The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Josh Allen, Cowboys, Packers

Episode Date: January 21, 2022

Josh Allen and the Bills are like Mike TysonMichael Irvin's critical comments about the CowboysIt would look really bad if the Packers lose to the 49ersGuest: Albert Breer 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.

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Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHard 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 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 SportsFort,

Sports Radio. Ah, it is a Friday. On the eve of the last four-game weekend of the NFL season, it's the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, one hour from now, The Blazing Four. I only really like one game. I'm only going to put my money on one game. The Blazing Four this week.

weekend. Joy Taylor is joining me. That was a very dramatic open. After this weekend, the whole season, three games, two days. Football season's over. This is the last big collective weekend. And then three games left, two days. What a season it's been. It has.

So years ago, my first time out of college was Las Vegas. I worked for the NBC affiliate. I did an inning of play-by-play with a Las Vegas. Stars. They're now named the Las Vegas 51s for Area 51, the UFOs. Funny name. And I was very lucky. The mob was still in Vegas. The late Jerry Tarkini and the rebels were the number one college basketball Odyssey in the country. And Mike Tyson was emerging as a controversial, polarizing superstar in boxing. And there was nothing like Tyson fights. I was nervous. I don't get nervous going to games.

I'd be nervous. He would knock people out in the first round, but you never knew what you were getting. Did he train? Was he in good shape? Did he have good corner people? It was all over the map. And I think about that because you never knew what you were going to get. And when Patrick Mahomes came into this league and emerged as a superstar with Andy Reed,

they didn't do everything well, but they had the league's best knockout punch, the league's best fastball. At their best, they were easily the best. And what makes it difficult this weekend on the fourth and final game that will be played, Buffalo at Kansas City is, Buffalo has actually surpassed Kansas City as the best knockout punch in the league. Ten times this year, ten times. They beat teams in the NFL.

This is not college football by over two touchdowns. Green Bay, number one seed in the NFC, that it five times. Kansas City five times. In fact, not only does Buffalo knock people out, they knock Kansas City out by 18 points. Two times this year, the bills shut teams out. There were only eight shutouts in the league this year. They have a quarter of them. The bills went into Kansas City, and Josh Allen was jumping over people,

and they were dominating and unstoppable. So that's why I have said the bills, it's hard to get my arms around them. They are Mike Tyson. I could see Josh Allen going crazy at Arrowhead, jumping over people, throwing the ball around the yard, Kansas City gets in a hole, they've got a good pass rush, and it gets ugly. I can see that. I don't expect it, but I could see it. Because I've never seen Bill Belichick in 20 years not have an answer for a player.

he has no answer for Josh Allen. The last two times they've played, he has done virtually anything he's wanted to against Belichick. That's not the way it works. Belichick eventually has an answer for everybody. I mean, he's two and two against Mahomes, and Patrick has his way, but Patrick Mahomes has had bad halves. But the last two times I've watched Belichick against Josh Allen, it's not competitive.

He does whatever he wants, mostly, even when Belichick has the right defense in at the goal line. and what you hope with Josh Allen is there's the good Josh Allen and the bad Josh Allen. Because every game they won this year, they won by over 10 points. It's very Tyson. Mike either knocked you out or if there was strategy involved, you beat Mike. Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis. If it got into strategy, then you beat Mike. But if it got into a brawl, it was over and it was often over very early.

What you hope for is Josh Allen. in his wins had a passer rating over 100, and in his losses had a passer rating of 81. That's Daniel Jones. So that's what you pray for. Josh Allen is off. But five of Buffalo's 12 wins, almost half. They scored 40 or more points.

They have surpassed Kansas City as the best heater in the sport, the best knockout punch in the sport. At their peak, they are even more dynamic and unstoppable, mostly because Josh Allen is 6-6 and can hurdle people. He's never had an injury. He's just bigger and stronger than Patrick Mahomes. Emmanuel Sanders played with Peyton Manning in his prime. Emmanuel Sanders, maybe out of his prime, but Peyton won a Super Bowl in Denver.

He played with the Big Ben near his prime. And he recalled one of his first practices with Josh Allen. Probably like three or four practices in it. It was just throw to cold bees. It was probably like a 40-yard post route down the field. And most guys, like, they have to put some type of air on that ball to get it there. And I mean, Josh, just a flick of the wrist. And, I mean, just on a rope, just 40 yards.

And I look around and I'm looking around and I'm looking at everybody seeing that they're, like, surprised by it. But nobody's surprised by it but me because everybody's kind of just used to those type of throws. And I'm like, I've been around the league a long time. That's not a normal throw. You know what I mean? That's when I knew. I knew he was different. I suspect we will not get a duplicate performance earlier this year.

Because Josh Allen, though amazing, is not quite as consistent or refined yet as Mahomes. But this is the best team in the league when they're on. And they bulldoze you and roll over you really fast. I'll have my blazing four picks in one hour. All right, let's shift to this. You noticed something last week in the NFL playoff. Let's look back for a second. Who were the stars of the playoffs last week?

I'm going to throw a few names at you. Joe Burrow and Jibar Chase. Josh Allen. Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey. Debo Samuel and Mike Evans. Oh, wait. That's because they're stars in the regular season. Nick Foles is an outlier.

We don't ask our good players to perform better in the playoffs. And Michael Irvin was blasting DAC and C.D. Lamb and Zeke recently on a podcast. And here's the former cowboy great. Emin and I stood in that tunnel before everything. And I'll tell you this. We looked at each other and we said, we called ourselves double trouble before we hit the field. if we don't we got no shots

period because we knew if we didn't show up we got no shot our stars didn't show up we had no shot whenever you got disorder

dysfunction we can't have our stars putting up role player numbers like 31 yards rushing one touch for 21 yards 69 pass or rated and then have our role players putting up numbers like Shokes and Wilts.

Well, that's because Troy Aikman was top three in the league in his prime, and Michael Irvin was a Hall of Famer, and Emmett Smith was arguably the best running back. They also had a Hall of Fame coach elevating them. Is anybody considered that D.D. Lamb and Zeke aren't stars? I mean, you watched the Cowboy game last week. The best player on the field to me was Debo Samuel. He was the most dominating athlete.

If you look at the Cowboys' best players right now, Are you asking C.D. Lamb and Zeke to be something they can't be? Are you asking DAC something he can't be? Dak against playoff teams not named the Eagles this year was 1 in 5 with a 92 passer rating. That's Mack Jones. Zeke had two games over 100 yards rushing. He had 52 yards or fewer in 12 games, and the Cowboys have the highest rated offensive line. CD Lamb disappeared at the end of the year, a seven-game stretch with no touchdowns and the drops.

why would they be stars in the playoffs? They weren't stars during the year. The best cowboy player right now is Micah Parsons. Watch the games. He looks better than everybody else. Number two is Zach Marson, Martin, and number three is Trayvon Diggs. Those are the three best players. They're dominating players.

After that, the punter and old left tackle Tyron Smith, who week to week, his health is an issue. but the top three best players, nobody disputes that. Trayvon Diggs, Micah Parsons, Zach. Those are the three best players. Those are great players. Those are Hall of Fame level players. And then the next two guys, when Brad's healthy, Tyron Smith is healthy, he's very good. And, you know, it's a punter.

You just don't see him a lot. We're not punting as much as we're used to in the NFL. But you're asking C.D. Lamb, who at the end of the year disappeared to be a great player. Well, he wasn't a great player post- Thanksgiving. You're asking Zeke to be a great player. He was three years ago. You're asking Dack to be great against a great defense. By the way, this defense for the Niners is 3-0 against Darren Rogers the last several years in the playoffs.

So you've got to be careful about asking people to do something they don't do. I think C.D. Lam is potentially really good. It's not a star yet. He's just talented. He's a playmaker, but he's not a star. Dak, I've said before. Nobody wants to acknowledge this, he's kind of in the Kirk Cousins class.

That's kind of the class we put, we don't put them in the Josh Allen class. We don't put him in the Kyler Murray dynamic class. We don't put them in Russell Wilson or Aaron Rogers or Brady's class. So don't ask non-stars against better competition to dominate. There's a reason Aikman, Urban, and Emmett did. They were as good as anybody in the world. world at their position in their prime with a Hall of Fame coach that created game plans to

elevate each. Not only are Dax, C.D. Lamb and Zeke, not that class. You think Mike McCarthy's elevating people? That's not what I see. All right. Busy day, jam day. I told you this week is I try to envision how games will go. And, you know, obviously this year in the NFL not great.

But, you know, last week, I was two on two on my vets, but I was four and all in the outcomes. I thought Kansas City was going to beat Pittsburgh. So, like last week, in my mind, I could visualize the way the games would turn out. Forget the line, just how they would turn out. This week, I like the favorites. I can envision an upset with three of the four. I couldn't all week. And then a little deep dive last night.

There is a way. I can see it now. roadmap to the Niners winning. I'll talk about that next. 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'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

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Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 podcasts.

You know, last week we had some blowout games, so I just want good games. I cannot wait for Saturday night at Lambeau Field. It's three degrees, three to five degrees. just the Packer Niners, those games, it's going to be really physical. So I said this before. I think we all know this. I think a loss for Aaron Rogers would be pretty disastrous.

Like last week I said, Matt Stafford's got to win that game. You can't be traded first round picks for Jared Goff and lose a home playoff to a struggling team in Arizona. And Mike McCarthy pressure. I don't see a lot of pressure this weekend for anybody. I mean, if Tennessee lost, none of us can figure out how the hell they're the number one seat anyway. How'd they get here without Derek Henry? But I do think with Aaron Rogers, a loss.

He's put himself in a pedestal. He's taking a lot of shots at people. The media, the Packer front office, a lot of people want to get their wax if he loses. He's going to get crushed if he loses. He's going to get ripped by the media, the Vax crowd. He's going to get, you know, that front office in Green Bay took a lot of crap, that 30-minute soliloquy before the season when he stood at the podium and took hacks at the front office. by the way, a really good front office, an excellent drafting front office. People don't forget.

He'd be 0 and 4 against San Francisco. But I've said I can see every upset. I can see Cincinnati against a pretty conservative Tennessee offense getting big plays out of Burrow and Jamar Chase. Jamar Chase is just a game changer. He just, you can't explain certain people. Jamar Chase could have 200 yards receiving and you'd be like, yeah, that's what he does. And Burrell plays with a certain confidence. He's six or seven and O in the biggest game of his career.

You could see him pulling it off. Tennessee's not that lethal offensively. I could see the Rams beating the bucks. I don't think it'll happen, but let's be honest. Right now Tampa's offensive line, their center is hobbled and their right tackle is hobbled. Against Aaron Donald and Vaughn Miller. Tom Brady could be in a space where they're not running the ball

and he has no time to throw. And Tom has bad games. I can see Josh Allen and Buffalo just having, they already beat Kansas City once. The Green Bay San Francisco game, I just can't see Green Bay losing. Because last week, San Francisco completely outplayed Dallas, and it was still, they almost gave it away. And San Francisco's weakness is their corners against the MVP at quarterback, probably.

It just feels like it's just going to be Green Bay. But I did think, I thought to myself, okay, think about, I want to envision an upset. So here's the best I can do in an upset. San Francisco wins the toss and takes the ball. They want to play with the lead. They know playing with a lead puts more pressure on Aaron. So the trend in the NFL is give the ball up. San Francisco's on the road.

No, we'll take it first. Green Bay's run defense struggles a lot. Give up like four and a half yards of carry. San Francisco's strength is running. So San Francisco scores first. It is really cold. And it's a really physical game. And because David,

Locktiari is not 100% and is questionable to start. They get a pretty good pass rush. And Aaron takes a couple of shots and that grounds even colder at three degrees. And Aaron goes to the sideline and says, let's shorten up the routes a little bit. Our offensive line's being a little compromised here. And all of a sudden, that offense is not quite as dynamic by the middle of the second quarter because they're compromised on the offensive line. And then Green Bay goes into the second half and the game is tight like last year against Tampa. and the Niners are playing with total house money and they're loose,

and they're in the game, and Green Bay gets a little tight. There's a ton of pressure on this team. That's why the Rams last week pretty much decided that game early. They could run the football. There was no reason for Matt Stafford to be tight. There was no reason to be tight. You go late third quarter early fourth. Aaron's watching some of this game because Green Bay is not able to consistently stop.

Their offensive line gets compromised. They kind of shorten the route. it's a little less dynamic and they get a little tight. That's about the only way I can see it happening. I'm not saying it's going to, but I think Aaron is aware he did a lot of talk in this offseason and during the season. I think he realizes how big this is for him. Aaron Rogers.

Success is often based for quarterbacks on championships won a lot of times. I think success individually is much more than that. But I understand that in our business, so much of it is focused on the wins and losses, especially in the playoffs, Super Bowings and all that stuff. I understand that's part of my legacy I'll be judged on when I'm done playing. Just ask yourself, Burrell loses. Really? You're outraged?

Stafford loses. He won a playoff game and the toughest division in football. ball. Brady loses. Yeah, he's one seven Super Bowl. Only one quarterback this week loses, and you know what the lead story is. For a Saturday night game, that will lead our show Monday if

Aaron loses. So, he knows that. He's totally absolutely aware of it. Joy with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Matthew Stafford was able to get the win over the bucks during the regular season,

and he is familiar with the type of defense. that he's going to see on Sunday. He's hoping the Rams will be able to match their aggressiveness. They're bringing corners. They're bringing safeties. They're bringing backers. They're bringing simulated. They're bringing all sorts of stuff.

So you've just got to do a great job as a quarterback trying to, you know, decide for what's coming. Either get it picked up or get the ball out of your hand, try to make sure we're running into favorable looks. It's a lot on my plate. It's a lot on the plate of our entire offense. But at the same time, we're excited about the opportunity. You know, sometimes you play.

aggressive coordinators. You try to be aggressive right back to them and see what happens. I don't usually take too much from a week three game when it comes to a rematch in the postseason. You're very different teams at this point. Right. Have different personnel at this point in the season. But they matched up well. They did match up well. He was 27 to 38, 343 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions, and 134 pass a rating. But he's pretty good against the blitz. He's very good against the blitz. And Tampa has had an extra rush on 40.8% of their defensive snaps. They blitz 45 times more than any other team in the league.

So he is right about the aggressiveness. But Matthew Stafford is tied for second and yards per attempt, first in completion percentage, and first in pass a rating against the blitz with a minimum of 30 dropbacks. Yeah. So there's a big difference. Aaron Rogers, Brady, and Stafford, veteran quarterbacks, are great against the blitz.

Right. Doesn't mean they're always great against pressure. If you can get pressure without blitzing, and then compromising your secondary, that's where Stafford could get in trouble. Yeah, because he is, he tends to throw the ball away. Yeah. So if Tampa gets a blitz without bringing extra people, that's where Matt can get in trouble. That's what's Tennessee.

Tennessee got huge pressure on Stafford and didn't bring extra people. Right. But it's, I will say this, Todd Bowles, who I think is just a great defensive coordinator. I didn't think you, I mean, now you look at it in retrospect, he was okay in New York. If you look at what he was dealing with. He can be, he's really interesting. So Todd, you could tell he didn't think Jalen Hertz could beat them. They were so absurdly aggressive and fast.

I don't think he's going to be that aggressive against Stafford. They do a lot of motion, a lot of sets. They have the ability now with OBJ, even more than Robert Woods, to beat you down the field. You've got to be careful about bringing extra people against this Rams personnel. Yeah, that's going to be an interesting matchup to watch this weekend between Todd Bowles and Matthew Stafford. So Jimmy Garoppolo has gotten the 49ers back to the divisional round of the playoffs, despite the team's success this season.

A lot of Niners fans are very eager to see Trey Lance and move on from Jimmy G. But former Niner, Richard Sherman, thinks Jimmy G should not only be the starter now, but next season. I think he should be the starter again. People forget that Aaron didn't start his first year, he didn't start his second year. They're so ready to rush him in there, and they're rushing him in there with expectation. and that's the hardest thing to do. Jimmy is winning ball games.

Jimmy has a winning record and it has won games and got you to the playoffs again. It's such a lack of appreciation that it's really sad because the appreciation isn't going to start when Trey starts playing quarterback because you're not even appreciating winning. Some of these fans aren't even appreciating the win. Well, you know, this is what I've been talking about with Niners fans all season long because they are very excited, understandably so, to see Trey Lance. Shanahan was very clear that Jimmy G was going to be the start of this season. He made a choice not to go with the rookie that they used a lot of assets to get.

Sometimes in sports, we get to see what the experiment will be. And you can see that with Matthew Stafford with a new team. We just talked about with the Rams. He's doing well. Jared Gough, was it Justice McVeigh? And the team, it appears to be so because he is struggling in Detroit. Nyer's fans really want Tray Lance next year. an interesting word that Richard Sherman snuck in there is expectations because they are winning.

They're a playoff team again with Jimmy Jean. Again, and I just won a playoff game on the road as an underdog in Dallas against a better overall team, a team that won their division. And Seattle should be better next year. Stafford in year two and Arizona, whether you like them or not, are clearly competent. They're a dynamic team. Like they're not going into a four-win tunnel. So the division should be better next year. And here comes the young quarterback.

I think you'll appreciate it way more than a year from now. Oh, I do too. Like I know Niners fans get frustrated with Jimmy G. And we all do for various reasons, whether it is his health or the mistakes that he makes. But you're going to get to see what this young quarterback can do in a very tough division, arguably the best division in football. And Jimmy G's going to be somewhere else. And he's going to have an opportunity to be a starter.

somewhere else. I do think this is going to be an interesting experiment with them moving on from Jimmy G. Because Richard Sherman is right. They're winning games. And you very quickly forget how nice it is to just win games if things don't go well with Tray Lance, which I do think it's unfair to have those kind of expectations on him. But that's what it's going to be. There's no layups in the NFC West. You have six games a year that are standalone prime time TV games. Every single Ram game against the Niners Seahawks in Arizona is the America's game of the week. Right.

They're no layups. Because the division is so tough, they're all playoff games. Star quarterbacks every week. So the Titans are doing everything to ensure they have home field advantage intact. For the divisional matchup with the Bengals tomorrow, they changed their policy. So ticket transfers can't be made until 24 hours before the game.

And Tennessee's VP of ticketing admitted that this move was to was made to try and limit the number of visiting fans traveling to Nashville. I don't have a problem of that. I don't either. Whatever. They're getting people in the seats anyway. It's their field. They can do whatever they want. Of course they want all Titans fans there. The 24-hour transfer policy doesn't apply to anybody who got it with like Stubhub or Ticketmaster's seat geek. But they're healthy, by the way. They're 12th in average home attendance this season.

It's not a great home field advantage, but they're healthy. It's just it just always feels like even when they got rid of Marcus Marietta, they were like nine and seven. It's a It's a very competent team. Very competent franchise. And for whatever reason, they tend to be better in big games. Like, they lost to the Jets this year. But every time they play a Buffalo or a Kansas City or a New England, it's like they really bring their A game.

They kind of feel like they play to their competition. A little bit Pittsburgh in Big Ben's Prime. Yeah. I think this is going to be a close game. Yeah. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Heard Line News. But this is such an interesting time of the year. So you have all these great games coming up. But we have seven coaching openings. There's crazy rumors out there. We have GMs. Some teams will just hire the coach. The Giants want to hire a GM than a coach, which I think is probably the way you want to do it.

Albert Breer is now joining us Monday morning quarterback. Okay, Giants reportedly have hired the Bill's assistant GM. And that's an organization that's really well run over the last five years. So they're going to hire the number two guy in the front office. Joe Shane, the Giants are. I got no problems with it. The bills are meticulously run over the last five years. But what does that tell me about who they would hire at coach?

Is that Brian Daibol? Is that what it's telling me? Yeah, I think Brian Daibol is certainly in the running. And I don't think the Giants are going to predetermine who they're going to hire as coach, but they're going to listen to their new general manager because one of the issues over the last few years for them has been the coaching and personnel hasn't always matched up. And so Joe Shane now jumps in with John Mara and Steve Tisch to help run the coach search. And Brian Dayball is a really interesting name. There's obviously the quarterback development piece of it that we've all seen over the last few years with Josh Allen.

But there's also a strong connection to Shane there. And not just because they worked together in Buffalo. They actually worked together in Miami in 2011. And Shane was part of bringing Dayball aboard from Alabama in 2018. So I would expect that Brian Dayball is going to get a very real shot at this job, Colin. And then I think there are a couple names of guys that clearly Giants' ownership has wanted to talk to all along. Brian Flores is one. He's obviously got the ties to New York.

And Dan Quinn, who everybody seems to want to talk to, and who I think is the clubhouse leader to get the job in Denver. He's another one that the Giants have put in a request for and are hoping to talk to over the next few days. Okay. So Josh McDaniel, he's the longtime Patriot offensive quarterback. coordinator. His name is now surfaced with the Raiders. And I was telling that the team this morning, I said, you know, he's a little bit like the Lane Kiff in a college. They both had an NFL disaster. Both are a little off-putting in their personality. Both have worked with a genius. Both played college football. Both dads were coaches. There's a lot of similarities.

But with Lane Kiffin and Josh McDaniel, there is a little uneasiness sometimes like, if we hire them, are they all in, right? Like, same with Lane. And I think they're both great coaches. So it's interesting after the Gruden mess, it would not be my first choice, although I think Josh McDaniels could be an excellent hire. What do you make of the rumors? Well, I think there's reality to it. And look, this goes back a few days now. And the guy who is interviewing for the general manager job in Las Vegas, they flew him out there today.

Dave Ziegler is the director of player of personnel in New England. And not only is he connected to Josh McDaniels, he went to the same schools, Josh McDaniels, John Carroll, Division III in Ohio. and he would have been Josh McDaniel's general manager if Josh McDaniels had gotten a Cleveland job in 2020. So there's a very strong connection between Ziegler and McDaniels. On top of that, the Raiders are interviewing another guy, Champ Kelly, who worked for Josh McDaniels in Denver,

and who could come aboard maybe as Ziggler's assistant GM if all these things fall into place. And so I think there's reason to believe that there's interest in Josh McDaniels there. And I think one reason why this could be the place, place that he would go. And I realize why there'd be doubts and, you know, with ownership and everything else, why maybe, you know, he wouldn't be as interested. What I look at here, Colin, is an ability to set up the structure he wants. And really, I think people have kind of gotten

away, gotten a little carried away with the idea that he wants all the power. He doesn't want all the power. He wants a structure that he can work with. And that was sort of what he went into Cleveland with and saying, if you want to buy into my culture, if you want to buy into my structure, or how I want to set things up, great. Then we'll go forward and I'd love to work here. And if you don't, that's fine. If you want to do it the way that you've been doing it the last five years, which is what Cleveland decided to do,

it's like, all right, then you can go forward with that. And so I think the idea that the Raiders could be assembling the sort of structure that Josh McDaniels would want, I think at least gives you the indication that they're interested in Josh McDaniels as the head coach and that Josh McDaniels could potentially wind up there. So the Jimmy G story is really interesting. So Joey and I were just talking about this, is that, you know, sometimes you don't appreciate people till they're gone. This is the best division in football, NFC West.

Rams, Matt Stafford in year two with McVeigh could probably be better. I don't think Seattle's going to be as bad. They'll be better. And Arizona's always got a chin. This is a wildly dynamic, explosive team. And here comes Tray Lance, who will be the fourth best quarterback in that division, at least as a first-year start. And it does leave you wondering, do you bail on Jimmy G? Do you just flush him out?

Like, what if Lance struggles? Like, I mean, if Jimmy G won this weekend wins two road playoff games, I'm just, I'm just trading him to Denver. Like, what do you think his future is if he won a game this weekend? Colin, do you remember how quickly the Chiefs traded Alex Smith in 2018? I don't. Remember how fast that happened? that happened during Super Bowl week of 2018. They traded him in January.

Like they didn't wait until March. They offloaded him almost right away. And you know why? Because they knew what they had. Like they had seen Patrick Mahomes in practice. And while the rest of us were looking at it and saying, God, do you want to move on that quickly from a guy who just won 11 games from you? And Alex Smith had the best year of his career and they had a veteran team.

Like, do you really want to do that? And then Patrick Mahomes was the MVP of the league in 2018. Yeah. So here's the way. I look at it. If they don't move on from Jimmy G this offseason, I think it's a red flag on where Trey Lance is developing it is. I don't think you can see it any other way. They traded three first round picks to go and get the guy. They took him third overall. They've spent a year developing him. The way I look at it is if Trey Lance is who they thought he was when they took

him third overall, I mean, they should be itching to get him on the field after this year. And I agreed with the idea that they had this sort of team that really necessitated a veteran quarterback. Like it didn't make sense for the Nick Bosa's and the Debo Samuels and the Trent Williams of the world to be playing with a rookie quarterback. That was a contending team right now. And that's played out. But he's had his year of development now. He's had his redshirt year. And I think the plan is still to go forward with Trey Lance in 2022 as they're starting quarterback and get something in return for Jimmy Garoppolo. But if there's some reason they don't, I think that is a red flag on where Tray Lance is because we know what Jimmy Garoppolo is at this point.

Hey, listen, I know you're a Buckeye, but you have great connections to Michigan because, you know, this year it's been tough for you because Michigan did win, and I know you're sulking about that. I understand that. But I was told, and you have much better sources than I do, I was told about three days ago, Jim would take the Raiders job if offered, otherwise he's staying at Michigan. And my gut feeling is he's assembling his staff at Michigan. He will stay at Michigan.

I don't say it with absolute certain. That's my feeling. just a little update. Are you hearing anything on Harbaugh? Yeah, like I think the defensive line higher last week was significant. You know, and I don't know. I mean, I think that there's, you talk to enough people and they'll tell you, you know, don't try to guess what Jim's doing. Only Jim knows what he's going to do. And you know this, Colin. But, I mean, like there was, and you and I have talked about this, there was, you know, that little grudge that he was holding against the people that made him take the pay cut a year ago. Yeah.

And I think the idea of making them squirm, making them. a little uncomfortable, I think that sort of appeals to him. And so, you know, I think dragging it out as far as he did, that's part of it. You know, I think another piece of it is it really does, it really does appeal to him, the idea of going back to the NFL. And I think if we've learned anything over the last two or three weeks, it's that the stuff that you heard in 2015 and 2016, that Jim Harbaugh still had unfinished business in the NFL after coming so close to winning a Super Bowl in San Francisco, that stuff's true. Like, I think he really does. have unfinished business in the NFL and he wants to get back there at some point. And at 58 years old,

after being completely shut out last year, after sniffing around the Jets job, after sniffing around the Chargers job, I think he realizes that that opportunity might not be there every year. So if the Raiders put something in front of him in the next few days, can I say, you know, unequivocally he's going to say no to the Raiders? I cannot say that. But I think the likelihood's probably, you know, where you're at that he winds up back in Michigan. Hey, by the way, if I know I'm, this is not inside information. And you're a reporter. But if I said to you, there's going to be an upset in the playoffs this weekend. Who would be your upset pick? Are the Rams an upset? See, like that's the thing, right? Right, right. Kind of. I mean, I think the Rams found another

gear on Monday night, don't you, Colin? I mean, Kim Acres, to me, I was stunned how effective he looked, how explosive he looked, seven months off the Achilles. And I think what you saw, and having talked to people in that organization, you saw the vision for what Sean McVeigh saw this. as back in April and May and June before Acres got hurt, you saw it come to life, which is a power running game unlocking who Matthew Stafford can be. And then you can see the Rams starting to figure out how to use Odell Beckham, how to use Von Miller. Those guys made big plays in that game. And then you look at where the bucks are, two offensive linemen with pretty significant injuries. They're probably going to play through them, but significant injuries and Tristan Werfs and Ryan Jensen,

and they're already down on the offensive side of the ball, Antonio Brown and Chris Godwin, and Leonard Fournett will see what percentage of Leonard Fournett you get on Sunday. I would say the Rams are probably the upset pick, but I go into this game and I'm going to be there, Colin. I sort of see this thing as a pick I'm going in anyway. I can't wait. Albert Breer, Monday morning quarterback. Listen, I know it's going to be,

you got to get over that loss to Michigan. It's okay. I swear Ohio State's going to win a bunch of games next year, and it's great seeing you. All right, you two, Colin. Hey, by the way, the difference between Ohio State and Michigan, Michigan goes 11 and 2, they throw a parade. Ohio State goes 11 and 2.

They fire half their coaching staff. You can file that one away. The pettiness was excellent. I love that by Albert Berger. College football fans, as they always say, we're all just one degree away from crazy. There's something about the plaque on the wall. There's something about the bands.

NFL fans lose, they go have a beer. That college thing. Well, it's acceptable to be nostalgic about college. That's right. It's a formative years. Yes, that's right. Good point. He was a different kind of connection to that.

You fell in love at least for a weekend in the dorm. I mean, it says a different time in life. All right. Blazing four top of the hour. Thoughts on Stafford against Brady this weekend next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Mike check. If you want exclusive insight from the biggest names in the sports game,

what's good? This is national champion and former pro baller Chris Johnson. Let me tell you a little bit about my new series, KJ Live. KJ Live is the only show featuring me going one-on-one with the brightest basketball minds on the planet to get the real. And when I say real, I mean that real. I got legendary Hall of Famers, elite coaches, and the top basketball insiders bringing you a unique perspective on all things who's culture that you will not find anywhere else. So make your next move, your best move, and tap in with me on KJ Live, 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 is a win. I don't care what you're 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 Podcast,

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So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app,

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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. Wolf and Shepherd, my favorite shoe brand. Weren them right now. Wolfenshepard.com. Amazingly comfortable shoes. Wear like sneakers, but they're dress shoes.

So anytime anything's new and unproven, we're all a little cynical. Matt Stafford, never want a playoff game. Very cynical. Not sure. He's new. Brady's established. When he has a bad game, we're like, you know, whatever.

He has like three a year. So Brady had three bad games this year. Stafford had three bad games, but Stafford doesn't have the credibility. And Stafford, because he plays in the best division in football, every time he plays the Niners. It's America's game of the week. Seahawks. America's game of the week. Arizona Sunday night football.

Brady plays the Falcons twice a year. It's a one o'clock window game. He plays the Saints without Drew Brees. Nobody cares. Do you remember his four games against the Carolina Panthers? None stick to my brain. Because when you're successful and you've done things and you have a bad game, we don't bring the knives out for you.

But Stafford, there's a lot of expectations. They both had three ugly games this year. But as they play this weekend, here's the truth. And this is Stafford against a much better division. the average game this year for Matt Stafford and Tom Brady. And remember, Stafford played six games, now especially for Niners in Arizona, much better competition. Completion percentage, both, 68. Passing yards per game, well, I mean, I thought when they had an A, B, and a healthy Chris Godwin,

it's the best receiving core in the league. Brady throws for about 20 more yards a game. Passing touchdowns a game, they both have. average two and a half. Interceptions a game. Rounded up, both average one. Passer rating, Stafford's slightly higher. It's the same guy. One place in the much tougher division. Same guy. Both have offensive coaches. Both have top five offensive lines. Both have star receivers. Mike Evans, Cooper Cup. Both have above average tide ends, Tyler Higgsby and Gronk. Both have secondaries that have been a little beat up this year, but both have like, you

high performers back there, one a safety for the bucks, one a corner for the Rams. Both have very good defensive front. Vitavilla is a star, JPP, JPP, Aaron, Donald, now Vaughn Miller. It's kind of the same team. It's kind of the same game. They met. Stafford outplayed him. So if Stafford comes unraveled a little this weekend, I think we'll be real.

People will be punitive of their punishment of Stanford. Oh, you cast Stafford. Stafford and Tom are the same quarterback. They average the virtually the same game. It's just that, you know, you guys. got two layups against Atlanta and two layups basically against Carolina. I got four layups this year. So I think Stafford has been really, really good.

But that Sunday Night SoFi game of the week with Tennessee when he throws a pick, six, and two, I remember that game vividly. I don't remember Tom's bad games this year. If I said to you, the average fan, what were his bad games? I'd probably guess the Saints in one because he struggled against the Saints. I couldn't think of the other ones. Tom was in that one o'clock window a lot for being Tom Brady. So that late window, that was Mahomes' window and Aaron's window

and Stafford and the Rams window. That was Josh Allen's window. That was the Cowboys window. And you start looking around in those late big, big games. I'm not saying Brady was. But one of the more memorable games of the year for Brady was the opener against Dallas. That's one of the more memorable games. So it doesn't have a lot of memorable division games.

I think Stafford's going to play well. I think they have a shot. It'll be part of my blazing four picks, which I'm very excited about. It is, we got into this discussion yesterday. What is really remarkable about the NFL? It's really fascinating.

This has never happened in my life. That the nutritional standards are better, the training is better, the practices are easy, the staffs are better, the safety protocols are better. There's less hitting now than ever during the week. Players are coming back from injuries in season and starring. Cam Acres was spectacular last week.

We didn't even consider him as it was off the chart. Derek Henry, we said, should be back. Right for the playoffs. Cam Acres, we thought, was done. J.J. Watt, we thought was done. It's really fascinating how few good players are missing. Cincinnati's missed in the defensive linemen. You cross your fingers, David Pockdiari, offensive linemen for Green Bay,

Chris Godwin, Robert Woods out. Overwhelmingly, Kansas City, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Tennessee, these are healthy teams in a sport where people tackle each other. And they added a game. Hour 2, Blazing 4, next. Another podcast from some SNL,

late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 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, 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 IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. On the Look Back at a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's 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. It 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 IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.