The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 1 - Thoughts on the Dolphins win

Episode Date: November 12, 2024

Colin looks at the Dolphins remaining schedule after their win over the Rams on Monday night and believe they could be the sneaky team to make a run in the AFC The Chicago Bears need to get the right coaching staff for Caleb WilliamsSee 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. 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. 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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok.

On the Look Back at it podcast. From 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. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 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 SportsRadio.com

or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox SportsRourts. or FSR. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on a Tuesday that is getting more interesting by the tweet live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening or watching. Thanks for making us part of your day. Nick Wright in one hour from now, former bears and dolphins coach Dave Wanstatt stops by. Heard hierarchy 45 minutes from now.

Well, a dud by the Rams last night, J. Mack, a complete absolute dud. But it did feel like to me, 2315 Dolphins win over the L.A. Rams. It was the rare NFL game in the middle of a season that I thought could have turned around a franchise. And this happens in the NFL a lot. I'll get to that in a second. But two is healthy. He was tremendous on third down. should have beaten Buffalo, and they dominated a Rams team on the key down, third down offense, third down defense.

And remember this, schedules matter. The schedule gets really easy for the Dolphins. Jets twice, Brown's, New England Raiders, easiest remaining NFL schedule. So every season there is a team in about week 9, 10, 11 that catches fire. Last year it was the Rams. Remember they won seven of their last eight? They were a bad team unhealthy.

Then they got hot one to the playoffs. 2022 it was the Bengals. Bengals were back and forth. They were four and four, got red hot, went 12 and 4, lost close to the Chiefs in the AFC Championship. Remember the Brady Buccaneers. People forget this. They were 7 and 5 going into the week 13 by, and the schedule lightened up.

Detroit, Atlanta, a couple times. Detroit wasn't as good as they are now. All of a sudden, Bruce Ariens, Brady are clashing. They're 7 and 5. They go into a buy. They get red hot. happens every year and I look at Miami's schedule I look at the way they played they should have beaten Buffalo the schedule gets weak listen the Rams have a great coach an excellent

quarterback and a good young roster especially on defense and I mean that game I don't care what the score was the Rams were chasing the Dolphins for three and a half hours that was the Dolphins game from the very first drive and you know what I've said before there are limitations to what Tua can do. But in that second half, and on third down, he went for the game, 9 of 12, for 140 yards, just on third down. And that is an excellent young, albeit young, excellent Rams defensive front. And he tore him apart. So we can say what we want about Tua.

He may have limitations, but I watch him in Buffalo on the road, then fly cross-country against that Rams defensive front. and Tua was exceptional. This is a good team. And the rest of the division, New England's going nowhere. Jets are man overboard. Buffalo's already won this thing three weeks ago. So, like, this is a real time for Miami. I've seen Cincinnati do this.

I saw Brady won a Super Bowl. I saw the Rams do it last year. Ram's schedule gets harder. This may have been the game that starts them careening down the wrong path. But I felt, and I don't feel this a lot. You get to, like, week 10 and 11, you kind of know what you have. But Tua didn't play. They were banged up.

They couldn't be healthy. And their backup situation at quarterback in Miami is actually one of the worst in the league. So backup quarterbacks, not very good. Schedule was tougher. Now the schedule lightens up. Two is healthy. I got to be honest. I watched that game last night.

And I have high regard for the Rams staff. They got worked. They got out-coached, out-hustled, out-tuffed, out-play. Stafford wasn't as good on third down as Tua was. Here's Tua after the game and what the win could mean. I think it's, you know, a testament to the character of this team. We've come a long way through however many losses in a row, the resilience of this team with the external noise,

everyone counting us out. You know, hopefully this is an opportunity for us to not waste. You know, hopefully we can go on a run with this win and find our rhythm towards the back end of this season. Well, Jets twice, they're a man. mess, Raiders, mess, New England limited, Cleveland, mess, all on the schedule. Quarterbacks back, schedule weekends, and the rest of the division outside of Buffalo, kind of a mess.

I like where Miami's at. Big win for them. All right, so this morning, we knew something was coming, something had to happen. The first of many moves over the next few months, Shane Waldron, Bears' offensive coordinator, out. it doesn't really matter whose fault it is. So Chicago's got a lot of things working against him here. Number one is you just missed on another young quarterback, Justin Fields, and you screwed that up.

Although I don't think he's nearly as good a prospect or a player as Caleb Williams, but you missed on that. See, you're not going to, you don't get any excuses now. You don't get a guy, well, we missed on Tribisky, we missed on Justin Fields, we missed on Caleb Williams. No, it's coaching. The second thing is Caleb Williams, maybe he wasn't Andrew. Luck as a prospect. Maybe he wasn't even Joe Burrow as a prospect. But most executives thought the dude could really play.

His comp was Mahomes. Trubisky and Justin Fields, you're off the hook a little because they haven't done anything since they left Chicago. So it's like, well, they weren't very good. Caleb Williams is way closer to Andrew Luck, Trevor Lawrence, and Joe Burrow. NFL executives, if they didn't love him, they thought he was a really good, solid prospect. And here's the other thing.

And I think everybody listening or watching the show, knows this, this doesn't help either. Bo Nix is getting better. He outplayed Mahomes this weekend. He's getting better fast. Jaden Daniels, he looked good by week two. So all of a sudden you start, you know, you start making comps and you're like, this is an indictment on the franchise. And the other thing is, it is easy to blame the quarterback.

And I do think all the little flaws with Caleb Williams runs around a little too much, accuracy, a little inconsistent. They're all flaring up now. You know, I mean, Jaden Daniels, he's a little thin. Will he stay healthy? He did get banged up for one game, but he came, you know, he's available. A bow knicks, not a great deep ball arm. We've seen that. Scouts usually know what they're doing, especially when they all converge in a player

and all have similar opinions. Caleb's, the two NFL GMs I talked to on Caleb are like, big time athlete, worry about his consistent accuracy. We've seen that. He has been a big time athlete. But it's your job as a football staff to develop young players. It's like parenting. You know what you're getting into.

You draft a young quarterback. Even if they're gifted, you have a gifted child. It doesn't ensure success. And the other thing that is really working against Chicago is Caleb, we may forget it now. He had a three-game stretch earlier in the season where we saw the talent. You had a three-game stretch where he completed 74% of his throws. So we know he's talented. we saw it when he had less practices and less games and less reps.

So he is just fallen off a cliff and that's going to go to the coaches. And so something clearly is not working. And yesterday we had a guest on Matt Hasselback, 18 years in the league. And again, you can point fingers at whoever you want. Some of it absolutely, no question, is on Caleb. I would say 90% of it is on the quarterback. Like if I'm coaching the quarterback, there were, what, nine sacks yesterday, I'm putting at least six of those on the quarterback. And just like with Russell Wilson, like we're sitting here talking about the deep ball to Mike Williams, he knows like that's a blitz situation.

Like Caleb, he's a young quarterback. So I'm not trying to throw stones at him because of the mistakes. I'm not surprised by the mistakes. I think just expectations are going to be higher because you do have guys like Jaden Daniels playing such good football. Bo Nix is playing good football. Drake May is even playing good football. And so I think that the boo birds are going to be out with Caleb. I don't disagree with that.

But because you missed on Trabisky and Justin Fields, because Caleb has had some really good weeks this year, and because of the Bears' history screwing up quarterbacks, it doesn't really matter if it's Caleb's fault. It's parenting. You've got to be up for the challenge. This is your job to deal with challenges. There are no easy kids. There are easier kids. There are no perfect easy kids.

It is a challenge. and so that's where we're at today. Shane Waldron's out. I think there's more to come. I don't buy that Iber Fluse is safe. And, you know, I'm not a fan of defensive coaches. I would go the other way with an offensive coach. But in fairness, Sean McDermott has had success as a defensive coach with Josh Allen.

John Harbaugh is not an offensive coach with Lamar Jackson. Mike Tomlin has had a great turnaround season offensively with Russell Wilson. Rahim Morris is working with Kirk. cousins, they lead their division. So you could go defense again, but as I pointed out for years with Chicago, they're still living off the 85 bears. It's a very

defensive, blue-collar, tough guy culture. That is fine. Dave Wonstat won there. But I think it's time. If you look at the end of seasons, the four coaches left, the eight coaches left, it is overwhelmingly offensive guys. And you've got to fix

this kid. You've got to fix him. I mean, again, if he If you don't end up giving him an extension in four years, that's going to be really an indictment. You may just have to go to the market and buy somebody. But this may not be a perfect player, but he's way closer as a comp to a Mahomes, who people privately thought was a star,

thought was the next far, a lock, a borough. Then he is Tribusky and Justin Fields. Those guys had, Trubisky, I didn't even get the Drisky thing. I'm not a scout. Like, I didn't get it at all. So there we are. Also, I will say this, Jim Harbaugh, for all the owners and GMs, if you're thinking about hiring a coach, what the Chargers did should be duplicated.

There's no more Harbaugh's on the market that we know of, but it should be duplicated. Heard hierarchy, top of the hour. I was, Jay Mack, I was actually, I liked the Rams last night. I was surprised. It was a fairly lifeless performance. Like I never, after the first drive, Miami just went down the field, clever, reverses, movement, touchdown. I thought the Rams were out of sorts for almost the entire game. Week 10 was strange.

The whole week was. And it was like the dolphins were one of the worst defenses in the league for much of the season. And they were incredible last night. They were everywhere. No Rams receivers open all night. Stafford was really under pressure. The dolphins were third. 31st in sacks didn't blitz.

The Rams were healthier in the old line. They got enormous pressure with four. I don't know. McDaniel clearly, I don't want to say saving his job, but listen, they were bad. They weren't a bad place, Miami. And now they're all of a sudden in the wild card mix. That I think Thanksgiving game against the Packers, right, kind of got very interesting. Yeah.

We'll see about the dolphins. I don't know if I can trust them yet. Yeah. It was a really interesting night. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's

superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what 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, competition. conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clivert Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan,

so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far far away, such as the biology of ton-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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 yeah, yeah, literally. 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. I'm 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. I saw something yesterday.

I didn't hear it live, but I read the story on it, and I want you to listen to it for a second. So, you know, the New York media, everybody, print, radio. TV. They all blamed Robert Sala. And we kept saying, that ain't it. It's not the roster. It's not the GM. It's not Robert Sala.

He was easily the best coach on the staff. It's the quarterback. In Green Bay, everybody the last several years was walking on eggshells. The team was tight in big games. Aaron creates that. And in New York, it's the same thing.

Everybody walks in refers to Aaron. It's like a really high maintenance thing. Jay Cutler had this because he was so caustic. Everybody walked on eggshells. You never had that with Brady. Brady was the biggest star in the game. You never have that with Mahomes or Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen or Justin Herbert. They're stars. Everybody loves him. Herbert is so reluctant to even give a postgame speech. Go bolts. Everything with Aaron. Smartest guy in the room. Everybody's deferring. Finally. finally a New York media person, Boomer Ossison, figured it out and called it out. It's an unmitigated disaster.

Aaron Rogers has completely sucked the air out of the building. He is a first ballot, Hall of Fame player, one of the great quarterbacks when he was in his bond that we have ever seen. Since he has come here over the last two years, every player on this team, I feel like, has deferred everything to him. Russell Wilson said something about Mike Williams yesterday, and it was being reported during the game that when Mike Williams showed up to Pittsburgh, he showed up with such a big smile, and he was so happy.

He was so unencumbered by playing for the Jets and with the Jets and with Aaron Rogers. Let me ask you this. If you had a friend and you said he's super moody, he turns on people quickly, he'll ghost you. he holds grudges be like that's what guys call a bad hang can be good at the right space

but like a bad hang like you don't want to invite him to big groups it's hard enough to get four guys on a rafting trip or a Vegas trip one's always an idiot but it's like here's what you don't want if you go out with a guys a moody guy turns on you holds grudges

very precious prickly that's what Aaron's become. That's what he was at the end in Green Bay. And I had that thing sourced. Everybody's walking on eggshells. And here's the other thing that needs to be discussed. Hopefully somebody in the New York media can get here, because this is real true. Players that leave Aaron are getting better.

Mike Williams, first game, got better. Every receiver in Green Bay suddenly flourished. And players that join Aaron are shrinking. Devante Adams last year. Think about this. He had Brian Hoyer. Jimmy Garoppel and Aden O'Connell. Devante Adams caught 60% of his targets with that group.

With Aaron, 51% of his targets he catches. But what does that tell you? It's like a coach. When Jim Harbaugh left the Niners, they went into the tank. When he went to Michigan, they got good immediately. Don't just judge somebody on what happens when they arrive. What happens when they leave? All the receivers in Green Bay got better.

Devante Adams was doing better with backups in Las Vegas than he is now with Aaron. So finally, somebody comes to terms. It's not Robert Salah. Robert Salad was the best coach by a mile on that staff. Excellent motivator, excellent defensive. Is he a great head coach? You're finding out how hard it is. Okay.

Colin, you got something against Aaron. No, I'm speaking the truth. Now Boomer Ossiason is. Now Mike Williams is. Nobody's got an agenda against him. But just say this out loud. Moody, gets dark fast, grudges, turns on people. Would you want to go on a camping trip with that?

Would you want that to be the franchise leader? I don't think you would. For the record, Green Bay wins, total offense, scoring offense, all up. And Jordan Love's first year as a starter and Aaron's first year in New York. Up, up, up. It is a problem. He is not the answer. He is not the savior.

And he is the problem. J-Mack with the news No, no, no, no, no Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Let's start in Dallas where we have a little bit of breaking news from earlier this morning. Jerry Jones announced Dak Prescott

will officially miss the rest of the season, set for surgery on his hammy. Cowboys will likely turn to Cooper Rush under center for the rest of the year, but, you know, we could see the other guy, Trey Lance, who backed up not even capably on Sunday. I think your tank take from last week is starting to look decent. The only problem is what are you tanking for?

You're tanking for a top four spot. And if you start looking at schedules, Dallas is very, there's always a silver lining. The two games where they could be favored, Carolina, although Bryce Young's playing well now, I'm not sure they would be. And again, Carolina's playing for something. Bryce Young wants to keep his job.

People want to keep their jobs in Carolina because Dave Teper is a fire everybody now guy. Jerry's not. Okay, so in Carolina, they're fighting for it. By the way, Brian Daibol is fighting for his job in New York. You're going to get a motivated Carolina-New York team. You look at this schedule, J-Mack. It is brutal. It is teams fighting for playoffs spot.

Philadelphia, Houston, Washington twice, Cincinnati, Tampa. Those teams are all fighting for playoffs. Yeah. And this is a three-win team. I'm telling you, four and 13 is absolutely. DAC now, as you're saying, out for the year, four and 13 gets them to probably the number three pick in the league. So, okay, so let's say they win four or five games, whatever,

and they have the fourth or fifth pick. Yeah. The problem is this isn't a quarterback-rich draft. Are you even getting someone to trade up with you? Well, let's say your fifth. Shadour goes first, Travis Hunter goes second. There is a Texas offensive tackle that's going to go high. All right.

There's about nine players. Cam Ward is going to be in that 5, 6, 7 spot. That's where Dallas wants to be. Do you think that people view Cam Ward the same way people viewed Bo Nicks, J.J. McCarthy? Higher or lower? I think they view him as he won at Washington State. He won at Miami. I don't know how he's viewed yet.

I think he, listen, we know a quarterback and coaches win in this league. somebody I'm not saying Cam Ward can't make it in the NFL I think Shadour's excellent I think Cam Ward's hit and miss he could hit but somebody some general manager and coach need a quarterback to save their jobs

and keep their kids in private schools somebody is going up for Cam Ward is Jalen Mill Road does that do anything for you? Not that high no good serviceable not that high I mean this again we're desperate for quarterbacks and I know there's a lot of bad football ball being played now. A lot of bad teams.

I know. I mean, Carolina, I know they have Bryce Young, but they could be looking at a quarterback in the draft. I don't think so, but maybe. A third year? I think they'd go the veteran route. I think they'd go for a Sam Darma. Oh, no way! No shot they're bringing it. Oh, come. I, it's, that's the

problem right now. There's just not a lot of good dudes. Carson Beck, totally awful. Let's go to the next story, Colin. The Buffalo Bills. Really impressive defensive showing in week nine and then they were good again in week 10. and they're right up against the chiefs in the AFC. Colin, this is a massive showdown on Sunday.

Casey undefeated. Sean McDermott was asked whether Buffalo will have a little extra motivation. The expectations that we have for ourselves are the most important ones. We certainly understand everybody putting a lot into this coming game, and we will too, but we put a lot into every game. If we don't, we're doing ourselves a disservice. So we owe that every week to ourselves, and to our fans to put the same amount of preparation every week.

And it's a good football team that's coming in, an undefeated football team and well coach. So we have a ton of respect for them. Kansas City plays their worst game of the year, and now they go to Buffalo. Buffalo, everybody, I've seen this script before. Buffalo's on a heater. Everybody's into Buffalo. Boy, Kansas City is really struggling on offense, and here come the Chiefs getting points, I'm taking Kansas City.

Are you? Okay. I've read this script before. Predictably, some Chief's blogs were upset with my lucky Chiefs take yesterday. I haven't really gone on the internet because you can't read anything now. They're all yelling at me. Did you see Keon Coleman's officially out for the

bills this week? Kincaid the tight end, banged up his knee. Don't know if he's going to go. Amari Cooper wrist. Unknown. How many times have we seen this? Buffalo's on a heater. We're all criticizing Kansas. Kansas City. Mahomes is an underdog.

We'll give you the stats later in the week. However, Kansas City, this is big news. I didn't know this was in play. They just designated Isaiah Pacheco to return from the IR. So there's a big window. Apparently, according to ESPN, he's going to be at practice on Wednesday, Pacheco. That's massive for my fantasy team. He's on the bench injured, obviously, but that would be huge for KC.

Yep. And listen, if they get by this, you know, 17 and 0. I mean, we could start talking about it if they win this game. I'm not saying they're going to get there. This is not, it's just, again, I remember during Brady's dynasty and I was considered a Patriot

Homer at the other place. And I, every once in a while, I would doubt them, I'm going to go with Peyton, I'm going to go, I got burned every time. Those Baltimore games, I'm like, Baltimore's got better players. I'm taking Baltimore over New England. Big moment, late fourth, third down,

goal line, Kansas City is the best situational team in football, and now Buffalo's banged up on an area that's already a little dicey, wide receiver. I like the Chiefs. We could do a fun game where every week we have to pick a team that can take down Kansas City in the playoffs. I'll just start it. I think the Chargers are built to beat the Kansas City. You and I agree with this.

They basically are the Chargers, are the Chiefs. I mean, think about this. Have I said in the AFC, great coach, great quarter. back, good enough O-line, run the football but not dominant, probably wish they were better at receiver, excellent pass rush, top three defense. That's the Chargers and the Chiefs. Both of their flaws are, yeah, I wish they had a dominant number one receiver. They have a young guy, Xavier Worthy in Kansas City, and Quentin Johnston in Los Angeles, where you're like, there's something there, but I don't know, he can get you in over the top touchdown, but I'm not

sure if he's the guy. Then there's another guy, a lad McConkey here, a tight end there that, you know, you kind of trust. But they're the same team. They really are. The difference is Reed and Mahomes have the trophies, the chargers we think can eventually get one. Do you remember last year in that playoff game, Baltimore had like the number one rushing offense all season, and then they ran the ball like eight times, whatever the low number was. There's no way Jim Harbaugh's pulling some nonsense like that. He is coming into a playoff game against the Chiefs, and we're running Dobbins 20 times. And Gus Edwards is getting 10 carries.

They will stay true to who they are. The Ravens won away from that. I think it cost them. But keep an eye on this Chargers, this plucky Chargers team. Final story, Colin, is the Eagles. Kind of a rough start to the season. But, boy, they are cooking right now.

Five straight victories, second best point differential in that five-game stretch at plus 82 behind the Lions. According to Sequin Barkley, the team maintain their confidence through the tough opening to the season. I think you guys made it seem Rocky. No offense. I mean, you guys are doing your job, but panic outside of the locker room kind of, you know, it was from outside of locker room.

It wasn't in here. We had no panic. We kind of treated like the preseason games, to be honest. That was kind of the mindset. He was like, all right, we're done with preseason. Now let's go get things shaken. I like him. Yeah.

So they had the buy after the Tampa loss. Remember, no A.J. Brown in that game. They come back healthy. They beat Cleveland, don't cover, smash the Giants, destroy the Bengals, really pummel the Jags, but then hold on. And then they embarrass the Cowboys. Like, this is a good five-game stretch. They've gotten heavy to the run.

Not a lot of Jalen Hertz passes in the Red Zone number early season turnovers. And AJ Brown's healthy. I would love to see an Eagles Lions playoff game. That would be awesome. I think that's what we're going to get. That's what it feels like. Are you counting out the Niners? I kind of am.

Okay. You go ahead and do that. Let me know how that works. Count the Niners out at your own peril. J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News.

So yesterday, J-Mack, quite a kerfuffle. J-Mack was just calling the Chiefs lucky in terms of blocking the kick. And I think a lot of times fans spend way too much time when it comes to coaches on play calling. Play calling is overrated. Execution is underrated. If you call a draw on third and eight and it works

it works because of execution. Well coached teams execute. And Sean Payton, he's been in this league a long time. He knows great coaching and great scouting when he sees it. It's not about luck. Here is Sean

Peyton on the Chiefs blocking that kick. this isn't on the player this is this is on all of us this is on us as coaches we've got to continue to look at a you know are we big enough stature wise there for that for that and understanding how the rush was coming all of that is game planning scouting and then it's us coaching and and looking at you know the self-scout and look when when when something like that happens and it's not the for like it could be a trick play or it could be uh whatever it's pretty common for the team that had success with it to say,

hey, we saw and credit them for that. They exported an area that we obviously felt was fixed and stronger and yet not fixed enough. Yeah, we said this. I think Denver is thin. I think they have talent. I think their talents better than people think. They don't have any depth.

Depth, you see it on the special teams. They need another seven or eight guys on that roster, another free agency period. They just don't have enough good guys up front to block on the special teams in Kansas City exploited it. There's no luck involved. I'll give you an example of its preparation. Remember the Hail Mary.

Remember Washington, the Hail Mary? It wasn't just the Hail Mary. It was how unprepared Chicago was. Remember the play before the Hail Mary? They got a 13-yard completion out of bounds to stop the clock. And if you look at the Hail Mary, they had it set up perfectly. Washington really well-coached. I mean, that's like how you practice it.

And Chicago's guy was late to get over because he was jawing with the fans. So I think fans tend to look at coaching and get so embedded, so up in the air and emotional on play calling. I rarely banging a coach for play calling. It's all execution. That Hail Mary in the play before it was just such crisp coaching. They set up the Hail Mary. And even when they ran the Hail Mary, Jade and Daniels. moved right to give the receivers time.

Then he moved left. You could watch the symmetry with the offensive linemen for the commanders. They knew the pocket rolled right. Then we're going to roll back. That gives all the receivers and the bounce guy time to get down there. So the hail, okay, yeah, is there a good fortune with the Hail Mary? But who didn't get over for the Bears? The kid yapping with the fans.

Remember him? Yapping with the fans. We isolated that. He was late to get over. So when you block a kick like that, I don't buy into luck. I just, I think, you know, luck is, like, I'll show you an NFL lucky stat, fumbles. Some years, you fumble, everybody fumbles. Some years you fumble and recover your own fumbles, and some years you don't.

So what you want to do with fumbles is fumble as little as possible, right? You don't want to fumble. But because of cold weather, helmet to the ball, teams fumble. There are years, there are six game stretches where you fumble eight times, recover seven of them. And then there's stretches where you fumble seven times and don't recover any of them. That's just luck. It's bad bounces. The really good teams fumble less than the really bad teams.

That's preparation, coaching, and practice. So there is luck in these games, and the Hail Mary is good fortune. But you watch the commanders, that was a well-coached Hail Mary, even the play before. You watch that block kick. That's practice. That's scouting. That's going. They have a huge issue on the left.

side of their field goal unit. And also, they didn't do that in the first quarter. They didn't give it away in the second, third quarter. They waited. They held up just like a great trick play. Trick plays are always really effective when you know what defense they're running. You never really know. Don't run trick plays on first down because you don't really know what the defense is on first down. Generally, if it's third and four, you have a better sense of what a team is doing defensively. There's a time and a place for great coaching, adaptability, surprises to take place. But I don't buy luck at all. I watched that Kansas City block. I saw like seven guys get through. That is like overloading one side. I mean, look at this. They just overloaded the right side of

their kicking defense. They knew there was a weakness. There's like six guys that get through here. They saw that thing, and I loved how they waited until the very last play of the game. They didn't do this in the first quarter. And then everybody in Denver's like, hey, we've got to shore this up. Nope. They all week, they said, if it happens, if we get down to a PAT late, we're going to go for it. So it was not just a prep.

It was the timing. It was delivered. Can I hit you with some numbers? Is that going to do anything for you for my luck argument? Okay. Are you ready for this? Yeah, I am. Last 10 seasons, kickers have made 94% of their kicks from 35 yards out, according to the athletic.

Yeah. They're like eight more players away. Kansas City's not a thin roster. Defensively, it's a stacked roster. So Denver's like, folks, this is why Kansas City's winning. It's why New England did. Never forget the Julian Edelman double pass against the Ravens. Genius.

Perfect time. You're like, oh, my. You run that in the first quarter. You give away your hand. It's like you're playing poker in these games. When do you bluff? When do you go all in? Timing is everything.

The key to this is they knew they could have done that in any quarter, and they saved it for the end. They knew it was going to work. They knew. When you block a punt, it's not random. You see it all week. You're like, okay, we're not going after them in the first. Let's lull them to sleep.

It's like that Steelers fake punt that they ran, I think, in the first quarter, deep in their own end, guy wide open uncovered drops it. Now, that was unlucky, right? I would give that a genius play call because they, identified, oh, he's wide open. Do you remember this? The Russell Wilson interception, Seattle, intercepted by New England at the goal line. Oh, Malcolm Butler. They had talked about that, the preparation, they were waiting for him. There was a certain look. They didn't do it in the second third quarter. They waited

until Russell, they had seen that play. They'd seen Seattle use it. They waited for him to plant his foot, meaning he's not running. Malcolm jumped on the route. All those New England players like, oh, no, no, we saw this. We were waiting for the moment. That was, to me, what symbolized New England's greatness, and what is now symbolizing Kansas City's greatness, is four plays a game. It's about four plays.

They win all these games close, and they're four for four every week on them. And that was what New England, I compared them to New England about a month ago. New England didn't have the best players. They had holes. They had liabilities. They were paying Tom a lot. But about four times, the game against the good teams

are in crisis, they never missed. Their execution was insane. That is not luck. That is not luck. There have been Hail Marys where you're like, okay, that feels like that. I didn't think that Commander Hail Mary was luck at all. That was prep. I mean, the guy literally just pushed

off in the back, bounced right to him. It's like, that was well done. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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. 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. 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.

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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tript Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't

realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app, Search Learn the Hard Way and listen now. 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 Jek.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Big Noon Saturday is back in Boulder as Travis Hunter and Colorado square off with rival Utah. It all starts at 10 a.m. with Big Noon kickoff. Then it's Utah, Colorado at noon, only on Fox. And Coach Prime will be on Speak today at 5 Eastern right here on FS1. Don't miss it.

How about Colorado? Colorado right now feels like a real shot with Utah's loss, a real shot potentially to make the playoff. That's great. I know. You can say what you want, but we know it's going to be mostly SEC and Big Ten teams, and then there's going to be a Big 12 team, a C.C. team. Keep your eye on Colorado.

They have the best two players arguably in the sport. It matters. So last night, I was thinking about this watching Tua and Stafford struggle in the first half. Neither got great protection. Neither is a great movement guy.

And as I was watching the game and Stafford getting bad protection, there's just limitations to what he can do. He really neat, same with Tua. And again, I think Stafford's one of the great passers in the league, but neither guy without protection, you can see if Lamar, Josh Allen's in that space, it's different.

They make stuff happen. They need protection. And I was thinking about this, and I'm not going to mention every quarterback in the league. I'm going to mostly stick to the really good ones, so if I leave your quarterback out, it's not a slight. But I do feel like athletically, in terms of movement, just in terms of movement, there are three classifications of

quarterbacks. The first one, and I would call this the sprinter class, Josh Allen, Jaden Daniels, Kyler, Marie, Lamar Jackson, they can run as much as they want. I mean, it is an absolute weapon, and sometimes it's better than the passing. Sometimes they lead with it. It should be noted. No Super Bowl trophies there. have they relied too much on their athleticism?

I don't know, but it's just something to note. The second class is scramblers. There's some Super Bowls here, right? These guys are athletic. Prefer to throw from the pocket. Can certainly beat you with their legs, but they don't feel like they're hyper, hyper Josh Allen athletic, although Mahomes is really good.

And Brock Pretty moves much better than I gave him credit for. Burrell's got a Tony Romo feel. He moves very well. These are the scramblers. And then the third one, as I would call stationary, these are pocket guys. Some move better than others, but it's Aaron Rogers, Stafford, too, a Jared Gough Kirk Cousins. Now, again, Stafford's got a Super Bowl. Aaron's got a Super Bowl.

Golf's been to a Super Bowl. So the only one that doesn't have a lot of Super Bowls, it's the one. It's the first one. And I don't know if that means anything. It could be coincidental. I think Josh Allen Lamar Jackson eventually both win a Super Bowl. But my take is the downside to number. Number three is that you need a committee to support them.

Tua and Stafford need an above-average offensive line, and that's really expensive. There's so many bad O-lines in the league. Left tackles, right, tackle, centers, you've got to have an expensive O-line. We came into the season with Lamar Jackson, and we all acknowledged Baltimore's weakness was O-line, had zero impact. Zero impact. I mean, outside of left tackle, how many pro bowlers Josh Allen never had in front of him? Zero impact. They win 12, 13 games. Zero.

A Kyler Murray. They have one tackle I really like. Offensive line, okay. Arizona's red hot. A Jaden Daniels, we came into the season. I don't know if I like Washington's offensive line. Had zero impact. The kid's just super, right? Moves all over the place. So the downside to be into a Stafford, when the protection breakdown and you saw it last night, they're in big trouble. So you have to pay for a better offensive line. You're going to spend some money. You're not going to be able to spend all the money. money you want. So once you start paying two or Stafford, you can have holes in the offensive

line. Miami's own line right now, not a team strength. Ram's offensive line, they have to draft a couple of tackles in this next draft. It is not a strength. And the other thing is, and you've got to be honest about this, generally if you're a stationary quarterback, an elite play designer slash caller matters a lot. Two and Stafford both have one. Kirk Cousins, I don't know. Aaron Rogers, doesn't. So you would, I'm not saying the sprinter class is where, what you want. I think those guys will all potentially win Super Bowls.

The second and the third class, more trophies. But watching Tua and Stafford last night, you do see, you can win a lot. But the reason Kirk Cousins chose Atlanta really wanted to go there, great O-line. When Stafford went to L.A. with Whitworth, great O-Line. When Brady went to Tampa, what did he do? Get me Tristan Worf's and get me gronk.

Excellent O-line. For the record, Jared Goff, they figured out very quickly in the move. Penae Sewell, get him a big-time O-line. So you can do it with the stationary class. Got to spend money on the O-line, and it really helps to have an elite play-designed. or caller. Now, the good news, two has got one, Stappard's got one, and you're fine. Aaron doesn't, and I think you're seeing it. He didn't have an elite O line, nor does he have

an elite play caller, and at 40, he's not going to elevate those guys. All right. Heard hierarchy. Somebody makes an appearance in the old hierarchy. It is a, it's a team that doesn't make the herd hierarchy very often, and they made it this week. 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 podcast. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics

from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of 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 podcast. guests. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam Jay. 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. 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve

to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Cliford 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. 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 IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.