The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Jackson, Packers, Colts

Episode Date: November 8, 2022

Lamar Jackson once again proved he has the #1 quality a true franchise QB needs  Colin defends former Packers HC Mike McCarthy  Thoughts on Colts owner Jim Irsay's press conference and Jeff Saturday being the new HC   Guest: Albert BreerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule. of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a 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. 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 Heard. Now let's get this party started.

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, it is a cheats. Tuesday, it is lively. It is Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be in, however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. So much happening.

Trade rumors in the NBA. Will OBJ be a cowboy moving pieces? JMAQ is joining one hour from now. The very coveted herd hierarchy. Will the Jets get in? Are the Giants still in? We'll see. J-Mac joining us.

A lot of stuff percolating. I may not have my voice for the entire show. My son had a thrilling soccer game last night, playoff game. Scored the game-time goal to force overtime. So it's going to be a tough one for this show. But if the Jets make the herd hierarchy, I will find the energy, Cowherd. So let's start with this. Listen, I'm watching Lamar Jackson last night.

Pay them already. The number one quality of a franchise quarterback. is when your team isn't right, can he carry you to a win? So the best tied end in football, or at least the second best, Mark Edwards, Ravens, not available. Their best receiver out. In a weak receiving core, the defense has holes on the back end. Oh, yeah, it's Monday night football in the loudest road venue in the league.

And Lamar Jackson barely broke a sweat. Completed passes to 10 different people, huge on third down. and that is what it looks like. That is a franchise quarterback. It's different, it's unique, people can't care. Their arms around it, but it's incredibly special. And if you're constantly, as a fan, you're constantly blaming, because you have a quarterback

and you're not sure if he's a franchise quarterback. And I've said this before, but you're constantly blaming the receivers and the coordinator and the offensive line and the lack of a running game. You don't have it. You don't have him. That's what the Giants are doing and the Jets are doing and commanders are doing and Lions are doing.

Carolina is doing. They're blaming other people. Lamar Jackson goes on the road. One of the toughest Monday night football environments doesn't have a world-class tight end, his best receiver and a bad receiving core, and a defense that can be very susceptible. And Andy Dalton looked like a flip phone and he looked like the latest iPhone. I mean, it was just special, fast, unique, third down. He was amazing. I'm looking down. 14 rushing first downs, nine for 15 on third down. No turnovers. 38 minutes. possession and the Saints knew they were going to run. There was no big secret here. They didn't have their tied end of their best receiver.

Everybody in the stadium, including the fans, who were all lubricated. Everybody knew Baltimore was going to run. They still couldn't stop him. And last night was a great example of what has happened to this league. And it changes fast. What has happened to this league? Because of the rule changes and because now many of the great high school athletes are allowed to be a quarterback.

Why not? That's the only position you touch the ball 60 times a game is that your quarterback has to have some it, some juice, something different, something unique. And Andy Dalton looked like a 2011 quarterback. And by the way, 10, 11 years ago, Andy Dalton was fine as a franchise quarterback. Look at it now. It looks like 1970. Look at Matt Ryan now. Look at Jared Gough now.

that classic pocket passer, it will not do. It is not good enough. You have got to have juice. And even John Harbaugh has been at every Lamar practice, every game, seen every piece of film on him. Even he was taken back by Lamar Jackson last night. I do not take it for granted. I was shaking my head. I think I said, wow, a couple times.

I mean, I don't know how. I couldn't see how he got out of one late on the other side of the field there. I mean, how did he get out of that one? I thought Lamar played Lamar plays on a different level. You can't just look at passing stats. The passing stats are good, but he made some plays. He made some third down conversions.

Third down was a key in this game. We did a great job in offense, and Lamar was really the driver of that. It's really special. If you watch that game with the sound down and you just see Lamar's running all over the field and making people miss and picking up third downs, and he's doing that without arguably the best tied in in football

and his best receiver in already a bad receiving core, on the road. It's just, it's hard to take your eyes off him. And people have struggled what to do with Lamar Jackson. I always say the same thing. He went to about 75% of his starts. Well, he can't win a Super Bowl. Well, Dan Marino never won one. Asked Dolphin fans. Were those good days in Miami? Aaron Rogers, Brett Farb, have two between them. Been pretty good days. What you don't want to do is drive to the ballpark, drive to the stadium, having a huge deficit. 15 weeks a year at quarterback.

With Lamar and that sauce and that juice and that it, you've got a shot to win every game even when you're missing your top pieces. All right. So I think this is interesting. And I'm guilty of this too. Is, you know, when Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rogers, when that relationship dissolved and they meet this week. So Dallas is going to Green Bay and Green Bay is falling apart.

Stokes, the cornerback could be out. Roshan Gary out for the year. I mean, they're a mess. And so at the end of that relationship, in that divorce, Aaron was seen as holding it together, and Mike McCarthy really became a punching bag. Well, now here we are three and a half years later, and Mike McCarthy's doing quite well for himself. And Aaron has himself a new young, handsome football coach.

And that new coach, Matt LaFleur, he's dealing with some of the same issues that Mike McCarthy did is that Aaron is a highly, highly talented, moody, often aloof, prickly quarterback who's gotten very Aaron, very, very, very Brett Farrv in his later years. The Packers have no owner. It's a unique situation where Fav and Aaron Rogers are the most powerful people in the organization. There's no billionaire to tell him no occasionally, and they both got stubborn in the end, and Fav left, and Aaron feels like he's not long from his.

in the door. I think Green Bay's best days are behind them, but I said that in the offseason. It's a small market, cold weather, not attractive to free agents. I don't know if they have the right coach. They are cash strapped because of Aaron's contract. Not much they can do the next two, three years to get around it. And they have a front office, which is very conservative. That's their nature. And as the NFL, and I think we could all admit this, is pivoting to a more aggressive and progressive league, Green Bay to me feels sort of ill-equipped and uncomfortable with all the changes. Meanwhile, for Mike McCarthy, everybody piled on.

I'm guilty. He was the punching bag. He was the problem. And this morning, he's got stars at linebacker, stars at corner, star at wide receiver, emerging star at running back, couple of offensive linemen they like. both coordinators seem to be perfect fits with the Cowboys. And Jerry Jones, you can tell how he's working, trying to manifest it. Speaking of Aaron Rogers, trying to manifest it, stories that Dallas could be leading on OBJ

and Jerry Jones talking about it on Dallas radio this morning. No, Dallas, someone that we have all the appreciation in the world for what he is as a competitor. I know that as a cowboy star on that Helman, when he puts it on, could look pretty good. Got to be humble in this league. Ask the Rams. Ask Aaron Rogers. It turns on you very, very quickly. And I'll be honest. I know you think I'm anti, Aaron. I'm not. I really not. He wears me out, but I'm not. The league's better when he's great. But I will be rooting for Mike McCarthy this weekend. The avalanche on social media, myself included, buried him, blamed him for everything.

And now Matt Lefleur is like, yeah, my quarterback's difficult. Like all the time. No show in the offseason with rookie receivers. This stuff isn't easy. And Greg Olson said yesterday, in the entire league, Mike McCarthy could be the big winner this week. So now picture yourself, you're Mike McCarthy. You get sent out of town.

You get thrown to the wolves. You take all the heat publicly. and that all Green Bay does is win since Matt LaFour takes over in your seat, right? 13 and 3, 13 and 3. It seems like they win 13 games every year. And now finally, it matches up. He takes all the heat in the offseason. Sean Peyton's taking his job.

Everybody in the world's taking his job. He's now got one of the favorites in the NFC going back to Green Bay, as you mentioned, against a wounded Green Bay team that's reeling. It couldn't have lined up better if you're Mike McCarthy after all these years after being let go from Green Bay. And it does feel like we've discussed it this week. OBJ, if you ask me if I was his agent, the perfect fit, it feels like the Cowboys. They've got the tight end.

They got the star receiver. They got the star back. They've got a veteran quarterback. They just need a little more on the outside. Sean McVeigh wants him. I think Mike McCarthy's going to get him. You can hear the way Jerry Jones was talking on Dallas radio this morning. He's trying to kind of manifest it and make it happen.

I think we're going to have a really good weekend for Mike McCarthy. And he's, I'm not a big deserved guy. I'm more of an earned guy, but I think he's deserved it. Top of next hour, the herd hierarchy, all sorts of rumors. Jim Ursay, what in God's name was that yesterday in Indianapolis? Wow. Darvin Ham has a mess on his hands, coach of the Lakers, both of those around the corner. 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 unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the 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, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

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

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The 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 Jett. 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, so. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Trip 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, 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 Hardway and listen now. So yesterday during our show,

early portions, right before our show, I think, J. Mack, the Colts fired Frank Reich. I think he's a really good coach. I think he'll get a job. It does feel like the very impulsive Jim Ursay, the owner now is calling the shots. I think that's always a problem. I've seen that with Dan Snyder and the commanders. I saw that with the late Al Davis. It just doesn't work out. Clearly the Colts, Jimmer, they held a press conference yesterday. It was scheduled for 6 Eastern.

They pushed it back to 8 Eastern, so it began at the same time, basically, of Monday night football. They were hoping nobody would watch it. It was a little bit of a rambling. You ever go to the grocery store? They tell you never go to the grocery store when you're hungry. And you end up with like beef jerky, a red bull, garlic bread, some bananas, pasta and fruit loops. Like don't go to the grocery store when you're starving. This was a jimmer, say, going to the microphone when he had a lot of energy, a lot in

his mind, a little bit of a Trump-COVID presser feel to it where you're not quite sure what's coming out next and you're not quite sure you're okay with him saying what he was saying. He hired a Jeff Saturday, who I know and who I like. He's been a consultant for the team. He's never been a coach. It's hard to coach in this league. That's why, you know, 25% of the coaches get fired every year. Of the many Ursae comments, it went over an hour.

Here's one of the comments, one of the gems. Now, I'm glad. he doesn't have any NFL experience. I'm glad he hasn't learned the fear that's in this league. Because it's tough for all our coaches. They're afraid. They go to analytics and it gets difficult. I mean, he doesn't have

all that. He doesn't have that fear and there was no other candidate. We were fortunate that he was available and he has tons of experience. He knows this game inside and out with relationships with coaches and players

and has been a consultant. for us for several years. Consultants are not coaches. Analytics are not a bad thing. So let's just start with that. There were other people available, and I like Jeff Saturday, but that feels like rambling. I don't agree that he was a consultant.

I've had consultants in my business for a long time. None have been my boss. Thankfully. Here's another Jim Ursay bite. You want to bet against this guy? Put your money down, people. Love to see it. Love to see it.

Because I know what he's about, and so does Chris. And yes, there's a maturation curve. Shula was 32 years old. He had three nondescript years with the Detroit lines before he took over the rains in 1963. No, the game is not different. We don't build rockets to go to Mars. We're not nuclear scientists. That is none of our jobs here.

It's very simple jobs that we do here. We cultivate winning cultures. We cultivate toughness. We live by our integrity about the people that we are. And we don't expect anything more than we expect from ourselves. I do not believe it's a simple job to coach. Andy Reid got fired. So did Bill Belichick.

It is not an easy job to coach. half the playoff teams don't make it the following year. It's really hard to coach. Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the few teams, maybe the only one. They hire a coach and they stick with him for a couple of decades. But a lot of fans in Pittsburgh aren't happy with their current coach. Yeah, it's not rocket scientists. I'm not saying the coaches are rocket scientists.

Neither talk show hosts. But I have to talk for three hours. I'm exhausted by the end of every year. show. Got to keep that Jets fan in his place over there. I mean, we know this isn't like, you know, running SpaceX or NASA, but it's not easy. It's really hard. Let's not marginalize how hard it is to run franchises. How many Super Bowls do the Colts have? And that's with Peyton Manning and with Andrew Luck. Do we have another Ursaibite? I'm certainly willing to listen to another one if we have it. I don't know how to make sausage. I don't know what goes into sausage, but I do know how

to build a football team because I've been around for 52 years. And from all the people from Paul Brown to Don Shula to sitting with Ted Marshall Broden, understanding what you do during a week for preparation, I understand that. And I understand that he's fully capable of doing this and more than capable of that, no, it wasn't offered to anyone else. And, you know, I don't know, I don't know Chris and I what we would have done, if anything, if he wasn't available and willing. Listen, the Colts have a lot of issues. One of the only things going for him, a really shrew general manager.

But this league now, you need a star quarterback, a star left tackle, a star edge rusher, a couple of star weapons on the outside, maybe a great corner. The Colts are good in a lot of places. Those areas are not the places they're great. and the great teams like, you know, the Buffalo's in the Kansas cities, and I think San Francisco, Cincinnati's really good, Baltimore. They've got a lot of stars in those places. They've got salary cap issues because of Matt Ryan's contract,

and they truthfully got trapped and had to go get Matt Ryan because there wasn't much out there, and Ursay wanted Carson Wentz gone. This is a bit of a mess. And that was a lot of rambling, and that was going to the grocery store, starving. And I feel like today the Colts have some, You know, cookies and cereal and a little fruit and paper towels and some garlic bread.

Can't make a meal with all that stuff. And right now they're not a very good meal. They're not a very good football team. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, let's start with the Buffalo Bills.

They're reeling, reeling from that loss to the Jets. What's the latest on him, Josh Allen? Well, that's the thing. Ian Rappaport is reporting. Josh Allen is likely to be lily. limited this week due to that UCL injury and his throwing elbow. We talked about it early in the show yesterday. Now, it's not season ending, right?

No, no, no, no, nothing like that. They just don't know. And they're keeping it as quiet as possible. You can't really gamble on this game outside of Vegas, which says a lot. That's right. They usually get the inside information. Erapaport says that it may not cause him to miss any time, but he might. Colin, I will point out, I just looked this up.

Josh Allen has thrown four interceptions in the last five quarters. too late against the Packers, two in the fourth quarter, and then two against the Jets. Has it looked particularly sharp? Do you know who the backup is? Case Keenum. There it is, yes, Case Keenham, who has been a journeyman for like 17s, including, wait for it, the Minnesota Vikings, who they're playing this weekend. Remember, Case Keenom went to like the NFC title game?

They got smashed by the league. Well, I told you, I like Minnesota this week anyway. That's weird. I didn't like that initially. But why do you like them? I think Minnesota's the classic team that they're a little like Baltimore. We keep doubting them. And then you look up and they make plays to win games.

And I think it's contagious. I think Baltimore with Lamar knows how to win close games. And I think Minnesota's starting to become that. Like I thought they were outplayed for three quarters against Washington. And then you look up and they win the game on the road against the team that was kind of hot. I think it's contagious. Some teams know how to win those games. Some teams don't.

And I think Minnesota, every week. It's just adding Hawkinson. I think they've got a puncher. Like nine catches. No, he's, we both said this. That was, they stole him from Detroit. That was a great get. So I will just point out, and I talked about this on my podcast, about the three times,

they've gone outdoors this season, the Vikings. Pedestrian against Washington for three quarters, they were down 10, turning to the fourth, got smashed in Philadelphia. I mean, they were destroyed. And the other time, they went to Miami, and they kind of played with their food for three quarters, got lucky at the end and pulled away against the backup quarterbacks in Miami. This is a different team outdoors. That's fair.

Well, I mean, Kirk Housins has been a different quarterback in big spots. That's why we don't. This is a 1 p.m. start. That's right. No, that matters though. This is Kirk can be a little bit rigid. This is a 1 o'clock start. He'll feel good for it.

I think Minnesota, which was my, I got lucky on that, my pick for the surprise team in the NFL in terms of like almost doubling their wins. I think they've become Baltimore. Just keep doubting them. And we're going to look up and they're both going to have 12 wins. Okay. Buffalo had some injuries on the defense. Milano, their middle linebacker, one of their safeties was out, and the interior offensive line struggled against the jets. They had five sacks, remember, without blitzing. Well, the jet's deep front is great. Yeah, it's one of the best

in the league. It's heard hierarchy worthy. All right, let's move on. Tom Brady and Tampa headed abroad to face the Seahawks in the first NFL game in Germany. This is kind of, I think this is really cool. I've always wanted to go. I've never been to Germany. I've always wanted to go. I don't know why the NFL did this. My son got to go. I've never been there. in October for October Fest. Really live it up. But Tom Brady's fired up about the atmosphere. Munich is going to be rocking.

Here's what Brady had to say. It's a big challenge because, you know, to fly across the ocean like that, new time zone to 930 Eastern kickoff. It'll have its challenges. I had heard there's 3 million ticket requests for 67,000 seats. So the place is going to be rocking. If it's anything like what I see those German Bundesliga games. I mean, this is going to be one of the epic games that we've ever played, and so I'm super excited.

Yeah. No, that's, it's one of the places on Earth I want to go. I think this is fun. I really do. I can't wait to watch this. Yeah. And this is the, so it's Seahawks and Tampa, it's the 630. 6.30. So I looked at my schedule yesterday. I'm like, you're not out of town this weekend, I'm not. Well, I am, but I'm going to want, I don't care. I got a TV in Park City. So this, I think this is going to be as good as any game on this. a schedule because I think Dallas may blow Green Bay out. Even though it's a marquee game, I think Dallas is rested, healthy, and ready to roll. Is this line fishy to you?

I know you are like if the Seahawks are two and a half point underdogs against Tampa, which, I mean, they haven't looked good for like. I love Seattle. I mean, Colin, outside of a fluky drive with like 60 seconds left, the Rams were winning against Tampa. We talked about this. Seattle is such a shock that even Vegas doesn't know. what the heck to do with them. They were an underdog twice to Arizona.

I watched all of those games. Seattle was absolutely significantly better in both games against Arizona. And now they're an underdog. You mentioned this. When Brady, as an older player, gets out of his routine, he struggles. You got to go to bed early when you get to be 45. Brady struggled in those primetime games. One note.

I know we bashed Twitter a lot here. Some guy yesterday sent me, hey, Bowls from Tampa was with Gino Smith like many of those early years in New York Jets. Could Bowles kind of get into the psyche of Gino Smith a little bit? He's known the guy for coached him with like three or four years. We'll see. I like Seattle there. Listen, I was wrong on Seattle.

I'm not going to double down on wrong. I was very wrong. I was rooting. They're really good. All right. Finally, let's go to your Packers, your favorite team in the league to talk about. Bad news. Rishon Gary.

He's done for the season. A.C. Altair, one of the best defensive edge rushers in the league. league. Matt LaFleurr also fears that corner Eric Stokes, young kid out of Georgia. He's a burner, like a 4-340 guy. He is an athlete, man. Looks like he's going to be done. Collett, this is the injury list for the Packers right now. ERA Jones, TBD. Romeo Dobbs, we don't know. Christian Watson, another concussion. That's two straight weeks. Yeah. Forget he cannot just sit him out. Gary Stokes and then, of course, David Bactiari. But Boktiari's injury has been bigger than anybody will acknowledge. But remember, the best game Green Bay played last year,

was on the road against Arizona missing 11 starters. Remember that game? That's right. Devante Adams was out. It was one of the best games of the year. And Green Bay went on the road. I remember watching that game.

And I said it at the time. It was as impressive as Aaron Rogers had ever been. He had to be a total leader. They were missing. I think it's 11. They were missing, I believe, like 11 starters. And they beat at the time. I think Arizona was.

Arizona was undefeated. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, it's weird. This league is very weird. obviously you need those starters, but you can kind of galvanize the locker room for a week when everybody plays above themselves for a game.

It's like the Packers were 7 and 0 when Devante Adams missed a game in Green Bay. So people stepped up. Now, when he leaves forever, you can't replace him. But it is weird sometimes when teams kind of rise in the moment, everybody knows, like last night, Baltimore. I mean, they were missing their two best weapons It didn't matter.

Now, they will not be as good if they don't get that tied end back. But in the moment, could Green Bay play above themselves? I think they could. This is what, you know, not to overstate things. It's one of the biggest games of the season. Because if the Packers drop to 3 and 7, Colin, basically write them off. They're not getting a wild card spot at 3 and 7. And the schedule is tough.

So this is their season. And you've got McCarthy coming off a by two weeks to think about the place that fired him and the coach that hated, or the quarterback. that hated it. Remember the stories? Yes. They would not talk for like the second half of the season when McCarthy got fired. And Sean Payton yesterday told us some stories about revenges and coaches. Sean Payton told us a story off the air yesterday when he left.

Yeah. You and I both heard. These coaches want revenge on people who wrong them. Folks, I'll write about it in my book 25 years from now, but it was, no, I can't. I have Sean, I can't. Sean told me that story. It's not that bad. But we sat there and it was like, boy, they really care.

You don't think McCarthy? I mean, he won a Super Bowl. I think he won a Super Bowl there, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he's now angry. The team that fired him, you've got a great defense rested, coming off the by. Micah Parsons against a shaky offensive line. How about put OBJ on that team right before the game getting Green Bay's head a little bit?

It was a lot of fun. I want to see OBJ to the Cowboys. I think I like the Packers here. Can you make a case for the Packers to cover? All this stuff. What's the number? I think it might be six. I'm going to have to check. Earlier it was like five and a half.

All right. I'm going to take Dallas. Head to head? I can't wait. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News.

So it's really interesting, kind of the juxtaposition of the Utah Jazz, who we thought we were tanking in the Lakers last night. Lakers lost. They're now two and eight, third worst team in the NBA. But the tanking jazz, there's so much basketball talent. I love the NBA, and I love basketball, college basketball season starting. I like watching basketball on television. and it's really fascinating.

We thought the jazz were sort of soft tanking to get some of these great players coming in the draft. They've now hammered the Lakers, the veteran Lakers twice in the last few days. They have a boatload of picks over the next several years. They've got some nice young talent, Markanin, Colin Sexton. They have a kid Walker, Kessler.

I would love to be Utah for the next half decade. It's going to be so much fun. They've got youth. They've got a coach from the pop of it. They've got Danny Ane, a smart GM that always has a plan. The Lakers never seem to have a plan. They have a strategy. The strategy is let's go overpay for aging stars.

So it does feel a little bit like Utah's playing chess and the Lakers are playing Connect 4. I honestly think if I was the Lakers at this point, I would sit down with LeBron James, closed door meeting, and clutch sports, Rich Paul. And I'd say, A, the season's over. B, we're going to move Anthony Davis. We want to give you a heads up. And C, are you okay with that?

If not, we may move you. The franchise has no plan. They occasionally have a strategy. And it's generally not being able to see around corners. You know, if you start looking at business, the smartest people in business can generally see problems before they happen. Right? That's how you avoid the mess.

That's what good presidents do. That's what, you know, that's what good politicians do. Well, Anthony Davis peaked at 24, had a great bubble year at 26, been declining ever since, and now the Lakers slow to move or trapped. Westbrook bouncing around the league, kind of a stubborn, rigid player. He's played good last couple of games. Now he'll come off the bench, I guess, for the time being. But it feels like they're trapped with him.

It's sort of the classic Lakers over the last 10 years. They always feel like they take. can't see problems before they end up in their lap. And here is Utah that's soft tanking to get one of the two or three stars in the draft, and they're winning. And they're right now in the West. I think they're the number one team in the West right now, and they've clobbered the Lakers twice in the last several days.

So listen after they beat them last night. Just listen to the difference between the jazz after the game and the Lakers after another loss. I think our guys have really bought in to that style of play and that thought process. And they're playing with just a lot of passion and joy out there. The ball is flying around. They're happy for each other. Everybody gets to touch it. And nobody feels like they're not included in the game.

They have to step up, have that confidence, and play better. and those are just the real facets of our game. We can't go out. We're a tax offender, right? We just can't go out and start spending money everywhere to build a team. We have three big-time, Future All-of-Famer, First Ballets, First Ballet Future All-of-Famers that a chunk of our budget is being spent on, and there's only so much left.

One team has joy and chemistry and ascending and young. They like playing together. Do you watch that game at all last night? Moving the ball around. I was telling one of the guys and the staff who didn't get a catch it. You just watch Utah play. Those guys like each other. Totally unselfish.

Everybody touches the ball. LeBron didn't play. Anthony Davis won't talk to the media. Westbrook unhappy off the bench. I mean, totally two different organizations. Who would you want to be? The Glitzy L.A. team or the Utah club that's soft tanking? I think it'd be great to be a jazz.

fan the next half decade. It'd be just fantastic. That's what sports about. You've got to be part of the build, like in Cleveland right now with the Cavs. You've got to be part of this great build. You're overachieving. You look up. Utah's the story of the year in the league.

It's incredible. We thought they gave away all their players. We thought they wanted to get the number one pick. Look at them play. It's amazing. Now, over the course of a season, how good they're going to be. But it's amazing what happens when nobody wants to take credit in a basketball floor. That's Utah.

So do you think the front office is happy? that they're nine and three? Because Colin, we know in a playoff series, they are going to go against anybody in the West, and they're not going to have the first or second best player, and they're probably going to get swept or lose 4-1. So if you are the front office at the Jazz, are you kind of like, we thought we could have maybe got the number

one pick? Or we have a bunch of picks. Our players all played really well together, and I can cobble together four picks and three players and get the number one or number two pick. I mean, if you have a roster full of guys playing well together and you overachieve,

you can move those players. Because you may privately not love a Colin Sexton, but he has a great year and somebody needs a point guard and three number one picks. They'll take it. You just know that in the NBA you want to be at the top or at the very bottom.

You don't want to be in the middle. That's like the worst place to be because you're going to be drafting like 17. But if you're in the middle and you have a lot of draft picks, you can, you know, this is a deal-making league. I watch Utah and I'm like, how much fun is that? Like a college team. Got a little old guy in Conley.

Then you got all these young guys. Little old guys. Well, I mean, Mike Conley's been around the league for a long time. He's a total pro. He would look good on some NBA teams that need a backup point guard for the postseason run. All right, here we go. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up, everybody?

It's me three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman. and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it.

Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushmanzada and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast from. 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. A win is a win. Okay, what you're saying? Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam 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 on day but just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack

so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now so that you're finishing that sentence I don't think there's a more important year for black people

really? Yeah for me it's one of the most important years for black people in American history Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts

or wherever you get your podcasts Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, 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, our heart radio app,

Search learn the hard way and listen now. All right, lots going on. Heard hierarchy. Top of next hour. Nick Wright as well. Albert Breyer covering the NFL for almost 20 years. Money moaning quarterback is now joining us. He does once a week and we love that.

Okay, so I said yesterday it reminded me a little bit. It was a weird press conference with Jim Ursey. It had a little bit of that Trump COVID presser where the people around him were all like, oh, watch out. What's he going to say? The experts. Yeah. And I'm like, I don't know.

I mean, what do you make of the situation? It feels so impulsive and odd. Well, the overarching thing is Ursa is very involved. And this goes back to, you know, when they made the decision to pull the plug on Carson Wentz nine months ago. And he's been very hands-on. And I think vocal internally about not being happy with where they are and not wanting to waste the current core players they have, guys like Jonathan Taylor and Quentin Nelson and Shaq Leonard and DeForest Buckner. And so, you know, I think that's sort of flowed from the decision to move on from Carson Woods and trade for Matt Ryan and go all in on older players like Yoniken Gokwe and Steph Gilmore. And, you know, it's a couple weeks ago they made the decision to go to Sam Ellinger and quarterback with the thought being either we'll have a revelation here or we'll sink to the bottom of the league and be able to fix the quarterback position once and for all in the draft.

The decision to fire their offensive coordinator, Marcus Brady last week. one that I know a lot of the coaches were upset about. They felt like maybe Frank Rackett should have done more to stand up for him. And then, of course, the big move yesterday. I've heard over the last few weeks that Jim Hersey has been asking people connected to the organization for their input. And they had a big reunion about nine days ago for Tariq Glenn going into the ring of honor. Yeah. Where Marvin Harrison and Peyton Manning and all those guys were in town.

You know, one thing I was able to gather yesterday is he's been a lot of. enamored of Jeff Saturday for a while. Saturday was at training camp a bunch over the course this summer. And I guess for better or worse, this gives him a chance to take a trial run with Jeff Saturday and get to see what it looks like with Jeff Saturday as the head coach without fully committing to him yet. That decision, of course, will come in January. But a lot of moving pieces. Could Peyton Manning be involved in the future? What does the quarterback pick picture look like going forward? You know, certainly I think there are a ton of unanswered questions. is the way this is going to play out over the next few months.

It does feel like San Francisco and Philadelphia have the most stacked rosters in the NFC. I mean, Dallas has Minnesota, Dallas maybe a step back. That's why it feels like OBJ giving them a little more juice next to CD Lamb feels like a real thing, pollard emerging. We like their tight end. OBJ to the Cowboys, it really does feel, Albert, like it's a good fit. he's getting clear to play here this week, right?

Yeah, and it's the stage, too, you know, giving him the stage of Dallas and what that would mean and what putting the Cowboys over the top, you know, could add up to him and free agency come March, you know, when he's trying to sort of launch the second phase of his career. And so, yeah, I mean, I think Dallas, because of the record would be in the mix year. OBJ 100% saw the benefit last year when I came to his image, the way their team saw him of being part of a winning program. And I think he probably would have gotten a nice payday if he hadn't gotten hurt in the Super Bowl. So he knows all of that.

That's why he's been looking at Buffalo. That's why Green Bay had been a consideration before. That's why Tampa has been one that he's looked at in the past. And Dallas comes into the picture now because they are where they are. They're a very real contender. They've got a couple of stars on defense and Michael Parsons and Trayvon Diggs. And they've even been able to ride out their offensive line issue. We all thought that was going to be a big problem when Tyron Smith went down.

before the season, but Tyler Smith played really well at the left tackle spot. So, you know, it certainly looks to me like there would be a fit there, and the Cowboys would be one of the teams I think he'd consider. Okay. You know, it's interesting. Justin Fields this weekend, I thought that game, I watched that, and I thought to myself, that's three straight games where there's some jaw-dropping, wow stuff.

I thought it was the best loss of the year for a team. What are your sources say about? Like, I didn't love Iber Fluse. I thought a defensive coach. They draft a corner and a safety. Come on, Chicago. I watch them. I think they found the guy, right?

Yeah, I mean, it certainly feels like it. You know, and I know having talked to the coaches on that staff over the summer, one of the things that they wanted to do was be very deliberate about building Justin Fields up and do it slowly and do it methodically. And the thinking there was everything happened so fast for him as a rookie. You know, he comes in, they trade up to go and get him. there's one play caller, then there's another play caller. The coach's jobs in jeopardy the whole time.

He's in the lineup. He's out of the lineup. They just wanted to sort of slow things down for him a little bit and build an offense for him and not rush anything. And I think you can see it in the way the season's kind of played out here where early in the year he had some trouble, but they were integrating him into what they wanted to do. They were figuring out what he could do well. And now you're seeing it explode.

And to me, like the blueprint here is what happened in Kansas City and what happened in Buffalo where you have a guy who is a superior athlete who's got natural accuracy, who's got a huge arm, who is wildly athletic. You use that stuff to buy him time to develop the other stuff. It worked for Mahomes in Kansas City. It worked for Allen and Buffalo. And that's the blueprint here, which I think is a smart way to do it. And look, like if you want to talk about, you know, Ibro Fluse's history, I think you

have to add in the fact that he's hired an offensive staff that looks like it's really competent. And oh, by the way, he did come from Indianapolis and Dallas. So he saw Andrew Luck in Indianapolis. And before that, in Dallas, he was there when Dak Prescott was a rookie, and they did an awfully good job. Jason Garrett did of bringing him along as a rookie. So he's seen it before. And now I think you can see that the way that they've executed the plan with Justin Field. Monday morning quarterback Albert Brewer is always great stuff, Albert. Thank you so much for your insights. All right. Thanks, Colin. You know, the NFL for years grew despite the fact LA didn't have a team.

And the NFL's fine if Chicago's not great. But there's about five franchises in this league. The league feels bigger when they're great. Niners, bears, cowboys, Steelers, you know, giant or eagles. There's like five or six teams. I have said this in college football. College football was fine when USC wasn't great,

but it feels bigger when USC's good and Notre Dame's good. the sport and Michigan's good Michigan, USC this year, Notre Dame. It feels bigger. And the NFL's fine. The NFL didn't need Los Angeles, even though it's the entertainment capital of the world. But it does feel bigger when you got SoFi Stadium, the Rams, Justin Herbert out here. Chicago is such a great, it's right in the middle of the country. It's such a great football city. And it's exciting. You look at the first six games with Justin

in the last three games. And you're seeing, you know, this inflection point. It's like he just moved past it. He's fun to watch too. There's, I'm watching Lamar last night and Andy Dalton on the other side. And it's like the game isn't just changing. Like the quarterback position now, it just can't be Andy Dalton. It just can't look like that. You got to have juice back there. And Justin Fields absolutely hasn't. Exciting stuff. Heard hierarchy. Will the New York Jets? I'll tell you, it's feisty. I got down at 9, 10, 10, 11. 12. I looked at all the numbers, all of them.

If you've thought about securing your home with home security, number one rated Simply Safe 50% off today. Go to SimplySafe.com. There is no safe like Simply Safe. This is exciting time. Nick writes around the corner too. Herd hierarchy. Live in Los Angeles, home of the two and eight Lakers. It's the herd. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

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

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at it 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. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.