The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - College Football Playoff Semifinal Takeaways

Episode Date: January 2, 2024

In this hour of The Herd, Colin declares he's putting to rest the controversy over Michigan's sign-stealing scandal. The reason Michigan is winning—according to Colin—is because of head coach Jim Harbaugh. Also, Colin tips his cap to the well-coached Washington Huskies. Later, Colin cuts some slack to college football coaches like Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. College football is volatile and played by young, immature men. Finally, the risk and peril of drafting Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. first overall.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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of a magical night in college football live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be, and however you may be watching, listening, consuming. Thanks for making us part of your day one hour from now. One of our final herd hierarchies of the football season, top ten teams in the NFL. You know, a lot of complaining, J. Mack on the transfer portal and the NIL and the dying bulls. games. What a top five college football day in the history of my life.

Whoa. Wow. I mean, it was incredible. I was exhausted and I didn't play or coach. I was exhausted after those games. You were like sweating, right? You needed a shower after the games. Oh, it was so good. Let's start with Michigan 27 and Alabama 20. The most ridiculous controversy, the most overblown drama in college. football history, hopefully, can be put to rest. That the only reason Harbaugh and Michigan were winning because they were stealing signs from some low-level, irrelevant staffer

who on a shaky iPhone doing what the rest of college football fans do, iPhone taping, and then handing it to an assistant, although Harbaugh still says, ah, didn't hear about it, I didn't know about it. hopefully it puts it to rest because they didn't have that sign stealing against Penn State against Ohio State

and against Alabama that we know and they went three and O and pushed all three of them around late in the game for all the Harbaugh critics for years and years and years the other networks got a lot of them won't you feel a little silly this morning

he wins everywhere immediately physically, gets in your head. Small college, Pac-12, Super Bowls, Big Ten. Despite a special teams meltdown

by Michigan that I'm not sure anybody predicted or I've ever seen. I mean, they were a disaster in special teams. They still beat Alabama and were clearly superior in the trenches. And that's why they're such a tough matchup for everybody.

Listen, I hope. Hope Harbaugh stays in college. He's polarizing. He's dramatic. He's a disruptor. He's authentic. He's different. But most of all, he's just great.

And now the Big Ten is adding Washington and Oregon, S-C-U-C-L-A, and can go toe-to-toe with the SEC finally. Hell, it may be better. But Harbaugh always had a hole, and it's one that even his fans, and I'm one, had to acknowledge. Why was he so bad in bowl games? Was it his intensity? Did he wear out his team?

He was, like, bad in bowl games. Not last night. And beating the king, Nick Saban, and out coaching him, puts that to rest too. It was a bad three and a half hours for all the Harbaugh's critics. And it's been a bad year for him. This is a remarkable team that even with a special team's meltdown for the ages, beat the reigning dynasty. the team that beat Georgia. By the way, that final play call by Alabama,

what else are they going to do? They have a high school offense. They can't really throw the ball down the field. The receivers aren't nearly as good as they were several years ago. And Michigan and Harbaugh sniffed it out. Jim Harbaugh outcoach the king. I think Michigan is the best team in college football. They're favored against Washington.

It's a tough matchup for Washington because what Texas does poorly, Michigan does well. But instead of worrying about that, just for the moment, let's tip and raise a glass to Harbaugh, shall we? Even the haters. He now owns the Big Ten. He now owns Ohio State. He now owns the spotlight.

And in one week, he will own college football potentially. It was a magical night for college football. and an important night for Jim Harbaugh and one of the great traditions ever, the Michigan Wolverines. Here's the coach after. A lot of interest in your future. I wonder if you can tell me what the chances are

that the championship game might be your last one at Michigan. My future consists of a happy flight back to Ann Arbor, Michigan. Can't wait. There's nobody like him in college football. Don't have to like him. Absolutely have to respect him. He owns everything about the sport. The only thing missing in one week is a potential trophy. And let's talk Texas, Washington. So my favorite team as a kid growing up, go back to the early 70s, was the Washington Huskies. So I'll try to be as objective as I possibly can. But I bet them, I loved them as a kid, went to Husky Stadium again this year.

And outside of the last 90 seconds, the Huskies looked like the best coached college football team in all the land. They were brilliant. In fact, Washington is doing something that is really unheard of. And I mean, you have to go back like 70 years. They were 8 and 0 in one possession games. 12 straight wins in one possession games. Texas had more talent, more NFL bodies, more foreign players. five-star recruits, more size and strength.

And let's be honest, the best NIL collective in college football, they buy who they want. And yet, the best coach in that game, the best quarterback in that game, the best receiving group, and the best game plan, check, check, check, check, Washington. Texas was chasing the Huskies for three and a half hours, and they almost caught him. They almost caught him. But they never led, and if not for a muff punt, Washington. I thought was on the precipice of a blowout win. What the Huskies are doing is really going against history.

You don't get to this game by narrowly beating eight teams. You usually have six, seven, or eight blowout wins. You don't get to this game with the lowest number of four and five star recruits of the final six teams. How Michael Pennix is insane. smoothest, calmest, purest purest thrower of the football in the sport. In fact, you have to go back to maybe a Joe Burrow for anything like it.

Easy thrower, accurate thrower. His self-awareness in the pocket, I mean, I know this sounds hyperbolic, but it looks like an NFL veteran. It looks like Breeze or Brady. He always knows where the pass rush is coming from. He's got a lot of college starts. Let me throw a stat at you.

Penix, who's mostly a pocket passer. was sacked fewer times in his college career, 44, than the hyper-athletic Caleb Williams was sacked this year. Panics is just different, has an absolute understanding of what's around him, eyes in the back of his head, a sense for when danger's impending, the ability to move out of it.

He's more mobile than he lets on in years ago before the surgeries. He was a running quarterback, too, at Indiana. You saw Kalin DeBore allowed him to run last night, just like Ohio State did to C.J. Stroud, and Oregon did to Justin Herbert in his final game, and they're going to let Pennix run

against Michigan. It's their way to beat him. And those Husky receivers block, and they separate and they just never drop passes. Texas was favored. Texas should have been favored. But this kind of feels offensively like that 2019 LSU team. A brilliant

play caller, a brilliant, smooth, dead-eye college quarterback, and just too many good receivers for a college team to cover. I'm not sure if they beat Michigan. I think Michigan matches up against Washington much better than Texas did. Clearly, however, the Huskies were better than the Longhorns for three and a half hours. Michael Pennix, Jr., what can you say? You watched it. You watched it all season. Probably should have won the Heisman. I just don't. don't know how you stop this offense, and nobody stopped that LSU offense. And here's the coach after. He set the tone pretty quickly, and, I mean, just made all the throws all really month,

you know, was on another level as far as his mission, you know, to make sure that this happened. And, you know, I think, you know, you saw it all week in practice. there was just nothing he was going to let you know where to let slide by where we would leave a chant leave a doubt that you know we weren't going to find a way to win Michigan is favored over Washington Michigan should be favored over Washington

in the history of college football national champions look like Michigan six seven blowout wins not narrowly escaping due to a brilliant quarterback and a brilliant head coach and a superior receiving corps That's not the history of the sport. I'd probably take Washington and the points. Don't know if they win.

It'll be a wild game. But one more point. One of the words in my family I try to keep my kids away from is deserving. We don't deserve anything. You work for everything. Florida State thought they deserved to be in. They would have been gashed, humiliated, dominated by all these teams. college football now moves to a 12-team playoff.

So now the people complaining will be two and three lost teams, not undefeated ones in an inferior conference. But what made last night special, college football got out of the deserving business, whatever the heck that means, got into the good coach, good quarterback healthy, good roster, four best teams. Georgia maybe had the best argument.

But they lost their last game. What are you going to do? Timing matters in life and in everything. But deserving gave us blowouts the last 10 years. That was magical. All right, Jay Mack. People getting after Sark is Pennix now, the first or second pick in the draft.

By the way, you want to guess the Michigan-Washington line? It's moving one way here this morning. Well, if I was a line-setter, I'd go Michigan minus three and a half. Okay. Open four. It's now up to four and a half. Okay.

So the money's on Michigan. I will say this. We said this yesterday. Texas was a good match for Washington because what Texas struggles with, the secondary, Washington is the best team in the country at throwing the football. Michigan secondary is much better. They have a pass rush from the edges that is elite. they run the football and won't need to throw it as much as Texas.

So my takeaway is Michigan is a much better matchup against Washington, and the history of college football tells you, our national champion, generally has seven blowout wins throughout the season. Michigan has looked like the best team in the country, certainly an argument all year long. We thought it was Texas early, then they got into some close games, but Michigan looks like a college football national champion works. Now, the one thing Washington has an advantage of,

most of the time in college football if you get behind by 10 or 14 points in a game and I don't think Washington will fall behind Michigan by that but if you do get behind you can be in big trouble Washington is built to just throw the football for 25 straight plays remember how Michigan ran the ball in the second half against Penn State the whole half

Washington could not run the football and it would not be uncommon for them to have a better half they are built that if they play poorly they make mistakes Washington falls behind. They're built to throw it 30 times. Pennix was sacked 11 times all year.

So you don't get to him. And when you do, he's got this ability to sense it, move, agility, and deliver. I mean, does Washington, do their receivers ever drop a ball? No. It's got to be the most sure-handed receiving group I've ever seen them alive.

Three pros in that group. Possibly two first rounders. This is a big step up in class defensively. Yes. Michigan's elite, and I think, and I'm not comparing TCU last year to Washington. Washington's better. But TCU had that awesome fight day. Had a month to prepare for Michigan.

It looked great. A week to prepare for the Natty, and they get smashed. I'm not saying Michigan's going to destroy Washington. But Michigan should be favored, and Michigan is a much tougher matchup for Washington than Texas was. And Texas has, you know, we said yesterday, if Texas out plays Washington, their secondary is not good. So it was going to be a tough game for Michigan in regard. Right. Texas did not want Washington coming down the field with three minutes left. They were best served. They had the ball going against Washington's defense.

I don't think Texas led all game, didn't they? They were playing catchup, and that's not what you want against Pennix. Yeah. A lot more today. Don't forget 45 minutes from now where Colin was wrong, where Colin was right, plenty of both. 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. Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week

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and chasing. Listen to this league uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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. 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack 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. 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. from black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back. Heard hierarchy, 50 minutes. Not sure why I said Colin Wright, Colin, Colin. I'm so giddy today. My favorite team as a kid is in the national championship. I try not to be a fan, but I'm a little giddy. And I like Texas.

So I want to talk about this because the knock on Sark, I know Steve, I've known him a while, I like Sark a lot. The knock on him, he's not a good game coach, in-game coach. So first of all, he got his team to the playoffs. His offense worked in the NFL. He was coordinator of the year when he was at Alabama. Alabama's offense hasn't been the same since he left. He can coach.

My knock on Sark, and I think his critics aren't wrong, is that sometimes his teams don't feel totally buttoned up. A little loose, too many penalties, turnovers, wasted opportunities. That's fair. I've said the same thing. But let me just offer this. Let me just throw this out there. Do you think Jim Harbaugh is a good coach?

Michigan's special teams, which he helps coaching, were a disaster for three hours. Do you think Sabin's a good coach? His offensive line was inept. The play calling late. I mean, didn't everybody in the world know what Bama was going to do in overtime? time? Do you think Kaelin DeBore is a good coach?

The Huskies almost gave that game away with insane mistakes on special teams. My point is these are 19, 20, and 21 year old young men with lots of testosterone. They get tight, they get hyper, they get confused, the game's going a thousand miles an hour. It's the biggest game in their lives.

Young men make mistakes. They matured more slowly than girls, I know I've got six total kids in my family. And some of these kids get rattled. These young men, they're hard to coach. But Sark has a Mack Brown feel. He can handle Michigan. He's not in, he can handle Texas. He's not engulfed by Texas.

I've seen Texas coaches my entire life just get engulfed by the program, the donors, the money, the spectacle, the pressure. Mac Brown never did. And Sark doesn't. He loses games. He never loses the locker room. He never loses the program. Listen, everybody that's faced Kalin DeBoer in the last two years, he makes everybody look like a bad coach.

Dan Lannning at Oregon is a spectacularly capable young coach. He's 0 and 3 against Kalin DeBore. And two of the three games, Duck fans won his head on a platter. think he blew the game. That's why Sabin got so many coaches fired in his prime in the SEC. And why Harbaugh's got Ryan Day, who beats everybody but Georgia and Michigan, he's got Ryan Day feeling heat.

Great coaches make other really good coaches, and Sark's a really good coach. They make them look loose, not quite buttoned up. Washington is spectacularly coached. Eight and O in one score games. Twelve straight, one score wins. Now, the final four plays for Texas? You guys would bang on Andy Reed, Sean Payton, Sean McVan, Kyle Shanahan.

We bang on coaches for play calling. Sark talked about those final plays. It's a tricky situation in that you're out of timeouts, and so we have to be very careful that we don't completely. complete a ball short of the goal line or pretty much the game's going to end at that point. So when you're forced to throw it into the end zone each time, it makes it difficult, especially when they're defending the end zone. So we were just trying to create some matchups with some different route combinations

to create some one-on-ones and to give our playmakers a chance to make a play. And we just weren't quite able to do it. That's exactly what they did. It's exactly what I would have done. They didn't have a lot of time. They had to put it in the air. And a couple of great plays by Husky defensive backs sealed the Washington win. Play calling, not quite buttoned up, wasted opportunities.

Harba's special teams last night were inept. Bama's offensive line quarterback play late was inept. And Washington almost handed Texas a win, and they're brilliantly coached. This stuff's not easy. Sark feels big enough. Sark feels big enough for Texas. Like a young Mac Brown. The team's not there yet,

but they're good, and they're not going anywhere. And they continue to dominate Texas recruiting. Their NIL's great. They've got players everywhere. Bring him back top quarterbacks. He's fine. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no.

Is the herd line news. Washington's last 90 seconds, I'm like, my God, they're going to hand it to Texas. I did think Quinn Ewers was pretty tremendous. It looked like he got a concussion on that one hit where his head went down hard. Yeah. Arch Manning got his helmet. I thought he played well. I mean, Quinn, I don't know why Quinn Ewers isn't coming out in the draft. I think he's a first round pick. He's no, he's no, he's no, he's no, he's no, he's no, he's no, he's got a, he's got a J. Cutler arm. Like,

nope, like, like there's other things you don't have to like about him. I was texting a GM last night, but he reminds me of Cutler where when he wants to let it loose, cut it loose, It's like, oh, no, no, he's got a big boy NFL arm. At Pennock's Borough thing, I had the same compares. I like the throws he was making last night. I mean, sideline throws literally, like Eli Manning to Mario Manningham, like in a little bread basket, like you can't throw it any other way. In stride, too.

In stride, yeah. Guys covered and it's little tiny windows to throw it in, and it lands perfectly seven, eight, nine times in a row. Do you feel like a come down from football? Like, we were watching so much football the last few days, right? It's just like, what do we have today? Well, you and I both, you're texting me during the game. So you and I love college football.

I think every football fan was watching last night, Sunday, Saturday. I believe by next year, college football will go up another 10 to 15% in ratings. And I think you'll make a case that it's the number two sport in the country behind the NFL. I think it's on the rise. I don't think the NBA is on the rise. I think baseball sort of plateaued. It depends what metric you want to use, you know, like, but yeah, college football. I mean, 12-team playoffs is going to be awesome.

Let's go to the NFL. Less awesome, Colin, are the Philadelphia Eagles. Lost four or five. They're not going to get the number two seed. That's almost certainly going to Dallas. To make matters worse, AJ Brown, very upset. He has been held out of the end zone completely in December. Not great as the team struggles.

Here's what Nick Siriani had to say when asked if Brown is frustrated. I don't want to speak for him, but, you know, obviously we're all frustrated. you know, we're all frustrated right now, especially, you know, coming off that loss yesterday. And so, you know, you want to be able to have fun. You want to be able to do all these things and, you know, that football brings. But sometimes it's hard to have fun and hard to find the enjoyment when you're in a rut like we are. It's weird because Brown's numbers this season in one fewer game are way up over last year. He's got 17 more catches, more targets.

The yards are about the same. But during this losing streak, they haven't been able to find it. That's a problem. Yeah. And the other thing is, when you lose games, players sort of sometimes can get very individual. You know, what about me? If Philadelphia was winning these games, nobody's talking about it. Last year, if you remember, it was very brief.

But I think A.J. Brown had been upset on the sidelines once last year. I had talked about it on social media and on the air. There's a little – he's – he's – he, he, he, he, he, he, needs to get fed. He wants to eat. He's not the first wide receiver to act like that. Yeah. But I think if they were winning, this is heightened because they're losing and he's not getting into the end zone.

And I think you can create special packages to get him the ball more. But his value, he is a tough matchup because of his strength. Deep ball stuff has been taken away. He was just streaking downfield last year. Some of this is what Mahomes dealt with where people were like, okay, we're just not going to give you

deep stuff to Tyree Kill. We're just not going to give it to you. A lot of teams have looked at Philly and said, we're just not going to give you A.J. Brown over the top. So some of that is teams adjusting. Now, Devonta Smith got banged up this past week. I don't know if he's going to go this week. I mean, probably hold him out for the playoff game. So

Philly, they got time to get right, Colin, but I don't think they're losing in Tampa in the first round, do you? I think it's competitive. I think it's competitive. I think they'd win, but I think it's, I mean, it's in Tampa. Because they could end up being in the wild card. Yeah, Tampa wins in their favor over Carolina.

I watched Washington and Taylor Heineke. give Tom Brady trouble. Remember what he had to go. Taylor Heineke, I think, was at home in that one. Yeah, you're right, you're right. Baker at home is better than Taylor Heineke. Baker at home last week was total garbage. Well, he was last week.

He's inconsistent. But Baker at home against the defense that can't defend the back end. Interesting. Okay. All right. I think it's interesting. I'm going to add this. Josina Anderson, NFL reporter, put out the cryptic tweet.

Oh, well, a lot. Other than the obvious in the NFC East, there could be, there's one coach kind of in trouble. Okay, so if it's not Ron Rivera, Colin, is it Siriani, McCarthy, or Dayball? And a lot of people were, you know, suggesting to me on social that it's Siriani. And I'm like, guys, come on.

My, Philadelphia is a pressure cooker. Philadelphia has shown it. It went to the Super Bowl last year. Yes, Doug Peterson won a Super Bowl. He was a disaster at the end, like tanking that week 18 game, and the fans got on his case. They're in the playoffs. This is a little bit of a disaster.

You think Siriani could be in trouble. I think Philadelphia has incredibly high standards in a history of moving off, drama, or trouble. They do not wait for it to bottom out. That's not what the Eagles do. If they see a dip, they move on. Chip Kelly went 10 and 6, 10 and 6. I think he got a raw deal, you know?

He went 10 and 6 and 10 and 6 with B and C-level quarterbacks. By the third year, the rumors were he's done after this year. Doug Peterson's Super Bowl, little drama out. Philadelphia is different. They're not the league. They move off winning coaches. They moved off Nick Foll. I'm on record.

This would be a mistake. You lose both coordinators. I mean, you could lose Kelsey in the middle. You could lose Lane Johnson. Like, this is a massive overreaction. I think the guy's McCarthy to watch in Dallas. That's just me. All right, next up, speaking of coaches in trouble,

Bill Belichick's future in New England may just be one game left. They play the Jets this weekend and in an appearance on the Greg. Hill show. Belichick gave further insight into his plans after the season. You know, if I was going to do anything, I'd put it out there on, you know, Twitter and in my face so everybody could see it. But I don't do that, then I'll just keep it private. Whatever success I have had, I've tried to go about my job the same way every week, win, lose, you know, good years, bad years, whatever they are on a week-to-week basis. I mean, I don't want to spend time or get caught up in what happened five years ago or what's going to happen two years from now or, you know,

I mean, a bunch of all that random stuff. So just working on the jet. Yeah, I'm committed to the team that I'm coaching right now. The players that are here, they deserve my best every day, and that's what I'm going to give them. He's still a great defensive mind and structurally understands how to do foundational things for winning football. But his inability to remove himself from the draft is his undoing. They just do not have enough special players.

And Bill has taken too much control over the organization on draft week. and he's paid a price. Go look at their last seven drafts. There's almost no special offensive players. That's on Bill. Last year, two kickers, three guards. Come on, give me a break. So his undoing, it's a little Greg Popovich.

You get the money, you start talking about the fine wine you drink and your politics, and it's like, hey, these coaching jobs are all working class. They pay well, but it's about being one of the people. You've got to walk into that locker room and relate to the troubled kid. the great player, the average player, you don't get a locker room full of people you want, which Bill had voiced years ago to Urban Meyer. I think what his undoing is he could not remove himself,

be very careful about wanting ultimate power. He had it, and his drafts are undoing his coaching. They just don't have enough good players. I think it was at the end with Texas. Who was the coach at the, where they were struggling, and they're like, is Texas back? And I think it was Mac Brown. He kept looking for wide receivers.

Like, there were quarterbacks that were good in Texas, and he wanted to make them wide receivers. RG3, Johnny Manza. Remember that? He missed on a lot of quarterbacks. I wonder if there's a Belichick Mac Brown connects. Just at the end, guys just not seeing the ball. Well, I think it's Greg Popovich.

Will not embrace, at least he didn't until this year, the three-point shot. It's like, bra, the culture's change. Get over it. Like, you just have to embrace new stuff. And I think when you give older men power leverage money, they start thinking they have all the answers. Money can do that to people. And in the end, Popovich is like, I'm going to do it this way only.

And Belichick's like, I'm going to do it this way only. You as a coach or a GM have to sacrifice, just like the last guy in the roster does. It's about sports is about commitment and sacrificing for others. If Harbaugh says no to the Chargers, I think they should pass on Belichick. I don't know. I see, that's not the answer.

Final story, the Bears will have a big decision coming this offseason with their quarterback, Justin Fields. Do they draft Caleb Williams? I don't know. Is Michael Penning's in the discussion, Calhurt? But after Fields' performance against the Falcons, listen, man, another dub, the Bears are looking good. Fans and teammates, we heard DJ Moore talk about wanting to keep JF1. Can I call him that? Justin Fields, I don't know.

In Chicago, fans serenated. their quarterback with the we want field chint at the end of the game. It's a little bit much. I think what do you say? Fan is short for Fanatic. I think once people step away after the season. On this heater where they've won four of five, it's their defense in that stretch has been the number one scoring defense.

They're playing bad quarterbacks mostly, and he's completing 59% of his throws with a 77 passer rating. So, you know, the last five games, everybody's like, who, four touchdowns three picks, with a number one receiver, number one tight end, and a better than average O-line. So, I mean, again, we all have recency bias. I would move into Atlanta. By the way, if I was Justin Fields, and I got to play indoors and not that snow fest,

and I got Pitts and Drake London, that O-line and those running backs. He may get a new coach. And an offensive coach. I'm just saying, you could say, oh, poor Justin Fields. If you told me as a kid who grew up in Georgia, I can go play for the Falcons indoors in that wonky division. that's a pretty good second gig. By the way, how about NFC North quarterback uncertainty next year?

You got golf locked in. You and I have discussed Jordan Love. I know they like him, but there's going to be a contract issue this offseason. It's going to come up, the money. And then you've got the Vikings. We don't know what's going to happen on Kirk Cousins. By the way, Kirk Cousins went into this year without a new deal, popped as Achilles, and is now ticked off.

There's total certainty. It's going to be Caleb Williams. Is it? We don't know that. I'll bet you enough. steak dinner. I think you owe me like free steak dinner. It's going to be Caleb Williams, Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins, and Jordan Love, an opening day.

Lock it up, Internet people. You know everybody watches and clips off stuff and throws it in our face a year later. No, that's what it's going to be. I'm not saying it's going to be that the whole season. But week one. Week one, it's going to be Goff, Cousins, Caleb Williams, and Jordan Love. Jordan Love won the job. He's been more than capable.

Those young receivers, Jordan Love, that's not their issue. Their issue is their defense is a suit. All right, listen, I know new information, things happen. I will say two of those. I'll say one and a half are good to go. Goff for sure. And I think Love will be the guy if he gets his new contract. You got paid Jordan Love?

You think William Bay is just going to let him walk? No, no. Okay, I'm the GM of the Packers. He's under contract next year. You're Jordan Love's agent. I'm the GM of the Packers. Okay, fine, fine, let's do it. Go ahead.

Hey, how are you? Jordan Love. You know, he got that new deal last year, one plus one. Yeah. It was a prove it deal. And guess what? Jordan Love proved it. So we would like to rip up the final year of his deal.

He's not playing for $12 million when he's a top 12 quarterback in the league. So just let's talk turkey. What kind of numbers are we looking after the new contract? He's under contract for the year. Why don't you call me at Thanksgiving? We'll start working on the extension. Okay, we will hold out and then we'll call you at Thanksgiving and discuss the extent. I'm not playing for 12.

I'm not putting my guy at Jeopardy for $12 million next season when Daniel Jones is making 40 and Caller Murray is making 40. Thank you for giving me the heads up. I'll draft Bo Nix and start him. Enjoyed Bo Nix. Good luck with that. We'll see you shortly. And you'll pass on 12 and make zero.

And good luck in a market when the five teams that need quarterbacks all found one. Okay. Well, hey, listen, you asked me to prove it. I showed you everything I got. I had us on the cusp of the playoffs if your defense could get their act together. Cust of the playoffs. The youngest wide receiver room in the league. Yeah, yeah.

We could win the Super Bowl next year with me. Good luck with Bo Nix. You have amnesia about October? J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd

Weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, 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 Clivered Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need. to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with 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 a here. unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. 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. All right, welcome back. So Matt Linerd, as we watched huge ratings last night, Michael Penix put on a display. And it's very interesting. So Matt Linerd had a tweet. It says Michael Pennix, Jr. making a case to be the top pick in the draft, question mark, as pure a thrower as I've seen. So I have talked to three NFL execs in the last three weeks on Michael Penix. All of them say he is the best pure thrower of the football since Joe Burrell. And all three said they'd be terrified to draft him at the top of the draft. I think he's too good to pass on. I think it's high risk, high reward. If you look at the top 15 teams in the draft,

Outside of Arizona with Kyler Murray, the Chargers with Justin Herbert, and the Jets with Aaron, and a massive need at left tackle. They are a disaster. Worst left tackle in football. Outside of that, 12 of 15 teams could draft Pennix. I mean, Minnesota's got Kirk Cousins. You think he's going to be there in two, three years? Derek Carr, you can get out of that contract in New Orleans in a year. I could make an argument.

Now, is Caleb Williams going to get drafted number one? yes, because he's even more athletic than Michael Penix with no serious injury history. So he's a better prospect. You have to consider the injuries. I've talked to three different general managers. All of them are like, yeah, I'd be terrified to draft him. There is something that's interesting. So at Indiana, he ran around a lot.

Then he had multiple injuries. now he's a pocket guy. But you saw last night, Kalen DeBoer knowing, okay, he's got two games left, now one, CJ Stroud, Georgia, Justin Herbert, Oregon. You saw Washington let him run last night, and they're going to let him run against Michigan.

And it's going to be tantalizing. He will not look as good against Michigan, my guess is, as he did against that really mediocre Texas secondary. But if you look around the NFL right now, Caleb's going one. You go to that top 15 board. Now, does he have a great coach? Yes.

Do they have a great O.C., great receivers? Yes, yes, yes. A great left tackle. Yes, I'm not denying that. But size, poise, arm, accuracy. You can certainly make arguments that he is number two. I will say this. We know all the quarterbacks won't work.

But I don't remember a draft class with a Caleb, a Michael Pennix, a Jaden Daniels, a Derrick. Rick May, you forget, Bo Knicks yesterday through four, five touchdowns. I'd keep your eye on the Denver Broncos at 14 and Bo Nicks at Oregon. I would keep your eye on that. He is Drew Brees with mobility. Super hyper accurate, a lot of college starts. I just think Pennix is too good.

I think you've got to take a swing on it. He talked about last night after the game. If I would say that, I had to get hurt four times for me. to get to this point. You know, that's not something that I would have thought of, but, man, I feel like it was all worth it, man. I feel like everything that I've been through

is definitely worth it and shape me into the person, the player and the man I am today. So I would take a swing. I'll give you an example. So I watch these mock drafts, the New York Giants. So the New York Giants have a great left tackle. This draft is really good to the left tackles. They have a good rush.

at the top of this draft, there's good rush ends. Now, they could certainly use a wide receiver, but would it be the craziest thing in the world to draft Michael Penix? And let's see him play against Daniel Jones. Daniel Jones, Tyrod Taylor, Michael Pennix, all had injuries who throws the best ball. I don't think it's close, and I like Tyrod Taylor. So the Giants at five, because you know, Caleb's going one.

You can go to your Reddit board and argue that. He's going to go number one. Unless something crazy happens. I think the commanders, patriots, giants, I think you have to consider penics. I think you have to consider him. Titans, Will Levis, got to consider him. Jets are so bad at left tackle,

and there's two great left tackles. I would not draft a quarterback for the Jets, because it doesn't matter who the quarterback is. Aaron Rogers cannot last 17 games. with that situation at left tackle. He can't. You have to protect your investment with Aaron Rogers. You have to get a left tackle. And they're not going to be gone at that point.

I'd even move up if I had you to get a left tackle if you're scared. But there's, you know, your takeaway on this, I don't want to overreact, and I'll say it again, Caleb won. But what you're watching here, and contextualize it, they have a great offensive coach, a great coordinator, great receivers. but it does look. It's got a, it does have a little Joe Burrow feel to it. Like it's just calm, self-awareness, movement, accuracy, deep ball. I mean, it's, everything looks easy, right? Everything.

So we're seeing Patrick Mahomes with no great wide receivers, even really good ones kind of struggle a little. Right, right. We saw Joe Burrow in college with great wide receivers. Joe Burrow in the NFL, great wide receivers. How much of this is, Penix's receivers are tremendous versus Penix, who was a good quarterback at Indiana and was good at Washington

and has now made the jump to superstar with awesome receivers. Well, he's a very good throwover of the football. So regardless of his win-loss record, because I don't think that's the, I don't think NFL, I think NFL people look at traits, and they just say, that looks like Burrell. That's a left-handed Burrow. It's just, it's beautiful.

It's a beautiful ball. Weird accuracy. By the way, Burl had great receivers. Burl had a great protection. Burrow had a great play caller. I mean, if you look at what Burrow had, no, that LSU team is better than Washington personnel-wise. But you know who they say Romanunze's comp is? Jim R. Chase.

That's his comp. Well, let me ask. How many superstar left-handed quarterbacks have there been in the league in the last, I don't know, 30 years? Again, I'm not being critical. Steve Young, pretty good. Steve Young, pretty good. That's one. Mark Brunel, very good.

Mark Brunel, okay. Two is pretty good. Very good. Look at three good left-ed-ed-comber. Boomer Ossison won an MVP. Okay. I think that's going back 40 years. But that's four guys.

I think there is a weird old-school stigma. Well, there's not that many left-handed people. I think they don't pick quarterbacks who are lefty because of the way the pockets shift and protection and left tackles versus right tackle. I like Pennix a lot. 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, 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 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 and 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 Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.