The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Rankings, Mahomes, Raiders-Broncos

Episode Date: November 16, 2022

Colin looks at the latest college football playoff rankings and points out the 2 teams he believes are on the verge of breaking through with greatness We have learned a lot from Patrick Mahomes' young career Thoughts on the upcoming Raiders-Broncos game this Sunday   Guest: Mark Schlereth See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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 Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clever Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliver Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Herd 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 Hurd. Now let's get this party. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go in a Wednesday. What a glorious day. Live in Los Angeles, it is the hurt. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1.

So many things to talk about today. I love this job. Jay Mack is joining us today. It's the lighting of the pier down in Manhattan Beach. I will be there tonight. Jay Mack is bailing on it and he lives there. Wait a minute. My kids have sports activities and they want to be committed to their team, so we'll see.

Maybe we can call it Audible Lake. I'll buy your beer. Bears on Uncle Collins. Beers on Coward? Wow, they're going to be mobbing you down there. It is great to see you. Joel Clatt in one hour from now. Joel Clat, we got a lot to talk about in college football.

It is a big weekend in college football. And I want to start with that. I don't lead with college football that much until we get to like Christmas in January. So the college football playoff rankings came out last night. Ohio State 2, Michigan 3, TCU 4. That's fine. I think Michigan's a little better than everybody else thinks, but I want to talk about 6 and 7, LSU and USC.

Let's start with this. What USC has done this year, they were awful last year. No momentum, 4 and 8, just a mess, a mess. And they have a chance to play. Beat UCLA, beat Notre Dame, Pac-12 game. They could be in the playoffs. A lot of people think. think they will. And think about that. Think about all the big brands and big brands in college

sports, the Duke, Kansas basketball, Syracuse basketball, big brands always have an advantage. They rebound quicker when they're down. They get up faster when they're good. Notre Dame, big brand new coach. Oklahoma, big brand new coach. Miami big brand new coach. Texas last year, big brand new coach. USC. Oh, four of those five, it's not pretty. Oh, but it is instantly at USC. And one other school, LSU. When Brian Kelly left Notre Dame, oh, the do-gooders, the white nights, flew in. How can you do that to those children? Those kids are trying to get to the NFL, too. He's going to the NFL, otherwise known as LSU, a football factory. Lincoln Riley left Oklahoma. Yeah, for the beach in L.A. I do that too. And USC, if you don't understand LSU,

football, you don't get the sport. Nick Saban will tell you privately. That LSU team that beat him a couple years ago, he's never had anything that talented. The sports of football factory, high school and college. If you're wondering how big LSU is, who had the best catch in the NFL last weekend, Justin Jefferson, LSU,

who had the biggest interception of the week in the NFL last week, Patrick Peters in LSU? Who is the wide receiver? Everybody wants to get their hands on OBJLSU. If you go to the AFC, championship last year? Who were they led by Joe Burrow and Jamar Chase LSU? Why is the Minnesota Viking defense better this year? Patrick Peterson LSU, Hunter defensive end LSU. It is a factory. When LSU gets the right coach, a Nick Saban, a Brian Kelly, they are good instantly in great

by year two. Same for USC. USC's been down for a decade. A decade. Alabama's been unbelievable for 15 years. And USC is still ahead of them. Players drafted by NFL teams. USC is still ahead. And now just watch as USC within about a year and a half to two will have five guys in the first round every year. You know Notre Dame's a good job. You know Oklahoma's a very good job. There's a reason they both left. LSU with the right coach, all Brian Kelly needed. He told people privately, I want to play Nick Saban and just have his good of players. He still doesn't have as good of players. And he's 1 and 0 against Nick when he faces him as the coach of LSU.

Now, LSU and USC are very good right now. But they will both lose before the end of the season. I don't think LSU is going to beat Georgia. They'll probably get beat by about 7 to 10 points. And I don't think USC is going to beat UCLA and Notre Dame and the Pactors. 12 championship and whoever they play like George in the playoff. USC will lose before the season is over. But just know this.

When all the do-gooders, the saints among you, I'm not one of them. I enjoy a cocktail. I actually speed sometimes when I'm in my car. I'm not perfect. I'd bail on Notre Dame for LSU. And I would certainly bail on Oklahoma for USC for a lot of reasons. They're good. By next year, they're both great.

great. So I saw this story and I thought it was interesting. Patrick Mooms, you know, with Brady, because he's not as athletically gifted, for years in years, we heard, well, he's a system quarterback. Well, I don't know. Took the system to Tampa. They've done pretty well. Mahomes is so John Elway, Dan Marino, gifted, that nobody thinks it's part of the system. I'll get to that in a second. but I was looking at some numbers. Patrick Mahomes has thrown four or more passing touchdowns in 22% of his games. That's the highest in NFL history. And I've found that through the years there are two types of people in business.

One, those who are jealous of other people's success. And then the second group of people who say, how did you do that? That's amazing. What was your secret? They're curious. something when you look at Patrick Mahomes let's be the second person let's ask why and how Patrick Mahomes was available to every NFL team he went 10th so nine teams passed on him but Kansas City was going to draft 27th and all they had to give up was an average first

round pick and an average third round pick because the chiefs were good and those would be picks middle, bottom of the round. To move up to 10 and draft him, he was available for the entire league. How, why? What did they see? Again, let's be the second successful person. Let's not be jealous of Kansas City. Let's ask, how the hell do they do it?

What do they see? Two things that need to be said. Number one is winning as a college quarter. Fans care about that. Scouts don't. Josh Allen didn't win. Patrick Mahomes had a losing college record. Ohio state quarterbacks all win.

None have ever been great in pro football. Winning in college doesn't mean squat. They're looking for traits and talent. So get over that. If you're a team and you hear somebody say, Mitch Trubesky's a winner! Ah, shut up. Does he have armed talent?

Who cares if he's a woman? winner. Buckeye quarterbacks, Gator quarterbacks, Teebo was a winner. It's a mean nothing. Well, a little something, but not much. So that's the first thing to get over. Most Heisman quarterbacks, by the way, stink in the NFL. Tennessee volunteers were better when Peyton Manning left.

They were. He left. They won a title with T. Martin. Who you think is better? Peyton Manning or T. Martin. But the second thing, and it's really, really important, and it does matter is that some of Mahalm's success, a chunk of it more than you think, is where he landed. Look at Mack Jones. He made the playoffs, and he is athletically limited. And then this year, in what can only be described as odd, the Patriots decided that who needs an offensive coordinator.

Mac Jones has regressed badly. As a gift as Josh Allen is, Brian Daybow left. He's reverting back to Wyoming and year one in the NFL, Josh Allen. If you look at the quarterbacks right now, young quarterbacks in this league, Tua is suddenly flourishing an offensive coach. Mahomes, Andy Reed, sat behind Alex Smith, great GM stability. Justin Fields, by the way, I had my concerns. He's got very little to work with, but he appears to have a terrific.

offensive coordinator. And it looks like Matt Eberfluse is the dude. Trevor Lawrence, who, that was choppy. Then he got a Super Bowl winning head coach. You watched him lately? Trevor Lawrence is good. Joe Burrow, offensive head coach,

God him Jamar Chase. Is that we can all learn something. And I think in most instances, most people know this. Don't worry about winning college quarterbacks. If it was that easy, you'd just draft the top six schools every year. Just, just, just draft a Clemson quarterback followed by Ohio State, drafted Georgia quarterback. How many great Georgia quarterbacks have there been?

Fran Tarkingdon was good, Matt Stafford. Not many of them. The one they have now is not even an NFL quarterback. Good college quarterback. And the second thing is, and we know this, right, to be true, especially for young people, what's your support system? this is really hard. In the NFL, the better you are, the worse your draft picks, the opposite of college.

And Mahalms has had a great coach, a great mentor in Alex Smith, a great GM, stability. They get him weapons. I'm not saying he wouldn't be fascinating and talented. But when you look at the one young quarterback, we know is great and we have questions. Isn't it Justin Herbert? We're like, is this the right coach? We don't doubt the talent. So instead of being jealous, sometimes ask the question if you see somebody crushing a man or woman.

What did you see? How did you do that? Those people usually have extended success over a lifetime. What do go, Chiefs? All right. Joel Clatt in 45 minutes from now, I am going to be all over him. I hope he watched my opening rant because I thought it had some gems about LSU and USC. It feels so good.

You know, I said this. I'm going to be very difficult to deal with if USC keeps winning. This show is going to get very obnoxious. It's usually America's most likable show. If USC wins this weekend, all the gloves are off. Oh my God, I'm just going to be really difficult to deal with. And the Jets beat the Patriots? Monday is going to be popping on this show.

It'll be lit. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. 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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross

double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. 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. 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, Keer 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 Hardway and listen now. So I just saw a story this morning.

We've talked to more Chicago Bears football in the last six weeks than I probably have in the history of doing this show. And there's a reason, one reason. Justin Fields. So it's exciting. This is a franchise that can't get quarterback right, can't get wide receiver right, frankly can't get offense right. So Justin Fields is about ready. He's on pace to break Lamar Jackson's single season quarterback rushing record.

And it's interesting to compare those two because it's two totally different experiences. So when Lamar Jackson came into the league, it was about can't wait to watch this kid develop. PFF had their offensive line rated number two in the league. They immediately drafted two excellent tight ends. They had a great GM stability, a great head coach, a great O line, and then it was about waiting and watching and seeing Lamar Jackson develop. Chicago's offensive line hasn't been good since the mid-80s, the Jimbo covert ears. That's it.

It's been mostly bad since. If I ask you to name the greatest bear receiver in team history, It's somewhere between Willie Galt and Alshan Jeffrey. They can't get quarterback right. I looked it up one time. The best quarterback they've ever had, I think, was Johnny Lujack, who I thought was on like 965 The Loop in Chicago Radio. I had no idea about Johnny Lujack.

And I love football. Lamar, his experience is, ooh, let's watch him grow. We didn't worry about all the peripheral stuff. With Justin Fields, that's all I worry about. Will Chicago get it right or screw it up? like they always seem to do. Their O line now, well, they drafted, I think, four O linemen last year.

We got a couple of nice running backs, no star. Excellent young tied end. One, now two receivers that are capable. That's why I've been railing on the bears for the last six months. Trade expensive linebackers. You're not winning with Roquan Smith. And they did to a team that's in the Super Bowl bubble

that can use a tackling machine like Roquan Smith. Smith. The signs are very encouraging, though. And for the first time in a long time, I mean, a long time. I think they've got the right GM, the right coach, the right offensive coordinator, and the right quarterback. Very encouraging in the last six games. Justin Fields' passer rating with an average O-line and very few weapons is right up against 100. That is really encouraging. But this league is about four or five things. I still don't love the Bears ownership. But if you have the right GM coach quarterback,

offensive coordinator in 2022, I think you can overcome that to some level. I don't look at Lamar and Justin Fields' experiences or games, even the same. One kid got total support and has grown into a star. One kid I feel like I'm crossing my. fingers, the people around him don't screw it up. 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 Justin Jefferson, the best receiver in the NFL. Apologies to Tyreek Hill. So Calvin Johnson currently holds the record for the most receiving yards in a season, 19164. JJ, on pace to be the first to pass 2,000.

He has 1,060 yards through nine games. He's on pace for 2002 yards at the end of the 17 game season. According to Fox Bed, Justin Jefferson, second best odds to finish the year with the most receiving yards plus 180. Tyreek Hill currently has the best odds. Miami, that offense. They're both great. I like the size of Justin Jefferson, his ability to go up, not just horizontally. I think Justin, Jamar Chase are kind of different players than Tyreek Hill.

They're both. They're all great. But, I mean, what you're watching with Minnesota was, as we talked about in the offseason, they just had to get somebody in the building that Kirk Cousins for the first time in his career because he didn't in Minnesota and he didn't in Washington feel loved. And any employee, when you feel like your boss has got your back, you perform better. Kirk finally has that guy, Kevin O'Connell, the tall Sean McVeigh, has shown nothing but love. I still think Kirk's got a ceiling.

but what you're seeing now, and this is why this coach works, you're seeing the best Kirk Cousins. Last year I thought you saw a quarterback that literally was battling. And I like Mike Zimmer. That's right. And by the way, Mike Zimmer's a good coach. But it just old-school guy, a guy that Kirk needs more love than the average quarterback. Right?

You need a little more love. The only reason I would give Jefferson the edge here is the gap between him and Thielen is massive. Whereas Jalen Waddle is very good in Miami. And I think teams can scheme out Tyrone. So given this option, Justin Jefferson or Tyreekill, who do you think lead to the league in more yards? Cooper Cup, by the way, one IR, he's done. Tyreek, you can bubble screen him and he can end up with 100 yards. I mean, Tyreek feels like, and especially that offense, whereas I feel with Tua that the offense is really centered around the receivers.

And that's not a shot on Tua. That's fair. Whereas I think Kirk Cousins is running the offense and Justin Jefferson is just insanely talent. But it's Kirk's offense. So they destroyed the Brown. I think scored 39 points. Tyree Kel had like 70 yards receiving or something like that. Vikings need Jefferson to put up points, and he's doing it. All right, next up, oh boy.

We have to talk about Nathaniel Hackett. Goodness gracious. What's the latest? So the team is wildly underperforming, obviously, three and six. They're done. I think we both had them in the playoffs, right? We had Denver. I think I had him as a one or a two seat.

I don't remember, but it was. Hackett is now admitting that he knows he's. coaching for his job every week. I learned a long time ago you're coaching for your job every day. I mean, every single day you come in that building and you compete and you fight to be the best version of yourself and try to bring the best out of everybody around you. That's just how this is. That's how I've always known it is.

To me, it's not about me, though. It has nothing to do with me. It has to do with this team. It has to do with these coaches. It has to do with all of us coming together and find a way to win a football game. I don't know. What do you think, Colin? Hackett?

Why is he still their head coach? Well, you have new owner. and you have a GM. So the GM is thinking, okay, so these new owners, the first time I hire a coach, I completely whiff. And the quarterback looks like he's no good. So if you're the GM George Payton, you're thinking,

so my quarterback and my coach and my new owners are going, does this guy know what the hell he's doing? So I think you're trying to see every possible avenue to make Hackett work. I mean, job security, I like the GM of the Broncos. But owners, he was there. Okay, like that wasn't there higher, right?

This GM was in the building. So, so I think there's, I think we're all selfish. There's an old saying that GMs often, when they're in trouble, they draft to protect their job, right? And I, I think this GM would never acknowledge it, but this ownership group, I think you're going to make, you're going to do everything you can to get Hackett to work. So Hackett has the Raiders this week, then actually. Carolina. So theoretically, they're going to be their favorite in both those games. You've got to win those two to get to five and six. But then it's Baltimore, Casey. It feels like it's over. Cullen, there's a good story out there that really hasn't been told yet about how many

quarterbacks that were traded for this past off season have flopped. Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Russell Wilson. Like, it's been a rough go for these quarterbacks that you trade for. Now Derek Carr on the horizon potentially trade for. I, I, well, Brayette. Brady and Matt Stafford worked. So two worked. Three haven't. I think we discussed this a couple of weeks ago. It just depends on the situation.

Derek Carr with the right coach. I mean, he's won in dysfunctional Oakland and Vegas. Zero career playoff wins. Okay. Well, it's hard to win in the playoffs. Very, very. After eight years, you can't win one playoff or seven years? You sound like a Raider fan.

It's hard to win the playoffs in the AFC. When you got Brady in his prime in the AFC, Manning in his prime, Big Ben was in his president. Derek Carr had to face a gauntlet. Here comes young Lamar. Here comes young Mahalms. I don't know what day Mark Sanchez is coming on here. He has four career playoff wins, all on the road. Derek Carr has none.

All right, let's move on. I got to back my jets. All right, final story. I like this. Josh Allen and the bills. Tough loss to the Vikings. And listen, Josh Allen's getting some criticism, not from Buffalo, of course, because those fans are, you know, a little silly. But the media is starting to wonder what's going on with Josh Allen. He says he's not going to let the media criticism affect Tim going forward. Let's go about our business. We don't have to make this a bigger deal than

what it is. You know, we want to win every single game. When we step out on the field, I think it's our goal. I think it's everybody's goal to win that game. Find a way to do it. And obviously, we're not, you know, we haven't done that in last couple weeks. And again, it comes down to decision making. It comes down to a whole different variety of things. But we can be better at them. It's not, it's not like we're a bad team. You know, we've been hurting our a lot. Big picture. We're six and three. We're not going to let this, you know, end us and tear us apart in the locker room. We're going to come together. We're going to try to play some good football going here for them. A snowy day, Nick Chubb. Brown's getting eight points.

Money's coming in on the Browns. Total plummeting. Yeah, I would say. I think it's going to be a cold, windy day. Nick Chub gets the ball. Buffalo can't run the football. It's interesting. I know it's sacrilegious to criticize Josh Allen because everybody loves the guy. Colin, a couple sets. Buffalo does not have a second half touchdown in the last three games. I know. Josh Allen, last three weeks, has five picks in the second half in overtime, which is winning time. Four of those six interceptions in the red zone. Yeah, he's making bad decisions. Misses Brian Davel. To put it mildly, does he miss? I mean, the script with Dorsey, first half, they come out there, lighten teams on fire. Well, coordinators are different. Day Bowl tends to be more of a teacher.

Dorsey, who's also a super smart guy, could be a great play designer and play script. and he may not be quite at that point now. I mean, Matt LaFleur, I think, has become a better second half coach. I thought Matt LaFleur is a rookie coach, struggled making adjustments. I thought Matt LaFleur was great on the play sheet. I think Kyle Shanahan may be the best on the play sheet. Some guys get glued to the play sheet, and then at half they don't make changes. Pete Carroll makes changes.

Andy Reid makes changes. Tomlin makes changes. Belichick. A lot of the old guys that have been around, Sean Payton. A lot of the young coaches get Dorsey, could be one of those guys that builds, creates great game plans. And at half, he struggles to move off it and adjust. Not saying that's true, but it could be.

Do you remember last year where the league had kind of sort of solved Mahomes and he went through a turnover stretch for like four or five weeks? If you notice, the bills are not getting anything deep wide open. Nothing down the field. Teams are playing the too high shell. That's right. Josh Allen's tucking and running a little bit more. Well, that happened to Joe Burrow in Cincinnati.

Yes. Okay. But the difference is Joe Mixon provides usually. a running game. So Cincinnati, as the big deep ball taken away, has gone back to pounding mix. And he's, now, it's been inconsistent. But when he runs, then the deep ball is a little more available. Buffalo four years now, can't develop a run game. Sincletary looked kind of good on the ground against Minnesota. I've always liked him as a player. They just, you know, the O line, they don't, they don't, are, and they bail on their run game fast. But bottom line,

Buffalo does not look like, A, the best team in the league, be that dominant anymore. They just haven't. J-MAC with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. So I saw something, listen, we know Tom Brady can take hard coaching. He was with Belichick for 20 years.

Belichick is a hard coach. He coaches hard. But I saw that Bruce Ariens, 70-year-old Bruce Ariens, once again went public, not even as the head coach now, criticizing Tom Brady. He said, I don't think it was fair to Byron left, which nobody is going to say Brady was playing bad, but he was playing bad.

We also had growing pains of a young offensive front weren't running well. There comes a time as a play caller when you're losing yards, running the ball and you say, forget this, I'm putting the ball in Tom's hands. First of all, Brady was playing poorly and everybody was saying it. Every show was saying it. So let's not create a straw man argument. Brady was getting hammered. He was going through some personal difficulties.

So there's that. The second thing is, I don't want to over-dramatize this because Brady can be coached hard. Don't you think, though, he's getting a little tired of being criticized by Aryans publicly? If I'm going to criticize Aaron Rogers for too often airing out his grievances to the media, really, people, you don't have to put every meal on Twitter. Some things are okay if they're just, you know, between you and you. I think Tom's tired of it. I think he's agitated.

Remember, Ariens was in Tampa with all this talent before Tom. He was seven and nine. And then Tom and that leadership singularly changed everything. All they did was go get a really good right tackle, gronk, and won the Super Bowl. That was about Tom. And so I think I'd scale back on the public criticism of Brady, who's gone through the worst and most difficult time of his adult life. And I will say it again with conviction.

You know who wouldn't criticize Tom Brady publicly? Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch wouldn't. Oh, they would be very happy to have Tom Brady. Because they don't have a Super Bowl and they want a Super Bowl and they have a roster ready for a Super Bowl and they don't know what Traylant is. And they like Garoppolo but have privately concerns and then publicly about his health. I can assure you, Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch would not criticize Tom Brady.

I am not making any predictions. But Tom, we have record now of Tom preparing to do things, Miami Dolphin situation, before he does things. I've had that, by the way, sourced. That puppy was done. He was going to Miami. Keep your eye on that nineer situation. Just keep your eye on it.

Another Bruce Aryan jab at Tom Brady. I think he's getting tired of it. Especially this year, rough year. Time for new tires. Trust the experts at tire rack.com. Joel Clatt, top of next hour. Don't forget Mark Slareth. Next, he's got the Broncos Raiders game.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Pauli Fusco here with Tony Fusco. Yo, of course you know us as the host of the number one rated Pauley and Tony Fusco show. World renown. We all know you're sick and tired of these stupid sports shows where the host say stupid things like Tom Brady's The Goat. Or LeBron James is good at basketball, which he is clearly not. See, we give you smart takes.

Yeah. And we also bring on so-called famous guests from across the sports world and show them why we know much more than they do. You're off the show! I'm serious. Listen to the Bali and Doni Fusco show on the IHot 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. 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. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at 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. 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, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Think about your happy place. Could be a so fond game day or fishing boat. Wherever it is, driveway.com, let you buy and sell a car from there. Two teams that are a bit of a mess. And Mark Slareth,

you may think, oh, that's not a good assignment this weekend. It's a great assignment. He's calling the Raiders Broncos game, and it's in Denver. So he doesn't have to get on a plane. He can just hang out at home. So let's start with this because I've defended Josh McDaniels, because I believe that it's a chaotic organization, and it's going to take a year like Robert Salo with the Jets,

just to get the culture right. So let's talk about Denver, where I do think they're mostly well-run. They just couldn't find the right quarterback. So I'm a Russell Wilson advocate, but you hear enough things, you start wondering. Is Russell stubborn? Is some of this just Russell's Russell? He's not going to change?

Do you see any of that when you look at Bronco plays and Bronco games? Yeah, well, I see a lack of a lack of adherence to a system, Colin. I see plays being run. And I always say this about offense. you have to call an offense. You don't call plays. You have to call things that stack one upon another. And to build an offense, it's really like building a building. You start by excavating the earth, right? Then you pour the footings. Then you build the foundation. Right. And then you build the building. But you don't start at the top, right, and work your way down. And that to me is when I watch them, there's no rhyme, no reason. They don't set plays up. Yeah. And then you get into the point where, you get to the point where, you know, you've got a third team left tackle. You've got a second team or a third team right tackle, second team left tackle. You've got a third team center. And you've got essentially a rookie guard. He's in his second year, but he only started a handful of games his first year. And we're going to drop back and throw it 42 times out of shotgun. Like, that's stupid. Like, the issue here is, I think empathy is important in any walk of life. and you need to understand how difficult other people's jobs are. And put a guy in a position to fail, throw it 42 times with that offensive line, put a guy in a position to fail.

Don't be surprised when he gives up 18 hits and six quarterback sacks. You're the dumbass that put him in that position. And so, like, I look at what they're doing offensively. And I don't know, I don't know what the situation is. I don't know if Hackett's been fully, like, there's one thing to appoint a coach, an appointed coach will never succeed. You have to empower a coach. Yeah.

And if Russ is saying, I don't like to do this, I don't like RPO's, I don't like this, I don't like that. Well, then I put that on the coach as well because you're either coaching or allowing it to happen. And I just watch a lot of things that don't sync up. I watch a running game. Like one of the things they talked about. at the beginning of the season is we want to be a base wide zone team. Well, when you're in shotgun, 90% of the time, you can't run wide zone on a shotgun

because the path of the back is not correct. The path of the back has to be out arcing and to the edge, tight end, at the hip of the tight end. When you're in shotgun, you've got two guys here, you have to go underneath and run across the formation. You can never have this type of arc to, a wide zone. So you can't run wide zone out of shotgun. It's impossible. So you're going to say my base is wide zone, but you can't run wide zone out of shotgun. You've got to run, you know,

tight to middle zone at best. And so you can't tell me you have an identity. And let me tell you about identity and football. Like if you don't have identity and football, you don't got nothing. Because the bottom line is, I don't care if you know what we're running. I want to have a set of standards or a set of plays that I can run regardless of the defense you give me. If you're a three-down defense, if three-four, you play 35, you play the reduction strong, 37, whatever it is, right? I know beyond the shadow of it out. I can block all those four-three defense, a 57 defense, a 25 defense. I run that over in my head 18 million times.

There is nothing you can show me that I can't block. And so when you have that, it brings confidence to an offense. This offense just has no confidence. It just has no confidence. We just call plays for the sick call in place and hoping something work. You've got to set things up. It's just, it's just, it's really a hard watch. Okay.

Let's go to a team that does have an identity to San Francisco 49ers. So I said this before I brought you on. I said, how many times is Brady in the toughest personal year of his life going to hear Bruce Ariens take a shot at him publicly? You played with a star quarterback John Elway. You can criticize him. Generally, uh, make it private. Don't go public.

Um, and I, and I think people think, well, you know, you're just a football player. there's six receivers in a roster, maybe seven. There's really one quarterback that takes snaps once the season starts. And I look at Brady and I'm like, parents getting older from the Bay Area. I think he's tired of the casual nature, the looseness of the organization. He's now divorced. There's no loyalty to Miami or Tampa or the state of Florida. I just go back to maybe Elway.

I don't love this constant poking by Arians at Brady publicly. I don't think it works. I think it turns Tom off. Yeah, Tom is one of those guys that loves to be coached and loves to be coached hard. He wants to be coached hard. Now, that's just Bruce Ariens personality. I don't care who you are. If you play for Bruce Herons, you know, you're going to get, you're going to get, you're going to get, you know, the business, so to speak.

But you should never do it publicly. There's a time and a place. I know when I don't play well, and I fully expect to get reamed for it. Yeah. But I don't expect you go in front of your media session and ring me for it. Like that's not okay. Just like it's not okay for me to come out and say, hey, these coaches really stink. Like what they're doing to us is like, no, that's a private conversation we have.

Man on man, private conversation. So, yeah, I don't think that's ever a good thing. You know, I played for one of the great coaches in the history of the National Football League in Joe Gibbs and one of the most regal people I have ever been around. And when we didn't play well as a team, the first thing he would do is walk out of that locker room after he talked to us. He'd walk up to that podium and say, we did not execute, we did not play well.

And that's 100% my fault. I as a coach did not get my guys coached up. My coaching staff failed my guys. And that's why they played that way. And I guarantee you we will rectify it. But that's 100. Don't put it on my players. That's 100% on me as a coach and our coaching staff.

And then behind closed doors, we may get, you know, we may get, you know, read the riot act. But the bottom line is he always, always took 100% responsibility for those things. And that's, I believe that's the way you have to operate as a football team and as a head coach. Okay, the only bet I won last week, I took the Steelers off a buy with Kenny Pickett. So as we're watching a lot of these young quarterbacks, it looks like Justin Fields. I'm kind of 65, 35, 75, 70, 30, it's going to work. He's starting to develop a rhythm. He's more confident.

I like what Luke gets he's doing. Trevor Lawrence, he's got a grown-up as a coach. He's starting to put together some really nice games. I think it's going to work. Mack Jones has already been to the playoffs. So, we'll see if they finally hire an offensive coordinator for him next year. But I want to talk about Kenny Pickett because I've seen a lot of these quarterbacks who make it and they're just not good in year one.

So I tend to look for traits or moments. Do I see some juice? Like last year with Justin Fields, I'm like, there's something there. He just doesn't have any support. Right. Tell me what you saw from Kenny Pickett. Where are you at on him? I think Kenny Pickett is a guy that needs to learn, like all young quarterbacks.

What was covered at the University of Pittsburgh is wide open as a Pittsburgh Steeler. And I think that's a hard thing to process. Like, when you're in college, the windows are gigantic, right? Yeah. And you see a guy that's got somebody on a shoulder and you're like, well, that guy's covered. No, he's not.

Not in the NFL. You throw that 100% of the time. Yeah. And so one of the things that happens to you is you pass up a guy, you pass up the potential of a profit because to you, in your mind coming from college, that's covered and you won't throw it. The NFL, you throw it 100% of the time because if you don't, you're going to get hit. because we can't hold up up front, especially Pittsburgh, because their offensive line is,

I'm being kind by calling them average. They're average. And so that's just one of those learning curve things. But, man, he's got some sauce to him. He's athletic. I think there's, I think there is something there. I'm kind of with you on Kenny Pickett, Colin. I think there's something there.

He's just got to continue to process and learn that system. I know this. And, you know, having a conversation with Mike Tomlin last week calling that game, he's like, man, he's got an insatiable desire to be good. He puts in the work so much so that we gave him a little cubicle or office here upstairs where the coaches are so that he can sit in there and focus and we can look over his shoulder and he can ask us questions. You don't have to come up here to ask us.

We're right here supportive. I think they're enamored with what he could become, but that's a process like any other process. Finally, one minute left. Derek Carr, I've supported him, but if they moved off him, they're going to get a top five or six draft pick, and the dead cap hit is minimal. I like Derek Carr. I absolutely think there's a market for him. There was a market for Kirk Cousins. I think they're comparable talents. Would you, after this game this weekend, would just stay with Derek or would you get a lot of picks? I saw what Russell Wilson got. You could get some picks, Mark. You could go draft the rookie quarterback. What would you do if you're the Raiders going forward a minute left? I think that I would stay with Derek Carr. I think that's Derek Carr is a really good quarterback. I just, and, you know, it's, I mean, come on.

You had Sam Darnold, you had Baker Mayfield, you had, you know, Josh Rosen. I mean, how does that quarterback class look right now? So, you know, there's, you never know how they're going to respond. Derek Carr is a professional quarterback, and he's a good quarterback. And I think the biggest thing that you said as we came into this interview was the culture has to change there. Until that culture becomes, you know, what Derek Carr displays and what, you know, what the really good players display, that's the first thing that has to get fixed. And so I would stick with Derek Carr because I think he's made of the right stuff. Mark Schlerath, Fox Sports Analyst, he's got, I know you think it's a bad game.

I'll be watching. Raiders at Broncos. I don't think it's a bad. Any game in the NFL to me is a good game. I'm living out a childhood dream. So like the fact that I get a call game and it's Raiders Broncos and it was, you know, my most heated rivalry when I played, I was 11 and 1 against the Raiders, by the way. They're my personal good things. So, yeah, anyhow. Good seeing you, buddy.

Likewise. Take care, buddy. Yeah. You know, he said something about Denver and Russell Wilson. That's interesting. And I noticed this last week because I watched every snap of that awful game with the Titans. they just call plays. Nothing sets up anything.

Denver's just calling plays. When you watch really good teams, they'll fake a reverse early in the first quarter, and then in the fourth, they'll do the reverse. McVeigh is good at that. I've always noticed that with Sean. Sean's setting stuff up. He's a couple quarters ahead of what he wants to do. He's setting up fourth quarter late third play calls.

Denver just calls plays. That's like bad GMs in the NBA. They're not building teams. He's drafting guys. Like the Warriors draft a team. We need this. This guy fits that.

I've covered, you know, I've... It's tough without... Yeah, Lakers signed veteran-free agents. That's not how you build a team. It's just guys. They lost that running back.

That really hurt. They can't set up anything because they're backup running back. Stink. Nobody respects them. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious. various guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. 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 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 fourth. 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 conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Podcasts. Guaranteed human.