The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - The Harbaughs are built different

Episode Date: January 23, 2024

There are two brothers who are perhaps the greatest creators of football culture in the history of the sport Colin revels in the decades-long quarterback stability in Green Bay. There is one NBA position in mind that might now be the most important in the leagueSee 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fans, 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It is a Tuesday. We're loaded as usual. It is great to be here live in Los Angeles.

It's the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. J. Mack, Nick Wright in one hour. So many things. Now all this stuff is percolating on the Harbaugh's. Jim Harbaugh is bouncing around. Keep your eyes open for Harbaugh in Los Angeles this week.

weeks. Good. For a second time. You hear the stuff about the Falcons and there's a split over Belichick and a big divide in the building. This NFL coaching stuff is fascinating. So Jim Harbaugh wins the college national championship. John Harbaugh is favored to win the Super Bowl. Right? Don't we mostly think that? Baltimore played San Francisco, blew him out. Wouldn't that be unique? Brothers. One wins the college Natty. one wins the Super Bowl. John Harbaugh is the last non-offensive head coach standing in the league.

The last one, three offensive coaches and John Harbaugh. And there is a distinction. He is not a defensive coach. He's a culture creator. John Harbaugh started with running backs and tight ends coaching him. Then he went to the secondary, most years in special teams. There is a distinction. He is not Sean McDermott, Bill Belichick, Mike Tomlin,

Ron Rivera, a pure 100% defensive head coach that can struggle with changes offensively. Not John. He got to Baltimore. First year, they got him Joe Flacco. By the fifth year, he won a Super Bowl, and it was a top 10 offense. That team was not about defense. That Super Bowl team was about Joe Flacco getting red hot, 11 touchdowns. no picks in the playoffs.

John Harbaugh can't be pigeonholed. Tomlin, Belichick, Rivera, McDermott can. Great at what they do, but John Harbaugh and the Harbaugh's are different. Then John Harbaugh, as Flacco ages and regresses, they get him Lamar Jackson. And what's different about that is he's a completely different player. from a slower-footed pocket guy with a big arm to an absolute world-class playmaker who is now developed into an excellent pocket passer.

Two different styles, John Harbaugh now favored to win a Super Bowl with both. Two totally different quarterbacks. And that's what separates the Harbaugh's. Let's talk about Jim. Despite being a quarterback and viewed as an offensive coach. Did you watch Michigan?

They barely threw the ball down the field. Why are they beating Ohio State? It's not because of their clever progressive offense and their McVeigh and Mike McDaniel motions. The scheme of Shanahan. He, too, is a culture creator. Michigan is what Stanford was and what the Niners were,

tough and physical at the point of attack. In fact, if you go back to Jim Sanford, Francisco teams, they had four top 10 defenses. No, top 10 offenses. This is what separates the Harbaugh's from even the great coaches. I love Andy Reed. He's an offensive coach and acknowledges. He gives Spags the defense.

Belichick's a legend, but he's tone deaf, Jurassic, out of touch offensively. Jim Harbaugh cannot be pigeonholed as an offensive coach. Michigan was about their defense. That's why they're beating Ohio State. The Niners were about their defense. Stanford went from a dog to tough. Not saying Andrew Luck couldn't play, but it wasn't dynamic offenses. It was their physicality.

And that's what transcends time. I was on the phone two nights ago with an NFL executive who said, Ben Johnson's a great play caller. He may be a great play designer. but is he a culture creator? That's what the Harbaas are. And that's why they transcend time. Cultures and physicality transcend time.

And why many of the defensive coaches look like they're past their prime. It doesn't matter how the rules change with Jim Harbaugh or John. That's the separator. The last non-offensive coach standing. John Harbaugh. And the first coach, big-time coach, the Chargers potentially will have in over a decade. Jim Harbaugh, their leading candidate. Here was Eric Mangini, who knows both, talking about Jim last week.

Jim's not the traditional coach that you necessarily run into. You know, there's a little corkiness to it. It's a little bit different package than, say, your traditional coach to be, and some people can't get their head around it. But part of that, part of that is his charm. Part of that is his allows him to connect with so many players and coaches. It allows him to operate in environments that other coaches can't operate in to coach players that other coaches can't coach.

That's what separates the Harbaughs. They're not one side of the ball guys. doesn't matter if you're a CEO, a high school principal, or a football coach. It's hard to pigeonhole them. John Harbaugh's offenses won him a Super Bowl, and it's Lamar now. Not saying the defense isn't great,

but it's Lamar's explosiveness that defines the team. And with Harbaugh, it was Michigan's toughness. They're just different cats, and both are great. So years ago, a really smart person who wouldn't want to take credit told me something. I remember this? clear as day, in New York at a restaurant.

And the person said to me, whenever you get in crisis in life, be careful about blaming, sometimes we get in our own way. And I always think about that. Life doesn't go perfect. My wife and I are arguing. Vacation goes sideways. Job isn't perfect. Be careful about blaming.

Sometimes you get in your own way. Let's talk Packers. It's very interesting. So when Aaron Rogers, acknowledge and admitted, hey, I'm going to leave and I'll go to the Jets. We know Aaron didn't leave for fame. He was already famous. We know he wasn't tired of Green Bay because of the money.

He was rich. He's not going to make any more money in New York. In fact, I think he took a little less, didn't he? He wasn't going to New York for power either. He was the most powerful person in Wisconsin that wasn't in government. So when Aaron was unhappy in New York, Green Bay. It wasn't for power. It wasn't for money.

It wasn't for fame. He viewed Green Bay at some level, often passively aggressively taking shots at the front office. They were a bit of an obstacle for his success. So think about that. Why would he leave?

The people are great. The fans are amazing. The stadium's full. He was famous, rich, and powerful. Green Bay doesn't have an owner. It's the most powerful quarterback in the league is a Packer quarterback. So he viewed, these guys don't quite get me.

They're a little bit of an obstacle. And that's where we pivot now to Jordan Love. 65% of teams that score first in the NFL win. The magic sauce, the secret sauce for the Packers this year, wasn't just their personnel. They became the best first quarter team in the league since week nine. In Jordan Love's first year of starting, their first quarter pocket passer rating excuse me

Jordan loves passer rating the first quarter 108 no first quarter picks that's the scripted half of football Aaron Rogers first quarter passer rating last year 20 points lower 88 three first quarter picks Jordan love was a significantly better

first quarter quarterback this year than Aaron Rogers, the Hall of Famer, was last year. The Packers had only four turnovers in the entire first half, the scripted half, lowest in the league. And that's a first year starting quarterback and the youngest roster in the NFL. Last year, they were tied for 27, 13 first half turnovers. Again, the scripted quarter, the scripted half. Mahomes does his own thing, magically after half. But Mahomes follows a script in the first drive and maybe the second.

Since week nine, Jordan Love and the Packers were plus 47, best in the league, plus minus. Last year, entire season with Aaron plus one, middle of the pack. It was interesting watching the Packers. Aaron didn't leave for money. He didn't leave for power, and he didn't leave for fame. He left because at some level he viewed Green Bay as a bit of an obstacle to his success. He was the obstacle. Green Bay became the best first quarter offense.

They took the lead in Dallas. They put the pressure on San Francisco. The team that scores first wins almost 65% of the time. Aaron, as Greg Cosellis told us multiple times, out errands out of successful plays more of a jazz musician going to his own beat certainly earned it but it is interesting when you watched Green Bay especially from about week eight and nine on we're taking the lead on people in the scripted half allowing himself to be coached allowing himself to be guided

Jordan Love did not view Matt Lefleur as an obstacle but as an assistant to his success. Here's Matt wrapping up his season. He had a hell of a year. Let's not look past that. He really did just to see the growth, the results speak for themselves. But the growth of him is just as the commander out there.

He's an extension of us. And I thought the ownership that he showed, the leadership that he showed, was a great sign for us. Us, he said three times. Us, collaborative, unified, us. Be careful blaming. You, me, us are often the obstacle of our success.

J-MAC, last night, my Sixers, as I've told you I've applied for multiple radio gigs in Philadelphia. My Sixers were led by Joel Ambide as he dropped 70. Now, it's the NBA regular season. The defense isn't ratcheted up, so you see these big numbers in the regular season. But it was very impressive. We've never seen the NBA at this level. The league has never been this good.

Did you see 17 guys are averaging more than 25 points per game this season? 17. That's obscene, Colin. Offensively, it's the most gift of the league's ever been. There's never been this depth of pool ever. It's also a much more international league. pool has expanded. So instead of a Tony Koo coach in Chicago, it feels like every team's got a couple of Tony Koo coaches. Everybody's got a couple of bigs and a couple of international guys,

and they're now taking the league over. Carl Anthony Towns comes out after Embed scores 72 points, it's 10-3s. Like the league is just on fire right now, talent-wise. Coming up next, it was a term that was used liberally and was it absolute nonsense for a decade in the NBA. Did it never try? truly exist. We'll talk about small ball 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 I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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. So last night, big night for Joel Embed, 70 points. Teammates were feeding him the ball. He was hungry.

He was hot, and they were feeding him. Mbid's a great player, MVP. We've talked about the league and how it's changing and getting larger and more international. Anybody else noticed this, though? I thought about this last night as Mbid was going off. Small ball has vanished. Did it ever really exist? Or was it the greatest small score in league history and the greatest six-seven defenders, small for the men he was defending?

Even the best of the small ball. The best of it was when they added 6-11, super-long, underrated defender, KD. That was the best of small ball. We're five years past small ball at its peak. The league is owned, dominated by Janus and Yokic and Embeded. The Celtics got better noticeably. What could it be? They added Porzingis.

Think about it. The top team in the West, Carl Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert, two bigs, Minnesota. Even the top scoring point guards, six, seven and a half Luca, 6.6 SGA. People convinced themselves, size didn't matter. It's always mattered. Michael's the outlier. I grew up with Kareem and Wilt. What about magic? He had Wilt. What about Cove? He had Shaq. What about Tony Parker's MVP year? He had Duncan, the better player. There was the Isaiah Thomas Pistons, known for physicality.

Rodman, Mahorn, Lambeer tackling people. Well, there were the Chauncey Billups Pistons with Ben Wallace, a badass, and Rashid Wallace. Steph is the first finals MVP, Little Guy, Point Gives. in 16 years. Did Small Ball ever really exist? Or was it two historically unique players? The greatest small score in league history, Steph Curry, and the greatest smaller defender,

considering who he defends, Draymond Green. Look at the copycats of Small Ball. Blazers about that back court. Zippo. Houston, Zippo. Wall and Beal in D.C. Zippo will be led by Trey Young, a big

nothing burger. People try to copy something that didn't exist. They didn't have Steph. They didn't have Draymon. The NBA now is clearly international and led by Biggs. Even

the dominant scoring point guards are big. Kobe had Shaq, Parker had Duncan, Michael's the outlier. In terms of dominance. He's six, six and a half. That sort of small. It's like mobile quarterbacks in the NFL. We love them. But the Ravens' ascension is really built on the growth of Lamar Jackson in the pocket. Don't confuse the greatest small score in league history, Steph Curry, and the

greatest small-ish defender in Draymond Green for anything more than a fad. The fidget spinner. Couldn't take our eyes off it for a few years. Vanished, nobody cares. Size has always mattered. And once again, it's taking over the league. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Interesting little riff there. I like the transition to the NBA as NFL, well, three games left in the season. Well, remember, March is free agency. We have a couple of huge. We got Vrable, Belichick, and Harbaugh still to land.

Ben Johnson. So we've got a lot. We got games. We have two weekends of games. Major coaching moves. Massive free agency. And then what is being called the richest quarterback draft in a decade. And we got a little football here in the spring.

So we got a lot of football. But I do think as I watched Embede, he is a remarkable player. He's pretty good. This goes on like a three or four year trend of the league's getting big and international. But when I started watching it, 1972, the first year I can remember watching the NBA, the best team in the NBA, they had Jerry West, but they had Wilt. And the Knicks, by the way, they had Monroe and Frazier, but they had Willis Reed. And then in the 70s, it was Elvin Hayes and those Sonics teams with Jack Sigma. And guards are quick.

We buy their shoes. It's fun. Take Jordan's bulls out. Size leads the way. I like a Jack Sigma reference this early in the show. Nicely done. All right, let's get back to the NFL. Nick Siriani's future, it sounds like he's going to survive.

However, end of the season press conference tomorrow, and it looks like Brian Johnson, the OC will be gone. Nothing confirmed, but it looks like it. D.C. Sean Desai has been left. and interim DC, Matt Patricia, his contract is going to get set to expire. Now, here's a real question, Colin. Does Siriani get to hire these guys? Or is Howie Roseman and the owner saying, here's who you will take because they could see them taking Seriani's spot down the road.

So let me ask you this. Like I've said before, we have seen Nick Siriani with great coordinators Super Bowl. And we have seen him without great coordinators. Disaster. What if they land winked Martindale? What time out? I thought he was excellent with the Giants. He and Brian Dayball struggled.

But if you put Wink Martindale with that defense, my take is, and they go out, I don't know who they're going to hire on the offensive side, but there are rumors out there about Wink Martindale who lives in that area. Maybe he's in the area. Wink Martindale's one of the top 5D coordinators in the league. He's like Harbaugh light in that he runs hard and bright for a little bit,

and then he wears out people in the building. But he makes defenses better. No, certainly. That's a good get. I think the OC is going to be a bigger question because if you have Jalen Hertz that everybody loves and you pay a lot of money to. And Shade Waldron's off the market. Sounds like he's going to Chicago. Yeah.

Cliff Kingsbury, I don't know if that would work for Sari. How much input is? I think he'd like to stay west. Jalen Hertz get in this decision. I don't know the answer to that. That's a good question. Should he get a lot of input? I always think I wanted to know.

You paid him all the money. Well, yeah, I'd like his point of view on it. Yeah. I remember. Brian Johnson were close. They'd known each other dating back over a decade. So we like continuity, right? Keep the coaching staffs together. Keep the quarterback. I'm not for firing, but I thought

Philadelphia was a, I'd never seen a team that was 10 and 1 become awful. I cannot recall a time where there's been a team that went playoffs, playoffs, and we'll have to reboot the coordinators again. Like back-to-back ears. That's like Cleveland Brown's New York Jet stuff. You don't expect that for the top teams in the league. Very strange. Let's move to C.J. Stroud who kept the excellent rookie season with a tough loss there to the Ravens, the best team in the league.

Set a bunch of rookie records this year, Stroud did. Lamar Jackson made sure to show the rookie some love after their postgame handshake, telling him, it's the beginning for you. You're going to be there. They're waiting on you. Yeah, well, the Texans are, if you look at where they're good, it's like the six positions you'd have to be good. Edge, left tackle, weapon, quarterback, corner, head coach.

like Houston literally go six for six on the six positions you have to be good. We acknowledge you don't have to be great at linebacker. Just happens the Niners and Ravens are. You don't have to be great at safety. The Ravens are. There are positions on this earth guard. You don't have to be dominating. But there are six positions.

Head coach, quarterback, left tackle, edge, a weapon, preferably two. And a corner, I would say is six. Don't have to be great at corner, but it's great to have a good one. And they are. Houston's six for six there. Yeah. Stingley, Will Anderson. It's weird. We went into the season thinking Jags could be the number one seed. We both did. 12, 13 games. They're ascending.

Who do you think set up for more success here the next five years? Houston. You don't even let me get Jackson. No, I mean, I think they have all the spots. Again, I'm not a huge fan of defensive coaches. But history tells you if they have great quarterbacks, they can win trophies. Right. Now, a defensive coach will not elevate a C quarterback to a B, and if you go with a quarterback disruption, a backup, your season's over.

But if you give a McDermott, a Belichick, a defensive coach, a great quarterback, you can host a Lombardi. That we have a history of that my entire life. And I think C.J. Stroud, a lot of people, I see the cynics on the internet that are saying C.J. Stroud's success is in large part to a very clever offensive coordinator who they have. But I will say this. Whereas a Jalen Hertz is smaller in size and not a classic pocket guy, he was more beholden to a clever play caller in Shane Steichen. C.J. Stroud is big. Moves well.

Wildly, bizarrely accurate. I don't think he's tied to a coordinator. Now, he made a dip. And Matt Ryan, by the way, was not as good without Shanahan. But Jalen Hertz, you can see why he could be. Like, Kyler Murray, you could see why he would be. elevated because of a smaller size and a running style, elevated by a coordinator. I think C.J. Stroud is so accurate.

Moving pocket, left, right, rolling. I don't think he's as coordinator dependent. That's what I see. It's weird. We do, I'm not saying you, but just in general, football fans seem to well. CJ Stroud, he's got Slowick. I mean, who was Slowick before he got Stroud? Like he was just a guy from the Shanahan tree.

And, you know, we see this with whether it's Brock Purdy, whether it's Jordan Luff. we do this thing where we want to diminish folks who were not drafted high. Stroud was drafted second. He's going to get the benefit of the doubt forever. Even with Lamar Jackson, it's like, ooh, Baltimore. First half was dicey. Well, the Baltimore playoff history. The Lamar Jackson thing is very clear.

And you get this more with men than women. Men do not like to admit they're wrong. It's viewed as weakness. Women view admitting their wrong as growth. So a guy gets very defensive. A woman's like, oh, why? That's a new way to see the world. So if women called sports talk radio stations, they would be smarter.

Men are always defending their turf. So the people that don't like Lamar Jackson didn't like him initially and can't move off it. You see this constantly on Twitter, ex-social. Guys get very defensive about being wrong. They see it as weakness. Women see it as growth. And so the Lamar critics, they know he's good. He's going to be a two-time MVP.

But they initially, guys consider it flip-flopping. That is weakness. Smartest people I all know that I've ever known are flip-floppers. They're constantly getting new data and new information. But the thing about Lamar, people are stubborn on Lamont. The critics are just stubborn. But I think it's because he felt the 32nd. Like Stroud was second pick overall. He's always going to get the benefit of doubt. If you go in that top five, top 10, the masses, well, he was a top 10 pick. He's going to deliver. It's going to be fine. But like, Jack Prescott, the second things go right. Wow, he's a game manager.

Russell said, hey, he's not that good. He's a third. Roundback. Brock Purdy, Tom Brady. They did it with Brady for years. Oh, no, they called him a system quarterback until the very end. He had like five Super Bowl rings. He is our game manager. Like, this is just stupid. Not only do people do that outside of the sport, but I would say in the sport,

remember the stories that came out, the leaks at the end of Brady's New England run? The leaks from inside the Patriot Building were, we think we can win with other quarterbacks here. That was a direct quote. It may have been Seth Wickersham, Jeff Benedict. somebody that wrote one of those Patriot books, there was a direct quote in the building. We can win here with more than just Tom. So even in the building, that draft selection permeates for years.

And by the way, this trickles down to backups. I can't tell you how many sports fans are like, hey, Sam Darnold needs a chance to start somewhere. Donald, he can be a starter. And it's like, well, Jake Browning looked better than Sam Donald ever has for like six games. Well, it was a little fluky in Cincinnati's got to march. Like, just stop, guys. Well, you and I, it's funny because I'm a Husky fan. So I watched Jake Browning in college.

And my knock was he didn't have a power arm. Like he didn't have to be able to throw it down the field. But I was told by two people, I was tech. Jordan Palmer kept texting me. He's like, dude can play. Dude can start in this league. So Jordan kept telling me over and over texting me. He goes, I'm telling you, he may not be Josh Allen,

but that dude can start in this league. He can play. And he was right. By the way, Baker Mayfield keeps getting chances. Fourth team? I mean, he's going to get paid this offseason, right? He had a good run with Tampa. Final story.

The Belichko is era. is over in New England and Gerard Mayo is ready to put his fingerprints on the roster. Speaking for the first time since his hiring, he was on the Greg Hill Show, Mayo said the Patriots are ready to open their checkbooks in free agency. We're going to take the best available player for the biggest need on the team. Offensive line, receiver, quarterback. We're bringing in talent 1,000 percent. So have a lot of cap space and cash, ready to burn some cash.

No, it's interesting. Belichick's sensing this could be his last year. I mean, the stories have been out there for two years. Do you think it's interesting that he locked in Juju Smith-Schuster and Devante Parker for three years? Locked him in? I mean, the stories about Belichick in trouble, let's be honest, were two years ago. And when they signed Devante and Juju, you and I sat on the air, why would you lock those guys in?

It's almost as if Bill, and there's been multiple stories since he left, wanted to stick it to him. There was a story about Mack Jones keeping him in. I didn't report it. It was reported by, like Patriot reporters, it was his way of sticking it to craft. We know Bill is a grudge holder. Bill's petty. Bill's a grudge holder. He is.

I've read every Patriot book. Bill can hold a grudge. When he said, we want to spend cash on receivers. Yeah, you have. on two guys that can't separate. Sabotage? I'm not saying, it's not that, that's too strong a word. But we both push back on those signings.

Patriot fans pushback. Bill was getting heat. It's just weird that Bill would all these years in the league think, yeah, Devonte Parker is last in the league in separation, dead last. Let's give him a three-year deal. That was such a rando contract to me that made no sense. Yeah, just, see, all side point,

Daniels in the draft, number three, the quarterback from LSU. I saw Mel Kuyper's mock draft today. What did EF? It was three quarterbacks to start. I went through the entire. It has to go. Caleb Drake. I thought he did a good job.

Yeah, yeah. That's what I had two weeks ago, Mel, obviously, taking cues from. Yeah, he's probably, you know, of course he would be. But it was a good mock. I, you know, I went down every pick first round. By the way, there are a lot of good offensive tackles in this draft. Yeah, great news for the jet, so we can get the third best one. Wonderful.

Eight. So he has Caleb to the Bears Jaden Daniels Commodores, Drake May Patriots. What? He has Jaden Daniels over Drake May? Well, Drake May was inconsistent. Jaden Daniels was more consistent.

J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. Drake May's bigger, but he can be a little erratic. Drake May is better than Jaden Daniels. Jane Daniels was amazing this year.

Look at the stats. A lot of it's against like roast beef tech, like to say. Is it? He beat up a lot of really bad teams. He's talented, but come on. You take Drake May over, Jayden. 100%.

Drake May's going to dominate this league. Dominate this league. Give you five years on Drake May. That's a long time to get if he doesn't. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben. Host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor. It would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey.

You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour. tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mather show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry, in media, sports, and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more.

Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast, 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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

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

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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. week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics

from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sunday on Fox, Jared Goff aims to lead the Lions to their first ever Super Bowl while Brock Christian McCaffrey and the top-seeded Niners await. The NFC championship game Sunday at 6 Eastern on Fox. If Debo does not play, I'm taking the lion. With the points or straight up?

Straight up. Oh, get out of town. Steak dinner? You owe me four. I owe you? I thought I was in the lead, but okay. Double or nothing. Four steak dinners.

I can give me the Niders. If Debo does not play. Stop. All right. I've got some thoughts. on that. Let me go with this, though, first. So Josh Allen, listen, it's, we call it during the regular season, we call it overreaction Monday. Buffalo is going to be fine. They may not win a Super Bowl. They're going to be fine. In fact, I'm going to make a prediction. They're

going to be good. In fact, I'm going to make another prediction. They may be great next year. Fine, good or great. They still may not win a Super Bowl, right? It's called Lamar Jackson. Joe Burrow returns. Patrick Mahomes, NFC. But here's the thing about Josh Allen. I'll just give you an example why they're going to be fine. He's 27. I think he turned 28 in the offseason. He is the most physically gifted quarterback I've ever seen. I didn't say best.

I'll give an example. In the last four years, that's a good chunk of time. He is first or second in total touchdowns every year. He is also never injured, 6-6-255. how it served for an arm, probably the strongest arm in the league, and really fast. Just think about how great Lamar Jackson is. In the last four years, and think about what a dual threat, Lamar Jackson is. And you know I love Lamar.

In the last four years, staff looked it up this morning. Lamar Jackson has 73 fewer touchdowns than Josh Allen. 73. In fact, if you include the playoffs, not totally aligned, Lamar has 94 fewer touchdowns in the last four years. You would have to add Kyler Murray to Lamar Jackson to get Josh Allen. And I love Kyler, defend him weekly on this show, and I love Lamar. You'd have to add them together.

Those numbers are about Josh Allen. He is the most physically gifted quarterback of all time. not saying the best. Never misses time. I love Burrow. Gets hurt a lot. Love Lamar. Previous two seasons couldn't stay healthy.

Kyler Murray, injuries. Josh is always there. 6-6-25-5. Huge arm. Just look at the total touchdown. People talk about analytics a lot. Most points win. How do you get to most points?

So this whole thing about the bills, here's the cruelty, however, of this league. 32 teams, about 7 to 8 quarterbacks that may get Hall of Fame votes and end up there, about 6 or 7 or 8 coaches if Harbaugh comes back that are Hall of Fame level coaches, one champion.

That's it. And that's the cruelty of it. You can be a great team and not win. I would say the four Bills teams that lost the Super Bowl were great teams. Hall of Fame quarterback. Marve Levy was an excellent coach. Stars defensive line, Bruce Smith,

wide receiver, running back, Thurman Thomas, star-studded teams. Those were great teams. Did not win a Super Bowl. So my prediction is Buffalo will not only be fine, not only be good, my guess is over the next several years, they'll have a chance to be great. And it will guarantee nothing in the AFC.

Here's Josh Allen talking. talking about the future. I believe in what we've got going on here and the people that are in charge. I believe in myself and that will never change. And there's probably going to be a lot of change, whether it's personnel, guys coming back, guys not planning. Again, that's all speculation. That's nothing that I know.

I just got to continue to keep working hard and bringing the guys that are here along and keep trying to mesh everybody together. All right, this story is about the Niners. Jamack's not going to like this one. So according to the latest report, Debo Samuel has no fracture, but that totally unique player is up in the air for the championship. So when you view the Niners, don't we view them as creative and unpredictable and clever? they are with Debo. But I'll argue when you take Debo out of the Niners,

they're actually a very traditional offense with one deep receiver, an old school physical tight end, and a dominant running back. Think about this. With Debo, the Niners win 70% of their games. Without Debo, they're the Raiders, 8 and 9, with a star receiver, a dominant running back, a really good left tackle, and a quarterback who you don't trust. And a great edge rusher.

Think I'm joking. What do the Raiders have? Max Crosby, DeMonte Adams, great left tackle, star running back. Colin, that's actually accurate. and the Raiders are in a tougher division, arguably, and a tougher conference. Christian McCaffrey is the best player. Debo is the X factor. Without Debo, they're 8 and 9.

Those are the numbers in the NFC. I'm looking at them right now. With Debo, they average 27 a game. Without Debo, 24, and that is significant. The turnover differential with Debo plus 20, without Devo minus 8. That's since Debo entered the league. So we all know that quarterbacks, like a Josh Allen or a Mahomes or a Lamar Jackson,

can be worth 10 to 11 points in Las Vegas. The numbers tell you that Debo is worth a field goal. If you simply take Debo out of the Niners, he is a field goal. that would be the most valuable non-quarterback in the National Football League. No other player is worth three points, no defensive player, and even a Jamar Chase isn't worth that. So if you take quarterbacks out and we know there's a sliding scale, Lamar's worth 10 or 11, Aaron Rogers in his prime 10, and then, you know, average guys, two, a backup, maybe half a point one. The numbers tell you they're all here that Debo is worth a field goal in a game where the line is what?

Three, three and a half points? I will take the lions if Debo does not play. Backed by science, backed by data, it's just very interesting. How you view the Niners with Debo is creative, clever, and unpredictable. When he leaves, they are a one deep threat, an old school tied end, and a dominant. running back with a great edge rusher. And a quarterback, nobody truly trusts if you press them.

The Garoppolo Raiders. Oh my gosh. Wow. I don't know where to begin, genuinely. My first thought is, Colin, like, this is why this show works so well. Like, we like each other. And, like, you know, you could say some

wacky stuff, and I'm not going to come at you too hard. But respectfully, that's the craziest thing you said, Since I joined the show, Debo's worth a field goal? Okay. What? I'm looking, this is data. So since Debo has entered the league, they are 53 and 23 with him,

eight and nine without him, 27 with him, 24 without him, and the turnover differential is a mess. So it's telling me rushing yards per game, more, not significant, but more. What it's telling you is, if you look at this offense, this is why I say about Lamar Jackson,

why is he worth 10 points? Lamar plays, they score 28. When he doesn't the last several years, they score 17. So that tells me Lamar is value as 10 points, which is, by the way, what a great Hall of Fame level quarterback can be in his prime. I'll give you that, yeah. But there's no skill position player that if you go to anyone in Vegas and say they're worth a field ball.

I know those numbers show that, that their offense is not as prolific. But so if the line 7, so you're saying if Debo's ruled in, it goes up to 10. No, if Debo plays, I'll take the Niners because I think they, absolutely shifts everything. I mean, since Debo's entered the league, the coach hasn't changed, the left tackle, the tight ends. They're very traditional when Debo leaves. Power, you know, dominant running back, one deep receiver, old school tight end. They did okay in the fourth quarter without Debo, right?

Against the youngest team since the 1970 bills. Fair, but the Lions defense is total garbage. I mean, Baker Mayfield shredded them. Like, I think the Niners are fine. Data, embrace it. Oh, boy. 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 Podcast. 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 I-Hard radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of 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 eye, Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.