The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Dolphins, Broncos, Georgia

Episode Date: January 11, 2022

Former Miami Dolphins HC Brian Flores wanted Justin HerbertDenver Broncos might be trying to make Aaron Rodgers happyGeorgia Bulldogs are finally National ChampionsGuest: Peter Schrager Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Clifford 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 IHard 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. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is 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. I mean, 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Tuesday. Rambunctious as ever live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1, one hour from now as we embark on another amazing playoff run. Heard hierarchy, perhaps our final one of the year. Top 10 teams ranked tougher and tougher. There's some good teams that there'll be teams in that playoffs that we don't think are

top 10 teams. It's great to have you, enjoy Taylor. How about the sunset last night in Los Angeles? The whole sky for about 45 minutes was orange and pink. It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen. Amazing. It was beautiful. It's been really nice the past couple mornings.

It has. Nice sunrise, nice sunset. We're getting a little bit of a heat wave right now. A little winter heat wave in L.A. And we got to watch an amazing game while watching that sunset. Yeah, we'll get to that in a little bit. Congratulations to the Georgia Bulldogs. they've had the best team in college football more than one year,

but this time they finally closed the deal. I'll get to that in a bit. So ideally, in sports, you'd like everybody to get along. But we know that Belichick and Brady in 20 years never had dinner. Not once. Pat Riley, Magic, Kareem, Phil Jackson, Jerry West, Kobe Shack. lot of talent, a lot of egos. Werno is tight.

Yeah, that whole Phil Jackson, Jerry West, Kobe Shack thing, there's a reason it eventually moved in different directions. But they won. And Brady and Belichick won. Steph, Clay, Dray, Dray, KD, best team in the league, three, four years. We know now they didn't get along. You watched the documentary with Michael Jordan,

Jerry Krauss, Dennis Rodman, Scotty Pippin, best basketball team I've ever seen. I mean, they had some fun playing cards and smoking cigars and winning games, but there was animosity and chaos and ideally you'd like to get along. But it's not necessary. The vice president often hates the president in our government. We've had those before. The vice president resents the president,

don't even need to mention names. It's not necessary. It's ideal. So the story is this morning. Brian Flores got fired because he could not get along with Chris Greer. Who cares? You want eight of nine with Tua? Who cares if they get along?

Well, Brian Flores is very difficult. All right, let me address the very difficult thing. I did a little searching. It's called Google. You should try it. And there's a story back here from a couple of years ago that, Brian Flores wanted Justin Herbert over Tua. Bigger, stronger, better arm, more mobile, no injury history.

And Greer, Chris Greer, wanted Tua. Yeah. I got news for you, folks. If I wanted Justin Herbert and you were my GM and drafted Tua and I had to watch Justin Herbert, I'd be bitter too. Folks, Bill Belichick was upset when he had to trade a backup. Garoppolo. If I'm Brian Flores, I want Justin Herbert, you draft Tua, you've been the GM for years,

you keep screwing up the coach and the roster, all I ask is get me the quarterback, you take the wrong one, and Brian Flores is the guy that's got to get along? I mean, Bill Parcells, one of the great coaches of all time. Never forget this line. And this is why I do think every GM I've ever talked to, and there's four or five in the league I talk to regularly. They do ask their coach, what do you want? Key spots, who works?

You ask the coach, especially if the coach you think is a star already or an ascending star, in this case, Brian Flores. And remember Bill Parcells quote years ago. A friend of mine told me something. Okay, now I'm going to quote, and I'm not trying to be cute here, okay? I'm just going to say it. They want you to cook the dinner. At least they ought to let you shop for some of the groceries. Okay.

Brian Flores wasn't even asking to shop for the whole bag. He's just like, get me that milk. I want to get me Herbert. Folks, you get one chance often in life for these NFL jobs. It's not like being an accountant or an actor. There are other roles. There are other accounting firms. Head coaching jobs, 32 in America, best jobs in the world.

Sometimes you get one, one chance. And I want you to think about this. Chris Greer guy had been around for years. So Brian Flores arrives in Miami. And by the end of year one, he already built the defense up. By the end of year one, we were like, oh my God, their special teams are great.

Remember that year? We're like, how are they winning all these games with Ryan Fitzpatrick and this little two guy? By the end of the first year, he got the defense right, his side of the ball. That's not always easy. Brandon Staley, Chargers. He's a defensive guy. Chargers defense got worse.

I mean, Matt Nagy in Chicago last couple years. Offensive guy. Offense got worse. It's not easy to do. So Brian Flores very early gets the defense right and tight. All he needs is pick the right quarterback and get a good O line.

Fix the O line. It's a mess when I got here. Make it better. All these years later, they got the wrong quarterback and the O line stinks. And you guys, I keep hearing this, Brian Flores, very, very hard to get along with. I think I'm a nice guy.

If when the decision came down that I got a say and who to hire sitting next to me, Joy Taylor, and, you know, a lot of stuff she doesn't know, but I push for Joy and she knows it now. But if they'd have given me some stiff and I'm sitting here every day and she's just giving me hockey scores, I'd be better and you wouldn't like me as much. Sometimes animosity is real and it's okay. Now, I don't think you should ever hold grudges. That's chain smoking hate. But all I keep hearing about is how difficult Brian Flores is.

That's all I keeps firing this guy and getting rid of that guy. You mean, that's what the GM's been doing there for over a decade. So I'm just here to tell you, if Justin Herbert was who you wanted, you fix the defense, you fix the special teams, and you chose Tua over him, and you expect Brian Flores to come in every day with donuts for the staff. rainbows, birds chirping. He got chip on his shoulder. It's well earned.

All right. Well earned. So I want to talk about this. You know, they say all affairs, all physical affairs, start as emotional affairs. It's very interesting. Dan Graziano, football reporter, good guy. The Broncos, the Denver Broncos, have requested permission to interview Packers' quarterback coach Luke Getzzi for their head coaching opening.

Also, along with Packers' offensive coordinator, Nathaniel Hackett. Very smart. This is, of course, what the Lakers did before they had LeBron. Do you remember the year before LeBron showed up to L.I.? Do you remember what the Lakers did? Rich Paul is very tight, clutch sports with LeBron. They're guys, their boys, their friends. And the year before LeBron got here, they,

The Lakers opened up the cash register. Oh, that's $18 million sitting there. I think we're going to give it to KCP, who was represented by Clutch Sports. They just found it under the mattress. Oh, there's $18 million. Let's give all of it to LeBron's friend Chris Paul. That's what you do. It's the game, right?

You see this all the time in college football. You hire this guy, this coach, who knows that recruit from this program. We all understand this, right? I mean, Aaron, first of all, would look amazing in a Denver Bronco uniform. I think that goes without saying the colors match his eyes. It's very perfect. But does everybody understand this? That if Jordan Love could play, and right now I'm not sure he can, I'm leaning on no,

they would move him if he was 80% of Aaron. Why? Massive cap flexibility for the Packers. Aaron's dramatic. Sometimes that wears out the front office. And Aaron's older. and the perfect place to send him, if you were Green Bay and you could pick a place to send him. You all get where it would be.

It would be Denver. Not just the other conference, but he'd have to make his way through Mahomes, Justin Herbert, and Derek Carr twice a year. So as great as Aaron is, at 38, 39 years old, I got Mahomes twice a year, I got Herbert twice a year, I got Derek Carr twice a year. The chances of him dominating that division, getting a number one seed, playing at Lambo, playing at Denver at home, that ain't going to happen. I mean, we all know,

part of Brady's success has been the fact that he got a buy and played at home and only had to win one playoff game to get to the AFC championship. So this is the perfect place to send Aaron is Denver. It's the perfect place. You don't want to send Aaron to some lousy division where you send him to the NFC East and he shows up every year humiliating you for the next six. So Aaron's 38, he's expensive, there's drama, he's amazing.

If Jordan Love was 80% of him, the smart move, the smart move. I mean, when Peyton Manning left Indy with Andrew Luck, that was an easy one because Peyton Manning was kind of beat up, he was still great, but they made a decision the Colts did, and it was the right one at the time is Andrew Luck right now is probably 75 to 80% of Peyton Manning. Young Andrew Luck is 75, 80% of Peyton Manning. He's cheap. He's healthier.

Peyton, people inside the organization had said, Peyton was so big, Jim Ursay felt like he was a co-owner of the franchise. And that's not a knock on Peyton, man. And quarterbacks now are so rich, so powerful on so many commercials, they take over the franchise. And owners, frankly, even Green Bay's front office, it wears them out. So it's just very interesting what Denver's doing.

This is really smart. This is what the Lakers did before LeBron. Just found $18 million under a mattress and decided to give all of it to KCP. Just, you know, take care of peeps, let them know how you feel about them. And there's a lot of messages sent out there in sports. This is a really smart one. Okay. George Alabama, Jim Harbaugh, what's he going to do?

Plus Peter Schreger, the goings on. And that merry-go-round of NFL coaches. 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 unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what we? 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 all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years 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? 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 hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now.

Your best defense against costly winter car repairs is Car Shield. Save thousands. Go to carshield.com slash Colin Coward to save 10%. Great to have you in. Well, congratulations to the Georgia Bulldogs. They've always, I mean, the last 25 years, they've had one of the most talented rosters in probably half those years, and they just kind of shrink in big spots, or they don't get a break, or they get a key injury or a bad turnover.

And last night they won it. It's not a shock they want it. I thought Bama would win because I get Bryce Young and Nick Saban. But once their second star receiver went down in three weeks, they were in trouble. So Georgia absolutely earned it. If you look at the box score, Bama had more first downs. Bama was better on third down. Bama had more total yards.

Bama had fewer penalties. Bama won time of possession. but they couldn't capitalize in the red zone. They lost one of their big playmakers. That's their second in three weeks at wide receiver. And good luck beating Georgia without all your playmakers. So attrition and injuries are part of it. And Georgia earned it.

You can beat teams a second time. But this came down to the protege, the disciple of Nick Sabin, Kirby Smart winning. And it's good for Georgia. We've seen LSU, Bama, Georgia. It's not always Nick Sabin winning the championship. It's a great program. It's always bits. One of my favorite southern towns, Athens, Georgia.

I'm very happy for them. But the last seven national titles are Georgia, Bama, LSU, Clemson, Bama, Clemson, Bama. Clemson, count them as Southern. They are. All SEC and Clemson. And in most cases, six of seven years, the SEC was facing somebody from the South. They own this game. In fact, Bama has either won the national championship or lost to the eventual winner.

in Nick Savon's 14 of 15 years. Is the sport right now too regional? Absolutely. And what can be done about it? Nothing. There's nothing the NFL could do about Brady and Balochek. You had the smartest coach and the most driven quarterback. What could women's tennis do about Serena?

Nothing. She was better and more driven and more focused and more powerful. Golf courses tried to tiger-proof them. That was adorable, wasn't it? He still beat Phil Mickelson. Governments try to do this all the time. Legislate parity. We will tax the rich.

New York and California and Illinois have never taxed the rich more. They've never taxed the citizens more. And the financial inequality is five times greater than it was a decade ago. Governments are trying it. Sports are trying it. You can't legislate parity. Some people want it more. I heard a saying years ago, don't take no for an answer.

And you know what will happen? You'll rarely get no for an answer. Work hard. Stay focused. You can keep trying to legislate parity in all of our lives. And your liberals are all mad at me for what I just said. But California taxes us like they're taking money from here and putting it there and putting it there. Silicon Valley is going to make more money tomorrow than I'm going to make in a lifetime.

A lifetime, a thousand lifetimes. They won the battle for intellectualism up in Silicon Valley, and they're pulling away from all of us. Tax them all you want. Folks, the reality is there's nothing you can do about it. There's nothing you could do about Brady and Belichick until they moved apart. And now Belichick doesn't look as smart. Now Serena's older, and it's more competitive.

And Tiger had his personal picadillos, and now it's more competitive. But there are these moments, these runs, where stars and teams and municipalities, they pull away. And that's just the way it is. And the only thing you can do about it is enjoy the journey more than the destination. College football is great. The bands, the cheerleaders, the student section, the regular season's great. The conference championship are great.

Most of the bowls are great. I watched the Rose Bowl. That was as much fun as I've had watching college football all year. Utah and Ohio State and none of them were playing for the national championship. That was the best bowl game I saw. That was the best bowl game I saw in years. I had a blast watching it. Had a couple beers sat there with my dogs.

felt like a country song. And I had a great time. But you're not going to win the national championship unless you're from the SEC. I mean, the last three, they have so much talent down in the south, high school footprint, so much talent. The last three champs are Bama, Georgia, and LSU. If you don't win it, I win it. If he doesn't win it, our neighbor wins it.

That's the way it works. And it's going to be that way for a long time. Until Nick Saban retires and maybe Mario Cristobal gets Miami rolling and Lincoln Riley gets USC rolling and they can puncture it. Ohio State did win like what eight years ago. We're always trying to, you know, I'm one of these people. We're always trying to legislate parity in our towns, in our states, in our sports. Serena Williams is better. Period. Tiger Woods was better. Look at the NFL right now. NFL has pulled away from every other league. Why? Because baseball's too slow to adapt and analytics makes it more boring.

the NBA's analytics. All it does is shoot threes. Too many stars moving around. That turns off some fans. College football is incredibly regional. So the NFL now is a monster. You cannot be relevant as a sports network without the NFL. It wasn't like this 30, 40, 50 years ago.

It is now. And it's gotten greater and bigger and more popular every year. And I always fall on this. I think the power ball is. kind of gross. You know, like the power ball gets up to 200 million. Think about the power ball. You can be a horrible human.

You can do terrible things to your family. You could do terrible things in your town. You could be selfish and mean. You could be a criminal. And you go to a 7-Eleven, buy a ticket, and you're the richest person in the state. Ugh. That's not the society I want to live in.

I want to work and live in a society where the people who care the most when. And they work the hardest when. And they compensate their coaches and their players the best win. That's the society I like. You created an ethos, passion, driven, willful. Not, hey, I just got nine numbers in a row. In the end, the SEC wants it more, so they win it more. It can be a little boring.

I'm not going to lie to you last night. It felt like another Saturday night watching the great SEC football game. But I watched Bama and Georgia play last night. and the difference between those two and the third team? I mean, if you take Georgia and Bama's defense and even compare it to Ohio State's defense or Oklahoma's defense, and those are amazing programs, it's like a different sport.

Recruit better. Oklahoma's joining the SEC. Recruit better. Or you can see more of what you saw last night. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

there's always the conversation of like, oh, you know, could this great college team beat the worst NFL team? And of course, the answer is absolutely not. They would lose by 70. Yes. They would not score a point, maybe a field goal. Yeah. They would absolutely not win. But it did kind of feel like, there's a space between not professional and the rest of college football and whatever Georgia and Alabama are in that space. They were so fast. No, the speed of the, I mean, The size and speed of these young men is remarkable. Georgia's catch-up speed on defense. You can fool Georgia.

You can fool them on a play and you get four yards. I remember years ago, you forget this, years ago when Pete Carroll was at USC. And the SEC was still great. But it was a weird time where all the other West Coast programs, even the good ones, were kind of a mess. So USC was literally, for about a five-year period, getting 22 of the. best 25 players in California. There was a time that USC was so much better that Clay Matthews could not start at linebacker for USC, went to the NFL and won NFL defensive rookie of the year.

And that's the only thing I compared to. And you'd watch those USC teams and you'd be like, it's not the NFL. I'm not sure it's college. Right. It was like somewhere above college. It's some strange semi-pro state, but not like everyone else. That was, I mean, I'm just watching that last night. like how are you that huge and that fast?

It's incredible. Like take two steps and you're halfway across the field. It was amazing to watch. And congrats to Georgia because it's a great program. It matters. And I'll go back to my rant. Go look at the recruiting classes for Georgia, Bama, and LSU.

Yeah. There's a reason they're there. They've got all these good players. There's a reason they're there. So Mike Rofalo of NFL Network reported that Joe Judge met with Giants ownership yesterday afternoon and came away with no clarity regarding his future. Discussions will continue.

continue as the giant seek to replace Dave Gettelman, who retired yesterday from the GM position. Ownership is concerned that the new GM and Judge will maybe not have the same vision for the franchise. So it's unknown how long it's going to take for the franchise to find a new GM, but Judge's future could hang in the balance until then. So this was a big conversation, obviously, yesterday because of all the coaches getting fired. And I thought we assumed that Joe Judge was safe, like based off of all the reports that we were getting. the giants weren't planning on moving off of him. You know what it feels like to me?

The fact joy that this morning that we still don't have an answer here, that makes it feel like they have somebody they like to see like Harbaugh and see if they can wiggle him free of Michigan. Because Miami's not going to hire Harbaugh. Right. Because the owner, Stephen Ross, is the biggest Michigan booster.

Yeah, he's not going to take from Michigan to feed the dolphins. But when you're still looking in this sort of weird, murky situation, is William Morrow waiting for a phone call from? like a harbaugh. Maybe. That's what it feels. I mean, because you either, he's ours or he's not. This feels, this feels like he's ours unless we get like this call from Michigan.

It feels like a little bit of a little bit of a situation. And look, that's not really particularly fair to Joe Judge, but your results determine whether you keep your job or not in this competitive business. And I think they should keep Joe Judge. He's 10 and 23, but he's only been there for two seasons. So they don't have the guy at quarterback. What are you going to do? I think he deserves one more year if they're not going to replace him with someone like a Harbaugh.

But I don't think, I don't know the Giants fans necessarily agree with that. It's been a rough go. And it just feels like there's not a lot of hope on the horizon with the Giants of four and 13 and finished last in the NFC East. But the new GM could turn things around. Who knows? Got to have hope, right? Baker Mayfield struggled throughout this season, including dealing with a shoulder injury. But Kevin Sivansky says he expects him to recover next season.

Baker fought through those injuries, was medically cleared to play each of those weeks, and practiced throughout those weeks and felt good. I don't think, and you guys have spoken to Baker, I don't think Baker is using any of that as an excuse. And also, you know, not denying that guys play through injuries. I fully expect him to bounce back next year. I'm very torn on this Baker injury year. thing because I make it a point to not be too callous to what these guys are playing through. That's right.

They're massively excruciating injuries that any one of us would be at home for weeks dealing with, that they're playing a physical collision game through. However, that is the game. Like that is a part of the game, as Sifansky said, to play through injuries. Yeah, Tua gets hurt a lot. That's a negative for his body. Jimmy Garoppolo gets hurt a lot. That's why the Niners drafted Trey Lance.

If that's part of your game, by the way, Josh Allen doesn't get hurt. hurt. Herbert doesn't get hurt. They're big, Brady, big, strong, 6'4, Brady doesn't get hurt. But also, if you're going to step on the field, you're expected to play at the level in which you always play when you're not injured. That's what it is. Like, you can't be inhibiting your team's success by forcing your way onto the field through an injury. It's just interesting. Let's not focus on Baker, right? Because I'm Mr. Negative Baker guy, even though I'm not, and I'm America's honesty broker. But the bottom line is, I don't have a speedy.

ticket in 20 years. Why? Because I don't speed in spaces I shouldn't speed. Like I go seven miles an hour faster like all of us on a freeway. So it's my responsibility. You can't blame the cops. Okay. If you're, so if you look at most people's complaints in life, it's just lack of discipline. If you look at a lot of these quarterbacks who get hurt, it's been a lack of discipline. They don't practice falling. They think they're faster than they are. They don't slide real well. So even though I have sympathy for a lot of these quarterbacks that are getting hurt, I remember a couple years ago with Lamar Jackson, and I defend Lamar at every turn. But a couple years ago, there was this beach volleyball picture where he runs into a jet ski,

and I'm like, okay, that's not what you do. He's just a kid. He's got to figure out your franchise quarterback. Can't go hang out and play pickup basketball and rip up an ankle. Michael Jordan wasn't allowed to play pickup basketball, right? Right. So even though I feel bad, part of the reality of this, if you go back to Baker's first big injury, he squared up a safety after an interception.

I'm going to tackle him. that's delusion. You're not that kind of athlete. So Brady doesn't get hurt for a reason. Pliability. He practices it. He's so good at the line of scrimmage. Eli Manning never got hurt. He was one of the great all-time dirted. Do you see Bryce Young last night for Bama? He took a ton of hits from Georgia. He's going to figure out very quickly. You can't do that in the NFL. Right. We can't do that against Georgia. You're definitely not going to do that in the NFL. So it's just like there is a skill to not getting a speeding ticket. And there's a is a, and going over the speed limit and not getting a ticket. And there's a skill to playing

against violent guys getting hit, but not enough to get hurt. And Baker's injuries are on Baker to some degree. To some degree. But also, if you're going to choose to go on the field while you're injured, it's no longer an excuse if you don't play well. That's how it goes. Otherwise, you should be resting, getting healthy, and letting the backup go in and play. But the bigger thing to me is, while Baker's had a down year, if you look at the scope of his career, this is kind of what Baker is, whether he's injured or not. I know. Like the 2020, which appears to be an aberration aside,

and even in 2020, the completion percentage was the same that it always is. It's really the same amount of touchdowns, but obviously far less touchdowns this year. But like what is that different? You know, and I don't want to beat up on him, but here's what I would say. He's had four coaches.

Can we stop? Let's not talk about him anymore. Can we finally just acknowledge Cleveland? You did get the right GM and the right coach. Whatever happens beyond that, but you cannot build the best offensive line in football, find Nick Chubb where you found him. If you go look at Cleveland's roster, that is a well-run, well-put-together roster, and Stifansky's absolutely a top five-six play caller in the NFL.

So whatever you think of the quarterback guy who I don't like to talk about anymore, but have to sometimes. Can we just acknowledge Cleveland, here's the good news. You got the GM right, the coach right, and your offensive line is unbelievable. So whether the quarterback's this guy or another guy, you finally got stuff right

that you couldn't get right for 25 years. GM coach O'Line. Yeah, but you also can't squander it. That's hard to do. Put that together. So Tom Brady's been having an amazing season and Bruce Ariens made a strong case for his quarterback to win the MVP award.

He said, I think if he doesn't get it, it's a travesty. Well, come on. Most completions ever, 5,000 yards, touchdowns, the whole nine yards. To me, it's not even a close race. Well, that's good for him to say that. It is good for him to say. Now, according to Fox bet, he does have the second best odds at plus 425 behind Rogers

at minus 550. And he has had an incredible season. And there was a point this season where we were talking about Brady as the MVP. It just consistency. And, you know, I feel like Rogers has passed Brady. Can we later today, we should just put the numbers up and just let me see him. And it's just because I think Joe Burrell has got an argument. 312 passing yards per game.

Rogers has 257 passing yards per game. Brady average 2.53 passing touchdowns. Rogers 2.31. Brady finished the season with 719 passing attempts and 485 completions. Over 5,000 yards, 43 touchdowns. They're all top in the league. He has a very good case for the MVP. It's just very close this year.

Yeah, Joe Burroughs. Joe Burroughs has a good case. Oh, I think Joe Burrell's case in terms of story. Joe Burrow has the best story. Yes. He's overcome the most to put up the numbers that he has. By far, he's got the worst offensive line between Brady and Rogers. And that means that's a ton.

I think I've said this. I think I'd probably give it to Burrow or Aaron Rogers, Brady 3rd, and it would be an inch for all of them. Yeah. And the conspiracy theories are going to say what they want. I don't have time for it. But the reality of it is this year has been full of parity. And the MVP race is reflecting that.

Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. Thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. I just stepped on it. Were you done? Yes, I was. Okay.

You know, I lose count. Sometimes. No, it's okay. We have a good cadence. I usually give it a little beat and then, you know, it's over. Heard hierarchy, top of the hour. Peter Schrager next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod. pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skisks of a win. hits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we picket 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 just so you're not. 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 finishing that sentence. And 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 Facebook. 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

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learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Ranked the top 10 teams in the NFL, top of next hour. It's close, man. I actually think weather is a little bit of a factor. There are so many warm weather teams in the NFC. Philadelphia is not obviously, but they probably don't get past Tampa.

But you have a strong likelihood that an L.A. team would go to LAMBO or Arizona team would go to LAMBO or Dallas would go to LAMBO or Tampa would go to LAMBO. And that is a problem. If it's 9 degrees, I mean, it feels that close to me that something like that would matter. We saw earlier this year, Mack Jones beat Josh Allen and weather mattered. You know, people always complain. They always say, why do we have all the bowl games down south? Because when they play the bowl games, it's warm weather.

You don't want to play stuff. If you want to play in Indianapolis, we saw that, that's fine. I'm good with that. But, I mean, there's the reason we play the Rose Bowl in warm weather and the sugar bowl in a dome. and I don't want weather affecting the playoffs. I don't want the best quarterbacks limited because crappy weather hurts both quarterbacks. I want warm weather.

So I do think Lambo this year feels like a four or five point edge for Green Bay. It's absolutely domed teams in cold weather late. It's something. So is Peter Schrager. Oh, was Fox Sports NFL reporter. Got the cheat sheet on Fox Sports. You know, I was saying today, if Jordan Love was really good, And let's say he was 75, like Andrew Luck replacing Manning.

You're like he's 75, 80% there. He's not quite there. If he was good, you could see Green Bay going, okay, cap flexibility now, little drama walks out, we got the next guy. And if you had to send him somewhere and you didn't want him to come back and burn you, could I not make the argument? Mahomes twice a year, Herbert twice a year, Derek Carr, send him to the AFC West. So when I hear the Denver Broncos are flirting and interviewing,

Green Bay coaches, that's not, that's not terrible for Green Bay, is it? No, and it's, it's, it's not a horrible thing for either side. If anything, it should be flattering for Green Bay that Denver's even considering two different offensive coaches. Nathaniel Hackett is the offensive coordinator. Luke Getsey is the quarterback's coach. And from the other side of it, if you're those two, this Denver situation, they've got $50 million in salary cap space.

They've got five picks in the top 100. They've got a great fan base, and it's a blank slate. As much as Elway's fingerprints have been on this, sounds like John Elway's not playing a huge role in the hiring of this coach. It'll be GM George Payton, and Joe Ellis, who's been the president for years, seems like he's kind of hands off too. So Peyton, who was signed to a big deal, a six-year deal to be the general manager of the Denver Broncos, it's on him.

And I look at this Denver team and Colin, they're really good, really young, at a lot of positions. They're just not good at quarterback. Right. Does it not feel a little bit like Tampa Bay before Tom Brady came along and joined those guys? Yep. Look, I'm just saying this. If you hire Getsy or you hire Hackett, it certainly doesn't hurt if there's a bigger play that you want to make this offseason for a certain quarterback named Aaron Rogers. So I hear all these stories that Brian Flores is hard to get along with, but I also know there's various reports two years ago.

He wanted Herbert over Tua. and has he immediately made the defense his side of the ball great in Miami, the only thing he needed was the right quarterback. He wanted Herbert. They drafted Tua, so if he's a little bitter, I get it. Is he the best candidate on the market? I think Brian Flores is a tremendous football coach. And the stink that's going to follow him after this Miami thing is key buzzwords like communication and silos between him and the GM and the owner. and it's a lot of the same stuff you hear from all of these Belichick guys,

whether it be Matt Patricia or it'd be Josh McDaniels his first time around when he's in Denver. I don't think that's fair to flow. I've spoken with a lot of players over the last couple days from the Miami team being like, really upset because they love Flores. And you know what? They don't really know the general manager in his intentions. They don't really know the owner as much as they know Flores. So that's just the one thing I would say.

And as far as what he brings with him, I think it's a very disson thing. approach. To the naysayers point, though, multiple offensive coordinators during his time there, Patrick Graham lasted one year, then he bolted to New York, multiple PR people were higher. There's been a lot of turnover, whether it be the Kyle Van Nuoy just there one year after signing a huge contract, and he's let go and he goes back to New Orleans. I think Flores is a really attractive candidate. If anything, I would urge these teams and these general managers and these owners who are interviewing him to realize that Miami's not the most functional situation. situation either and take him and take those players' words when they meet with Flores as well.

So the giant situation, you know, Shregs, you wrote that book years ago, out of the blue, New York Times bestseller. And I was saying this, one of the cool things about the NFL, it's a really cool thing. Whereas in baseball, we know every year, there's 10 teams at the opening day, can't compete financially. We know in the NBA, there's 10 teams, 12 teams. They're not going to win the championship. They don't have enough stars. But in football, I mean, Parcells goes to a one in 15 Dolphin team. They went 11 the next year. You can really turn over 40% of your roster. I think even Houston has some hope. I think the Jets at the end of the year had a puncher's chance. Jacksonville with the right guy. They've got some offensive pieces. And then I look at the

Giants and I'm like, man, the only thing that could make them viable next year, in my opinion, is go get a Russell Wilson. That'll make you viable. They got a couple pieces. So where's the GM coming from? What's the game plan going? forward because I just sense hopelessness with this team. Yeah, I work on the NFL network as well. And they did their power rankings season of the season and the Giants were 32 of 32. And even that shocked me.

I'm like, gosh, how far has this franchise fallen? 32 of 32. But I'll tell you this, there's at least a minor change going on in the philosophy in that building. I reported yesterday that they're interviewing three different candidates, Adrian Wilson, who is a former player and works under Steve Kime in Arizona. Adam Peters and Rand Carthon, who are both in the San Francisco front office, and there are several others, two from Tennessee, one from Buffalo, one from Kansas City.

This is new for the Giants, even in that step, where since George Young was hired in 1979, the GM or the executive role, has either been a long-established front office person like Ernie O'Corsi, or somebody who has worked for the Giants for years, whether that be Jerry Reese, who won two Super Bowls with them but was a giant scout forever before getting the job, or Dave Gettleman, who was a giant. Scouts, then was a GM with the Panthers, and came back to be the Giants. The last time the Giants did a real GM search was 2017 when they fired Reese. They only interviewed one candidate outside the building, and it was Lewis Riddick who'd been on ESPN for several years. This time around, they're interviewing a bunch of different GM candidates with different resumes and when they hire that GM candidate, they're going to look to that GM candidate and say, what do you think of the coach? What do you think of the quarterback? So I don't think they're tearing things up and they're starting a new like Chicago and Minnesota is doing. But the mere fact that they are

interviewing new GM candidates with different backgrounds and different histories and resumes from all over the league, that's a sign of some change for a Giants organization that has been just steeped in tradition for so, so long. Minute and a half left. What if Jimmy G goes and beats Dallas? We sure they're getting rid of him? What are the expectations there? How could you? I thought Jimmy was awesome on Sunday, and I've been his biggest critic, and I was wondering, okay, here, another injury for Jimmy. Here we go. Down 17-0 in L.A. goes out there and just throws the team on his back.

Down seven with two minutes left and finds away and gets him to overtime and then gets the win. Jimmy has made it really hard for Trey Lans. And I'll tell you this, Colin, throughout the week, people were saying you're going to see probably Jimmy start, but Trey Lans is going to get, Trey Lans didn't play a snap on Sunday. In the big game, Trey Lans did not play a snap. That tells me that that coaching staff, they knew that Jimmy gave him the best chance to win. And whether that changes after a winner or loss to Dallas for the 2022 season, I'm not so sure. Yeah. Garaplo's fascinating guy. He really is.

I said he's the opposite of Kirk Cousins. Kirk Cousins is really good and consistent. But I feel like sometimes he shrinks. Jimmy is inconsistent, but rises with two minutes left in big games on national TV. He's just got something in the DNA. It works for him. Shreg, great seeing you as well. sheet, Fox Sports app, Peter Schrager, check it out. Thanks, bud. Thanks, Colin. You're the best. You bet. So, yeah, it's, my takeaway is you drafted

Tray Lance. He's had a year. That's what Kansas City did. Win or lose with Garoppolo. I would move him because Tray Lance and Garoppolo are two different players. One's a much kind of a different athlete. You're going to move the pocket a lot more with Tray Lance. So Garopolo and Lance don't have like similar games like Tyler Huntley and Lamar. That's a perfect. situation. They kind of have each other's games. When I look at this, I think I would move Garoppolo, win or lose, and I like Jimmy. It was going to be like 32 and 14. Even if he beats Dallas, I'd move him. And I'd just say, Trey Lance, every ounce of energy in the building is to cleaning up your delivery and going and building. And then, you know what I'd do about San Francisco?

I wouldn't be shy about in the sixth round or something, getting his backup, who's got kind of the same style as Trey Lance, because if you're running around in this league, you can get hit, you can miss a game. But, you know, Garapolo is nobody will, it's Derek Carr and Garapolo. Could we just put our arms around him for a weekend? Because they win a lot of football games. And they win a lot of football games late situationally. And that's how we elevate quarterbacks. Carr and Garapelow late this week. How'd they do? Hour to next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob

to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL'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.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the Fourth. You might have seen the skis. 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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 I Heart 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. On the Look Back at a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay. 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. 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. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.