The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Colin Cowherd Podcast - Steelers QB Controversy? Jets Hit Turbulence, Are The Giants…Good? Broncos A Playoff Team? USC’s Loss “Unacceptable”

Episode Date: October 7, 2024

Colin reacts to the Cowboys beating the Steelers 20-17 on Sunday Night Football! He start by bringing up the subpar quarterback play of Justin Fields and wonders if Russell Wilson is potentially in a spot to take over the starting role for the Steelers (3:30). Then, he’s joined by John Middlekauff, host of “3 and Out” to break down the full slate of Sunday games! They start in London with the Jets losing to the Vikings, why the Jets’ struggles aren’t the fault of coach Robert Salah and why they have concerns for Aaron Rodgers (19:00). They react to the 49ers letting the game slip away to Kyler Murray and the Cardinals and discuss why Kyler is so hard to stop (33:00). They blame the Bills blowing the game late to the Texans on the coaching staff (47:00)and explain why the Chicago Bears are seeing promising growth every week from star quarterback Caleb Williams (58:00). They debate whether the Rams should draft a quarterback or try to surround Matthew Stafford with weapons for one final run (01:02:00), and whether Packers quarterback Jordan Love is regressing (01:07:00). Finally, they ask the surprising questions… “Are the Giants actually good?” (01:16:00) and “Are the Denver Broncos a playoff team” (01:24:00) and try to figure out what’s going horribly wrong for the USC Trojans (01:30:00). (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.

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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the ice planet, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw unfilts of coverage. conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the 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. The volume. The roller coaster of an NFL season is moving right along, and it promises to be a month full of tricks, treats, and of course touchdowns. And draft king sports book an official sports betting partner of the NFL is the number one place. to always bet touchdowns. Running it in from the one or an 80-yard bomb,

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For additional terms and responsible gaming resources, see dkng.com slash FT Ball. Well, if you like nostalgia, like the 70s and the 80s, you would love watching the Pittsburgh Steeders outdated offense. I mean, they're trying to get into a wrestling match and have it decided in the last couple drives, and that's what happened tonight. And Dak Prescott, who didn't have a great night,

C.D. Lamb was vanished in the second half. He had a couple of picks. But, you know, Dax's a professional quarterback. There's always been, like, to me, he's always been sort of Kirk Cousins, but more popular, moves a little better. It doesn't throw quite as accurately.

But he's a professional quarterback, and you give him a final drive and 15 plays later without really much C.D. Lamb, and Dallas wins the game. So, and it's really an embarrassing loss for Pittsburgh. And now, Listen, they make one more stop and they win the game. But I went and look, Terry Bradshaw retired the former Steeler Great in 1983, and it's 2024.

So in that time, the Steelers have had 25 quarterbacks from Bradshaw's retirement until Justin Fields and Russell Wilson. One, Big Ben, has been exceptional. Now, Cordell Stewart had his moments or a Tommy Maddox or a Bubby Brister, Mike Tom. But they've had one really high-end quarterback. They've had multiple great tight ends, receivers, linebackers, defensive linemen, running backs. They draft wide receivers very well. Safeties, corners, they've had one exceptional quarterback.

And that's kind of it. So, you know, watching them tonight pass for 97 yards. And again, George Pickens should have 97 yards. I'll argue all day long, it's not the personnel. I mean, Arthur Smith, the coordinator, made Ryan Tannahill a pro bowler five years ago. Ryan Tannahill left Miami, went to Tennessee, and nobody had him in high regard, and he ended up having a really nice career, second half of his career, and Arthur Smith made him a pro bowler in the AFC.

You know, that was before, you know, Lamar and Mahomes had become Josh Allen had become stars. But nonetheless, you know, Brady took one of those spots every year. So it's not him. And Dallas didn't play well. I didn't think offensively. I think they looked functional, which the Steelers didn't. But they just, they're just outdated offensively. They don't, you know, Mike Tomlin's a motivator.

I think he inspires teams. That's his strength. His teams are tough, physically. but and the personnel, the front office does a good job. There's plenty of personnel here. They remind me a lot of Seattle. Now, Gino's better than Justin Fields as a competent,

sit in the pocket, throw it down the field quarterback. But it's like Seattle. You can't tell me Seattle's roster isn't solid. They've hit on multiple draft picks the last three years. Receivers, running backs, corners, mid-round, late-round guys, but they're not good enough of quarterback. and couldn't beat the Giants at home. And, I mean, look at Dallas.

It was without Michael Parsons, to Marcus Lawrence. Dack didn't play particularly well. And Pittsburgh at home passed for 97 yards. You know, the big scoring drive for the Steelers tonight, just to show you how pitiful it is, they benefited from a hit on Justin Fields where the cowboy defender, his helmet, did not hit Justin Fields' helmet.

nor was it particularly a late hit. It was just a hit that officials were, I guess, uncomfortable with because it was violent. I don't get the penalty. It was a bang, bang play. There was no helmet-to-helmet collision, and it was a penalty. Without that, 15 yards, they likely don't score the touchdown. So, 2017, you know, Dallas wins this game on, you know, last play of the game. game, and that's betting. I'm two and two going into the Saints and five and a half points tomorrow,

and what I think will be a really interesting game without Rishie Rice, it'll be fairly low scoring. Mostly now the Chiefs win that way. But it's what I've found with the Steelers, Mike Tomlin, and Justin Fields, they're actually a perfect match because you'll never make Tomlin fans or Justin Field fans. You'll never talk them out of their devotion. Regardless, of what they see. And, you know, Tomlin, they're still clinging to we've never had a losing record. All right. If that's your standard. And Justin Fields, I mean, he's a big, tall, runs around well, has a pretty good arm. But I just don't think he sees the field particularly well. I don't think he's terribly accurate, although more so now than ever. And, you know, the good news is when you look

around to the Cowboys and Steedars, because I think we watched two, you know, when Mike and DeMarcus Lawrence come back, Dallas feels like a low-end playoff. team to me. Pittsburgh doesn't. And again, you know, DAC with CD Lamb, competent receiving crew, not great, but competent. Brandon Cooks comes back. You know, Dallas may sneak into the playoffs, although Washington's really good and the New York Giants are no pushover. I'll talk about that game. The Seahawks lost to the New York Giants in the Pacific Northwest with John Middlough here in a couple of minutes. But, you know, I guess the good news for both the Steelers and the Cowboys is who's really good. Now, there are, you know, Baltimore's offense, Cincinnati's offense, Kansas City's defense.

But, I mean, teams like San Francisco, they're just not the same team. You know, Baltimore can get gashed. Buffalo's on a two-game losing streak. So, you know, I think Detroit's good, but something feels like it's missing a little bit. I think Green Bay is getting better every week. I pick them to beat Detroit in the NFC North. And I think they're picking up steam. But there really isn't a dominant team so far.

There are dominant units, but not dominant teams. So we have a long way to go. And, you know, I just put 97 yards passing with those weapons on a cowboy versus a cowboy defense that is all beat up is a bad look. But again, the Tomlin fans, one quarterback since Terry Brachaw retired has been exceptional. And they've either drafted, traded for, acquired 25. Spurge Steeler, quarterback. And I will say this about Russell Wilson. You know, they, they, these, the broadcast crews have production meetings before games.

And they, you know, so they get some information. And over the course of the game, that information comes out through the broadcasters or sideline reporters. And, you know, they made it sound throughout the course of the game a couple of different times than, you know, Russell Wilson. They showed him a lot earlier. you know, Russell Wilson will get his shot. But, I mean, he had a calf injury. You know, he didn't break a collarbone. It was a calf injury.

So, you know, I think the coaching staff and Arthur Smith right now, like the more athletic, taller, younger, Justin Fields, and I think if he would have won tonight, they would have stayed with him. But these losses give Russell Wilson an opportunity to get the job. But it's, I mean, how long does a calf injury take for a professional athlete. I don't know. This is a long time to be out. That drama with a Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback situation is, I just think, starting. It's just starting. So congrats to the Cowboys, again, back through for almost 350 yards. And the one thing I always liked about

DAC, and I really do appreciate this about DAC, and it's kind of the opposite of Aaron Rogers. You can't tell in the middle of a game if he's playing well or not. He's unbothered by interceptions. Dak doesn't care. Dak's made a fortune. He's won a lot of games. He's not deterred if he has a couple of bad picks. He doesn't have crappy body language.

I mean, C.D. Lamb and him, Jodd in the game. It doesn't affect how he plays. Dak is very much Kurt Cousins. Smart, reads the entire field, a nice distributor of the football, a real leader, excellent intangibles, and doesn't get overly emotional in games. You know, he's not, he'll pump a fist once in a while, but, you know, he and CD are struggling in the second half, and he's got picks. He almost fumbled the game away down to the goal line, but he's just unbothered by it. Good plays, bad plays.

And that's, he's really one of the models of the personality, the EQ, the emotional quotient that you really need as a quarterback. You can't tell. I mean, you can tell when Aaron Rogers throws a pick. You can zone me into a game in the third quarter. I could watch Aaron's body language and tell you had I not watch the game how he's playing. You can never tell with that Prescott. He's a total grown-up. And the Cowboys needed that tonight because they were, before that 15 play drive, it was choppy.

It was turbulent. They're on the road. Seedy Lamb banishes in the second half. So, you know, Dallas doesn't have a great run game. I mean, a fullback now has become a crucial element to their offense. So credit to Dak, being a pro's pro. We watch Kirk Cousins do it. On Thursday, you watch Dak do it on Sunday night.

Professional quarterback play. Unemotional, smart, make the play, the throw in the biggest moment of the game. Tip of the cap. Now for a segment called Making It Look Easy, brought to you by Morgan and Morgan America's largest injury law firm. Today, Lamar Jackson did so. He finished 26 of 42, four touch. downs another 55 yards rushing. That's crazy. Passed for almost 350 yards and a comeback went against the Bengals in Cincinnati. Just like Lamar made it look easy, so does Morgan and Morgan.

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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. great.

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, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the 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 would you eat if you had to start over? Real simple, poor man's, poor woman's food. Black

beans, chicken, rice, plantains. That's always, that's poor people's food, man. But being Nigerian, that's, come on, a go-to. On the podcast eating while broke, I sit down with celebrity entrepreneurs and creators as they revisit the meals they once relied on and the moments that shaped their journey. Named Best Food Podcasts at the 2006 I Heart Podcast Awards. This show is all about real conversations on money, growth, and what it really takes to make it. It was times where me and Lexa will definitely get into it because we're not making any money. Like I need to start making money.

Like, why are we doing this? But I don't know. I think we just always knew that we had something really good. And eventually people were going to catch on. And so we just thugged it out. The full season is available to binge. Right now, listen to Eating Wall Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself.

And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Oh, cream of chicken suit. Hey, cream.

Cream and chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself about love or relationships can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection. This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast, deeply well with Debbie Brown and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to

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Fell is hard, but hiring Morgan and Morgan is easy. All right. Crazy weekend. We're going to spend 90% of it on NFL. John Middletoff, as we do every Sunday, former NFL Scout with the Philadelphia Eagles, three announce his podcast. He joins me every Sunday night. Our week five reaction is presented by Uber Eats get almost, almost anything for game day. So I want to just start with the first game of the day, the Jets. So the Minnesota Vikings beat the Jets, was it, 2317. And Jets got off to a really bad start.

As they've been prone to do this year, even though those are supposed to be the scripted plays and where you get off to pretty decent starts offensively, they didn't. And I've got reams and reams of notes here. Sam Darnold had a bad pick. There were opportunities. But so already, New York media wants to fire Sala, Robert Sala. So let me just defend him. And I don't think he's a great coach. He hasn't proven to be. One, because the general manager whiffed on Zach Wilson and a left tackle, they had to basically desperately give the Frans to the best free agent quarterback they could find, which was Aaron Rogers. So Aaron had the power to bring in Nat Hackett. I don't think Robert Salo wanted to. So his GM put him in a situation where he's dealing with a relationship with an OC, he wouldn't have hired. I mean, Nat Hackett's, you know, reputation is what it is. We know he's got an impulsive owner. Now, Alan Lazzards had multiple drops today. That's on Aaron. But Hassan Reddick, this defense is good. Somebody finally shut down Minnesota. How good would they be with Hassan Reddick? So I look at Saul and I think,

you can blame him, but John, I do this all the time. Are you as a coach? Matt Eberfluse, are you good with your side of the ball? We finally found a defense that slowed down Minnesota today. My take is Sala is having to overcome GM mistakes, an impulsive owner, and Aaron's age, which he's just not what he used to be. You're kind of smirking. Would you run him out of town, Sala? Well, I laugh because only Colin Coward and Aaron Rogers could get me out of bed 630 a.m. to watch one of these London games. And I did it and I did it for you and I did it for Aaron and 10 minutes into the game. You're just thinking they're going to get boat raced. Yeah. I mean, it was just three and out, three and out. You know, that game against the Patriots, it was hard to deny he had a youthful feel. It turns out the Patriots are awful. Yes. And these last two weeks, you saw him against Denver, who turns out Denver, playoff team, defense. defense. They're pretty impressive. And then obviously Minnesota really, really good on defense, he looked really old. Yeah. You know, he looked really old. And he could move around. He's definitely, you know, whatever's going on with his lower leg. He talked about it coming into the game.

He got rolled up. But the magic is gone. I mean, those back shoulder throws, I mean, the throw that ended the game, there were the pick six, little fluky. That happened sometimes. times when you just kind of throw it in the guy. But the other two picks, the way the game ends, when has he ever been so off with the wide receiver on that throw? That was really bad. But his other pick, which is a layered throw, which I would say Aaron Rogers is as good as anyone in the history of the sport, down the scene between two defenders. And it was, it looked like a remedial quarterback. What they do, air mail. I mean, the receiver has no shot. And you're just going, I just don't see it. And the other thing is, how did they get his swag back?

And this was when he was younger pre-Aquillies in Green Bay. They started running the ball well. They have no run game in New York. And you're watching the last two games. I mean, I don't think they've accounted for like 70 total yards. And they don't even try. I mean, you're just at this point in time, 40 years old, the way he was playing today, to ask him to throw it 45-ish times is not a winning formula.

Let's face it, Colin. These quarterbacks, and his resume was way better than Russell, Wilson and obviously Deshawn Watson, but great quarterbacks never become available. That never happens. The reason Peyton Manning became available, they thought his neck was broken. Yeah. Right. Bill Belichick said, listen, you guys don't think I'm crazy?

I'm shorting a 42-year-old player. It's very rare that like, oh, Josh Allen and his primer Lamar changes teams. That's not what happens. So we now have a long list of Russell disaster. Obviously, Deshawn has a chance to be a historic disaster. And this Aaron Rogers thing, last year old guy got hurt. Freaky, okay. And this year you're just seeing them play decent competition, and they just feel overwhelmed.

I mean, they really do. But he's not good enough. He's not good enough to mask their issues, like you said, with their offensive coordinator and their personnel. Yeah, they asked him to throw 54 times, and he's not that player. And the other thing is, you know, I had said this. I always thought Cam Newton wasn't very disciplined mechanically. but I thought he got away with it in his prime. You know, Cam was just an arm thrower.

He wouldn't set. Aaron has been able to get away with sometimes floating, flipping, kind of a casual. Sometimes, I would say the majority at the time. Right. In his prime, he could get away with it. And he just can't anymore. His mechanics, Cam Newton's mechanics, they're just, and that's why that is literally why Brady was good to the end. He was mechanically perfect.

Maybe two before his arm fell off. Yep. And Aaron and Cam Newton jump out to me as players that were just sort of so gifted they got away with it. I mean, go back to Aaron's last year in Green Bay. They were eight and nine. Aaron, again, in a organization that was young but stable, they lost at home to Detroit, which was one year away from being good. And now you look at them.

Think about this. Denver with a worse roster and a. rookie quarterback has a better record and has beaten the Jets head to head with Bo Nix, who, by the way, I watched today. Again, they're not asking them to do a ton, but athletically, Bo Nix is moving. Bo Nix is picking up, he's moving the chains. That's an average roster that Vegas had at five, five and a half wins. So Denver's beaten them in New York, has a better record, won again today, and is actually starting to figure it out offensively. So I think, I think your point is true. is that when you talk about, I mean, I think Matt Stafford has kind of like Aaron,

he doesn't move as well, but I think he's mechanics are better and he's got a better head coach. But most of these guys not named Brady, John, they age really fast. And Aaron got hit today. He was in pain the last quarter and a half of that football game. Yeah, it feels this could end pretty ugly the rest of this year. Obviously, they'll still win some games. They've got players. I don't view them as like a four or five win team,

but it could be a bumpy seven to eight win ride. And the way he looks relative to what he's been, you talked about this a lot leading into the season, you know, where he would rank in the AFC, the overall landscape of the quarterbacks. And a lot of people freak out when you say, hey, seventh, eighth, ninth guy, give or take somewhere in that region.

The last two weeks, he hasn't sniffed being a top 20 quarterback. Obviously last week he even admitted he was atrocious. And today you just see his physical limitations. He's not able to move like he once did. You know, beside Garrett Wilson, they're so bizarre dependent. And when they're not running the ball, he can't just go, it was really glaring today because, again, we had a football game start for us at 6.30 in the morning. So right when the 10 a.m. game starts and you just go from that because that basically ran right up till 10.

And then all of a sudden it's Lamar. and Joe Burrow. And you go, you know, for a long period of time, these guys have been good for a while now too. But a couple years ago, Aaron was ahead of them, winning MVP's right there with them, the superstars in the league. And then you're watching those two guys,

and you just witnessed Aaron, you're like, he feels like, I didn't watch this, but Willie May's on the Mets or something. Yeah. Now, his version of it, and it's just, I don't think that you can circumvent his age

if you can't run the ball, because his game was very predicated on him moving around. And there's a couple times, I think he knows, like, I can't get away like I used to, and he kind of just plops. And it was a, he just looks old. He looks weathered, Colin. He looks weathered.

What I think really helps Robert Sala and saves his job for the time being is they don't have a strong offensive coordinator. If they did, I think Woody Johnson, if they lost to Buffalo, would make a move. I really do. He's that impulsive. But they don't have a great coordinator. Is that who they? play this upcoming week, Buffalo? I think it's Buffalo's on the schedule. So their schedule

gets really tough. You know, the other thing is that, and I mean, they targeted Garrett Wilson 22 times today. They're like the Cowboys. If C.D. Lamb or Garrett Wilson twisted an ankle, they don't have an offense. They're totally dependent. That's why the Devante Adams rumors make sense. But, you know, when you start looking at the Jets, and I said this this week, Yankees, Mets in the playoffs, next season starting. This is the first viable championship team. So much of this franchise historically has been about relevance.

And it's like I always call them the low self-esteem sports franchises. You know, Cleveland gets desperate to Sean Watson's contract. You know, we've seen NBA franchises like this. The Jets, Mets historically. The Yankees had a big signing. We have to have one. This organization now, you start, looking at it, I think they have to draft a quarterback in the AFC.

Mahomes, Alan, Lamar, Burrow, C.J. Stroud, Justin Herbert. You know, it was, okay, let's get Aaron some help next year. They have to draft the quarterback. There's no question they have to draft quarterback. Well, I understand the GM and the coach have to be realizing the light at the end of the tunnel. If they win seven, eight games, they're all going to get fired. But you cannot trade a high pick for Devante Adams. I think that's malpractice in the long-term landscape of this operation. Because even if you add Devante Adams, okay, you're still probably a one-and-done

playoff team at best, maybe winning a game. If this is the version of the quarterback, right, he's not a top 10 quarterback. So, you know, I don't know if you saw the report today that Mark Davis, you know, most of these teams, it's like, listen, I hire my GM, you do what's best for the organization. Mark Davis, like, we will not take a. anything less than a second round pick, which I understand where he's coming from, but that kind of shows you the dysfunction of the Raiders. He's the one making the call on the compensation, but maybe the justice kind of give in. Well, they're not going to be a top five drafting team,

right? They're still going to win games. So you're not drafting high enough to probably get the premium guy, which is already a pretty questionable quarterback draft. So you're more likely to be where they just were, 12 to 15. So giving up that second round pick or two third round picks or whatever, that's valuable, you know, capital to move up. So I, now, that's the problem, though. So internally, these guys are fighting for their lives. Yeah. Because they can just see getting fired coming right down, you know, the railroad tracks at them. So maybe they're like, screw it. Take the pick, Mark. And if I'm the Raiders and I can get the Jets pick, that's, that seems pretty crazy to me. And I also think if you're Devante Adams, you know, you go with Aaron. It's like,

is he going to retire after this year? It just, it feels, this is the problem. This is the problem. them about how much limited equity the franchise had together that once you go through a little adversity, like the Niners right now are in shambles. Yeah. But at the end of the day, Fred, George Kittle, Trent Williams, all these guys have played together for so long. And the Patriots or the Chiefs, when they go through bumpy roads, like sometimes like, hey, guys, we've been doing this for a while. Everyone with the Jesse, I just got here, you just got here. We played four games with Aaron total. Right. It's just, it feels like a ticking time bomb because of this, situation hanging over the head with the, with the executive and the coach, and then Aaron's age.

And he's just kind of, I don't want to say he's pouty, but he's just, his body language is not gray right now. Yeah. So Viking fans, I know you're upset with us because we're talking about the New York Jets, but they're in crisis. The Vikings now are undefeated. They had a pretty bumpy second half. Sam Darnold did have one of his kind of classic reckless interceptions, but I will say this. He mostly managed the game, even good, I mean, Kansas City's had multiple bad halves, and Mahomes has had multiple horrible picks. Today, Stafford had another one. Aaron had several. So Darnold is allowed to have some, you know, he throws the ball down the field. Sam has receivers that can make plays. I thought overall

Minnesota really, really controlled the game in the first half, got into Aaron's head. And then it was just holding on. I kind of feel like that way with the New York Giants, even though we thought the game was in doubt. I feel like it was the Giants Day. Their O line was just controlling Seattle's injury-plagged D-line. So Minnesota's undefeated. I don't take anything negative. You're not going to run through this league. I mean, good God, Bama got beat by Vandy.

You're not going to run through this league and not have really bad halves. So I don't have any take on Minnesota. They won. That's an impressive win. To me, you're not going to beat everyone going up 28-0 in the first quarter. Right. That wasn't a sustainable model. So to me, to win a game like this, where you did have the lead the whole time,

but they were kind of coming back and your defense hold serve. And like you said, Sam, like he didn't crumble. Today would have been a moment in previous years where maybe he fumbles and throws two other picks and it's just the Jets win because they get handed a victory by Sam Donald. And that did not happen today. All right. Let's go to San Francisco. Arizona, that was one of my blazing five picks.

I like the seven and a half. Arizona, I think should have won by more, but they had that field goal blocked and San Francisco took it in. Arizona beats the Niners 24, 23. San Francisco, once again without Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Shannon has losing record. Now, Mason Jordan's a good running back, but McCaffrey gives you so much more than that. So I had said, one of the things I believe, I think Washington's for real. And when they housed Arizona, people sold.

But Jesus, Arizona, Kyler Murray, Harrison and Wilson, McBride the Tide-N, Conner's a freaking beast at running back. He's been a good player for a long. He's a good player. This offense, I don't know if they're a playoff team. I don't know if they're brilliantly coached, but they're going to beat teams. They just have too many players. Kyler Murray, after the interception of Bosa, standing still and freezing, would drive me insane if I was a head coach.

But it's a huge win for them. Let's talk San Francisco. I thought their offense. I mean, if you looked at the box score, I did right before I came on. I mean, it was even. If you didn't watch the game, you'd say, oh, it's a great game 24, 23. but it did feel like it was a game in which San Francisco had on the bag and let's slip away. Yeah, they were one and six in the red zone.

I mean, they're just not scoring enough points. And I don't know if that's, you can put it all on Christian McCaffrey. Obviously, he's a loss. It's a part of it. But you got Brandon Ayuk, you got George Kittle, you got Debo Samuel, you got Joanne Jennings, you got Mason. Like, to me, there are no excuses to not. You're up 23 to 10 at half. And I understand you lose your kick early in the game.

game, but I don't give a shit. You're not playing. This is not the 07 Patriots here. Like you said, they've always, Kyler's always given the Niners fits. You know, he basically opened the game up with a 50-yard run. They do a lot of that zone read stuff. It throws the Niners D-Lignment off because they are so quick to get up field and all of a sudden a crease. The Niners defense has not been the same. It's not. Today was a total team loss offense and defense. Purtees, I thought, was pretty hit or miss. Even the final pick, which is not all. his fault he's hit. But Tom Brady's like, George Kittles wide open. We don't have time to be patting the ball. You've got to get rid of it. I don't care what you're, you have to make these quick

decisions. And that's what they lean on him to do to be really smart. And I thought it's like, you're holding the ball for a guy that's covered down the field when you got 85 wide open. But defensively, Greenlaw got hurt in that Super Bowl, and they are just not the same. As a run defense, you can run on them. The physicality, they still hit hard, but usually it's guy six, seven yards down the field. Right. And if Bosa and the D-line doesn't sack the quarterback basically wants to drive, which is hard for them when they're playing a guy like Kyler Murray who can scramble around, they just look like,

I don't want to say a shell of themselves, but they are a watered down version of the defense we've seen for the last three years. And that's with Fred Warner playing at a really high level. But I think you feel Greenlaw's miss. And let's face it, just overtime. Like this dynasty, not a dynasty, excuse me, that's chiefs. run of the Shanahan era is like there's a lot of film on these guys now. Yeah. You know, so it's, it gets more difficult. People know what Purdy likes to do, what Kyle likes to do. And defensively,

they've had a lot. It's not like they have a spags, right, or a Flores. I mean, they just elevated this guy who's been a lifetime position coach that I, safe to say, no one else was ringing down the doorbell to hire the guy. Well, I mean, look at Seattle's Legion of Boom defense. You get about a three-year run on new stuff. And then, you know, the Legion of Boom, All of a sudden, somebody's a free agent. They leave. You can't afford them. All of a sudden, the league's got two and three years of tape.

You know, Miami's offense. Remember for about seven games, eight games, nobody could, all that motion. Then people, it's not college football where, you know, sometimes a coach can't literally can't, over the course of a game, the coordinators can't solve the riddle. NFL, team solved the riddle at half. It's just better coaching. So I think it's a great point by you. And I also think, you know, there are certain.

guys, I can't quit. I'll get to Lamar later. I think he's just a remarkable player. Kyler Murray, you have to make decisions in this league. You would hope you'd never have to make it with a quarterback, maturity, commitment. But John, you look around this league, there are not a lot of Kyler Murray's. Let's say he's, let's say he is, and I think he throws a better ball than Lamar, but I think he's about 80% of Lamar Jackson. In terms of elusiveness, movement, playmaking, he brings the same headache to a D coordinator. You're never quite sure. I mean, you can't cheat. That's why Connor, you can't cheat on him. And I've said this about it is people hung around with Jay Cutler who didn't have Kyler Murray's ability for a long time because of the arm strength. Where are you on

Kyder Murray? I mean, they're stuck with a contract. I mean, him not moving on the Bosa pick, just staring at it is like bad. Like, that's really bad in the film room. I think one fatal flaw, and I would say the biggest difference between Lamar and Kyler is, Kyler cannot see sitting in the pocket. Yeah. And Lamar can. And he did it today. He can pick you apart in the pocket when he's on.

Yeah. And Kyler, one of his biggest throws today on a fourth down to Marvin Harrison, he can do the Lamar, Michael Jackson backpedal, right, and get away from pressure because he's such an elite athlete. He's got such a great arm, but you have to get him on the move. To me, he's a little bit of a tease. Like, he is an. He's an excellent talent. Do I think you can build a sustainable winning team with him?

I'm not sure you can. I think he's a tough guy to win with over the course of a season. But on an individual game basis, like you said, no defensive coordinator feels great getting on the bus headed to the stadium. Nope. I think that's the best way when I watch him. First of all, he's going to get dinged up over the course of a season. He runs a lot and he's small. And the second thing is he's sort of a moody play.

There's times when he's really engaged, and there's times when he feels a little like Aaron Rogers. After Aaron had that second pick, he was kind of too casual with some of his deliveries, like he was pissed off, and he was telling Hackett to go, go, go. And he's eye roll and Lazard. And Alan, it's not that Aaron's not playing hard, but you can see his emotions. You know, Brady would pump his fist after a touchdown, or he'd yell briefly on the sidelines. But he was fairly robotic emotionally in a game. Aaron and Kyler Murray, I can tell.

I could just tune the game in and go, they're leading, they're trailing, they just threw a pick. And I think, I think Kyler's hard to coach, even though I think he's brilliant. I think he keeps everybody on eggshells. I've been told this by a former teammate, an executive, and a coach, that Cliff Kingsbury, there were times he wanted to go to Colt McCoy. Like, it drove him nuts.

I think it's weird, right? I respect his God-given abilities, which he's got to be on the short list of some of the greatest athletes that have ever played the sport. I mean, you're talking like Bo Jackson, Dion Sanders, especially when you factor in. The guy was a top-ten draft pick in baseball, but also his main downfall as a player

beside the intangible stuff. That height is something pretty hard to overcome. Yeah. And in a game when I can corral you or you're just not running it at well, which he was today, I don't trust him to be able to do what Lamar consistently does because I think there's a big difference in whatever Lamar is 6-3.

I mean, that's almost a five-inch gap between the... If you told me Kyler Murray was Lamar's height, I still think that what Lamar's intangibles are pretty special. And Lamar is also, there is no question. He is completely committed to his sport. No one's ever, exactly. So the intangible stuff, which is a make or break thing, would still drive people nuts with Calder,

but I do think he would, then you could make the argument, you could build a sustainable winner with him because he can't throw, like, it's not because of lack of armstrike, I just legitimately think he can't see. How could you? It's just basic math, right? The guy standing in front of him is 6'5, he's 5.9. That's why he runs around.

And God, he's a fun player to watch, though. It's time for this week's player I thought might give almost, almost anything to redo his game, brought to you by Uber Eats. This week it was Aaron Rogers. Three picks, including two in the first quarter. First time Rogers ever had two picks in the opening quarter of a game. That was this week's Uber Eats player of the week. Get almost, almost anything for game day delivered with Uber Eats,

the official on-demand delivery partner, 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 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. What would you eat if you had to start over? Real simple, poor man's, poor woman's food. Black beans, chicken, rice, plantains. That's poor people's food, man. But being Nigerian, that's, come on, a go-to. On the podcast Eating Wall Broke, I sit down with celebrities,

entrepreneurs, and creators as they revisit the meals they once relied on and the moments that shaped their journey. Named Best Food Podcasts at the 2006 I Heart Podcast Awards. This show is all about real conversations on money, growth, and what it really takes to make it. It was times where me and Lex were, like, definitely getting into it. Because we're not making any money. Like, I need to start.

making money. Like, why are we doing this? But I don't know. I think we just always knew that we had something really good and eventually people were going to catch on. And so we just thugged it out. The full season is available to binge. Right now, listen to Eating While Broke from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please! But there's so much more to me than that. I'm an actor.

I'm a comedian, and recently I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian. I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're a comedian,

on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary. Cream a chicken suit. Hey, cream a chicken suit. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down.

accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the boogie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King,

recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real Housewives franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the team everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game.

As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. All right, let's segue to Houston beats Buffalo 2320. And I want to talk specifically the Bill Second Straight Laws about some game management. So for those who didn't watch, the game was tied 2020. there was 40 seconds left. The bills were deep in their own territory at the three-yard line.

Houston had all their timeouts. So what you'd want to do is run the ball in the line, run it in the line, run it in the line, run it in the line, force the Texans to use all their timeouts, punt it away, and they'd have, you know, 16 seconds. Instead, the bills threw the ball three times, giving Houston just enough time to get it and kick a field goal and win. So this stuff was, and I don't like to crush. coaches, John, on game management. Andy Reid took heat for years. I don't know your injuries.

I don't know your game plan. But there are things, I think, that it's fair to criticize coaching. I think there's, I mean, like, listen, the Cowboys, 17 seconds, they're running a quarterback draw. It's like, that's not the play, especially when you watch Kirk Cousins in Atlanta meticulously line up this past Thursday to win. Like, that's how a veteran team does it and a veteran quarterback. But I watched that game management by the bills as they lose to the Texans.

And there's no, I mean, it's Buffalo's fine. I mean, this is a good organization. They're going to win this division. I mean, New England's awful. The Jets aren't very good. And Miami's quarterback play is, you know, suboptimal. But I was sitting there thinking, and I like McDermott, but I'm sitting there thinking, that one's on McDermott.

And Josh Allen won't say it. But do you believe against the John Harbaugh, a Jim Harbaugh, a D'Amico Ryan's, and Andy Reed in maybe a year or Sean Peyton do you trust Sean McDermott Well I I picked this team

to you know compete for the Super Bowl I liked them more than most people that thought they were going to take a step back and that was pretty embarrassing because C.J. Stroud had a pick

and a fumble in the fourth quarter they were trying to give you the game and in that situation at this point in time how can you? Like I can't trust the bills and I've been one of Josh Allen's biggest fans, but it's hard to say he's, you know, based on today, you couldn't say he's better in Lamar. That's for day. I mean, it's one of the worst games I've ever seen him play. He was he was atrocious today. So part of it to me, and this is always the pushback from the anti-analytical number people of like, are we sure in this situation? Like I get the overall picture, but it's like you're pinned. Your quarterback, I think at the time was like nine for 27. Yeah. Which again, I don't remember him playing. playing such a bad game.

Yeah. And to throw it three times when your quarterback's playing poorly. To me, if he's rolling, and that's the pushback I think that Zach Taylor is going to get, it's like your guy is humming. So your decisions have to be dictated off what's going on in the game. Peyton Manning has talked about this with analytics before. He said there are times to go for two. But if you're squeezing out two yards run and they have a pass rush, it can't just be,

well, the numbers say it's like what's happening in the. the game. Josh wasn't playing well in the game on the road. I just, I can't believe they didn't just run the ball three times. Either can I. It basically burned off, what, like 12 seconds? And even for the Houston, Texas, like it was still pretty tight. They only got a 59-yard field goal off. It's not like, well, they ended up kicking a 20-yard chip shot. So that loss, given that CJ threw the pick and had the fumble down the stretch. After you had, again, back-to-back weeks, started really slow, looked terrible. I mean, it looked at one point in time. If Houston was going to play, well, they're going to lose 40 to 10 in this game? Okay, so they tried a trick play. Was it last week

or the week before? It was against the Ravens, yeah. Okay. It was the Ravens. And McDermott clearly didn't call it. He said, you know, I'm going to have to talk to our guys about that, Joe Brady. So my question is, is this Brady or McDermott? I would guess it's, I would guess it's Brady. Well, to me, though, Colin, he's the head coach. So at any moment, he can tell him, yeah, he's not calling the place. And I would guess, like a lot of defensive coaches, he doesn't know the details of every single play in the offensive playbook. But he easily can get on the headset and go, Joe, run the ball here.

Yeah. And unless Joe wants to be a malcontent and get fired the next day, he said, yes, coach, that's usually how it works. And I think that is a mistake that clearly he didn't say it. And he let his offensive coordinator, who I think's done a pretty good job. Yes. He's taken over, not really debatable. That is one. That's an embarrassing moment.

When your quarterback's playing like he was playing and your offense was playing like it was playing, they were running the ball well. Who knows? Maybe you bust like a 15, 20-yard run and then maybe you take a shot. But you've got to take a deep breath. You've got to force him to take timeouts. And again, they kick me. 59-yard field goal. So the time would not have been on their side.

You would have been to overtime. Now, there's no guarantee you go to overtime. Shit, anything could happen. But that is a, it's hard for me to take the bills. I was high on them after three weeks, but these last two weeks, especially today, it's like, well, I don't know, man. It's the drip, drip, drip. There's the call.

And the Texas had a bunch of injuries today, too. It's not like, it's not like they were fully strength. No, it's just one of those things where when you see things that build up over time, it's the bad call against the Ravens, though I don't think their defense was stopping him anyway. But you do these standalone games, you're going to be judged more harshly. So today it was not a standalone game. So you have to be egregiously, outrageously wrong for us to talk about it and people to talk about it. But I can't remember the last time I watched a head coach in the NFL, not just make an, it wasn't a mistake.

It was a belief. It was a, now we're going to go out first on second. on third. It's like, Sean, what are we doing here? What are we doing here? You know, I think the thing if you're a Bill's fan, which would be hard to sleep, is like, our organization is so well run. We do a really, really good job of like character guys, talented guys, we got rid of digs. It looks like we drafted well. Keon Coleman had a big time. Like, we know what we're doing. But what has been their downfall over the last couple years? specific coaching things, specific coaching things.

Like that's really been the difference of them. Who knows, you know, Super Bowl is a coin flip game usually, but like being in a Super Bowl and getting run in the second round, up whatever with 13 seconds left. Like that's kind of been there. You watch today, it's not like, we just didn't have enough talent or we're not, we don't have enough good players. No, it's like specific coaching things now has been the bill's downfall.

And in this sport, this isn't baseball where you can blame the GMs because they were setting the lineup. This isn't basketball or the star player can do whatever he wants. Like in football, the head coach, there's a reason they get so much money and so much price because they do control so much. Yeah. And adding to that, the bill's inability to win trophies, even though they've been to several Super Bowls, it just mounts.

It just adds an enormous amount of weight on the franchise that you get. You're going to get, for as much as Josh Allen takes a beating, you probably have four more premier years and then four more good years. He won't age like Cam because I think he, I think mechanically, I think he's more coachable. I mean, he does mechanically get off the reservation, but he gets pulled back in. He's clearly a coachable kid. He's, he's into the right stuff. But you probably only have four great years left of just like, and then all of a sudden, just like Travis Kelsey says, then you're on your fourth surgery, you know, your second ankle surgery, your third shoulder surgery. So. But even today, there was a moment late in that

Oh, yeah, he got hurt. Where he had to go to the tent in Trubisky, and they basically wasted a play on a run. Yeah, where I'm sure that they would have passed it with him because they were in the red zone. And he takes a lot of shots. Now, he is physically like he's like a LeBron Janus type of the NFL, right? There are many back to Cam, back to Rothersberger. But look at those guys. And I do think Josh is a pretty special player today was pretty bad.

They're not going to win with their quarterback going 9 to 30. They got no chance against the Texans or just a random NFL team. All right. Let's talk Chicago Bears 36, Carolina Panthers 10. It's an early window game. So Caleb Williams, again, every week looks a little more secure. 20 at 29, 300 yards, a couple of TDs. They jumped out to a 27 to 7 lead.

Swift had a couple of really nice runs. The run game was okay, but Swift does give you, he gives you a pop. He'll hit on a couple of big runs. And so you have to be honest. DJ Moore, again. A big game. Revenge game. Revenge game.

And my take watching Caleb is, and I said this before the season, I said, I don't know if they'll win more than seven games, which is what Justin Fields won, because I do believe Minnesota and Detroit and Green Bay, the division's better. Young teams, all good. But I said, you'll feel better about the seven wins. And I think today, because Carolina was playing pretty damn good. football. Two things today. Once again, we have to give Matt Eberflue some credit. He does. He knows what he's doing on his side of the ball. Secondly, this team was playing well, Carolina, and I thought, I think they, I think I was thinking about this. When you have somebody that's limited, Bowdox has some limitations. It makes it easier on Sean Payton. When you have Caleb and you

have fewer limitations, it may take you several weeks to figure out, okay, what am I comfortable with? What am I not comfortable with? Now, Cliff Kingsbury, who's Washington's OC, has had several players like Jaden Daniels. So they got symmetry in camp. Yeah. But you're looking at Waldron, you know, he's, he's looking at his career, he never had anything like Caleb. So it feels like it's just taken the Bears coordinator and staff, okay, we're not going to do this. we're going to do this. But I thought, I thought Caleb, I looked around today and I'm like, okay, I mean, one time he was running around, it was almost comical.

It looked like a high school thing and he didn't get anything out of it. But if I was a Bears fan today and they only went seven, I feel like I have a franchise quarterback. Yeah, to me, you see moments like today. If they can get him more consistent throwing the ball down the field, they're going to be a lot more competitive because when you have a really good defense, you're going to be in games. Yeah. I just pulled out their schedule because I was thinking like, they haven't played

in three teams in their division. They play them all late in the season. Yeah. The Vikings, the Packers. They don't play the Packers until week 11. Yeah. And so you could argue in the Lions, you could say, well, it's going to be a really tough stretch,

but they also could benefit because think how much experience he gets to have, you know, kind of under his belt, you know, up to like Thanksgiving or whenever they start, they also play the Niners in there. Like, if their offense can hit and he can be explosive down the field and they can run the ball, like, they could be a competitive frisky team that competes in the wild card. Absolutely. They had no chance early on with him overthrowing and not having much confidence in their passing game.

But if they can run the ball and he can add the explosive play element, because their defenses, when the dust settles, if they stay healthy, they're going to be a top five-ish defense in the NFL. And when you have a great defense, you see this with the Broncos. You see this obviously with the Bears. Like, your quarterback doesn't have to have a great game. Like, they could carry you. and all of a sudden it's, you know, 10-10 in the fourth quarter, you just have to make a play or two.

That's always the Niners got away with a lot of that over the year, especially with Jimmy Garoppel. Well, they were just being a 13-10 game. Then one big run, you win 20 to 10. When your defense, like today with the Bengals and the Ravens, both those teams, I would imagine on Monday, we should never go to overtime when we score 38 points. Yeah.

We should win the game by 17 points when the clock hits doubles. That was a wildly entertaining game, but there's no defense. That was insane, but the bears don't play like that. They can rush the pass for their stout up front, and their DBs are really good. I was texting with a coach who played them early in the season, an assistant coach. He's like, their defensive backs are good. Chicago. So if you have good defensive backs in 2024, that's the Broncos.

They have really good defensive backs. Well, half the teams are obsessed with passing and watch the Packers. What do they want to do? Throw the ball. Obviously, the Vikings want to throw the ball. We know the lions like throwing the ball. So if you can, you know, defend the pass with D.Bs. and you have a good pass rush, you're going to be a serious, serious problem.

And to me, Caleb, you know, Purdy's kind of was doing this today, that hero ball. Yeah. Sometimes it's just a couple steps gets rid of the ball. And if nothing's there, just throw it out of bounds. Yeah. You know, not everything has to be, Lamar can get away with it. But some of these guys that start doing the 360s, I mean, that used to be a Russell Wilson thing. And I think players, you know, on the offensive line would have been like, just get rid of the ball.

Right. You know, what are we doing? Because every sweet play you hit, three or four of them screw up. you get sacked or maybe you throw a pick or so i yeah i think the bears the panthers kind of came back to earth today yeah but part of that was the bear's defense so i yeah nice little win no i i i and i what i really think is i think they probably need another edge rusher in chicago um and they got to do a better they have to get another running back beyond dandre swift and shore up the o line a little bit but i you know 36 to 10 in this league we have not had a ton of laws today was interesting because

now you're starting to see some blowouts. Now you're starting to see some interesting stuff where teams are separating. But I thought Chicago, this is five straight weeks. I thought his first game, he looked a little nervous. I thought the second game, he looked frenetic. I thought the third game, he looked more under control. I thought last week, okay, there it is. And I thought today I was like, if that's what he was, just today, with the parts he has,

Keenan Allen comes back, I'm like, oh, they'll win eight games. They'll spoil somebody's season in December. No question. Well, I think all of these divisional matchups between the four teams in the NFC North are fantastic. If I tell you any mixture of those teams playing each other is on at 125, that team's getting its own television, right? Bears Packers, Packers, Lions, Lions, Minnesota. I mean, that division's really, really good.

Obviously, all four of them aren't going to make the playoffs. And if you were a betting man, you'd probably bet against the Bears. of being maybe the odd man out, but who knows? I mean, they kind of control their own destiny if all of a sudden they go three and three in those games, maybe get an upset on the road and win a couple at home. I don't think it's inconceivable they get around that nine number. Okay, so I want to talk Packers beat the Rams 2419. It was pretty interesting because you kind of felt like the Rams, McVan, Stafford,

were kind of just keeping them in the game. I do think the Rams, these are the two youngest teams in the game. the NFL. But if you start going up and down and you start looking at numbers, I worry sometimes there was some leakage with the Packers defense, although they are taking it away. And Jordan Love had a, it wasn't a Will Levis moment because I don't think it was nerves. I think he thought, I don't want a safety here. He was desperate. He was desperate. So it's not, he didn't see that guy. And by the way, I don't, that doesn't happen. That kind of play doesn't happen. So take that out. But as I watched that game today, and again, Stafford was 50% on third down.

They had a time of possession advantage. They had 370 yards, 236, and they're doing it without Puka, and they're doing it without Cooper Cup. And I am watching these older guys. Kirk Cousin's old, but he's winning. Aaron's old, and he's not. And I looked at Stafford today, and I'm watching all these guys run around, and Lamar and Brock Purdy and Kyler Murray. And it does limit what the Rams can do.

Now, no Cooper Cup and Pooka. But Cooper Cup now is injured regularly. That's like part of him. And so they need tackles. They need a number one corner. But as I watch that game, I think Green Bay feels like last week in the second half and this week between Reed and Kraft and Jordan Love, they got some really nice offensive pieces. They have some. And, you know, not everybody's healthy.

But it makes me think about this game today. would you waste a top draft pick for the Rams to get the quarterback, or do you just give Stafford one more draft because they have a first, of two-thirds, a fourth, three-sixes, they could get him more weapons. What would you do if you ran the Rams? Would you draft the quarterback? I mean, he's one of the last pocket dudes in this league. Yeah, to me, he's right at that number, that 36, 37 years old,

and he's a weathered individual. Like, he's taking a lot of hits. and the thing with the cousins, the pocket, even the goffs, it doesn't feel like they've taken the punishment, even of Rogers, because those guys scramble around more and save plays. And that's some of the most legendary plays or outside the pocket, throwing the ball. Right.

And Stafford feels much closer to Aaron's age than he does Kirk Cousin's age. I would, like, this might just be the year. What they're doing, honestly, even just being competitive these last couple weeks against the Bears and the Packers was pretty important. impressive. But there's a four-point swing, right? If he takes a safety instead of the pick six, as 24-15 at the end of the game, it's not as close as it feels. Yes. So it's kind of a freakish play there. I would, again, I don't really love these quarterbacks. So it's like, I'm watching Carson Beck. Yeah, I don't really see it. Quinn Ewer's can't even watch. He's injured.

Now, we'll see if he comes back this weekend's Oklahoma. That's back-to-back years of being an injured guy. This is in college. He hasn't been in the SEC. That's, long and hell I don't even think he's played an SEC game yet because he got hurt before it even started. And I don't think McVeigh, I don't think Shadour Sanders in L.A. with McVeigh, I think they could drive each other crazy. So I'm with you. Cam Ward the one. I could see McVey kind of liking that though, because he is, we'll find out over this next five weeks about Colorado. But so far you've got to tip your hat to Dion. I mean, they beat the crap out of UCF last week as a 14 point underdog. He's looked pretty good. There's no disputing his. He's not super tall,

but he's 6-2, 6-2-5. Yeah, he's fine. Big arm can move. Really pretty accurate. He holds on the ball a little bit long, but I mean, he's college quarterback. No, I think, I think Chodor, like when I watch Carson Beck, he looks thin. I think he reminds me of Arch Manning as a freshman. I'm like, dude, eat, you need 15 pounds of muscle. Arch has put it on. You can see Arch. He's thicker. Those Texas quarterbacks, they're all, they have weight room competitions. They're all big, big, thick kids. Carson Beck's does not drive the ball. Beck doesn't drive the ball. Beck doesn't drive the ball. the ball. And they have an average O'Line at Georgia this year, and he's limited. He doesn't have Brock Bowers. And you can see it. He doesn't have a safety valve. So I think Shadour's the greatest talent. Cam Ward's right behind him. He's fascinating. But let's be honest, the Rams,

they don't have the draft capital to move up and teams aren't moving back. You have to have a court. Who's going to, what do you have to give up to move to like the number one or two pick? Yeah. I mean, would you entertain if you were drafting high enough just trading Stafford? just trade them to the Raiders or something. You know, if you had the opportunity to get a young quarterback, I think that's what you'd have to entertain doing. Obviously, in a perfect world, they would just be fully healthy and roll with Stafford.

But we've got a couple years now. It's like they had injuries last year. They're adding up again. Also, John, he had really ugly moments today. He had a couple. He had a terrible thing last weekend. He had a terrible. You get at least one a weekend.

You know, it's funny. We look at Sam Darn. But he's being, I see, if I was defensive. and I bet if he was sitting here, it's like, I don't have a choice. I can't. What am I supposed to do? I mean, I have to force the issue to give us, you know, a snowball's chance just that, you know, to move the ball down the field. Yeah. If I don't let it rip and push now, I think people that are anti-stafford will say, well, he does that no matter what. Right. Right. So I think he's kind of in a tough spot. To me, it's more about the age. And I think historically, go back to Walsh, you go with Belichick's mindset to Brady of when he shored him. now it blew up in his face,

I think you can't go wrong, shorting older weathered guys that have been hit a lot. And he's how often, even when he's playing his best, at the end of games, he kind of limping off the side of the field. I mean, that's,

that's like a go-to move for his career just because of the punishment he's taken. Yeah. So, Jordan Love, and again, I think he's really talented. And again, that pick six, he just didn't want to,

if he would have been at the 12-yard line or something, It would just be a mistake. It's the end zone. It's great. It's one of those classic highlights. It's very far-like. I think his brain just turned off.

You know, he just kind of. Yeah. So, but I thought today, they didn't ask him to do much. And I thought, and I think this is why Matt Lafleur, I mean, 15 to 26, 224 yards. He ran three times. I think because of the injury in Willis playing, I thought last week's first half he was overwhelmed. Second half he was better. And I thought in this game, Green Bay came in and fell.

listen, we're going to win this game. We're just going to slow play it. I'm not worried, but he's not off to a great start. Are you at all? To me, he feels somewhere in the middle of not as terrible as he was when he started last season, but obviously he's not the guy that we saw at the end of the season that got the $170 million contract. He's kind of in no man's land right now. Still can make remarkable plays.

I guess it wasn't a touchdown, but like the 80-yard ball in the air, it's as good as it gets. Right. But also when it's in the air, because it's that player, you think that he just throw a pick into triple coverage. And he can get really loosey-goosey with the ball just kind of flying all over the map. So it's like when I watch him, by the end of the year, because he had stacked so many good games, you had a lot of trust him in him as a player. And by the time the playoffs came, you're like, this is one of the best players in the league. When I watch him right now, I don't trust him. Like when he drops back, I think anything could happen.

And whether that's obviously he got injured. But remember, even before he got injured in that Eagle game, he just, I don't know if it's running. I don't know if it's trying to prove the money because whatever the way he was playing last year, there was a freeness to it, but there's also a control. He wasn't turning the ball over. You know, he puts a lot of balls into harm's way, Colin. That's my thing. But he can make up for it because with that power arm and obviously they got, I mean, they got some pieces.

They're a team that if their defense just plays solid, I mean, Jacobs was running really well today. Obviously, the wide receivers, Tucker with the sweet long touchdown, that they could be a problem. They need him because the NFC, let's face, it's pretty wide open right now. Oh, Jason McIntyre text me. Five teams could probably win it. We were talking Friday. He goes, I can't believe you took Arizona. And I'm like, they got humiliated.

San Francisco Warner may not play. So, you know, my take is who is good. Thursday night football is on. It's only on prime video. Best season yet. Pack with big rivalries and even bigger stars. Al Michaels, Kirk Herbstreke, Kaylee Hartung, every week. Games you can't miss.

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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

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Real simple, poor man's, poor woman's food. Black beans, chickens. rice, plantains. That's all. That's poor people's food, man. But being Nigeria, that's, come on, a go-to. On the podcast eating while broke, I sit down with celebrities, entrepreneurs, and creators as they revisit the meals they once relied on

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or wherever you get your podcasts. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man. They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise.

the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about. As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So the New York Giants controlled the Seahawks all day, even when it was 1010. and they go on to beat Seattle 29-20, blocking a kick up in the Pacific Northwest.

So this is the one game I've lost so far. But as we do this, I thought Seattle, no Malik neighbors, single Terry was banged up. But I will tell you, when you watch the Giants, their O lines and D-lines, they've committed to those in the draft and in acquisitions. I mean, Daniel Jones, 23 or 34, two touchdowns. 257, he rushed 11 times or carried 11 times. I thought that is as good as Dan. And that's without Malik neighbors, John. Like, I watched that today, and I'm not surprised by much.

Bandy beating Bama, you know, USC losing. Yeah, yeah, USC losing the way they did. The Giants, that was 2920. It felt like they were the better team. And you've got to give this team credit. They have an offensive coach, unlike the Jets. their defensive lines excellent. When I watch the Giants, I think they're well coached.

I think they're limited. Daniel Jones, he moves. He's big. He's healthy now. What did you make of that win? It's something. Yeah, well, let's just acknowledge this. You removed week one when they played Minnesota and got embarrassed.

Yes. Daniel Jones has been pretty good this season. He really has. He's made a lot of plays. I mean, he made a bunch of plays against Washington in the game when they didn't have a kicker. Yeah. And Malik neighbors, that kind of got his start going. I didn't think he was that bad against the Cowboys. He underthrow some deep balls, but no one ever, like he's not Josh Allen or Mahomes. He's not a deep ball thrower. But he's not turning the ball over. There was one time I looked up and

he would lower his shoulder. Yes. So I mean, I think he's playing just pretty solid. Now, you know, are they good enough? Like, what does that mean? I don't know. I mean, Seattle think about played Monday night in Detroit. I don't, what's that flight? Four and a half hours. You lose. You get back. Kind of your classic.

Come out the gates, not playing that hard. New York off a long week because they had just played Thursday. Look like the fresher team. Yes. But New York is not, I don't know, they're more likely in my mind to win six or seven than nine or ten.

Right. But they are a tough, you know, operation to play right now. They are not some joke franchise. This is not. you know, I don't know, think of the worst team in the Miami Patriot game. They remind me of Denver. They're squeezing every ounce out of their team. And that to me is

coaching. I mean, I watched them today. And I'm like, I thought I'm like, neighbors, Singletary. How the hell do they move the ball? Now, again, Seattle is dinged up on the D-line. But when I'm watching Daniel Jones, it's one of those things. It's just the Hostetler. It's Phil Sims, it's Eli. Even when they have the right quarterback in New York, it's never dynamic and pretty. And I love Phil Sims and Eli. But there's a Hossettler quality to Daniel Jones. And years ago, when I worked at the other place, I used to call them the accounting firm of the NFL. Even when they have a great earnings report, it's boring. They're a boring team. But I don't think you can deny. We have to be totally honest about this. Brian Dayball, and in New York, it's just harder to coach.

I mean, if he was going through what Doug Peterson's going through the last two months, he'd be done. He'd be out with a Trevor Lawrence. He'd be fired. When I watch that offense, again, I'm watching Sean Payton scored 34th day with Bo Necks. They're just squeezing every ounce. Then I watch Josh Allen have a terrible day. So I look at the Giants and I'm like, they have what kind of the Jets don't, which is a really good offensive coach. they get the most out of their talent.

There's really no drama. The HBO series didn't help, but there's not a lot of drama around him. They're boring. I don't love Daniel Jones, but I will say this. He'd have a market because of what Brian Dable's done.

He'd have a market. He's changed, I would say, the narrative, which was not good at all coming into this season. And I think if you just throw on his tape, I mean, he's playing pretty solid. Like, he's an NFL starter. The version that we've seen,

after week one, which I got news for you. Everyone that plays Minnesota looks pretty crappy. You could argue that actually aged pretty well in his side. But I just, the NFC East, you know, I was looking at Washington schedule. Obviously, they get a resounding win today. Yeah. They get the Ravens coming up, which is going to be difficult. Then they play the Panthers, the Bears, the Bears at the Giants.

So that division could get weird because they could just have a record, you know, be like six and three. Then all of a sudden, if you just split a Cowboys, or the Eagles, and one of those teams, like, they're already kind of fighting their way, you know, behind Washington right now just because, boom, what, you know, they just start three and one, four and one. All of a sudden, you look up, they're five and two. And the numbers are just kind of on your side.

And then when I play you, if I already got a two-game lead, you have no margin for error if I'm the Cowboys or the Eagles. And let's face it, like the Giants are not just some lock L to both those two teams. That's right. I mean, hell, they almost beat the Cowboys the other night. there's no telling if they just play the Eagles on a random Sunday or Monday night that they won't lose that game, that being Philly. They are not just some pushover joke for win team.

Now, I don't think they're a playoff team by any means, but could they win 7, 8? I mean, he did it a couple years ago. To me, it's this, can Washington maintain this when they start playing better teams? And New York, like that's an impressive win to go on the road to Seattle. And like you said, the score was close. If you were watching the game, it did not feel that close. Seattle did not look good. That's by far, wouldn't you say Seattle?

They looked off today. Well, here's the good news with Seattle. They really have all the pieces. All they needs a quarterback. I mean, they've got multiple receivers, two backs, capable tight ends, a left tackle. They've got their coach. Their D-lines always hurt. Secondary is nice.

Linebackers that move. That's a team that could give up four picks, move because they're too talented, they're not going to get a top 12 pick. But that's a team. I thought they should have done it last year. I argued last year was the year to go up and get panics. There's six of them. Yeah.

So, like, to me, that was my argument. Go get a quarterback. But they had signed Gino, like a Kirk Cousins deal, it's not prohibitive. It's not punitive. And let Gino for a year play, let the kids sit behind him. But I think it's time for Seattle to make a big pitch. I think when you watch Gino today, you know, he took a couple of bad sacks. He's pretty darn mobile.

But I just, I don't think anybody in Seattle. I thought when Pete Carroll said, yeah, I can win with Gino and Drew Locke. It's like, that's a defensive coach. And I think when defensive coaches tend to lack a little urgency at quarterback, that's why I was so surprised that Tomlin moved off Kenny Pickett so fast. It was like, you know, McVeigh had had four starts and moved off him. So, okay, let's, there's a couple different things to talk about here. I, listen, we could talk about Ravens Bengals. I talk about so much Ravens football that I'll do. that more on TV tomorrow. I do want to discuss this because Denver hammered the Raiders 3418. They now have a better record than the Jets at 3 and 2 with a rookie quarterback and a roster. This was one of my takes this offseason. The best over bet was Denver because I think their roster's okay, not great. But they are generating a pass rush without a Pro Bowl guy up front. And I watched Bow Nix had a touchdown pass drop today. And this is the difference between defense. It was a great throw, too.

I mean, hit him in stride. Is I watch Bowenick. Now, Jaden Daniels is different. I feel like I'm watching Lamar Jackson Light. That's what I feel like Jaden Daniels. I don't know what Bo Nix's comp is. And I was going to ask you about this as a former scout. I do think there's a ceiling.

He is smaller. He doesn't have a big deep arm. It's a little Derek Carr. I think Derek Carr right now is a better deep arm than Bo Nix does. Do you have a comp for it? Because clearly, I mean, Sean is doing a Brian Dable. He's squeezing every ounce out of this roster. What is Bowenick's ceiling?

Who is he to you? I think before quarterback inflation, he fell under that Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoflo. Okay. Historically, he would have been a second round pick. Okay. Now, he's a better athlete, and I'm talking to Jimmy when he was decent for the 49ers. And Derek, you know, people love to bag on him. He's had some pretty good years.

Yes. you know, for a team that, let's face it, no one wins with in the Raiders. So, and I actually kind of, you know, the Saints, I think they're going to have a good season. And he's, he's been playing well this season. So I think he's under that mold. Now, he's a better athlete than both those two guys. Yes. Derek, you know, when Derek was young, he had some pretty good pop in his arm.

I would say he's got more arm strength than Bo. Yeah. But he'd never had a coach of Sean's, you know, level. He's had a lot of defensive coaches. Yeah. So I think that I think he can be a really good player if you build up the team. And one thing Sean Payton has done, really the last couple years of Drew Brees when he brought in Dennis Allen, they became good on defense. I'm watching them today.

We know Certaine. I mean, he's been a highly recruited guy since he was like 15 years old. But they have other DBs flying all over the field. Yes, yes. I didn't have the volume on. A couple guys made plays. I had to look up their names. Like, who are these DBs?

because they are, I get it they're playing the Raiders and Minchew and O'Connell. But that was, okay, you removed that Brock Bowers play early in the game. Once they got to the second quarter, they took control and they came out of half time. And that was, they curb stomped them. I mean, they absolutely throttled them in the second half. And they're offensively, Mims looks like a good pick. Javante Williams are running back. He could catch it and he can run it.

I think I've always liked Cortland Sutton. They like the Oregon wide receiver that dropped the ball. Franklin. And it's kind of the knock on him right as the hands, but he's got speed. And they played together in college. So I kind of look at Denver and. Are they a playoff team? John, I look at them like I look at Chicago.

You watch their defense and you're like, okay. So I have a Super Bowl trophy coach. Their defense is much better than people think. It's faster than people think. like Chicago and have a rookie quarterback. The difference is the NFC North may be the best division in football probably is, whereas the Raiders are a mess. The chargers, you cross their fingers, they get healthy. The Chiefs are vulnerable, though they're on a heater. They're vulnerable. In fact, I like the points in the Saints tomorrow. They're just not beating anybody.

Denver is, I mean, it's 3418 and they drop the touchdown. I think they're personnel. You know, I like this GM Patton. I didn't love the Russell Wilson move, but in fairness, I liked it when they made it. I didn't know Russell was going to drop off the cliff. I kind of like Denver's players. Well, to me, when you look at the landscape of the AFC, right? The chiefs, the Texans, you know, are going to be there. Obviously, the bills are going to be there.

Right now, the chargers are the seventh seed. And just based on injuries, you just know they're going to have so many. It's going to be hard to overcome. if their quarterback's banged up, they'd just be screwed. But it turns out Miami sucks. The Jets are, I mean, a complete wild card at any moment. I mean, there's been multiple times this season when Rogers went down and you're like, is he going to get back up?

I mean, that happened the day when he got bent over. Yeah. Is this season over? And even if his season, he plays in all 17 games, but they are by no means no lock to win nine games, the Browns, a playoff team from last year is an absolute train wreck right now. I mean, has the worst quarterback situation. slash vibes going on right now because of the negativity surrounding that situation. So I think you just look at the landscape of the AFC, Cincinnati, who obviously is pretty good.

I mean, they got a pretty special offense, but you start playing a numbers game. All of a sudden, you're two and five. How do you ever get back? You can't, you're not able to win enough games in a row when you have that big of a flaw as a defense of football team. That's what's crazy about the Ravens is like, where do their defense go? But Cincinnati, like that has, like they're not good on defense. And it's hard. I don't care if you got Joe Burrow, Jamar, Jason T. Higgins, who all look fantastic.

If your defense is that bad, well, the Broncos are like, hey, we're going to have some games when the kid throws for 75 yards. And you know what? We'll win the fucking thing, 16 to 13. We got no problem to it. Like Cincinnati doesn't even have that capability. Harbaugh, in theory, would. Yeah. But Joey Bost is already sitting in a suite.

You know, the injuries have kind of unraveled. And, you know, you got Herbert limping around. This team just, the speed of Denver's defense. Oh, no, they got to do more of a deep dive on their defensive roster. I don't even know some of their players besides For Tane, who is, I mean, what does he look like right now? Like Charles Woodson meets Rod Woodson in his prime? Yeah. How good is he look?

No. It is, and last year, the Rams were my, they're better than you think team. Denver this year was my, their roster is, I mean, they have a quarterback I liked, a Super Bowl coach, a more than capable left tackle. I like their wide receivers. And I think Javante Williams is a player. Their linebacking core moves well. You know, say what you want. They move well.

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Love their stuff, the blue box. All right, so I want to give this some time. USC. We usually do one big college football topic, and since I'm viewed as a U.S. USC Homer. I might as well just embrace it. So they lose. You're lucky Vanderbilt, Alabama happened. It kind of overshadowed it. Vanderbilt, by the way, is clever. A lot of misdirection. They, you know, listen, you come off the Georgia game. And even though it's,

it's, you can say, well, Nick gave you a, he gave you a Mercedes. Listen, Nick lost a Louisiana Monroe with good players. I mean, Alabama didn't have to rebuild the roster. They had players. They had no coaches. So it happens. They had just, listen, Vanderbilt fooled them. They weren't ready for it, and it got ugly fast, and now you're trailing, playing from behind. You have to call the game differently. It happens. But I was looking at USC, and I was texting somebody this morning who covers them. And I said, the one thing that jumped out to me, Minnesota played like it was a Rose Bowl. Minnesota, the stadium was full. PJ Flex, say what you want, brings a ton of intensity. Those guys were jumping all over the place.

Their running back was powerful. USC's bad tackling is reemerged, which we thought it was done after the LSU game. It reemerged against Michigan. I saw it again this weekend. And now, their offense is young. But when I watched the game plan, John, not a lot of motion, not a lot of different sets from Lincoln Riley. Miller Moss has been in that program now three years. Okay.

This is not a transfer. he knows the offense. They've got some really, their offensive line is young and right tackle is a problem. But I got to tell you, I have defended Lincoln to the end. And I defended, I defend most coaches.

And I think we all know that Lincoln's good offensively. But that loss is not just a loss, John. It feels like one step forward, two back. I don't know if you overcome that. I mean, you're essentially now with their schedule, they're not making the playoff. And L.A. quits.

And they're not a playoff team, right? I mean, we asked this, they got, that first half last week, I would say against Wisconsin was a little alarming. Was it not? They were a mistake prone mess. So to me, their wins, the Michigan win, which I thought was impressive because you're watching alive, the physicality. That game is not aged well. Turns out Michigan doesn't know how to execute the forward pass.

Right. And just lost by 10 against Washington. who I'm not sure is that good. Right. Right. So, and even LSU, which at the time felt like an impressive win because of the brand and because of the name recognition of their players, how many guys are going to get drafted. LSU might turn out to be an eight win team.

So it's like, Ohio State and we'll see with Oregon. Obviously, they play each other this week. But in terms of the talent on their roster in kind of a different level right now and defensively, like they were going to have to hang their hat on that, which looked like they could. It just turns out Michigan's offense is put. Right. And Wisconsin obviously is not very good on offense either. Listen, USC, this is the one college roster I know pretty much front and back.

USC has two playable tackles on their team and one's not good. So they have a redshirt freshman, Elijah Page left tackle. He's not good, but he is their future. His backup is a redshirt freshman who is six feet two. He's a center. They have no backup left tackle. You think it's bad now. Mason Murphy, the right tackle, they have a kid behind him, Tobias Raymond. He's not ready to play. They've been telling, they've leaned into Mason Murphy for years. It's just, it's just too slow a foot. It's too many mistakes. He's a college kid, you know, whatever. But you cannot be USC. I mean, you go to Oregon or Ohio State right now, and there's six tackles that are six, six, six and above. There are six to seven, four to five. And, you can not be USC. I mean, you go to Oregon or Ohio State right now. And there's six, six to six. And there's six to seven, four to five. And there are six to five. And there are six to five. And you, star tackles. One's a senior, a couple or juniors. USC has two playable offensive tackles,

a center backup left tackle, a kid that's not ready to play at right tackle. In the NIL era with USC's brand, that's on Lincoln. That's the offense. Dude, that's not good enough. I've always thought, you know, Sark, who now obviously has Texas rolling. And Ryan Day had this issue, too, once Urban left, they became so offensive-centric and loved passing that Ohio State most of my life has been a defensive first NFL guys at every single position. And then they kind of fell off a cliff because they were just passing and all their wide receivers and quarterbacks were so awesome. Well, then they used NIL to, listen, maybe they're never going to practice like Jim Harbaugh

in terms of running power for 70 minutes of a two-hour practice. But you can just buy those guys. So what Ohio State do this offseason? They bought the kid from Bama. Like they start buying defensive players. Sark, clearly like, listen, he's an offensive pass game. guy. Like, that's who he is at his court, which is fine. He's really good at it. But your defense in practice, like, there was always a downfall of Mike Leach. Now, he could never recruit at the

schools to their level, but you don't create a physicality in practice when you're just passing the ball all over the place. Jim Harbaugh's teams are not physical by accident. That's because the way they practice is the physical practice, you know, six months a year. So what does Texas do? They have unlimited money like Ohio State. They start opening the checkbook, Oregon. Now, they've had defensive coaches, and Mario's an offensive guy, but he's an O-line guy, and he thinks like that. They're just starting paying people. And it's like if USC is going to be on those guys levels, Texas, Ohio State,

because they are going to be consistent powerhouses because they are opening enormous checks right now and paying a lot of money for players. And obviously Lincoln, he is going to be able to figure out the offense overtime. Yeah. Like that is his baby. He knows that. But defensively, they're going to have to be cutting huge checks for defensive players. Listen, that's kind of the name of the game now.

I mean, one of their linebackers is 6-6. Eric Gentry. he didn't play or if he did not much, and their tackling was just exposed. But their linebackers aren't big. They're not intimidating. I mean, they have one guy, Anthony Lucas, that will get drafted defensively. You know, I'm talking first two or three rounds, probably gets drafted. They just don't have enough great players.

They have a kid named, Jacoby Lane's his name. He's a wide receiver. He's like 6'5 out of Arizona. He's a very, very tough to defend. Deuce Robinson, very tough to defend. They're like six, five wide receivers. They're very good players. They're not great.

They're not like the Ohio State kid or the Alabama receiver. But, and their NIL, they have $13 million. They're not, this is not a poverty program. They've got real money here. Washington's got seven and a half. They've got 13 in the NIL. So when I look at their situation, they don't have an elite defensive tackle or an elite. They have one good center on offensive line.

If you counted all their DOL, lineman and he had 20 guys. You have Anthony Lucas on the defensive side, Monheim on the offensive line. They got two guys that are draftable. But here, you know, if you think about it last year, Pac-12, wouldn't you say had one of its best seasons, like, of the last 20 years, and they won seven games, right? They went seven and five. And then you go into the Big Ten, which, like the Pack-12 last year, just has, like, on a

given game, if you're on the road at Minnesota, at Iowa, like, you can't lose, right? Like last year with Lincoln, like you went on the road to Arizona, or I guess Arizona came to USC, but you know what I mean? The program was deep and on any given week, besides, in theory, you should never lose to a Vanderbilt, whoever's the bottom feeder, but the teams in the middle. And we can argue till we're blue in the face, what conference is deeper, the SEC or the Big Ten? I do know if any of those middle tier six to eight win programs play well at home on a given week, they can beat most teams, especially now with the NIL and Transfer Portal era, it's all kind of watered down. The day and age of like the 2001 Miami, hell, just like three years ago, Kirby Smart team with 25 NFL guys starting on his, you know, two deep. Like those days are done. Yeah.

You look at Georgia now, they look like a show of themselves. Yeah. Those early Sabin Bama teams, he kind of load up the roster. It doesn't exist anymore. Right. So it's much more watered down, which if you don't get it right in the NIL, if you're not paying, like, the top guys are going to garner a lot of money, your talent's not going to be that much different. because Minnesota can get a couple transfers here and there, and all of a sudden it's like,

ah, this team's not that good. Well, actually, they got this guy from there and this other guy from there, and all of a sudden you're down 10 in the fourth quarter. Yeah, I thought that was the two-lane loss, but that was an 11-win season, but the way they lost, that was ugly. And this one is, it's just not acceptable. You know, again, there was a little wind.

That can't keep your offense down to 17 points against Minnesota. Bad, bad loss. I'll tell you this. I didn't sleep much because I stayed up late watching that Cal Miami game. Oh, Jesus. And that place, you know, someone I grew up with my dad going to Memorial Stadium. And, you know, the difference of Cal in Stanford, Cal does have a pretty good fan base. And when they're good, that place will fill out.

And it was rocking and they were kicking Miami's ass. And you go, this is Mario. He's not coming back to back, you know, winning this thing. And they pulled off one of the craziest comebacks you'll ever see. I mean, what an incredible win. And they're a good example. Like, they got some money. They're buying some players.

Well, also, unlike U.S.C. They're not the most well-coached, but they're talent deep. Also, Mario's teams were physical. You didn't love them situationally, but he was a big, strong guy. He's a UFC fan. Like, Oregon was physical with Mario. Miami's physical and tough, and Cam Ward special. And Miami's got the kind of NIL money.

They'll just go buy Cam Ward. I was texting Ryan Russo today. I said, I watched Cam Ward do that for two, three years in Pullman. Nobody watched him. So it's like when he went to Miami, I'm like, Like, you guys don't have any idea what you're getting. You have no idea how good this Cam Ward is. He just had no pros around him.

So they're for real. Listen, it's hard to ask kids to go from Miami to Cal, 3,000 miles. A lot of these kids, I mean, when I was 18, had you been to, had you been to the South? Like, I didn't, you know, these kids don't know. No. I was having some beers with a buddy last night. I'm like, do you understand what time these guys are going to get home? Do the math.

They'd lose hours flying home. If they get on the plane by 1 o'clock, I mean, it's 9 o'clock in the morning when these players are landing. It is pretty crazy some of these patchups now because of the conference real realignment, which also makes it fun. Like that was a real, real fun game. And Miami got very, very lucky. But also, you're watching them. You see Bama Luz.

I think Georgia is a shell of themselves what they've been. So to me, it's like, obviously, Texas Ohio State are really good. But we've seen college football. It's got a little NCAA tournament feel to it. I think there are 7-8 teams once we get to the top 12 that if Boise makes it, are you watching their running back? He looks like, I mean, the best player in the cut. The guy is having one of the most incredible seasons in like the history of college football,

something you would have seen in like the 80s with like Barry Sanders. The way USC can't stop a powerful running back, Boise State would give USC fits. Oh, he'd have from 200 plus yours. They gave Oregon fits. And who knows? What if that's like the 12-5 game? Yeah. Would you want to play Boise State as the 5-12?

game. No. So it's like, I actually think that the playoffs got going to have an NFL feel a little bit with a little NCAA tournament. You're going to have a couple. Is Ohio State down 10 in the, going into the fourth quarter? It's football too. It's only one game. It's not a best of five series. That's right. John Middilkoff, as always crushed it. Thanks, buddy. A lot of football, Colin. Talk soon. 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 comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel

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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.

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