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

Episode Date: October 18, 2021

The Cowboys are winning despite mistakes made by Mike McCarthyBaker Mayfield and the Browns were embarrassed by the CardinalsLamar Jackson keeps doing what is asked of himGuest: Jimmy Johnson Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, 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. It 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. 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, 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 Clifers Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio. Or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Oh, here we go on a Monday full of energy. Don't even need Red Bull. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, Joy Taylor, looks like she runs a company this morning. Do not mess with Joy Taylor. She is bulldozing her way to the top. Look at that. I came with things to say today.

We both did. Great to see you. Not a great weekend for the Dodgers. We'll maybe get to that later tomorrow. Hey, we don't win all the games here. Just the important ones. It's great to have you in. So one of the marks,

one of the marks of a really good team is, you win, you win in the road, and you don't look that great. For the first time, I think, in 10 years, I can say the Dallas Cowboys went on the road against an elite operation and won a football game and they weren't terribly buttoned up.

Twelve penalties on the road, terrible on the third down on the road, two red zone turnovers on the road, and Dallas won. Ten years. I went back, I thought, teams struggle at home to win when you give the ball and points up twice, 12 penalties.

My only question with Dallas now, everything's been answered. My only question is, playoff games tend to be close. Can this team with Mike McCarthy as a head coach win a close playoff game over, by the way, Sean McVeigh or, you know, like Kyler Murray, Pete Carroll, you know, there's some pretty good coaches here. Mike McCarthy was not good in math. He and clock management are not allies. He is now a major liability.

I went back this morning and the staff found an article from 2017, four years ago in Green Bay. And they were asking the same questions about Mike McCarthy, end of the half, end of the game clock management. Folks, it's one thing if we all make mistakes. but when you make the same mistakes over and over and over, those aren't mistakes. They're deficiencies.

If you're clumsy socially, and that's really your drawback 10 times in 10 years, maybe you're just not good socially. Marry somebody who is. Like, this is an issue here. He mangles the clock. He's 0 for 3 on challenges. He is bad situationally. By the way, what does he do?

Kellyn Moore and Dack clearly run the offense. That's that's Dack and Kellynne Moore. Stephen Jones, give him credit here, runs personnel. Did a great job last couple years. Dan Quinn runs the defense. Bones runs a special teams. So I'm asking you, what's Mike do? What's he do?

Every head coach in this league has a specialty. Mike Tomlin, defense, personnel, and motivation. There's a reason they hit on so many great lineback. Mike Tomlin's got his eye on that film. Sean McVeigh, Offensive Wizardry, Kyle Shanahan, Andy Reed play design, Sean Payton play calling. Like John Harbaugh was a special team's legend. Every coach has a thing.

What's Mike McCarthy's thing? Because I don't get it and I don't see it. And this is what's concerning. And I say this a lot. When you change jobs, it is not just what you bring to the table. The place you left, how are they doing? It's why for years I have defended Jim Harbaught, Michigan.

Stanford football is not quite as good. 49ers when he left were a mess. He left and there was a wake. So since Mike McCarthy has left Aaron Rogers, I went and looked it up this morning. Aaron Rogers is 31 and 7. with back-to-back trips to the NFC championship. So Aaron Rogers is now winning 82% of his games.

The previous three years when Aaron was with Mike McCarthy, they were 21 and 22. Oh, that's a problem. So when I watched Dallas last night, yes, they had a little bit of a leak on the back end of their defense. Yes, they had 12 penalties. Yes, they had turnovers. they won on the road.

When's the last time in 10 years? You put those ingredients down and that cake ends up unedible for the previous 10 years. Dak Prescott, by the way, just keeps getting better. Boy, is he a great example of be patient? Eight different targets. I mean, Dak is just throwing, he threw a corner ball last night. Dak is just getting better, I swear to God, with every start. I don't, you know, I may worry about McCarthy.

Here's DAC after. I don't worry about DAC. We know we're for real. We believe we're for real. I don't think we're necessarily out here trying to send a message to anybody more so than we're showing it to ourselves and just holding each other accountable to our standards and our expectations. And all together, coaches down to the players, we have high expectations on a standard that we live by, practice by, and play by. And that's all it's about is coming out here every day and proving that to one another. Fans love blowout wins.

But when you can go on the road, penalties, turnovers. and you win, those are the ones you feel great about. McCarthy, that would scare me. All right, the other game that needs to be discussed to start our show is the Arizona Cardinals going to Cleveland and destroying Baker Mayfield and the Browns. And I try to be fair and stuff, but I said this, Joy was witnessing this, I said this two weeks ago. I said the next eight weeks will determine Baker Mayfield's future,

because he's going to not play just quarterbacks, but contemporaries. He's going to face Justin Herbert and Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson and Mack Jones, young quarterbacks. And the GM's going to sit upstairs and watch them side by side and go, that guy's going to get $35 million. What do I pay my guy? So now this year, Cleveland, with the second best roster in the NFL, I don't want to hear about injuries, okay?

That's called the NFL. They are 0 for 3 against the best quarterbacks they faced and the best team. Couldn't beat Herbert, couldn't beat Mahomes, couldn't beat Kyler Murray. And if you watched that game yesterday, the gap between Kyler Murray's talent and Baker Mayfields is enormous. It's not even close. So I don't want to hear about injuries. Let's start with that. Well, the offensive lines banged up.

Oh, so you only have three elite offensive linemen, not five like every other quarterback. Well, well, I mean, we were missing Nick Chub. Oh, so you only had one running back who was excellent going into the game. That's called the league. I don't want to hear about injuries. Lamar Jackson, the Ravens have the most players in the league on the injury list. They blew out the chargers. Kyler Murray didn't have his head coach.

They went on the road, blew out Cleveland. Derek Carr didn't have his head coach. He just got fired slash resigned, whatever you want to call Grun's ouster. They're on the road, divisional rivals. Derek Carr was brilliant. Derek Carr was unbelievable. yesterday. I want to hear about excuses. We say this all the time. Being a quarterback in the NFL is not about comfort. Jared Goff is great when he's comfortable. The NFL is about discomfort.

We always said about Lamar Jackson. Can he come from behind? I know he's going to lead a bunch of games. But to win a Super Bowl, he got to prove you can out, you can play from behind. Oh, now Lamar can. Baker Mayfield's wonderful with a lead and the number one rated O line and two great running backs. And oh, now Jarvis Landry's out. Yeah, like, because nobody ever has all their components at wide receiver. And yet you're missing a tackle or two and a running back. And yeah, that's called the National Football League. Can you play from behind?

Can you play on a bad shoulder? Can you play without your top running back? So Baker's fine when the world is comfortable. You don't get the bag. You don't get 40 large. I mean, look at Dak Prescott, who we just discussed. I mean, he had the deal with Zeke's holdout. The anthem controversy.

a meddling owner, an old offensive line falling apart, the erosion at one point for two years of Zeeke. I mean, he's had so many things, not to mention Dallas Cowboy quarterback. There's 30 interview requests a day. It's a hard job. And DAC just gets better and better and better and more dependable. I'm telling you right now, if you're, I've been saying this. This is not about me being right. I've always said it's about getting it right.

Baker's a franchise quarterback. But you can all admit now, right? It all has to be perfect. The lead. Everybody's healthy. Once you put him against contemporaries, his age, couple injuries, he's average. He's not a number one pick.

Here's Baker defending himself and taking a shot at the league after. You could ask anybody in our building, have we played to our potential? Absolutely not. And so, yeah, I can speak as that, you know, from a leadership standpoint. We expect to be better. That's plain and simple. And that's what we're going to have to do. We're going to have to come out with a sense of urgency. You know, we're not panicking by any means.

We're three and three. That's not what we wanted to be right now. But, you know, with the pure genius of the NFL, we have 11 more games instead of 10 now. So we have 11 more games to go show who we are. Got to take a shot at the league. Got to be the funny guy. Got to be the snarky guy. Baker, if you take away that Hail Mary, which we all acknowledge is pure luck,

that game could have easily been 37 to 7. I don't want to hear about we're not playing our best. You were destroyed at home. Can't pay destroyed at home against the head coach who wasn't there for the team that crushed you. All right, good stuff. Lamar Jackson continues to amaze me. I find a kid just unbelievable. By the way, something happened in the league yesterday.

I don't remember the last time it happened. And don't forget 50 minutes from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, and there is plenty of both Jimmy Johnson this hour as well. 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashed. reaching human potential. Either way, the podcast, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care 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

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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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so 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. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

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Wolf and Shepherd, the Dress Shoe, made and worn by athletes, Gronk, Steve Nash, crossover, business on top, athletic soul on the bottom, totally comfortable. Go to wolf and shepherd.com. So Lamar Jackson, I like the Ravens this weekend, even on a short week. The offensive line yesterday for Baltimore really controlled the weakness of the chargers, which can be their interior of their defensive front. It's okay and it got pushed around. Lamar was really good, though it wasn't his best game.

But what I like about Lamar Jackson, and you don't see this with all players. Every year, he checks a box. And Joy and I talk when he first came into the league, we're like, he needs to get bigger. He's just too skinny. And the next year he came out, and he's about 20 pounds heavier. And then we said, he's got to take fewer big hits. And now he gets hit less. And we said, he's got to be better throwing the ball up the sideline. Then we said, he's got to be better playing from behind. Check, check, check, check, check. 35th win yesterday, and he's only 24. It's official. He can be. He can be better. He can be whatever you want him to be. In the pocket, he is just fine, better than many, maybe not as good

as your classic Aaron Rogers, who is. But he is clearly incredibly coachable, and there's two things here. Cam Newton never truly became a refined pocket passer. Jared Goff, still not comfortable in a muddy pocket. Sam Darnold, still reckless. Every time we have a question about Lamar, it gets better. I feel like he's 15 to 20% better every year. And I don't really understand. I'm not saying he has to be your favorite quarterback. But there's two things about him I absolutely love. He loves the game.

He can have a three touchdown lead. If he fumbles or throws an interception, he is like furious. Like when you're in eighth grade and you don't get your way furious. He is furious. He loves the game. He loves the game like a fan loves. the game. And every time I get one of these great athletes on the set, I'll ask him, how many guys really love the game, not what the game could do for them? And I've had people

like Tony Gonzalez say, about 5% of guys live for the game. It goes, most don't. Like, Lamar loves the game. He hates losing. And the second thing is, he recognizes, he's imperfect, he'll recognize a weakness, and he'll confront it. He doesn't get defensive. He doesn't get Baker Mayfield chippy. He's like, yeah, I got to get bigger. I got to get better. I got to take fewer hits. I got to play better from behind. Like, he, that's a real secure person. Like, he can, he can be like, oh, I'm not good at this. He said, how many times we heard him say, yeah, I hear you guys. Yeah, you're right. I'm not good at that. Like, I love that about him. He loves the game. He can confront his weaknesses. He wants to get better. The game matters so

much to him and winning matters so much, I would love Lamar Jackson as my quarterback. Every time I watch him, I like him more. These little sidearm throws he makes inside the line, not a lot of guys do that. I mean, maybe he doesn't throw like Aaron from the pocket. There's like two people on the planet that do. You can't worry about that. This is not about being a perfect player. Can you do whatever I need you to do to win a Super Bowl?

Can you throw it from the pocket? Can you run and get me yards? Can you scramble? Can you figure out on third down? Are you good in the red zone? By the way, he was four for five in the red zone. What a nightmare to face Lamar Jackson in the red zone. What a nightmare.

It's hard to totally commit to the run because if he pulls the ball back, he'll humiliate your entire defensive roster. So I just, there's nothing about this kid. He's an imperfect quarterback, but I find him exhilarating. He keeps getting better. his passion is through the roof. I love, at this point, if you're doubting him, go ahead. Because next year, he could be 15% better than he is now.

And I don't even know what that looks like, because now's real good. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Lamar is one of those players that has a contagious energy. Yeah. It's kind of like Zion.

When you watch and play, you're reminded that they're playing a game. Right. And it kind of makes you feel, it makes you root for. because it gives you that feeling that you had when you were a kid playing sports and what, like, made you fall in love with sports. I sat next to a Raven fan yesterday briefly, and he was laughing during the game. And I said, what's it like to have Lamar as your quarterback? He goes, it's like, intramural football.

It's like, I'm never sure what he's going to do. He goes, you can't take your eye. And that's what we said last week. He's like lightning of all the weather things you have. It zigs through the sky. You're not sure where it's going to land. It's a little dangerous, unpredictable. Like, he was just sitting there, and he's like,

just don't know what you're getting play to play. He goes, it's just in, and he was like laughing watching him. He's like, nobody makes defenders look worse a half dozen times a game than Lamar Jackson. He just has it. Well, Aaron Rogers was pretty pumped up yesterday. He scored a rushing touchdown against the Bears. And Mike's on the field caught this reaction from Aaron Rogers. I love it. So you know what? When you boo all these guys, they have a right to yell. They don't throw anything at you, but they got a right to own you. I mean, I love it. After the game, he was asked about his celebration, and here was his explanation. Sometimes you black out on the field. In a good way. I looked up in the stands, and the front

row all I saw was a woman giving me a double bird. I'm not sure exactly what came out of my mouth next. Look, I'm sure Chicago fans don't love it. But, I mean, that's, that was fun yesterday. Oh, God. It's good to see fun Aaron, let loose Aaron. And he's completely bought into this season. Again, I maintain he's out of there at the end of this year, but he's all in right now and it's fun. It is. And by the way, Chicago on a sunny day,

that is a gorgeous stadium soldier field. That was that, you know, the game was not real artistic. It was kind of choppy. It was. But in the end, you know, the better older quarterback won. That's kind of the game. Yeah. I mean, they're the better team.

That game went as it should have gone. And obviously Chicago's defense is still good. They have a rookie quarterback and he's still learning. Now, the NFC is getting a little interesting because it's starting to be a little bit of a separation in some of these divisions very quickly. There really is, Joy, except for the NFC, which we thought would be the most competitive. But now with Russell Wilson out, he's going to have to come back here in a couple weeks and go in a winning streak because Seattle's going to be, you know, Russell makes the playoffs. That's the rule in the NFL. Gino was okay last night.

He outplayed Ben statistically. You got some teams here, and I think specifically Seattle that's used to make into the playoffs, and they've got to get some Ws here in the next month. Yeah, and we don't know when Russ is going to be back, although I did see him out on the field, and he's just one of those guys, too, that loves the game. So, you know, we're obviously rooting for him to get back soon. So the Steelers pulled off an overtime win against the Seahawks, thanks to a T.J. Watt strip sack that set up the winning field goal,

but the game was not without controversy. So at the end of regulation, the refs stopped the game to review a catch made by D.K. Matt Caff, which I don't understand how he didn't just step out of bounds. But that led to Seattle spiking the ball and kicking a field goal to tie it. And after the game, Mike Tomlin was displeased. Like that final sequence in regulation, it won't look like you wanted to see that handled differently. I hate it. Why is that? I just, I hated it. I cannot believe that game. was stopped to confirm catch-no-catch in that moment. That's all on the side. What explanation did they give to you?

That's all on the second. It was dubious to say the least. It was very weird. But Metcalf caught the ball. We're showing it now. He caught the ball. Don't understand why you don't step out of balance there, but he didn't. Fumbled it.

Freddie Swain recovered it. Then Seattle scrambled to the line of scrimmage and appeared to spike the ball with the second left. The officials hauled the game to see whether the Metcalf caught the pass in bounds. So then the call stood and then they put three seconds back on the clock. Now look, it ended up in the Steelers' favor. But, yeah, I got to understand why he would be frustrated in that situation. Again, I don't understand why Metcalf didn't just step out of bounds.

Metcalf is that's an egregiously bad play. You lose games. You know, Jimmy Johnson's on in a second. Jimmy always said, you've got to have smart players, not just talented players, because this game comes down to seconds and stepping out of bounds. Yeah, everyone has to know what the plan is. That is a high school play. You get out of bounds.

That's not a complicated one. But T.J. Watt obviously was incredible and made a huge play at the end of the game, earning that four-year $112 million extension every penny of it. So Candace Parker and the Chicago Sky are WMBA champions. They beat the Phoenix Mercury 3 to 1 to claim the franchise's first title. It was the series clinching game four last yesterday afternoon. Parker led her team to victory with 16 points, a game high 13 rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block.

This was her first season with the Sky, which is her hometown team and her second WMBA title of her career. She won one with the Sparks, 13 seasons there. She went in 2016. It's two-time WMA MVP, six-time WMBA All-Star. This was a great series, lots of legends in this. Diana Tarasi, obviously they are playing 17 seasons all with the Mercury. Brittany Griner also had 28 points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steel, and one block.

So she was huge for them as well, but not enough as Chicago Sky are WMBA champions. And it's been a great postseason for the WMBA, and Candice was a story throughout it, obviously. By the way. It was just a really awesome scene in Chicago yesterday. We talk about ratings. Look at all that emotion. We talk about ratings all the time. WNBA's had a great, as the NBA has not always had the greatest ratings.

WNBA, I think the quality is. of the games have just been better. The WNBA, I think, has had a two-year rating surge. So America likes basketball. Sometimes the NBA drives them nuts, but the WNBA's had a really, really strong two-year run. Well, I think we talked about this before. I think the new commissioner's done a great job, and they're marketing the players, marketing the teams really well. And it's, as you said, like, high-quality basketball as well. So, I mean, it was a great game yesterday, and congrats to the Chicago Sky. Yeah, the league has juice. And it is.

commissioners matter. David Stern came in. The NBA was kind of a mess when he took over. New commissioners matter. Whether it's your college conference or it's your sport. The marketing people, she clearly new commissioner understands it. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. He's a Hall of Famer, one of my favorite people. Learn more from Jimmy Johnson than anybody I've ever worked alongside or with. And he is now joining us live from Florida. Super Bowls, national title. You know, Jimmy, it's really interesting is that the rules now make it a little bit easier.

I mean, quarterbacks now complete 68, 70% of their throws. So it is a little easier to be at least competent at that position. But there are intangibles and toughness and in-game intelligence that you can't measure. And when I watched DAC, is that was a game yesterday, Jimmy. It was very loseable. A lot of penalties. defense gave up a bad touchdown. I don't know.

I said it wasn't Dax best game, but I looked at him and I thought, you know what? You don't win that game with every quarterback. You don't go to New England and have 12 penalties and turnovers. Just if you could talk about Dax's growth and what you've seen over the last several years. Yeah, Colin, I think the thing that I'm most impressed with is his accuracy. He is so much more accurate right now. than what he was when he first came in the league. And in fact, I talked to Troy Aitman about it, you know, his first year or two.

I said, you know, Troy, is this something you think can improve? And he said, I don't know. You know, usually when a quarterback's not accurate, you know, it doesn't get a whole lot better. But he is a very accurate passer. Now, you know, his protection allows him to be accurate. Sure. A lot of times when he's harassed and he's under pressure, you know, he throws some off-target throws. I think that's the thing.

He's always been a great leader. He's always been a great worker. He's a physical quarterback. But the accuracy has improved significantly over the last couple of years. You know, Jimmy, as you know, there's a lot of talent around American football, but it is hard to find a great corner.

There's not a lot of them. Even when you had the Miami Hurricanes and the Cowboys, and you were known as a brilliant, you know, personnel guy, boy, those corners are gold bars. There's not many of them. This Trayvon Diggs, holy, he just jumps out of the television, does he not?

He jumps out of the television, and he will jump some routes as well. As he found out on that last touchdown by New England, he tried to jump the route. But I think what's happening, Colin, is the great athletes, really the great players

in college, they're all at receiver. They're not playing cornerback. Right. And so the emphasis in college is, you know, air raid football, get those great players at wide receiver and not at cornerback. So I think the emphasis in college is what's taken away some of the outstanding cornerbacks that we saw years ago.

Yeah. I want to talk about the Miami Dolphins, a franchise you coach. They beat Brian Flores, beat the rookie Mac Jones in week one. And I got to tell you, they're just struggling. I thought Brian struggled. I'm not blaming two. I thought he was fine this weekend. But kind of take me to what you see with the dolphins.

What is happening? Because sometimes right now, Jimmy, there have been ugly moments and ugly losses. Yeah, and some very disappointing losses for the dolphin fans down here. You know, a couple of questionable challenges yesterday in the ballgame. Cost them a couple of timeouts. an inconsistent running game. I really like what Brian Flores was doing a year ago, and this year, you know, things just hadn't fallen into place.

Obviously, Tua, you know, not being healthy. That probably hurt him a few games. And I think the jury's still out on just how good Tua is. Right. The jury's not out on Lamar Jackson, who is so dynamic. I mean, Jimmy, how would you, have defended him. What would your, what would your game plan have been? My game plan would have been start working on next week's game plan. The guy is phenomenal. You know, at one time,

I thought his style of play was, you know, he's going to get banged up, he's going to get hurt, plus I don't know how good he is throwing the football. Well, he's showing, he's showing, he can throw the football as good as any of them. And, you know, he's not taking the hits now. He looks like he's going to stay healthy. He just, he's the most exciting player in the league without question. And I think John Harbaugh has done a great job with him as far as utilizing his talents. And, yeah, you look at all the injuries they've had on offense, all those running backs out.

And Lamar still taking them down the film. scoring points. He's phenomenal. You know, it's interesting. We were talking. I said this a couple of weeks ago, Jimmy. I said, if you're the general manager of Cleveland and the coach, I said this two weeks ago, that Baker Mayfield is going to play against Lamar and Herbert and Kyler and Burrow and Mack Jones, his contemporaries, young guys. So if you're a GM and you don't expect Baker Mayfield to be Aaron Rogers or Russell Wilson,

that's different. They've been in the league. But you're going to see him up against the guy. he's going to face for the next 10 years. And yesterday, you watched Kyler and Baker, and it's not the same, Jimmy. I mean, it's just not. You get to a point. What do you do with Baker?

I've got to be careful because when he was 10 years old, he came out to the big chill and I signed an autograph for him. I didn't even know who he was. But, yeah, I don't know. I know he's got a shoulder problem.

You're look at him and you look his body of work, you know, since he's been there. He truly is just a game manager. You know, he's not someone that can carry a football team. You've got to be really good in all areas around him and on defense to win a championship. But I think you can win a championship with him if, like I said, you're very good around him. He's been protected with an outstanding running game. Now Chubbs hurt. You know, Hunt could be hurt now. So I don't know if the running game will protect him now. But, you know, just like every other, you know, time I talk to general managers or coaches,

they say, well, you know, this guy that we have is not good enough. I say, well, you don't get rid of him until you find somebody better. That's right. That's right. You know, it's interesting. When you were in Miami, and I always think this is a rough situation for coaches. So when you were in Miami, you had an old Dan Marino. And he's a legend.

He's rich. He's got a legacy. He's got pride. And you've got to move off those guys. And it's hard. And now Mike, Tomlin is dealing with Big Ben. And it's, I mean, they're going through coordinators.

They're rebuilt. And it's just not pretty. It's, I mean, that game, you can't almost lose to Gino Smith at home. And I look at that. And could you give me, you had to deal with this with Marino. How do you walk around this thing and move off Ben and not blow up a locker room? What do you do? How do you do it?

I don't know. I wish I knew. as far as Ben again I think they just they made a mistake here in the last couple of years not preparing for the future they could see that Ben's skills were diminishing and they could see that he was getting banged up

he's taking a lot of hits over the years and you know it's really had an effect on him you know he's not anywhere close but remember years ago Ben was as good, if not better, than anybody in the league, as far as extending plays. Yeah. You know, they would try to tackle him. He had spin out. You know, he would throw the ball

down the field, make some great plays because they couldn't get him on the ground. Well, that's not happening now. You know, Ben's throwing the little checkdowns and getting rid of the ball because, you know, he's really a statue back there. And, yeah, again, the Steelers

should have prepared for this years ago, because I don't know that Mason Rudolph is the guy. Right. I don't know that they have a successor to Big Ben. I want to circle back to the Cowboy Patriot game and your friend Bill Belichick. And we were saying this this morning as we prepared for the show. You know, we knew there'd be a building process post Tom, but the reality is that Tom extended

drives. So your defense wasn't on the field as much. And Tom audibled you out of, you know, trouble. and that sometimes you don't even realize when you have a great quarterback the issues that will surface because he kept you out of those issues. And I look at Belichick now and I think, God, they're getting punts blocked, giving up 500 yards. Their defense looks gassed. And do you think, and I think to myself, well, you don't know a problem until you have a problem.

And I think, do you think Belichick sitting down there thinking, this is a little bumpier than I thought it would be? Well, you know, I look at the game and I try to be objective about it. And, you know, just like, you know, you look at the game yesterday, you know, it's pretty obvious that the Cowboys are significantly more talented than the Patriots. Right. The Patriots are playing a rookie quarterback. You know, that tells you enough right there. But it also tells you about the coaching of Bill Belichick. You know, they're one play in overtime away from beating the Cowboys.

Yeah. They're one field goal away from beating the Buccaneers. You know, they're one play away from winning their opener against the Dolphins, you know, the fumble. You know, and so really, they are close, and they are close with a lot less talent than some of the teams they're playing. So they will be fine in time. And, in fact, I was impressed with Mike Jones. they will be fine in time. But again, it's a grind right now with a rebuilding type process in New England.

Jimmy, you look great. The Hall of Famer, Jimmy Johnson. We love what he comes on the show down in the Keys. Absolute pleasure, Jimmy, thank you so much. All right, good talking with you, Colin. Yeah, he makes a really good point. That Patriot game and the Cowboy game, the Miami game and the Cowboy game, it's just a play, a play in which Mack Jones next year maybe makes the play.

And so, but it is interesting. New England now, they get punts blocked. They turn the ball off. It's like, I've said this about presidents. A good president keeps you out of trouble. So he doesn't get credit for the trouble he keeps you out of, right? It's like it's me having a smart wife. She keeps me out of trouble that I would get into.

She doesn't even let me get into it. And it's like, that's what Brady does. He audibles out of this protection. and he audibles into this play. He manages the clock for a coordinator who might not do it as well. It's what DAC is doing to McCarthy. DAC is erasing some of the issues with McCarthy. If you had a rookie quarterback with Mike McCarthy,

Cowboys would be a mess at the end of halves. And they kind of figured out because Dak kind of, Kellan Moore kind of gets you past that. So all good stuff from Jimmy Johnson. Top of the hour, Colin right, Colin wrong. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlieb. The podcast is called All Ball.

We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches. We talk to players. We tell you stories. You download it.

You listen to it. I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Gottlieb on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, 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 what y'all saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert 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

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 Jett. 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, 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. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple,

podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, Tript 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. 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? 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose. On my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way.

Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now escape quickbooks quicksand with net suite by oracle the number one financial system net suite dot com go there right now net suite dot com slash hurt so my entire life i bet football games every weekend so my entire career blazing five was always like 56 57 percent last year with covid it was much harder we didn't get a preseason i was terrible early rookies you had no idea what you were getting i was 50 percent this year i'm terrible So yesterday I just went back over the course of the last season and a half and tried to kind of figure out why suddenly can't I pick a football game. My whole life, I mean, I've never watched more.

I've never had more information. I've never had more good sourcing. Why can't I? And it was interesting. Tom Brady made a comment last week and it was not like I'm going to play to 45. Brady said, quote, I could play to 50 or 55. Why? Because for the top quarterbacks, the game has gotten so incredibly easy.

And I wonder if I should just now pick the best quarterback every weekend. It doesn't matter. Now, we all know quarterbacks matter. You know that I know that. But now do they matter too much. I'll give you an example. Yesterday, this weekend, starting Thursday with Tampa over Philly, the best quarterback won all 13 games.

13 and 0. With eight blowouts, 60% of the best quarterbacks, not only one, and we know quarterbacks matter. But if you move the three-point line in the NBA in a foot, would shooters be too dominant in the game? Centers would be irrelevant. If you moved the strike zone in baseball, if you made it smaller, what would people hit? Would it be too hard for pitchers?

Would hitters have too much of an advantage? I'm not saying quarterback shouldn't be protected, but you start looking right now. Think about how good Troy Eickman was. And he had a great offensive coach. And he had a great O line and a great tight-knit and a great receiver and a great back. Troy Aitman, wasn't that long ago, completed 61.5% of his throws. The league average now is 66%. This year, the NFL, just this year, the NFL is on pace. They've made it so comfortable for quarterbacks. We're going to set a record completion

percentage, passing yards a game, passer rating, passing yards per attempt. Think about this. The average passing rating is mid-90s. So Big Ben, they showed a graphic last night. His passer rating is at 88. That's now 27th in the league. I mean, Matt Ryan's career passer rating is like 90. So it's, it's, I watched football this weekend. I mean, Lamar Jackson didn't play great.

They dropped 35. Kyler Murray didn't take advantage to some of the turnovers. They dropped 37. And by the way, I like offensive football. I am protect the quarterback. But some of these roughing the passer calls are like, It's okay for quarterbacks to get hit. They're football players too.

We can't make it. I mean, there's been a lot of things changes to the game I do like. I don't like cornerbacks grabbing receivers at the line of scrimmage. I don't like the head hunting. I do like allowing wide receivers to showcase their talent. Years ago, hockey got to a point where you could mug and grab the players. Like, let great skaters skate, right? Like hockey got really boring, really fast.

Now it's a freer game. You let the great players be great. I love the wide receiver talent, allowing it to, you can't grab it at the line, you can't head hunt. I'm for it. But some of this, I mean, like right now, you just can't be satisfied with OK at quarterback. Daniel Jones. Okay. Baker, okay.

Jared Goff. Okay. Kirk Cousins. Taylor Heineckee. Jimmy Garoppel. Okay. If you look at their historic numbers, they can be better than Joe Montana. But I'm not complaining about it.

I mean, I'd like to hit more football picks. But the point is, theoretically now, just take the best quarterback to win. This week, they went 13 and 0 with eight blowouts. And by the way, it may get worse before it gets better because as teams get beat up, a lot of those guys getting beat up are top defensive players. So it's when Brady came out and said, I can play, he didn't say 45. He said 50 to 55 last week. And what he's telling you is, if you have good protection, this game is,

easy. It is. This past game, when Tampa played Philadelphia, Joy and I talked about this on Thursday, for large chunks of the game, it looked like practice for Brady. I mean, he's just, it's pitch and catch. It is, I can just throw to anybody. They're wide open. I love offense like everybody else, and I know everybody plays fantasy football. But we are seeing here kind of a cultural change, where, and you've got to balance it, like I've said before, I like three point shots in the NBA. I don't want centers to be irrelevant. I like home runs in baseball, but I also like people stealing bases and getting on with singles. I like quarterback play being elevated.

We're at 66% completion percentage. That includes everybody. That's the bad guys. That is, I mean, when you start completing, the good guys start completing 71, 72%. Defense is like waving the white flag. Can we get a little help over here? Colin right, Colin wrong on Monday. next.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygle and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, 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.

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 year, 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. It 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. 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.