The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Rodgers-Favre, Big Ben, Mayfield

Episode Date: January 27, 2022

Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre have become the same guyBen Roethlisberger has retiredBaker Mayfield has walked away from social mediaGuest: Albert Breer Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Hurd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go.

On a Thursday, swear, everyday stories break. Live in L.A., it's The HARD, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Fox Sports Radio, FS1, Greg CoSell in one hour. You like betting on football, fantasy football, watching football, get smarter about football, Greg CoSell in one hour. Joy Taylor is joining me. now Brett Farv is saying Aaron Rogers out of here Baker's off social media There's a lot going on today

including the end of an era officially in Pittsburgh Yeah, Big Ben It's where sometimes these stories just line up perfectly for me So I want to start with this I think it's fascinating The psychology of sports And the ego and the money

and these are all very young people, right? And it's a lot to ask for young athletes to be on social media. People are ripping them. They make a lot of money. They're on commercials. They're famous. They probably like being famous. But there's a lot of scrutiny.

And we see what social media does to people. And it's much harder to be a pro athlete today in terms of the blowback than it was in Michael Jordan's era. LeBron gets hate all day. Jordan, they don't even show us missed shots on Sports Center. But what is fascinating is. about Green Bay is that Aaron Rogers, the cool Southern California guy, Northern California guy, and Aaron Rogers, good old Southern boy, they've become the same guy as they've aged in Green Bay.

All they do is talk retirement early, want to be catered to, play the victim, straddled a fence between retirement and playing for another team. Two scoops of victimhood. Totally different personalities, totally different cultures they grew up with. And yet these two quarterbacks in the same franchise, good franchise, have become the same guy. I swear to God, it's the same guy.

And Brett Farr was talking about it. He was on radio this week talking about Aaron Rogers' future, and he called it. I think we may have seen the last of Aaron in Green Bay. I don't know that's certain. It's just a gut. You know, he may try his hand somewhere else now. Nowadays, guys play an Olympic career with a team at Move on.

So it's, you know, not uncommon for guys to switch teams after a long, productive career somewhere else. And my advice would be if your gut's telling you, you know, I want to pry my hand somewhere else. You know, it's kind of gotten stale here. stagnant or, you know, numb, whatever feeling is, then go give it a try. I think sometimes it's reinvigorating. He's not talking about Aaron. He's talking about himself. That's what he felt.

And Aaron and Farr have grown closer over the years. They had a very prickly relationship. Ask yourself why they've grown closer. Because it's the same life experience. Let me explain. The cheese curds are not doing this. I would call it the Packer Quarterback Syndrome. You don't have an owner to sometimes overspend, knock on his door, fly in his private jet.

Let's make the deal happen. You don't have the ability to land top free agents. A lot of dudes don't want to live there. So as a Packer quarterback in a massive organization that's well run, you're going to win a bunch of games. The networks like Fox are going to put you on. you're going to become beloved in America. And when you don't win those big games, both Farvin Rogers feel like

I'm playing against the stacked deck here. You know, Brady and Manning and those guys have a full deck of cards. I don't have any kings. I lost my jacks too. I lost all my face cards. I don't have an owner to fight for me. I don't have a Robert Kraft. I don't have a Jim Mersey.

I don't have a Pat Bowler. in his prime. I don't have the Roonies. I can't go knocking a door. I can't get free agents. Here comes the victimhood. And both Farr and Rogers privately feel trapped, start talking retirement, and they both know that this position is graded overwhelmingly on Lombardi trophies. That's why Dan Marino may be as great a talent at quarterback as anybody ever. If you didn't see him play, it was unbelievable. But he gets discarded in the great quarterback discussion. He's got no trophies.

It's not the cheese curds. Two totally different personalities have become the same guy as they've aged. I would call it the Packer quarterback syndrome. Both privately resentful, biggest name in the state. You start losing the occasional games, especially at home. You take all the heat. and you're saying to yourself, I don't have a Robert Kraft. I can't get free agents here.

Farr moved and there is increasing dialogue today, sometimes from Aaron, that he's moving. It's really interesting. It's fascinating to me. Why these two quarterbacks? Why this franchise? That's the downside to being unique. Artists want to be unique. Actors want to be unique.

Green Bay is unique. It's a tiny town. It's not even big enough to be a great college town. It's a tiny town. It's totally unique. But the downside to being unique is when you don't win, people start rolling their eyes. You can't win. It's tiny town.

Who wants to play there? Weird. It's like the post office in 2022, Green Bay. They're still looking stamps and writing letters. It's the Packer quarterback syndrome. It's fascinating to me. Why in the world would these two quarterbacks such disparate personalities become the same guy? Literally.

The Southern guy, the NorCal guy, the Hollywood guy, the hunting fish guy, same guy. All right, Big Ben officially is retiring. We knew this some time ago, right? You knew it, I knew it, everybody knew it, but he released a video on social. I didn't know Big Ben did a lot of social. And it's funny about Big Ben, people think I'm very, very critical of Ben Rathlisberger. And I have said before he is a first ballot Hall of Famer. Two Super Bowls, eight division titles, all sorts of records.

And he will be, I believe, very fondly remembered 20 years from now. 20 years from now, he's going to be two Super Bowls, a big statue out in front of the stadium, top five passing yards, top 10 passing touchdowns, Hall of Famer. but the truth is if you lived through the last 10 years to 12 years, it was a lot of bumpy. There was a lot of turbulence. He couldn't beat Brady. He couldn't beat Peyton in the big games. He couldn't beat at the end Mahomes in the big games.

And the minute Joe Burrell walked into the division, see you, Ben, that's mine too. It was mostly the last decade wins over an overwhelmingly awful Bengals franchise, Brown franchise, and Ben felt like a lot of the last several years, he was just holding on, just holding on as he quickly eroded. It's very Marlon Brando. A lot of you young people don't know who Marlon Brando was. People in their 50s do. In the rearview mirror, he's an all-timer.

But the last 15, 20 years of Marlon Brando were weird. He put on like a lot of weight, made poor choices, had some bad movies, was impossible to work with. But the movie poster is top five of all time. The movie poster of Ben is going to be great, but we have to distance ourselves from it because as Breeze ended pretty elegantly, getting to the playoffs, getting the most out of himself, as Brady ends elegantly winning Super Bowls, Peyton Manning goes to Denver, win Super Bowls. You know, Aaron's getting older. He's still 13 and three. Name the last time. Big Ben won a big playoff game out dueling another top quarterback.

And we led the show with it Monday. Google it. We did. Keep looking. It's 12 years ago, Joe Flacco, divisional round. I'm not going to give you any love for a wild card round win. And I don't even consider Flacco, you know, to be a top guy. He was pretty good quarterback.

So it's got that Marlon Brando feel where eventually you look at it and go, oh, that is just unbelievable. But if you were sitting around for the last 15 years, Marlon Brando, like they had Letterman skits on it. It was like a running joke. He became a character of himself. And I've said that about Big Ben. I'm not being critical of him. Super Bowls, division titles, going to have a statue, Hall of Fame, passing yards. But that last 10 years, that was a turbulent flight.

And there's just not a lot of Mondays. we came on and went, wow, he outduled Brady, Mahomes, Manning. And he had, along the way, he had great defenses, which Aaron Rogers hasn't had. Peyton Manning almost never had. And he has a great coach and a great owner and a great GM. All the stuff that privately Aaron Rogers and far of complaint about, owner has it. Free agents, get them. Defense, always.

Division, cruddy. So I'm not anti-Ben. I just think there are certain actors, certain stars, certain quarterbacks that we remember fondly. But we got to be honest, it was bumpy, really bumpy and kind of underachieving. I do believe if you gave Tom Brady or Peyton Manning or Russell Wilson or Patrick Mahomes, Mike Tomlin, that drafting, those receivers, that defense, that division, you'd have had a lot more wins and more super. Super Bowls. You can think two things, as Joy says, at the same time. He's great. Left a lot out there. All right. Good stuff today. Really like where we're at. So I'm going to try to be

nice about this. Baker Mayfield's been in town for the last couple of weeks. He's got surgery here in Los Angeles. And he's hanging out where I used to live, although I was there last night. And that people are like, I just saw him, I just saw him, should come down here, have some beers. I'm like, wishing him the very best in his rehab. But for years and years, people used to say, Colin, he is in your head. Well, I'm still on social media today. He has tapped out. Baker Mayfield, that topic 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 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 tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about cracking the A-Aid. To be clear, 84 is big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

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

Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, you're now entering the No Bull Zone, sponsored by credible great rates with none of the Bull. So Baker Mayfield is in Los Angeles now. He got his rehab on his shoulder, right? He's doing that. And he should. And as I said many times before, he's not my kind of franchise quarterback.

He is a franchise quarterback. I think the media in Cleveland was unduly harsh in the last six weeks. The kid was falling apart. He was tough. He was playing through pain. He's obviously better than what we saw in the last. last six weeks. I think he's going to go back. I think he's going to play well next year early. I don't think he's Joe Burrell. I don't think he's Herbert. I don't think he's Josh Allen or

Mahomes. I don't. I never did. But he's a franchise quarterback. And I think people got too hard. And I felt like I was being like more reasonable at the end of the year. The kids just hobbling around with a bad shoulder. You could see the ball come out with no velocity. But this is interesting. So Baker basically yesterday said, I'm signing off social media. And you know, do whatever you launched. It's yours. My daughter doesn't use it nearly as much as she did, you know, two years ago. I'm young people. I would advise most young people to, it's going to be vile, it's a toilet, don't spend too much time on it. But this is all 100% self-induced. It's like Aaron Rogers complaining about nobody likes me. Everybody's rooting against me. Well, you criticized a sitting

president, doesn't matter if it's a liberal conservative. You criticized the vaccines, Fauci, the sitting president. You got into fist fights with the media. You're banging on the Packers front office. You don't have a private life. You talk about everything every week. These are polarizing topics. Shocker. You polarize issues and you're polarizing.

That's why State Farm dropped Aaron Rogers off their commercials for a couple of weeks. They didn't want to be involved in it. So Aaron Rogers, don't wait into polarizing topics and then complain that nobody likes you. Same with Baker Mayfield. battled the media, battled me until the Browns told him stopped reacting to cowherd. They did.

Battling all sorts of people. Snarky this, calling out the medical staff, called out Duke Johnson. Shocker. Those are polarizing things to do. If you, I use a term all the time. It's called quarterback eel.

And this was always my knock on Jay Cutler. It has been my knock on James Winston, Cam Newton a little bit, Baker Mayfield, Johnny Mansell. They're not quarterback. You'll be humble. Keep your private life private. Fall on the sword for your teammates if you have to. Stay mostly in your lane.

Talk football, maybe family. You know, be focused on football. It's called quarterback eel. It's why I said this. I was not a fan of Trump. He wasn't presidential. There are certain jobs. I don't want my president weaponizing social media.

I don't want my president weaponizing social media. quarterbacks weaponizing social media. You're the face of a franchise, you're a second coach on the field. Stay out of those topics. But both with Rogers and Mayfield, they waited into it and now they're like, I don't like the repercussions of it. Then don't wait into it. Because I'll never sign off social media.

Joe Rogan will never sign off social media. Nick Wright will never sign off social media. We are in the polarizing business. We are paid to give strong opinions and to have to deal with hate. It's my business, right? Like I have to be in this stuff. It elevates. It promotes.

It markets. But this is why I banged on Johnny Mansell out of college, Baker out of college, James Winston out of college. The NFL, it's unfair. We ask a 23-year-old kid to be as mature as a 43-year-old man. And it stinks and it's not fair. But that's why Scouts, that's why New England took Johnny Manzell off their board. He just couldn't handle it.

Just wasn't a grown-up. Cam Newton wasn't as bad as that, but he wasn't know what was the most focused, and it was a lot about him. It's got to be about your teammates. You're already going to get all the love and you're going to get all the money. I mean, quarterback is the royal family in America now. Like, it's not politicians. Quarterbacks are now like NBA stars and international soccer stars. They're making $40 million a year.

They've got commercials everywhere. Everybody knows you're the rich guy. Be humble. Buy them nice Christmas presents. buy them lawn mowers and rings and vacations for their families and quarterback eel. So in both Aaron's case and Baker, they weighed into fights and they don't like the repercussions. I've never been to fight in my life because they don't go to bars and get into fights. Like you can avoid fights.

Don't get into fights because a lot of times you lose fights. And in both Aaron and Baker's case, they don't like the result of their. snarkiness, of their independence, of their lead with a chin. I mean, Aaron, you're talking about a sitting president. It's 2022. You're going to get clovered. It doesn't matter if it's a Republican president or a liberal president. Doesn't matter. You start banging on presidents, you have become divisive. That's why if I had a state farm deal and I was making $20 million a year in state farm, I'm making my money off the field. It's like NBA guys in shoe deals. I don't even need it now.

If I can make money in shoe deals and basketball, state farm or whatever, and football, I don't need to goose up my Instagram and make another million dollars a year. It's just a place, mostly the great quarterbacks, either have somebody else a team running their social or they just stay off it.

Joy with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Okay, so there's been some coaching, movement over the last 24 hours. So I'm going to try and break down some of the hires and some of the news that's just come down. So the Broncos are on the verge of hiring Packers' offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett. I love that move.

As their head coach, Hackett and the Broncos are finalizing a deal this morning after contract talks heated up last night. That's according to Tom Pelliserra of NFL Network. Adam Schaefter reported this morning that the bears are reportedly hiring Colts defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus. Don't have concerns about that. He's very, very good. All my sources love him.

I am deeply concerned about organizations that can be chaotic with a second-year quarterback. The league is clearly changing and you go defense. He better get the offensive coordinator right. And we've seen increasingly these defensive coaches do not have the relationships with offensive guys. And they whiff on about half of their OC hires. Yeah, I don't have a problem with a defensive coordinator as a hire for head coach. but you have to absolutely nail your offensive coordinator has to be good enough to be a head coach. That's a good way to put it.

Zimmer couldn't do it. Tomlin right now has got one that doesn't work. Pete Carroll swung and missed. You know who never swings and miss on the O.C.? McVeigh and Andy Reid? Offensive coaches have more offensive relationships. There's a reason that Matt Lafleur, Shanahan, and McVeigh were best friends. Yeah.

There was no defensive guys in their poker games. I mean, that's the way it works. Well, they spend all your time together. Longtime Cardinals reporter. Mike Jurecki just reported that Cardinals' executive agent Wilson will become the next GM of the Jaguars replacing Trent Bulkie. Okay, so you know what that means? Byron Lefwich will likely be the head coach. Apparently, Lefich reportedly gave them a him or me ultimatum to keeping Trent bulky. So they moved on from Trent bulky. They reportedly interviewed Vic Fangio today, but it's likely now, especially with this move that with bulky leaving, that Lefich is going to get that job.

Yeah, well, that's, yes. So basically, it hasn't happened yet, but Leftwood said I'll take it. But you have to get rid of Bulki. Yeah, I'm not going to, because Volki's reputation is he's very rigid, very stubborn, he can be very condescending. I don't know him, but he and Harbaugh battled big time. That's his reputation. Fair not.

Jacksonville fans were reportedly not huge fans of him either. Yeah, their draft last year, I felt it was sort of an Urban Meyer-led draft, but maybe I'm wrong. It felt like he was, they went and got the blocking tied in from Ohio State. That felt like an Urban Meyer pick. Yeah. So according to multiple sources, the dolphins are the favorite to land Brian Dable as their next head coach. Now, this is interesting.

I kind of like, well, first of all, we like Brian Dable. Yes. But again, whether Tua is the guy or not, he'll get the most out of Tua. He will. And Flores and Chris Greer, say what you want, built a hell of a defense. So he walks in, his side of the ball needs help. The other side is really strong. So I like this.

First of all, I like Dable and I like an offensive coach. He'll get the most out of two, which is what we have to do. But this is really interesting because it's a really smart move by the dolphins and they don't make always smart moves. They've kind of fixed the defense over the last two years. The personnel is really good. Yeah, they have a very functional defense. Look, I cannot sit here and pretend to be excited about anything the dolphins do anymore. I'm just not going to do it.

I mean, like I wish Brian Dable the best if he gets the job. and, you know, I think it's the right hire. I think they should go offense. If you're going to choose Tua over Brian Flores, then you need to do everything that you can to elevate to it to whatever he's capable of being. So Brian Dable would be an amazing hire in that spot. So this is interesting. So Dable was up for the Giants and the Dolphins.

And I think about this, which would I take? I would take the Dolphins job. I would take the Dolphins job because the Giants are in a complete and we're about to talk about this in a second, but they are in a complete and utter rebounds. Now, and here's the thing. And Tua is better than Daniel Jones. Yes, Tua is better than Daniel Jones. They've got one side of the ball already fixed.

Yeah. This says something too. It's a really, really nice free agent market. No state tax, beautiful weather in a fall winter league. Believe me, there's a lot of guys in this league. Oh, yeah. If you got New York and that tax and that weather and you got Miami, Miami's always done fine in free agency

and Dolphins kicker is the dolphins kicker pretty good as well so if I have a defense and a kicker and I just have to solve the offense I feel like as an offensive guy that is a potential big hit. Yeah there's not

as much to fix with the dolphins and there is the giants like you can look at the two organizations and admit that there's more to fix with the giants but and there's less pressure like the Dolphins media is a little impasse. but it's not New York. Right.

And so there's less pressure there as well. Dan Quinn has also reportedly told the Cowboys that he'll be staying with the team as defense coordinator. So that is great news for the Dallas Cowboys that they won't be losing him because he completely turned that defense around. Okay. So the Giants will have to make a decision on Daniel Jones. His fifth year option is this spring.

And co-owner John Mara said that the team has unequivocally ruled out a trade for Deshaun Watson. He said there are so many reasons for the decision, citing the pending sexual misconduct allegations, and salary cap implications. Watson's under contract for four years of the payout of $136,0.34 million per year. He has a $35 million payout in 2022,

but it could be converted to a signing bonus to lower the cap number. Joe Shane said the team will build an offense around Daniel to accentuate what he does best. Really, they just don't have a better option at this point, but they're in cap hell. They're projected to be $7 million over the cap for 2022. They have the fifth least amount of cap space

in the NFL according to over the cap. Evan Ingram, Nate Solder, Billy Price, Austin Johnson and Jibrill Peppers are all free agents, and Saquin Barclay is entering the last year of his rookie contract because they pick up his fifth-year option last year. The draft will be interesting, though, because they have the fifth and seventh overall picks in the draft, as well as a second-round pick, two-third-round picks,

one-fourth and two-fifth and one-six. They have a good, a bunch of draft capital. Yeah, I think you've got to move off, Daniel Jones. I mean, I think we've seen three years. It's not getting better. He's not accurate. I mean, I don't see it. Listen, there are a quarterback struggling in this league.

Zach Wilson of the Jets is struggling, but he's got a hell of an arm. He moves well. Yeah, but you can see glimpses of. He plays too much hero ball. He's not my favorite. But I can see stuff and go, oh, okay, that's big time. With Daniel Jones, I'm three years in. It's same mistakes, not a special arm.

We all thought he was a reach. You can keep blaming everybody around him, and they certainly haven't done a good job of elevating his opportunity. No. But it's, folks, Justin Herbert had the worst offensive line in the league and Anthony Lynn, who's hyper-conservative. By half time of Justin Herbert's first game,

we all went, okay, what the heck's going on? This kid's a star. You would see things. Yeah, you don't see anything with Daniel Jones, but what are your other options? I think I draft a quarterback. You think the Giants would draft a quarterback? I think you go after the kid from Pittsburgh,

Kenny Pickett. I really do. I think he's a more starts in college, better thrower of the football. If you don't get that right, what's next year going to be? Well, the Giants just need so much that if you have Daniel Jones, I mean, if he's not going to be better than Daniel Jones, which you don't know, obviously. Maybe he will. Maybe he won't.

Why not rebuild the rest of the team? Oh, because I don't think they're as bad. I think they have a corner I love, a defensive lineman I love, a two receivers I like. I think they have a couple of offensive line and their left tackle I think is going to, Andrew Thomas is really good. I think they've got five or six pieces. And I think if you get the right quarterback, he elevates those pieces. But the idea that you can build around and build around and build around and then we'll get to the quarterback.

It's also his, I mean, his career has kind of been squandered the start there. It's a bit of a disaster. It's sad, but it's a reality. Yeah. So the Chiefs changed the play call at the last second that put them in the position for the game-tying field goal against the bills. And Patrick Mahomes says, Do Reed encourages his players to take control when necessary? There's a lot of that during the game.

It's not necessarily on the field every single time. There's a lot of times we get back on that tablet. We talk about different routes that we have. The great thing about this offense is a lot of the stuff looks the same. It comes from different formations that we can kind of read off what the defense is doing. And everybody, everybody has their input. I think that's what makes us such a great team and a great offense is that we have a, we have communication throughout the entire game.

And then we go out there and execute at a high level. because Coach Reed gives us that freedom. I think you have to know your personnel. Andy Reed knows what Patrick Mahomes is capable of. He knows that there's trust between... Yeah, I would trust him too. Right. Like, I'm going to trust Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelsey and Tyree Kill.

And they work a lot together and they have a great chemistry. So you can let players go out there and just play when they're at that level. Like, I'm sure that sounds good to a lot of players. Like, you don't want the structure and, like, you know, but you have to earn that reputation. You have to earn that trust. But, you know, it's really interesting. This is where I think Mahomes, it's called EQ.

There's IQ and EQ. I think Mahomes has a really high emotional intelligence. Yeah. Every time, you know, I watch him after games and I watch him in the moment, this is what drives me nuts about certain quarterbacks that I just talked about, is that EQ is underrated. And Matt Stafford showed a lot of EQ in that Rams game. Everything's falling apart.

Russell Wilson has a lot of this. A lot of this. I just am always taken by how disarming and how likable Patrick Mahomes is. He is on commercials. He's a star. There's pressure. He's got some family stuff that's just crazy town. And he's just such a disarming, likable, go with the flow, make it happen.

I think we're looking at something really, really special, beyond the obvious stuff that we can all see. I'm just always kind of taken by his mature. he's got, you know, there's a lot of stuff moving around him and he just always is just, this is why I always said about Dak. Yeah. Was not given by the football gods, the genetically gifted arm or, but some guy, now, Dak had a whiff about three weeks ago, right? When he said that about the fans, but this is what I talk about all the time.

This is a $500 million athlete. In fact, in fact, he will, if he stays healthy through the remainder of this contract, it'll be reworked. He's going to make $700 million in his life. That is overwhelming for a lot of people. He just handles it so well. I mean, he's he's been around sports too. His father played and, you know, your experiences can help shape how you handle these things. But I also think, I really do believe that, you know, this next generation of quarterbacks, this next generation of athletes are going to approach things differently than, you know, kind of maybe around my age or a little bit younger, where we didn't grow up with social media.

Like, we had to go through the bumps of this, these, you know, new technology and how to handle this onslaught of YouTube shows and, like, serious radio and podcasts. Like, there's so much more media now than there's ever been. It's not just a couple local newspapers and television shows. You're talked about all day, every day. So these younger guys have grown up with that being a reality,

with the talk shows being a reality. So how they approach their careers, I think, is a little different as well. but also just genuinely having an open personality. I don't necessarily think you have to be humble, but just be approachable, you know, just be aware of yourself. Self-awareness is so underrated.

You can be, Joe Burrow, by all accounts, is extremely confident, but it's likable because he's self-aware about it. He's not throwing it in your face. He's not trying to prove something to anyone, but himself and his teammates. Good stuff, Joe, over the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. I never get into these TV ratings are good for this league and bad for this league because all these leagues make their money. NBA ratings have been off for two years. And it's concerning, but they still got their money. Hockey ratings are in the tank. They have been forever. They have a huge Canadian contract with the league and a huge American contract.

The only thing that works in American television anymore is sports. That is it. Cable TV, it's politics and sports. The only thing that works on linear TV is sports. The ratings are almost irrelevant. Do you want the NBA or not? Most companies would be like, if the NBA was available, we'd probably make a bit on it. I think CBS, NBC, we need stuff in the bandwidth tunnel.

We need stuff. And so I don't, you know, all these people, oh, the NBA's ratings, yes, they're discouraging. And I do think sometimes they didn't navigate some of the social issues as well as they could have. It was a little clumsy. and, you know, I don't like players screaming at fans. KD and Kyrie and getting fine and dropping F bombs at fans. I don't think that stuff's great. But in the end, the NBA is fine.

But this is really amazing. This number is amazing. So, Los Angeles and New York are very diverse cities. I mean, New York's got a massive Russian population. So they don't grow up with NFL football. In Los Angeles, The grocery stores, the restaurants, it's incredible the food options. There's nothing like it in America, like Los Angeles County food.

I can eat anything, anytime, anywhere. I can go Chilean. Anything. It doesn't matter. And that's what makes it such a vibrant art city. It makes it such a vibrant city. But when it comes to television ratings, it's easier to get a big TV rating for the NFL in Green Bay.

It's not as diverse. Everybody's a Packer fan. Los Angeles got it. 66% of the TVs in Los Angeles were on the Rams game. The hell? That is in, just let me tell you something. In the TV world, that is the power of the NFL and the Rams playing to the market with a lot of big stars and a lot of big swings. That is an unbelievable rating in this city. That would have been an unbelievable rating.

Like when Johnny Carson was in his prime, you know, like in the 70s, you didn't even have, like, nobody was watching cable. You didn't have 500 channels. Like Johnny Carson would get like 70% of America is watching Johnny Carson. Those days are over. And they've been over in big cities for a decade, two decades. That is unbelievable. That is the power of building a glamorous stadium in a, I mean, this has always been a Laker, Dodger,

USC town. The Rams didn't even play in LA. They played in Orange County. The most popular team in LA County was always the Raiders. 66% of televisions. There's 7,000 channels. There are millions of people in LA County. Their favorite football is the one where you kick it all the time. That is a testament to what the Rams have done. They have taken the Lakers Jerry Bus way to do business, build, you know, the forum, the staples, get a cool stadium, it becomes a social event, it's great on television, go get a star quarterback, a star center, get a shack, get a Kobe, take big swings, almost always get it right. I'm just shocked.

I saw that thing this morning. Sam Farmer of the LA Times posted that. Thank you, Sam. Wow, that is it. I'm very rarely impressed or shocked by a TV rating. And that is unbelievable. And it's a testament. They have really stolen what the Lakers did with Jerry, the late Jerry Buss.

I mean, he made the Laker girls, the forum, he put the celebrities up front. Like, he was decades before his time. He totally understood it was a television show. Wow. Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. He's by Carmen. I'm Dan Byrd. We have a brand new fantasy football podcast called.

I Want Your Flex. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, we come up with new episodes to not only look back at what happened, what you need to do at that minute, and also look ahead of what's coming up in the fantasy football world. That's right, Dan. Every week we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup. Sit, starts. Fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready to dominate the competition. Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, Dan Beyer, on the IHeart, Radio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you be 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 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, Clivert 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, Unthinkable.

filtered 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 Clivert 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 Tontons 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jette. 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 all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, I know in a lot of these debate shows, these aren't fascinating topics, perhaps, but I love the next couple of weeks where you've got teams hiring GMs and coaches. And I was talking to GMs all day yesterday. It's a fascinating time.

I love this part of the business. When you got all these moving parts going around, Albert Breer's not moving. He's sitting Monday morning quarterback. Stuff is breaking as we speak. Okay. My first takeaway, the one higher I like, I know I like, is Denver. Nathaniel Hackett. Dad was a coach, Paul Hackett.

He's, you know, he, I think offense is the way to go. I think he's known as a, you know, he did wonders with Blake Bortles. What do you think about it? What do you hear about him as a coach? and as a guy? I mean, he's really smart as the first thing. And I'm sure that that's what came across to George Payton and the Broncos staff in the interview.

And, you know, I think the other thing, of course, is developing quarterbacks and being able to work with different types of quarterbacks. And you remember all the way back in Buffalo, his first O.C. job in the NFL under Doug Morone, he was trying to make it work with E.J. Manuel. And then he had to work with Blake Bortles. And so a lot of people, Colin, have talked about, well, it's Aaron Rogers. and he hasn't called plays. Well, he did call plays in Jacksonville.

He did call plays in Buffalo. He was very innovative, and he was able to adapt what he did to work for Aaron Rogers. And, you know, he was able to make it work in those places with a little bit less of the quarterback position. They got to an AFC championship game. And really, we're pretty close to game to the Super Bowl, too, in Jacksonville with Blake Bortles as the quarterback. And so I think the ability to work with a quarterback.

I think the intelligence, and then just the overall energy, I think he'll bring to the building. Those are the three things. intelligence energy and the quarterback development piece. And then, of course, there's the obvious, which is why he's been connected to the Denver job in NFL circles going back to September and October, which is the connection to Aaron Rogers. Should Aaron Rogers become available in the next few weeks. Yeah, well, let's talk about that. So, I mean, Aaron's, you know, bringing up retirement, you know, more than a 75-year-old factory worker.

Every week he's bringing it up. So, I mean, I'll be honest with you. I think if you asked Green Bay where they could send Aaron, they'd be like, yeah, put them in Mahomes's division, get them out of here. If they had to make a deal and Aaron demanded a trade, I honestly believe this is where Green Bay would want him in Denver. I really, do you, your thoughts on that? He was on their list last year. This would allow them to, this would allow them to kind of have an amenable breakup, you know, and I think that's what a team is looking for in a situation like this. So, like, if they come to the conclusion that this is it for Aaron Rogers and Green Bay because of the cap situation, because some of the roster decisions they've got to make, well, you know, then I think you probably want Aaron Rogers leaving Green Bay with a smile on his face.

The same way the Lions approach the thing with Matthew Stafford last year. We already know Aaron Rogers likes Denver. He was on their list last year. And so, you know, I think, like, when you look at the potential in Denver, it's towards the West Coast. He's from California. Yep. and you look at the roster, and I'll tell you, Colin, those, like, you really kind of break down where they are right now and compare it to 2012 when they brought in Peyton Manning.

Yep. It's not that different. Nope. You got young ascending skill players like Judy, like Hamler, like Patrick, like Sutton, like Fant, like Giovante Williams. You've got a couple of nice pieces in a pass rush or a corner on defense in Bradley Chubb and Patrick Sartan, and you see how this sort of can start to come together. And like, look, let's look at the reality of it, too.

The team's for sale. So if you're George Payton, you're Nathaniel Hackett, you're the team president, Joe Ellis. What better way to keep your job or put yourself in position to keep your job when the new owner comes in and say, we just traded for Aaron Rogers. So I think for a lot of different reasons, if Aaron Rogers were to come available, if the Packers were to trade him, I think Denver would absolutely be at the top. top of the list and this is one more reason why. Yeah, it just, I'm excited.

I kind of want, I kind of want him to go to Denver. I just think it's a great story. Now, we only have a minute and a half left. Matt Eberflus, really sharp, but he's a defensive guy. They've got Justin Fields. Part of me is like the NFC's dominated by offensive coaches. Part of me is very reluctant here, but everybody I know likes Iber Fluse. 90 seconds.

What's your take? Yeah, my take is his offensive coordinator, higher is going to be pretty, important. But Iber Fluse has been sort of through the hiring cycle a few times now. So he's got a defined vision for what he wants for his staff. On the offensive side, Colin, I would look for somebody from the Shanahan family. I think that's something that he would ideally want to do. I don't know if he'd be able to get Kevin O'Connell out of L.A., but if O'Connell doesn't get the Texan's job, doesn't get the Vikings job, maybe Sean McVeigh allows him to leave to go call play somewhere. that would be out of the conference.

And I think having Kevin O'Connell, it wouldn't be out of the conference, but out of the division. Having Kevin O'Connell, I think, would be a big plus for Justin Fields. And then I think Iber Flus is going to double down on what he knows on defense and probably bring some Colts guys with him. And so Ibrose is really sharp. But again, with every defensive coach, one of the big questions is going to be what you do with your offensive coordinator higher. And I would expect that he'll look deep into that Shanahan tree to try to find somebody

to work with Justin Fields. So interesting. All right. Go back to work, Albert. Your phone's buzzing. Appreciate it, bud. All right. Thanks, Colin.

Yeah, it looks like Leftwich is going to get the Jacksonville job. I don't know. It's a big ask. That's a mess. But he is a quarterback, and I heard the Vic Fangio rumors the Jacksonville this morning. I started pulling my hair out. It's like, stop. I've seen this.

It's amazing how badly it went in Jacksonville. We forget Trevor Lawrence is there. Like, we talk about the team. It's a whole rebelled. Like, Trevor Lawrence is there in Jacksonville. You almost owe him. Honestly, you owe him an offensive coach. To me, if I was Trevor Lawrence and you'd hired Vic Fangio, who we both think is a great

defensive coordinator. Great. Not good. I think he's a good coach overall. But you owe Trevor Lawrence an offensive coach. Now, Iber Fluse is highly regarded in the NFL. But I'm looking around this sport now. He's just got to crush that offensive coordinator.

Yep. All right. This is very exciting. Greg CoSells around the corner. I swear, it's just candy for me all day. It's just lollipops and candy and carmels with all this stuff. Hour 2 is around the corner.

Greg CoSell. Good as anybody that's ever done it makes us all smarter. What did he see? What's going to happen this weekend 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 funny.

This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it

with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not

only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the 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. Guaranteed human. Thank you.