The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Caleb Williams and the Bears

Episode Date: March 19, 2024

Caleb Williams will have plenty of weapons as the QB for the Chicago Bears Thoughts on the Lakers win over the Hawks last night A good reason why a lot of rookie QBs fail in the NFLSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Thanks for making us part of your day. J-Mack, you know, one of the things we have to be careful of, we have to be fair, right? Isn't fairness part of what we do? Sorry, I'm getting a little sick. Get a little sick. Maybe out Thursday and Friday, you know, just mid-March cold, you know. with the tournament. I know you love this tournament.

There's two big stories, though, but we have to be fair. And you know I've been critical of the history of the Chicago Bears' offense. And for years and years, the Bears were known for defense. It could be Dick Butkus. It could be Richard Dent.

It could be Brian Erlacker. It could be the 85 Bears. They were always known for defense and toughness. But they've never had a great quarterback. I mean, like really ever or great receivers. And they really are old-school football. But we've got to be fair. When they hired Ryan Paul's,

the former offensive lineman who'd spent time in Kansas City, he gets offense. Okay. And so when he made that Chase Claypool move, a lot of people sold their stock in him. But I saw RG3, former NFL player and at another network saying yesterday, hey, Caleb Williams has got to pull on Eli Manning, and he's got to say, I'm not going to Chicago. We got to be fair. Pump the brakes, RG3, pump the brakes.

So let's go back one year and look what Ryan Paul's GM is done. March 10th last year, he gets DJ Moore, number one receiver. It decimates Carolina. Decimates their offense. Everybody gets fire. He comes in, Chase Claypool didn't work. DJ Moore did.

Legit number one receiver. He then in January, this January, this January, hires Shane Waldron an offensive coordinator. Now think about this. Gino Smith was a bust. He takes Gino Smith, gets him to two Pro Bowls, a 97-past. in a good division. And that's while the Seahawks were rebuilding their offensive line.

50 touchdowns, 20 picks. Gino Smith, who was done, lights out, careers over. Two Pro Bowls. Okay. Then he gets, six days ago, DeAndre Swift, who's not only a thousand-yard rusher, and he may not meet Christian McCaffrey as a receiver, but he's a very high-end past catching running back.

So he gets a guy that transformed Gino Smith a bust. He gets DJ Moore last year, a legit number one receiver. It's not that many legit number one receivers in the league. And even with Justin Fields who struggled, DJ Moore was good. He then gets a great back out of the back field for rookie Caleb Williams. In trouble? A dump-off guy. He's not done.

He goes and gets two chargers who know each other well. Tight-end Gerald Everett, a number two tight-end, good player, solid player, vet. And Keenan Allen, a tremendous third downwide receiver. So look at what Caleb Williams now is inheriting. And remember, Poles is a former offensive lineman. And he spent a lot of draft capital a couple years ago rebuilding a mess that he inherited on the O line. They now have two legitimate tackles. He took kind of a bust pick, moved him inside.

The O line's not bad. I said this this past year. Don't blame Justin Fields' problems on the O line. O lines middle of the pack. It's not a disaster. There's a lot worse O lines. Two in New York. Chicago's is fine.

So again, what is he given Caleb Williams? Much better than Justin Fields. A legit number one, a third down receiver, two legit tackles, an offensive coordinator that saved Gino Smith's career,

and a running back, a dump-off guy who got a thousand yards running, can also catch passes. That's pretty good. Two good receivers. Two capable tight ends. Two good tackles. A workable running back.

And an offensive coordinator who on the market was seen as somebody that was wanted by several teams. They also have the number nine pick. Yes, Ryan Poles got the number nine pick. Their mock drafts today saying they're going to get Roma Dunzee. The receiver from Washington. Another receiver says Keenan Allen is. getting older and probably has about two to three years left. Or they could get a defensive piece.

But we've got to be fair. Look what New England's going to give their rookie quarterback. Basically a nothing burger. Now, it's not perfect. I wish they had an offensive coach. I wish they didn't have a defensive coach on the hot seat who could be out in November if things go sideways. But this is, if Caleb Williams doesn't work and there's a bust, that's on Caleb Williams.

This is not New England. This is not what Justin Fields inherited. This is not Carolina. This isn't even Atlanta. Keenan Allen's a veteran. DeAndre Swift's been around the league, though he's mid-20s. So this is not a mess in Chicago. Finally, a GM with an offensive sensibility.

Didn't like the Chase Claypool move. I thought initially it would work body type. It didn't. Also, he drafted Beelis Jones, third round wide receiver pick, which I did not like it all. But for the record, Bill Belichick, pretty good football mind, has not drafted a legit wide receiver in maybe ever. So it's not an easy position. Chargers had a GM.

Looks like he missed on a wide receiver. Quentin Johnson, what is he? We don't know. It doesn't look great. So it's not an easy position to just, you know, nail it. A lot of good teams and GMs have missed on wide receivers. So we've got to be fair on Chicago. I've blasted them as much as anybody.

This is set to succeed. a number one receiver. Two legit tackles and tight ends. A pass catching running back. A tight end who played with a star receiver. I mean, I'm not saying they're as good as Minnesota. I'm not saying it's San Francisco, but it's better than Dallas. I mean, Dallas now is C.D. Lamon cross your fingers.

I think it, you look at it, and to me it feels at least it's like in the Philadelphia class. It's in that class. Although Barclay's better than Swift. Swiss is a good player. So we got to be fair on this stuff. New information equals new opinion. When you brought in Keenan Allen, Shane Waldron, Gerald Everett, DeAndre Swift,

and that offensive line they're rebuilding in Chicago, they're all kids, they should get better. New information, new opinion. This is built for Caleb Williams to succeed. I didn't feel that way six months ago. I didn't feel that way necessarily before Keenan Allen, DeAndre Swift. Gerald Ever, I didn't feel that way necessarily. New information, new opinion.

Caleb Williams fails. It's on Caleb. This is more than good enough. This is better than what C.J. Stroud got. And I don't love defensive coaches, but Sean McDermott has worked. John Harbaugh's worked. D'emico Ryan's has worked. Defensive guys with rookie quarterbacks at one point.

All right. Let's shift gears to this. So I've been saying this. I know what I get from LeBron James in the playoffs. and I know what I get from Anthony Davis. I even know what I get from Austin Reeves. As the Lakers hammered Atlanta last night, it looks like a roll your eyes, no big deal.

Atlanta's Atlanta win. But it was sneaky important. Because once again, DeAngelo Russell, the talented but distracted and flaky and inconsistent player who's always had talent, always had talent. Warriors got him, they were exhausted by him, got him out as fast as they could. And last year, flaky, got benched this year in December.

But has anybody noticed what's happened to DeLo since he's been back to playing? He was benched. And by the way, he was benched probably because LeBron went to the coach and said, get him on the bench. So this is the magic of LeBron. This is what LeBron does. Now, sometimes LeBron can marginalize a center. Chris Bosch, Kevin Love, move him to the outside, take away, you know, their power.

game because he wants you to stay away from the basket, take the big out, he can drive to the basket and score when he loses confidence on his jumper. But LeBron's always been good with guards, especially flaky distracted ones. J.R. Smith, great example. People forget this. J.R. Smith got in trouble in New York. He got benched by the Knicks. He went to Cleveland, four years with LeBron. Good years. Big buckets. Part of that championship team. No, J.R. Smith was a really good player with LeBron. Kyrie Irving, pre-Lebron.

Erratic, hurt, not well-liked by teammates. Seen, some considered a bust. With LeBron, he became a megastar in the NBA. By the way, he left LeBron, goes to Boston. That didn't work. Brooklyn didn't work, but it worked with LeBron. DeAngelo Russell last night hit six threes. He now has tied the single season, three-point shot mark for the last month.

Los Angeles Lakers. And oh, by the way, he's coming off back-to-back 10 plus assists. Here's what he has done since being benched in December. Since he has returned, DeAngelo Russell is giving you 22 points, 7 assists, and shooting 45% from threes. He is one of the best three-point shooters in the league. In those games, since he's been benched and returned to the starting lineup, he's given him 20 points or more in 18 of 29 stars. And we've always said, I don't worry about LeBron in the playoffs. Leadership points, I don't worry. I don't worry about AD.

He'll be great defensively every night. Three out of four nights good offensively. I don't worry about Austin Reeves. But you can't get to the championship round if Austin is a three. He's got to be a four. He's undrafted. He's not as talented. This team comes down to the consistency of G. Angelo Russell.

And once again, be it Kyrie Irving, erratic, can be flaky. J.R. Smith, immature, inconsistency. Austin Reeves, undrafted, limitations, lower ceiling. LeBron gets the best out of shooters and guards. He always has. And D-Lo's a great example. He's always had talent. Great college player.

Really good player early in his career, but he's bounced around the league. Last year, goes to the playoffs. You don't know what you're getting night tonight. They bench him in December. But since that benching, it's LeBron's magic. Grow up, kid. and so DeAngelo Russell is on a heater. He's been a kind of a distracted player,

a little bit of a temperamental player, an inconsistent player, talented guy. J.R. Smith, Kyrie Irving, DeLo. This is what LeBron does. Here was Deelow after the game on tying a Lakers record for most threes in a season. That's really cool, honestly, just to know that, to get credit for it.

It's just really cool. I said I don't want to underdo it, understate it, overdo it. I just feel like it's really cool to just be a part of something like that. I think I did something like that in Brooklyn as well. Just get credit for your game and what you work through and showcase it every night. Just to get credit for it for something like this. It's really cool.

So Denver's the best team in basketball. They've got four guys I can mostly depend on. A Yokic, a Jamal, Murray, a Gordon, a Michael Porter. other good players, but four guys, Bedra. Celtics have four guys. Drew Holliday, Porzingis, Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown. The Lakers have always had three. LeBron A.D., and Austin Reeves creates contact,

gets the free throw line, can give you about 17 a night. We've always waited for DeLo, who has the talent, to be a consistent three, push Austin Reeves to a four. And what you've seen during the Lakers' hardest part of their schedule, I know it's just Atlanta, But they've got wins over OKC and then Minnesota and the Clippers recently. It's the hardest stretch of the season they have found apparently since the benching, back to starting, they have found their consistent three. And we know they match up with a nugget size and few teams do in the West.

Can they match up now with consistency from their top four? Looks like they can. So I know I've been critical of the Bears, glass half full Colin, been critical of, DeLo, he's playing great basketball. Fairness is what we're talking about and start the show today. You have to, when you get new information, you have to pivot on an opinion.

And right now, DeLo is playing really good basketball. He's become a top five or six three-point shooter over the last couple months. This is like a new Colin Coward. I know. What happened over the weekend? Did you go out of town, get some sun? I mean, what happened?

I did, actually. Oh, interesting. I'm also working on three and a half hours sleep. Oh, but you know what? last night. It's just, I don't want to get into it, but just a bad sleep night. So maybe I'm a little loopy. Maybe this is explainable, but we got to be fair on Ryan Poles, the Bears GM.

He's had a, I didn't chase Claypool. I understood it with. The Vueless Jones pick with, maybe receivers, by the way, maybe after making those moves, he decided I'm going to go get dependable stuff. Keenan Allen, best year. I'm just going to go get that. I'm not going to worry about drafting it. I'm going to go get DJ more.

Maybe, you know, after the VLis Jones pick, maybe it's like, Listen, maybe this, I know all lines. I'm good with running backs tied in. Maybe wide receivers not my thing. Certain GMs have certain specialties. Brett Veach in Kansas City is great. Great. He's, by the way, Brett Veach is not great with wide receiver.

Sky Moore. I mean, Brett Feach is a great GM. Yeah. He has been hit and miss on receivers. He's been great on D. I think he gets some credit for Tyree Kill. But to go back to that take, it was just kind of like a lazy take. I think it was RG3 who's like, oh, you should demand out.

Like maybe four months ago. But like you said, Chicago is a different team. Oh, no, no. It's just a bad take. I'm not saying it's as good as, but right now, Kansas City does not have a Keenan Allen and a DJ more. Kansas City doesn't have two receivers that good. Oh, bears have better weapons than the Chiefs right now.

I don't think anybody's arguing. Not even in quite the Super Bowl champ. They have better weapon. Better than Buffalo. Better than Dallas. By the way, Stefan Diggs, if he happens to leave and he's, putting out cryptic tweets over the weekend. Like, they got nothing.

Josh Allen has literally... And look what the Bears have. They also have dimensions. Veteran third down possession receiver. Star number one receiver that can beat you deep. Veteran tied end willing to block. Running back that can catch passes. Shane Waldron dealt with a bus quarterback,

elevating kind of a marginal talent to a pro bowl. He's given Caleb Williams, who will be the number one pick, a lot of different things that top quarterbacks need. Brady when he had James White. You know, these quarterbacks love these dump-off backs. Christian McCaffrey, Brock Purdy, you know, the offensive line erodes, you get in trouble, the dump-off back, the underneath back, the drag route back. So all this stuff looks like they've created an offense with a lot of elements,

some young, mostly veterans, to help Caleb Williams. Love it. So do I. You know where Caleb went to school, USC. Oh, did he? Didn't know if people knew that. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I Heart Radio app.

Pauli Fusco here with Tony Fusco. You know, as the host of the number one rated Pauli and Tony Fusco show, we get tons and tons of fan mail every day. Piles of it. In fact, Tony, why don't you open up one of those letters right now and read what's inside? Yeah, listen to this. Dear Pauly and Tony, your sports takes are the dumbest and most terrible... Wait, not that one.

Open this other one. Dear Paulie and Tony, you suck more than anyone. Not that one. Try this one. Dear Paulie and Tony, you guys are the absolute best. There you go. At coming up with the stupidest takes possible. You know what, forget what those clowns say.

Just listen to the Pauli and Tony Fusco show on the IHot Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Yeah. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. your way, the podcast 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.

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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 kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

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I swear this is not a Chicago radio show, but I did see this story that I thought was interesting. Todd Haley used to be a Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, sort of emotional guy. He and Big Ben struggled. He bounced around the league, but a head coach briefly, didn't work out. He said he I would hate, he said

on Twitter, now called X, I would hate to be a defensive coordinator, said Todd Haley, and have to face Russell Wilson and Justin Fields. Justin Fields coming in for a series here, a series there.

I would not want to face that. Yeah, I would, because platooning doesn't work in the NFL. It barely works in college and high school. Pro football, you have egos and contracts and agents and pedigree. Russell Wilson can be a nice guy on social media.

He's quarterback one. By the way, yesterday at the end of our show, J. Mack had this on the air. Suddenly a story came out that Russell Wilson is a... They're talking about signing a long-term deal. Isn't that interesting? About 24, 36 hours after Justin Fields is going to Pittsburgh. You can say all sorts of nice stuff. Russell Wilson wants the snaps and he wants the spotlight.

I don't blame him. Also, the NFL has become such a rhythm game for quarterbacks. Short passes, timing routes, three-step drops. I mean, that's what Brady's career came to in the last four or five years. Get it out quickly and accurately. Timing, gronk. Evans, Chris Godwin in Tampa, Edelman, Welker in New England. Timing is working with the same group of receivers in tight ends, getting a feel for your teammates. Saints have been trying to do this with Taysom Hill for years, and it's so JV. You know when the Saints were good when Drew Brees took all the snaps? That's when the Saints were good.

So I just, I know Justin Fields can run. If you bring him in for a series each half, let me guess he's going to come in to run. You're not going to come in to have him pass. Russell Wilson does that better. So who are you fooling? You're not fooling anybody. When Taysam Hill comes in, Red Zone, you're probably going to keep the football. You're going to roll out.

He's going to move. Otherwise, you could keep a starting quarterback Derek Carr in there. Who doesn't move as well? So this doesn't work at all to me. The bottom line, Russell Wilson doesn't want to share snaps. the game now is feel and timing platooning doesn't work in the NFL if you want to have

talk about these two together then have a true competition in camp in camp play them both in the exhibition season you got three games instead of four now whoever wins gets all the snaps but I mean New Orleans has been doing this

for the last several years and some of it was Drew Breeze got really old and they needed a spark but New Orleans hasn't been really that good for three years. And part of it is they don't right now have a star quarterback in his prime. So I don't buy that defensive coordinators are going to be terrified of a platooning tandem deal. If Russell Wilson plays as well as Russell Wilson can, and I think he will, Justin Fields isn't going to get many snaps.

He's not. Russell, if he can give those, get the ball to the tight ends, two good running backs. They don't have to win shootouts. The truth is, this defense is going to hold people to 23 or 24 points. Russell has a shot to put up some double use. Justin's not going to play much. Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I feel like we've exhausted our Chicago content here in the first 30s. We're done with it. Now we're moving on to Philadelphia and everybody else, yeah. Well, I would say let's go to the Jets, but let's go to the Kansas City Chiefs. They quietly signed Marquis Hollywood Brown to a one. year deal.

Yeah. What they do. It's kind of an interesting move. Brown's kind of been a bounce-around guy. He was overdrafted by the Ravens, kind of one-dimensional. He can play. He is one-dimensional,

but this is what the Chiefs do. Rishie Rice is going to be their one. They'll probably draft another receiver because they're pretty stocked everywhere else. And my guess is, this is what they've done with Tony. They take a roll of the dice on their number three or two guy

and see if it works for a year. Stretch the field guy. Jiu-Jew-Shrushster worked for a year. Yeah. He could certainly stretch the field for the other. stuff for Rice. Here is Hollywood Brown talking about his move. Pat was a big part of it. I mean, being able to, you know, play with Pat, coach Reed,

winning culture, the offense, I feel like, you know, I could come in, I can help, I could fit in. All those things played a part, and, you know, they were strong on me. So it's kind of like mutual interest that, you know, it's very appealing. When the chiefs are, interested in you is like, all right, you got to, you got to take a look at that. I mean, of course, you know, I can go get, you know, some money, you know, at other places. But at the end of the day, you know, it's about winning. Turns 27 this summer. You kind of know what you get. I mean, I kind of, he's not going to, I'm not going to depend on him to be my one, but can he win over the top battles occasionally? It's the little stuff with him. I talked about the

incident where he forgot to renew his passport and had to miss the trip to Mexico with the team for a game. Like it's a little stuff with him. Maybe he's grown up a little bit and you're right. Maybe these guys rehab there. Juju Smith-Schuster was kind of like he's a TikTok receiver, remember? Now he goes to Kansas City and like cleans up his act and all of a sudden. So maybe there's a chance that Hollywood Brown turns around. I'm not super optimistic. But like you said, like he's a two or three at best, right? Yeah. Next up, let's go to the NFL draft where, I don't know if I can call him my guy, but JJ McCarthy had a private workout with the Vikings.

He's going to hold one. He hasn't had it yet, they say. It's going to happen, right? Here's the thing. Daniel Jeremiah, who we both know, came on the show. He had a mock draft yesterday. It's the best mock I've seen from any network and any person. Because I haven't dropped one in a couple months.

But Daniel Jeremiah had the Vikings trading up to four for J.J. McCrott. I don't think this is crazy. I do not think it's crazy. the best mock dream draft that's... Well, there's a lot of trades in this. Well, there's going to be... See, I think this is going to be an active first round, because we do have a good quarterback class, and I'm going to talk about that. Yeah, he's got the Jets trading up.

I think the move by the Jets... Well, if they got it. But let's stick to McCarthy here for a second. So the Giants reportedly met with McCarthy last week, dinner and toward the facilities. We know the Giants are desperate at quarterback, even though they grab Drew Locke. The commanders are slated to meet with McCarthy Thursday. But it seems like the Vikings are hot for JJ. Now, I just wonder, in that Michigan system with Harbaugh, he handed off a lot. He did not, he was not throwing 25, 30 times a game.

It just was not happening. Can he become that guy in the NFL? Well, remember. So you like Kevin O'Connell, too. I think he's, you know, we both love him. We think he's the next great coach. Nobody, he's the next Lefleur, the next coach who's going to be great that everybody isn't putting in that elite class yet. Stefansky is getting very close to that camp.

We liked Stefansky a couple years ago. So Kevin O'Connell's called the Tall Sean McVeigh. So quarterbacks work. So Sam Darnold with these weapons is going to have a nice, I think he's going to have a Baker-Mayfield sort of resurgence for a year. But the truth is, J.J. McCarthy, Jim Harbaugh hard coaches, and Jim Harbaugh's coached in the NFL. So the thing I didn't think much about when J.J. McCarthy was coming out.

Harbaugh was a real advantage for him. because Harbaugh is a unique personality and can be tough. And the truth is, and has been a successful NFL coach. J.J. McCarthy is going to come in for a year behind a veteran quarterback Sam Darnel, which he is now, with a tall Sean McVean great weapons, having come from Michigan, which has an NFL coach. And so it's interesting. I'm talking a lot to my people.

You talk to your people about J.J. McCarthy, and there's a lot of little things that people like. Like having Harbaugh bang on you for three years and hold you accountable, and sometimes just take the ball out of your hands. I mean, McCarthy against Penn State, Jim's like, we're not going to have you throw. His assistants did. Remember, Jim was sitting out. So there's a lot of things people have said to be about JJ McCarthy.

He was unbelievable to whiteboard. He's put on 18 pounds. Harbaugh coach is hard. Sometimes took the ball out of his hand or his assistants did. And also, by the way, Michigan's defensive coach, he's got like NFL pedigree. So he was around NFL guys at Michigan. A lot of people think he is ready to play, and Minnesota is the spot, because Minnesota feels, with that NFL pedigree he had in Michigan, he's going to be ready to play pretty quickly.

So I had McCarthy in my mock top ten. I was laughed at. You were. What does it say to you that the Vikings don't want to stand pat and say, take Bo Nix or take pennies? Says they don't like him as much. When they'd rather trade up for JJ McCarthy. It says they, J.J. McCarthy in their eyes, has a much higher ceiling, no injury history, and more of more of a plonage. playmaker in their eyes or a better arm.

Bo Nix has a very okay arm. And I think there's a big disconnect between the college product right now and the NFL column. And I think a lot of people are like, how the hell are you taking McCarthy over Pennix who was amazing all season? Or Bo Nix, who was pretty damn incredible, like 75% completions. And I just think that disconnect,

I don't know how we can bridge the gap for people, but people are kind of freaking out about this. Like, why would you trade up for a guy who, as you said, didn't throw the ball once in the second half against Penn State or something like that? or maybe one pass attempt? So I looked at as a negative, but people I've talked to say it's a positive, that he's had the ball taken out of his hands, and he's okay with it.

He's about winning. J.J. McCarthy's about winning. He's not about getting his throws and his stuff and being spectacular. So people I talk to are like, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Harbaugh hard coaches you. Vikings and McCarthy. Interesting. Final story, NBA, Colin. Listen, a great night in the league last night.

Holy cow. Anthony Edwards, who's emerging as one of the most electrifying players in the league. threw down what's being called the dunk of the year when he detonated on John Combs. All right. Another turnover for Utah. Edwards gets him back. And one. That was ridiculous.

I love the bench. John Collins, I think, actually got injured on this. You see him grab his head talking about, I don't know, he got annihilated. Well, we know that, I mean, even he was in Georgia. We, Oboa's known he's an electric athlete. That's, it's just developing the shot, developing other parts of his game. He's been very good since his rookie year, though. I mean, he's always been a dynamic player.

He's explosive. I had a, you know, I have guys on my podcast leading up to the NBA draft, and I'll never forget. Two guys tried to take shots in Anthony Edwards. Oh, does he really want it? He's a chucker. And I was like, guys, have you looked at this dude's body? He's like a ready-made NBA player. Well, he had mentioned before the draft.

that he would love, he preferred football. Yeah. And he's one of those NBA guys that you're like, like LeBron, he could have played football. Oh, Anthony Edwards, of course. That guy's, listen, I know some people are going to be upset with this. He now has a collection of dunks that are better than any other in-game dunker in the history of the NBA.

I'm dead serious. Colin, he annihilates people. Let's see that by, how about tomorrow on the show? The best dunk in-game dunkers? I'll give you Dominique Wilkins. I'll give you Michael Jordan. I'll give you whoever you want. Vince Carter.

You can have him. Anthony Edwards kill. He's murdering people out there. Okay, we'll go tomorrow. I'll give you, I'll give you the six Jordans on tomorrow's show. We don't have time to do it today. You give me the six-hand Edwards and we'll have some sort of voting thing. I mean, we are an election cycle. I'll even give you a Zach Levine.

You know that's my guy. I'll give you a Zach Levine, Doug. But seriously, Anthony, and the Timberwolves are not dead. We thought they would just crumble up without Carl Anthony Towns. This is Anthony Edwards' team. I like this kid, man. He's good. All right.

Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping. The herd line news. I buried the lead, Nick right next hour. But so what I do over the course of a year, so a football season ends, and I give four to five herd hierarchies. I do, once all the coaches are hired, I move the deck chairs a little bit. And then after free agency is done, and it officially sort of is done now, Hollywood Brown going to the chiefs.

So at top of the hour, 30 minutes from now, I'm going to give you my post. Coaching hires and free agent market heard hierarchy. And one thing I really feel strongly about, the AFC has been weakened and the NFC is rising. We've felt for the last three to four years the AFC was clearly the superior conference. I do not feel that way going into this season. Between the coaching hires, the offensive skill, where the quarterbacks are going, I think the NFC takes a big jump up. I think there's just more good young rosters,

Green Bay, Detroit, Minnesota in the NFC, and I didn't feel that way three years ago. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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. Human 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 what 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-taped 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 a little kill?

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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you 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. Thank you for finishing that sentence. 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. In just under two weeks, pro football is back on Fox as the UFL kicks off Saturday, March 30th with the U.S.FL champion Birmingham Stallions. Taking on the XFL champion Arlington Renegades and kickoff weekend continues Sunday. March 31st on ESPN. So this is wild. Somebody gave me this on social media yesterday. A reporter mentioned that from 2021 to 2022, 19 quarterbacks.

First round of seventh were picked in the NFL draft. 19. Only two of 19 are expected to start next year, week one. The first guy taken, Trevor Lawrence and the last guy taken, Brock Purdy, which is ironic and kind of funny. But there's a couple of reasons here. Let's talk it out. First of all, everybody that owns an NFL team now is a billionaire. And what that does is they just fire people more quickly. writing off a $47 million head coaching contract or a 70 million staff contracts, it's a rounding error. Used to be owners were worth $400 million, $500 million.

Now there were $7 billion. They just fire people immediately, mid-season, before Thanksgiving. And that puts pressure on GMs and coaches to get the right people. And so it's just creating chaos in the league. There's just more quicker firings. That's not good for quarterbacks coming in. They need to go to solid places, staff in place, continuity, support. That's why Mahomes, Kansas City, Lamar Jackson to Baltimore, I think part of the success,

maybe not a lot, but part of it is Baltimore and Kansas City are well run. A lot of continuity ownership down. The second part is COVID. I think a lot of that is COVID screwed up everything. And it screwed up quarterbacks. So don't forget, 2020, we will. It was a great year for quarterbacks. Five for five.

Tua is the worst. And I think last year we led the NFL in passing yards. That's the miss, Tua. They got Pro Bowl votes. MVP chatter a couple years ago. So that was great. Then COVID start. The 2021 class, great example.

Trey Lance almost never played in college. Came in totally raw. And then you got Zach Wilson, who because of COVID, BYU played like a division two mixed with a division one schedule. It was just a weak. BYU usually plays a good schedule. It was a weak schedule. So, Zach Wilson was overvalued.

But if you look at this year's class, Bo Nix has 61 college starts in two conferences. Everything he can and can't do is on film. Everything. Michael Pennix, 45 college starts. Two conferences. Two styles. He ran early.

Now he passes. Caleb Williams, two and a half years is a star. Carter. J.J. McCarthy, NFL coach at Michigan, almost 30 starts. Jaden Daniels, two conferences, 55 college starts. LSU and Arizona State. You have so much film, so many big games. The only quarterback, the one you're looking at, Drake May, is the one that concerns me because he's all over the map. I think he looks a little bit like Justin Herbert, a little bit the traits are great. He's a big fast kid. He's just wildly inconsistent. But if you're just wildly inconsistent. But if you

give an NFL scout 45, 50, and 60 starts against good teams, Oregon, Washington, LSU, USC, you're playing big boy teams. You know what you're getting on film. There's no real minute. Trey Lance was a question mark. Zach Wilson was like Coastal Carolina. He didn't play very well against the good teams he faced like Utah and Washington. So that's one of the reasons I said, like, show me the games where I played good teams

and was excellent. I couldn't find any. And so I don't think this quarterback. We're free and clear from COVID now. I think, you know, there's a term farmers use, good crop, bad crop. You know, COVID just created about a year and a half, two year, bad crop of quarterbacks. Red flags everywhere, didn't get starts. You were doing Zoom meetings instead of real meetings.

I mean, Jim Harbaugh's one year in Michigan, they were bad, was the COVID year. He just reorganized the deck chairs. He's like, I give up. Belichick in the NFL that year was like, this is nonsense. You could practice. You couldn't practice. There were no fans. And so I don't think this quarterback class is going to be a disaster.

I think it's going to look potentially because there's so many starts with so many quarterbacks in multiple conferences with capable coaches. You're just going to know what you see on film. I mean, go back and look at Trey Lance's career. Like, no starts. You're just guessing. I mean, Kyle Shanahan knows offense. They're just guessing.

And then they get him to practice after about a year. And they're like, yeah, you're just still figuring out how to play. quarterback. All right, here's something else that popped up. By the way, I'll let me throw this trivia question out to you. Last 13 years, AFC championships. How many quarterbacks do you think have played in that game? AFC championship, 13 years. Last third, so we're going back to 2011. That was, I think, the second year. Last 13 years, AFC champion. How many quarterbacks have played in that game? I will go with six. I should say how many quarterbacks have won that game.

Oh. Is that what I should say? My bad. Two. Mahomes and Brady. 13 for 13. So I just think about this. Okay.

My bad. My bad. They've played in it. So Mahomes and Brady have played in 13 straight AFC championships. So that's just something to start. And why am I talking about that? Because both Mahomes and Brady were flexible with our contracts. Brady was constantly redoing his, given the team caps,

base. Mahomes is constantly doing that. Mahomes is reworking his schedule. Last time Mahomes redid his schedule, his contract, he gave the chiefs $22 million of cap space. And that's something. That's like two players, right? Couple players. So Mahomes and Brady have dominated getting to the AFC championship for a decade and a half. Now, Brady's obviously went to the NFC's retired, but it's now Mahomes and Brady. It's been a long street. Mahomes been to like six straight. And they keep reworking their contract. So there's a story that Dak was willing to redo his. From a $59 million cap hit to a 55,

he saved them a whole $4 million in Dallas. What do you want to be? What do you want your legacy to be? Kirk Cousins and Dak are good at the bank stuff. But what's their legacy? It's a Tony Romo legacy, which is, nice guy. Just didn't win enough, right? Made a lot of money.

It didn't win enough. And so I look at this right now. Dack redos his contract. It's still the second highest cap hit in the league, the Deshaun Watson. There's a reason the Patriots' legacy is what it is, and it's that

Brady was the best quarterback for about 15 of the 20 years of it, and was never the highest paid quarterback. And Mahomes, I mean, there's a reason the chief's wide receiving crew is not very good, thank God their defense. Because he's making a lot of money. But he's

redoing his contract. And so, and Dax's not a Brady or a Mahom's talent. He's a good player. He's not a great player. But he's giving the Cowboys no flexibility. So, I mean, this is why Minnesota looked at Kirk Cousins, and they

love Kirk Cousins. Everybody loves Dak and Kirk Cousins. Minnesota said, we'll go with Sam Donald. We'll go we got Kirk Cousins who was on fire last year. And Kirk wouldn't take a pay cut. So they're like, all right, we'll go with Sam Darnold and a rookie quarterback with all these great weapons.

And you know, you can only keep your great weapons, your great left tackle, your wide receiver, you're tied in your mind. You get these three-year windows you can keep everybody. We'll go with Sam Darnold and we'll go with a rookie quarterback because Kirk wanted the money. Go for it. But it's the same with Dak. Dallas is in Texas, no state tax. The Cowboys biggest brand in the sport.

Money's not an issue for Dak. When he retires, it's not an issue for Dak. he'll be doing endorsements, broadcasting, whatever Dak wants to do. But I go back and I look at this thing. Dak and Kirk Cousins, their money legacies are made. Their endorsement legacies.

They're great. I read something the other day about how much money Kirk Cousins is made. Look it up. You won't believe how much more he's made than almost all the great quarterbacks in league history. Like much more than the greatest quarterbacks in league history. but don't complain when the Cowboys can't make moves. They're up against the cap.

They didn't do anything in free agency. You've got to be more flexible. So people will blame DAC and put at some point, all you DAC fans have to come to terms with, this is part of the reason the Cowboys always feel top-heavy with three or four really great players. And they haven't signed Micah Parsons and CD Lamb to these big deals yet. It's going to get tighter, not looser.

So I look at what Mahomes and Brady did for all these years over and over. Restructure. Restructure. Give Belichick $26 million extra. Give Brett Veach and Andy Reid $22 million extra. You can go out and get a Hollywood Brown. You can go get somebody else, another pass rusher, a veteran safety. You give a team a $4 million cap pit when you're clearly at this point in your career a B quarterback,

then don't complain in January and February when you're not playing anymore. Didn't he finish third and M. MVP voting? And yet nobody talks about him as a top six quarterback. Why? Because he didn't have much around him. Harsh. Harsh. Real. 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 acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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 tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.