The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Too Many Players Are Considered for Pro Football Hall of Fame

Episode Date: December 31, 2021

In this hour of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Colin sees it every year--people arguing over who should be in a particular hall of fame. But according to Colin, there are too many current players being discussed for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He argues the true list of active players bound for Canton is much shorter. Also, Colin finds himself pulling for Michigan to beat Georgia before the Wolverines and Bulldogs square off in the College Football Playoff semifinal. Why? There's a stark difference in existential perspective between programs in the SEC and the Big Ten: patience. Finally, Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com stops in to chat about the future of several NFL quarterbacks. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

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For listening to Fox Sports Radio. Live in Los Angeles on a Friday. A great Friday, it's the herd. Wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, New Year's Eve. I Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio FS1, blazing five in one hour. It's been the Blase A5 this year. I am so excited, though. So excited.

You know, Joy, I do not have a New Year's resolution yet. I have two. I don't do resolution. Actually, I do three things. I have three things this year. I don't have resolutions. I pick a word to manifest for the year. All right. At the beginning of 2020, it was patience, admittedly, my mistake. Sorry about that, guys. So now I'm a little more selective. So I think this year, I think I got it. I just like to, you know, feel good about myself, but you can always self-improve. So I just try to focus on one thing every year. You're very much a Capricorn. This is exactly what I do. We're both Capricorns. You know, I was thinking about this, Joy, today. As a young man that worked for the company I used to work for passed away this week.

Yes. Jeff Dickerson was his name, very nice guy. And his son, people have rallied for him and raised money for him because both his mother and father passed away in very short time from cancer. And they've raised almost a million dollars. a week for him, which it's an amazing thing. And I want to start with that. People were saying on the Internet, oh, there are good people out there. And I was thinking, good people everywhere.

Just because the media is a bunch of cynical goobers. Doesn't mean the rest of America is. I think we have a country full of wonderful people and nice people. And I think the jerks and the cynical people are really a small. minority, they just make a lot of noise. So when I saw that whole situation happen, I thought I've seen that happen hundreds and hundreds of time. People have great heart and great compassion and empathy.

It's just sometimes the people who don't are very loud. But I'm going to start my show today saying in sports, and maybe not in life. But in sports, it's okay sometimes. I don't view this as mean, but to be something. collective. I don't want a world of gated communities, but I always think about this when the Hall of Fame comes up. We get to a point where everybody wants to let everybody in.

Everybody grabs their phone. Nobody wants the Twitter avalanche. And everybody grabs their phone. And oh, this special teams guy should be in. And this coach who won 53% of his games in. And I always think, okay, we're a great country. We've got great people. But there are these occasional Hall of Fames for music or entertainers and football players

that we should say no a lot all the time and be harsh and be intense because a special club is much less special the more people you allow in it. And I was seeing the inductees into the NFL Hall of Fame and I don't want this to come off as harsh or mean. There's a lot of very good players on here. Jared Allen, Andre Johnson. Patrick Willis, Leroy Butler, Tony Bisselli, Zach Thomas,

very good players. But everybody, the media gets very inauthentic because nobody wants the Twitter avalanche. So they grab their phones and they rally for everybody. You'll never hear anybody go, no, he doesn't really, he's not really a Hall of Famer because you don't want to get buried, right? A lot of inauthentic media behavior.

It should be an incredibly short list. There are two Hall of Fame coaches, in my opinion, in the NFL today. Bill Belich and Andy Reid. That's it, first ballot. Sean Payton, Pete Carroll, Mike Tomlin, each have a Super Bowl, but each has a Hall of Fame level quarterback. Let's take Mike Tomlin. Certainly worth consideration.

He's got a Super Bowl with the Hall of Fame quarterback. I don't think that automatically gets you in. Mike Shanahan's got two. He's not in. Does he have influence? Does Pete Carroll have influence? Does Sean Payton have influence? Mike Shanahan has two Super Bowls.

The Shanahan offense, half the league is running it today. He's not in. Jimmy Johnson's one of the three best football coaches of my life. Look how long it took him to get in. Jimmy Johnson not only created a dynasty. He literally changed the way NFL trades were made. People still use the Jimmy Johnson chart in front offices. He just got in.

The Shanahan offense, two Super Bowls, all over, influence everywhere. Not in. That's not a knock at Mike Tomlin. One of his arguments I hear is he's never had a losing season. That's not really a standard for a Hall of Fame. I didn't suck much. It's show me your greatness.

And right now there's 1,700 players in the NFL. Here's how few Hall of Famers, in my opinion, there are. Three quarterbacks. Brady, Aaron, Rogers, Big Ben. That's it. That's it. Russell Wilson is certainly worth consideration, and he's got a long way to go. My guess is he gets there.

Running back, there's one, Adrian Peterson. What about Derek Henry? Are you out of your mind? Derek Henry's been in the NFL six years. The first two, he was a rotational player. He didn't even start. He was just rotational. His third year, he was good.

Two years, he was amazing. This year he got hurt. He's not close. Adrian Peterson's it. When I hear Patrick Mahomes for quarterbacks, folks, he started 60 games. Tom Brady has been in Tampa for 45 minutes. He's already started more than half that. Left tackle.

Think about every team carries three left tackles. I think there's only three Hall of Fame left tackles in the entire league right now of 1,700 players. Jason Peters, Trent Williams, Tyron Smith. Andrew Whitworth, certainly worthy of consideration. But I don't think it's mean or harsh to have. really high standards for a rock and roll hall of fame or a baseball hall of fame. And I worry sometimes we've watered it down, smushing everything together.

I have two rules for all Hall of Fame. Are you dominating the games I'm watching on television? Joy's brother did. Like literally jumping off the TV set. Oh, my God, there's. And are you influencing outcomes? He was. If you didn't block him, he was sacking you on third down.

And I want to see you do it for. 10 years. I love Derek Henry. I love Mahomes. But it should be really, really hard to get into the Hall of Fame. Mike Shanahan's not in it. It's insane. Half the league runs his offense. He won two Super Bowls. Elway couldn't win without him. So I hope that doesn't come across as mean or harsh because I think most of us understand we're lucky to have the NFL. And I can't wait as we flip the calendar and go to the new year to watch many of the great players. But it should be really, really, really hard to get in. I want to segue to Cincinnati, Bama and Michigan, Georgia, college football.

They start after our show. Please don't turn the channel. They start after our show. So let's be honest about this. I keep hearing, well, you know, the SEC, they're top heavy this year. And they are one in five in bowls. I don't think bowl season is a complete indication on what you are. but I do hear this. The SEC is top heavy.

Well, yeah. Yeah, they are. As if the middle of the SEC is no good. Is the middle of the PAC 12 good? Hell, the top isn't. Is the middle of the ACC good? Is the middle of any conference good in college football? Not really.

And the bottoms dreck everywhere. So yes, the SEC is top heavy. I don't even know if the top is good in the PAC 12 or ACC. Georgia Bama are favored today. I've always had a feeling in the last 10 to 15 years about college football. The best players are in the South. You can tell from high school recruiting in the draft. They have the best players.

But the best coaches are in the Big Ten. And this matters. Because a great example today is Jim Harbaugh and Michigan are playing against Georgia. And Jim Harbaugh, if he was an SEC coach, would have already been fired. Brian Kelly at Notre Dame. He's turned that program around. right? He would have already been fired years earlier. The SEC is impatient. The ADs are impatient. The fans are impatient.

But Jim Harbaugh was allowed to make mistakes and lose to his rival and pivot and redo his contract and get better coordinators because in real life nobody hires a perfect staff. In fact, sometimes you've got to wade through two or three offensive coordinators to find the right one. Ask Brian Kelly and ask Jim Harbaugh. but the patience by the athletic department and the boosters and the fans that matter at Michigan gets you with a chance to play for a national championship. The Big Ten's got amazing coaches. Ryan Day and Jim Harbaugh and Pat Fitzgerald and Mel Tucker and Jeff Brom and Kirk Ferrence. But Kirk Ferrence isn't allowed to even exist in the SEC.

Kirk Ferrence has changed lives in Iowa. I know I call him the fake idea of college football, but it's a great program and he has changed. hundreds and thousands of lives at Iowa. He's gotten the Hawkeyes to 17 bowl games, and he's won more than he's lost. He's put innumerable great players, the national football league, and he's built a culture full of wonderful people. 22 years at Iowa, he's not allowed to exist in the SEC because they lack perspective. So part of me today is rooting for Michigan over Georgia because I like the way the Big Ten does it.

These are not just football programs attached to universities. They are universities full of people beyond sports, and their jobs are to change lives. So sometimes a football coach hires the wrong defensive coordinator or really whiffs on an offensive guy, has a bad recruiting class, or due to injuries, has a bad season. The Big Ten tends to take a deep breath, understand perspective, and give him a chance to pivot and correct his mistake. So I'm rooting for Harbaugh today, and it's nothing against Georgia, but I'm rooting for him because I like the way the Big Ten does business. More context, more nuance, more patient. These are just not football programs attached to universities.

The school should always matter more and what it does to change lives. All right, it's great to have you in today. Absolutely fantastic. And it is crazy. Joy. 24 of 32 NFL teams are still viable. What's amazing. The Cleveland Browns are amazing. They're 7 and 8. They're in a good division. They can still win it.

And by the way, if you start looking at the games, they almost should win it. So I just, I love the hope and the optimism. I go into this weekend and I'm like, the Cleveland Browns, who have, let's be honest, it's been a little turbulent. They can still win their division. All they need is for the Rams to beat the Ravens, No Lamar probably, will. Chiefs to beat the Bengals. Favor, probably will.

And if Cleveland can beat two division rivals, they win the division. That is awesome. Live in Los Angeles, it's New Year's Eve, it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. 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. Clever 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,

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

Each episode, we picky 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 you all right. Yeah, yeah, literally. But just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed, correct. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way 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, Tripp 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 a ball. wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or 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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth,

fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Good to have you back here on a Friday. Fight back against aging with MDrive. Go to MDrive for men.com. Supplement for driven men helps your healthy T levels. Keeps you lean. So I had dinner last night with some friends, one of them a 30-year baseball executive. And we were talking about our business. And I said, one of the reasons guys like me, people like me, do not talk major league baseball much on my show is there's no urgency. I said, you guys are always trying to fix your game. How about you cut the games in half? You have too many. I said, what the NFL has. this urgency. You have to watch games. And here's a great example. 24 of 32 teams are still in the playoffs. It's insane. Look at the AFC. There's only three teams eliminated in the entire

AFC. It's nuts. Everybody's viable. Only the Jets, Texans, Jags. And you'd expect that, right? The Jets and the Texans and the Jags are starting rookie quarterbacks. All right, you go to the NFC. Now, there are six teams that are out, Carolina, Chicago, Seattle, Giants, and Detroit, but overwhelmingly, most teams are in. Some teams that are deeply flawed. We just watch the Saints play their fourth quarterback. So Cleveland's fascinating, seven and eight, and there's a strong possibility, although I don't think it will happen, that they could win the AFC North, the good division.

So I told this baseball exec, you got too many regular season games and not enough playoff games. What you want is more urgency, expanded playoffs, short in the regular season. That's why the NFL gets talked about. And so as I look to the playoffs, football is always urgent, but the NFL playoffs are different than the regular season. And here's three things I think I'm going to keep my eye on. Number one is Tennessee. Tennessee, the soul of their team is Derek Henry. We know he's really good. But he's more than that. He's the soul, the toughness of their team. He really is the fabric and the texture. It all builds off him. He's been gone for a couple months. They're still 10 and 5.

They're a very good team with a better than we thought defense, with an emerging star, AJ Brown at wide receiver, an excellent coach. And they've gotten to 10 and 5 in this league without really the soul of their team. He's coming back. They're going to knock somebody off. They can win a cup. Don't be shocked if they end up in the AFC championship. I'm going to keep your eye on them because we really haven't seen the true team.

A lot of teams lose starters. It's very difficult in Green Bay to lose Aaron Rogers or in Tennessee to lose Derek Henry, the soul of it. The second thing, let's talk Green Bay. I think Green Bay is much more vulnerable in the second half of the season than we think. Joy and I talked about it this week. Early in the year, they were very physical, very octagon. They could go toe to toe.

They have in the last month gone back to being pretty. Chicago hung around for three and a half hours. How? Cleveland through four picks, almost five. Should have won the game. Had the ball with two and a half minutes left. They are not putting teams away. You do not get the same football team all year.

Their first game against the Saints, they were awful. Then they had about 11, 11, 12 weeks. They were spectacular and physical. They've gotten too pretty for me. They're not putting teams away. You can run the football on them. You can put Aaron Rogers on the sideline watching the game. And the third thing is the Dallas Cowboys.

They will be underdogs to the other three divisional winners in the NFC. They remain great in the NFC East, 5 and O, and slightly better than average, six and four against everybody else they play. The playoffs are about head coach and quarterback, and I've always felt Dak and McCarthy are closer to BB+, than A plus, and A plus gets to Super Bowls. So as much as I've liked the Cowboys,

and as much as I put my arms around all those playmakers and the biggest brand in the sport winning, I think Tennessee is the most dangerous team we're not talking about. Green Bay is the best team that's vulnerable, and let's not go crazy with Dallas. They're very good. I don't think they're great. Joy is, and she's here with the news.

No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, some bad news for the Vikings. Kirk Cousins has tested positive for COVID and will be out for Sunday night's game against the Packers. He reportedly disclosed his symptoms before testing positive, but as an unvaccinated player, he's still tested daily. So back up Sean Mannion is also on the COVID list. but he was activated today and is in line to get the start. So the other quarterbacks on the team are Kellyn Mohn and Kyle Slaughter.

By the way. But this is bad news for the Vikings. Kellyn Monde, they drafted out of Texas A&M. Let's put him in there. Trey Lance started a game. Let's see him. Well, I mean, this is good news for the Packers, obviously. They don't have to pay, they don't have to play Kirk Cousins.

And they're trying to get the number one seed in the NFC and home field advantage in the first round by. And it's really interesting, Joy. You don't think about this. You wouldn't think this. But Minnesota's actually and Kirk Cousins, they've had a ton of success against Green Bay. They beat him earlier this year. I believe I could be wrong.

I don't have it in front of me. I think in like seven, eight games are like three, three and one. Well, the Vikings are not a bad team in their indivision. And Kirk Cousins has had really good games against them. So Chicago and Detroit, don't fare well. But Minnesota is your classic, annoying little brother in division. They've given Green Bay fits over the last several years. So he will be out, Kirk Cousins.

So with a win this weekend and a Dallas loss, or tie, the Packers will clinch the number one seed, get the first round by and home field advantage, which for the Packers specifically is huge. Yes. If they also win with a tie and a Dallas loss, a Rams loss, and a Tampa Bay loss or tie, or if they tie, just to win the game,

don't tie, but a tie, a Dallas loss, a Rams loss, and a Tampa Bay loss. So basically, if they win and Dallas loses the most simple scenario, they will clinch this weekend. I mean, I expect Dallas to win this weekend, but it's obviously, you know, Arizona is still a good team. Yeah, the Green Bay more than ever home field advantage matters. Why? Because the other good teams in the NFC are Arizona dome team, Tampa warm weather team, Dallas planned in a covered stadium, and the L.A. Rams. So you have warm weather, mild weather teams going outdoors. It's one thing if Philadelphia is coming in town to the Giants, I've watched Plaxico Burris go into Lambo. It's totally different. But this is a rare year where, like, Green Bay is the one cold weather team winning a division.

So home field feels much more significant. Yeah, and it's not just cold there. It's legendary. Whatever the next word is. And specifically for Aaron Rogers dealing with that toe injury, having that first round by would be huge. So Green Bay is definitely trying to lock this up this weekend, and this helps their case. So Lamar Jackson came back to practice Wednesday, but was seen limping badly on the field. His return was short-lived.

He did not practice on Thursday. and is reportedly not at practice today either. He hasn't played in the game since suffering the ankle injury on December 12th. And if he can't go this Sunday against the Rams, Tyler Huntley, who was just activated off the COVID list. We'll get his third start of the season. This season, he has one in one as a starter, a 68.8 completion percentage, 743 yards, three touchdowns, one interception. And two rushing touchdowns. He also has two fumbles lost.

So he's done a nice job as a backup should in the scenarios that he's had to play. but this is the situation when it always comes to backup. The backup will come in look pretty good. Generally, if it's a good team, that would make sense that they're not going to completely fall apart. But the more that they have to play, the more that you're going to see why they are

a backup. Like there's a significant step back from Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley. And, you know, the Ravens being a team that obviously was expected to make the playoffs and expected to make some noise in the playoffs, it's going to be difficult to do without Lamar Jackson. Well, last year, there's always a really good team.

in the league that as falls prey to injuries last year was the 49ers yeah this year it's the ravens like there's a team every year they cannot get a break the niners would get healthy and then go off the injury cliff an hour later this year it's Baltimore the minute now they're secondary is healthy okay finally we've got corners and now lamar jackson has heard it just felt like san francisco last year in baltimore this year it's just the football gods it's not meant to be yeah and i don't think this is anything to overreact to. I mean, there's obviously some conversation about Lamar Jackson and his style of play. And I think that was fair from the moment that he came into the league,

that when you are a player that relies that much on running, there's going to be questions about it because we're not used to it. But I also think that the league has done a good job. You know, there are some good defensive coordinators out there. There's some good defensive players. Eventually, the league is going to figure out what is the best way to play defense against these super dynamic quarterback. that can run like Kyler Murray and Lamar Jackson.

I think the dolphins showed a real blueprint for how to do it in that Thursday night game and it's a copycat league. So I don't think it has anything to do necessarily with his body or anything like that. It's just one of those years for the Ravens. They'll be fine. Lamar Jackson's going to be fine. I don't think it's anything to ever react to that much.

So there's been a lot of discussion about whether Russell Wilson will stay in Seattle after this year. Sunday is their last home game of the season. And he was very vague when he was talking about his future. I know you guys asked Bobby about could this be your last game and this and that and all that you know I know for me personally you know I hope it's not my last game

but you know at the same time I know it won't be my last game in NFL I'm just kind of brought that up out of nowhere I was kind of crazy that was not very condensing no I actually I like when guys leave things open-ended yeah it's I'm fine with you saying absolutes as well because there's really no win in these kind of scenarios I'm absolutely going to be a Seahog.

Ambiguity is good for our business. It is, but also it's good for the players. It's annoying. You have to continuously answer these questions, but when these scenarios come up, that's how it goes. I would prefer him be a little loose with it than be like, I am absolutely going to be a Seahawk,

and then next year you ask for a trade. That is what gets, I think, fans a little more agitated when you make these sweeping statements, these absolute statements, and then change your mind, which it's absolutely available to you to do. He's at an amazing career in Seattle. I think he will be there.

I won't be surprised by anything anymore. Anything is possible. But he spent all 10 seasons of his NFL career in Seattle. He always feels like a Seahawk. He's always been a team guy, like Gohawks. He's not the absolute type of leader you would want in face of your franchise. And by the way, again, you're not allowed to have a lousy season in your career. No, we don't allow that.

It's crazy. We don't permit it. I just led the show talking about the reason that Big Ten has more good coaches in the SEC is they're more patient. And by the way, if you and I were coaches and you looked at the SEC in the Big Ten, and you'd say, well, I could probably get a little better players in the SEC. But their history is they fire guys a year and a half after they win a national title. It's like, let's just say this.

What if we look back and go, Russell was great, but in that rebuild year and the division was good, they had a bad year. Like that should be allowed in the NFL. You should be allowed to have an injury year or a lousy year. Now, just because Brady hasn't had one, he had an injury year. But it may just be a year in a good division where nothing went right. He got hurt. The coach is getting older.

He's working on a relationship with the O.C. It's okay to have. I just looked at my sign this morning. I'm a Capricorn. This next year for me is going to be average. And the year after that's average. My big year is 2024. So I know the next two years it's just going to be a bowl old.

for me. And I should be allowed. You love oatmeal. I do. But the next two years, I'm going to be oatmeal and then I'm going to be a New York strip in 2024. I should be allowed to have just a blazze a couple years. Well, we know this. We talk about this a lot. We live in a microwave society. We have no patience anymore as humans and it's not going to change. That's not going to get better or be reversed. We're too far in it now. But I do think the great thing about sports is, despite all the kicking and screaming about, you know, player mobility and, you know, pro player. leagues and all that, there's still multiple ways that you can win things. And if you go through the process of it, you can win quick, you can put together a super

team and win, or you can keep the guys that you drafted and develop and win that way too. And that's what's great about sports. I just figured out my New Year's resolution. What's that? It's the one that you failed at. I'm going to try to be more patient next year. It's not a... I didn't necessarily say I failed.

I just, you know, I kind of feel like it was like the universe really listened to me. I think we need to be more patient. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. But we do. There's so many nice people out there and you see it during the holidays,

helping other people. You know, sometimes we're too cynical in this business. I just see wonderful things done all day, everywhere I've been, and don't get too discouraged by what you see. You know, whenever I hear about all this vaccination stuff, it should be noted that about 75% of the people, are vaccinated. Almost all the people over 75 are vaccinated. All these leagues are overwhelmingly vaccinated. Nobody wants to talk about the vaxers. Let's go to talk to Albert Breer, brought to you by

Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. By the way, that was kind of an ambiguity balloon, Russell Wilson set out there. I was like, you know, it's interesting. Albert, this morning I was writing some notes down. I think it's because I don't like their personnel. I think Duane Brown, I don't have a star running back, nothing resembling it. I don't think they have a number one receiver. I think D.K. Metcalf looks great in the hotel lobby, but he doesn't run real great routes. If you look at the division, you've got Rams are the best pass blocking O line. Niners are the highest rated run blocking line.

Kittled, Tebow Samuel, Cooper Cup, D.Hop. I just don't think Seattle has great offensive personnel. Dwayne Brown's the second best offensive player. He's had a bad year. He's ranked 27th. That's how I view it is. I think they need to reboot personnel. I don't think they have a star back, a star tight end, a star receiver, a star old line.

How do you view, I really don't. How do you view Russell Wilson right now and what he's surrounded by? They also don't have a first round pick. So if you want to reboot, you know, like that's part of it too, is that you're probably going to need some draft capital to do that. And right now, because of the Jamal Adams trade, they don't have it. I'm with you, Colin. Like, I think it's a tough situation for him to be in personally. And again, I know that I've done this a couple times with you, but I think you have to go back to kind of why he ratified.

the cage last year. And a huge part of that was because he views this as the beginning of the second half of his career. And for him, personal legacy is a big part of that. And so, you know, I think chasing a championship and having the right pieces around him to make all pro and eventually get in the Hall of Fame, like, that's important stuff to him. And so if he was like asking these questions after winning 12 games and the division last year, how do you think he's going to feel about it, you know, in a season in which he's won five games? And, The Seahawks have 10 losses for the first time since before Pete Carroll was even there. I think it's pretty clear at this point that this thing is probably hurtling towards a conclusion.

And the contract's a part of it too. You know, I think that there's been an acknowledgement for a little while there. There's a good likelihood that this is going to be the last contract he signs in Seattle. Right now you've got two years left on it. And that gives the Seahawks a chance to get real value for him because whatever team is trading for him, it's the same situation as Stafford last year where the Rams had two years left. on that contract. That adds value in a trade. And so I think for the team based on where they are and what they're going to need to rebuild,

the place they are in Wilson's contract, and then Russell's personal situation, this sure feels like, you know, we could be talking a couple of weeks, the same way we were talking about Detroit and Stafford last year where, you know, everybody sits down and meets and just decides that this is the time for everyone to move on. By the way, Aaron Rogers mentioned retirement for the second time. He did it right before this season. He did it this week. Now, my theory was there's no chance he retires what it is because he has no. He doesn't have a no trade clause so he could be traded anywhere.

He said it to let teams like Cleveland and Washington and the Raiders know don't even try. I will. He didn't say that to Denver or Pittsburgh. He has no power and he's saying that to let you know, I'm not going to a bad situation. I'm not going to a bottom. That's my takeaway. Yours. I made Colin, like, don't you think this guy, like guys of that stature.

to have de facto no trade clauses, don't they? Like, can't he just say, I mean, he's like an NBA player. He's like, can't he just say, yeah, I'm not going there, you know? And like, and as a team really going to deal away, three or four first round picks, knowing the guy doesn't want to be there. Like, so, like, yes, Deshaun Watson has a no trade clause in his contract and that allows him to dictate where he's going to go. And Aaron Rogers contractually does not have that.

But, you know, I think the, if you, if you really want to look at it and, and the hammer that Aaron Rogers has here. I mean, maybe that's why he did that, but I don't think he even needs to. You know, I think, you know, he can make it clear where he wants to go. And I think any team, you know, knowing who he is and how he operates, like, isn't going to trade away three or four first round picks and push all their chips into the middle of the table on Aaron Rogers if they don't think he's going to want to play there. I mean, and beyond just all of that, you don't want an unhappy player, you know, so like,

I get what you're getting at. I think he does these things sometimes just to troll people and because he likes making headlines. And I think it certainly makes sense that this could set up for him in the offseason to sort of dictate where he goes. But I look at logistically where he is, the star power he has, the leverage he has. And I don't think he needs to threaten retirement to prevent certain teams from trading. So Joe Burrow takes on the Chiefs.

I looked at his numbers this morning. He's having a remarkable see. His completion percentage is near the top of the league. His passer rating. He leads the NFL in completions over like 30 yards. So he's a big over the time. He takes big swings. And, you know, Baker makes more noise.

Ben is retiring. Lamar is so unique. He kind of gets lost in his own division sometimes. I don't know if we understand how great Burrow has been this year. Colin, are we sure he's not the MVP of the league? I looked at the numbers this morning. It's incredible. And when you want to talk about a change agent, right?

Like a guy who can go in and change a place, look at what he's done and look at the way they play now and look at the confidence in that building. And, you know, there's a real parallel here too because when you talk to scouts who went through LSU in 2019 and before the draft in 2020, you know what they would all tell you? This guy's a culture changer.

think about what LSU was before Joe Burrow got there. Great defense. If they were even confident in an offense, it was because of the run game. They never had a quarterback, right? Never. And look at what they became in two years. Remember, he wasn't there for four or five years. He was there for two years.

Look at what they became. Really, at the end of his first year and then going into his second year, it was like it was a different program. And then once he left, they reverted. So, like, I look at like just. The way he's played, how he's elevated guys around him. You look at the guys around him, too, Colin. They're all younger than him, right? T. Higgins is younger than him.

Jamar Chase is younger than him. Joe Mixon's the same age as him. So it's not like there are veteran players. They're helping him run the show. This is his show. You know, that whole idea of like the culture changer, the way he's played, he's been so valuable to them. Yeah, I think you can make a case that he's the MVP of the league.

And it's interesting because, you know, as I've talked to him over the last two or three months, every time I bring up the idea the same old Bengals, you know what his response is? It's just that's dead. Those Bengals don't exist anymore. So, you know, I just look like when you use that word value

and most valuable player, I'm not sure that we shouldn't be taking a hard look at him and he's got good opportunities the next two weeks too, right? They're playing against the Chiefs this week. If he outguns Patrick Mahomes, I mean, look out.

Maybe that storyline gets going. Finally, you have your annual of future GM list 29 scouts and personal experts that could become GMs. And unlike coaches where there is sort of this, you know, linear thing, you know, this chart, this pyramid you can move up in, it's not like you can go to Ohio State and major in NFL GMing. Sometimes they're scouts, their personnel guys, their good assistants, and you look up and they're GMs. Give me a name or two.

Who's the next Chris Ballard? Who's the next like hot shot that I should be keeping my eye on? I'll give you a couple. Like Will McLeigh is one in Dallas where if you could ever get him out of there. He's just got such varied experience. He coached. He was actually a head coach in the arena league, believe it or not, worked in analytics and has worked in scouting. And if you look at the Cowboys roster, take the drama out of it, take the injury situations out of it.

He's helped put together maybe the best roster in the league. And he has a lot of GM-like responsibilities there because the owner's got the GM title. And so if I'm a team like the Giants, I may be taking a big swing on a Will McLeigh and seeing if I can get him out of there. He's loyal to the Cowboys. He makes good money. So it's not going to be easy to get him out of there. But he's one name to watch. Another one that I think is right on the verge is Joe Shane in Buffalo.

And you look at that personnel department, how well they've been run over the last five years. Joe Shane's been the right-hand man to the general manager of Brandon Bean there. They've developed a young quarterback. They've flipped over the roster. They've managed the cap. I know they've had their ups and downs this year, but if you just look at how well-run Buffalo has been over the last five years, I think you say Brandon Bean's done a great job.

You look who's been sitting right next to them for the whole time is Joe Shane. So like if I'm a team like say a Vegas or, you know, if Chicago were to turn over, I look at those teams and you say, okay, like how can we make sure that we're building the right way around our quarterback? Joe Shane is somebody that I think has got a lot of great experience. experience having done it in Buffalo. Great stuff. Albert Brewer, Monday morning quarterback. Happy holidays to you. Happy New Year, bud. All right. Thanks, Colin. I appreciate it. Yep. He'll be watching that Ohio State Utah game. I like the under on Cincinnati, Bama and Cincinnati and the points. I like the under on Michigan, Georgia, and I'll take the points. I like the underdogs today to keep

close. I think Michigan's got a real chance to win. And as I said earlier, it's nothing against Georgia. But this is the year, my New Year's resolution, I'm going to try patience. And I think, by the way, Notre Dame was rewarded, being patient with Kelly. Michigan this year was completely rewarded being patient. You know what? Mine is this year? You know what? What? You know what?

My, not resolution. Oh, you said you had three of them. Well, I have to organize my closet. It's just giving me anxiety. That's not really a resolution. But it's like a thing I need to do that I've been putting off. So, like, I'm going to do it in the new year. Like, that's my thing.

I'm going to work out 20 minutes every day at least. That's a good resolution. I work out regularly, but like I find days where I don't do anything, so at least 20 minutes. What's the big one? I got to be more discipline. About what? Everything. Well, don't get too disciplined.

A little more discipline in my life. Don't get boring. It's going to be a steep hill. So if I get a quarter of the way up. See, I'm disciplined and I'm boring. I'm very routine, but not necessarily. I've let go of the disciplines a little bit. I need to be more discipline.

So I'm going to be patient. You're going to be disciplined. This can be the most boring show in America. Seriously. Rating is just going to take. Blazing 5 top of next hour. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

I'm George Reister. Host of the Reister or Wrong podcast. This is the intersection where sports, business, society, and pop culture meet the truth. Absolute fire on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Facts only. Make sure you check your feelings at the door because no BS is allowed. We keep it 100.

This is where real conversations happen. Listen to the Rights or Wrong podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's social. Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard,

but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space. For honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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. 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, Tripp 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. 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, is 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 Hardway and listen now. You know, I was talking to my daughter. She just graduated college. She was a great student and she got her first job. And it's part time to start. And she's very, very excited.

She interned at a place and they created a job for her. And she's in environmental studies and very much about, you know, the environment. And that's sustainability. And that's what she's really into and has been into that since she was a kid. And, you know, at this point in her life, I try to give her encouragement and she's paying rent for the first time and it's expensive. And, you know, I always say, like, the only thing I'm jealous of is youth. You have a long time, a lot of mistakes. Take a deep breath.

Don't live in the moment. You're going to make a bunch of mistakes. Just be patient. Not with other people. Be patient with yourself. It takes a long time to grow and make mistakes. And that's what the 20s are for, to make a bunch of mistakes. You know, and it's funny as Nick Sabin, again, is favored with an international championship.

And they're going to play Cincinnati today. Cincinnati's a real team. But think about Nick Sabin. He's the greatest college football coach of all time. at Michigan State he was there five years never won a bowl game 0 and 3 34 and 24 when he left for LSU

none of his assistants followed he failed in the NFL even at LSU five years he only had one great team he went 8 and 4 8 and 5 9 and 3 10 and 3 and then he had one great team well so did Ed Orger want at LSU Les Miles has a better

career winning percentage at LSU than Nick Saban did. So he was average at Michigan State. He wasn't the best LSU coach they've ever had in the last 20 years. He failed in the NFL. And then he found a really good university that was totally committed, a legendary AD Mal Moore. He got the support and the leadership from administration he needed,

and that was his jet fuel. And he's the greatest coach ever. There was a lot of turbulence. Firing, average, coaches don't follow you. a lot of average. Bill Belichick, assistant, the Jets thing was a mess. Cleveland's a mess fired. Three and 11, first year and a half was a mess in New England.

Thought he was going to get fired. But he had Kraft's leadership, Brady's leadership, their passion, finally got the support, and he's a legend. If you went and looked at Phil Jackson's career in reverse, disaster with the Knicks. But when he had the bus family with the Lakers, or when he had a good GM, despite some misgivings, Jerry Krause and Michael Jordan.

But it's even the legends, Phil Jackson, a lot of turbulence. Belichick, a lot of turbulence. Nick Sabin. Nick Sabin's been fired, average at Michigan State, and not the winningest LSU coach. But he finally got the grade AD. He finally got the administration.

administration. Somebody shared his passion. But that's what I say. Nick Saban's now almost 70. He didn't really hit it. I mean, like, he wasn't the icon until like 57. Think about that. Until 57. And he's considered a great coach, the best college coach. Belichick, all sorts of rocky for years and years. So, you know, I say this to young people all the time. Not like I'm some mentor, but I tell my own kids like, you've got, long runway. You're going to have some bumpy flights. You're going to have flights canceled, diverted, you're going to have missed flights. It's going to take a while to be on the perfect flight.

Like just you have a long runway, be patient. And it's as I said, to start the show today. One of the reasons I like Michigan against Georgia is because they've shown patience with Harvaa and he's been able to pivot and fire some coaches and start over. Can you imagine building a coaching staff and hitting all 15 assistants right? Like they'd all be perfect? Come on, that's not realistic. Every company, every year, even the great ones, the Netflix, the Amazon, they got to shave about 3% of personnel. Somebody else out there, somebody's failing.

Patience. It's my New Year's resolution. People had it for Nick, and look what we got. Hour to next. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey.

Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get

your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman. documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardweight with your favorite therapist and host Care Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you have a lot. him with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability

that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, 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 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 Bole Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.