The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Rodgers, CFP

Episode Date: November 9, 2022

Colin explains why it's time for the Packers to think outside the box when it comes to Aaron Rodgers at this point in his career The latest ranking has a suspect TCU team ranked 4th in the country   Guest: Jeff HoweSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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. Now let's get this party started. to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. On a suddenly busy Wednesday, we are live in Los Angeles. It's the herd, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, Joel Clatt, one hour from now. I'll teach him a thing or two about college football.

The playoff rankings are out. Thoughts on that today. We've got a Niners story that's fascinating. A Philadelphia Eagle story. Uh-oh. Miami story double uh-oh I think I spent four hours on the couch watching a game last night the red team versus the blue team

I watched a little Fox News, a little MSNBC and wildly entertaining and you know I don't know if I trust polling or media but I trust the American people so whatever direction they go I'm with them and it was a wild night four hours cowherd seriously well I said I got home I got done working out and it was like raining like crazy and I wanted to watch where we're going

Yeah, and it was fun. I told my kids, no politics in the house. We did not watch television or all. We played dominoes. I recorded a podcast with Alexei Lollas. We watched The Office. Colin, no politics. None.

I don't want any of it. I don't have a problem with any of it. All right. You know, you take whatever side you want. All right. Let me start with this. Very interesting. So Rob Demovsky is a very good reporter.

He's been covering the Packers for a long time, knows his stuff. So he wrote a story. The Packers wrote a crossroads. Their schedule now gets bruised. brutal. Dallas, Tennessee, and Philly. Three physical teams in a row, especially Tennessee and Philly. Green Bay is not going to win those games. And they'd be three and nine at the end of that three-game streak. But here's another question. What if they lose to Dallas? I mean, there are already four and a half games? What, out of first place? Like they're, they lose another

game and the teams ahead of them win another game. Should you bench Aaron Rogers? Now, it sounds crazy, right? But Domowski writes this column. He talks to Mike Tannenbaum, a former general manager in the league, and he brings up some good points, which is you have to play Jordan Love once they're eliminated. At the end of the day, the guys run in the organization have a responsibility for the next decade. They're not going to win the title this year. Hey, Aaron, we're benching you. The alternative, he comes back and they trade Jordan Love to a team like the Falcons, third round pick, and Jordan Love is a, you know, a consequential starter in the league for 10 years. So first of all, here's what makes sense. Aaron Rogers is going to be 39 really quick.

okay he looks like he's declining a little not as fast as everybody is claiming but he's declining a little do you want him to get more hits in meaningless games do you really think that's the thing to do secondly green bay you got to show people what jordan love is you have to show yourself if not by may you have to make a decision are you going to pay him and whether you want to pay him or not you got to know does he have the goods and since green bay does not get free agents historically the way to improve this team is trade pieces. So if he's good, move him, keep Aaron and get some pieces. This team needs an infusion of young, cheap players.

Because if you think they're cash strapped now, next year, Aaron Jones running back, $20 million cap hit. David Biok Bakhtiari, left tackle, huge cap hit. Jaya Alexander, corner, great one, $20 million cap hit. Kenny Clark, great defensive lineman. Way up there. I don't know exactly what the cap hit is. monstrous. So if you think they're cash strapped now, they're in massive trouble next year.

The other thing to think about is Jordan Love isn't very good. At least you get a top 10 draft pick. You may go fishing for another quarterback. But in the end, what's the value of playing a very soon-to-be 39-year-old Aaron Rogers in meaningless games? There is no value in it. And I also think that Aaron would buy into this. You'd have to handle it somewhat delicately, but Aaron is a grown-up. And you say, Aaron, you're still getting paid. We don't want you to get hit. There's no value to you after retirement or in your career getting beat up more. Also, it makes Aaron look like he's a team guy that he understands part of the process here is getting picks and discovering

what Jordan Love is. I think this means, makes a ton of sense. Listen, Green Bay is not an out-of-the-box team. And they frankly should be because they're sort of an out-of-the-box franchise. They don't have an owner. It's the smallest market in professional sports. So they're an odd franchise. And when you're an odd franchise with clear limitations and disadvantages in ownership and free agent capability, you've got to take some big swings.

You can't be conservative and have disadvantages against the market. at some point if you have disadvantages, you have to take swings. Bench Aaron, if they lose this weekend and next, I suspect they will. Let Jordan Love face Philadelphia. Let Jordan Love, is he any good? If he is, trade him, get picks. It's not about moving off Aaron. It's about sitting Aaron for a brief time, seeing what you got with a kid.

And you and I know there's a lot of desperate teams every year, seven or eight, even some good teams that may consider moving off a quarterback, they want to see what they have with Jordan Love. Very good column, very interesting idea, and I am here for it. Okay, so if you've listened to this show for any length of time, I like college football. There are things about college football that drive me crazy. I think the sport is too lucrative not to have a scheduling czar. Jason McIntyre and I were talking about this the other day off the air.

four or five weekends a year in college football, you're like, there's not enough good games. You need to have a scheduling honcho. Somebody that makes up schedules, evens things out, makes the big dogs, plays the big dogs. So every weekend you have at least four or five marquee games. Instead, everybody's hiding, everybody's picking up buys. They're playing teams that aren't competitive. So it drives me crazy. And that's why I talk more NFL than college football.

There's simply more good competitive matchups every weekend. So I am for a 12-game playoff for a lot of reasons, but here's one of them. So the college football rankings, Joel Clatton, one hour stops by. We got those again last night. And the top four teams are Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, and TCU. They'd make the playoffs. The two just on the outside are Tennessee and Oregon. There's LSU and USC too.

So college football has this built-in guilt. They feel they need to put a good story in the playoff every once in a while instead of the four best teams. So if you go back to the beginning, eight years of the playoff, they've done it three times, where they put a team in there that doesn't really recruit at an elite level. They put Michigan State in in 2015. They got housed. They put Washington in 2016. They got suffocated.

They put Cincinnati in last year. A way better story than a team. They got smoked. And if you look at the top four this year, who doesn't fit? TCU. because if you're really an elite recruiting NFL factory that can win a national championship, you bulldoze about eight teams on your schedule. Ohio State blows out people, Michigan blows out people, Georgia blows out people, Oregon can

blow out people. TCU is blowing out nobody. TCU is slithering by Big 12 teams. Last year, TCU was 45th in the country in recruiting. Or this year. There's only like 40 NFL guys from TCU. It's a good program. But it's the classic college football mistake.

There is a guilt associated with college football that you got to wedge in every couple years, that undefeated good story. Here's all you need to know. This weekend, TCU is a touchdown underdog to three lost Texas. Vegas knows the truth. Stop with a good story. Get to the good teams. We know who they are.

Oregon can play with anybody in the country. I know opening game against Georgia was a mess. New coach, new staff in the south. LSU can play against anybody Tennessee can play against anybody come on this is not a shot at TCU but once you shrink a club my standards for membership

are going to be very rigid and my standards are going to be very high so college football my entire life has been haves and have nots TCU is not a top 10 have they don't recruit like it they don't look like it there's nothing wrong with them going to a Bowl. And this is why I am rooting for a 12-team playoff, because then TCU can get in,

and somebody that's got big boy players everywhere doesn't have to be forced out. Years and years ago, I said, I don't understand a 12-team playoff because I've never thought the seventh or eighth best team in the country could be a national championship contender. And I'm still not sure I do. But if college football is going to have a limited playoff structure, hockey, baseball, football, MLS. You've got, you've got playoffs here. It's not about vote. It's not about optics. It's not about aesthetics. It's about like playing people. In college football, we're never going to be able to have that kind of playoff system. So let's get it to 12. It allows for a TCU, which will lose a game by the end of the season to get in. They're not going

to win a national championship. Nobody thought Cincinnati was or Washington was or Michigan state was and TCU won't. But this is a classic example of we're now doing the story over the team. What would Vegas say if Oregon and TCU played a neutral field tomorrow? Oregon's going to be favored.

LSU's going to be favored. Let's be honest. They're sneaking by average big 12 teams that Georgia would pummel, that Ohio State would pummel, that Michigan would pummel. All right, good stuff today. I saw a story that it sounds obvious and should be obvious, but it's not.

And why the Philadelphia Eagles, they are loving things, and they should be. They should be very happy. But there is recent history that the Eagles are not only not going to win the Super Bowl, they're going to get eliminated fairly early in the playoffs. I know it sounds crazy. But I'll talk about that coming up 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, CliverTaylor 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. 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. 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. 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. And 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. J. Mack refused to watch politics. I watched it for four hours. I thought we'd see more red. We saw blue. Bad night for Trump. Yeah, what happened to the red wave?

It was more of a ruby, maybe. You know what? Blush. Here's who I trust, the American public. Where you go, I go. And they said, listen, all these weirdo candidates, we don't like a lot of them. So that's a problem with politics. They don't care what you and I think.

It's all the big money, the big money donors, they're dictating policy. They don't care what we want. No, I'm a mosquito. My whole life. I don't know about a mosquito. More of like a housefly. So it's very interesting. Philadelphia is the last unbeaten team in the NFL.

And we do this over and over and over again. We fall in love with regular seasons. But we know that in all sports, hockey is crazy. Number one seeds get beat all the time in hockey by eight seeds. We know this to be true, that regular season NFL is different than playoff NFL. The pressure is different. The experience is different. The intensity is different.

The weather is different. But we fall for it. So now everybody's into Philadelphia. But I was reading a story this morning where an NFL executive said in the NFC, he said, I could see the Eagles being a one and done. They haven't gone 15 rounds with anybody. Are they battle tested? So let's look at recent history, and it's fascinating.

So let's look at all pro sports, just pro sports. Dodgers this year were not only the best regular season team, they had a run differential of plus 334. It's one of the most dominant regular season teams in baseball history. 111 wins could not get out of the first round. Dominated by the Padres, a team they dominated. The pressure was all on the Dodgers, and they didn't deal with it. Let's go to the NBA last year.

2021 Phoenix Suns. Eight games better than the second best team. Dominated the league in point differential. Wacked by Dallas in the second round. Underdog Dallas with no pressure. 2018, 2019, one of the great regular season hockey teams ever. Bay Lightning, 62 wins, tied for the most in the sports history. Had the league MVP, swept in round one, swept.

The Baltimore Ravens, 2019, 14 and 2, Lamar is MVP. Best record in the NFL, best point differential in the NFL, could not win a playoff game. Offense dried up. I gave you every sport, baseball, hockey, basketball, football. Why? Because playoff games are always close. Secondly, the pressures overwhelmingly on favored teams, especially if they're undefeated, record setting, dominate the sport, Dodgers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Baltimore Ravens. I went and looked at a list of the final undefeated teams in the NFL from 2006 to today,

The Eagles are the final undefeated team. Many lost in the wild card round. Some didn't make the playoffs. I had to go to 2006 to find the Peyton Manning Colts for the last undefeated team. They went 9-0 to win a Super Bowl. Many were knocked out early. Everybody knows there's the regular season and then there's the postseason. Everything changes.

Kyle Shanahan against Nick Sarian. Johnny, who's your pick? Jalen Hertz against Brady, who's your pick? It's not that I don't like Philadelphia, but dominating regular seasons can create overconfidence and apathy. And a lot of times they're based on, like in football, who have you played? Monday Night Football, Minnesota, Philadelphia. It was in Philadelphia.

They played the Cowboys against Cooper Rush in Philadelphia. Look at their wins. They've dominated bad teams. Now, I think Philadelphia has earned the right to be called the number one team in the league. But we have history and recent history, and nobody would dispute that dominating regular season teams, it doesn't mean anything. Even in the NFL last year, home field advantage didn't mean anything. The Titans had a buy and home field lost. Packers had a buy and home field lost.

It is a different game with different weather and different pressure. just something to consider. J-MAC with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line. You get me all fired up early. I really wanted to rebut that piece, but I will say that you backed it up pretty well.

It's on the surface, let's admit, it sounds crazy. Who's taking them down in the NFC? But the history, and there will be a buy for the Eagles, assuming they get the number one seat. You know, that's something I've talked to friends about this, is that you ever watch a bowl game and teams come out, after a month off, and they're terrible early. Like even in Alabama, go look at how Tennessee and Green Bay last year

would have rather just played. You know, in football, if you're winning and you're healthy, you don't want. Now, week eight by is different. But you get to the end of the season. If you've rolled six, seven games off, last thing you want is your young players getting time off. You want to be back in the facility and playing. And to your point about not having been tested,

I saw a stat the Eagles have yet to trail in the second half this season. The biggest deficit was Jaguars, 14-0. It was fluky turnover. It was like first quarter. They came back and still covered the spread. But very interesting stuff on the Eagles. I don't necessarily agree with it, but I'll give you this. It was interesting.

I presented a solid argument. Very well done there. Better than your political takes. All right, let's go to the first story. Hey, this is a big one in the NFL. The Vikings, obviously, there's 7 and 1. Rolling in the NFC North, you can lock up the division. They face the bills on Sunday.

Linebacker Jordan Hicks. he's really popping off. He believes it's the perfect time to show the league how good Minnesota is. Here's what he said. It's a great opportunity for us. They're obviously a really good team. It's exciting. That's why you play the game to prove yourself and prove to the world you're for real.

Well, Colin, it is increasingly looking like the Vikings are going to have to prove it against Case Keen. Josh Allen did not do his media yesterday. He's been doing it all season. You know, he's going to get asked about the elbow. Today, like literally 15 minutes ago, Sean McDermick came out and met the media. Josh Allen's day to day, we'll do. see. He's not talking about his quarterback. The line, the best telling indicator on Josh Allen, because these are the guys who wager six, seven figures. They're not doing that without information.

It's three and a half right now, from nine to seven and a half on Sunday. Now three and a half. It's telling you Josh Allen's worth almost a touchdown. That was Eric. At least. I mean, he's like one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Yeah, Aaron Rogers in his prime. They said was worth seven, eight points. When you're at you, Mahomes is worth seven, eight points. Case Keenham, by the way, is not, he's a top ten. He's a top ten. backup. I mean, he's a real he's been around the league. He can read coverages. I haven't seen him in a couple years, though.

But I mean, he's a capable. He's like Colt McCoy. You can win a game with him? You can win a game with him? I don't I'm going to stay away from the game. The thing is, and you talked about this after the loss of the Jets, Josh Allen kept them in the game with his legs. Case Keatom ain't going to do that. So now it becomes can you win with Case Keatom's arm in no running game and an interior offensive line that's struggling.

Zadarius Smith, I think he's tied for second in the league in sacks. He's dominating. Yeah. I think I like that. Vikings here, Colin. I don't know. Next up, Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Obviously, had the last-minute win against the Rams Sunday. Snapped a three-game skid. They're four and five. Tom Brady aired some frustrations on his podcast. That's what everybody does now. They go to their podcast and yell at people. He wants to see more of an effort from his team. There's definitely some things we do well. There's a lot of things we don't do well. And I think too much of good, bad, good, bad,

good, bad, good, bad, leaves you average. And no one's trying to be average. If you want to be a great team, you got to be way better than average. So correct on our mistakes, improving our effort, which that's probably the most embarrassing part of our team is our effort level on game day. And that's something we better fix. Yeah, he said he doesn't mind dropped passes. He said, I make bad throws. But if you don't have it buttoned up before the snap, your assignments, that's embarrassing. So what he was basically saying is we're not, we're not buttoned up, We're not tight enough. We're not prepared, which is a little bit of a shot,

and maybe deservedly so at coaches and some of the players, which is you can't win a play if you're not prepared before the play. He went on to say, he goes, I don't mind drop passes. He goes, I don't mind if you get beat. It's when you're not in the right place. So that was, he was a little bit of a shout out to, we are just not buttoned up as an organization right now. That's kind of a shot at Todd Bowles and the coaching.

Remember what Warren Sapp said last week? Hey, look at Devin White. Where's the effort here? Why is he captain? He's not chasing people down on defense. Who do you like Bucks or Seahawks in Germany? I love Seattle. It's my favorite pick of the weekend.

I need them to fall out of the herd hierarchy so the jets can slide in. Go Tom Brady. But you have to admit, Seattle is blowing out a lot of the teams they play. They're dominating. They're not sliding by. They are crushing teams. Yeah. Vikings are sliding by.

Seahawks are. Right. Now the Vikings are sliding by every weekend. And so it's something. There is something like Miami. Miami and Minnesota, I have my doubts, but they're winning games. games. But Seattle's winning games and they're winning them convincingly. So at some point, you know, I was talking about this to a friend yesterday up in Seattle. I said, so Seattle's

got all these draft picks. And they're not going to get, they're not going to get a top 10 draft pick. They're not going to get one of the top. And they have, well, they have Denver's pick. Well, they do. And they, you're right. You're right. My bad. My bad. Denver could continue to slide. But let's say Denver gives them the eight pick, eight or nine. And then they have their own the 20th. But the way Gino was playing, If I'm Seattle, they've got two or three needs. They should upgrade it to center. They could have another wide receiver.

They could go get another corner. Like if I'm Seattle, you're not desperate on quarterback. Geno's winning now. If I get four more starters in the draft, I mean, I look at them and I'm like, okay, I guess you could draft a quarterback. But if you don't see a huge gap between C.J. Stroud, who you would not get at nine because you're not as desperate for a quarterback. Seattle's winning with Gino. So what about drafting a quarterback with your third or fourth round pick? There's a lot of recent memory that those guys, including Seattle, you can find it.

It could be Kirk Cousins. It could be Dack. It could be Russell Wilson. I mean. Well, remember, Pete Carroll did like Drew Locke. He was like hyping a quarterback competition in the off-season. But the players like Gino Smith. Seattle players like Gino.

Yeah. They basically. Hey, listen, Ryan Fitzpatrick had a couple good runs. Case Keenham. had a good run. We'll see about Gino. I'm still not sold. He's having a great year.

That's undenial. It's a great story. All right. Let's get to the best story. The Las Vegas Raiders, Colin, they have released 2019 first round pick safety Jonathan Abram. So on the final year of his rookie deal after the team declined his fifth year option. He was also rumored to be on the trade block before the deadline. Colin, listen, we're not pointing fingers anybody, but the Raiders' recent draft picks from 2019 to 2019 to 2021.

Look at how bad this is. I mean, this is an abomination. Now, these are first round picks. We can, we can criticize Mike Mayock. But remember, it has been reported that Gruden had 51, 49% draft say. Yeah. These are John Gruden picks. Yeah.

These are not Mayock picks. By the way, they hit some draft picks later in the third, fourth, fifth round. They hit on some picks. Max Crosby. I wouldn't be surprised if Mayock, Gruden said, hey, you can have the late mid-round picks. I want the first round pick. They're the impact guys. By the way, one of these guys is in.

jail right now, Ruggs. The other guy, Arnett, I don't know where he is. He was threatening people on Instagram. It's been a disaster. Colin, we try to be forward thinking here on the show. Vegas is going on. There's some stuff going on there with the play calling. Derek Carr's not happy.

Josh McDaniel's not happy. Keep an eye on the Raiders. I think the job, I'll just be honest here. I think it's an interesting job. I'm saying, Sean, you think they would move on from McDaniels? I don't. Okay. But most of my last 10 to 15 years, I didn't think the Raiders was a good job.

I don't think they'll move off McDaniels, but if they did, I think they've got a lot of pieces. They've got edge rushers. They got players, yeah. I mean, the defense is really bad. This week is, I mean, if McDaniels loses, I don't think he's toast. I think the quarterback's out. But if McDaniels loses, I think they got the Colts this weekend. I believe they have the Colts.

They do. They do. The Colts have like fired coaches the last three weeks. What if Jeff Saturday comes in and wins? If McDaniels loses this game, I would say all bets are off that McDonald's back next year. You can't lose to the Colts. I mean, this team's, they're supposedly tanking. They brought in a guy who was doing TV a week ago.

Colin, you can't lose this game at home, no less. It's a good schedule this weekend. It's a great NFL schedule. Starts in Munich. That's weird because the Jets aren't playing. I know. It's very strange. Yet it's so great, so joyful.

J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lie News. So again, let me reference another writer. The Athletic, that's subscription sports model like that we all go to the athletic. They have a writer Tim Kawakami. He's been writing forever in the Bay Area, a very capable guy.

He says he thinks Jimmy Garoppolo coming back next year has to be an option, especially if San Francisco makes a deep playoff run, which I believe they will. Garopolo is going to be a free agent. They think they're going to, he thinks there's a strong possibility. They'd bring him back again. This just cracks me up. We treat Jimmy Garapolo like he's a hazmat spill or a virus. Oh my God.

We're going to bring back Jimmy Garapolo. Scary. Just think about this for a second. Let's add context. Garopolo was not, not allowed to practice with a team this offseason. They would not give him a playbook. did not take every rep as a first team starter until week three, had a shoulder surgery to his throwing arm.

Yet his passer rating this year is higher than Justin Herbert, Josh Allen, Kyler Murray, Tom Brady, Matt Stafford, Aaron Rogers, and Russell Wilson. It's like the Lamar Jackson thing with Jimmy and Lamar. You don't like the way they look or play. They win 70% of their games. This week, I said how much I love that Lamar could do it without a great tight end, a great wide receiver, teams beat up.

Jimmy Garoppolo didn't have Debo Samuel for a game. He hasn't had his starting running back Elijah Mitchell. His Hall of Fame left tackle was out. He didn't get a playbook. He didn't start getting all the reps until week three. Kyle Shanahan runs a complicated offense. Greg Cosell has told us numerous times. is that San Francisco asks Garoppolo to make very difficult throws over the middle of the field in the most congested area.

That said he's completing 67% of his throws in front of an offensive line that missed the Hall of Fame left tackle and isn't very good center right. It's still remarkable that I got pushback when I suggested and many other media people suggested. Mike Silver is a writer he suggested. They'll probably be better with Garoppolo starting than the kid, Trey Lance. Well, of course they would be. We don't know if Trey Lance can play yet. So, you know, we're celebrating Gino Smith. And we should.

He's winning. And we're celebrating Tua. Well, we should. We talk about the dolphins more than we ever have. He's winning. Garopolo's been winning for years. He's been to Super Bowls. He's never been considered a bust.

Gino has. I mean, we don't think he's too small. Tua is. So it's like, football's not baseball. We don't look in the rear view mirror. It's not basketball where if you don't win a lot, but you got style, you're a Hall of Famer. You got to win games.

Lamar Jackson wins games. Jimmy Garoppolo wins games. Kyle Shanahan's record as a head coach without him. He's won like 28% of his games. So the idea they would bring back next year, Jimmy Garoppolo. Ooh, I don't know if I'm comfortable with that. Folks, he's not a virus. He is a franchise quarterback.

Probably not top 12. Maybe not top 16. But he is. Good stuff today. Bounce around the NFL. Greg Jennings stopping by, Jeff Howe at the Athletic. A lot of things going on. Whatever team you were rooting for last night, we wish you happiness going forward.

One side appears to be happier today. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. days at noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LeVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right, Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments.

Listen to Up On Game with me, LeVar Arington, T.J. Hushmanzada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast from. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes, for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win 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, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to? do a little kill. 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's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but yeah, yeah, yeah. 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. It's great to have you in. Jeff Howe works for the athletic.

Previously covered the Patriots for several years. Author of If These Walls Could Talk on the Patriots. interesting story developed yesterday that I heard, Jeff. Bill Belichick said for the second straight week, opponents, linebackers were calling out plays. My first guess was, well, hell, you don't even have an offensive coordinator being your offensive coordinator. Now, I'm just guessing here.

But when I read that story from the most covert organization, I mean, my takeaway was, oh, that would infuriate Belichick. Tell me why is it happening and were you surprised it was happening? Well, I think there's two really important things to look at here. Number one is this stuff happens more frequently than I think anybody realizes. I mean, just look at the Rams Bucks game on Sunday. You could hear the Bucks screaming before a play against what's supposed to be the most sophisticated offense in the league in L.A. Tight end screen.

It ended up happening. So this stuff happens frequently. I've talked to Patriots, linebackers, some of the smartest defensive players in the league over the last decade, they could see plays that opponents were running before they were happening. But the other really interesting thing here, like you alluded to, when Bill Belichick brings up any sort of problem, when he is willing to call attention to it, that's important because he will downplay or dismiss just about anything, especially knowing this is a by week. They've got like two weeks of storylines here, and Bill Belichick just

put a little fuel on something, which makes me think that he's calling out people behind the scenes. I'm going to throw something at you about a former patriot Tom Brady. This is going to take a minute to lay out. He's recently divorced, has no loyalty to Florida. His parents are getting older in the Bay Area.

His favorite team was the Niners. Is that he's increasingly did it again yesterday in his podcast. His criticism isn't of the players, the veteran players dropping passes. It's that we're not prepared. We're not buttoned up. This was last year.

There's an indifference, a looseness to the organization that I always said going in would be the issue. His culture is intensity, academic. That's not Tampa. They've always been sort of a loose pirate ship down in Tampa. Parents getting older. If Garoppolo struggles in the postseason, Shanahan has a great game plan and loses to a kid coach in Kirk Cousins. And he knows he's got a better roster. And Garoppolo biffs it.

couple of picks on the road. I think they're going to go after Brady. I really do. Jeff, am I nuts on this? No, I think he should absolutely be in play for them. And likewise, vice versa, really. I mean, this is not me trying to report anything. I'm just throwing a theory out there.

I don't want it getting misconstrued. And all of a sudden, you know, the athletic is reporting this is happening because that's not what it is. But my theory is, if Brady continues to be frustrated for the remainder of this season in Tampa, and he's going to become a free agent. If he still wants to keep playing, I don't think he's going to want to come back at age 46, seeing an organization or a roster that he doesn't think is going to meet his Super Bowl expectations.

Right. And he would enjoy, again, becoming a free agent. So who is he going to look at? Of course, he would be gravitated toward his hometown 49ers. I think he would also be gravitated toward Josh McDaniels and the Raiders, if they want to split with Derek Carr. And I'm not willing to rule out a potential return to the Patriots. I think at this point in his career, familiarity is going to be important.

Wow. That's interesting. You know what? He loves great coaching, Belichick. He likes weapons and Josh, Raiders, and he loves home and his parents. I didn't think about the Raiders in New England. Good call. Jeff Howe at the Athletic.

Okay, so yesterday, I compared it to the going to the grocery store hungry. Never go to the grocery store hungry because you'll buy licorice, red bull, garlic bread, fruit loops. Just don't go hungry. It's just haphazard shopping. Yesterday, I felt like Jim Ursay's press conference felt like that. It wasn't really planned. He was in a bad mood. He had a bunch of stuff on his mind, and he just winged it at a press conference. And it was weird and disjointed. And I felt like Chris Ballard was sitting there thinking, oh, brother, can we wrap this up? Can I get out of here as fast as I can? What do you make of the Jeff Saturday hire? you make at the press conference?

None of it looked good. And I'm going to spin it forward because I think you look at this team at this point in the season, I mean, more than likely they're not making the playoffs. Right. So this Saturday hire is going to have future implications unless there's this massive unexpected turnaround over the last eight games. And this is going to be three prongs. Number one, look at the coaches currently on the roster.

You had guys who got bypassed for Jeff Saturday, guys who had more experience and more reason to believe that they could be an interim coach. They're going to look at this and say, well, the owner doesn't want me for this role. When is he ever going to want me? If they're free agents, if they have a chance to leave, why would they stick around? Then you look at the player aspect of it. They're going to sit there and say, well, are they thinking, and they have every right to think that is Ursa putting more emphasis on the 2023 draft than this current season? And what is going to be their reasoning for wanting to stay? Whether there's a contract restructure or their free agents, they have every right in their

minds to look elsewhere. And then future head coaching perspectives, this is, I think, the most important one because I spoke to former head coaches who absolutely were looking at this and saying, especially, like if this is a second go-round, I'm just using examples. Let's say a Sean Peyton or a Dan Quinn, you know, somebody who has been hired. somewhere else in the past and is going to be a hot name in the upcoming hiring cycle. You're going to look at this and say, well, if Jim Ursa can pull the rug out from under Frank Wright, who, you know, again, probably deserve to get fired at this point.

But still, like, to go with his friends over a qualified head coach, well, why do I want my second tenure, which everybody expects to usually be the last one? Why do I want to put my faith that my career is in the best hands with Jim Ursay? This is going to have massive future implications if this Saturday hire doesn't work out. Rob Demoski's a very good reporter. He's been covering the Packers like you cover the Patriots for a long time. He did an article today very quickly. It could be before the end of the season.

I think Aaron Rogers turns like 39. So he's 38 now. This team's going to lose to Dallas probably. Then it's Tennessee, a physical team. Green Bay does not answer the bell for physical teams very often. And then it's Philadelphia there. they'd be three and nine, four and eight. Minnesota keeps winning.

They're not a playoff team. If Minnesota won this weekend and they lost, they're not a playoff team. They're not one in that division. And the NFC East is way better than we thought, and they're probably going to have two to three teams. So my takeaway here is, Jeff, it was suggested by Mike Tannenbaum, a former GM. You got to figure out what Jordan Love is.

Free agents don't go to Green Bay. If he's good, trade it. Get pieces. I don't think it's crazy that if they got shelled by Dallas, Minnesota 1, I don't think it's nuts to go to Aaron and say, Aaron. We don't want you taking hits. You need pieces. I think Aaron would almost accept it, would he?

Would he not? I agree with you under the guys that Aaron Rogers would openly be willing to move beyond Green Bay after this season. If Aaron Rogers wants to finish his career with the Packers, you've already invested so much. Like if he definitely wants to come back in 2023, you can't do that. Now, if he's amenable to a trade next off season, then the Packers absolutely have, should kick the tires or should see what they have in Jordan Love. Because you look at last off season and what you can trade a quarterback of Aaron Rogers stature for, you're talking a minimal of two first round picks. You can probably throw two second round picks on there. all of a sudden, you go from having an agent quarterback and an offense that has not lived, that has

crashed way below expectations, and then you can kind of overhaul some of the things that weren't working. So because you have already, again, invested so much in Aaron Rogers being the centerpiece of this team with that contract last off season and some of the veteran pieces around him, you know, building up that defense and so on and so forth, like you don't want to just destroy that relationship by seeing what you have in Jordan Love. because if you make that move, Aaron Rogers and the Packers are done beyond this season.

So you just have to make sure that everybody's on the same page. Yeah, communication. Jeff, how good stuff. The New England stuff is crazy. He threw out, I threw out my Brady theory. He had even more tentacles to it. Now I've got to think about that overnight.

Good seeing you, Jeff. Thanks again. Good to see you too, Colin. I live on the athletic every afternoon for about an hour. He does a great job. The Brady thing is fascinating. So I was thinking about this. He has no loyalty.

to Florida. Now, with a divorce, you could argue he wants to get up and go. He wants to be close to. I mean, when you go through a divorce, there's a lot of psychological stuff. He may want to be close to his family. His parents are getting older. And he's got defensive coach Todd Bowles or offensive coach Kyle Shanahan. Now, if Garoppolo makes a run and wins the Super Bowl, it's moot. But if Jimmy goes to Minnesota and Kyle's sitting there thinking, I got a better roster than the Vikings, I'm a better coach than that young guy. I got better players everywhere. And I get, I get beat on the road because Garopolo biffs it and throws a couple bad picks. Tray Lance isn't the answer for a Super Bowl.

Jimmy's not the answer and you're ticked off. I think Brady is, this is one of these that everything makes sense. And then Tom did it again yesterday. Tom's complaints about Tampa are never about the talent. It's always the same thing, the indifference, not buttoned up, not being prepared, not doing our homework. You weren't on the show at the time. I said, it's very hard to take an intense.

person and put him a loose culture. If you're just somebody that is a grinder and then suddenly you're like, hey, you're going to go work at this company. Friday's off. Hawaiian shirts on Wednesday. Dogs to work. You're like, that's not who I am. It's easier to take, I think,

somebody that's a little loose and ask for a little more intensity. Tom's intense. Tampa historically is loose. Even when they won, in the year they won, there was a lot of barking and getting on the players and getting it right. I think it makes sense. You know, Vegas is also out there as a potential option.

Him and Josh McDaniels super close. Vegas hired Gruden initially because they needed a pop when they moved to a new city. Tom Brady's single guy? Living in Vegas? No, Tom Brady, though, is a marketing pop. Huge. And with great weapons. Devante Adams better than any receiver the Niners have.

And I like Debo Samuel a lot. No, I mean, Waller, Hunter Renfro, Josh Jacobs. I'm just curious. Living in Vegas? I liked it. I was, I liked it a lot. Our two next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob 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 progress. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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,

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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.