfortable in these spots.

And, you know, we've been able to come back in every single game that we got down. We haven't been able to win all of them, make that final play. What was different about Sunday was we were able to come back. And we made that final play, the final two, three plays that it comes down to in the fourth quarter in those kind of game. Is your home and away prep different? Never. I always got to treat every game the same. You know, maybe you talk a little bit more about communication and hand signals, you know, throughout the week when you're playing a road game, but not as far as film or practice or the routine.

Okay. Explain to the audience here. Silent count. So you hear this all the time by announcers. See, I grew up in a small rural village. We didn't have silent count because you couldn't hear the crowd, right? like 80 people at my football games. When you go on the road,

you see teams get discombobulated, but you practice all week in silent count. So I'm your center. You come to the line. Explain to my audience what it means. Well, a lot of teams do it differently. They either have their center look between the legs or the guard will look back at the quarterback

and whenever you give whatever signal you have, hand, foot, then the center will snap it if he's looking between his legs or the guard will see it and then tap the center. It just adds one more layer of communication when you're on the road. So it makes, you know, you get a little further down on the play clock. So you've got to be in and out of the huddle faster. You know, if you're in the huddle, it might be harder to hear the play. So you have to repeat it a couple times.

So it just usually takes an extra three or four seconds on average, I would say, on the road to just operate. So when I watch you in these late game situations, I'm watching you, but I'm really watching the clock. And I always think to myself, people just, fans don't understand this. So you've got the play. You've got an audible.

You're watching the defense. You're watching the play clock. You're listening to a coach. Go to your first game as a pro and today. Like I always say, whenever you move to a new city, it takes you about six months to where you drive to work. You don't even think about it. It's like the car turns automatically.

I don't have to think. about how to get to work, but it takes you a while. Is it easier for you today to process all that stuff? Were you a little lost as a rookie? That's definitely easier now. I mean, your rookie year, and the same thing happens when you're learning a new offense. You see, you know, coordinators changing around the league. You come in, you have to learn all this new verbiage, a new language, basically, about how to call

plays. You know, everybody has the same plays. They just call them differently. And so you got to learn this new language. You've got to translate it to your old language at the beginning. And then if you're in the huddle, your first year, it's going to be a lot harder than your huddle now because now you can, you've called these plays so many times over three years. If you hear the first part of the play, you can kind of tune out and you know the rest of it. It's not like that.

Your rookie year, so your rookie year definitely takes a lot longer and a lot more prep throughout the week. So there's been a lot made of roughing the passer. And I remember Andrew Luck saying this to me. I was kind of surprised. He was on with me live years ago. And he goes, I love getting popped in the first quarter. He says, and I'm like, dude, that's a no, not great. And he said, you can do all you want in warmups.

But when you get popped in the NFL, he goes, it's like espresso. And I think, I look at you and I think you're a better late game quarterback than early. And some stuff, I'm better in the middle of my show than I am at the start of it. I've been doing this 25 years. Do you feel like there is a looseness? Like explain your ability. I felt Justin Herbert, by the way, Monday. And now he had an injury.

They could have shot him up with something and he wasn't right for the first quarter. He was just out of rhythm. I know he spent two hours warming up. And then by the third and fourth quarter, he's in a complete rhythm. Take me to that process. Well, by the end of the game, you understand how the defenses are trying to play you.

So you have more reps invested against this certain look that you're seeing from the defense throughout that they were planning on all week. And so now you know how they're going to play you against certain formations, two by two, three by one. they know how you know their blitz pattern for the game they blitzing on second down third down they like them blitz first and tens you know understand leverages of the corners and nickels you just have more reps seeing it and so by the end of the game i feel like that's when you should be

playing your best ball because you've you've seen how the defense is playing you and you've made your adjustments and so now you're just out there playing so as far as getting hit um do you feel anybody's ever hit you cheaply? Not in the NFL. No. I feel like for the most part, guys are pretty scared of getting that 15-yard penalty. They, for the most part, are pretty respectful.

I think guys look out for each other on the field for the most part, and they don't want to see injuries. Some guys are more intense than others, but I've never had a case where guys out there trying to hurt somebody. Everybody wants to be healthy. healthy. Right. Everybody plays through injury.

So Russell Wilson banged up. Herbert was not 100% last night. Dak. Aaron Rogers this week. You could see him on the camera shots. He kept doing his thumb. Have you ever started a season and ended it without at least one week feeling terrible? No, no.

That's part of the game. That's part of our jobs as quarter of. is being reliable and accountable to go out there and play. You know, all these guys, the offensive, defensive lines are getting in carbacks every single play. The running backs and linebackers are running 20 miles an hour head on. They're doing all these physical things. I think it's our job as quarterbacks to show our toughness and bring that side out. Go out there and play.

Everyone's playing injured at this point in this season. Everybody's got something. I think that's part of the job at quarterback. You got to fight through some stuff that other people might not because you're not going out and running 20 miles an hour on a route. Your ankles rolled. You could probably go out there and play with it. So I thought it was the best college football weekend of the year.

I'm not anti-Alabama. I'm fatigued from Alabama. So when they lost, I'm not going to lie. I was rooting for Tennessee completely and utterly. Completely. So, I mean, you take me to that. I mean, that was your biggest rival. I was, I was sort of tickled by it. I like, I didn't, I didn't even know who this Tennessee quarterback was six months ago. And I'm like, he's like 25 years old, accurate. I mean, really strong and accurate. Yeah, he looks good. He was good. So, I mean, what's it? I mean, I, I liked seeing Alabama get beat. What was your takeaway? Oh, I think that was a lot of people's takeaway because they just don't lose very often, right? Right. They have been so good for so long.

You said you're getting tired of it. That's because, you know, they have this process in this culture that they've built that they're going to be good year in and year out and they're going to be in contention. So I think that's a, that's credit to them. I can't say I would have a route for Alabama. It was a fun scene to watch on TV. Knoxville getting that win and all those fans celebrating. So it was definitely fun to see. Did Saban recruit you?

No. I wasn't exactly the highest recruited guy out of high school. I did not have an Alabama offer. Okay. So was it Joe Brady that found you at LSU? So when I was at Ohio State, we had a special team's assistant named Bill Bush. And Bill Bush became the safe.

50s coach at LSU and told Coach O about me when I was transferring. So that's how the whole process got started. Joe Brady came in before. So my junior year, we didn't have Joe. And then Joe came in before my senior year. And did you know instantly? I mean, Ed's totally different human. I've never met anybody like Ed Ors-R-Geron.

Like in football or out of football, he's just the most unique human I've ever met. Did you think in the first discussion with Ed, I remember my first discussion. I remember driving away from USC practice. I'm like, I've never had a discussion like that with a person. What did you make of Orgeron? It was, I could tell how intense he was, how much he cared about winning, and how much he cared about the state of Louisiana. I really, I mean, that's why I went there is because he sold me this vision of

doing exactly what we ended up doing. Everything that he told me ended up turning out to be true. We hadn't pulled it off. But he's a special person that, you know, I wouldn't be here talking to you every Tuesday without Coach O because I would probably be working finance or something. But he gave me the opportunity and I ran with it. God.

Do you really? And I wouldn't, this wouldn't bother me at all. If a company didn't give me a shot. Like, do you hold anything against Ohio State a little bit of I proved you wrong? Like, I would have that in me. Yeah, I mean, I have some of that, but I also still have great relationships there to this day. You know, I'm really close. A lot of the coaches are still there that I'm really close with.

Strength staff I'm really close with. You know, when I'm in Columbus, I try to go see him because we're still close. But obviously, there's some of that in me. I think every guy that has played. at a high level and gets to this point has a little little bit of that in them yeah uh i wouldn't call it a grudge or anything i i still love all those people but uh i'm glad i ended up to what i did for sure yeah my my wife's funny she says um she said i one time was talking about balance in my life and she says honey you're balance you have a chip on both shoulders

I was like, it's not the greatest quality I've got kids. But I, there is something, and I think I manufacture this in my head. I do like, in a weird way, I like people doubting me. Like, what do you get in your head? Like, you're in the NFL now. You make a lot of money now. Life's better now. You got your own place now.

You made it. What gets you going? What pisses you off? Yeah. I mean, I think everybody has that little dialogue in their head every day about, you know, what they're working for. I'm just, you can feel it week in and week out, how much your mood changes based off of winning and losing. And I'm chasing that winning feeling every week, not just during the season, but starting from the week after we stop playing in hopefully February. you know, that's what you're chasing.

They're chasing that winning feeling, that feeling in the locker room. After a big win, everyone's excited. Everyone's proud of the hard work that they put in up to that point. And you went out and got an opportunity and you made it happen. There's nothing better than that, accomplishing something. And that's what gets me going every day. So I always think about this. When you fly home after winning in the NFL, I mean, seriously, it's such a, I mean, if you flew to the West Coast and Lod

That is a terrible. Horrible. Unbelievable horrible. I mean, that'd be like going on vacation with my kids and losing one of them and having to fly home. It'd be like, like, what's the worst flight you've ever been on? That one last weekend after we lost the Ravens Sunday night was tough. I mean, you end up getting back at five in the morning and you just lost a big game. there's nothing there's nothing worse than that but then on the other hand you go to new

Orleans in a hostile environment and you get a big come from behind victory that flight home is why you play the game god that be great um 19 players in your pro career have caught a pass from you we all know Tyler and T and J. and J.J. I'm going to ask you the guys at the bottom of the list with one or two. I want to see what your memory is. I want to see what your memory is. Trenton Irwin.

Do you remember it? Yeah, we still have. I threw him a back shoulder Omaha takeoff on the left side line against Jacksonville last year on Thursday night. It was a big play for him. Stanley Morgan. Yeah. I mean, he's a great special team player for us.

I probably hit him with a hitch, I assume, or maybe a quick screen. I don't remember now on. All right. One more. Alex Erickson. I throw him a quick screen. Get what? My rookie year.

Okay. What's the play called? You're not getting that call. For sure. No chance. You want the playbook? I can email you the playbook too. I'll just put it on the volume website.

It's no big deal. By the way, so your base foundational offense is in. When you go back to practice on Wednesday, how many plays are added? Is it like heavy intellectual lifting or is it like adjusting what you have? Yeah, it's always,

it's always a balance, right? Because you watch the film and you've, you know, determine all these game plan coverage beaters for the week. And sometimes you end up with 10, 12 new plays. And you have to balance, you know, how much you can actually put in with going out there and playing free and playing fast and not thinking too much and running stuff that you have reps invested in.

And there's only so many reps in the week. And I think that's, you know, we're starting to find that balance of putting in those five or six plays that you think are going to be really good against their coverage and then also just running the base stuff that you're in all training camp and you have three years of work invested in. And so I think our coaches are doing a great job of balancing that out. Have you ever, has there ever been a play called in a game and you're like, man, we didn't get enough reps on this.

I don't love the play. Every now and then, you know, going to, Back, college, NFL, there's always one that you feel like maybe you didn't get this throw during the week or that throw. But, you know, I think what's great about what we do is, you know, Zach always asks me, we always have a meeting on Saturday. Hey, we're going through what I like, what I don't like. And for the most part, we're always on the same page about the plays that we like and we don't like. but if there's one that I feel strongly about that maybe I don't like as much,

he's usually not going to call it because he knows I'm out there and I'm the run trying to execute it and we're the ones on the field trying to execute it and so I think that's a credit to him and a lot of coaches would feel the same way that he does and so I'm lucky to have a guy like him.

You have games now. You will be favored. There's some backup quarterbacks. There's some young quarterbacks. So you've come out of a situation where you're in intense road environments, star quarterbacks. How do you ensure? Because you could look at that schedule and go, oh, shit, win, win, win, win. Like, to me, the responsibility is a little on Joe Burrow to kick ass a practice for the next few weeks.

Because I could look at that schedule. I'm a second year wide receiver. I'm like, shit, man. I'm hitting my bonus against that team. Like, do you feel like sometimes? in those games where you're favored, you become, your leadership is a bigger deal. Yeah, I think that's fair to say.

I think for the most part, we've got veteran guys to understand how hard it really is to win this league every single week. I mean, nothing is ever easy no matter who you're playing. We have veteran guys that know how to practice, get the reps in that we need to get to.

Because practice is really where you accumulate the timing and chemistry that you need to go out there and have success on Sundays. Okay, so there's apparently, I'm not on my phone as much as young people, but there's a piece of video that somebody coughed and you kind of had some reaction and everybody's like Joe Burroughs afraid of coughing. And I'm like, no, it probably startled them. So first of all, explain the coughing video. I haven't seen it, explain it.

I honestly don't even remember it happening in the press conference. I could have been reacting to something completely different. But based off of the clothes that I was wearing, that had to be week two, week three, somewhere around there. So several weeks ago, but I don't even remember the interaction in the press conference, to be honest. But my staff wrote down seven things that people in America are afraid of. So I'm going to give you them. There's one here I do not like at all. And I'm not a phobia guy.

Okay. But you tell me, not a fan, no biggie. Here's mine. I do not like snakes, like at all. Snakes. I like snakes. You like snakes? I like snakes. You could grab a snake. Yeah, I could grab a snake. Oh, yoy, yoy. Now, spiders. Hate spiders. Okay. Why? I had to get my, I had to get my mom to. get the spider out of my home several times growing up. So my daughter is ridiculous. I'm like, a snake has eaten a person. A spider is the, it's the size of a pen. So what is it with spiders?

I don't know. The legs? It's a great question. I don't have the answer for you. Heights. They don't bother me. I like looking down. Clowns.

Clowns don't bother me. The dark. No, I'm not scared of the dark. Cooper Cup with two minutes left. You bad I'm scared of. Everybody is afraid of that. Yeah. 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, 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Off a very hot week in both college and pro, I tore it up. Chad Millman's CCO Action Network, all of our odds, presented by a fan duel. We call it Sharper Square.

So listen, I went big underdogs last week. Scores of NFL games chatter down seven and a half points in two years. Big plays are down 35%. Meaning, I like points. We're going to get fewer points in these games. So I'm going to go big dogs this weekend. So you're ready for my first sharper square? Let's do it.

Steelers at the Dolphins. So a lot of people feel like, oh, Pittsburgh got very, very lucky. Very, very lucky. If you look at what Pittsburgh's doing with Kenny Pickett, he's okay. They're going to put a lot of pressure on Tua if he plays. I do not believe the Steelers and the Dolphins is going to provide us a wild shootout. I'm going to probably take Pittsburgh in seven. I took Pittsburgh against Tampa.

If you go back to the Buffalo loss, they threw for 350 yards. I think the Steelers hang with them, lose, but I'll take six. seven sharper square. Let me ask you a question. Yeah. There are, you know, 12 games this week, 13 games, whatever it is with the buy.

So there will be an even number of underdogs and an even number of, there will be the same number of underdogs and favorites. Of all the games you can choose, you're going to choose a game where two is expected to start, and if he does, he's coming off of a pretty brutal concussion

and hasn't played in weeks. We think it'll be Kenny Pickett coming back from a concussion, but we still aren't confirmed. We think that the Steelers' defensive backfield is still decimated. You can choose any game. And you're choosing this one?

Well, I give you a seven a week. I didn't say it was the greatest pick ever. You don't like it. Not only is this not a sharper square pick. This is a, nobody's even talking about this game. I would say, I agree with you that the Steelers are the right side because it's a big underdog.

Mike Tomlin, we talked about this last week, right? Against the box. What did I say? I said, take Mike Tomlin, take the box at plus eight and a half. Same situation. Good team. We don't know what we have in Miami right now. The Steelers are consistently a team that covers these big numbers.

Yes, 100%. Steelers are going to be the right side, not necessarily the sharp side, but the right side. Okay, 49ers coming off an embarrassing loss, though not a highly emotional loss. Kansas City coming off the big game of the year, a slight pullback. Niners, 11 starters out last week, get three crucial starters back. Chiefs are the worst tackling team in the league. What is San Francisco? Great yards after the catch.

I love the number at three. I'd still take the Niners at minus two and a plus two and a half, sharper square. Dude, now we're talking. Now we're talking. Yeah, this is sharp. So sharp. It's gone to, it's opened at three. It's moved to two and a half.

All of the tickets are on Kansas City. And this number still moved down. That tells you that the wise guys are on. San Francisco right now. What's really interesting is that the tickets have been on Kansas City by a preposterous number, 80, 85% the entire week. And the bookmakers knew they couldn't move it to three and a half because they knew if they did, the wise guys were going to come in on San Francisco. And it didn't matter. They came in on San Francisco at plus three. As you know, Colin, I co-host a podcast on the volume podcast network called The Favorites with my co-host,

Simon Hunter. So lately, we've been doing the show live on AMP because volume has a deal with AMP, right? And it's been super fun. And we're getting these live reactions now from professional betters as we're doing the show talking about games. So on Tuesday, we're doing the show and we're getting texts from professional betters. We're talking about the Niners. And they are saying, you got to take the Niners. You got to take the Niners. You got to take the Niners. This was Tuesday when it was at plus three. So immediately we hit the Niners. at plus three. And we talked about it again today. We still like the Niners at plus two and a half. Okay. I often look for things that are sustainable. Jets plus one and a half at the Broncos.

So as Greg CoSeltter told me Thursday on Fox, the Jets front seven is real. It's sustainable. It's consistent. They also have a lockdown corner and DJ Reed a second excellent corner. The Broncos are now backups across their offensive line and guys who really aren't very highly graded. This is really low scoring. I said it last week when I picked the Packers to lose to the Jets. I said this is a real team. They're not letting Zach Wilson get in the way of the team. He only had 18 attempts.

I think the Jets are a better team. I think they'll win again, and I think they'll win seven to ten points. I think what they're doing is sustainable. I think it's a bad matchup with their front and the Broncos O line, sharper square. Yeah, it's totally sharp. This number has moved down. It's moving in the Jets direction. It's not just moving in the Jets direction because of what the Broncos did in prime time

or because of what Russell Wilson has been doing. The wise guys are invested in the Jets. They were on the Jets last week, as you noted, against the Packers at plus seven and a half and consistently moving that number down. It's an interesting game. If you dig deeper on the numbers, Zach Wilson is really a terrible quarterback. And when he's in the pocket, his QB rating is very good. When he's under pressure and blitzed, his QB rating is 3.4.

So when you say they are not letting him get in the way, they are doing their best to keep him out of the way. Like Joe Flacco right now is a better quarterback for the Jets. than Zach Wilson. But they have all the other elements you talked about. Like this defense is for real. Sauce Gardner is for real. The biggest challenge right now,

the Broncos defense is really good. So can they stop Breeze Hall? And I think that what you're going to find is that there is a point in this number where it gets down to one and a half, it gets down to one. The wise guys buy it back. Because I think that's sort of their breaking point on how comfortable they feel betting the Jets. You know, another game that's interesting, and I'm going to go with a favorite here,

is I'm going to take the Chargers minus five and a half, and here's why. Corey Lindley, though not announced, I called, practiced. He's back. He calls all their protections. So what did you see from the Chargers against Denver? They were in a third string center. They weren't calling protections. They were missing on all the stunts.

They'll clean up the offensive line. Also, what can give the Chargers trouble if you have a dominating number one corner, which Denver has, it takes Mike Williams out of the game. Seattle is okay at Corner, certainly not dominant. I'm taking the Chargers to win, actually convincingly, it's dropped to minus five and a half. It's, I don't, Seattle's got a game. Their tackles are excellent, but I would take the Chargers sharper square. Totally square. It's moved from six and a half to five and a half because of professional money.

They are in on the Seahawks right now. I think there's real issues and they believe there are real issues with what the Chargers are doing offensively because they have had so many offensive line issues, but also because they're just not calling good game plans. Joe Lombardi is calling a very strange, conservative. We're going to run it first down, run it second down, hope Justin Herbert can find a miracle on third down. And it's not playing to the strengths of this offense. And I think they like what they're seeing from Seattle.

And not just in Gino Smith, who through six weeks now is proving to be a serviceable to better than serviceable quarterback. And we can recite the litany of stats that he has that put him in the top tier of quarterbacks right now. We're not going to be crazy. We're not going to use a small sample size to say all of a sudden, Gino Smith is an all-pro quarterback. But he's doing the things that he does need to do to keep this team in games and help them win games. And I actually think Kenneth Walker is potentially a better solution for them at running back than Rashad Penny. He's pretty amazing. And so this is a really good matchup for them against the Chargers team that is considered.

systemally overvalued. The Giants line didn't make a ton of sense. I think they're the better team and they're getting points. Jacksonville losing again, the crowd will be a non-factor, arguably be a pro-giant's crowd. I think what the Giants are doing, I think their ability to play solid football in the second half. Daniel Jones is not making mistakes. Trevor Lawrence is, despite his talent. I think the Giants are the better team.

They're getting points. Crowd is an absolute non-factor. of Jacksonville. That's not a factor. We're now in late October. That would worry me. I think they control the line of scrimmage. I think their defense forces Trevor Lawrence and the mistakes. I would take the Giants straight out, Sharper Square. So the wise guys are on the Jacks. And it's an interesting matchup, a really interesting matchup. The Giants are grading out as the luckiest team in the NFL. And I don't mean that in a pejorative way. I mean that in ways that we can quantify. At Action Network, we publish something called the luck rankings that takes

into factors such as turnovers, mistakes by the other teams, things that you would expect to show some regression to the mean. The Giants are far and away the luckiest team in the NFL. Okay? Their 30th in DVOA in defense, which basically just says they're really bad at defense. They've had miraculous wins week after week after week. They beat the the Panthers by three, they beat the Bears by eight, they beat the Packers who are looking worse and worse each week. They have flirt turnover, fluke turnovers to beat the Ravens. They've been tied or trailed in the fourth quarter of all five games that they've won. I think this is a by-low, sell-high spot for the Jaguars. The Jaguars have a really good rush defense this year.

It plays to the giant strength. And the Jags have been on the opposite side of luck in this situation. No joke. Last week, Trevor Lawrence played the best statistical game in the history of the NFL for a quarterback to lose. Like, they have just had bad spots again and again and again. Jags are the side here. I'll tell you my favorite that's interesting to me is Ravens minus six and a half. They're really a good team. They've led by double digits.

They're using now Lamar so much. look somewhat fatigued by the fourth quarter and has been a bad fourth quarterback. Cleveland's not a good team. You see Jacoby Brissette four or five times as a starter, and you can see he can't do much. I think Baltimore's a really good team that's had bad fourth quarters. I watched the Giants Ravens game for a second time this week. They were the better football team. This is one of the few blowouts of the weekend to me, even though it's a divisional game.

I think the Ravens win comfortably at home. pissed off after blowing that game, Sharper Square. Yeah, look, I think that Jacoby Brissette has definitely turned into a pumpkin. The wise guys are going to be on Baltimore in this game. It's moved from five and a half up to six and a half. The Brown's defense is putrid. So now you're getting a quarterback who's not nearly as effective as he was in the early part of the year with a defense that is just dreadful,

especially a rush defense that is dreadful. I know J.K. Dobbins had some limited practice this week, but Lamar is still Lamar, and he's running it so thoughtfully and strategically and getting himself out of bounds and sliding in the right spots. It's a real weapon for them. Obviously, we all agree. So the wise guys are with you. Okay, there's two other games. One, I have no opinion on. I have a hunch and I want your expertise. I would take the commanders plus four and a half. I don't buy Green Bay. I haven't bought Green Bay. I had the Jets beating Green Bay. My theory is we have anointed Matt Lefleur to a VIB club, and he's never paid his dues. The special teams are a wreck again. The defense is underachieving. He's supposed to be a run design coach.

They don't use Aaron Jones. They can't throw the deep ball. They may win, but four, it was at five and a half at one point in Fandul. It's four and a half. It feels like a strong commander's play. Should I put that in my blazing five? You 100% should put this. and you're blazing five.

It's a game that the wise guys have been talking about all week. They targeted it as soon as it opened at five and a half. It's why you've seen it go down to four and a half. You take the decals off the helmets and you're talking about two teams that have mediocre to bad defenses, right? And you're talking about the only thing that the commanders do really well on defense is pressure the quarterback without having a blitz. their third best in pressure rate as a defense without having a blitz.

The one thing we know can trouble Aaron Rogers is when you can get to him and pressure him without having to blitz. So that plays to Washington's advantage. Then let's look at the other side. Let's say it's Taylor Heineke and you've got a backup quarterback coming in for Carson Wentz. The wise guys look at this and think, wait a second, we're better off with Taylor Heineke, playing quarterback. He has a better, he's a better career completion percentage, similar yards per attempt to Carson Wentz for his career, similar QBR, and he's more mobile than Carson Wentz.

So it sounds crazy when you look at it sort of without the numbers, you say, I'm going to bet on a team with the backup quarterback whose ownership group is in complete disarray. And they're generally a historically bad franchise against the defending two-time MVP. but this is the spot where you take the commanders. This game should be power rated. It is power rated at three, three and a half tops. So right now you're still getting about a point, a point and a half of value.

Okay, so then I ask you every week for a game that I have not discussed. By the way, I think the craziest thing in the league so far is the fact that we think the culture awful and they're three, two, and one when we win over the Chiefs. That's not the game. But I literally said this week, I'm like, oh, they're awful. And then I looked at it. they have a winning record, they beat Kansas City?

How is that possible? What's the game you love that I haven't brought up? Yeah, the chiefs are stunning, right? Like, we all think the chiefs should be, or the cults should be 0 and 6 right now. The way that, like, they started the year, they looked so disoriented. Matt Ryan looked terrible. It's very interesting that the sports books, they never, as bad as the Colts looked, they never had the Colts out of the lead position to win the AFC South.

Their odds were always shortest to win the AFC South. As usual, the bookmakers are seeing something and knowing something that the rest of us aren't. The game that you haven't talked about, which is interesting to me, Houston Texans plus seven against the Las Vegas Raiders. I don't really understand, and the professional betters don't really understand why this number is as big as it is. as we just talked about with Washington and Green Bay. These are two teams that generally are evenly matched when it comes to what their offensive units are doing and what their defensive units are doing in terms of overall rankings. There is no reason the Raiders in any scenario should be a touchdown favorite against anyone.

And this year, the Texans have been competitive in every game. The only game they haven't really been competitive in from a score perspective, they lost to the Los Angeles Chargers by 10 points. They were in that game the entire time. It was until two minutes left, they ended up getting it out of hand. So the Texans have been competitive and the Raiders aren't.

So a touchdown favorite is a little bit too big for me. Make sure to check out the Dremont Green show. I brought Dramon Green into the volume because one of the more entertaining voices in sports, unique perspective, understands behind the rope, also chops up with guests like Gary Payton, Zach Levine, Tracy McGrady, make sure download the Draymond Green Show

wherever you get your podcast, only on the volume podcast network. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest,

SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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