The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Championship Sunday

Episode Date: January 29, 2024

Colin looks at the Lions epic collapse in their NFC Championship loss to the 49ers and why head coach Dan Campbell needs to reconsider his aggressive approach He officially labels Patrick Mahomes the best quarterback he's ever seen play after an impressive win over the RavensSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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All right, here we go. It is a Monday live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, lots and lots and lots to discuss one hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Jamek, we've seen this dance before. The Niners in Kansas City, arguably the best roster against the greatest coach and quarterback. maybe the league's ever seen. It was a great one last time.

This time the Ninos will have a better offense. Not quite as good a defense, but we've got a classic. Yeah, it should be a good one. I have no early read on the Super Bowl. It's a tough one. It feels like a toss-up, and the lion says the same. Well, let's start with this. Detroit, San Francisco, and I just want to talk about the Lions first.

I'll get to the Niners in a bit. Did the Niners win it, or did the Lions lose it? And I've got to be honest with you, it kind of felt like the last. better. It took a lot to beat Detroit themselves, a reckless head coach, a ball that ricocheted off a defender and became a 51-yard San Francisco catch, a drop pass, or three, and a key fumble by a talented rookie. Suddenly a 24-10 lead melted, and the lions were playing catch-up on the road, and here comes the Niners pass rush. Detroit is an excellent young football team. San Francisco is an excellent veteran football team.

And brother, do you see it? I like Dan Campbell, a former player. But he often coaches like one, reckless and too emotional. Dan, it's 2410, you're on the road, probably should kick a field goal, make it a three-score game. But he didn't. And he has created a tough, cool, alpha vibe. But the general needs to be above the infantry. To make stoic, strategic, unemotional decisions.

Dan Campbell lives for every play. That's what players do. That's not what leaders should do. And what's concerning with Detroit, they got the alpha and the tough and the aggressive. But the cerebral part of the Lions organization now, O.C. Ben Johnson, on that staff, he's the Brainiac. He's leaving.

He's taking a head coaching job. And reckless has never hoisted trophies in this sport. And there's a line. I get it, between aggressive and reckless. But doesn't it feel like Dan crosses it regularly? We saw it with Dallas. What are you doing? Again, the general.

Separate. The bite the kneecap stuff. Listen, man, he's easy to like. It was funny. And sad Detroit finally had a coach, big as a house, cool, a vibe, a culture. There's a lot to like. But winning a beer drinking contest is cool, too. in college.

And then you get a job and you have real responsibilities. It's called being a grown-up. Detroit now needs to move into the next phase. Work smarter, not always harder. Be emotional, but never be unhinged. Right? Like, mom and dad, it's your license. It's your car. You're going to sit at the big boy table now.

And I love the first phase of Detroit. from awful to alpha to good, a stacked roster, they were here for the moment and earned every inch of it. But it's time now to pivot to what Kansas City does in big games or what the Niners did in the second half. Efficiency, not losing your mind. There are phases in life. There are stages, their chapters.

This was a cool one. it's a learning lesson hopefully you'd think but dan campbell after did not apologize for what's perceived to be recklessness i told those guys this may have been only shot do i think that no do i believe that however i i know how hard it is to get here i'm well aware and it'll be it's going to be twice as hard to get back to this point next year than it was this year that's that's the reality and if we don't have the same hunger and the same work, which is a whole other thing. Once we get the offseason, then we got no shot of getting back here. Listen, I like Dan.

He's never going to be McVeigh, Shanahan. I don't think he's LaFleu, or certainly not Andy Reid. I like parts of him. What you hope as a Lions fan is that you can maintain the alpha and the toughness and the aggressiveness. But ditch the recklessness, unhinged against Dallas. 24-10 lead. Listen, so much I like about Dan.

But you could have made it a three-score game. People say playoffs are different. Well, yeah, they mean more. Mistakes are okay. Getting occasionally overly emotional is okay. But you've got to learn from it and not defend it. We'll see next year. Niners in a second.

First, the Chiefs. Once again, second, third time. I doubted them. I watched them all year. They sputtered inconsistent. I doubted them. I will never doubt Patrick Mahomes again. For the first time ever.

And though Brady was great, I never really thought this when I was watching. But I saw something yesterday, and I thought, sitting at my couch, I'm watching the greatest football player that's ever played. I didn't see Jim Brown. It's not about points. I'm watching the greatest football player

I've ever seen in Patrick Mahomes. It was like Tiger in the red shirt. Final hole, final round at the Masters. It was MJ when challenged back into a corner, a game six. It's like a level above great. I think it's called Historic. And again, I don't care about the trophies. Derek Jeter was always good, a 300 hitter.

But what if he hit 380 in the World Series consistently? I've never seen a player increase his efficiency, not just productivity, his efficiency in judgment by like 30, 40% in the playoffs on the road, against the best teams, against the best defense in the league. He throws no interceptions in the playoffs, almost unthinkable. Brady had picked sixes in them, Super Bowls. Efficiency, up. Productivity. It depends on the defense.

But what you're watching just doesn't make sense. people aren't at their best on the road as a dog facing relentless pressure with an offensive line missing their best linemen and tackles this year who were spotty. It's not supposed to look like that. And the more you ask of Mahomes, very MJ, very tiger,

the more you ask of him, the more he rises to the occasion. I'm telling you, I'd never watched a football game and thought, oh, I'd thought that's the best receiver I've ever seen. Oh, that's the best line. I've ever seen. No, I thought that's the best player I've ever seen. I mean, sometimes, I've seen this now.

Miami, Buffalo, Baltimore. Weather, non-factor. He was great, minus 27. Buffalo, defense, pressure, no factor, yesterday. What was that? Then you add the fact that it's Andy Reed, Mahomes, Kelsey, Steve Spagnol and Chris Jones. It's starting to feel a lot like those New England dynasties. We had Josh McDaniels failed as a head coach, so you knew he was going to be loyal as an assistant.

Brady, Belichick, Dante Scarnacia, you had this layered, institutional knowledge. You know, all these good teams in the league, the Niners are a great example. They're constantly losing assistance and replacing assistance. Spaggs is going nowhere. Andy Reid's going nowhere. Mahomes is going nowhere. The front office is going nowhere. You have so much confidence, big game experience, institutional knowledge in that building, and these big games, people play better.

Dron, Edelman, Brady, better. I'm watching Travis Kelsey. It's one of his greatest games ever. Mahomes' efficiency, incredible. That was a master class from a dynasty with a lot more juice and a lot more fun than most of the New England ones. I will never, ever doubt Kansas City again, and specifically Mahomes. All year long, drops, frustration, unrefined, sputtering, 17 points a game, trailing, bad first halves, bad on-script, bad off-script, not much after half.

In the last three weeks, minus 27, Buffalo, in Baltimore, in Baltimore, flawless. here's Patrick after you never know how many you're going to get to or if you're going to get to any and so it truly is special just to do it with these guys after what we've been through all season long

guys coming together it really is special but I told them I mean job's not done our job now is to prepare ourselves to play a good football team in the Super Bowl and try to get that ring so the best roster many perceive the Niners will take on the best quarterback and the coach

in Kansas City. We've seen it before, and if you recall, the Niners led going into the fourth, and then Garoppolo missed on what could have been the ceiling of the victory. Now it's another quarterback who's not viewed as elite Brock Purdy

against a Kansas City team that remains the best coached and the best quarterbacked on the planet. A couple of weeks rest and prep. Two offensive coaches, what a shock are left, and probably the two best offensive coaches and an offensive sport are left and I can't wait.

I'll get to the Niners after the break. I will say this is that, you know, all season long, J-Mack, all season long, we kind of have a vibe on who's good. And then teams, you know, like Jacksonville sort of plummets and Dallas gets exposed and, but as

I was watching all these teams, especially San Francisco and Detroit and I felt going into the game, Detroit totally belonged. They were a younger version of the Niners. They had the left tackle, the weapon, the edge rusher. San Francisco doesn't have a ton of years left with this group.

Detroit's got several years left. But just that moxie by the veteran San Francisco Niners, they never panicked. And let's be honest, there were moments in that game. You're like, can Brock Pretty come back from three to four touchdowns? You were thinking that. Yeah. So it's, here we are. I'm glad we're here, and I'll never doubt Kansas City again.

Yeah, I was expecting a coronation of Brock Purdy coming back from down 17 at half time. Right around the corner. Or was that going to be bashing Lamar Jackson, who was a piss moment. 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 I-Hard 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 what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes,

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

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 problem. podcast. San Francisco, 31, 34, Detroit 31. You know, I've said all year about Brock Purdy. We have to contextualize it.

It's a great place to land as a quarterback. Kyle Shanahan, the best left tackle in forever, the best running back in football, the second best tied end, Debo Samuel, Brandon Ayyuk. It's a great place to land. You could land in Carolina, or you could land with a terrible coach. Brock Purdy landed in the perfect spot. But it should be noted, so did Trey Lance, and he couldn't get it done. So Brock Purdy deserves credit.

There's two things that jumped out to me. First of all, that first half looked like the game was over. San Francisco never panicked down 2410. They just kept feeding Christian McCaffrey, Debo Samuel, George Kittle. They never lost their identity, Baltimore. They had a really flat first half. not going to be able to do that against Kansas City, but they overcame it. And number two is, Kyle Shanahan's always wanted his quarterback to move a little.

It's why they drafted Trey Lance. It's why he got frustrated with Jimmy Garampolo. And then they found Brock Purdy, who could move and was accurate. And that mobility, that movement plus Shanahan schemes, once it gets rolling downhill, is tough to stop. Brock Purdy lacks a power arm. He's not real big. God, we saw drizzly weather give him fits a week ago. But that mobility was a factor.

Shanahan's schemes always a factor. Those weapons insane all-time good. And Brock Purdy's ability to come from behind is no small feat. Now, five of his eight playoff quarters, be honest. He's been outplayed by Goff and Jordan loved badly. But, but he has shown an ability to shake off a bad half or a bad pass or a bad drive. He doesn't sulk and he doesn't melt. And that's a real thing.

Now, will the Super Bowl end up looking like the last San Francisco, Kansas City Super Bowl, where the great town of San Francisco, a quarterback that's not elite, they lead, they control it, and then Mahomes makes it all pretty damn irrelevant and takes over the fourth quarter. I don't know. But make no mistake, the Niners earned this, and Brock Party was a huge, Brock Purdy was a huge part of it. that last San Francisco team was not as good as this Niner team offensively. That

nineer team didn't have Christian McCaffrey or Trent Williams or Brandon Ayyuk. And yes, I'll say it. They didn't have Brock Purdy. His mobility, his ability to shake off bad halves, he never melted, he never panicked. I watched the Lions panic. I watched Lamar Jackson panic. I watched Baltimore.

panic. Brock Purdy never did. Not once. Had a bad throw. Never rattled. Never played frenetic football. It's not just arm. It's not just strength.

It's not being the fastest or the most anything. So much of this position is the ability to forget the last series. Don't melt. Don't get down on yourself. Play to your strengths. And make no mistake. not only did San Francisco outplay the Lions, who melted. Brock Purdy was a huge part of this win.

Here's the coach after. I thought it was the difference between winning and losing. He made some big plays with his legs, getting out of the pocket, moving the chains and some first downs, getting some explosives. He competed his ass off today and it wasn't easy for any of us, but he kept grinding and was unbelievable there in the second half. That is a great word. To make the NFL and make a Super Bowl as the final guy drafted is a grind.

You walk into camp. You're kind of a running joke, right? They have like an award, a name, a term for the last guy drafted. And reportedly, it just didn't take that long to see he was a grownup. He was a grinder. He gained his teammates respect. There's a lot of things he's not. But something that he is is a gamer.

And that in this system, this gritty team, this physical club full of smart, savvy, tough veterans is a real thing. And I'm happy for him. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, we're going to start with a negative story here, Colin. Lamar Jackson, oh, my gosh.

I don't know what to say. The whole game plan. He's going to win his second MVP award, obviously, but there will be no Super Bowl again for Lamar. Jackson. He was, in a word, a business. Missing every pass, looking indecisive, uncertain. That throw into triple coverage in the end zone, if I was a Ravens fan, I would have lost my mind.

However, John Harbaugh is telling him, keep your head, hold it high. I told him that stand up tall. You know, he's had a great season. His performance today was all hard. He fought. He went out there and gave everything he had, so I don't think that's anything that I'd be disappointed in.

I thought it was one of the The straight, again, to lose, if the Niners would have lost, okay, it's Detroit. You didn't lose your identity. I've never seen a game like that. We were a team, we were talking about this earlier. It'd be like being a fast break college basketball team and you run up and down and that's your whole Loyola back in you 25 years ago, right? You run up and down. And then getting into the game and say, slow it down.

We're going to milk the clock. That's not what you do. You run the ball. their running backs had six total carries. They were the number one rushing team all year. Easily. I could not. I sat there.

And then the second half, there was a series. It was early. The first one was mad. First series, second half. And I thought, okay, now it's time. Never down by more than 10. Yeah. And it's like 12 minutes left.

Pass run. And I thought, okay, here we go. Five straight passes. And at that point, I'm like, okay, the coordinator, Harbaugh, you've got to own some of this. Lamar's not calling these plays. Well, wait a minute, wait a minute. So last week we saw the Texans blitz heavily on Lamar. Yeah, yeah.

They did nothing in the first half. They adjusted in the second half when heavier ran the football. And then the cornerbacks on the Texans could not match up one-on-on-one when they stacked the box. Well, Sneed and McDuffie were on lockdown. Like, they were great. They're probably the best corners in the league. They are very good. Now, listen, Zay Flowers had a...

that fumble at the goal line. He should be noted. Gibbs had a fumble. Rookie. Zay Flowers melted down. He's a rookie. These are kids. We always talk about this in the NBA playoffs.

That's a man's. That's a man's game. Regular season's one thing. I think Zay Flowers is remarkable. I didn't want to crush him. And I think Gibbs is terrific. Well, wait a minute. Wait, hold up.

Zay Flowers. What about the dumb taunting penalty? Again. Rookie. No. You don't do that as a six-year, nine-year veteran. 22-year-old kids.

Just don't understand time and play. So we're giving him a pass for that on the phone? I'm not giving him a pass, but I'm saying, let's contextualize it. The rookie for Detroit had a big miss cue, fumble. As the announcer, as Greg Olson pointed out, that play was doomed from the start, running back, way to the wrong side. And then Zay Flowers-Tonnie. This is why young teams don't generally win the Super Bowl. San Francisco's got veterans.

Kansas City's got veterans. So you said NBA team, your Loyola Mary Mountain analogy. I like that, right? So how about this analogy? Lamar Jackson is James Hardin. An unbelievable regular season player who's utterly dominant, puts up massive stats. MVP, you know, highlights every night, and he gets to the playoffs and he kind of can't do anything. I think we talked about this a month ago.

I think that is now becoming fair. He's very young, and so I initially push back. But after watching that, I think it's reasonable to say that people will not blitz Mahomes, nor would they Brady because they felt it would be punitive. People now think the way to beat Lamar is blitzing, and it doesn't. Does work a lot. By the way, for the James Hardin analogy, Lamar 2 and 4 career in the playoffs, 57% completions, 6 touchdowns, 6 interceptions, 6 fumble.

I think it's getting more fair. As much as it pains me to say it, there is a way to defend Lamar, especially in the postseason, bring the house, make him make quick reads, get rid of it accurately, and he was flummock. Now, it would help is that the number one run team, you'd give your running backs more than six carry so he can throw on play action occasionally. I thought you were going to say the Ravens need more weapons. Because I had a Ravens fan. We need to get

more guys. Aguilar's not doing anything. They're fine. They're fine. Well, I don't know. Odell Beckham Jr., by the way. Was he on the field? Did he do anything? Odell is more about Odell's brand. He's not that productive of a player anymore. It's just not. Ravens. Just disappointed.

Anyways, yeah, I was on the Ravens, folks. Next up, Dan Campbell. Boy, listen. I thought you were a little too nice to Dan Campbell, a little too kind. So he kicks the field goal at the end of the first half on fourth and three. Yeah, there you know. And then he goes back and reverts to being ultra aggressive in the second half twice, and they fail on both fourth downs when you could have easily kicked field goals. Colin, I know that the numbers guys say you should have gone for it.

Colin, I can't get behind this. No, I get it. And my initial thing was watching it was this is who we used. is. And then you sit back and you think to yourself, God, three score game is different. But, you know, I can just see Dan thinking, we're on the road, this is who we are. And you got about two and a half seconds to make those calls as a coach. You don't have 45 minutes. You don't have I mean, the good quarterbacks go to the line. Like, one of the big mistakes that they had was calling that time out on fourth and goal. And it's like, you know, I was watching the game

with some guys and one of them's a former high profile quarterback. And he goes, you got to go to the line on third down with the fourth down play ready. You can't burn that time out. Then it was like, well, if you don't get the onside kick game over, and it was. Like, I thought Campbell kind of butchered it. Colin, the other thing is, oh, they're so good on fourth down. They're so risk. Listen, I don't want to hear your stats going on fourth down against the Chicago Bears and the Atlanta Falcons. I don't need to hear that crap.

Give me how they did on fourth down against the good teams. What happened against Dallas on fourth down? They got too aggressive on that two-point conversion. It's like, dude, just kick the extra point. I don't want to hear they can get three yards against anybody. This is the Niners on the road. Take the points, man. Is that too harsh?

No, I think that is what most people are saying. I just think as I watched them kind of regress, I thought, I was trying to think what Dan was thinking. And Dan was thinking in the second half. Okay, we're kind of losing it. Let's go back to who we are. Let's get our alpha on. Let's get our hats on.

Let's get our work hats on. I could see Dan processing it going, okay, we're falling. I am not going to be inauthentic. I'm going to be real to who I am, and sometimes, you know, points, I know we all want to pretend that field goals don't matter. But go look at the Kansas City Baltimore score with those two quarterbacks. Field goals become gold bars in these situationally crucial games. And I've said this before. I do think analytics in basketball are good for the regular season.

But in the postseason basketball playoffs, I need a bucket and I need to stop. And in football, I think analytics for 17 games are one thing. But I think momentum and the intensity of the playoffs, players, momentum is a huge thing that analytics never measures. You can't quantify momentum. And what happens in bigger games is when things don't go your way, young players can quickly fall into quicksand. That's a pressure.

You don't face pressure at home against Chicago. But that momentum in the playoffs, you miss a field goal or you miss a fourth down on a nationally televised game where everybody knows the world's watching. Young players, it is punitive. They are not the same player the next drive. You can like the numbers and trust the numbers, but you can't put pressure on a spreadsheet. It just doesn't apply. Like that passed to Josh Reynolds, and Lions fans are like he got to catch out. That was a huge drop.

But by the way, it's diving. It's not like it was in the breadbasket. He's diving. I'm not talking about the earlier. one. The earlier one, that was a tough one. That was, and again, now he's not that young, but that's a play that would not make the highlights

against Atlanta in November. In that moment, Josh Reynolds doesn't want anybody to throw the ball to him the next play. He doesn't want it. It's like hot potato times. Keep it away from it. The other thing, we got to give Bosa some credit. Bosa was an animal yesterday with the pressures. I think he had two sacks. He was everywhere forcing golf into some problems. Final story is the Chiefs are going back to their fourth Super Bowl

in five seasons with the win over the Raven. So they were underdogs against Ravens. They're small underdogs in the Super Bowl. Andy Reid praised his team for their resilience after the win. Easily you could fold. I told you that after our game, our last game against Buffalo, the thing that stood out to me most was just the positive attitude on the sideline. Through the highs and the lows of positive head,

that kind of tells you the season. It gives you the whole story there. The guys never doubted. They just, you know, they put themselves. in a position where you had a chance. And they took care of that. And they're a great attitude on this team. I know you said Mahomes is the greatest player ever.

That may eventually be true. I didn't think he was the reason they won this game. That Spagnolo defense was unbelievable. Listen, Mahomes, 4.4 yards per play, didn't score in the second half. Like, he was awesome early when it mattered. I thought he'd game managed to victory. Like, hey, I'm not going to make mistakes? He didn't against the number one defense on the road.

He didn't have an incompletion until the second quarter. Yeah, no, he was a great girl. I watched great quarterbacks this year. I watched Purdy. I watched golf. I watched Tua. I watched teams go into Baltimore and be down three touchdowns and evaporate. Mahalms is perfect in the first quarter.

Completely sets the tone. The scripted stuff was off the charts. I mean, but completely sets the tone. Kyle Hamilton. All the juice out of Baltimore's crowd. Kyle Hamilton had not given up a touchdown to a tight end all season. First drive, Mahomes, with an amazing throw. But the Spagnolo, I mean, the defense was, listen, man, that was an amazing performance from the defense.

Ray was the number one offense in the league all season. They could do nothing except for garbage time stuff in the fourth quarter. But you early lean to the Chiefs in the Super Bowl? I mean, I'm sorry, but it's just two weeks, Andy Reid. I think what happens is we know so many of the Niners great players. They're huge household names. I mean, Kiddell, McCaffrey, Debo, Bosa, I mean, Fred Warner, we've been watching them for years. People don't understand how good the linebackers and the corners are for Kansas City.

Kansas City's got the best corners in the league, and there are a couple of kids. The linebackers for Kansas City are sensational, but we haven't watched them for nine years. So Kansas City went basically after, you know, they've had to pay Mahomes. They've gotten younger on defense. Well, Brett Feats the GMs hit on about seven guys on that side. They have the best corners in the league. They have maybe the best young linebackers in the league. And then you have that anchor Chris Jones, but they've got Carlottis.

They got the kid out of Purdue. I mean, that's a really good defense without a lot of household names. So I think the public looks at the Niners' names, the movie poster. If this is a movie poster, the 9thes. Niners have like nine A-listers. But I think the Chiefs have seven to eight A-listers. You just don't know all of them outside of Mahomes and Kelsey. Okay, so those cornerbacks on KC shut down largely the Ravens' offense and largely shut down the bills the last couple weeks.

Yes. Would you say Iyuk and Debo are better than any receiver they've seen in the last two weeks? I'm not going to include Tyree Kiel. I would just say I would just say Debo is a completely different player and there is no defense that stops him. Right. There's nothing that stops him. I'm leaning Niners, but after getting kicked in the teeth by the Chiefs and Mahomes yesterday, it's tough for me.

You've got to get exotic here. I think it's going to be a great game, though. I'm very excited. I'm excited. Ask yourself this. Before the season, if you'd have said, hey, Mahomes and the Niners again, would you have been disappointed? We should go back and look. We might have had this game in the preseason.

I don't remember, but they're pretty clearly, like, come on, Chiefs. Well, I think for most of the year, until they got absolutely. gashed by the Ravens. Our feeling all year was, you know, the Niners are going to cruise. I mean, all year, and then they got gashed by the Ravens, and you and I went, is it the Ravens? Or is it the Niners? But what is that?

But I don't think the Niners are a shock. Kansas City's not a shock, but we all watched them sputter for 17, 18 weeks. We watched it. By the way, the sharp money guys, $100,000 bets, they all were on the Ravens. They pushed that out to four and a half by kickoff, and they got to, Vegas sports books win again, shocker. Oh, no, no. That was... Shocker.

Huge, huge win for Vegas on the Ravens KC game. They built casinos in the desert. They know what they're doing, guys. Yeah. Everybody was on Baltimore. All the wise guy money. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. I got some thoughts on Travis Kelty, Ravens. Don't go anywhere just starting. live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Pauli Fusco here with Tony Fusco. You know, as the host of the number one rated Polly 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. Wait, why? Open this other one. Dear Pauley and Tony, you suck more than anyone... Not that one. Wait, 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 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. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all.

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

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

It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The NASCAR season starts Sunday with a clash of the Coliseum, and on February 18th, It's the most iconic day in all of motorsports. The Daytona 500 with Dwayne the Rock Johnson, serving as Grand Marshal, only on Fox. Oh, yes, the grifters in the media will tell you that Travis Kelsey,

that visor commercial, he is washed. Yeah, Travis Kelsey is officially serviceable. He broke Jerry Rice's record for most receptions. postseason history. That's a tight end. Mahomes, when targeting Kelsey in the playoffs this postseason, and he's near the end of his career, 140 passer rating, 144 passer rating, 85% completion rate, 23 and 27. And remember, Buffalo, minus 27 degrees.

At the number one defense in the league, Baltimore, he put on a clinic yesterday all season. Here's what you heard about Travis Kelsey. Oh, the famous girlfriend. He's distracted. Oh, the podcast. That guy's distracted. The TV commercials. How many's going to be on? This guy isn't focused. It came in a nice, tidy, little clean package that's easy to sell. That Travis Kelsey and some of those young receivers, this is the problem with this team. Stay focused. What we failed to recognize is Travis Kelsey did lead all tight. ends this year, all of them, and there's a lot of good ones in receiving yards. And he could have easily had another thousand yard season, but he went to Andy Reed and said, hey, coach,

can I get week 18 off, give this body some rest? Instead of a cheap milestone, he turned that rest into what yesterday felt like one of those Kellynne Winslow games. For you young kids, it's YouTube, it works, look it up. That was an all-timer by an all-time player. And I'll be honest, I'd sat there and had this discussion with buddies. It's like, man, this guy, this guy has got a lot of stuff going on. But so did Brady at the end of his career, and he was still great, and went to Tampa and won a Super Bowl with a bunch of commercials and interest beyond just football.

But you were watching all-time stuff yesterday. And if you look at the postseason, they had a minus 27-degree day that was windy, had to face arch-rival buffalo that double teams him, and then yesterday on the road, and to put up these numbers, 23 at 27, in the playoffs. Moms has a 144 passer rating when targeting him,

and some of those catches are some of the best catches of his career. Just an absolute clinic. I know, I know. He's washed. I'm going to go with not yet.

He'll live to see another day. Would you want that guy to retire? Who wants that guy to retire? I want more Travis Kelsey. All right. You know I love Lamar, but I can also acknowledge that was not good. But I do feel, I think we have to be fair here. That felt like coaching malpractice.

They completely abandon their total identity. They run, they pound, they grind. This is what they do. Number one rushing team in the league by far. Until yesterday, they're running backs in Baltimore. I'm not making this up. had six total carries. They were never getting blown out.

They didn't have to abandon it. The most they trailed by was 10. I mean, San Francisco was still giving the ball to McCaffrey, and they were at one point down 24 to 10. Should have been 27 to 10, but 24 to 10. Until about seven minutes left. It never felt like they had to throw. And here's the funny thing.

The Ravens went 0 and 4, with 25 or fewer Russia, attempts this year. 14 and 1 when they ran the ball a lot. Apparently there was a power outage or something of the fax machines don't work. That data was not available in Baltimore. Instead, you know what they became? They became the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen.

Defensive coach, Harbaugh's defensive leaning, hey, here's a cape. Lead us. That's what they've been doing with Josh Allen. And finally this year with Josh Allen, they gave him help. And then against Kansas City, it was all on your. Josh Allen. And that's what it felt like yesterday. What about the tight end you liked? What about Gus Edwards? He'd been terrific. Instead, they asked Lamar to drop back 46 times. That's not Lamar at his best. It's closer to 26, 27. Even with quarterbacks, we like Dak Prescott. There's a line.

Passes more than 35 times. You're not going to win games. And that's what's funny is they were never out of this game. This wasn't like San Francisco falling into a hole. And you're thinking, is this over? This never felt like it was over. You were just waiting for the Ravens to get on track and go back to being what they were. And they completely abandoned. Like it's one thing to beat Dan Campbell. You have sort of a vibe and a culture.

This is how we play. But you do understand mostly that in the playoffs got tightened up a little bit, a little less emotional. But I can still defend Dan Campbell because the Lions play with a chip and I love the chip. I didn't even recognize Baltimore yesterday. This is a run team, number one in the league. It's one of the strangest three and a half hours of playoff football I have ever seen. I mean, it would be like San Francisco going into a game. Forget the second half.

It'd be like the Niners saying, hey, listen, I know it's a big game and all, but let's switch it up and not pound the ball with McCaffrey and Debo and become a finesse offense. Again, it's not like they bailed on the run game in the second half late. They never ran the ball the whole game. Yes, Lamar Jackson melted down. Absolutely, no question. But you know what? Josh Allen can melt down and make mistakes when you ask him to singularly lead the team.

And I do think it is, as J. Mack mentioned earlier, the James Harden thing, I think it is fair, as much as it pains me to say it, it is fair. it is fair to come to a reasonable conclusion. Now, it can change. Peyton Manning wasn't great in the playoffs already in his career, but it can change. But it's fair now to say, is Lamar built for elite defensive coordinators and past rushes in January?

I'm asking the same thing, and it pains me to say it. But from coaching to second half mistakes, is it possible? Like Buffalo, Baltimore is just not built for this. They're not built to beat the coaching and the quarterbacking and the institutional knowledge

of the chiefs. We've all kind of felt like that with Buffalo and then we watched it again with Buffalo this year and we're all like absolutely sure of it now. Buffalo's not going to beat this Kansas City group. This was the year. They're not going to. They can beat everybody else.

They're not going to beat these guys in the big game. And I didn't feel that with Baltimore. I felt like, okay, this is in Baltimore, better defense, better special teams, this team's different. And then they weren't. And I think it's a reasonable opinion to have this morning as they may be stylistically coaching. They're not built to beat Andy Reed Mahomes in January. Here's Lamar after. I'm angry about, you know, losing.

We're a game away from the Super Bowl. We've been waiting all this time, all these moments for an opportunity like this, and we fell short. Offense, we didn't put nothing on the board. We scored once. That's not like us, you know. We drove the ball down the field. That's cool, but we've got to put points on the board.

But I feel like my team is just angry, you know. Not frustrated, we just angry because we know how hard we've worked to get here. Okay, Kansas City opened as a two-and-a-half-point underdog. They're now a one-and-a-half-point underdog. So the sharp money is on Kansas City. So I guessed last night with my friend John Middilkoff, I guessed, I said, San Francisco is a two-point dog, two-and-a-half-point dog. He goes, no, it's the opposite.

San Francisco is a two-and-a-half-point favorite. So my gut instinct, I think both of us, our instinct is, okay, we keep doubting Kansas City against Buffalo and Baltimore, and we know the AFC is better than the NFC. Head-to-head, we know that. So shouldn't the AFC team that's going on the road and beating these really good teams, shouldn't they be favored over the NFC team that's beating Green Bay, the youngest team since the 70 Bills, and a San Francisco team that's not nearly as good defensively as they were.

My gut instinct is Kansas City's the side here. That's what I feel, your thoughts? Yeah, I think most people think that KC, hey, they just went through Buffalo, which was a juggerna. And the AFC's better. Went through the Ravens, both on the road, and the AFCs better. But what do you trust more? The season-long numbers are the last three games, Colin?

Because the season-long numbers say San Francisco is clearly the better team. I know. Season-long numbers. But it's playoff Mahomes and playoff Reed. I know. I will remind people, Shanahan and Garoppolo were in command of that Super Bowl until there were eight minutes left. No, no. We can dig into like the type of runs.

They control that game. Yeah. Remember, Mooster was having a great game. This Niners offense is better. That Niners defense was better. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. on Humor 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, 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 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 podcast. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.