The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Thanksgiving NFL recap + Ben Volin

Episode Date: November 25, 2022

In this hour of The Herd, Doug Gottlieb—in for Colin Cowherd—reacts to the exciting NFL Thanksgiving games and the touchdown controversy that accompanied the Patriots-Vikings tilt. Also, Doug thinks we owe an apology to one NFL coach in action on Thursday.  Later, Doug welcomes in Boston Globe senior NFL writer Ben Volin to discuss the Patriots' loss in Minneapolis.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's 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. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Welcome in.

This is The Hurd, wherever you may be. And however you may be making it as part of your day, thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlieb, in for Colin Cowherd, wishing you the happiest Thanksgiving weekend and happy holidays, right? There's so many of you who, when do I start with the holiday thing? When do we do the lights? When do we do the tree? No, that's good. I mean, not right now.

Not right now. But now. Big day, obviously, in sports with the U.S. men's national team taking on England. But in a plot twist, we have something Monday in sports now, which we have been waiting. But basically since Parastroika. I don't know if you guys are aware, but I... Do I do Iran or do I do Iran? Like which, which do I don't know if I don't want to sound disrespectful,

but I also don't want to like fake it and do the Iran. But anyway, apparently Iran beat Wales. So if we win, great. I mean, it's a huge win and we advance, very likely advance. If we lose, kind of matter. It becomes a win and you're in against Iran. on Monday. And, yeah, I'm not sure if you're aware, but like, I mean, not since the breakup of the Soviet Union, as a player strike is, have we had like a mortal enemy in sports in anything like competitive that we can go against? Like, we couldn't do the basketball thing against, I mean, if you, you want to say China, Iran, like it's not, but soccer is something. We should be much better at, but we're not.

But we should be better than Iran. And they're kind of the underdog, on the other hand. And we want to eliminate them, beat them. Anyway, all right. There's your soccer talk. Because I just, I'm not going to fake it for you here. I have a, my catalog of sports takes and knowledge only extends so far. You know, I look at us in soccer and I think it's Texas football, the past, you know, since the Mac Brown era started to fade, right? Since Kurt McCoy got hurt in the national championship game where there's no excuse for us being this.

average at best in soccer, considering we have 350 main people on a country that cares about sports and youth sports. Outside of that, I'm kind of fresh out of sports takes, soccer takes. But I got football takes for you. I got a hoop takes for you. A lot went on yesterday. Three games. All were relatively close, right?

I'm even the Lions game as Buffalo. I mean, the big news out of the Buffalo is that Von Miller got her. hurt and there are fears for the worst that it could be an ACL tear we'll see there's the MRI set for today if we get information we'll keep you update that's the probably the big news out of that game the cowboys look good there's no other way around it the Danny dimes looks competent the giants are competitive but the cowboys were the better football team they're physical on both sides the ball zeke look good we know they have arguably the best player in the sport which is Michael Parsons.

And that looked good. It was a good competitive football game, although I can't stand those Cowboys uniforms. I just can't. I get that they do all these uniforms to sell them, but who's buying that? You know? I feel like on Thanksgiving,

it's just like when somebody comes in your home, like that's the weekend you bring out the best China, right? Like, why are we bringing out these nice plates? Because Thanksgiving, that's what we do. Like, yeah, you have, you. You get bowls in your house, so you never break out except for yesterday or except for this weekend. Some people do Thanksgiving, you know, throughout the weekend because, you know, you go to one family one weekend, another family. You know, it's so many different family dynamics these days.

So, so there is an element to it where you put your best foot forward. If you put your best foot forward, you're the cowboys, why are you wearing those awful throwback jerseys? Those are bad. Those are bad. Those are bad. Wear your whites. Where your cowboy whites. And then, of course, you have a nightcap.

Now, there's a lot to get to that. Okay. But I think, wait, do we have, we have others. There's news on Von Miller. This is from Ian Rappaport. So it says Bill Star Pass Rusher. Von Miller did not tear his ACL. There is concern about his lateral meniscus, though.

He's out at least a week. or 10 days until he figures it out. He'll have surgery. The question is now or after the season. This is following the MRI today. Okay. So again, without the MRI, they don't believe he tore his ACL. They do believe he tore his meniscus. And I am not a doctor. I am not professing to know anything about the inside of his knee. But I have been through the process of being told you have a menisical tear. It was misdiagnosed. I did not after the MRI. Not the point. Point is that, At that point in time, I was, I educated myself through the help of my team doctor that there's different types of menisical tears. You know, it's something that you can just go in and just cut off like a fraying edge. And that's the ones that you're back. You can be back in a week, back in 10 days, back in two weeks, or whatever.

There's the, if they have to go in and stitch it up, which is healthier for your knee long term, now you're out. I think it's four to six weeks. Four to six weeks. So if, fingers crossed, it's not an ACL tear. Von Miller will very likely play this year when it matters, and that's what he's brought in for. He wasn't brought in for yesterday. He's brought in for January and end of February.

All right, let's get to the nightcap, which was the most entertaining game of the night. Here's the thing. Not only do I not know what it catches, I don't know what a touchdown is. do you I still Hunter Henry

and the and the worst part about it was I read an article earlier today where the head of officiating used the complete control all the way to the ground which he used it yesterday after the game and that hasn't been part of the rulebook

since 2017 so I don't know why I mean the ball moved but this idea that the ball moved, did anyone he think that Hunter Henry didn't catch that football? This is like the old common sense thing. Did Hunter Henry, did he have possession of the football when he caught it and it passed the goal line?

Of course it did. Of course it did. So my argument would be, and again, I understand, my argument would be like he caught the ball, then he extended it past the goal line. If that's not making a football move and control of the football, I don't know what is. And, you know, all the way to the ground is, is not, is no longer part of the rulebook. Did the ball move? It absolutely moved. Does that mean he lost control of the ball moved? Didn't appear that way to me. But my big takeaway remains this. And I said this in the preseason. You can go back

and watch clips of the Doug Gottlieb show on Instagram at Gottlieb show. We put it out on Twitter. We put it out across social media that you had all of these people. Many of them quality, smart football people questioning, why aren't you name an offensive coordinator? And oh, yeah, by the way, your offensive coordinator is probably going to be Matt Patricia, and he's never called plays before. And their preseason looked like an abject disaster. And there were times this year where they looked, they looked, especially early on,

like a bit of a mess offensively. When you watched the Patriots play last night, granted they lost the game. Granted they lost the game. I feel like so many people owe Bill Belichick an apology. And my point then was the same one I'll make now. If we would all agree that whether you think Brady was more responsible than Belichick, we'll get to that in a second. But we would all agree that Bill Belichick's an outstanding football coach, correct?

Okay. So you haven't agreed with all those decisions. Not every person he's put in place as a coach has been perfect. But generally, over the past 20 to 20, 25 years. The guys' teams have won. It's like we make this thing about, you know, how Tom Brady, Tom Brady won a Super Bowl.

How's it been since? Whereas Bill Belichick, it wasn't just that they lost Brady. Remember, they had eight guys who opted out during the COVID year, right? They had terrible. And then, so they basically spent that year in Capel, took it on the chin, remade their defense, drafted Mac Jones, the playoffs. You're not going to compete for a super poll every year. So we'll get to that element to

in a second. But my point about Brady then is the same, Belichick then is the same point about Belichick now. Everybody agrees he's an incredible coach. He's an innovative coach. He understands the game. They're the best in at the waiver wire market, right? And finding guys somebody else's trash is almost always their treasure. How many times does that happen? And yet this decision, the offense coordinator with a young quarterback, you assume he doesn't, oh, the old man's lost his mind, or he's an idiot. Like, no, Bill Belichick remains the greatest coach of all time. And I watched their offense last night, and Mac Jones looked good enough, and Matt Patricia look good enough.

Tales of Bill Belichick's demise have been greatly, including by our good friend Colin Coward, greatly exaggerated. Yeah, it's fair. The Dolphins have better skill position players. It's fair. The Buffalo Bills have a better quarterback and better skill position players, and they're a better team. But considering you're in, inarguably, the toughest division in football,

and you're right there. You're right there. I just, I'm watching thinking, why hasn't anybody offered up an apology to Bill Belichick? Because so many of you thought, old man lost his mind. Here's the Vikings. Did you guys see the picture of, of Kevin O'Connell when he's with the Patriots.

Did anybody else think his helmet looked out of the way? Like, we forget that during that era of the Patriots, the Patriots logo was too small, and it made the helmets look way larger. It looked like he had a gigantic hid, didn't he? Here's Kevin O'Connell on the win. We got to continue to improve and try to show up each and every week with purpose and not need to have setbacks to find our best.

and I think that's what we're going to need to do as the season moves forward and hopefully on into January. Here's Belichick on the Hunter Henry touchdown. Did you get any explanation on the Hunter Henry catch that was over? Why don't you guys go to the officials with your pool reporter and ask them about the play? And let them explain it to you, right? Isn't that what you do? Thank you. By the way, the Vikings completed 81% of their passes.

That's the second highest completion percentage for the Patriot Center, Billiuch. Like the only game higher completion percentage was versus the Dolphins who completed 85.7% of their passes back in 2008. Defense wasn't good. Offense was plenty of good enough to win. And oh yeah, by the way, even with that, should have been a touchdown there. And the Vikings touchdown to kick return was a blatant, obvious hold, I guess, unless it's not called. My takeaway from the game went like, yeah, the Vikings bounced back and Kirk Cousins play great. Great.

Justin Jefferson, you know, he is the Micah Parsons of offense. He's probably not going to win the MVP, but those are the two best players right now in football. Hell, he threw a seed in the first half. But the tales of the demise of Belichick and the idea that he has some sort of idiocy in appointing Matt Patricia's offensive quarter. I get it. You didn't like Matt Patricia when he was with the Lions. That's not why they lost the game last night.

All right, coming up next here in The Herd, OBJ heading where and why? Is adding OBJ actually a good thing? You know, because everybody says more is more. No, wait, they say less is more. We'll dive in next. I'm Doug Gottlieb. This is The Herd. 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

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

I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now so

that you're finishing that sentence I don't think there's a more important year for black people really? Yeah for me it's one of the most important years for black people in American history

listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts 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 Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Doug Gottlie being for the hurt. Happy Thanksgiving, post-Thanksgiving.

You know what? Merry Christmas. We're okay, right? The Merry Christmas thing is weird. Not weird to say Merry Christmas to people. And by the way, I'm Jewish. Like, I've never understood people who are like, well, I'm Jewish. You can't. Like, Merry Christmas is just like, hey, I hope you're having a good Christmas season, right?

It's not. But the Merry Christmas thing, it does feel like Thanksgiving the same where there's a little prices right to it. You can't go over. You wouldn't say Happy Thanksgiving. Like, well, Thanksgiving was yesterday. Like, okay. If I wished you Happy Thanksgiving the day before, like, that's okay.

But the day after it's not, that's weird. Merry Christmas is the exact same way. So because we have not yet gotten to December 25th, Merry Christmas. Ben Boland joins us from the Boston Globe. He covers the entire National Football League for a long time covered the paper. Patriots as well. Ben, um, do you want happy Thanksgiving or Merry Christmas,

which, which is, which would you prefer? Yeah, please don't ask me about Thanksgiving, whatever you do. It's, it's gone.

It's in the, it's in the bank at this point. We are not talking about things. We are on to Christmas. We're on to Christmas. We're on to Christmas. Like, listen,

everyone has their own takeaways, but in last night's game, and I do want to talk about, I thought at least one blown call that went the Vikings way. But I, like, I remember having a discussion with you

on my show about this really weird thing the Patriots are doing in not naming an offense coordinator. It felt like Matt Patricia was calling plays. And there was talk early in the season of, well, I don't know if Mac Jones is actually the guy. I watched last night and I felt like it was a good offense. The play calling made sense. And he looks like a pretty good, pretty good competent quarterback who did throw the ball

downfield fairly well. Like, tales of the demise of the Patriots offense, I felt like are greatly exaggerated. I would agree with that. And even when they were struggling earlier in the season, they had some positive moments. They were getting, you know, like yards per play and some of those stats, they were actually doing okay. And I think Mack Jones's ankle injury in week three just kind of set everything back. You know, when he got the job back four weeks later, they were just, I think, starting over from scratch. And look, the Vikings last night with their 31st ranked past defense, definitely a feel good night for Patricia and Mack Jones.

very impressed with the opening drive. The Patriots entered last night. There was the only team in the league who hadn't scored a touchdown in the first quarter. They come out, zip, zip, zip down the field. Mack is pushing it, big plays. So, you know, it's a great start for them. Like you said, Mack Jones looked like a competent quarterback. He threw for $3.82.

I mean, some of that was padded at the end. But Mack, he looked pretty good. But there's a big butt. I mean, they're still dreadful in the red zone. O for three again. They're 31st in the red zone this year. And they turned into a lot. a puddle in the fourth quarter. I was a little concerned

that the games on the line, and Mack Jones and the offense couldn't do anything last night. So, yeah, it's a better night, but they still have a lot to prove that they can actually win these games in the fourth quarter. Wasn't that a touchdown? I mean, I don't know. I know the ball moved, but the,

and the ball, I technically hit the ground, but his hand was under the foot, Hunter, I mean, Hunter Henry's hand was under the football, and while it moved, he had it secured. It's like, if you move it, you naturally roll and secure the football. Again, like, now I know I don't know what it catches.

I don't know what a touchdown is. Yeah, it was tough. I guess the referees determined that he hadn't made a football move yet when he was still coming down with the ball and reached across the goal line and that the ground caused the ball to move and for it to pop out. I think it was very close. I wonder if they should have given the ball to the Patriots at the one-yard line if maybe the ball popped out, but Henry caught it again was down at the

the one instead of just wiping the whole play away and calling it incomplete. Look, I hate to be the guy that complains about the officiating. The Patriots have definitely benefited from a lot of close calls over the years. And to me, only losers whine about the officiating. But my beef with that play last night is it's got to be clear and obvious. And that is the NFL standard. And to me, if a replay decision takes more than like 30 seconds, you got to keep the call on the field because we can't go frame by frame with this stuff.

And, you know, they're calling it too tightly. It's got to be like nine out of ten people at a bar agree that the play's got to be overturned. And that one clearly, I think there's a lot of controversy. So that's my only beef is that I thought they overturned a play when it was not clear and obvious what the result should have been. It was clear and obviously a hold on the kick return as well, wasn't it? I would agree with that they missed the hold on Kyle Dugger. But, again, there were 10 other players on the field that could have made the tackle. So I don't want to make excuses for the Patriots.

That was the first touchdown they've given up on a kickoff since C.J. Spiller did it in 2010. So it's been a while since the Patriots got hit for one of those. Yes, definitely holding. But there were other players on the field who could have made a play. No question. But Dugger's job is to set the edge. And he couldn't set the edge. And people killing him didn't set the edge.

Like, well, he didn't set the edge because the guy's got his hand wrapped inside his right shoulder pad. Like that was – I agree with you that there's 11 other guys. but that was, you know, that's one of those, you don't always call a hold, but in this particular case, it dramatically affected the play. Yeah, and look, I thought the crew last night, this is not one of their better performances, and they're not going to get good marks for this game. They missed, like I said, I did not agree with overturning that play to Hunter Henry when it wasn't clear and obvious, and then they missed not only that hold on Kyle Dugger, but they missed an obvious face mask on Mack Jones,

midway through the fourth quarter. That would have given the Patriots new life. So not a banner moment for the referees. Absolutely 100%. They need to do a lot better, too. All right. I mean, I guess the rest of the day, the games were at least competitive, right? The rest of the day, the big news was what, Von Miller, which we now learned does not appear.

Again, it appears still an MRI today to be in ACL tear, but multiple reports are now. There's some other damage to the knee. What are you hearing in regards to Von Miller and when we can see him back in a Bill's uniform? Yeah, I'm just seeing the reports like you are, and not good. I mean, the early analysis from a lot of the medical community was that Von Miller suffered a significant knee injury. Now, whether it's a fully torn ACL or, you know, there's several other ligaments in there as well. It doesn't sound like good news for the bill. You know, they're keeping the broad time frame of it could be a little bit of time.

It could be season ending. It shows you they're keeping things close to the best. it sounds like they're holding out hope that maybe Miller can make a return late in the season, maybe a playoff stretch run like what he did for the Rams last year. But this is a devastating injury. I mean, he was the guy they brought in to be the closer to be the guy who could get Patrick Mahomes in the final minute of the playoff game. And for him to now go down in crunch time of the crucial stretch of the season, that's a big blow

for the Bill's defense. It felt like his injury yesterday really took the wind out of the Bill's sales. You know, they, the lines really came storming back, and the bills pulled out the wind, but that was a lot closer than it had to be. And they just didn't have a lot of life for a while. It felt like they knew that the Von Miller injury was pretty serious. So that's a big injury that could, I think, really affect the balance of power in the AFC. Ben Bowlin, join us, Doug Gottlievin for Collins. The Hurd on Foxport Trader, the IHeart Radio app.

Happy Thanksgiving. If you don't allow me, we're on to Christmas. Merry Christmas to you. Just hope you're having a great time with your family. enjoying football, soccer, hoops, all the different sports that are on today. I'm intrigued by this Jeff Saturday thing. I wasn't one of these guys that says, no way, this has no chance. You know, you talk to anybody in the NFL,

they'll all tell you, the smartest guys in the field are not just the quarterbacks, but the centers. And the center's usually slightly less athletic than every other offensive linemen, but they have to have great skill, great intelligence, and they're bridge builders on many ways. We're two weeks into this grand experiment in Indy. What are the returns from the people you talk to? I think Jeff Saturday has been fine.

That was a nice win against the Raiders the first week, and then they came back to Earth a little bit against the Eagles, but still gave the best team in the league a run for their money. You know, Jeff Saturday is set up for success, but let's not forget, the reason the Colter, competitive again because they went back to Matt Ryan. The whole thing, I don't think anyone who looked at the situation rationally ever doubted that Jeff Saturday is a very smart guy and can probably handle being a head coach.

Although being a head coach is really about the offseason and training camps like this now is their team's almost on cruise control a little bit. But what is what I hate about the Saturday hire and what's so offensive is it's just, it's cronyism and it's fine. It's as Joe Thomas said, it's Jim, Jim, Thursday hiring his drinking buddy. The NFL is trying so hard to get opportunities to minorities and to people who haven't had these chances. And for Ursa to just, I don't know, the whole thing is just a slap in the face to give a guy like Saturday with no prior coaching experience. He's just given this platform as an interim head coach.

Ursa is clearly rooting for him, wants Saturday to do well, wants to give him the job. You know, the Colts have to satisfy the Rooney rule when they open up the job after the season. But who's going to want to interview for this job when they know that Jeff Saturday has it in the bag already? and I just, it's, you know, the Prince Pollard Alliance is right to question how this thing came about. And I just, it's a slap in the face to what the NFL is trying to accomplish with its diversity efforts. And it's a slap in the face to the coaching profession for all these guys who put in a lot of work and are trying to rise through the ladder. See Jeff Saturday, just get the job because he's Jim Mersey's buddy. I just find the whole thing.

So who would you, so, okay, but I'll push back. Carolina hires a guy who had been in Carolina. he was a year head coach in Arizona was an abject disaster. I watched that Arizona Cardinals team play in person. I actually called one of their games and playoff. Abject disaster. Like who at midseason, you have to hire somebody who has complete knowledge of everybody. He didn't unseat outside of play calling anybody who is in the building, right?

So I mean, you'd rather hire a John Fox who's a massive retread? That somehow satisfies you? Well, yeah, that's how interim coaches work. I mean, you're talking about Steve Wilkes. He was inside the building. Yes. They fired Matt Rule. That's what you do.

You elevate the guy inside the building and get you through the season. Steve Wilkes, meanwhile, who has two very good wins. Listen, hold on. Ben, Ben, hold on. That's how it works most places. It doesn't have to work that way. You know, it doesn't have to work. And in this particular case, you brought in a guy who knows everything inside the building

and yet doesn't have to unseat anybody. in terms of positional-wise. And if anything, whether he maintains the job, doesn't maintain the job, he can give you a clear, can give Erce a clear look. And by the way, the old hiring people you know, that happens all over football.

It's not just coaching. It happens with players and coaches all the time. That's business. That's how business works. And I understand that's what the Rooney Rule is trying to help, you know, expand the spectrum of candidates. and that's really, really smart.

But, I mean, like, look, players follow coaches wherever they go. Why? The same sort of relationship. So I just, I think the idea that you want to use cronyism somehow is only an effect in this particular place. Like, why do you think they brought in Carson Wentz last year? Because he had a relationship with the former head coach who had been his play caller. That's the exact same thing. Okay, but you could bring Jeff Saturday in as a consultant and no one would,

bad an eye. And no one would have bad an eye if they had just promoted Gus Bradley or John Fox or even, you know, the special teams coach, Bobo Ventron, to be the interim head coach. But to just give Jeff Saturday this platform. And yeah, he's an interim head coach, but he gets to be in front of the media five days a week. He gets to prove himself on the job. Well, a lot of them of him a black coach with that little experience got, got that type of opportunity. And you talk about he didn't jump over. Wait, wait, wait, wait, so, so there's a, Marcus Brady. They expired Marcus Brady. to clear the way to get Jeff Saturdays his job.

The whole thing was gross. Okay. So if there is a, I mean, like, they've had Tony Dungy as their head coach. They've had, why am I blanking on his name? He's really respected. Jim Caldwell. Jim Caldwell has been, like, so, like, it doesn't all, it, making it about race when it's not really about race.

And the ID hadn't put his time and put 14 years of his time in as, as center. Like, I'm just going to disagree with you and tell you that, that I, I think trying new ideas. It's a lot like the Belichick thing, right? Who does that? Who names Matt Patricia, the offensive coordinator without having any sort of experience? By the way, my is Matt Patricia in New England because he was there before. His relationship with Belichick and Belichick, even though he was a disaster as the head coach in Detroit,

trusts him and gave him the reins to an offense. It's not any different. And I just chasing it in regards to race and fairness. Like, look, Erse is the owner. and I actually think he might have found a gem in what he found in Saturday. That's my takeaway on it. Let's talk coaching. Let's talk coaching.

How safe is Brandon Staley out with the Chargers? Because here they are sitting at 500 and holding on to hope of the playoffs. And I know, like, I'm a Charger guy. I know they've had a litany of injuries. But, I mean, there are plenty of teams that have injuries that have been able to to survive. What's his status year two in L.A.? Yeah, it's a great question. Actually, I'm doing a little column right now looking at who I think the coaches are on the hot seat, and he's one I've definitely got circled. I like

Brandon Staley. I think he's a good leader. I like the way he comports himself in press conferences. I like that he is aggressive and goes for it a lot on Foursdown. But, man, I think they're wasting Justin Herbert by having a defensive-minded head coach. I think they've got to go get a young hot shot offensive coach to really maximize what they've got in Justin Herbert. And to think that last year they could have had Brian Daible. Instead, they chose Brandon Staley. Man, that's a tough one. That's a big what if.

You know, they had Brian Daible running that team with that quarterback right now. So, you know, the buyout with the Chargers and Staley's contract maybe might save him for another year. But they spent a ton of money this offseason. And they definitely expected to be a lot better than five and five, As you said, they've been hit hard by the injuries, but they're just not maximizing their talent, and they're still 29 in points allowed despite Colee Mack and J.C. Jackson and Brandon Daley is obviously a defensive guy. So I think he's squarely on the hot seat, and it's got to be tempting for the chargers to go out and get a young,

offensive-minded head coach to pair with Justin Herbert. Yeah, it's been disappointing. I mean, J.C. Jackson was so bad. Then he got hurt. He's out for the year. And obviously not having Bosa hurt you as well. you know, at some point, you got to get stops. Maybe not against Mahomes, but you got to get stops. Speaking of Mahomes, you know, look, we all regard Brady as the greatest of all time. And Aaron Rogers, incredibly talented, of all time.

But you're watching Mahomes once again put an MVP resume together, a team that loses Tyreek Hill and now continues to compete and looks like they'll get to somewhere in the at least AFC championship game. Am I getting ahead of myself by thinking we might be watching the greatest to ever do it? Well, I think yes, because the reason Brady is the greatest is not necessarily the stats, but championships. So Mahomes is obviously off to a great start with one Super Bowl and two appearances, but he's got to keep it going now. If anyone can do it, it's him. He's unbelievable.

The Chiefs are almost a boring pick this year. Same old Chiefs, but yeah, they're number one in scoring. They're number one in the AFC. They have the easiest schedule in the NFL down the stretch. that's the other thing. They still have all these games against the Sari ASC West teams, too, against the Broncos. So the Chiefs are locked and loaded.

Also very impressive, as you said, they got rid of Tyree Kill. And Patrick Mahomes has equaled his number of explosive passes from last year, but he's done it in about 250 fewer passing attempts. So he's on point, Travis Kelsey, unstoppable. You know, with Mahomes, Andy Reed, Kelsey, the Chiefs are really going to be tough to beat. And if they get, especially if they get that first-round buy

and home field advantage. Like I said, they're not, it's not the most exciting pick because it's the same old chiefs. But, man, they are just rolling once again and I think look like the clear favorite in the AFC. Ben Bowling joining us from the Boston Globes. Doug Gowley been for Colin. This is the herd on Foxport Trader, the Iheart radio app. Okay, the Rams went for it last year. It looks like, are they going to shut Stafford down for the entire season?

It maybe wouldn't be the worst idea. He's dealing with some sort of neck head concussion thing for the second straight week. Cooper Cup is out. I mean, this is a team that just fell apart this year. It seems like they sold their soul to the devil. And now it's calling. It was a weird offseason with Stafford and his elbow also. You have to consider that injury.

So maybe, you know, we are pretty close. Like this game against the Chiefs this weekend was supposed to be the premier matchup, you know, on the NFL calendar. The last time these teams met, it was 54 to 51. and now the Rams, unfortunately, just haven't held up their end of the bargain. So it seems like Cooper Cup is probably going to be done for the year pretty soon if the Rams don't turn things around, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Rams do that for Stafford of nothing else. I mean, the guy deserves a break.

His body has taken such a beating, and it would definitely be in their best interest to make sure he's healthy and in a good place mentally and physically next year. Hey, Ben, thank you very much. Sorry, Ben, have a happy Thanksgiving and post-Christmastime. Appreciate you join us in the hurt. All right, thanks a lot. All right, there we go.

Sorry about that. Let's get to Jason Stewart with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Hey, Doug, there's a lot of hubbub about where OBJ is going. You know, Odell Beckham Jr., that guy that we have no idea how he is physically or how he's performing. Jasina Anderson of CBS Sports is reporting that he will visit these.

three teams in this order. The New York Giants, then the Buffalo Bills, then the Dallas Cowboys. What do you make of this? Well, I mean, look, he wants to go play for a winner. The Giants thing would be really weird, right? It'd be like, didn't Tommy and Pam get back together for a bit? Of all the relationships, you go Tommy and Pam, that's amazing. Yeah, yeah. I mean, right? I mean, Ben and Jayla? Well, Tommy and Pam are most known for one video. right and OBJ is known for one catch and then

and then the boat picture isn't he so that that just would be weird for the giants to bring him back when they wanted him out of the building so after giving him a big contract they just got him out of the building so it feels like he's a front murder I guess my question remains

twofold one like I understand that if you watch OBJ videos he looks he's a great athlete He looks fine. We have no idea what he's going to look like on a football field. No, yeah, by the way, like he's going to play in Buffalo. He's going to play on a cold football field.

And when you've had two ACL tears, that affects you differently. I think it's Dallas. My fear of Dallas is that it's, do we need another chef in the kitchen? It worked with him being the number two option in L.A. I just don't know if it definitely works in Dallas. If more is more, because less is always more. That's my only question. Yeah, I just have a fundamental problem with guys returning to teams.

I didn't like it that Ricky Henderson went back to the A's like three times. I didn't like it. LeBron went back to Cleveland. It doesn't sit right with me personally. But anyway. Pull also went back to the cards and then had success this year. Yes. We should point that one out.

That is true. In the NBA, Patrick Beverly, suspended three games for forcefully shoving D'Andre Aiton from the back, by the way. Joe Dumars, who is the head of. of basketball operations vice president of the NBA. So the suspension was explained as being based in part on Beverly's history of unsportsman like act. So this was not a single incident suspension. I know at the time I think you called this kind of a nothing burger.

What do you think of the suspension? Yeah, like a cumulative suspension, I don't understand a three-game cumulative suspension because Pat Beverly has been that guy. He has been that guy. In this particular case, D'Andreate was standing over his team. standing over it. Right? It's the old hostile act.

It's the same basic thing that Draymond Green got suspended for in the NBA Finals, which dramatically changed that series, going back to when LeBron led the Cavs back down three games to one. So DeAndreighton standing over Hillbilly Mamba, and Pat Beverly is the only guy who comes out of nowhere and pushes him from behind. He's just a two-hand shove. Like a two-hand shove gets you three games? I don't. That is the softest suspension. Like Joe Dumars was a starter and a star on the bad boys' pistons,

and he can't go like, we're going to suspend a guy for a two-hand shove in the back? Yeah, if it's a cumulative suspension, it should be a game, not three. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. All right, we're getting ready to watch some soccer as well. This should be super, I mean, as interesting as soccer can be,

It's going to be interesting today taking on England. But coming up next, Lane Kiffin has set his current status as head coach of Ole Miss. Why, honesty, might just be his worst and yet best policy. I'll explain next in the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, weekdays at 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. It 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 Byer, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, and 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 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 where you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators,

and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

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

double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy.

see 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. Doug Gottlieb in for Colinist to the Hurd and Foxport Trader, the IHart Radio app. Sto Zulu College Football Talk to some good college football games going on right now. Deroket Royal Stadium is John Robinson. I don't know if any college players worth a Lamborghini, because Robinson has a Lamborghini.

But if you watched him play so far today, like, yeah, maybe, maybe, maybe. There is, like, and I want to, it's interesting. I got a chance to go to Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, a bedlam last Saturday. I've been to several college games. And I think, look, if you listen to me long enough, you know that I was against NIL, not,

because I didn't want guys to receive any sort of payment for their time put in as college athletes. I actually value the scholarship to college experience, everything else that you get. I guess even getting into a college that you normally couldn't get into. I mean, I know that myself. I went to Notre Dame my first year. I couldn't have gotten into Notre Dame as a regular student. That just wouldn't have happened academically. So, you know, I value all of those things, I think, above what media and social media

valued it. But the other part to it is, I mean, when you watch all of these broadcasts, what do they all have in common? You know, almost all of the commentators, the analysts, are former star players. And, you know, spending time in the sooner state this week. So many of my friends who are former athletes are in medical devices. sales. And what is medical device sales other than the relationships they create with doctors? And it's not that they're not working, but the reason that companies, like a striker, wants

to hire so many people that I played with or played against is because they know that in those areas, their name is synonymous with success. And their name image and likeness has value. And that's where you, it's the whole reason that you put in the time there. But the NIL stuff has, there's been a good side to it. I think it's awful to throwing money at recruits. You look what it's done to A&M. You look what it's done to Miami. That part, they're going to have to figure out.

I still believe that you should have to play at least a season before you're able to benefit from your name, image, and likeness because, well, that's when your name image and likeness actually has value. Anyway. But the number one pro, you know, into the pros and cons, is it keeps, I mean, look at college football, running backs, they're basically like a one and a half contract career. You know?

I mean, how many, Christian McCaffrey didn't get hurt at all his first three years in the NFL. It's the biggest contract you've ever seen. And, like, I think they got a chance to win a Super Bowl, but anybody would argue he didn't, he didn't live up to that contract he got with the Carolina Panthers. And if that's a guy who's never been hurt, how about all these other guys? What it does is, what NIL does is, it positions that are no longer as valuable in the NBA and NFL, it keeps those kids in school longer and gives them like a job that is somewhere in between the level of and sometimes above the level of what they be making professionally. And there's a reason that small guards and the Drew Timmy's, all the big guys, in college basketball that don't have a potential landing spot in an NBA starting lineup or maybe

even an NBA rotation, they're going to stay. The same thing for running backs and some of these quarterbacks in college football. And then there's Lane Kiffin who told his team that he expects to be back with Ole Miss. And this is after a week of wild speculation where he came out and said, hey, I've already had three contracts. I expect to have a fourth with Ole Miss. And there was a report that he was going to be the next head coach of the Auburn Tigers, Of course, Auburn takes on Alabama.

Cadillac Williams is their interim coach, and they've been, he's been, it's actually been great energy to watch Auburn play. But I think this part is truly fascinating because Lane's telling the truth. Because what happens is your season's over last night to lose the Egg Bowl, crazy game. Agent calls him a day, there's going to be offer from Auburn. And he expects Ole Miss to come close to matching or to improve his deal. as he knows, he's going to be with Ole Miss.

But if Auburn blows Ole Miss out of the water and Ole Miss says, you know, we're good, well, then that changes. That's complete honesty. I just don't know if everybody's ready for. All right, coming up next. The Cowboys win and Jerry Jones going to meet with OBJ, but is more, actually more.

That's next. I'm Doug Gottlieb. It's the herd. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. 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. 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, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. Eighty-four's big to me.

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