The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Cowboys, Jackson, Lakers

Episode Date: October 13, 2022

Why Cowboys QB Dak Prescott is trying to force his way back It's time for people to admit they were wrong about Lamar Jackson and look at what the data is showing The Lakers are already dealing with drama   Guest: Jordan PalmerSee 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of 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. 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, my basketball and college football journey, or my career

in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliver Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Thursday live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be, however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, 1 hour from now. Whether you play fantasy football, bet on football, want to get smarter in football, Greg CoSell, our NFL meat sandwich, one hour from now, breaking down what you will see, and what you have seen.

Jay Mack is joining me. He's got some great video coming up on Russell Westbrook, who remains the most enigmatic player in the NBA. I can't wrap my arms around him. Harden Simmons, Kyrie Westbrook, the unexplainable, a lot of mystery around their personalities. How are you, Jay Mack?

I'm excellent. You know, Greg Coe sells a video guy. Maybe we have him break down the Russell Westbrook situation with the Lakers last night. Pre-season, and the guy's creating drawliving. It's crazy. Not ideal. So, Dak Prescott wants to play.

And he wants to play now. And the Cowboys keep saying, slow down. We're going to play Cooper Rush. And let history be your guide. So why would Dak be nervous? He's popular. He's talented. He's made Pro Bowls.

Don't worry about with Cooper Rush. That is ridiculous. Or is it? Let's go back to the beginning. of Dak's career. Didn't he replace the injured Tony Romo? Nobody thought Dak was as talented as Tony Romo. Tony Romo had made four Pro Bowls.

Tony Romo was a naturally gifted thrower. Tony Romo at the time had the third highest passer rating of all time. I'll slow it down for you. All time. But Tony Romo got hurt again. and fourth round DAC was inserted. Dak was more mechanical than Tony Romo.

Cooper Rush is more mechanical than Dak. The Cowboys suddenly really leaned into the run game to support Dak. The Cowboys are really leaning into the run game to support Cooper Rush. And Jerry Jones immediately had a great fondness for both Dak then and Cooper Rush now. Let history be your guide. Nobody thought Dak was as good as Tony Romo. Dak got off to a great start.

Cooper Rush is off to a great start. This is what Dak sees. Dax's not stupid. He sees it. What if Cooper Rush goes to Philly and wins? Many believe that's the best team in the league. Folks, you don't have a quarter of a quarter of, controversy until you have a quarterback controversy.

Tony Romo, wildly popular. Commercials everywhere. Tony Romo was talented. Made twice as many Pro Bowls that Dak has, much more natural thrower than Dak. Tony Romo was in the middle of a huge contract. And then Tony Romo got hurt again. The questions about Tony Romo, can he win the big game? He was two and four in the playoffs.

Are the same questions about Dak. Can he win the big game? He's one and three in the playoffs. One thing we know about Jerry, Jerry loves a good story that makes him look smart, especially that makes him look football smart. He loved that Tony Romo was undrafted. He loved that Dak Prescott went in the fourth round. He loves at Cooper Rush.

Nobody else saw him undrafted. The Cowboys did. Jerry did. Jerry knows football. Jerry loves the football. stories. And DAC sees all of this. And I know what you're saying. Now it's way different. No, it's not. Let's go look at Tony Romo's career stats and DACs today. They are identical. Identical. Win percentage, completion percentage, yards per attempt, passer rating, identical.

And DAC has played behind a much better offensive line on average than Tony Romo. Tony Romo, 10th highest passer rating to this day in the NFL. Tony Romo double the pro bowls. Tony could have still played. He was hurt again, getting hurt more often. That sounds familiar. Dak wants to get back. And Dak wants to get back fast.

You don't think there's any similarities. We, me, everybody. Not going to get rid of Tony Romo for that guy. guy for Mississippi State. You got shows all over the country, opinion shows now, filled with cowboy opinionists. They're all talking about how good Cooper rush is. I don't think Dak sees any of it.

That's why Dak wants back now, and Mike McCarthy, as coach yesterday, said, we're taking it slow. You've got to trust the medical process. I mean, this is a 17-game season. That was my immediate response. I know Dak didn't want to hear it, but, you know, It's, you know, we've got to make sure that he's right for the long haul, too. So not that I'm saying we're being conservative because, I mean, it doesn't really line up with

him in the way he approaches, you know, preparing for the play. But yeah, this really is following the medical timeline and he's doing all the things you can possibly do and more to get ready. Let history be your guide. Dack knows how he entered this league. he can feel it, he can see it, he's heard again. And this unknown guy, a little bit more mechanical, team leaning into the run game, the owners smitten with him.

Wasn't that long ago. Cooper Rush wins against Philadelphia. Wait until you hear what people say then. That's why Dak wants back. All right, we in the media have to have more discretion than you, the fans. Fan is short for Fanatic. Fans love all their prospects. Fans think every draft pick is going to be great.

And of the seven to eight players you drafted, two will be busts, two will get hurt, two will underachieve, one will be great, and a two will be good enough. You think they're all going to crush. Nobody ever looks at their draft and goes, we didn't nail it. So when Lamar Jackson came out for Baltimore, of course they thought he was going to be great. They thought Kyle Bowler was going to be great. They thought Joe Flacco was going to be great.

So Raven fans always like to say to anybody that didn't love Lamar Jackson initially, you used to criticize him. Everybody did his first year. He completed 58% of his throws. He couldn't win coming from behind. Of course I had my questions. I had my questions coming out, but it's okay to be wrong. What it's not okay to be is stubborn.

That's not okay, ever. So another number came out yesterday. NFL statistics released this. the best pass-for rating against the Blitz this year? How interesting. Lamar Jackson, number one in the NFL. Okay, Colin, but he can't throw it from the pocket. No, he's now tied for the NFL lead with 10 touchdown passes from the, quote, middle of the pocket.

Well, he's not that, you know, throwing the ball. He completes 64% of his passes this year and 64% of his passes in his career. And Baltimore spends less money on receivers. than almost any team in the league. Your eyes are wrong. My data is right. It is okay to be wrong. These are all prospects.

Most don't hit. Even NFL general managers will tell you by the fourth pick, it's a finger cross. You really don't know. But to be stubborn on Lamar, that's not good. Three things are big for quarterbacks, winning. 54 starts, he's 40 and 14. Production. 96 touchdowns, 36 picks. Won't even mention his legs there.

Talent. His passer ratings, 98. He is absolutely, absolutely in the discussion of a top 10 quarterback. Stylistically, doesn't look like any we've had in a long time. But skepticism early on Lamar Jackson was healthy. You don't want to be a fan boy in a pom-pom waiver? His first year in the league, he completed 58% of his throws. He won immediately, but it wasn't pretty. and he didn't play very well from behind.

But now we're getting data that shows. I mean, again, end of last year, data. This year now, more data. Best quarterback in the league against the Blitz. I said this a couple nights ago. You can see his self-awareness when he runs now. He's looking to slide. He didn't two years ago.

It is okay to be wrong. Fans think all their draft picks are going to be great. Fans think all their prospects are going to be great. aren't. But now if you're still doubting Lamar, you're just stubborn. Media fans, dude can play. Dude's a winner. Dudes talented. Dudes productive. Fifty four NFL games. 40 wins, 14 losses. There is no disputing that. And this past week, we saw him out duel Joe Burrow, who got to the Super Bowl, took the bingles on his shoulders. We saw him out dual Joe Burrow. It's now what he does, almost every Sunday. All right, good stuff today.

cannot wait. I'm interested on your take and people's thoughts on that Westbrook video. I find him just impossible to understand. I just don't get it. There's certain athletes, I just don't get it. They're very popular. They've curried favor with you the fans. I do not get Westbrook.

I don't get Simmons. I don't get Kyrie. Harden, I get. He's just, you know, he's his own dude. But some interesting video around the corner. Live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's

superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble, stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

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

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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 Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at a podcast.

I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what we're. went down and tried 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. Then you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people who, Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough

because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns, Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that's two different levels of trust

I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. You're now entering the No Bull Zone, sponsored by credible great rates. None of the Bull. Really, really well-run successful championship-level teams usually start with very good ownership. And then all the way down the line, the GM, the coach, just a lot of smart people. The Warriors are the smartest NBA culture right now. A lot of smart people.

Had a crisis this week. They handled it privately. They said all the right things publicly. Nobody's mad at the Warriors. They're mad at Draymon. So the Rams similarly. OBJ came out this week tweeting, I wanted to be a ram. lowballed me. Little crisis on their hands. But the well smartly owned warriors, the smartly

owned Rams, smartly managed warriors, smartly coached warriors, smartly managed Rams, smartly managed coach Rams. Here's how they handled O'Dell Beckham calling them out, coached Sean McVeigh. I love O'Dell. We have constant dialogue. I think he also knows that certainly I don't think that's the last one that would come from us. I'm not familiar exactly what it is. He knows how we feel about him. We got a little bit of time, but love Odell. Nothing but good things coming from me. Placate the public, know what to say. It's harder than you think. Washington can't even get talking about their quarterback right. Ron Rivera had to apologize and take it back after he talked about Carson Wentz. You think it's easy, but that's a poorly owned franchise. More

on that later. But OBJ right now at this point is basically the Airbnb of receivers. You don't want to own him, nothing long term, but it is a nice, it is a nice house. I'd like to stand it briefly. And that's what he is. He's a rent-a-wide receiver. I heard a lot of this last year. Oh, boy, OBJ saved the Rams.

Well, the Rams kind of saved OBJ. He only caught 50% of his targets in Cleveland. his career had been reduced to his dad putting out YouTube videos to bake Baker Mayfield. Drops, toxicity, couldn't get along. I'm not blaming him for it, but this idea that he saved the Rams, I thought he was very good and very productive, but he got hurt before half. They won the Super Bowl. The bottom line is if Alan Robinson wasn't what appears to be an inefficient player,

I'm not saying bust, but they paid a lot of money for him, and they don't even design plays for him. If Alan Robinson right now was what we thought he would be, they wouldn't be interested in O'Dell Beckham. He's 30. When he comes off the injury, he has many, he can't really depend on him physically. He needs a lot of attention.

He is talented, but again, he's 30 coming off knee surgeries. So my takeaway on O'Dell Beckham, this week we saw this implosion, this crisis with the Warriors. The coach comes out really smart, knows how to handle it. This could be a potential crisis with OBJ getting lowball. The coach comes out really smart, puts a little bit of a wet blanket on the fire that's emerging. And Draymond and the Warriors, he'll be playing tomorrow night and OBJ and the Rams. They still call him.

He still takes their call. This stuff, you think it's easy. But a lot of people can't even get the podium right in sports. And it's often like the Washington Commanders starts at the top. J-Mack with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, let's start with the great game this weekend in the NFL.

Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, obviously going to do battle in Kansas City. Rematch of that great AFC playoff game last year. Quite the shootout. Both quarterbacks have expressed their mutual results. respect for each other as they prepare to face off again. Josh is a great guy. I mean, he's a great quarterback. Physically talented, can throw, can run, can really do it all.

But he's a great dude too. And so obviously when we're on the football field, we were competing against each other and we want to beat each other's teams. But I have a ton of respect for him and the player and person that he is. As a football fan myself, you know, when I'm watching games, you know, I love watching him play. You know, he's a fantastic player. He can do everything you want.

His teammates love him. I know he's got a good grasp in the locker room over there and how he carries himself, the things that he does off the field for his charity. He's a special football player and a special guy. Everybody loves everybody, Colin. The stars like each of them. These are the two best quarterbacks in the league right now. Two best teams?

No, I think they're the two best quarterbacks. Okay. Yeah. I mean, you can't keep selling me Aaron Rogers. And you can't. Like, I'm over that. You can't keep selling me that over and over and over. Mahomes now is the greatest come from behind quarterback ever,

and Allen's as physically gifted as any quarterback in my life. Much bigger than Aaron, stronger than Aaron, more mobile than Aaron. These are the two best quarterbacks in the league. And when they meet, shock, it's a firework show. So, I mean, if you're still telling me, and this is not a knock on anybody else, including Brady, but those are the two best quarterbacks in the league. If you're an owner, and I say, Colin, you have the first pick you can build your team

around either of these quarterbacks who you take in Mahomes or Allen. Well, at this point, Mahomes has shown the ability to consistently win from behind and consistently win really close games. Just because Josh did it a couple weeks ago doesn't mean he does it well. The bills struggle in close games. And the margins in this league, it's not the Big 12. The margins are thin. And when you get to the postseason, it's two and three and four point games.

So Mahomes at this point has shown the greatest ability in league history to come from behind, and he's also shown the ability more consistently to win close games. Physically, I think Josh Allen physically is more impressive. Arms, size, running. He's very much Cam plus Ben plus, you know. I doubted both of these guys coming out of college. Obviously, Allen at Wyoming, but like Mahomes was paying in the Big 12. It was like Arena League defenses.

And now they're at the top of the NFL. Pretty cool to watch these guys ascend to the top of the mountain. Yeah. Next up, Colin, Bailey Zappy got the Patriots a win in his first career start. I just like saying that Zappi. We might need sound effects for every time to say his name. You know, he played a place of Mack Jones, who's recovering from that high ankle sprain. This is a little odd.

Bill Belichick didn't shut down the idea that Zappi could keep the starting job when Mack Jones is healthy. Does how Bailey played against Alliance last week, pretty clean game overall, change the timetable for bringing Mac back, maybe afforded a little more lenience on the back end of bringing back back? Totally independent. No. Doesn't have anything to do with it. Is Mac the starter when he's ready to go?

See where he is that? I don't know. Is it just caginess? Well, again, it's the perception is Mac is better than Bailey's Appie. And I would say he probably is. but what happens if Bailey Zappi goes in a three-game winning streak, and like Sunday, they're all blowouts, he's highly efficient. Again, you don't think there's a quarterback controversy until there's a quarterback

controversy. What happens of Cooper Rush? Yeah. 17 of 23, two touchdowns, no picks, ball control. It's funny. So this is the new Cooper Rush, Dak. Yeah, no, I mean, I didn't, I think Dak's better than Cooper Rush, but I thought Tony Romo was better than Dak.

You don't have a quarterback controversy until you look up and your owner's feeding into it. Yes, Mac Jones should be better than Bailey Zappy, but Bailey Zappi's college numbers, he absolutely for Western Kentucky was a machine. They're about the same size. Bailey Zappy, to me, moves a little bit better. The bottom line in this league, win Sunday. And don't get hurt a lot. What if Mac Jones comes back two weeks later he's hurt again?

And Bailey Zappi comes back again and wins four more games. Bottom line, you lose your job if you don't win. You don't lose your job if you replace a quarterback. You don't lose your job for that. You lose it if you don't win games. And I think Max better than Bailey Zappy, but Bailey Zappy, I've watched him now in two games, can play. If somebody was in a coma for two months and just woke up and turned on this show and heard you saying Bailey Zappy over and over them, what the hell's going on? Mac Jones was, we've got the Patriots to the playoffs last year.

It's very comical. All right. Let's get to the headline story here, Colin. This, I know you love this. All right. So the Lakers last night are playing the Timberwolves in the preseason. And if you're watching at home, here's Russell Westbrook, another bad foul on Big King. of Jaden McDaniels and Ann won.

So Patrick Beverly calls the team over to huddle up. Here we go. Anthony Davis is in, LeBron's in, and Russell Westbrook just doesn't want to come into the huddle. Just wants to stay on the sideline. Beverly literally goes over and says, come on over, and he's like, no thanks. Colin?

There's also one in the pregame warm-ups where the whole team goes in, put your hand up, you know. And he will not join the team. It's like, what are we doing? I know Lakers fans, it's only preseason. And there's a lot of Russell Westbrook truthers. No, this guy averaged a triple double three years ago, Colin.

We got to have him. Here he is. Look at him. He won't make... He won't make eye contact with teammates. I thought he was best friends with Patrick Beverly two weeks ago, right? Darwin Ham. He's been great.

He will not make eye contact with teammates. He sold his home, or he's trying to. He changed his agent. Yeah. I mean, what it... The Westbrook guys in this... What do you want us to think? I watched the body language, house for sale, changing his agents, multiple times the Lakers have dropped hints.

So I do not buy, I do not buy he will be around at the All Star break. I mean, what do you want us to believe as consumers watching this? You know, he could say everything he wants, but at his heart, Russell Westbrook knows that LeBron does not want him there anymore. He knows that, and he can't just be a good soldier, get in the huddle, yeah, let's go, guys. He just can't do that. It's like Kyrie Irving. He cannot help himself, Colin. He can act like, oh, I want to be here.

I'm with the Nets. Steve Nash, Kevin Durant. And then he gets in front of a microphone and says, total nonsense. And you're like, oh, my gosh, he's blowing up the team. So, I don't know, Lakers going into the season. You're not really buying this team. No, first of all, if you look at the West,

I'm not being negative here. Denver, Jamal Murray's back will be better. Porter as well, Michael Porter. Okay, so they'll be better. Dallas should be. Their players are young getting better. Golden State now has three young players who are emerging like star potential players. They'll be better. Clippers get Kauai back. They'll be better.

The Pelicans and the Memphis Grizzlies are ascending young teams. Minnesota Timberwolves. Minnesota Timberwolves went and spent a fortune. They'll be better. I'm at seven. Phoenix may not be better, but they're better than the Lakers today. Yes. So that's eight. That puts the Lakers. if everything goes okay with Westbrook, there's no toxic fallout at 8.

This is just not a great team. And you can already feel the toxic. Oh, you can see the video. Listen, the video is telling you all you need to know. This is what we're seeing out. What's it like behind the scenes? This is what the cameras are showing you. He can't even hide his disdain for what's going on.

And by the way, Lakers open on Tuesday with the Warriors, and then they play the Clippers on Thursday. I will be in attendance at that game. Colin, wait till the Lakers start 0 and 2. And the media is like, well, you guys can't beat the top teams in the West and Russell Westbrook. Have you noticed what the NBA has done? So the NBA, LeBron is still a television needle mover. So what the NBA has done, and they do this all the time, nobody watches the NBA in October, November until Christmas.

Nobody watches it. And they know that. Football, heart of the football season. So the NBA schedules the bigger marquee regular season games. for February, March, and April. That's what they do. So the Lakers' early season schedule with LeBron is all the dregs of society, all the dregs of the NBA. So if the Lakers don't get out to like a 10 and 2 start, an 11 and 3 start, watch out.

Because they have backweighted, and they do this with the Warriors, they do this often with LeBron James. They backweight the schedule, the NBA does, because when we start once football season ends in February, then you want Lakers Warriors, Lakers, Dallas, Lakers. clippers, Lakers Celtics, that's when you want the big games. So if the Lakers do not get off to a big start, like 11 and 2, watch out because the back of the schedule, this is an old Laker team that our guess, what you and I would guess would be some injuries later, right? So the beginning of the season, they'll be their healthiest, they play the weakest teams. That's why my takeaway is on Westbrook, you can't go into a season without being an issue. It's hovering over the cloud.

You have got to pick up a lot of wins early. The first month and a half Lakers schedule is a lot of Ws if you show up and you're healthy. I don't think we talked about this last week, but Polinka got an extension. Notice how he locked that in before this potential disaster erupts for the Lakers, Colin. All right, J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd-Ly News.

You know, we were talking about this yesterday. tonight two defensive coaches, Ron Rivera, Matt Iberfluse, Bears Washington play, it'll be a stinker. It's a great Saturday of college football. A lot of undefeated teams play. It is the best college football weekend since like last year's playoff weekend. It is a great weekend of huge matchups. One of them being Michigan hosting Penn State.

I like Michigan to win. I like him to cover. It is amazing. I went on the internet last night. How many people are doubting Jim, Harbaugh. And, you know, the knock on Harbaugh, and this is such a, it's such a dumb argument. Well, he never won a national title. Folks, in the last 10 years, Ed Orgeron and Jimbo Fisher have won national titles. You don't think Harbaugh is a better coach. He got a team to a Super Bowl.

That can't be the measuring stick of greatness. Nick Foles won a Super Bowl. Josh Allen can't get there. Is Nick Foles better than Josh Allen? I think if you took Nick Sabin out of college, football, there's an argument Harbaugh. Hardball is the second best coach. By the way, he took five wins to 10 first year at Michigan. It took Kirby Smart two years to win at Georgia. And Georgia is in a state with 130 minimum Division 1 football players. Harbaugh has to leave the state to get great players. Kirby Smart has to take his car around the corner to get a recruiting class. So Michigan, is his fourth head coaching job. He's won in all of them.

Three of four, he won the very first year. I think he's a great coach. People just, again, stubborn. Lamar Jackson's overrated, stubborn. Harbaugh can't coach. If you take out the COVID season, he averages 10 wins a year. He just beat Ohio State. He's the reigning Big Ten champ.

He's coming off a playoff appearance. And I think this is potentially by the end of the year, his fastest, best football team. Doubt him all you want, but I like Michigan to win this weekend, and I like him to win because I think Harbaugh is a better coach than James Franklin, and I think James Franklin is fine. But if you're still holding on to that dumb guy argument is he's never won a nattie, Texas A&M today, if they could, would replace Jim Bo Fisher with Jim Harbaugh. Ed Orgeron got fired twice.

I love Ed Orgeron. One of the nicest guys ever. but his record in college football without Joe Burrow is under 500, and that's at LSU and some USC. So it is, everybody is like, oh, keep your eye on Penn State. How about we keep our eye on Michigan and Harbaugh? This is their best team yet, and they're going to win this weekend.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. What do you get when you combine a three-time manager of the year, at a three-time national sports writer of the year. It's the Book of Joe podcast. Hey, this is Tom Verducci from Fox Sports, MLB Network and Sports Illustrated. And I'm Joe Madden, and we're going to be around

to talk a little bit about managerial decisions, playoff games, and what may have occurred in the dugout, maybe in the 1980s. I can't wait for this, Joe. We're going to dive into what goes on in the dugout and behind the scenes in Major League Baseball.

Cars, whine, whatever else we want to talk about. Listen to the Book of Joe podcast on the IHeart Radio app, on 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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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 Clivert 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 all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough

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

to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free Our Heart Radio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Well, he's the founder of the quarterback summit. He's worked with Patrick Mahomes, Deshawn Watson, Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, Trevor Lawrence. We love to bring him on, Jordan Palmer, quarterback consultant joining us. So Cooper Rush is thriving. Bailey is thriving.

Andy Dalton, what do you make of backups thriving? What do you make of it? well we're seeing the importance of having a good one we saw it a few years ago when jubrize got hurt and teddy bridgewater went in and went five and o in new orleans to help them hold on to the seed i think they were number one seat at the time but i think this conversation and and i i've never met bailey zappi i've never met cooper rush i don't train them uh never been around them big fan of what they're doing particularly cooper but i think it's actually less about those two guys and it's more about calling this hopper of young quarterback talent is full And when you're Bailey Zappy from Western Kentucky or Cooper Rush from Central Michigan, and you've been passed over in the recruiting period, but you had to kind of ball out to get your chance in college. And then you go to a school and nobody cares about football at Central Michigan or at Western Kentucky. Well, then you've got to make them relevant, right? And you've got to win. And so by time they get to the league, it really comes down to one thing.

As long as the lights aren't too bright. And as long as Cooper Rush and something you talk about a lot can handle the star on the helmet and whatever. means to be a Cowboys quarterback. Then if they can pass that threshold, these are guys that have proven that they can manufacture offense. They can find completions. They can take care of the football. And so I think we're going to continue to see more good young backups come in and surprise us.

So Mahomes, to me, Mahomes and Allen are the two best young quarterback, two best quarterbacks in the game. And a lot of times, you know, it's like basketball. You come into the league. You're a star, Anthony Edwards, Minnesota. People figure out what you can do and can't. They try to stop the can. And then do you have a second gear?

Well, Holmes has established himself as an all-time talent. I would imagine now it's details, it's nuance. What is he doing now without Tyreek Hill? What is he doing now that you see that is the dimension that is now added to his game as everybody plays chess with him and tries to take stuff away? Well, it's the evolution of him becoming a distributor of the football. Colin, when I was younger, I don't follow the NBA today, but when I was little, Alan Iverson was my favorite player.

My brother Carson and I, Christmas rode around. We wanted the AIs, right? And when you're little and you don't know basketball and you don't understand the game, you fall in love with somebody who can cross somebody over and hit fadeaway jumpers and who's little and all that and he could score. And, you know, I've seen him go for 50, right? And so Patrick coming into the league, he's an MVP, he goes to a Super Bowl, he wins a Super Bowl, and he makes these no-look passes and these unbelievable play. And so we've gotten used and numb to some extent of these incredible plays.

But what we're seeing right now is him transition from being an Alan Iverson-type score to a Steve Nash-type distributor. And just look at the last game when Travis Kelsey had four touchdowns the other day, he had a one-yard touchdown, he had a two-yard touchdown, he had a four-yard touchdown. Right. He had an eight-yard touchdown. I mean, what great point guards do, great passers, great distributors of the basketball, they pass the ball to somebody on their team who has an uncontested high-percented shot.

Right. That's what the Spurs did forever, right? amount of layups that Tim Duncan made over the 29 years he played in San Antonio, right? And I think what we're seeing with Pat and the evolution of the offense and Kelsey and the pieces around him, juju is going to be a bigger piece as the season goes on, is people who understand the game and they can manufacture high percentage uncontested, meaning not contested catches. And we're seeing the evolution of that, but he's still going to make three to five plays a game where you go, oh my God, how to do you do that?

Now, where does Josh Allen's game go from here? I have concerns that, like Camman, and Big Ben, it looks great now. And then in about four years after all those shots, he's not the same player, right? Like, you've worked with him. Where does he go from here? Well, anytime you get a quarterback who likes to run and honestly likes contact,

I think it comes down to maturity more than a skill set. Look, the first two years in Josh's career in the NFL, the amount of times he rolled right and tried to make a play, he threw a lot of incredible balls that were crazy plays. He threw a lot of picks. But the amount of times that he got pushed out of bounds and landed full speed on his right shoulder, and it was a conversation, right, as any coaching staff would have with their quarterback. We haven't seen that.

He's not careless with his body like he is. He's going to take shots, for sure. But he's not nearly taking the shots that he was taking a few years ago. And why? Because he's coming a more mature runner. He sees the whole picture. He sees the Super Bowl. And, you know, last year at the end of the season, I think it was a four or five week run

where Josh Allen didn't get touched in the pocket. Right? Now, part of that's O-Line play. Part of that's play calling getting rid of it. But I've just seen a maturation with Josh. I don't know that he's gotten faster. I don't know that he's gotten quicker. What we're seen is more effective runs and less ineffective runs also end with a collision.

And the evolution of his game, that's where I see it as a runner, a smarter runner who's making, getting the yardage that's needed when it's needed, but not carelessly throwing his body away around, like he did when he was 21. So I have a discussion every week on a podcast with Joe Burrow. And we talk about this the last couple of weeks, how it's the Mahomes thing, where the league has now said, okay, he beats us over the top. We're going to take that away.

And, you know, he threw a pick last week against Baltimore, not a great pick. Where is he at right now? How does he get that thing moving? Because that offense feels a little uneven in Cincinnati now. Yeah, I was thrown for a loop. I mean, for Baltimore to come out and play nothing but zone coverage, and I've watched it, I watched it live like you, and then I've watched the coaches tape and spend a couple hours to go through the game.

But I think a couple of things, this is still a young nucleus of talent. And I know last year was meteoric success at the end of the year going to a Super Bowl. And there was a couple of games that, you know, first Baltimore, I think he threw for 900 and something yards in two games. But this is still a young nucleus of talent. talent that's still learning how to attack different coverages. So moving forward, the next time that they play against a team who switches their game plan and goes from Manda zone and tries different things, they're going to have this Baltimore game to draw on. And that's what a young nucleus doesn't have that a nucleus like Kansas City does have, where Pat's been working with

that coordinator for a few years now. He's had, he's played a lot more games with Travis Kelsey than Joe has with Jamar Chase at the NFL level or T. Higgins at the NFL level. And so it's still early with this young nucleus of talent. And on top of that, you know, Joe's, you talk to Joe, and I mean, he's not an excuse guy. He never has been, never will be. And most of these, the top guys aren't. But when you have your appendix taken out and they cut you up and they sew you back together, some things take a second. And so he might look great and play at a high level. But all of these, any of these injuries take a little while. And I just think we're seeing Cincinnati kind of start the way they did last year. And we saw Tom Brady and New England kind of

start like this a lot, right, where they were one in three or two and two and then got hot. So I see Cincinnati connecting these pieces back together. Joe's best ball is ahead of him very soon. And these guys are going to be in it at the end. There's just no way. I don't care who else they lose to in the next month. They're just going to be in it at the end. So there's a, really, it's the best college football weekend I can remember in, you get one of these maybe a year, maybe two. So one of the interesting games is Tennessee is hosting Bama. Now, Bama's won that game. I don't even know how many years straight, 10, 12 straight years. But Tennessee, I watched Tennessee last week, and they have got a guy at quarterback who is

all that, Hooker, Hennon Hooker. So do you know him? Have you seen him? What do you see? What do you like? Because to me, the way to beat Bama, you know this, Jordan, has been great quarterback play. The Johnny Mansell's, you know, that level of quarterback where it kind of takes the game over. what do I know about this kid for the volunteers? Well, the other way to beat Bama is don't turn it over. Don't give them a short field. Don't let them win the field management side of things. This guy doesn't turn it over.

Colin, he turns 25 here, I think, this week or next week. In fact, when he plays Georgia in two weeks, both quarterbacks will be 25, him and Stetson. So that COVID year changed everything in terms of the average age per college quarterback. So the maturity is there. I mean, you said it for Tennessee fans who have unrealistic expectations for since I've been paying attention to college football, right? I mean, ever since T. Martin went there, they think they should win the title every year.

But this is the first time, and it's at Tennessee, this is the first time where Tennessee fans are showing up to this game thinking they should win. Yeah. Right? They're not celebrating a seven-point spread. They're sitting here going, Bryce Young's coming off of a shoulder injury. We don't really, obviously, we're not going to really know the state of his shoulder leading up to this game. but they feel like with Bryce Young, they can win. And so this environment, I think, is going to be one of the most hostile environments we've seen in college football. It won't show up on the TV copy, you know, you won't be able to feel it.

But this stadium holds 110, but I don't think they've, since Nick Saban's been at Bama, I don't think they've had 110,000 people in there that feel like they're the better team and should win. And with this quarterback who doesn't turn it over, these wide outs who can stretch the field, and this defense who's full of SEC players who can get after the quarterback, I actually like Tennessee in this matchup, and I think we're going to see the emergence of Hendon Hooker start to get into the conversation of being one of the top picks in this upcoming draft.

By the way, before the season, I said, I think USC is going to be like 8 and 4, 9, and 3, and you said, Caleb Williams is going to solve a lot of problems. Boy, he is something. Is he not? You were right. Yeah, and have you spent any time with him? I've heard he's incredibly mature, bright kid.

He's off the charts. I mean, he's the next Mahomes in this. And there's a chance. chance that at the end of this year, this college football season, that we have a couple of quarterbacks, Will Levis, Bryce Young, C.J. Strout, we have a couple of quarterbacks selected at the top of this draft, maybe one, two, and three, like two years ago, right? There's also a really good chance that we have that happen, and the general consensus is that the best young player is actually not in this draft. And it's SC and it's PAC 12, so we're not going to see him against the

competition. He won't get that respected this year because of the strength of schedule until if they remain undefeated until they're in the playoffs. And so I just think this is, you know, in a time where we have a lot of bright young stars, it's not just his physical ability. It's the maturity. If you look at Mahomes, Mahomes didn't deal with being an NFL franchise quarterback until a second year in the league. This kid was the MVP of the elite 11. He was the number one recruit in the country. He came off the bench in a historic Red River shootout game. Last year was a true freshman unseeding Spencer Rattler, whoever had us, the number one pick in the mock drafts and the He's been took him out. Then he goes to SC.

So he's just, he's been through and experienced a lot of what NFL franchise quarterback's experience and he's experienced at a young age. And he's undefeated at it at handling that. And so with him and the guidance and leadership of Lincoln Riley and the brand that is SC and the brand that SC is about to become again, this guy's poised to have a lot of success, whatever comes his way. All right. 20, 30 seconds here. Kyle Allen and you are doing something called The Room. What is it? Well, I just think the most fascinating conversation in sports is around the quarterback position. Every show is built around it. I've trained Kyle since he was 16 and he plays for the Houston, Texans, and we're bringing on the biggest, you know, the biggest guests every week. And we're just inviting people into that conversation.

We've had Josh Allen, Trevor Lawrence, Kenny Pickett. We've got a lot of the biggest names schedule for the rest of the season in college and pro. We're inviting people into that quarterback conversation. So good to see you. Jordan Palmer. He told me, he said just watch Caleb Williams. He's going to solve a lot of issues. And he has. Jordan is great to see you as always. Awesome. Thanks Colin. You bet. The Room with Kyle Allen. No, I said that going into the season. Caleb Williams would be the number one pick this next draft. And I'm crazy. 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 headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics

from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tantons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a little. here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it, with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.