The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Thoughts on Caleb Williams

Episode Date: February 2, 2024

Colin shares some intel on Caleb Williams and he thinks about the Bears organization as Chicago contemplates what to do with the number 1 overall pick He questions Jayson Tatum as an elite number 1 option on a title contending team in the NBA after a disappointing loss to the Lakers The 49ers were quick on fixing a major issue with their teamSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Who's got it better than us? Nobody. You know, Jay Mack, it is hard for the average fan to relate to rich pro-AC. Right? Like, I understand that. I mean, how do you relate to Kevin Durant or Patrick Mahomes? I get that. But when you come out of college, you came out of college, I came out of college.

I had a little fear when I came out of college. I had a kid childhood of divorce, didn't have any money. So, like, I had to get it right fast. Like I couldn't afford to make a bunch of mistakes. You can kind of relate to that. You didn't grow up like I did. But when you get out of college, there is that period of the hell am I going to do with my life? Uncertainty, yes.

A lot of it. And so that's the situation with Caleb Williams, who I'm told by NFL executives, USC's quarterback, is the best quarterback prospect they can remember. Better than Andrew Luck, a five-tool guy, led the nation in offense, despite having only one great teammate the last two years. Daniel Jeremiah yesterday, about as smart as guy as our space has, said he'd be surprised if the Bears didn't take him number one. Yes, they should take him number one. He's a LeBron as a prospect.

He's an Andrew Locke or a Trevor Lawrence. But people think in terms of football, not basketball, guys, he's better. And I want you to think about this. I want you to try to relate to this. You come out of college. You're number one in your law class. Not at your school, but in the country. You went to Duke or Virginia.

You went to Cal. Whoever has a good law firm or a good law school, Michigan, Texas, whoever, Virginia, whoever. Number one. And you don't really have a choice where you go. And the law firm that has the number one pick has no history of winning consistently and is actually for your position quarterback, professional quicksand. Would you be a little anxious? about it. The Chicago Bears are not a winning football operation. In the last decade, they finish

last 50% of the time. They have a head coach that if he loses games in September, he's on the hot seat. They have the only defensive coach in the division, and the Packers and the Lions are young, really good at quarterback, winning with a ton of momentum. And Minnesota's always pretty good. And young quarterbacks overwhelmingly are as good as where they land. I mean, Justin Fields is 10 and 28. Do you think he'd be 10 and 28 if he inherited Andy Reed? I don't. The Bears have had one winning season in 11 years.

They haven't won a playoff game in 14. They haven't had an offense in the top 15 in the last decade. It is Loserville offensively, and their division looks really, really, really good. And so there are concerns, and I pointed them out yesterday on the show from Caleb Williams and his camp. This is not the perfect destination. Washington at number two, in my opinion, he's from there, is a much better landing spot.

But I got a call yesterday from the Caleb Williams camp. By the way, he's got a very small camp. He doesn't have an entourage. He's got like an assistant for the NIL stuff, a marketing person. He doesn't have a big camp. He has a dad, big personality, smart guy, strong opinions, does his homework.

Caleb and his dad don't always agree, but he's got a very big personality as a father. So I got a call from the Caleb Williams camp and they went, whoa, whoa, whoa, Colin. We don't want to be, we don't want to be painted as anti-Chicago, and we don't want to be painted as anti-Bair. And they made it clear to me that they said, listen, we don't want to go to a city that doesn't care. Chicago cares. They're big, loud, they're passionate. They fire coaches all the time.

They care. We don't want to go to some sunbelt place where you tarp off the upper deck. and they did say there is a path to succeed in Chicago. It's called the Houston Texans. Defensive coach, a couple of weapons, cap space, good pick. You know, they mentioned they got a second pick. There's a bunch of good receivers out there, LSU, Washington. They could go get another weapon, and they already have one bona fide number one pick.

But it does show you the reality of Caleb Williams, and I've got sympathy for the athlete. I'm a radio guy. I could have failed at my first job. it didn't matter. I got a 50, 60-year runway. Start naming all the quarterbacks whose first spot was a disaster, and they resurrected it, and it just went great. And not many of them.

And Caleb Williams is great. And all he wants to do is win, and he's super competitive. About my only criticism of Caleb Williams, he gets a little pissy after he loses. He gets very moody. He doesn't like to lose. He is hyper-competitive. People banged on him because he, he,

cried after a loss this year and I'm like he cares I don't want Jay Cutler the greatest Bears quarterback ever I don't want indifference I want passion so it's just very interesting to me is that you know the Caleb Williams camp is like and I I wouldn't say I'm I've got people that are around the camp and around Caleb pretty well connected he does not want to be viewed as a villain he doesn't want to be viewed as anti-Chicago he actually likes the fact it's a big loud town they talked about Jordan and the Bulls They care. They're into it. They got money. But this is the dilemma, and I absolutely will defend players.

John Elway said, no, thanks. He was right. Eli Manning to the Chargers, not going. He was right. And I think Caleb Williams, deep down, privately, has real concerns about the Bears. His dad has a strong personality and isn't afraid to say it. But they called last night and said, we do not want to be viewed as anti-Chicconi. We don't want to be a villain. There's an avenue that this works. It's the avenue of the Houston Texans.

We're staying very positive. We have some good vibes here, and we want to be the number one pick. But I'll say it again. There's a lot of noise. There's a lot of movement. There's a lot of concerns. And if I was 22, and I knew overwhelmingly, my first destination doesn't go well, I got about a 10% shot to resurrect my career.

And I'm a guy that my career matters to me. And he's a kid, his career matters to him. He does not like losing at all. And that's all Chicago does. We'll keep updating you. I love the fact they reached out. I love the fact that Chicago's talking about it, going on a couple of Chicago radio stations today, and I love that.

But it's a real thing. It's a real thing. Chicago has not proven themselves to be a winning organization consistently, and they are a disaster. offensively for most of my life. I couldn't tell you, and I'm sure there's one there, the last time Chicago had four or five straight years of, like, really dynamic offenses,

in their own division, that basically describes Green Bay for the last 30 years. Minnesota's always viable offensively. Now the Lions are great offensively. And Matt Eberflus goes one in four in September, and Caleb would be on his second coach. Not ideal. All right.

of not ideal. Sometimes you just have to try to explain stuff. So the Boston Celtics have the best home record in the NBA. They had all their starters. They're a much better team than the Lakers. And last night, AD didn't play, and LeBron didn't play, and the Lakers went into Boston and rolled them. How, why?

What does that mean? Well, first of all, it's the NBA regular season. It's very long. I just watched the Knicks dust the nuggets by 38 points. Awful Detroit recently beat in about the last week. awful Detroit didn't watch the game saw the highlights beat okay C the Blazers a couple of nights ago a really fun exciting young team that's years away from being you know contender viable beat the box a contender viable team right now so it's the regular

season and you know my guess is LeBron and AD aren't playing and all the starters see it oh we're playing the Lakers JV team and that's sort of the attitude they had going into the game but it does concern me because I've said this before I can't understand see things. I can't unhear certain things in sports. And I think about Jason Tatum last night. Yes, I know he's talented and good and productive. But is he

confrontational? They had seven free throws last night. How about be aggressive? How about attack the Lakers? Seven free throws? All night. Now, they hit them all, but seven free throws. Why are the Lakers JV team basically getting any look they want defensively?

So I watched these Celtics get trounced by the Clippers at home a week ago. only watched the first half, but from the first minute of the game, the Clippers were far more aggressive. What would Michael have done? Where's the confrontation? Where's the yelling? Where's the arguing? Where's the sitting guys down in the huddle?

I'm sorry. But there were concerns years ago about Steph Curry. A Steph Curry a fighter? Or is he just sort of a good shooter? And then remember that game against the Celtics and the finals? Warriors down 2-1. Steph Curry takes his outmanned warriors to Boston and drops 43 and is all fight for three hours. And Jason Tatum that night, bad shooting night, not efficient, shrinks.

It's hard for me to unsee it. Austin Reeves last night. It did whatever he wanted to. I mean, literally just did whatever he wanted to. Whether you like him or not, in Boston, no LeBron, no AD. He's hot. Stop him. Guard him.

End it. Over. Nope. seven free throws attack the basket no i just don't see in the biggest spots i see an inconsistent fight from the celtics sometimes there sometimes not and to me that always comes down to well what's your who's your star player i'm not saying you can't have bad nights bucks lost to the blazers nuggets rolled by the nicks nicks are pretty good though pistons beat o kc it's the nba season it happens.

But in the last week, the Clippers walk in there and roll them and take the game to them. And last night, no LeBron and no A.D. And the Lakers got any shot they wanted. 114 points, but no LeBron and A.D. What was that? The Celtics coach tried to explain it. It just happens. Stretches of bad basketball happens.

And you work your butt off every day to minimize those. But stretches of bad basketball happen. And we can't sit here and act like that. were too entitled for it to happen to us. It happens. And it's a matter of how we respond to it and can we work through it. We didn't play as hard as they did. They played inspired.

There was 70 minutes and 35 shots available for multiple guys. And the guys on the Lakers team took advantage of it. And we just didn't play as hard as they did. All right. That's the explanation. You okay with that, J-Mack? It just didn't play as hard as they did. No, LeBron, no AD.

Austin Reeves takes the game over. No, no, just whatever. I tried to tell you this week. Austin Reeves is him. I mean, he went off, Colin. What a performance. He was very good. Listen, hey.

He was very good. You and I are prone to the occasional Wednesday show clunker. Okay? This was a clunker as a 15-point favorite at home. Okay. What you do about nothing, right? Something. A little something.

Now, it's one thing if it's Detroit OKC, but you're at home, and you just got rolled by the clippers at home. So here come the, Lakers, they don't have their two best players. Yeah. And you just get, I mean, literally the Lakers just got any shot they wanted to. Great three-point looks, drive to the basket. Yeah. Remember how when you played sports, you'd step up to the line of scrimmage and you look, oh, they're missing their best two defenders. Oh, this is going to be a cakewalk. And you just aren't as locked in as you need to be. It happens.

It doesn't happen to me on the basketball court. I wasn't good enough to do that. All right. Maybe it's just, listen, it happens. The nuggets have been rolled a few times. Yeah. All right. No big deal. Early February stinger. 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.

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Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So I saw a piece of video yesterday sent to me that I thought was really, really interesting. Jed York owns the Niners. And he was talking to the media. He's not Jerry Jones. He doesn't talk that frequently, but he was talking to the media about Kyle Shanahan. And one of the reasons they've been to two Super Bowls in five years and four out of the last five years they've gotten to conference championships

is not just Kyle and some of the good players. It's a mindset that San Francisco has. And Jed York talking about Brock Purdy is pretty interesting stuff here. Listen. Gradually after practice, we got to talk. And he's like, ah. I think our third string quarterback's our best quarterback. Like, okay.

I'm like, what does that mean? He's like, obviously, like, we've invested in Trey. Like, Trey's doing a good job. Like, we're going to do everything that we can. We're not going to change that. And we're not going to change the chart, the depth chart. But, like, I think Brock will end up being our quarterback at some point. And, like, he didn't force it.

But if you had two injuries, and that's how Brock ended up playing. But he's always honest. even if it's not like one thing that owners don't love to hear when they've invested money and or draft picks or both into people that the last pick in the draft is the guy that we think is the best that that's that's generally not great news but that he's honest that's why i love kyle shanahan we talk about it often in this show kyle shanahan's number one concern was getting it right not consumed or paralyzed with trying to be right. It would have been much easier to go to the owner and say, Hey, our pick is really need some time. And Kyle's like, no, the guy we passed on six times is better. The New York Giants are still trying to make you believe.

Hey, we did not reach for Daniel Jones. That was a hell of a pick. It just takes time. Yeah, we got like 60 career starts. mid-80 passer rating. The Giants, people upstairs are trying to be right. Seattle Seahawks,

the Gino-Smith's story was great. Get it right. He's not a hoist a trophy quarterback. Don't try to be right. We told you. We resurrect. This guy can play. Yeah.

He can't hoist a trophy. Get it right. People in my business paralyzed what are they saying about me on social media who cares kyle shanahan said nobody bats a thousand we made a mistake six times at least we got it right with brock purdy on the seventh try and i appreciate that the giants are a franchise that used to be great they have failed over and over and over doubling down on mistakes to validate their picks san francisco doesn't do that

They just keep getting to NFC championships. It's Jimmy Garoppolo? Yeah. Let's try Trey Lance. Oh, here's Brock Purdy. Wow. And by the way, if Brock Purdy lays an egg in the Super Bowl, how do you know they won't draft another quarterback next year?

They take big swings. They keep getting the conference championships. It doesn't matter if it's Christian McCaffrey. People bagged on that big swing. That's what I like about him. Chicago Bears. Stop trying to validate Justin Fields. He's 10 and 28.

Caleb Williams is a better, he's a better prospect. Like, stop it. You find in the NFL the franchises that are trying to double down to prove they got it right previously, you just get stuck in quicksand. And San Francisco, Shanahan, John Lynch deserve a ton of credit. They don't do it like that. It doesn't matter what the quarterback is. We try Garoppolo.

Kind of worked. Trey Lance thought it would work. Brock Purdy, think it'll work. They get blown out in the Super Bowl. Don't be surprised. second, third, fourth rally, drafting our quarterback. Get it right. They'll be paralyzed by trying to be right.

J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Let's start with Patrick Mahomes and the chiefs, Colin, underdogs in the divisional round against the Bills and the AFC title game in Baltimore, pulled out the dub in each of those. They advanced to the Super Bowl. Here's Patrick Mahomes talking about how being an underdog gave the team extra motivation.

We just haven't had that aspect, so I kind of lit a fire, I think, under some guys, including myself. But at the end of the day, it's playoff games. I mean, you want to win. I mean, this is what you kind of play for. And I think that fire would have been, regardless if we're underdog or not, that fire would have been lit because this is the time of year that you work for. And you put in those hard practices for. And I think we have that mindset. If we're going to practice the way we do and we're going to work the way we work, we're not going to let it slide by.

And we're going to make sure that we maximize our opportunity every time we're out there. very next week we start breaking it down by the way jamax got his tomorrow's headlines today in two hours jim harbaugh top 35 minutes from now top of next hour are you going to give us a prediction or is that next week no no no we'll do that next week this week is um well we'll save it for the final we got some good stuff cooking up but um are you surprised thieves are still dogs here yes i am i mean cullen any show you look at any radio show you turn on if you listen to a podcast everybody universally likes the Chiefs. So why is this down two and a half

49ers? Any theories? We all universally like the Ravens too. We got burnt. But the difference is there was the Mahomes factor. Even we said we love the Ravens, but there is the Mahomes factor. But it was Mahomes against the MVP, Lamar Jackson. Now it's Mahomes against

the dead last pick in the draft. Look at Patrick Mahomes in his career, including the playoffs as an underdog. Decent. Now remember, underdog. So you have things working again. against you, you're generally on the road. He's probably been on the road in most of these games.

Forget the 9 and 3. Almost complete 70% of his throws, 36 TD's 10 picks. That's as an underdog. Generally, probably a road game. Yeah. Against another great quarterback. He's not an underdog very often.

I like the stat that he has one loss in the postseason against a quarterback not named Tom Brady. That's just insane. Like, nobody can beat him. Can Brock Purdy do it, Colin? I cannot wait. I'm so excited for this game. By the way, are you still watching it solo, or are you going to go out amongst the masses?

Some members of the family heard me say that and felt pity for their dad or stepfather. And so some of the more culinaryly brilliant people in my family would like to join me. I would like to not be alone. I would like to have people around me. But in my life, when it comes to football games of note, you and I have to take notes. I don't know. Do you take notes? I usually do.

Super Bowl's a different animal. You know you're hanging out with people. I'll take six reams of notes for the Super Bowl. And then I bring them in the next day and I sometimes I use them. I used to when I was at the other place, I would read my notes in the final segment of my Monday show just to tell you the stuff I saw. And then I thought that's probably not great TV. Any in-game wagering? I like to stay focused. No alcohol.

No wagering. Wow. Missed opportunity, my friend. Next up, Jim Harbaal had his introductory press conference with the charge. Look at it. With the Chargers yesterday. Here he is. Big Jim Harbaugh coming on the show shortly.

He talked about his Super Bowl aspirations, but to get there, he needs the best out of his quarterback. Here he is on Justin Herbert. He's a crown jewel in the National Football League. I want to get to where I watch every one of his NFL throws, every one of his snaps. I mean, the thing that's jumping out is just this enormous talent. And it's... I'm waking up like real early in the morning these days going, I got to bring it.

I got to bring my A game. I'm excited about the challenge. You know, let's see if I'm mad enough, you know, good enough coach to, you know, so that all his hard work can be realized. God, I love hardball. Lots of like about him. He may yell at me today. He may just come after me.

Who knows? Unlikely. I mean, I just, I'm so, listen. I've had such a good year because it was really important for Jim to win at Michigan. I got really tired of all the, yeah, you're winning because of this, and I got tired of it. I'm like, I'm tired of Buckeye fans banging on Harbaugh, and I'm tired of them banging on Ryan Bay. I'm like, get over it. They know they're good coaches.

But the chargers in this market, I know a lot of people in the building, they're good people. They really, really want to win. But I do think it was important for the local media and the national media to pressure the chargers and say, enough. He's the guy. You're going to have to give up some control. go get him. And they were listening. They were listening.

And by the way, you know, there was no stubbornness to them. I mean, they make a ton of money at SoFi. SoFi is a cash cow. I think it's the number one stadium in the NFL right now for game day revenue. I think it's one or two. So they're making a lot of money, but they're spending it now. And it's, it's, they moved up to L.A. because they felt they were sort of trapped financially and from politically.

And they've come to L.A. And my takeaway is, if you're going to come up here, then, then you've got to spend like, LA. And to their credit, the Chargers have spent like LA with Harbaugh, Herbert, the new facility. What's a realistic expectation? I think, I don't see why, again, if Houston can turn it around with a rookie quarterback and rookie coach in the AFC, why can't they win 11 games? This is not a huge lift. Houston, arguably, in the worst division in football. It's still the AFC, they still opened up against Baltimore. Their schedule wasn't easy. I don't know, man. What do you think? I think above 500 would be a, I don't think the play

Playoffs are a reasonable expectation. Wow. Do you realize they lost 12? I think they lost 12 games. I think seven of the 12 were by a field goal or less, and that's with a coach that appeared to be a little over his head. So you go from over his head coach to iconic legendary coach. You don't think you can win five or six close games?

You can. I need to see how they shape the roster, because I'm telling you, this team probably will not look anything like last season. Like we're talking about Echler-Ly. Yeah, they'll be well-coached. There's some questions about Keenan-A. There's some chatter about him. I would keep Keenan Allen.

I know he's hyped up Darwin James already. We'll see. A lot of restructuring a contract. Like there's a lot to happen with the Chargers. I'm not going overboard. Final story. Now, this is spicy. Just breaking here in the last 30 minutes.

LeBron James and the Lakers. What the heck is going to happen? The trade deadline less than a week away. So LeBron put out this cryptic hourglass emoji after the loss to the Hawks. That was it. No explanation. Has not talked to the media since. Sat out the game against the Celtics.

Some people thought he was, you know, a silent protest, if you will. And according to a KTLA TV media guy, I don't know how much stock to put in this, but he claims that Polinka was exploring the idea of possibly moving on from LeBron. Like, come on. If LeBron wants it, fine. But if I'm the bus family, I would struggle to trade LeBron. First of all, LeBron made this franchise relevant post-Cobie. I mean, they were a mess.

And he has sold that arena out. Go to a Laker game. It's packed. Yeah, of course. And LeBron's the reason it's packed. Well, it's going to be packed regardless. But I mean, they can keep the ticket prices high. They've won a bubble title.

They've gotten to the Western Conference finals. LeBron has been very, very good for business. It's been a home run. So you don't trade him to a crappy franchise. That being said, this sports anchor put this story out. And then Rich Paul this morning has come out and said, LeBron will not request a trade and he will not be traded. Rich Paul is putting out.

I believe Rich Paul. Yeah. It was always silly. Listen, I am not one of these guys that believes in, you know, I've said about Clay Thompson, I'd move him. I'm not one of these be loyal forever if a guy wins. But LeBron James basically took a franchise, a Yankees-level franchise, a Dallas Cowboy level franchise, Celtics level, the Los Angeles Lakers. They had been circling the drain for a decade.

Hey, everybody loves Kobe. go look at the final Kobe years. It was like 35 wins at best. They were horrible. And LeBron said, put it on my back, helped engineer a deal for AD, got him a bubble title, another Western Conference final.

You can't just ship him off. He has been really good for business. Seven weeks ago, they won the in-season tournament. Like, what do we, let's just stop with this LeBron stuff. Now, you know, Darwin Ham is another question. And what are they going to do at the deadline? You know I keep pushing Zach Levine.

Well, here's, I'll throw this out there. maybe LeBron is not, I'm just speculating, maybe LeBron is unhappy with Darwin Ham and the Lakers have told him tough. We're not moving Darvin Ham. Now that could be unsettling. But then Darvin Ham without AD and LeBron goes into Boston and they roll the Celtics. The problem with the Lakers this year, and I've watched, I try to watch almost every game parts of it. You never know what you're getting. I mean, half to half game to game.

You have no idea what you're getting. So that doesn't feel like a great team. It feels like a team that needs a piece. So the Lakers have the choice. Do they make a move here at the deadline and give up a pick? Or do they just say, we're not doing anything? Tick off LeBron as if to say, hey, we have no shot this year. In the summer, we're going to make a move.

LeBron's like, I don't care about the summer. I need a chance to play for it to the title now. I'll just say this, Colin, I think you'd agree. If anything happens to Yokic and the Denver Nuggets, say Yokch gets hurt. The Western Conference is wide open. The Lakers have a shot. They're not going to be afraid of Minnesota or OKC in the first round. They're not.

I know Minnesota is good. I think this Laker team is built more for the playoffs than the regular season because of their age. So I think what you saw last night is what they can do when inspired and they have the right matchup. I don't think the Lakers are a championship team. I don't think Boston feels like it.

Denver feels like it. I think Philadelphia is very interesting. The Knicks have been playing unbelievable lately. I still think they're a piece away, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they're not. I don't think the Lakers are in that class. but you can't just say

we're done with this season. If you can upgrade at the deadline, by the way, you don't have to make a huge deal. No. Can you make a small deal to elevate your wing defenders at a shooter? Then you make it.

By the way, at this time last year, nobody said the Miami Heat are in that finals. That's right. They get to the finals. Like, things happen. Bigs break your way.

How about the Nick? You're a Nick's fan. How about them? It's an awesome run. I want to go off on someone about Jalen Brunson, someone who made some dumb comments recently who bang on?

Jill and Brunson's awesome. He's awesome. Who banged on him? I'm not going to mention her name, but Jalen Brunson has a phenomenal season. He's so good. He's a really good player. Clutch. You know, it's funny.

I've always thought he was a two. Maybe he's not. Maybe he's the one. Maybe Randall's the two. O.G. Randall's now out a few weeks. We'll see. OG.

But I mean, O.G. N and Oby playing well. Yeah. So is he the two? Is Randall? Randall, I'm talking big picture playoffs. Is Randall the two?

I think he's better served as a three? Yeah. But, I mean, Brunson, I always thought him as a two. Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe he's just really good. And he's also really smart. He cares. He's a Villanova guy.

Like, he's a mature. New York is a lot of heat. That's why you need a Jeter or a Manning or a Brunson. You can't, nothing against Jeremy Shockey. He's just unfocused and distracted. You've got to have in New York or Philadelphia. Your star has to be Jalen Hertz or totally dedicated Bryce Harper. You can't have or you can't have Ben Simmons.

You can't have distracted. guy in New York or Philly. It's too loud. So Brunson, Eli, Jeter, Aaron Judge, they're like adults. They're like all in on what matters. There's a little, a little, a whiff of Steph Curry

in Brunson. Undersized, underrated, underdog, really good college player, but people are like, hey, he's too tiny, and Brunson is delivering big time. He's, I love it. No, I'm, I'm, I'm like all Villanova guys, he's a willing defender. Cerebral.

unselfish. That's what they produce. J-MAC with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. Okay, here's J-Mack. J-Mack, in your face.

J-Mack says, Chargers! I don't know if they can make a playoff. So this, look at our staff. The Chargers lost by three points or fewer to the Dolphins that made the playoffs, the Cowboys that made the playoffs,

the Lions that made the playoffs, the Packers that made the playoffs, the Bills that made the playoffs, and the Chiefs made the playoffs. One, those are one, two, three, four. That's six, yeah. Oh, you think Harbaugh and Staley. I don't know. It feels like a field goal difference. Yeah, big difference.

The division is tough. The AFC's loaded. You can bring that negativity. I own two chargers t-shirts, man. I've been to multiple Chargers games. I like them. We got Harbaugh on top of the hour. Try on a temper our expectations.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Pauli Fusco here with Tony Fusco. You know, as the host of the number one rated Pauli and Tony Fusco show, we get tons and tons of fan mail every day. Piles of it. In fact, Tony, why don't you open up one of those letters right now and read what's inside? Yeah, listen to this. Dear Pauly and Tony, your sports takes are the dumbest and most terrible...

Wait, not that one. Open this other one. Dear Polly and Tony, you suck more than anyone... Not that one. Try this one. Dear Pauli and Tony, you guys are the absolute best. There you go. At coming up with the stupidest takes possible.

You know what those clowns say. Just listen to the Pauli and Tony Fusco show on the IHot Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Yeah. 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 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 what 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. The NASCAR season starts Sunday at 8 Eastern with the clash at the Coliseum, and on February 18th, it's the most iconic day in all the motors.

Sport, the Daytona 500, with Dwayne the Rock Johnson serving as Grand Marshal only on five. How about that? Jim Harbaugh, top of the hour. I'm very excited. So, January 15th, our staff looked it up, January 15th on this show when talking about the Raiders, I said this about their situation and coaching. if he gets the job, keep your eye on Cliff Kingsbury

as his offensive coordinator. I have a source that told me Cliff Kingsbury is his likely OC if he gets the job. And that's Antonio Pierce. So I was told that January 15th that Cliff was the guy he wanted, but Cliff,

I thought the Bears should have made a hyper-aggressive run on Cliff Kingsbury because I think the relationship with Caleb Williams. but Cliff Kingsbury ended up having a very dynamic hot market. There were multiple teams interested. And he felt Antonio Pierce and him were the best fit.

And he was concerned about Chicago, too many unpredictable outcomes with Matt Eber Fluse. If he goes one in five, he's in big trouble. If Antonio Pierce got off to a rough start, you're not in big trouble. Antonio Pierce is going to be there for a long time. So of the many people that were interested, I was told this was the, the initial one he was interested in, and Chicago had too many variables, and he wasn't. What's really interesting about this, the Raiders have a new general manager, Tom Telesco. His last big quarterback pick was Justin Herbert, who now Jim Harbaugh gets.

He also got Rishon Slater, Derwin James, one of the bosses, Joey. In the first round, he had some successes. What is interesting, though, in most years, the Raiders have the 13th pick. In most years, if you had the 13th pick, it would guarantee you, like, one of the top four quarterbacks. This year is very different. J. Mack, I want you to look at this. If you go to the NFL draft order, we know with almost certainty that the first three teams

are all taking quarterbacks. The Bears, commanders, patriots are. With some certainty, we know the Falcons are either going to draft a quarterback or Kirk Cousins, Baker, Justin Fields. They may move and buy somebody in the market trade for it because they missed on their last quarterback pick. It depends on Rahim Morris. He may want a veteran in the clubhouse.

We know the Vikings are going to go get a quarterback, and we know the Broncos are unhappy with the Russell Wilson situation. So usually at 13, Bo Nix, Michael Penix would be there. I do not think that is the case. In fact, I've watched a lot of mock drafts. Even people I respect, I'm surprised at how many of them have Bo Nicks 28th and Michael Penix. This has become an offensive league.

You can't pass on Bo Nix and Michael Penix. They're too talented. Whether they're great or not, they're not going to be awful if they get some support. So I think the Raiders are in a really interesting situation. They have an offensive coordinator, Cliff Kingsbury, I respect. They played very good with

Antonio Pierce. They have kind of a sneaky, interesting roster. Nobody can block Max Crosby, two good safeties, excellent weapon, left tackle, starback. There are pieces here. Now the only thing they need is a quarterback. They have the 13th pick. I talked to their general manager about a week ago. He's not going to divulge who he likes and doesn't like, but I don't think 13th guarantees a top four quarterback anymore. I think somebody below that,

I'll throw out Seattle, is going to jump into the top five, top six. I think the Chargers at five with Hardbaugh, they have some needs could easily move down to eight, nine, or ten, and get another second or third round pick. So I don't believe staying at 13 guarantees you. It may, but this year there's no guarantee. Yeah, so Colin, two questions here. Number one, are you surprised Kingsbury would take this job with the uncertainty at quarterback?

No. So he knows something maybe. What I'm told, he respects Antonio, he thinks they can work together. Antonio Pierce, who I know a little bit, is really easy to get along with, all he cares about is winning. Cliff did not want to become a bounce around the league guy, and a couple of the teams that came after him have coaches

that if they lose next year could be fired. Cliff didn't want to be that guy. He's been a head coach, and then he goes to Arizona, gets him to the playoffs. So his whole thing is, I want to go somewhere. We'll draft a quarterback. By the way, Baker's on the market, cousins on the market, Justin Fields, maybe.

We don't know if Baker's going to Tampa's going to let him out. But I'm just saying, like, Kingsbury doesn't want to be a bounce around the league guy. Like, if you don't get a quarterback, we saw Bianemy go from the Chiefs, finally took a job in Washington, and had Sam Howell, well, we'll see, maybe. What's Bianney got? Like, this feels like a risky move from Kingsbury, no?

Well, what would be a move that wasn't risky? One with a little more certainty. Is the Seattle coaching job better? Or the offensive coordinator job better? They don't have a quarterback. So what, there's total answer. I mean, Gino Smith at least did something. The Raiders have nobody.

You want your entire career? Tell me the job. Even Harbaugh to the Chargers is the only thing that's certain. I think Dan Quinn to Washington feels like it should work. I think we both agree. There's a lot of things here that should work. Outside of that, I went and looked this morning at all the new coaches. One's going to work.

One Dan Quinn feels like it should. And then six, I have no idea. So, I mean, don't you think that Washington would have been a better OC job than the Raiders, given they draft super high? Maybe it wasn't offered. Maybe he doesn't want to live in the East Coast. So my other question was, on the mock draft list, I don't know if we can call it up, the draft order. There was a team, I think you skipped over.

And that's the New York Giants at six. They paid Daniel Jones, but it's not a long-term deal. I would go get a quarterback. I wonder if they're in the market for a quarter. I think Mara wants to go with Daniel Jones. I think it's a mistake, but I don't. I mean, he was. I mean, listen, Tennessee is going to go run with Will Levis again.

And they went and hired a very offensive-leaning staff. So I think the Titans are going to give Will Levis one more full year. Callahan did a good job. He did. Good staff. With Browning. So, yeah, I think the Titans stay put. But the Giants are the interesting one.

Do they go quarterback? Because that really would be a massive ring. My guess is no. They're going to go get, it's a very interesting top of the draft. There's three receivers who could go on the 10. Neighbors, LSU, a Dunzee, Washington. Harrison goes number four to the Cardinals. I think they need a weapon.

They have a left tackle. I think they go get a weapon. their weapon light. Tennessee's the same thing. Tennessee needs a weapon in that pick. They got to go get a receiver. So I think Tennessee, they got the kid, Alex, Alex Burke. Traylor Brooks, my bad, my bad.

I think that kid's good, but they need another weapon. Giants need another weapon. Arizona needs another weapon. But if I'm the Giants, you're not going to win. It's so funny how during the season, Michael Pennix, to us, to the naked eye. Top 10. Is he top five? Slays Texas.

And now, Penix is like maybe not a first round pick, according to... I think that's crazy. I think that's crazy. I tend to agree. We both respect Daniel Jeremiah. I know him well. What does he think? He doesn't have Pennix's first round. Oh, boy.

Now, listen, he talks to... I mean, more GMs than me. I don't know about you. But the fact that he would not have Pennix first round is a little scary to me. Penix has, I heard this, somebody had this recently, Panix is one of the longest quarterbacks potentially ever drafted. Breer, yeah. Breer, yeah.

One of the longest quarterback. He also has some of the biggest hands ever. So, like, there's a lot of traits here. He throws, I think he's a bigger Tua. Bigger hands, bigger arm, bigger body, bigger range. I think he's a bigger Tua. I can't be paralyzed by his college injuries. If I need a quarterback, I need a quarterback.

I said this. If I draft Michael Pennix and he gives me three years and then by year four there's some injuries, I'll take it. What I can't be as crappy at the position. You can't tell me he can't play in this league. Now, again, where he lands matters. But if he lands in Miami, that would be my favorite pick of the draft. Michael Pennix to Miami, you don't pay Tua and Pennix is your quarterback on the cheap.

You basically keep Tyree Kill and Chob and Ramsey and everybody. They don't have a, to be honest with you, their roster is pretty good. good. They could be what the Niners are with Brock Purdy. Quarterback on the cheap, stacked roster. Dolphins can do that. That's in play for them. If they go pennics. That is not a bad take. That's two days in a row. You've had a pretty good take. I'm on a heater. I wouldn't go that far. You've got a couple jumpers in a row. I wouldn't qualify it as Michael Jordan against the Blazers. Okay, hour two next.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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.

Cliver 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Cliford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.