The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Aaron Rodgers is causing more drama

Episode Date: August 1, 2024

Colin reflects on the USA men’s and women's teams being more self-aware and selective of their players Drafting a quarterback in the first round breeds a higher chance for failure than success Aaron Rodgers is deciding to be petty once againSee 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 IHard 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. 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 put on 10. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practice 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.

Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRedio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, here we go. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening,

thanks for making us part of your day. One hour from now, Jay Mack and I do our over-unders. Five teams for both of us, we think, are better than their projected win total. We may be given away lettuce today, lots of it. And then five teams we think are. They're overvalued. It's our over-under segment. It's a one-time only.

It happens in one hour from now. I got my gum, my new dynamite gum I take. I got a lot of energy, J-Mack. I'm ready to go today. Wow. Well, instead of watching the Olympics last night, I was digging into over-unders. We got some winners for sure and some other ones I'm not so sure.

Well, yeah, we're doing five each. After about three. Come on. I'm crossing my first. fingers on a couple, but I want to make it challenging. We're not about being right. We're about making it interesting. So we have 10 total teams.

And you know, Vegas doesn't make 10 mistakes. That's a third of the league, but we'll have some fun with it. So the United States beats South Sudan yesterday. And what was interesting is Joe L.M.B. did not play. And South Sudan's best player was a center. And supposedly our best center did not play. So it's like been an awakening.

for Joel M. Bede, except a bad one, is that everybody at the Olympics has to qualify for the Olympics, you know, except basketball players, men's and women's. Caitlin Clark apparently wasn't good enough. Joel M. Bede should have been the first team center. And then by the second exhibition game, you realized Bam out of Bayou and Anthony Davis, not only fit better, are they better? I mean, that's how you select the men's and women's team. It's subjective. I hope this person fits. Jalen Brown, MVP of the finals. No thanks.

Derek White, fourth best player for the Celtics, you bet. Tatum's great. Doesn't get a minute in some games. But Embed not playing, to me, is a sign. The league is finally getting it on a world global stage. He doesn't fit. And in Philadelphia and here, he can clog up the offense.

Now, some of this is, and he's got some really, really good skills for his size, but the NBA media tends to annoy stars, superstars, before they really are. John Morant's a great example. He's a tiny, tiny, thin player. Like under 185 pounds, he's small. So what's that mean? You better be able to shoot. He can't.

His best three-point percentage year is 34%. gets hurt a lot, he's immature, I understand that, players come into the league early, so I'm not going to bang on him too much for that, but the reality is I was told he was going to take over the league. He can't take over his division. Forget his conference. Derek Rose, I was told for a year, Derek Rose, this is the future. Again, tiny player that can't shoot. His career three-point shooting is 32%.

In Chicago, it was 30. This is not the 70s and 80s where slam dunks define you. You got, if you're under 6'5 in this league, you either have to be an unbelievable defender, distributor, or you got to shoot. Joe L.M.B. doesn't defend like Anthony Davis. He's not nearly as athletic, doesn't run the floor like Janus. He doesn't have the layers and the dexterity and the shooting and passing of Yokic. and although he has some qualities of Shaq, he doesn't dominate and win like him. We are seeing an awakening.

People finally acknowledging he clogs up it. We've always blamed the coaches and his teammates in Philadelphia. But now we have Spolstra and Steve Kerr and LeBron and Steph and AD, and it doesn't work. He's been annoyed to something he's not. He's really talented and productive, but the regular C-German. He's a big body. People don't even want to take charges in the regular season. They get out of the way.

Lots of easy baskets and his size and his ability, eight feet into score, is going to get points and rebounds. But right now he's a 30-year-old with a mountain of injuries who has yet to prove he doesn't get in the way with other great players, and he doesn't necessarily elevate others. The Sixers, as they've been, built around him have yet to win a second round playoff series in the east, which is like the big 12 of college football.

In the east, he can't win a second round playoff series. And that's been eight years. Young Celtics, dysfunctional nicks, Pacers rebuilding, LeBron leaves Miami, Kauai leaves Toronto. The east has been wide open for almost a decade. and he can't win a second round playoff series. What you're seeing is what he is. Productive. But basketball in the Olympics is something you don't have to qualify for.

It's subjective and people are influenced by popularity and production. This to me is what the critics have been being saying, and there's not many. Look at him with one coach in Philly or another teammate in Philly. Or now the world's best players. He gets in the way. So, people draft their quarterbacks in the first round, and you know this. I'm not telling you anything. When you draft a quarterback in the first round, there's a much greater chance he misses than becomes Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen or Mahomes.

Much greater chance. You go to the last decade, there's been, I think, 32 quarterbacks drafted in the first round. There's been seven stars and 17 misses. Drake May sounds like it's not going well in New England. According to Michael Hawley, somebody I know, trust and respect, he said, I went to recent practices. I wanted him to be Justin Herbert and Josh Allen because those were the comps. But what I saw was the ghost of Matt Jones.

He couldn't do anything right. Sorry to laugh. There's another story that Joe Milton, he was the quarterback, fun to watch, from Tennessee six-round. They drafted two quarterbacks. That Milton has a wow factor, big, stronger arm than May, more athletic than May. And everybody's looking, thinking,

is the six-round guy better than the first-round guy? But part of it is this. Take out the Randy Moss years, three years. Even with Brady, Gronk, and Edelman, and no Moss, New England was never an offensive culture. It was briefly with Randy Moss, but it was a do-your-job, sacrifice for the team, even paycheck. It was never an organization of offensive creativity, abundance, joy.

That's Kansas City. That's San Francisco. That's the Rams. Sometimes it's Philadelphia. It's not New England. Here's a prime example. With the greatest quarterback in the history of the sport, they went to nine Super Bowls in New England. Do you know how many touchdowns they scored in nine first quarters?

None. In fact, in nine Super Bowls with Brady, with Tom Brady, they scored total three points in the first quarter. Why? Because they were always a, play it safe, don't make mistakes, hyper-efficiency will outsmart and out-coach them. Again, the Randy Moss, years briefly were different. So Drake May comes into an organization. They don't know offense.

It's a defensive culture. And they hired Gerard Mayo, who's Belichick. Mantras, terms, belief system. So this was always going to be the toughest lift for any of these quarterbacks. I said, whoever Minnesota gets, J.J. McCarthy, is bound to succeed. Great offense. offensive headcroach, great left tackle, a superstar receiver, good running backs, capable low line. J.J. McCarthy would have to stink to not be eventually pretty successful. And whoever goes to New England will struggle. I mean, PFF ranks New England's wide receiving corps, all Belichick drafted as 32nd.

PFF ranks their running back group, all Belichick drafted as 25th. their offensive line as 28. What does that tell you? That the six-round quarterback, Joe Milton, is going to probably win the job because he's the athlete. He's the bigger, stronger, faster, more dynamic athlete. And they don't have any at wide receiver tied in it running back. So when I read this story, my take is, yeah, Joe Milton will make plays.

Listen, Kirk Cousins and RG3 back in 2012 got drafted by Washington. and they figured out by year two, Cousins is the guy. I think that's what we're looking at now. I don't think I'm overreacting. I think when you look at the historical culture of New England, and then they basically hire Belichick's favorite guy, and Belichick's guy is a defensive guy,

and defensive coaches see the world from a, don't make mistakes, efficient, run the ball when you have a lead, eat up the clock. that that kind of mantra could work with a Josh Allen level player, but Josh is a playmaker. He can overcome some of that conservative coaching. C.J. Stroud's got a conservative coach.

C.J. Stroud's talented enough to overcome that. But Drake May at his best was a project. Everybody knew that. Bad feet, not refined, miss easy throws. Got some Herbert qualities. There's no question. I leaned on my NFL execs. What do you see? They said there's a little Herbert, big, tall, good arm, pretty smart kid. But when you enter a defensive culture where they just hired another defensive coach,

they have no playmakers. Don't be shocked if Joe Milton wins this job or gets a lot of snaps this year. So, Jay Mack, I saw another story with the Jets. Another story with a Jets. Yeah, I hope they're good because they're, They become a content factory for us, but a little disappointing the news I'm here. Well, come week one again, San Francisco, nobody's going to remember the argument between Rogers and Garrett Wilson with the Egypt trip. All that stuff goes out the window, you know?

It's fun off-season fodder, though, and you don't get your yucks. That's a word, right? Too yucks. That gum has really turned around the show. I've got such great energy today. They're not even a sponsor. What am I doing? I got to stop talking about it.

You know, I had quit coffee earlier this year, remember? And I've started to want to go back to it recently. Just to get that energy because I need to match your energy. Don't you like coffee, though? I don't like this. I love it. But I don't like the coffee. I like the white chocolate mocha.

Oh, that's awful. Sugar drinks. Those are terrible. They're bad for you. Yeah, I just like the smell of coffee. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app.

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. radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this 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, who,

creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years. for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience

in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses

Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. You're now entering the No Bull Zone, sponsored by credible great rates, none of the bull. So for years and years, Green Bay Packer fans would say it's no big deal. It's a media creation.

all the drip, drip, drip, drip, drip of Aaron Rogers. He'd take a shot at this coach, go on radio and say this. And Packer fans, middle-aged men wearing cheese hats to games, would tell us, lecture us that it was just a media creation. And we'd say, no, if your wife kept taking shots at you, through your friends after a while, little things add up to a big divorce, right? And that's what happened. The media wasn't wrong.

and the media wasn't making stuff up. You were wrong. He was that he annoyed over and over and over again, the Green Bay front office, so they eventually bailed on him. He came out of this darkness retreat, and it was like, I got caught off guard. I didn't.

Stop with the pom-poms. Be grown-ups. Drip, drip, drip. If your kid skips a day of school, probably no big deal, but skips a day of school starts hanging around. group of friends you don't really like, start smarting off to the teacher,

it's a big deal. They end up in the back of squad cars, the school's meth dealer. Little things become big things. Watch, pay attention. Are you noticing what's happening with Aaron Rogers and Robert Sala? You're noticing it? Coach on the hot seat,

prickly player who Green Bay finally gave up on. Listen to this. with Aaron Rogers. Are you telling me that Stafford would ever do this to McVeigh, Mahomes would ever do this to Andy Reed? Gough to Dan Campbell.

Brady would have done this to Belichick. Here is Aaron when asked about his pre-season plans. Yeah, I mean, that's Robert's decision. I've never told him I don't want to play

in the preseason. If he decided, he wants me to play against the Giants, I'll strap it up and look forward to that. I don't have any restrictions. I'm doing keepers, rollouts. So it was news to me yesterday when he said I wasn't going to play in the first two. Eric sent me that. Thank you. But we hadn't even had a conversation yet about that.

Did you have to go there? You really have to go there? It isn't a small thing. And why did Aaron do it? Because of what Robert Sala, he made a mistake, too, when Aaron missed camp. Remember this. Aaron and I spoke before OTA started. He's been very good in communication.

He's been here the entire time. It's inexcused, but he had an event that was very important to him, which he communicated. Just stay away from that. Talk less. Aaron's not here. We've agreed to that. That's it. Stop talking.

Don't need to say it's unexcused or inexcused. And Aaron doesn't have to say, you know, we didn't communicate at all. Aaron had problems communicating with teammates in Green Bay, like Devante Adams who left and the front office. And now Robert Sala and had a disagreement with Garrett Wilson. Aaron's not always the easiest person to communicate with. and he does not want to be called out publicly. So when Solid did that, and it just was a, you don't have to go places.

That's why when I ask sports figures questions, they have a right not to give me a straight answer. I'm not appalled by it. Because if I was a coach, I would know as be honest with the media. I'd be hiding things to protect my quarterback and my team and my GM and my owner. I get interviewed all the time.

I'm not going to tell you everything. I'll mostly try to be authentic and honest, but if you go into an area which could damage somebody's reputation at my company, I'm either going to make something up or avoid it. Because I'm not doing that. The interview doesn't mean as much as my relationships. So Aaron takes a shot back at Sala because Sala took a shot at him, and I know, just like Packer fans, it doesn't mean anything.

It does. It's the little stuff. You know, I mean, you guys can keep telling me, none of this stuff matters. It always matters. I always say this. If you see a husband and wife nitpicking each other at a party publicly, what's it like on the drive home? So if Saul and Aaron are doing this now publicly, when they get beat 33 to 17 in San Francisco, how's the flight home going to be? Not great.

But stop trying to convince me this stuff is nothing. I have ears. I can see. I can hear. It's not great. McVeigh, Stafford, don't act like that. Belichick Brady didn't act like that, even though they never went to dinner. Brady didn't call out Belichick. What are you doing? J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

It's just, uh, the lack of communication between these two is really on display this summer, Sala and Roger. It's not good. excited for the Jets. At this moment, I'll be fine once the game start. All right, let's get started with your favorite quarterback in mind, Brock Purdy. Colin, rough couple days at practice for QB1. He had seven interceptions earlier this week in a couple days. But he bounced back on Wednesday. Oh, he bounced back. Oh, he bounced back? Oh, six. Three red zone touchdowns and no turnovers. Oh, those, on handoffs or throws? Oh, boy, I knew this was coming. Well, listen, Brock Purdy's on fire yesterday. George Kittle believes Purdy is making.

making the offense his own. I feel like he's just more comfortable with the offense. Like that's really, like he seems very comfortable with it, and he seems like he's like taking it and making it his offense. Like just his confidence in the pocket, throwing the ball, telling guys, hey, you know, you need to do this. Like you're going to push your route depth here. Yeah, you need to run out of it.

I think he said it too. Like he was like, I want to be great every single day. And you can see that mindset on him. Like he has dialed in and just locked in every single rep. Sounds like a leader to me. locked in, dialed in every rep. Making the offense is Brock Purdy, very cerebral.

I like cerebral quarterbacks. I also like guys that don't those seven picks and camp. Oh, seven picks. You think I should put some money on Purdy to win the MVP, or is there just no chance? Well, I, you can.

He'll be productive. It's like putting MVP on Kirk Cousins. He was a DAC. Productive. Well, he usually goes. to the best player on the best team where you can just say the quarterback of the best team. He's about the sixth best player on that team. Seven. I said, I amended it. It usually goes to the quarterback of the team of the best record. Ravens last year. Nobody thought Lamar

was better than Patrick Mahomes. I do not think this team is going to have the best record. They will be potentially one of the teams in 35 minutes from now. I have them on my list too. Interesting. Okay. All right. So no pretty MVP ticket this. 35 minutes from now, we're doing one time only, one showing only, are five over and unders apiece. So it's 10 total teams. Now, it's hard. We're not going to go 10 for 10.

I have two or three I really feel strongly about. And a couple, I'm rolling the dice, kind of projecting what's going to happen. You're six for 10. That's a win. You're profitable. If we both got three right out of our five, you feel pretty good. That's a lot. Anyways, let's go up to the Chicago Bears.

They opened the preseason tonight against the Texans but no Caleb Williams obviously he will not play tonight a little disappointing but whatever A friend of the show Mercedes-Louis recently compared Caleb Williams to a league MVP

on the All Facts No Breaks podcast with Kishon Johnson This guy wants to be great you can tell what he you know if he doesn't do some 100% correct. He's corrected himself. Like, he's

making every throw. Aaron Roger, Aaron Rogers, that's the size is limited for him. I mean, ask all the right questions. He's a leader. Like, naturally. He doesn't walk around, like, you know,

like he knows it all. Like, he's just, I'm impressed so far. Well, I trust Mercedes. What he says is right. He's been, he has been very, accurate to me off the air and on the show. So Caleb is saying everything right, doing everything right, being a leader. He straddles that line. I understand the people that are like he's a little cocky. I understand that. I can see it. He's been so good for so long since he was 15, 16 years

old. And I also think when you go into a losing organization, one of the things you can't have as doubt. Like, I'm going to give him a little pass if he's a little more confident than you like him to be, because this organization has never been able to get offense right in a hundred something years. So, like, to me, he's going to have to withstand criticism, losses, and he's going to need a lot of confidence. And we don't always get that you think all athletes are confident. Is Jason Tatum super confident? I think he shrinks. So, like, not every great player is confident. You see it in baseball all the time. We're a guy in golf. We're a great golfer. lose his confidence, gets the yips, and literally great golfers have bad years.

You see it in batting. At one point, A-Rod was dropped to eighth in the lineup in a playoff series for the Yankees, I think, against Detroit. Was it because he wasn't talented? He lost confidence. So I do think confident quarterback. Caleb's going to get sacked. He's going to lose games.

I mean, the Packers and the Lions are Super Bowl contenders. So I'm okay with him being hyper-confident. I am. I don't see cocky, but I understand those who see it. I get it. I'm happy that the narrative is changing on Caleb. Remember, a couple months ago, it was, why is he painting his fingernails? Why does he have a, was it a pink cell phone case?

He's crying to his mom after a game. Remember how the narrative was kind of negative on Caleb? That he was overly emotional. Yeah, and some of the other stuff. It's like, didn't he paint letters on his fingernails for like a game? And people are freaking out. Now it's like, hey, this guy's on the field in the locker room. He's awesome and dominating.

Like now we're, the stuff, this is the stuff that matters, right? Yeah. I'm telling you, I can't wait to watch the Bears play. I am so, that's why I wish he was playing a series tonight. What if the Bears don't play him in the preseason? They want to protect him. And he doesn't play until the opener against Tennessee. Oh my God, that's going to get a rating in a half.

So didn't Sanchez say he was calling the Bears opener? Yes, Sanchez got. So he'll probably be there that week meeting with the team. So maybe for the Friday before week one. we get Sanchez on. All I'm doing is crossing my fingers on the health of the Bears' offensive players. I cannot remember a time in my life where I looked at Chicago and thought, oh, I can't wait to watch them.

They've had defenses my whole life. But I mean, literally, with Aaron Rogers and Farvin Green Bay, you couldn't wait to watch their games, or Peyton Manning, or Mahomes, like a Chiefs game, or a Baltimore game. When you have a great quarterback, beyond just being a local fan, it's like, oh, I want to watch that game. it gets me to a television. You can't get me to watch Carolina. I do it because I do this for a living. But I mean, like, Chicago is must-see TV. So, and they got a lot of one-clock window games. Here's my prediction. Bears merch will explode this year. Chicago Bears merch. I mean, you see

Packer hats all over America. You see cowboy gear. You see watch Bears merch explode. That's a good take. Final story is the Steelers and their quarterback competition. We're using that word now, competition. Russell Wilson has been limited due to a calf injury. Justin Fields's taken a lot more reps with the ones and has reportedly been impressive. Despite the success, Mike Tomlin has not reset the depth chart just yet. We've got two really capable guys. We're going to create an environment where they get an opportunity to compete and show what they're capable of. Justin's really taking advantage of the opportunity for additional snaps because Russ being out some here the first week. And so really excited about the trajectory of it, excited about to continue to go with the

process and having them display their skills. They're another team. Really interesting. You know, it's funny, when a football season ends, so you and I from Labor Day, like Tuesday of Labor Day until late February, six and a half months. Like, we don't take a day off. even on Saturdays, even with your kids. You're watching games on Saturday.

You know, you and I, we don't get a little break a couple days off in Thanksgiving, but we're still around a TV because it's a great football weekend. And then when football season ends after the Super Bowl, I do feel like for a month, I'm like, I'm kind of footballed out. I want to talk about March Madness was big this year or

basketball or whatever. But by August, late July and August, I'm so now into it. I'm sitting yesterday reading for two hours because my TV didn't work. Oh, no. But I watched USA and South Sudan on a small phone, so it was, you know.

So would you have to, you have to like read a book? No, I just say, I must have read half a dozen to a dozen NFL athletic stories. I'm so geek for football now. Hey, real quick, I don't know if you saw, but there was like a Steelers old dust up. And I was reading about it. And apparently there was like a late hit on Justin Fields. and everybody on the offense backed their quarterback up and got in a fight with the defense. Yes.

And it's a small thing you can see this scrum here. Palant, I just wonder, has Fields already won over that locker room? And could that influence Tomlin's decision, hey, man, everybody loves Justin. We're going to start just, I don't know if we're there yet, but. No, this is a real thing. And do we, we're not going to get credit for it. We were on this three weeks ago. is that Justin Fields, to the very end in Chicago,

as he was losing games and playing poorly, players loved him. They didn't love Mack Jones by the second year. This idea that everybody loves young quarterbacks, Mac Jones was unpopular by the middle of year two. Like, players didn't like him. I was told one of the offensive linemen went into his grill early in year two for Mac Jones and said,

stop the cheap stuff. I mean, like players were calling him out. Justin Fields lost for four years and players loved him. Some guys have it. Some guys in locker rooms everybody likes. And some guys are, you know, Russell Wilson had a little bit of that.

He doesn't necessarily connect with everybody. And he's going to have to win the locker room over with his play. And that's just not something he's totally done in the last couple of years. I know you said the numbers are good with Peyton, but... I mean, even Brady, Tom Brady in his prime, made a point of trying to connect with younger teammates, music, technology. He wanted to be, I mean, as he became like 38, 39, 40, and his teammates were 21, 22, 23. Brady made an effort to connect with these younger teammates.

He saw what was happening in the locker room. Like Russell didn't connect with players when he was 26. And so now he's wealthier. he is a different kind of gravitas with Russ than Justin an NFL locker room simultaneously have been getting younger, not older. Players now retire earlier because more money is guaranteed. So the locker rooms

are getting younger and older quarterbacks can succeed but you got to be the right kind of personality you can't be grumpy old Brett Farve. I don't want to learn a new offense. You got to be like Matt Stafford. Like Matt Stafford's wife came out. Remember that Matt Stafford's wife came out like a year ago and said, it's hard. Matt's like the dad, they're the kids. And Stafford, you know, Matt was like, you probably don't want your wife saying that, right?

Or anybody's saying that. But it's a reality of the NFL. The league is getting younger because players now can retire. They don't have to sign a third contract, an interior offensive lineman. That guy's not going to be with you. He's going to retire. He didn't want to take the beating. He's got 70 million in the bank.

So it's a real thing going on here. And I think popular Justin, Rich Russell, you go into one two-game losing streak. That locker room's going to shift, and Mike Tomlin is going to have to make tough decisions. J-Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Sean Peyton's story on Bo Nix.

This is interesting, Jay-Mack. Top of the hour. Top of the hour. We're going to do our over-unders. Five teams, I think, are better than the Vegas thing. and five teams that are a little less qualified as Vegas thinks. We both give 510 total. That's the top of the hour.

During home emergency, every second counts. It's why you need SimplySafe, 24-7 monitoring agents, act within five seconds of receiving your alarm. SimplysafeColon.com to save 20% today. There's no safe like SimplySafe. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlie. The podcast is called All Ball.

We usually talk all basketball. the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches. We talk to players. We tell you stories. You download it. You listen to it.

I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Ghalib on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me.

Clipper 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, personal health, personal health, personal. purpose, and even music.

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

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you're, I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite. favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross Because you find it important to be a good person While you hear on earth Or are you a good person because you're afraid Because that's two different intentions, bro Absolutely And that's two different levels of trust

I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Kear Gaines As we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose On my new podcast, Learn the Hardway Open your free Our Heart Radio app Search Learn the Hardway and listen now On Fox, rising star Gunner Henderson leads the Orioles against Jose Ramirez and the Guardians,

or the race take on the Astros, or Giants Reds. It all begins Saturday at 7 Eastern on Fox. Check for the game in your area. Top of the hour, 15 minutes from now are over unders. A one-time showing. Five teams we think are better than projections. Five teams we believe are worse. 15 minutes from now.

Diana Rusini stops by top of the hour as well, the latest with the NFL camps. So Sean Payton used to work at Fox. Great turnaround artist in New Orleans. Now with Denver. First year, he inherits Russell Wilson. He makes Russell Wilson about as good, in my opinion, as you're going to make Russell Wilson at this point.

The defense is awful. That's not Sean's issue. He didn't draft it. The organization gave up big draft capital to get Russell Wilson. So he inherited, I've said this before. I heard that Sean Payton took the job. My take was wait one year and take the Chargers job. Brandon Staley's not going to last.

But Harbaugh got that. He took a lot of money. And so I think Denver is not a turnaround job. Like it's going to take some time. And the Russell-Patant thing, I never thought was going to work. They're just totally different people. Sean Payton is intense, in your face. Matter of fact, like him or not, authentic.

Russell's different, more protective, more optimistic. just a different cat, not a bad, just different. It was never going to work. And so now he gets Bo Nix. This is his quarterback. And before the draft, I had projected, I think of all the quarterbacks that match what Denver needs and what Sean needs and will be available. I would take Bo Nix. I think he's got some Drew Brees, Teddy Bridgewater qualities, and Sean was good with both.

And so here's, so far at camp, Bo Nix is now, looks like he's pulling away from. from Zach Wilson, Jared Stiddam, here is Sean on what he sees. I mean, we'll see the tape and evaluate it, but I thought overall pretty well. I mean, you know, there are clips, plays where you're going to look at and correct, and then there's others where you're going to say, hey, he ran with the ones, and I like his progress. So here's one of the things I've learned in life. If you have a strong personality, Sean Payton, Jim Harbaugh, people are going to give you,

you get no patience. I mean, it's insane. Harbaugh took over Michigan. The first year, he doubled the win total. But he was doing recruiting trips in Rome. He was sleeping over at recruits' house. He had a big personality, defiant. And I mean, by year three, people were bailing on Jim Harbaugh.

Idiotic. Like, he can't coach. Sean Payton, literally the Saints were the worst franchise in the league. In fact, I'd argue, along with the Clippers, they were the worst franchise in America, maybe North America, for like 20, years. And literally he turned him around very quickly. He knows what he's doing. But Harbon, Michigan was not a one-year turnaround. It took them years, probably six years, until they had like an SEC level roster. And Denver's not a quick turnaround. They gave up draft picks, salary

cap. It's a mess. And so first year, he got Russell as good as he's going to get. I think you saw Russell as good as he's going to get. He was able to move him, and now they start over. And Bow Nix isn't going to turn the world on fire as a rookie in a division with Herbert and Mahomes. But here's what's interesting. I saw him play live twice, Bo Nix. And I liked him. It was very good in both games, made no mistake super accurate. What I like about him is he has 61 college starts.

But, you know, I was thinking about it this morning. Does it matter? So, Trey Lance arguably, or inarguably, Trey Lance did not have enough college starts. The Niners wanted a more polished, refined quarterback. with a currently great roster. They just didn't have the patience for him, so they got rid of him. But the 2022 draft was a mixed bag.

Brock Purdy, 46 starts. Clearly that helped him, because the Niners, again, have a Super Bowl roster. They just lost patience with Trey Lance. They're like, hey, listen, we're not interested in a three-year build. You've got to be good now. Brock Purdy was good now because of all the college starts. But Kenny Pickett had like 49 college starts.

Couldn't play. Desmond Ritter. Same class had 49 college starts. Didn't matter. Couldn't play. I mean, before Bo Nix, Colt McCoy had the more college starts. It didn't matter. Not a franchise guy.

So the idea that all these college starts matter, Kyler Murray had 17, he can play. Daniel Jones, same draft had 36, can't. Joe Burrell only had 28. Doesn't matter, he can play. So the bottom line is talent is the most important thing. Here's what I do believe. a large number of starts gives you.

If you view general managers as detectives, their job is evidence before a draft. They want your character. They want your injuries. They want your bad habits. General managers in the NFL view them as detectives. The more evidence equals the stronger case for any decision. detective, even a GM playing a detective.

So you have a stronger case for your quarterback that you sell to the owner and the coach. Yeah, Mahomes had a lot of snaps in the Big 12, made a lot of mistakes through picks, but at some point, Brett Veach says, that workouts, we got a lot of evidence here that the guy's unbelievable. And so with Bo Nick, 61 starts, you have a lot of evidence, doesn't have a big arm, a little small, but super accurate. If you dial up

a play, he'll get the ball there. And he does have some mobility. He moves a little better, a little like Zach Wilson. He can move a little bit. He's athletic. He's tough. He took some hits at Auburn and Oregon. So you've got a lot of evidence. But I will say this, to me

with Bo Nix. And this was with Trey Lance. Kyle Shanahan just lost patience. We don't know what Trey Lance could become. He just lost patience because the roster was so great. What also helps Bo Nix is that Sean Payton doesn't have a great roster. And so you can't say, well, I mean, look at the roster.

So Bo Nix comes into a situation where Sean has already bailed on a Super Bowl winning quarterback. He has been pitching to his staff, this is the guy. so Sean Payton's going to have at least two years of patience with Bownex. That's why I think one of the reasons it will work is not the college starts. But Sean Payton, by year three, he's safe now. But by year three, after this year, he got to put up some wins. And so he can't bail on another quarterback. So he already sold to the organization,

we're not winning big with Russ, let's get rid of him. And Sean has the leverage and power to do that. You can't do it with a second quarterback. you're going to start losing the GM, the coach, the owner, you're going to lose the owners, you're going to lose people upstairs. So I think one thing Bo Nix has going for him is patience. Sean Payton, who's not an overly patient guy, will exhibit patience here with Bo Nix,

and that will be his greatest ally. He doesn't throw a great deep ball, never will. He's never going to run around like Lamar. You're never going to be big. Now, he bounced the same size as Colt McColl. coy, but I think he's got, I think he's a better player. I think he's more mobile, more athletic. But I think a lot of these things,

when you're not a superstar talent, you can't be difficult and hard to coach, and you can't make a lot of mistakes. Bonix doesn't. He's not difficult. Dad was a coach, and he doesn't make a ton of mistakes. You can make those when you're Lamar, Josh Mahomes. You can make mistakes and throw picks,

because we're all going, wow. So a lot of this stuff with quarterbacks is how long, I mean, Daniel Jones would not be in New York, if not for the Mara family. The Mara family told the GM and the coach, I see some Eli Manning. So this stuff is not just he can play or he can't. It's not really about your college starts. How patient is the coach? What's the runway?

What's the owner think? What's your timetable? And I think Bonix isn't talented enough to be difficult or be on a very short leash. he needs two full years, maybe three, to show you once the roster gets better, I can win games. I can win games, but I don't think he's going to burst through.

And if that was the situation, if he had the Niners roster, he'd win more games, but they'd be much less patient. That's the reality of this league. All right. So top of the hour, you know what we're doing over unders. There's also a story in women's basketball today,

which is fascinating. Remember what the live tour did the PGA? The PGA players felt like we're not paid enough. And that enabled the inefficiencies with the PGA, enabled the live tour to go, guys, we'll pay a bigger purses. And all the stars, most of the stars left the PGA. You see this new women's basketball league called the unrivaled basketball league

started by two former WNBA players? And they're paying Paige Buckers a bunch of money, right? She's like some small ownership stake, the Yukon Guard. She's going to make more for the unrivaled basketball league, significantly more than Caitlin Clark's going to make for the WNBA. So it started by Brianna Stewart and Nefesha Collier, so they're WNBA players. Huh.

This is how it started with PGA live. I like disruptors. I consider myself a disruptor. Who doesn't? Hour two on a Thursday next. 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, S&L's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say.

Yep, that's me, Cliford 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Cliford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast. network on TikTok. 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 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 taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever. you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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