The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Christmas Day Football

Episode Date: December 26, 2023

In this hour of The Herd, it's clear to Colin that the AFC's best teams are superior to the best of the NFC—and Raven quarterback Lamar Jackson was the best player on the field as Baltimore dismantled San Francisco Monday night. Also, Colin can see that Dallas is still too reliant on quarterback Dak Prescott's arm after the loss in Miami. Plus, after a dreadful performance against the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy does not seemingly elevate his teammates, according to Colin. Finally, Colin isn't panicking over the Philadelphia Eagles.See 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.

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

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or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Tuesday back, feeling great. 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. Happy holidays to everybody. Hope you had a great Christmas and Christmas Eve the previous two days.

We are back. J-Mack, joining us one hour from now, the herd hierarchy, what to do with Dallas, what to do with Buffalo, what to do with Kansas City, and the Niners and the Ravens wild last few days in the NFL. J-Mack, well, not a great showing for your MVP Brock Purdy. Oh, yes. Interesting place to start the show.

For Christmas is over, baby. Brock Purdy had a rough one. It happens to the best of them. 3319 Ravens. Last night wasn't about the Niners. It really wasn't. It was about the most disrespected team. and the most disrespected quarterback in the national football league.

That's what last night was about. And for the love of God, stop showing me stats. I have eyes. I watch the games. Lamar Jackson was the best player on the field, on a field with 10 Hall of Famers, and it wasn't particularly close. Stop with the Tua, DAC, Brock Purdy nonsense. Baltimore's been ravaged by injuries.

What are they on their 19th running back? They lost their Pro Bowl tight end, left tackle plays, doesn't play, plays, doesn't play. Doesn't matter. Rookie receiver, multiple drops, doesn't matter. If you were a scout and were sent to this game and they said, give me a take on the two quarterbacks, your take would be on Brock Purdy. Kind of a guy could be a backup. And your take on Lamar Jackson would be, holy God, I've never seen a player like that.

The dude runs, looks like half speed against the Niners. Half speed. Thursday, Thanksgiving football backyard with cousins. Half speed. He runs whenever he wants. Whenever he wants. Home, road, good weather, bad weather, against the 49ers defense. There's nothing like him on the planet.

I don't need to see passer rating. He wins 80% of his games and he wins big games. People in Miami freaking out. Miami hasn't won a playoff game since 2000. We won a home game over doubt. Dallas. Lamar Jackson wins games like this every Sunday, home or away. He's 20 and one in his career against the NFC. Because if you don't see him regularly, you don't know how to contain him. You don't know what to do with him. You've never seen any player like him. And all it is is disrespect and

doubt. Tua and Lamar Jackson, same breath. Stop it. Pertie Lamar Jackson, same breath. It's incredible. And then you add a really good coach and a really physical culture and what you have as a team that can go into San Francisco and push, despite referees getting in the way, push the 49ers all over the field. The Ravens did to the Niners what the Niners do to everybody else. They embarrassed them. They pushed them around.

They had all the answers. The Niners were left with all the questions. They poked you in their ribs. They lowered your self-esteem. And you come out of a game with the Niners and think, What are we? And now the Niners this morning wake up. Due to Lamar Jackson and ask themselves,

what are we? Ooh, we beat Dallas at home. Ooh, we can bully bad teams. But against a good Brown's defense on the road, loss against a physical Ravens team at home and Lamar Jackson outplayed and bullied. I mean, last night is what a most valuable player looks like. You ever watch a game and think two is the best athlete

the field or DAC or Brock Purdy. Last night on a game with seven, eight Hall of Fame level talents. That's just on the Niners. He was easily the best player on the field. It was high school and JV. Running, is it half speed? Getting whatever he wants.

Finding crevices where there are none. That's what a most valuable player looks like. Not stats, not a coach, not because the weapons. This is a team with a rookie wide receiver who half the time can't catch. Ronnie Stanley left tackle sometimes plays. Pro Bowl tight end gone for the year.

On a third running back, against the best roster in the league, and annihilates him, humiliates him, and leaves the Niners asking the question that Niner opponents do. What are we? Here's John Harbaugh after. I thought Lamar had an MVP performance tonight.

You know, he, it takes a team to create a performance like that. But it takes a player to play at that level, to play at an MVP level, takes a player to play that way. And Lamar was all over the field doing everything. Yeah, it was pretty good. So the Dallas Cowboys lost in Miami. I won't get into the officiating. But wasn't this the season that things were going to be different for Dallas? Mike McCarthy preached,

we are going to run the football more, be less reliant on DAC, physical. No, they just wanted to push Kellynne Moore out of the building because Mike McCarthy was threatened by him. Once again, the Cowboys are totally DAC reliant. Tony Pollard has had one 100-yard rushing game, week three. Mike McCarthy wanted Kellynne Moore out of the building because Mike McCarthy is threatened by lots of things.

So he went, remember that before Dallas, went down to his basement, an analytics crew, and then told everybody he watched every cowboy play the previous season. Later acknowledged, yeah, I didn't. The cowboys, once again, are totally DAC reliant, seven and one when he doesn't turn it over, sub-500 when he does at least once. I said, and I'll say it again, I said at the trade deficit. headline, you got to go get Derek Henry. You got to have a physical presence. You're not going to be totally DAC reliant in road games and win against high scoring offenses. Because every road

game for the Cowboys against the decent offense looks the same. One turnover, average to slightly above average head coach, a B plus quarterback. They all look the same and Dallas can't run and doesn't run. And that's all we heard all off season. That's it, right? It's a new day. It's a new team. It's a new physicality. Oh, nonsense. Jerry Jones is a great salesman.

But he doesn't have a very good BS radar. And Mike McCarthy keeps telling him what he wants to hear. I watched every one of your plays before I came here. No, he didn't. We're going to be physical to run the football. No, they don't. Totally Dachraline. The three times this year,

Dallas has had to face, like a top five or six offense, San Francisco number three, Miami number one, Buffalo number six. Dallas can't run the ball because Tony Pollard's a second back. He's an off-speed pitch. He's a breaking pitch. He's not a Derek Henry. You can't lean behind him. So what happens?

Dak gets into a shootout as a B-plus quarterback on the road with high-powered offenses. And Dallas is going to lose a lot of those games. And Dak, through the years, has lost a lot of those games. DAC was at his very best, his first couple of years when Zeke was his best running back in the league, and the Cowboys' Online was the best in the NFL. And you go into this game against Miami and your great all-world left tackle, Tyron Smith's not there, and you can't run the football because you can't run the football. This was all about Mike McCarthy once again saying whatever it takes to impress Jerry

and keep Jerry off his back and retain his employment. This was going to be different. We're going to run the ball, less Dak reliant. The team's totally relying on that. who when he faces, you know, like a Josh Allen or a lot of weapons with Miami or a lot of weapons with a Niners, has to save the day. And that's not who Dak is. That's good.

He's not special. Doesn't have a great arm. Doesn't run around like Lamar Jackson. He's good. He's good. But when you can't run the ball, you have a coach situationally that scares us away from home. This is what Dallas games look like against another team that can score. And again, it's, it's, Mike McCarthy just wanted Kellyn more out of the building.

You know, that's what he wanted. He wanted Kellyn out of here because Kellyn was a threat. And he keeps telling Jerry what he wants to hear. But I still think when Dallas plays with Tyron Smith available at left tackle, I think it's a good, good, good team. Very good team. Tyron Smith leaves, Bradley Chub looks like Lawrence Taylor. Tyron Smith plays, Bradley Chubb would have been invisible.

but Tyron Smith didn't play and you don't run the ball and it's a bunch of promises you've never kept and you lost again. It's not the end of the season, but doesn't it feel like Groundhog Day? Here's Dak after. I mean, I guess it feeds it, right? We didn't come out with the win,

but I can tell you the confidence is high from that group. Obviously, this one sucks, it hurts, especially, as you just said, in the manner that we did. that we lost this one. But with the confidence is high in these guys, we understand that we can. Obviously, we haven't done it. But we will, and obviously the road forward looks like we'll be going on the road.

So all these years, I still think Dallas has all these components, but they're going to have to win on the road. And because they don't have a great run game, they're going to be very dependent on left tackle Tyron Smith being available. and I sat and watched that game and I said, you know, for 20 years I have rolled my eyes, probably been a bit too cynical on the Cowboys, and I finally buy into this team that has multiple elements of a Super Bowl team. And then they pulled a Dallas against a solid Miami team.

Why did I ever bite? You know what? I'm like Jerry Jones. Mike McCarthy fooled me too. Jerry, the great salesman, doesn't have the radar. and apparently doing this job for 30 years, either do I. Because I bought it. I bet.

I was the fish. I grabbed the hook. And now I just get reeled in by Mike McCarthy in Dallas. J. Mack, I don't know. I love doing what we do, but God, I watched that game, and I thought, I just bit into this piece of bait. Well, wait a minute. So you're selling all your Dallas stock?

No, no, because they have a lot of elements. Yes. But it's just this Mike McCrack. has been, he did not want Kellan Moore in that building. You want to guess their, guess the line against Detroit this week? Dallas is at home.

Where's it out? Where's it out? Dallas is at home against the mighty Detroit Lions, who just won the division. Dallas favored by four. Six and a half in Las Vegas currently. So, uh, Dallas probably the side this week. By the way, P.S., I can't wait to talk about Brock Purdy.

You should have seen the text from Cowherd the glee last night as Brock Purdy was imploding on national television. It was a rough one for Purdy. One game out of, how many, 15, 16. We'll talk about that next herd hierarchy in 45 minutes. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Hi, this is Jay Glazer, and you may know me for the world of football or fighting or even shows like HBO's ballers.

What you don't know is for my entire life, I have lived in something I refer to the gray depression anxiety so now i'm coming out with a new podcast unbreakable a mental health podcast with j glazer where each week while we talk about mental health i hope to describe it give it words listen to unbreakable with j glazer 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 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 what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clever 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. 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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah. No, we don't have plenty. But just so y'all know. 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. It is great to have you in on a Tuesday, 45 minutes from now, the herd hierarchy, Nick Wright, stops by. There's going to be some breaking NFL news, potentially. There's stuff on Jim Harbaugh. I want to talk about Brock Purdy, who I've said's good quarterback, but I don't think he is special.

There's a reason he was the last guy taken in the draft, and though there are exceptions like Joe Montana taken later, and Tom Brady taken way later, and Mark Brunel and Tony Romo and Kurt Warner undrafted. By and large, the scouts get it right. Most of your star quarterbacks in league history are first-round guys. Most of your great edge rushers are first round guys. Most of your great left tackles are first round guys. Justin Jefferson, first round guy.

Calvin Johnson. Randy Moss. Jamar Chase. The scouts know what they're doing. Brock Purdy last guy taken in a draft. But with the Niners, it's always kind of the same. We have a brilliant coach. We have an excellent roster.

We have weapons everywhere. And you're left sort of asking, is Jimmy Garapolo or Brock Pretty good enough? And by the way, this is a lot of Kyle Shanahan's career. is that you feel like Matt Ryan in Atlanta or Matt Schaub in Houston, Brian Hoyer in Cleveland, and Brock Purdy and Jimmy Garoppolo.

You're left asking, is it the coach or is it the quarterback? And so far it's always the coach. With any other coach offensively, you know immediately the limitations with a Matt Schaub, we saw it, or a Brian Hoyer, we've seen it, or Garapolo now in Vegas, or Brock Purdy.

But Kyle Shanahan's a lot like that flex tape commercial where they put that big, strong tape on a boat, and it works momentarily, but if you got too much flex tape on a boat, maybe you need another boat, and it's not about the tape. And that's my takeaway. Brock Purdy, when trailing in the second half this year,

has a 65 passer rating, two touchdowns and five picks. Garoppolo, Brock Purdy, they went a lot, often convincingly. It's like just a perfect symphony. But what happens when things go sideways, and you play a good defense and you're trailing, you're left with a lot of nothing.

Matt Stafford with the Rams is elevating everybody around him on every drive. To me, it feels like Brock Purdy is elevated by everybody around him. Shanahan, Kiddell, Debo, I.U., Christian McCaffrey. Flex tape works momentarily. But if you have to use flex tape on your boat, it's time to get a new boat. that tape can't be the answer. And I feel like Shanahan is that flex tape.

He is the thing that makes everybody look way better than it is. And we would know instantly with any other coach, yeah, that guy doesn't work or that guy doesn't work. Yeah, that's not going to work. But we have a history in this league with brilliant offensive coaches taking average good, slightly below average backup quarterbacks and winning games and often convincingly. I mean, for a few hours, Gardner, Minshu looked like he was going to win a division. Like, what are we doing here? We know that's

not true. We know this is not an MVP talent. We know he's not the most talented person or the fourth on San Francisco's offense. And here was Brock Purdy after. It's easy to, you know, be riding the high and thinking you're the man when things

are going well, winning games and all that kind of stuff. And you don't really see a whole lot of adversity in some games and whatnot. And, you know, this is the reality of the NFL. I have to look myself in the mirror and ask myself why or how that happened and why I made those decisions. And so our team came ready to play. And, you know, for me to make some decisions like that, it pains me, you know, and it's not fair to these guys. So I have to

realize that and understand that. And I have to get better for my team. Cleveland, really good defense. Baltimore, really good defense. You're trailing. There's drops. You need a guy to save you. Brock Purdy's not a guy that can save you. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Cowards going in on Brock Purdy. I mean, nice, good, good. That's what a good quarterback looks like. When he faces Lamar Jackson and trails and has a couple picks, a good quarterback is devoured. A great quarterback. is not.

So that's the difference. That's what a good quarterback looks like when you're facing the best defense in the league. You fall behind. You make a couple picks. They need you to go, hey, put us in your shoulders. Josh Allen loses games, but Josh Allen is Superman losing games. There's a kryptonite sometimes to him. But when I watch Brock Purdy, I'm like, yeah, this is kind of what it can look like when things don't go his way.

So 15 games. He's been very good in most of them. Again, wasn't outstanding in Cleveland. did have a final drive that set him up for the game winner. I do wonder if it's an overreaction. Island game, everybody in their mom watching Christmas night, and Purdy vomits all over himself. Are we going a little too much this way off of one game?

Well, no, because I believe my context for all of Purdy was he's a good quarterback. I've seen Kirk Cousins have games like this, and Dak have games like this. They're all good quarterbacks. But when you start putting guys in the MVP, race. Now you're seeing their great players. MVP in the NBA is like Yokic. You're like, Yokic against Anthony Davis, a great

player. Hall of Fame. Anthony Davis disappears. That's what an MVP looks like. MVP is LeBron where you put him against Durant and you're like Durant disappears. Like if we're going to talk like Heisman MVP, come on now. It can't be all about coach,

system, weapons. It's got to be the guy. Like I watched Lamar last night. I'm like the NFC is one and 20 against him. That's fair. And by the way, when's the last time Baltimore was ever healthy? Ever? Well, I mean, the only thing if you want to play the game thing, Lamar's

had three meltdowns in the fourth quarter this year. Three losses earlier this year. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis. Remember the Pittsburgh one when he had two touchdowns dropped in the end zone? He did. I also remember the interception in the end. Like, you want to play the one game thing, I get it. I'm just saying,

I'll final wrap up. Can you win a can you win a Super Bowl this year with Brock Purdy? I watched last night. I don't think so. Okay. All right. Total disagreement, obviously. All right.

Let's move on. How about the Eagles yesterday, Calhurt? Man, they killed me. They dominate the Giants left and right. And then they somehow don't cover the spread because Jalen hurts with as bad of a pick six as I've seen. Eagles can't guard Darius Slayton over the top. I mean, they doubled up the Giants in first downs. Five trips to the red zone.

The Giants had just one. Colin, I just don't get it. Devontas Smith chimed in on the state of the offense after. 500 yards for Philly. 11 wins. We're not playing good football. As an offense, we're not what we want to be.

So, I mean, I'm not satisfied. Yeah, we've got 11 wins. I'm not happy. It needs to be better for what I want to do, what everybody else in here wants to do, what we want to be. We're nowhere near that. So, no, I'm not happy.

Yeah, Devante's really good. I love this team so much. They're going to finish 13 and 4. A massive drop-off from last year's 14. three. That says more about the garbage competition they're playing. I mean, the Giants are total trash.

Let's be real here, though. This is not remotely the same Eagles team that went to the Super Bowl last. Are you sure? I mean, Colin, what do you mean? Of course that's... 13 and 4 if they beat the Giants in Arizona. They don't just judge the wins and losses. Judge the process.

And they looked awful, despite 500 yards of offense and 28 first downs and blah, blah, blah. First of all, I didn't think they looked awful. Tyrod Taylor's probably the best backup in the league. The Giants actually, if you watch the Giants play, the Giants went on a little winning streak. Giants aren't the Jets. They can move the ball. They've got a great left tackle. They've got a starback.

They've got an offensive coach who just squeezes every little last bit of juice. I don't think the Giants, they're not good, but I think they have the right components. The Jets don't have a left tackle or an offensive coach. That alone makes me like the Giants more than the Jets. Oh, I think the Jets have way more time. It's weird how we saw both former Super Bowl teams yesterday. Island Games. They were kind of unwatchable yesterday.

Opening kickoff of the second half, two guys run into each other. What is that? Listen, Colin, I was stunned. I can't believe how bad they looked. You're giving them a pass. That's fine. I love this Philadelphia team. Okay.

The world, everybody's bailing on a team that's going to finish 13 and 4. Do you know they can still get the number one seed? They can. They can. Yeah. I mean, I don't live with that. defense that they can. But I mean, anyways, let's move on to the Jets, the team I used to root for. It's official, Woody Johnson gave an interview to the New York Post and said he's keeping Robert Sala and Joe Douglas.

He should. He said that before Sunday's game when they went up 21-0 and then nearly lost and they won it, blah, blah, blah. I don't have a, I don't think that's the primary issue. I think that I would bring, if I was the owner, I would bring both back. You're all in on this Aaron Rogers. Oh, yeah, fortunately, we're all in on Aaron Rogers. You got to go for it one more year. You can't bring Aaron in and just it doesn't work because he gets hurt and blow it up.

I mean, the Jets are impulsive. Stop being impulsive. Like Sala's defense is excellent. They play with passion. All we know. Wait, wait, wait, stop. Timeout, time out. What do you mean passion?

They play hard. Jacoby Brissette went up and down the field against him in the second half. Stop. They're not as good as you think. I'm just disappointing this team, but I said I wouldn't talk about Aaron Rogers. So I'll let you take it away. No, I'm not. It sounds like,

It's not official that Hackett's back, but it sounds like he's coming back. Yeah. Because Woody Johnson gave the official coach and GM are back. He didn't chime in on Hackett. I'll just say that. I would make a move. I don't think they will. This franchise sold their soul to Aaron, and you've got one more year to live it out.

Okay. Let's move on to the final story. And the NBA yesterday, Boston Celtics looked incredible. Yeah, they do. Porzingis. Man, Porzengis looks good. He had an awesome dunk back late in the game that was just, holy the hell. My guy, Jason Tatum, who's a top five player in the league. I will hear nothing otherwise.

Porzingis and Tatum, 53 points combined. Lakers have now lost six of eight since winning the in season tournament. AD was pretty good. 40 and 13. LeBron, nearly a triple double. There's a KP putback. That was just like, damn. Boston doesn't have a ton of bench help. Either does Denver. But Denver and Boston, I do not remember a year where I felt before the trade deadline, in December, I felt like, we have two teams that are now I do worry about Boston they have these weird moments with Tatum Jalen Brown late in games but when I watch Boston play and I watch Denver play their only vulnerability to me is the bench and I do worry about situationally the Celtics coach but it's a really good team they're starting five no no this is awesome the Nugget Celtic starting fives are

easily the best in the league and this this is the only vulnerability. Boston, I worry about the coach in close games. I think that's a real thing. Neither one has a great bench, but that's overstated because Denver's bench last year was 15th in the league and the best bench last year was the Pacers. NBA had kind of a quiet Christmas day because the NFL was hogging a lot. NFL had upsets galore. It's weird. We'll get to the suns later on, but I don't know. Lakers have lost six of eight, Colin. I know it's Christmas time. We don't want to talk about firing anybody or getting people shipped out of town. But Start and feel like something's probably going to go down with this team here in January.

This cannot keep up. LeBron will not stand there. Everybody loved all the D. Lowe and Jared Vanderbilt and Rui Hashemora, and they were nice band-aids after the Westbrook thing didn't work. But they're just band-aids, and band-aids eventually, you've got to peel them off. Like those were nice additives to get them through. They made a Westbrook deal. It didn't work, right?

So they add these players and they add some size and team guys. and it felt like, hey, this is better. It was better, but it didn't make them great. Rui and Jared Vanderbilt, they're not going to make you great. They made a bad situation last year better. When I watched the, and I try to watch a bit of every Laker game, they, more than any team, maybe except Indiana, took the playing tournament seriously.

They really cared. But most of the teams in the league didn't spend that much energy on it. So the Lakers win that, hang the band, and feel great. But this is a team that because of clever moves last year, solved a mess with Westbrook. That thing just didn't work. Westbrook and LeBron now don't even talk.

Like that thing was a mess. And they solved it with a Band-Aid. But Band-Aids come off. It's time to make another move and get more athletic, get better defensively on the wing. They're not a championship roster. The mentality for this team last year in the playoffs was we're locked in, we're going to the conference finals.

The in-season tournament, we're locked in, let's win this bad boy. Now it's just like December games. They come out. They're down 15 like in a heartbeat. Yeah. It's tough for these guys to get motivated when they know we can just turn it on. And the whole flip-the-switch idea. I don't know, Colin. Starting to get a little nervous for LeBron's Lakers.

J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Well, pro sports is a live television show. So you see the arguments on TV. you see the flaws and the mistakes on TV, and that's what you're seeing with the 9 and 6 Kansas City Chiefs.

Conflict, disagreements, coaches mad at the tight end. Kansas City is just a company. Many of you work at those that's working through its flaws live on television. An aging tight end, a two-young receiver group, an O-line struggling at tackle, higher expectations, Super Bowl or bust. It's all live every Sunday.

It's hard to be very, very good in this league consistently when you're bad at a certain position group. And the Chiefs are bad at wide receiver. But Colin, Joe Burrow, got to a Super Bowl with a bad old line. Yes, he didn't. Do you remember that season? They were 10 and 7 in the regular season. They beat the Raiders with an interim coach in the playoffs

in the wild card round, barely. and they beat Ryan Tannahill in the playoffs, barely. Remember that year? They had one great game. They got better and better and beat Kansas City and deserve love. But they were 10 and 7. This team feels like they're going to end up 10 and 7 with a lot of warts, a flawed team. But they're bad at wide receiver.

So last year, Travis Kelsey was a bandaid for some of their limitations at wide receiver. and this year he has not had a touchdown since week 11. He's aging, perhaps a bit distracted, but he can't pull him out of this thing. It's a live television show. I don't love them, but I still like them. But they're really bad at wide receiver. A lot of drops. I don't even understand what that trick play was.

Looks like sometimes the young guys are just not ready to play in big spots. But this is what they have. It's too late. They're past the trade deadline. They're a good team. They're not a great team. You can't be that bad at wide receiver and be a great team. That Bengals team was a good team.

Wasn't a great team. The Rams were a much better team. So I'm not selling all my stock, but a Patrick Mahomes with an aging tight end and offensive tackles, as Greg Kosell pointed out a couple of weeks ago, that he just doesn't trust. He does not look comfortable. Everybody is saying I'm watching these analysts say he doesn't see down the field. That's never been a problem. What he doesn't is trust his team.

tackles and trust as young receivers. And it's a live television show. And we're all seeing it. You and your company can go to a cubicle. You can have a meeting. You can go to lunch. You can have a company retreat. You can't do that in pro sports.

It's all live every Sunday on TV. And Kansas City's a good team working through some stuff. And here's Patrick Mahomes after. You see glimpses of us moving the football. You see glimpses of us scoring in the red zone. It's just we haven't consistently done it enough game in and game out. at this end of the season we kind of had one good game, one bad game,

one good game, one bad game. But we have to be more consistent because when you get to the playoffs, you have to string some together. I mean, I still believe that we can go do what we want to do. It's just how can we correct it as quickly as possible? That's it. They feel like a 10-and-7 team. They feel like that Bengals team,

where they're really, really bad in one spot and that team got to the Super Bowl. And I could argue the AFC was better than Day Bowl was still, I believe, in Buffalo with Josh Allen. Kansas City had all their weapons and Cincinnati still worked its way through. So, you know, every weekend, this is a situational league. I've been saying this all year, except for the Niners, it's a situational league.

And then yesterday we found out it's a situational league for the Niners too. You just have to watch the games. Anger, ticked off, flaws, warts. I think they'll figure it out and have a good shot to get to the A.A. F. championship. But if you're waiting for them to solve receiver, it's not going to be good. The Bengals couldn't solve that O line.

It wasn't that good. If you're waiting for the Chiefs to solve their offensive tackle issues, they're not going to solve them. They'll try to band-aid them and be as good as you can possibly be. But you're going to give up sacks and you're going to drop passes and going to make mistakes, and that's what Kansas City is. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only.

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. 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. 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 on 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 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 Sunday, the race for the NFL postseason is on. Fox as Matthew Stafford and the Rams continue their push for the playoffs against the Giants. The Cawks try to keep their hopes alive as they host the Steelers. Check for the game in your area only on Fox. That was the one guy. I went two, two, and one this weekend. The one game I missed on was the Steelers.

It's hard to put your money on Mason Rudolph, but he played great. And the Steelers pinned into a corner, a wounded animal, underdog coach Mike Tomlin. And J. Mack told you that was one of the picks of the week, and he nailed it. So I got to go back to Philadelphia briefly. This cracks me up. And I understand, like, recency bias. So the Eagles were 11 and 4, and they play Arizona, the Giants. They should go 13 and 4.

Last year, they went 14 and 3. Fans are too consumed with Philadelphia last year. They had a stack roster and had a conveyor belt of weak quarterbacks. They had a win over Davis Webb. I went over Davis Mills. They had a win over Cooper Rush and Carson Wentz and Matt Ryan was so old. An hour later, he became a broadcaster. They had lots of those.

They faced rookie Kenny Pickett. But they also had narrow wins over Arizona and the Colts and the Bears. But everything was lightning in a bottle last year. Everything fell into place. But if you go back to last year, didn't they lose to Andy Dalton and Taylor Heineke? And then they got to the playoffs. Brock Purdy got hurt in the first half, and then they beat Daniel Jones.

You guys are making it out to be the 75 Steelers last year. They got weak quarterbacks, struggled against many average teams, and got a break in the playoffs. And all anybody can remember is a shootout against the Kansas City Chiefs. This year's different. They faced a five-week gauntlet of DAC twice, Patrick Mahomes, the 49ers physicality, and Josh Allen. And in that, they went three and two. And they got kind of beat up and exposed. But they're probably going to finish 13 and 4.

What a massive drop-off from last year's 14 and 3. And last year, narrow winds over the bears and the awful colts and Arizona. They could still be the number one seed. They've got weapons. They've got experience. They have Jalen Hertz. they have an excellent offensive line. Yeah, they're a flawed team.

Two-star receivers, capable backs, capable tight ends, great old line. It's Philadelphia. They'll be ready to play. It's a division rivalry game. They won it. Gave up some big plays. It happens.

But it's remarkable. You guys, last year, you're making last year for them feel like they were Alabama six years ago. They had narrow wins over bad teams. They beat lots of bad quarterbacks. The schedule's been tougher. been closer games. Their gauntlet five-game stretch, they went three and two. I think they're in a great spot.

Nobody believes in them. That's the story of Philadelphia. That's Rocky. That's the Eagles. That's Nick Foles. The story of Philadelphia has always been. They're not great as favorites. They're not great when they're hype like the Sixers every year with MB.

They're great when nobody believes in them. And nobody does. And they're really good. Their constitution. Their intensity, their history. This is a perfect spot for Philadelphia. They're really good and nobody buys into them. Here's Nick Siriani after.

Yeah, shoot. Feels good, right? You know, obviously got some things to clean up, you know, but good energy to get back on the right side of things. Always better feeling correcting the tape after win than after a loss, that's for sure. And so, you know, we needed to get out of the funk that we were in. And sometimes that's just by getting a win. And I thought there was a lot of good things out there today.

Obviously, I'll have to watch it and have some more answers for you guys about that. But a lot of good things. That's what I saw. Now, J-Mack had those rose-colored Brock Pretty glasses on, and maybe he couldn't, his X-ray vision got clouded. But I saw a really good team that won a division game that did some great things that's flawed. the whole league is, even the Niners. The difference is the Niners are flawed at the most important position,

and the Eagles have Jalen Hertz. So I want to talk about Baker-Mayfield. Now, I know you think I don't like Baker-Mayfield. Always welcome on the show. Said before, I think he's a good guy, gets a little over his skis, chip on his shoulder. But Baker, and I've said this for several weeks, is the best quarterback in his division.

And what does that mean? Well, I looked at the standings today. Baker threw for 283 yards. blew out the Jags who were reeling, that's another day. But the best quarterback, I'll read this slowly, leads every division. Mahomes, Trevor Lawrence Tide, Lamar Jackson, Jalen Hertz, Jared Goff, Baker Mayfield. There's only two divisions. The best quarterback doesn't lead.

Josh Allen's in second place in a playoff team in the AFC East, and Matt Stafford is a playoff team in the NFC West. So the best quarterback in every division is either in first or tied for first or second place. And Baker Mayfield's the best quarterback in his division. And he's always been as good as his confidence and his cast. And both are strong right now. This is also a completely no pressure environment. In Cleveland, and in fairness, he created a lot of that pressure.

But in Cleveland, he was a number one pick. Cleveland never wins anything. so they had him out being the next LeBron. Like Cleveland, you know, was way over the top thinking he was a savior. Nobody's a savior. Even Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson and Patrick Mahomes need help. So, and he's not that kind of athlete. But he's always been good when he's got confidence.

He does. And like the Philadelphia Eagles, bakers at his best when nobody believes in him or nobody cares about him. And he can have a chip on his shoulder and carry the team in Cleveland. just wasn't going to work. He was trying to get on TV commercials every 15 minutes. He was a number one pick. It's a dysfunctional organization. I mean, Joe Flacco should be their future, not Deshaun Watson. As far as I can tell, they're still messed up. They thought they solved it again. They didn't. It's Cleveland. They never do. But this is a good spot for Baker when he's got confidence

in a cast. And I've said this for years. I covered Tampa years and years ago. Tampa's always got players. Tampa's always got talent. They have a good front office. They scout and devout. And well, Tampa's got dudes. They also have Dave Canales. It's his quarterback coach, right? That was Gino Smith last year. So they have a guy in the NFL now. They have found the coach, the quarterback whisper for him,

who's pretty good with reclamation projects. He was with Gino last year. He is with Baker this year. This is a dangerous team. I'm going to tell you something. Dallas goes to Tampa, a playoff round one. watch out. Baker's never good playing from behind. He's not good with a ton of pressure. He's not good sometimes dealing with the media. He can get petty and has to win the room and win the,

win the press conference. That's not his space. But, you know, like being part of a team that nobody believes in, being part of a division that doesn't have great quarterbacks, there's no pressure. They didn't draft him number one, didn't give up a ton, not paying him a ton. This is his space. This is the perfect space for Baker Mayfield to flourish. And believe it or not, I'm happy. It'll be fun. He's a good story. He's good content. Like I said, I'm not rooting for Aaron Rogers to get hurt. Aaron's fun. I think Aaron's much better playing than talking about playing. And I think Baker in this environment, just like in Oklahoma, had to transfer. Nobody believed him. Chip on his shoulder. This is the best Baker. He talked after.

I did ask for a win, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So he brought that for me. So that's great. But I got another one coming. There was two parts of the wish. So, yeah. Yeah, the best quarterback is going to probably win every division, except Josh Allen and Matt Stafford. And so if I said today to you, J. Mack, Derek Carr, Bryce Young.

I mean, seriously, you start looking at that division. Price Young, by the way, who played well, the best game of the season. Desmond Ritter or Baker Mayfield. Taylor Heineke. So Bucks host the Saints this week. You want to guess the line? Bucks host the Saints this week. Well, off that win, people will now start going a little crazy on Tampa.

They're a good team. They're not special. They'll be a little overvalued. My takeaway is the bet of the week is bet against Tampa. What is the line? It's Bucks minus three against the Saints. Listen, I was on the Saints earlier this season at home against the Bucks. Tampa smashed him in the second half.

The Bucks are not bad. I don't know if they can be feisty with Dallas, but Tampa Bay is not bad. I think you're onto something with this Dave Canales. I was just reading about him. He's going to get some looks in the offseason. I just want to correct one quick thing. Okay, one quick thing. Not a major correction, okay?

I'm not calling you out. But we need to stop saying, well, the Eagles won 13 games last year. Okay? Their point differential at 11 and 4 is plus 26. They're not beating teams. Last year it was one of the best in the league, well over 100. Dallas 10 and 5 plus 165. Colin, Dallas goes to Philly in the playoffs.

Who you got? Philly. Dallas goes on the road against... So Dallas crushed him in Dallas, and then in Philly, Dallas annihilated them in the fourth quarter, just could not get in the end zone. You asked me the question. I'm giving you the answer.

January football, Dallas and Philly. We'll go ahead to head there. Eagles are not a good football team right now, man. They're just not. And I'm not saying that because they didn't cover... Yeah, they didn't get a steady football. died of Davis Mills and Davis Webb like last year. Amazing. The game's got closer.

That's fair. Heard hierarchy 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, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

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

Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way

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

Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.