The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 1 - Warriors, OBJ, Rams, Chiefs, Jones

Episode Date: November 17, 2021

The Warriors took one year to rebuildOdell Beckham Jr. is at best the Rams second best WRColin discusses the Chiefs-Cowboys matchupLet's slow down on Mac JonesGuest: Nick Wright Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, the herd brought to you by Jersey. Mike's subs, be a sub above. One hour from now, Joel Clatt, big college football weekend. I got to tell you, Joy Taylor. We've seen this all the time with athletes. There are Michael Jordan used to love. Kobe used to love to play in New York City. There are environments in which athletes, you know, you play a lot of games.

There are some games in basketball, especially or baseball. You're facing an old teammate for Steph Curry to go into Katie's building. And literally the Brooklyn fans were cheering for MVP for Steph. I'm like, you know that game. And Steph's not like a grudge holder. He's pretty selfless. Right. You can kind of feel like Steph love that.

Yeah. I mean, everybody has an ego. And, you know, it's a little extra sauce on it when it matters a little bit more, when you know people are going to be discussing it. You get up for games like that. And that was a scene last night. Yeah, it was. Boy, Golden State's good.

Yes. Like, really, really good. I want to talk about this, though. It's a bigger picture. Steph had 37. Warriors are the best team in the league on analytics on the floor. And I'll be honest with the outside of a Milwaukee, you know, maybe a. Denver on a good night. I'm not sure the league's real close right now, but this is what I thought

about watching that game. 20 months ago, Tom Brady left the Patriots. And 27, 28 months ago, Katie left the Warriors. And there were a lot of similarities is that the number one similarity is about a year and a half later with both and the teams look really good again. And there's There's other similarities. So both Brady and KD were with the smartest organizations in their respective sports. And both made a decision for different reasons about a year before they left, I'm leaving. They didn't make it public, but there were a lot of rumors. Brady was leaving and Katie was leaving.

And then when they did leave, their organizations, the Patriots and Warriors, were not shocked, disappointed, but not shocked. And then for one year, the Patriots, Joy and I watch this. they were in rebuild. Hey guys, opt out, COVID opt out. And they're pretty clunky, not pathetic, but clunky. And the Warriors, a lot of injuries. Let's just kind of, this is a rebuild year, new arena, rebuild, whatever. Clay, her staff, take more time off. And yet both, the smartest NFL franchise, and in my opinion, the smartest NBA franchise, did the exact same thing. One year we're just, we're rebuilding. We have enough equity in New England and Golden State. We've won a lot of titles. We've got equity with our fans. They'll be patient for a year. We're going to draft well. We're going to develop well. We're going to spend a little money and do what smart people do. Rebuild quickly. And here we are 20 months after Brady left and 27, 28 months after Katie left. Golden State's the best team in the league. And I would want no part of New England in the playoffs.

That is why New York Giants, I'm not giving you six years to rebuild and four years to rebuild your offensive line. That's why, you know, New York Jets, you don't get five years to rebuild. The Cowboys, and we don't even consider them like Patriot or Warrior level, took a year to rebuild their defense. The Chargers rebuilt their offensive line in one-off season. You want to give Baker-Mayfield five years. I don't. I don't. Smart people solve problems quickly.

And with both the warriors who lost one of the greatest players ever KD and the Patriots who lost the greatest quarterback ever. These aren't just all-stars leaving. These are all-time transformational talents left. And yet with both, within a year, a big year rebuild, and then all of a sudden you look up and you're like, oh, yeah, yeah, how? because the Warriors GM, their coach, and their star player are really smart and you don't get a lot of ego. You want to know why New York teams stink and why some of Chicago teams stink?

It's ego, big city ego. And I am for smart teams. That's who I root for. You root against my team. If they're dumb, I do. Because smart teams equal more efficient sports equals a better viewing experience. So I don't want to hear about you given your offensive line of four years. rebuild or your defense a three-year rebuild.

I don't want to hear about it. Or your quarterback gets a five-year runway. Patriots Warriors lost all-time great talents. Year, year and a half later, right back in the driver's seat. Absolutely outstanding, smart decisions. Patriots had a great draft. Warriors got Jordan Poole. They develop Mac Jones.

They develop Jordan Poole. And you look up and you're like, wow, they're really, really good again. I'm not giving you a long runway. By the way, Steve Nash, after having to deal with that last night, talked about the Warriors and his nets. Well, I just don't think we're in that category yet. We got a lot of work to do. You know, we're trying to, you know, improve as a group, get better.

And, you know, hopefully we can find a way to overcome some of our deficiencies by the end of the year. I think it takes time. You know, we started the year with a continuity plan from last year that got thrown out the window, obviously, when Kai didn't come back. We're trying to build and figure it out. When you play a really good defense, it really tests you. And I think tonight it was a great lesson for us that we're going to double down on some of our principles. Brooklyn's still good.

Warriors are great, even after losing KD. So there is a belief going around. OBJ Rex teams. I'm not a big OBJ guy. Like, I think he's really talented. I think we talk about him probably too much. I'm guilty of that because he's interesting. and Joy and I do a show that we want to be interesting.

So I don't think OBJ is, you know, a star player. But it is interesting. He gets blamed for a lot by a lot of people and legitimate people. So Troy Aikman on Dallas Radio said something, and I've heard this from a lot of people, but when Troy says it, you know, it matters more. He talked about Stafford and OBJ and a little baker and OBJ and the reality of playing with, you know,

like a star receiver who wants the ball. Matthew now feels some of the pressure that maybe Baker Mayfield felt. And I've got to somehow find a way to get the ball into his hands because that's why he's playing on this play. It's not good. And it's not good playing quarterback when you feel pressure to get the ball to any one particular player. It just doesn't work. All right. So let me, I hear that and I think, I'm hearing that a lot.

That's an argument to be made. I'll throw a different view of the world. See what you tell me what you think. So OBJ left Cleveland. And that was going to solve everything. And I think Baker probably had his worst game in a year Sunday. OBJ was nowhere to be found. And Matt Stafford, before OBJ got there, was horrible on TV, big TV game against Tennessee.

And then he shows up for the Rams Niners game and had 15 snaps. Oh, by the way, he left the New York Giants and they're still crows. crappy. So is it possible that OBJ is a convenient excuse for a poorly run New York Giants franchise, an overrated but popular, I would acknowledge quarterback in Baker Mayfield, in a Rams offense that's gotten way too finesse over the last six or seven weeks? I mean, did OBJ plan that D line for the Rams that got pushed around and gashed for 160 rushing yards? Oh, he didn't. Okay, I was just checking on now.

I don't think, and this is not a knock at OBJ, because I do think he's interesting. I just don't think he's as critical as everybody's making him out to be. At best, he is the Rams' second best receiver. Cooper Cups, like putting up in, you're going to have 120 catches. At best, he's probably their seventh best player. He's not Jail Ramsey, not Cooper Cubs.

He's probably not Stafford. You're not Aaron Donald. I don't think he's as effective or great. as high as Andrew Whitworth. I think he's become, because he's popular and there's a lot of glare around him, I think OBJ has become a convenient excuse for a poorly run Giants franchise, a popular but overrated quarterback in Cleveland, and a Rams offense that's got a lot of issues.

Like they don't block well guard center guard. They're sometimes too cute. They get pushed around by physical teams like Tennessee and the 49ers and Arizona. This is not a knock on OBJ. But good God, he's getting blamed for everything. I mean, seriously, he's getting blamed for everything. And I'm not a huge OBJ fan, but I will say this, the biggest hit by the Rams against the Niners was actually a block by OBJ. It's the only big hit all night. I don't know. I'm just, I'm throwing out a different opinion in that I don't think OBJ is what's wrong with the Giants or Baker or the Rams

offense. For the record, I like Matt Stafford. He's an upgrade over golf. But you tell me all the big wins in Detroit where he went toe to toe in big wins, a little bit of pressure, and won the day. Didn't beat Aaron Rogers a lot. And those were the big games. And you can say all you want about that. But Kirk Cousins has faced Aaron Rogers seven times. He's three, three and one. okay mr shrinks in the prime time kirk cousins so you know you know it's like sometimes you'll meet somebody and they're like 48 years old and they're still blaming their parents so you can blame your parents for your teen years maybe your early 20s but by 47 years old in most instances you kind of control your life i think we're just blaming obj for everything here and i'm not even

the biggest obj fan but there's a lot of blame to go around beyond this second best receiver, third best of Robert Woods was still with the Rams and not hurt. I am going to make a bold prediction and Nick Wright, who's going to be on today, is going to hate this. But I don't think the Cowboys Chiefs game is going to be terribly close. I know it's on Fox. I'm supposed to say it's going to go to overtime. I don't think it's going to necessarily be close and I'll have some thoughts on that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

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

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So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two.

Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 kill. 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 just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

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company. Discover matches all the cash back you earn and your first year automatically. Discover.com slash match. So Jerry Jones is all fired up for the game of the weekend is Kansas City and Dallas. And there's this thing called, you know, confirmation bias. People want something to happen or they believe in something. It's why conservatives watch Fox News and why liberals watch MSNBC. Doesn't make either right, but they're telling you what you want to hear. And I see this in sports. and I see it with the Kansas City Chiefs. We love them because they're fun and they're flashy and we love the way they play and they're clever

and we love their coach and we want them to be back. So therefore, they beat the lowly Raiders who have the second lowest winning percentage in the NFL over 19 years, now have an interim coach and lost a couple of starters, one to tragedy and one to just bad judgment and now the chiefs are great.

So pump the brakes a little. Dallas is eight and one against the spread this year. Why does that matter? The number one football brand in America is 8 and 1 against the spread. What it means is they've been so average for years. They're still undervalued. Kansas City, despite last week's win over the mighty Raiders, has hit on like six of their last 20 against the spread.

Why? Because you can't unsee how great they were at their peak. They're overvalued. We want Kansas City, who struggled for eight or nine weeks to be back, so they beat the Raiders, and we have convinced ourselves they're back. They're two weeks removed from struggling at home to beat Daniel Jones.

They struggle to beat Jordan Love at home. And I think Dallas rolls the chiefs this weekend. Now, do I worry about the OA's alarming Mike McCarthy clock management? Yeah. Do I think it would be easier if Randy Gregory was available? Yeah, he's fantastic. But if you look at numbers like yards per play, Dallas is number one in the league. Kansas City's not top five.

They're barely top ten. If you look at yards differential, yeah, Dallas 3 to 1 over Kansas City, points differential. Dallas 4 to 1, over 4 to 1 over Kansas City. Dallas does a lot of things really well. Virtually everything. They can run it, they can throw it, they rush the passer, they've got a game-taking cornerback. They've got the athlete in the middle of Micah Parsons. Dallas does virtually everything well.

Here's what Kansas City doesn't do well. Make quarterback struggle. Even counting the Jordan Love game, the Chiefs are allowing a passer rating of 100. DAC with those weapons is a lot better than Jordan Love. I know we, and I, listen, the league's better when Kansas City, Andy Reid-Mahomhom's rolling. I'm the first to admit it.

But since when is beating an interim head coach Raiders team that's had chaos this year in tragedy, I don't think that means you're back. I think it means you're better, better owner, better coach, better quarterback, better roster, less chaos, and you are going to win that game convincingly. So we'll see what Nick Wright says. But I like Dallas this weekend. And Jerry Jones, by the way, is talking in Dallas. he's very excited for this.

It's not any other game in Missouri, I'll tell you that. And I'm in Cowboy Country, I believe, in Missouri, but everybody's so excited over this matchup, and I am too. I have such respect for the coach. I have such respect for their organization, and they've certainly had a lot of success these past several years. And it's got all of the matchups of going in the lines, and they have huge great atmosphere.

All of that is there, and they've got an outstanding team. We go up there and could come out of there with the win. It would be a hallmark win. All right. 37 Cowboys. 24 Chiefs sounds about right. Joy Taylor with a news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, we'll talk to Nick Wright in a few minutes. Yeah, we'll see what he thinks on that day. I'll give him some time to percolate on that. So the Steelers are headed into this weekend, not knowing whether Ben Ratheserberger will be able to play or not. Mike Tomlin said yesterday it's too soon. to say whether Ben can play on Sunday and that Mason Rudolph will be ready if he gets the call again.

We prepared the game for Ben last week and Mason executed it. And so there's not a lot of significant difference. It's not like, you know, Mason Rudolph runs 4-4. And all of a sudden we're going to start doing some run-pass options and things of that nature. It's not as significant a discussion as one would imagine. If we get to a point in a week where Ben has an opportunity to get on a moving train, that's exactly what he'll do. He always answers that bell, and so we'll definitely leave the light on for him.

So is he practicing or not? So he still needs to test negative for two straight days before he can be activated to play on Sunday. So he confirmed that he's vaccinated. So that I believe, according to the protocols, means he probably still has symptoms. Yeah. Which if he's going to come back is also kind of discouraging. Obviously, hopefully he's okay. but we've seen players that have had symptoms, obviously last year,

before the vaccine was available, come back and be a little sluggish for a while. So he hasn't had two negative tests yet. Minka Fitzpatrick also tested, well, he's on the COVID reserve list, and Tomlin said that he is unlikely to be cleared after testing positive two days ago because he has to have a certain amount of time before he can have negative tests. So they might be without Mika Fitzpatrick and Ben Rathosberger. and they're also unsure about the status of T.J. Watt, who suffered knee and hip injuries in Sunday's tie against the Lions. So they face the Chargers on Sunday night and are currently five and a half point underdog scoring to Fox Bet.

That kind of seems like it's probably the Chargers game. Yes, this is. Chargers are going to win the game. The question is by how much. You also have some injuries on the defensive side for Pittsburgh. These lines this week in the NFL, best of the year. Best lines of since week. There was like week three or four, I was, of course, lost because I was cold. Now I'm red hot. But these are the best lines in about two months.

Also, like, I don't really get into the habit of disagreeing with Mike Tomlin, but the healthy Ben Rothesberger is better than Mason Rudolph. Like, it's just that there is a step down for Mason Rudolph. It's the reason why he's the back on last week. Yeah. I mean, you shouldn't be tying with the lions. That's not an accomplishment. I mean, it's something, but not an accomplishment.

So, Jarvis Landry's best friend, O'Dell, was reading. recently released from the Browns and Landry said it stings not seeing him there. He said it definitely was something that hurt and it still does. This is interesting because Jarvis is in the fourth year of a five year contract. Yeah. And he's been worth every penny. He absolutely has. 75.5 million. He absolutely has. But this is starting to feel like a little bit with all the drama that's gone on because the Browns are now a very high profile team. This could look pretty different in a couple of years. We're like next year even. We don't know what's going to go on with Baker. Baker is banged up right now. There's a lot of conversation if you're extending him. Do they end up

moving off of him? I don't think that they do. But a lot of what, I don't know that everyone was so happy about the way that things ended with O'Dell in Cleveland. It feels like it's a little bit split. And O'Dell is very well liked around the league. Like for whatever people feel about what he can actually still do on the field, he is very well liked amongst players. And it was very obvious that it wasn't working. Like, for everything that O'Dell did to get out of Cleveland, you would think that there would be more backlash from people. He really called out his quarterback.

You wouldn't do that to Aaron Rogers. You wouldn't do that to Tom Brady. There's a lot of guys around the league that you would not do that and just be able to walk out the door with basically unscathed. Brady has been playing 22 years and he's had some high-maintenance receivers. He's never been called out by one. Not one. Randy Moss, great player, but wanted the ball.

They broke up. Randy's like, he's the best teammate I've ever had. There's something to that. It was my first thought when it happened. That's a scathing callout. And I think the reaction around the league would be a little more intense had it been another quarterback. I agree. But, you know, of course, I'm so anti-Baker, of course.

I'm not anti-Baker. I know, but I am so. Anything I say. Am I saying lies? Am I lying right now? No. Be very careful. In Ohio, if you ever criticize Baker for being 27 and 27 through 54 games, you're a hater. I don't know. I think Ohio is starting to move a little differently now. We'll see. O'Dow was obviously now didn't have quite the game that some people were expecting.

I didn't have any expectations of that game. You have to be realistic sometimes about what's going on in life. I know it's really fun to be hyperbolic and hysterical all the time. but you shouldn't have expected anything from Sunday's appearance with the Rams. He just got there. He literally just got to L.A. like three days before. And the Browns are, of course, the last in the AFC North, and they play the Lions that are currently 10-point favorites,

according to Fox Bet the Browns are. I'm with you, though. I think the Browns back bounce back really strong this week. Yeah, when you play that poorly, my rule is always. Talented teams that get humiliated always bounce back. Cleveland's going to bounce back. And if you watch the Steelers Lions game, it's hard to put into words and wrap your arms around how Detroit did not win the game. They were granted fumbles and a couple of them late in the game and couldn't do anything with it.

So it's like if Detroit can't win that game, they're not going to win against a more talented, competent offense in Cleveland. I think we can all just collectively just move on. Let's compartmentalize that experience at the Steelers Lions game and move on together. So there wasn't too much change in the most recent college football rankings. The top four is still Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, and Ohio State. All four of those teams won comfortably Saturday, and Oregon still has the edge over Ohio State thanks to its win in week two. Cincinnati is still undefeated and stays at five. Michigan and Michigan State were next at six and seven.

Now, Michigan State beat Michigan in week nine, but then fell behind the Wolverines last week because of a loss to Purdue. Ugly loss. Ugly loss. So Michigan State plays Ohio State. State on Saturday. And the winner of that would be in the lead for the Big Ten East and have obviously an inside track to a playoff berth. And Ohio State still has Michigan on its schedule the last weekend of the regular season. Oklahoma had a substantial drop losing to Baylor on Saturday 2714. So they went from 8 to 13. I think Oklahoma State's significantly better than Oklahoma

this year. In fact, I think the most underrated team in the country is not Cincinnati. It's Oklahoma State. That's my takeaway. Joel Klatt, top of next hour to talk about this stuff. with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. Well, Nick, I got Nick all fired up on the Chiefs. That's not going to be my first thing because I was watching the Warriors dismantle Brooklyn.

And, you know, Nick lives five minutes from, you know, Kevin Durant. So I, and he goes to Nets games all the time. And I thought of Nick. I thought, boy, this is a good topic for Nick. And he joins us now live, Nick Wright. Brought to you by Mercedes Ben's the Best or Nothing. Listen, I didn't like, I just don't think in life. I think who your allies and mentors are matters.

So I thought leaving Steph for Kyrie was Crazy Town. And boy, it was validated last night. Like if you're Kevin Durant, I guess I would ask you this, Nick. You're Kevin Durant and you can hear them chanting MVP for Steph. It was almost like the Brooklyn fans were saying, bro, almost acknowledging you chose the wrong Hall of Fame point guard. Your thoughts on the evening. Yeah, listen, leaving Steph for Kyrie would not be that dissimilar for me,

deciding, Colin, because you've been a mentor of mine. I'm abandoning you. You're like, well, who are you going with Nick? Rogan, I'm going to go Joe Rogan. He's going to be, coward, you've been good, but like, hey, like, very successful, both very prominent, but maybe, I guess I'm going in a slightly different direction than you would have thought. Listen, I understand why KD left the Warriors because he was never going to get the love that Steph got in the Bay Area. What I don't think he expected was he's not going to get the love. He's not going to get the love that Steph gets in Brooklyn either, evidently. So that ain't great. That's not what Kevin Durant was hoping for. And if you, listen, if you live on the internet the way I do, Kevin Durant yesterday throughout

the day was liking tweets of random people arguing with a Warriors writer, Dieter Curtinball, because Dieter had written that the Warriors are winning the Kevin Durant divorce. So this was a game that mattered a lot to KD, one would think. We know it's a game that should matter a lot to Harden. The reason Harden hadn't been to the NBA finals since he was on OKC is because the Warriors kept beating him. It was on national television. It was in Brooklyn. And KD had his first bad game of the year. I think the KD's been the best year he's ever had was this season up until last night. I don't think those things are coincidences. And I do think it is fascinating. that right now, if we were to say one of these two teams is going to win the title,

no one would say, well, it's Brooklyn. Think about what that means, because I would have thought, I thought a year ago that if Steph was going to win another title, he was going to have to leave Golden State. And I'm not picking Golden State to win the title this year, but they've got a great shot at it. The Nets on the other hand, Steve Nash said it. They're not in the class of the best teams in basketball. They have an all-time great player in KD, Hardin, who is right now around the 25th best player in the league, and they need to be about the fifth best player. No home court advantage, a bad coach in Nash and a mismatched roster.

So, yeah, the nets are not in the Warriors class, and that is actually a shocking development, Colin. OBJ gets blamed for a lot, and he's not my favorite player, but do you buy the extra pressure that Stafford faced with OBJ is the reason. maybe for his meltdown and Baker's meltdown. Yeah, so let's talk about the resume, right? So a record-setting contract and didn't live up to it. Legit questions, does he make his teammates better, has never won a playoff game, and when his team doesn't win,

his biggest supporters will explain how it's everyone's fault but his. That's the resume of Matt Stafford. Now, it might also be the resume of Odell Beckham, but we don't talk about it that way, do we? Oh, wait, that is true. Stafford, couple record-setting contracts. Never won a playoff game. He is the quarterback. You would think that, you know, could make guys better.

No, I don't buy that Matt Stafford when Odell was on the field for 15 snaps and had three targets, that the reason Stafford played poorly was because of Beckham. Like, did Stafford have Intel? we didn't have a week ago that they were going to get Beckham, and that's why he did a 360 in the end zone before firing the ball into a Titans D-Linman's waiting arms and threw a pick six on the next possession. I think Odell, we will find out if the juice is worth the squeeze, so to speak, for Odell now that Robert Woods is out and he is important. But at some point, Matt Stafford has to be accountable for Matt Stafford's mistakes and interceptions.

I know that we just blamed the greater Detroit metropolitan area for everything that went wrong with the Lions over the last 12 years. But he was the quarterback and he did have Megatron and he did have some weapons and they never won a playoff game and they only made it three times. I think Stafford's good. He's obviously far better than golf. But some of this stuff is on him. And for the Rams, Colin, if they don't win that division,

they are on the road every week of the playoffs. and you are then asking Matt Stafford with zero career playoff wins to go, if the playoffs started today, this would be the bracket, Colin, at Tom Brady and the Bucks, then at Aaron Rogers and the Packers, then at either Kyler or Dak. I don't think Stafford can win two of those games, much less all three. So I think we want KC to be back because they're fun and we like their players and we love their coach. but beating the second worst franchise in the last 19 years to me,

with now an interim coach in chaos, does not validate anything. Two weeks ago, I watched them struggle at home with Daniel Jones. I watched them struggle with Jordan Love. I mean, what are you going to say if Dallas rolls Kansas City? Well, Dallas is a really good team. I don't think they're rolling them. They obviously could beat them.

But I'm very, there's a lot here. Was that like the Royal We? Because you certainly don't want the Chiefs to be good. I mean, here's my question for you, Colin. What's the last time you had an accurate take on the Chiefs? Was Lynn Dawson the quarterback? Was it the Elvis Gerbach era? Because I'm old enough to remember Mahomes never won a big game.

I remember that one. I remember a fancy armed talent graphic. Mahomes somehow got left out of. I think you blamed Tuwey or one of the producers for that. I remember that, hey, I don't see the separate. between Justin Herbert and Patrick Mahomes. Well, have you watched Justin Herbert the last month? Is Mahomes the best quarterback in his own division?

It has Lamar overtaken Mahomes and the AFC king of AFC quarterbacks. I remember all of it. And the reason I remember all of it is because you keep saying it. You just keep going back. I remember Josh Allen's better than him going to beat him the AFC championship game. Nope, got washed. So here's the thing. The Chiefs absolutely could lose to Dallas.

Ellis is really good. But the idea that, oh, Mahom's been figured out. Teams are playing the most basic defense you learn to play your first day of Madden, and it's just broken Mahomes' brain. Yeah, it's either that, or he just went through a slump for the first time of his career, and he snapped out of it. And by the way, I just have a question because, you know, you're poo-pooing the win over the Packers because the Chiefs only scored 13 points.

And I get that. They were up against Jordan Love them and scored 13 points. I've been very busy, so I wasn't able to watch. Your beloved, Russell Wilson, scored how many points against that Packers defense? Zero. I don't remember. The game was a long time ago. Oh, zero.

It was zero. Okay. So that's fine. That's fine. Yeah, I'll take the Chiefs. I'll lay the two and a half. All right. How about finally?

Boy, I'm hearing a lot of this. Rodney Harrison said this this morning on Dan Patrick. You know, people are going to regret passing on Mac Jones. and mobile quarterback's. What is your take on that? Everyone's got to, here's the deal. So Mac Jones, everyone said going into the draft, most pro-ready, lowest ceiling.

I think that's what we've seen. Now, to be fair, I didn't like Zach Wilson. I didn't understand the Zach Wilson stuff. And I didn't have a strong take on Trey Lance because it was a small school guy who hadn't really played in a couple years. But when I was ranking quarterback, Lawrence won, Fields, 2, Mac Jones 3,

because I didn't love Wilson, and Lance was kind of like a not ranked because I didn't have enough information on him. Right now I'd say, Trevor Lawrence is going to be the best. I like what I've seen from Justin Fields. And Mac Jones, people are just hyperventilating about it. He had 198 yards this week. Brian Hoyer came in and had 90. The previous week, he had 139 yards.

And the longest play was by the Patriots defense. The previous week he had 210 yards. And the longest play was by the Patriots defense. My critique on Mac Jones is simple. In the AFC, will he ever be better than any of the following? Mahomes, Herbert, no, Alan, Lamar, Burrow, and I would argue Lawrence. Now, Lawrence has to show it, but I still believe in him. That's six guys.

So I think his ceiling is the seventh best quarterback in the conference. So no, I don't, everyone, this reminds me a whole lot of people taking Daniel Jones victory laps early. And now Daniel Jones isn't going to get a second contract. Now he's better than Daniel Jones. But I just don't see the high, high level upside that other people are claiming to see with him. I really like Nick Wright's. You notice his hair is different now. He's got, it's almost a, it's a little, it's a cleaner Aaron Rogers look.

I like it. It gives him sort of a, he's a little bit of a hipster. I like it. It's a good look for you, buddy. Cleaner Aaron Rodger. Yeah, it does look like you shave occasionally. You really hit for the trifecta here, buddy. Just take a shot at Russell Westbrook before we go and you'll get them all in.

Mahomes isn't going to lose. Rogers is dirty. Get a Russell. Come on. You got time. See you, college. See you, buddy. Nick Wright.

Very funny. Joel Clatt is top of next hour on the college football stuff. It is funny. We go, everybody wants to be right on the internet on Mac Jones. I like Mac Jones. Folks, slow down. Like, like, the story of the Cleveland Browns is their offensive line. Baker's going to roll Detroit this weekend.

The story of the Browns is the offensive line. The story of the Patriots is their defense in Belichick. It's not Mack Jones. And I like him. In fact, there's an argument to be made that within the box of the system, they don't want a super hyper-aggressive moving quarterback. Like, they're better served with somebody that is 80s. 98% pocket.

There's an argument to be made. I mean, Brady still wins a lot of games as a pocket quarterback. But everybody wants to be right on Mac Jones. It's like, folks, it was the perfect landing spot. Here's the keys to the Mercedes. Just don't hit a tree. Just don't back out of the driveway and get into a wreck. Like coach, defense, kicking, ownership.

He's just doing layups now. We don't have a slam dunk yet. It's just a layup drill so far. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor, along with my trusty sidekick, David Gascon, would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show,

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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 I'm not so great. 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, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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,

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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. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

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

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. With Marcus by Goldman Sachs, get a personal loan with a fixed rate and no fees ever. Marcus.com. No fee personal loans. That's a pretty good deal.

Sandwich Day here. We're both in a good mood. So Rodney Harrison, NBC, great player for the Patriots on Dan Patrick this morning. And he was talking about something. Why did the Niners pass on Mack Jones, who looks so brilliant today? Everybody wants to get into this. I need an athletic quarterback. I need an athletic quarterback.

Yeah, he could run around and do all these incredible plays at times. But you need somebody that can sit in the pocket, read the defenses, communicate to the offense, get everybody in the right position. And sometimes that's not sexy enough. A lot of these coaches, they fall to the pressure of the public. Well, I mean, you can't run and do that? So here's some classic pocket quarterbacks in the NFL. Let's see how they're doing.

Jared Goff is 08 and 1. Daniel Jones is 3 and 6. Matt Ryan's 4 and 5, 2 is 3 and 7. Yes, there's Brady. I'll get to that in a second. Let's go to quarterbacks we think of, and the first thing we think of is running, even though they're better passers than anybody wants to acknowledge. Kyler Marie Lamar Jackson. They are a combined 13 and 4.

All right, let's go to pocket guys, but they do move pretty well. Aaron Rogers, Dak, Mahalms, Josh Allen. Oh, they're all in first place. Let's look at the current standings in the NFL who leads every division. the American Football Conference, the AFC. Josh Allen leads the AFC East. He can throw off in the pocket and move. Lamar Jackson leads the AFC North.

He can move. The AFC South is led by Ryan Tannehill, who was a college receiver at one point. By the way, Carson Wentz is in second place. He moves too. And then the next division is led by Mahomes and Justin Herbert. they both move well too. Let's go to the NFC. Dak and Jalen Hertz lead the NFC East.

You following my point. Aaron Rogers leads the NFC North. Kyler Murray leads the NFC West. And there is the exception, the goat. Tom, as Joy says, let's not compare him to anything. He screws everything up. So we have verifiable truth that quarterbacks that move exceptionally, or at least pretty well lead all but one division.

And in three different instances, half the league almost, they're in second place. You think Mack Jones had to deal with the Jags, the Bears, or the Jets O line, like the other rookie quarterbacks? You think he'd look as good as Justin Fields? You've got to be kidding me. Folks, we all know that if you grow up with a trust fund and I grow up with chaos, you got a head start. This is the best place for a...

Can you imagine Trevor Lawrence in New England? I would get the efficiency and blow through a ceiling? Or Justin Field? This is not a knock on Mac Jones. But you're ready to run Baker, Mayfield, Teddy Bridgewater, and Jimmy Garoppolo out of the league. They all have higher passer ratings than Mac Jones. Mobility is the new NFL.

You see it in college. you see it in the pros. That is not to say Tom Brady is so good at pre-snap, he can't manipulate the world. But if Tom Brady could move like Aaron, I'd like him even more. Just because you're the goat doesn't mean he do everything well. Michael Jordan never really shot three-pointers. Can you imagine adding Durant shooting to Michael's game? We would no longer argue MJ LeBron.

I love Brady. Imagine if he was mobile. Then that system quarterback stuff for 20 years in New England would we'd roll our eyes at. Mac Jones is doing a great job. He got a lot of things that went his way. But you guys want to run Teddy B out and Jimmy G out and Baker M out and this guys at higher passenger ratings than Mac Jones. Mobility matters.

I want my quarterback to move. I'm sorry. But all the rules tell you, get a quarterback that can move. Boy, I was right on that. I'll tell you right there. That was one of my best friends ever. You may be able to put that on the Internet. Interweb like that one.

All right, Joel Klatz around the corner. We got good arguments on Michigan, Michigan State. Alabama, it's the herd. 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, wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Cliver Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On The Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild... It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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