The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Blazing 5, Belichick

Episode Date: November 19, 2021

Colin's new Blazing 5 picks for the weekendWhat Bill Belichick did right during the offseasonGuests: Peter King, Dan Shaughnessy 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.

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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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 year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black. people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Herd. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Ah, here we go. hour number two on a Friday. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. High Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Later this hour, Dan Shaughnessy, a long-time award-winning writer for the Boston Globe, is going to be joining us, has a new book out on Larry Bird Celtics, but he's also got some perspective on the Patriots, which 25-0. Impressive short week.

Matt Ryan's not been shut out a lot. in his career. Joy Taylor is joining me. It's something. It's something. I remain hesitant to go crazy with the playoff and Super Bowl predictions, but only because like we've seen it before, but it was Brady. Right. And we do not allow Brady comps on the show. It just gives, you know, it doesn't sit well in my spirit. Yeah, I get it. All the odds provided by Fox Bet Sportsbook off a red hot week. Here we go. That's a hot one. Let's blaze it up.

Fire it up. It's Collins blazing five. Colts versus Bill. I like the Colts getting seven points, even though I think Buffalo should win. It's going to be windy, wet weather. It's going to snow Monday, so you've got a cold front coming in. The Colts defense forces turnovers, and I like their offense. Last seven games with Carson Wentz, they're five and two, 104 passer rating.

Wentz has thrown zero interceptions in seven of his last eight starts. he's having a very good year. He just had a stinker against Tennessee. Do we overvalue the bills because of a Mike Tyson quality to bury bad quarterbacks? Five of their six wins have come against Jacoby Brissette, two at Taylor Heineckee, Davis Mills, and Mike White. They're a little overvalued. Buffalo wins, but I like the Colts plus seven to keep it really, really close. I think the game will mostly with two good defenses be played between the 20s. Packers versus Vikings. I'll take Minnesota plus one with the upset.

First of all, they're the only team in the NFL that's led every game this year by at least seven points. And their defense leads the NFL in sacks, and that's important because Aaron Rogers has had a bad year against pressure. Aaron's passerating under pressure this year is 14.9. He's struggled under pressure. Minnesota gets pressure. The Vikings' offense is explosive. It's one of only four offenses in the league this year. with 250 passing yards and 120 plus rushing yards per game.

And Kirk Cousins, in his career, we told you this yesterday, has been very effective against Green Bay. Packers are beat up. Aaron Jones, Jayae Alexander, Zadaria Smith, Robert Tanya, David Boktiari, and Aaron's got a toe injury. So he's not 100%. I pick an upset every week. Here it is. Minnesota 28, Green Bay 27.

Saints versus Eagles. I can't believe the Saints are getting points. They're the better team. I'll take the Saints to win plus the two points. They're coming off back-to-back losses, but they outgained both of their opponents. They're overlooked. The Saints are four-and-o against the spread this year as an underdog. Sean Payton is a great underdog coach, and Philadelphia's defense is not going to ravage a backup quarterback.

In fact, the Eagles, they haven't won a home game this year. They're 0-4. And quarterbacks, on average, complete 74% of their throws against. the Eagles. The opponent pass a rating is 102. You can beat Philadelphia in Philadelphia with a backup. The Eagles defense is

not going to shut the Saints down. Sean Payton will come up with tricks. I think they're the better team with an underrated defense. Take the Saints and the points to win outright. 2624. Seattle's season on the line. I'm going to take Seattle to beat Arizona. The line's

only one and a half, so it's going to be close. It's a divisional game. Seahawks got shut out, and Russell Wilson is 35 and 11 off losses. He's the best off a loss quarterback in the league. Kyler Murray's ankle isn't right. So he's not practicing all the time and he's not completely healthy. My guess is they get down. They may pull him because Arizona has a buy next week and because the Rams lost, this is not as urgent a performance for Arizona. Season on the line, Russell Wilson a little healthier.

They got humiliated. My rule is good quarterbacks get humiliated. Watch them the next week. I take Seattle to beat Arizona outright as a dog, 2723. Steelers versus Chargers. Went back and forth. I'm going to take Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin's a great underdog coach.

He's also very effective against first and second year quarterbacks. Mike Tomlin, in the Tomlin era with the Steelers, first and second year quarterbacks have struggled, have completed 57% of their throws against the Tomlin defense. Their passer rating is 78. And Justin Herbert, who has regressed in the last month, is a baby. And the Chargers defense is the worst rushing defense in the league.

And the Steelers' offense, five straight games with over 100 yards rushing. This will be almost a hundred yards rushing. home game for the Steelers. 75 to 80% of the crowd will be Steelers in Los Angeles at SoFi. This is built for Mike Tomlin, the best underdog coach in this league to win.

We always talk about Belichick against young quarterbacks. Tomlin similarly eats him up. Steelers win 24-21 as a six-point dog. There you go. All underdogs. I don't think I've ever done that before. Took four of them last week.

for whatever reason it has been an underdog year and I think a lot of it is we just don't have great, don't have a lot of terrible everybody's within a field goal and if you're told all week you're not as good and you're actually your roster's as good it's amazing what you can do

it is I was thinking about Belichick we talked about this yesterday so last night he faced a rookie coach on a short week and we said yesterday on the show that Vegas, the betting line was showing you, it was like a seven-point spread,

which is unbelievable for a rookie quarterback to go on the road and be a seven-point favorite over a former MVP quarterback. But look at the scores this year by Bill Belichick against inexperienced head coaches. Look at these scores. Robert Sala, first year, he beat him 256. David Cully first year, close, beat him, dominated the second half, 25-22.

beat Sala again, 5413, edged Brandon Staley in L.A., housed Matt Rule 24 to 6, crush Stafansky, 457, and beat Arthur Smith last night, 25-0. Now, it gets a little trickier because now the schedule for them, he's got Mike Frable coming up, Sean McDermott twice, Frank Reich, really good coaches. Now, he also has Urban Meyer, who will probably be a little overwhelmed by him. But it does go to show you. We've said this. And also, Belichick, and he deserves credit for this, is it's hard for icons to move off their sort of belief system. He did two things this offseason that are very admirable.

Number one, he never spent money on free agency. He looked at his roster and went, we're just not good enough. And outside of John Hussmith, the tied end from Tennessee, everybody that brought in's work. Nelson Aguilar has been great. Hunter. Henry's been fine. Judon's been a star.

So it's work. the first thing Bill did, he evaluated his own personnel and said, we're just not fast enough. We have to have a really rangy pass rusher. They went and got Jude on. So he did that. Second thing, he allowed the scouting department, this was published, to have more say in the draft. And they have hit home runs on three of their draft picks, three of their first four, Baramore on the defensive line, Mack Jones, Ramandre Stevens, and the running back. Those are home runs. Those are really, really good starters for them right now. So, but last night, it was just so methodical.

It was, it was so precise and so methodical. And if you look at the box score, it was so New England. Make them bad on third downs. Run the football. Fewer turnovers, fewer penalties. Get out of town. Don't ask Mack Jones to do much. I mean, he only threw one ball over 20 yards.

And, you know, I guess Belichick is very fortunate in that if you even go back to last year, we probably should have seen this last year. So we were all kind of like rolling our eyes at Belichick. But from the people I know that no Bill, he thought last year was kind of a joke. He's like, this COVID thing, there's no fans here, there's no preseason. He goes and gets Cam Newton. I mean, no preseason, no practices. They go seven and nine.

Cam gets COVID in season. Mrs. Starts comes back and is still not totally healthy. They go seven and nine. They're two plays, one against the bills in Seattle from going. nine and seven. They had eight opt-outs. And without question, Bill admitted it in free agency, the worst ride receiving tight-end tandums in the league by far. So it's like, not only is he doing it this year, if you go back and look at last year, the fact that they were two plays from nine and seven, Cam Newton, never a highly efficient quarterback in a system that demands

efficiency. Cam gets COVID. He misses weeks. And they go seven and nine. And you're like, we should have seen it then. It's not a surprise. Belichick kind of, I mean, we do this with Apple stock. They can have a bad quarter. But we just know their institutional intelligence, their intellect, Apple's going to make good products. They've done it all of our lives, right?

I think with New England, bad quarterly earnings, but you look at what they're doing this year, and they're doing what they've always done. And what they mostly did last year, but they were so bad. skill positions, Belichick acknowledging that by his free agent pursuits, that 7 and 9 wasn't terrible. We should have looked at it and gone. It's kind of amazing. They were this effective.

One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it.

Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the Farrie. forth. 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 Podcast, 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-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 with Little Kim? 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 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 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Order Jersey mics in your mobile app. Deliver to your door or for pickup. Limited time, get free delivery on game day

Saturdays using the app. Jersey mics. Be a sub above. So the big game this weekend is obviously Kansas City host of Dallas Cowboys. I think there's a couple other big secondary games. I think Arizona at Seattle doesn't have playoff ramifications, but I think it has massive offseason ramifications. If Seattle ends up three and seven for Russell Wilson, who has been the most driven aspirational quarterback since Brady, he's never lost. He didn't 19 and 17 at NC State. I think he was like 11 and 3 or something like that at Wisconsin. It's never had a losing season in Seattle. He was grumpy last year when they were 12 and 4. Like he was unhappy. Well, they're 3 and 7 if they

lose. It's not a really terrible weather day in Seattle, so they're going to have to beat Arizona straight up. I do wonder if Arizona will play Kyler Murray the entire game. He's beat up. They have a buy next week. Rams lost. Easy week to take off. But the Seattle situation, when Russell Wilson's that upset off a 12 and 4 year, he constantly talks. You can see his videos on social media. He wants to be, he wants to be one of the greats of all time. He's never lost before. This thing goes sideways. Pete Carroll's 70. They have some weird power dynamics in ownership in Seattle. His side probably leaked four teams he wanted to leave to last year.

High profile wife. She's always willing to go. The Giants could need a quarterback with Daniel Jones. Denver could need a quarterback. Sean Payton can need a quarterback. I mean, there's some good landing spots. Sean Payton, the Saints have. Pete Carroll,

He loves defense. The Saints have a lot of good defensive players. You get a lot of draft picks and some pro-bowl level defensive players for Sean Payton to get his quarterback. So the Seattle dynamic is interesting. If they get whacked again this weekend in division, I mean, they were humiliated last week. Shut out. Peter King is joining us live NBCSports.com. You know, it is, it doesn't have playoff implications. Were you surprised when Green Bay shut out Russell? What was your interpretation? of that game. I was, that's, I just thought, God, Russell was mad last year. They were 12 and 4, and he was grumpy all offseason. What did you make of that performance? Well, it was a surprise, and I just kept thinking to myself, maybe Russell Wilson played earlier than he should have. Yeah. He just did not look like himself. He was not as accurate as he normally would be, Colin.

I think he comes back with a vengeance this weekend. I think they got a heck of a shot to beat Arizona, even though Arizona is a better team. Are you surprised how effective Mac Jones is and how good New England is this morning? Are you surprised? I wouldn't say I'm surprised, Colin. I think what is really interesting to watch right now

is how the defense, you know, I think this is the best defense in football right now. They've allowed 10 points a game in their last five games. You know, the last five games, New England is won on average 35 to 10. And I think Josh McDaniels every week is giving Mack Jones just a little bit more rope. He's opening up 3, 5, 8, 10 more pages of the playbook every week and getting more comfortable. I mean, I don't think it's stunning because I always think that quarterbacks who may not be, I mean, he might not be as good as Trevor Lawrence. He might not be.

But tell me what would have happened if Mack Jones went to Jacksonville and Trevor Lawrence went to New England. Yeah. It probably would have been reversed. You know, success in one place, failure in another. Yeah. So Mahomes and the Cowboys this weekend. You know, we talked about Mike McCarthy earlier, and I did something earlier on the show today. I called it a blind coaching resume.

I said, here's a coach that's won 61% of his games, six division titles, a Super Bowl. Last time he faced Belichick, he beat him. And with Farr, Aaron Rogers and Dak Prescott, all three, the second year with McCarthy, they make big leaps. So whether it's his mentoring, his patience, his coaching, I'm not there. And Dalton last year was way better end of the season. and then early. And we kind of lump McCarthy into, I don't trust him.

And I'm like, I'm not a big believer, Peter, and being lucky for 15 years. I watch Dallas right now, and there's a harmony between the coaching staff and both sides. How do you view McCarthy?

I remember in his gap year, his sabbatical year between the Packers and the Cowboys, I went up to Green Bay, and he showed me what he does with quarterbacks. We spent about an hour, one day, just watching tape. And he showed me a tape going all the way back to when he was on the staff in Kansas

City and Joe Montana was the quarterback at the time. And it is the most basic footwork mechanics set of drills that a quarterback does every single day. So that a quarterback, you know, at the end of the time when you're with McCarthy, theoretically, is going to be flawless at it. He showed me Aaron Rogers in his first year in Green Bay on tape. And then he showed me Rogers like in his fifth and sixth year. Rogers was like Fred Astaire.

You know, it was beautiful. Like when he got to like year five and six and seven with his footwork, it was so natural. It was just a pristine set of movements. And so I have thought that that, That's one thing that Mike McCarthy, everybody can give him demerits sometimes for his game management and all that other stuff. But I do think that he has a way with quarterbacks, as you point out.

You know, a lot of times every year it's always like, oh, look at all these injuries in the NFL. And then you go back and you're like, there's injuries. People tackle each other. It happens. And this year I'm hearing a lot about officiating. Some of it's because of the taunting stuff is very subjective. and most fans and media don't like it.

The roughing the passer stuff, that drives me nuts. I thought the Saints got job last weekend on that brush. Tannehill got hit and they took away a pick. I thought it was an awful game-altering call. Do you think the league is aware of, you know, they're hearing the pushback? Do you think they have to make some fundamental changes in officiating? You know, Chris Sims on NBC the other day called it nothing. asser. And I think that's exactly what it is. You know, that play right there,

you know, there have been, I think there have been two calls that have truly affected the outcome of two games in the last two weeks. The Monday night game, Chicago losing to Pittsburgh, in large part because of that low block call that wasn't a low block by the Chicago Bears on T.J. Watt. And then this past week, when Tennessee, Ryan Tannahill, does not get hit in the head, does not get roughed by Caden Ellis of the Saints, and it takes away an interception, and it basically is a seven-point swing. It allows Tennessee to score instead of turning the ball over right there. And look, I believe that a couple more instances like this, where clearly, obviously, wrong calls.

are made. It's just going to significantly increase the fervor to get what I would call either a sky judge or to give the replay official in-house more power than he already has. To give the replay official to call down and say that's a flag or categorically pick that one up. There was no flag there. Because it's ridiculous when we can see plays at home that are wrong and games get influenced and in some cases decided by those flags. I want to circle back to Belichick. I have a theory and I proposed it this week that it's happening in college and pro football. Tech has made us very impatient.

We're not patient with anything because we get everything so quickly. And wealth makes people impatient. You got somebody doing your yard, washing your car, you don't have time to go get coffee, you do DoorDash. And what's happened in college football, donors are now billionaires, not millionaires, meaning they can write a $40 million check after a year. They don't like a coach. They don't have to be patient.

You know, it's just a rounding error. And you're seeing it in the NFL. The owners now are not just worth $700 million. They're worth $4, $5, $6, $8, $12 billion. And they're firing coaches more quickly. And what is it doing? Belichick is now facing more young coaches. 11 coaches in the NFL now are first or second year.

If you look at Belichick's win this year, he's destroying, destroying. Sala, Cully, Ruhl, Stafansky, Arthur Smith. They're kids. And the league's getting younger because people can just write off stuff now and just fire the coach. It doesn't matter. The staff. And what it all boils down to, Peter, and I said this to Albert Brer this week. I said, if I'm Belichick or Sabin, why don't I just coach till I'm 78 years old?

The job's getting easier. I'm facing less qualified coaches. So I know I'm not letting it bake for you, but what do you make of the theory? Well, I mean, there's a great example in his own division, okay? You know, in the last two years since the start of the 20 season, I don't give Joe Douglas the credit for 2019, or I don't put that on his record because all the personnel decisions were made by the time he took the job after the draft and after free agency in 2019. But since 2020 began, the New York Jets are four and 21. And no matter what Woody Johnson says, he's going to have an itchy trigger finger. Maybe he gives them another year in 2022.

But you look there and you look at Miami. What is Stephen Ross going to do? Stephen Ross already wants to trade out, wants to trade. and move Tuaa Tunga Voloa out. Okay. And so right now you're seeing teams with no patience for, and we'll see, maybe Woody Johnson will have patience. I doubt it.

He's never had patience. So maybe he'll have patience with Joe Douglas. And maybe Miami will end up having patience with Tua I don't know. My only point is, every time these things happen in his own division, Belichick just laughs. The Patriots just laugh. It's just setting those teams back and getting them to start over again. Now, it'd be different with Miami if they got to Sean Watson. I get it. But it's still a change.

And it's still a different way of doing things if you get a new quarterback. So, you know, I agree with you totally. Teams go panicky instead of, you know, basically saying, hey, we, we have. are going to stick with our plan right now and we're going to let things happen and we're going to ignore the noise and the haters and we're going to give it four years and so that's what I think you should do when you make a change both at coach and quarterback when I started covering the league in the mid-80s Colin I can just tell you if Phil Sims had been judged on his first two years he wouldn't have reached year three with the Giants they would have said I he's always hurt, mistake prone, all that.

And, you know, he ended up leading him to two Super Bowls. So all I'm saying is that if you truly do have faith in a player or coach, a GM, just get out of the way and take the slings and arrows and shut up. Peter King, NBC Sports. Great seeing you as always on a Friday, Peter. Thank you, Colin. You bet Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd-life. News. Well, everyone is very high on Mac Jones right now. And before the drafts, there was some speculation that the Niners were going to take him with the third overall pick. Remember that? Yes. Well, former GM, Mike Tannenbaum said on the Rich Eisen Show that he believes Jimmy G would have been cut if the Niners decided to draft Jones instead of Tray Lance. I think Mac Jones shows up. He wins him over from day one. They would have had enough of a sample

size to say, we're rolling with Mac Jones, and they would have tried to trade. But ultimately, they would have cut Jimmy G. the state, in my opinion, to save that $24 million. Mac Jones may wind up being a better player than Trey Lance, and San Francisco trade up multiple first-round picks, and I was candidly surprised that they didn't take Mac Jones, so I thought he would have been a perfect fit there. Yeah, well, I don't know yet. I do think Mac Jones, we said this.

I thought I was not willing to give picks up for Mac Jones. But again, if you look at the offense, the Niners are not quarterback-driven like New England. If you look at the way San Francisco's built, Kyle Shanan's teams are generally not quarterback driven. They're running game driven. Again, I don't want to feel like I'm piling on Mack Jones or like taking anything away from what he's doing.

But can we calm down a little bit? Can we take like just a quarter of a chill pill? We don't have to take the whole chill pill. But it's the greatest coach in NFL history. And the best defense in the league. The best defense in the league. It looks like the best. Buffalo and this best defense. A great offensive line.

Josh McDaniels. Can we calm down a little bit? Yes, Mac Jones is doing an excellent job in what I think is actually a pretty high pressure situation. Yeah. It's pretty intimidating to walk in there as a rookie and face-to-face with the greatest coach in NFL history. Not an easy offense. There's a lot of movement. And do what's asked of you.

It's very impressive what Mac Jones is doing. We've not seen enough of Trailance to know at all what Tray Lance is going to be. I have no idea what he is. We have no idea what any of these rookie quarterbacks are going to be. And that includes Mack Jones. Does Mac Jones look great? Yes. Could it have been predicted that Mac Jones was going to look the best out of all the rookie quarterbacks?

That was an easy one. For a year, yeah, yeah. Right of the gate, yes. Yeah. Trevor Lawrence is in Jacksonville. Yeah. The Jets are terrible. as we just discussed.

I think we just need to calm down a little bit. Now, had Mac Jones gone to San Francisco, what Mike is saying actually does make sense because he's an NFL ready quarterback, which we knew that was the scout on Mac Jones. He's ready to play right now. And if that was the case, maybe you would move on from Jimmy G.

because we also knew Tray Lance wasn't ready to play right now, which is the reason that they kept Jimmy Garapolo, no? So a lot of the stuff that's happening with these rookie quarterbacks is very predictable. We said it before the season started, and it's playing out that way because we knew what these rosters were and the situations that they were going into. I just think we're getting a little ahead of ourselves here. And maybe I'm wrong. Maybe they'll win a Super Bowl and I'll have been the doubter. It's not even that I'm doubting.

I'm actually not doubting anything. I think we can believe our eyes. Like we're seeing what we should be seeing with all these rookie quarterbacks. So Russell Wilson's return from finger injury last week did not spark the offense the way the Seahawks hoped. They were shut out by the Packers, 17-0-0 in his first game back. But he remains optimistic they can turn things around. I think the urgency is high. I think the urgency is high, but I think it's also poised.

You know, at the end of the day, you play one game at a time. You know, you match up, you get ready to roll. You can't worry about anything else. As we're catching our groove, we've got to catch a groove, right? And as we catch that groove, I think the running game, the passing game, all that has to click together is one. If we can do that, which I know we can. And we have this so far this year a few times.

I think, you know, let's catch fire. And I think that's just kind of our mentality. By the way, before he got hurt, the numbers were good for him. So they weren't a mess. They were a mess against Green Bay. But the first month, five, six games, before he got hurt, they were doing good. So what he's saying is, can we revert back to what we were in September? Well, I think he should remain optimistic at this point.

The season's not lost. and he is back, but they're 22nd and points per game and 30th and yards per game. So that's not good. It was the first shutout of his career last week. And this is a, he's right. The urgency should be high. This is essentially the season this weekend against the Cardinals. They're having a bit of luck in that the Cardinals are kind of an unsure space right now with Kyler Murray.

And it probably makes sense for them to not play Kyler Murray and give him an extra week because they have a buy next week. And they should come in with absolute urgency. They should. don't know that there's enough there to turn it around this year. And what that means, as you mentioned earlier, for Russell Wilson's future in Seattle, again, if I'm Seattle, I'm going, you have to make me trade you. You have to give me no other option you're going to retire if I don't trade you. Because I'm not giving up Russell Wilson. But Stranger Things have happened. It's 2021. There's all kinds of crazy stuff going on. So

taunting has been a big point of emphasis in the NFL this season. Yes. There's been some controversial calls so far. There's been a lot of controversial calls, as you were just talking about with Peter. The officiating is getting a lot of criticism this year. Sean Payton said on the Dan Patrick show that he thinks the officiating with the taunting penalties is getting out of hands. I think it's being over-officiated. I sat in on the discussions. I don't think any of us that discussed it saw it where it is now, but those kind of things can't happen. You know, I mean, they just, and I look at that more from an over- all leadership perspective and training perspective.

And like that, those problems start at the top, not at the individual cruise. Somehow we got to reduce the variables. He also confirmed that he recently left the competition committee. He said it was the right time. I'll leave it at that without getting fined. Yeah, I do think the sport for most of my adult life has been over-officiated. I think there's way too many holding penalties, especially away from the ball. So now that they have the kind of cameras over the last 10 years that can see everything.

I mean, it's incredible. The camera work in this league is insane. Yeah. You see blades of grass. So I think his point is right, but I think it's been over-officiated almost my entire life. Yeah, but also because, as we've been talking about all week, we have become a more impatient society. The constant, like, you have a couple plays and then it's a penalty. And then it's a penalty.

Or you'll have three plays back-to-back. It's a penalty. It becomes a hard watch. It is. It's a harder watch. Plus you have replays. So I'm sitting on my couch. And the replays take five minutes.

And overall, they've done a good job of cutting down the time of the replays and all of that. But yeah, he's right. It's being over-officiated. The purpose of this particular penalty was to remove some of the unnecessary fights and, you know, just some bad moments from the game. It's spiraled into this, like, there's kids watching and it's just, it's gotten out of control. I do think that the league, because they're great with this. We'll pay attention to all the things that happened this year. Revisit it next year.

They listened to fans. It took a little while on the catch thing, but we eventually figured it out. And some of this will get adjusted next year because at the end of the day, this is a television show, and you want it to be a good watch. And you don't want things like a subjective call like taunting affecting the outcomes of games. Or what happened with Ryan Tannahill and the Saints last week affecting games. You just don't want it. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line. 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. Hey, it's Ben Maller, host of the fifth hour with Ben Maller, 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 Mather show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world, where we chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week

explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast'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. 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 Podcast, 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 with Little Kim? 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 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Since 1981, one of America's great sports writers. In fact, he's in the Baseball Hall of Fame for his coverage on the Red Sox on the Sport, author of 13 books. He's got a fascinating new one, which I can't wait to dive into. Dan Shaughnessy's new book, Wish It Lasted Forever.

Life with Larry Bird and the Celtics just came out this week. Dan joins us live. Dan, when you were in the middle of it, when did you know Bird was special? Everybody's an expert. Oh, I saw it the first day with Brady. Did you know instantly? We're going to have a 12-year run here of Magic. Well, again, when he was in college, we weren't sure.

There's always talks about guys coming and being in a bust in the draft, and the Red took him a year early, junior eligible, had to wait a year to get him. By the time I got on the beat, Carl, and I came on the beat in 82, did the great four years. He was MVP for three of them. So when I got there, he had already won a championship. It was real.

You knew, everybody knew, by the time I took over this beat, that Larry Bird was the man. I felt Magic always felt like L.A., and for some reason I felt Bird felt like Boston. He was a little cranky. He was tough. There was a work ethos to him. Where does he rank in most popular Boston?

Boston athletes ever. It's a good question. I mean, I think Bob York kind of owned the 70s here and Tom Brady has owned this century and you had David Ortiz, Ted Williams, et cetera. I mean, whenever we write about Larry Bird, you see it with the clicks and the spiking of the stories, you can't go wrong. He really walked away from here, untarnished, perfect. That's why he never coached Celtics.

He wanted to keep his reputation in Boston perfect and remains us to this day. We saw the MJ documentary and all the strife and chaos and the GM and the owner and Michael and Rodman. And during the great run with the Celtics, was there similar strife behind the scenes that guys like me not covering the team did not see Dan? No, there was not. That's one of the reasons I wrote this book. Everybody knows who won the championships and all that stuff. And the Bird, the Bird Magic thing, that was like Ali Frazier in the NBA when the league really came back in the 80s.

It needed that. Yeah. It got that from him. But the internal strife, very little of that, little stuff with Maxwell and Byrd a little bit here and there. But they were, this is what I liked about this team. This is what comes out in the book is how confident. they were in their own selves. They knew their greatness. They were not petty, worrying about touches or who's getting paid this, who's getting more attention here. It was very much of a

group thing. The practices were so much fun because these guys really liked each other, and that made it very joyous experience. Ask Bill Walt, they'll talk to it for an hour about it. If you listed, there's been so many great Red Sox teams. I mean, it really is one of the, I mean, you look at New York teams right now. They're all in the tank. Boston historically doesn't have dry decades. You're always good at something. Those Celtics teams' popularity. Where do they rank all time? Well, in our town, they're it, and in my view, because the Russell teams, they won more. They were more worthy, but the league was very small then, a nine-team league.

You know, finals weren't broadcast on TV. So the whole thing took off with Byrd with a sellout streak and national TV, the explosion leading right up to the dream team when the NBA became global in 1992, which is, of course, Larry Bird's final days of playing basketball. So the whole thing happened for the NBA in the time that he was there. It was a fascinating series. You juxtapose these tough Celtic teams with these flashy Laker teams. Were Magic and Bird close initially or did it foster from the competitiveness, the series? They both had interesting arts.

Bird at the end had some injuries. We all know Magic Story. Were they tight? Did this thing, was it close early? No, it was not close early. They did play together on a collegiate team and played a little international games when they were underclassmen at Michigan State. in Indiana State. They were disrespected by Joe B. Hall, who was playing Kyle Mason and Rick Roby over them.

I remember that. It was kind of a weird thing. So they held that against him. They come to the NBA in 79. They picked the league up, but Magic was won two championships right away. Larry won one. Larry was rookie the year in 79, but Magic won the championship. The first time they meet is in 84, and then, of course, three times in four years.

It didn't really take hold as a friendship until, I think Magic came to a French lick for a commercial one time, for Converse. and, you know, he ends up in Georgia Bird's kitchen, and my bird is making him scrambled eggs and talking about how much he liked the Big Ten and all that stuff. And after that, there was a lot of mutual respect. And, of course, they loved one another by the time they were dream teamers. By the way, here's Belichick again against a bunch of young coaches in the league. They've tweaked it, Dan. They look very good. But as you talk about birds' teams, there were so much flavor and color.

And, I mean, some of them became broadcasters in town. And Bobby Orr Celtics, Esposito had a big personality. Bobby Orr, the Red Sox, you know, big personalities, manny, whether you like them or not, shilling. And then the Patriots are this covert operation. I mean, you're in the media so there can be a pain in the butt. But how do the Boston people, how do you look at that organization you've covered if you wrote a book in 10 years about them? Oh, no one knows anything. I mean, it would be a great book because it would all be first time discoveries because they won't tell you what's going on.

There's no trash talking coming out of the Patriot locker room the way the Celtics would be calling the Lakers, the L.A. fakers and Tragic Johnson and in your face, it was very upfront because they needed that to motivate themselves and to get in the heads of the other team. In this case, it's all co-op, you know, secret ops. No one knows anything. Bill is the spokesman for the team, and don't you dare say anything to the media and give them bullet and board material on the other side.

Just don't do it. They don't do it. And no one knows anything about what's the internal machinations of that franchise. Is it unfair to say Matt Jones does play a little like Tommy, or are we all ridiculous hot takers for that? It is fair. I mean, you don't want to say he's going to be Brady

and, you know, nine Super Bowls with the Patriots win and six. He's not going to be that guy, but at this stage of his career, it's a good comp. Look at the first 10 starts, first 11 starts. The comps are the same.

Game management, not a lot of over-the-top stuff, not a lot of downfield stuff, being careful with the football. It's the old Charlie Weiss offense. You see a lot of throwing to the tight ends, running back dependency. it is not a wide open

Damrino down the field game. So to this point in their careers, it's very similar. Dan's got a new book. He's written 13. He's a Hall of Famer as a baseball writer. Wish it lasted forever. Life with Larry Bird and the Celtics came out this week. Have your publisher. Send me one. I'll gobble it up over the holidays.

I remember those teams well. And as Dan pointed out, the league felt kind of dead. It really did, folks. In the 70s, when David Stern took over, this league, he made it a marketing league. He put the name on the back of the jersey, the Birds and the Magic felt like the name on the front of the jersey. Can't wait to read it, Dan.

Thank you so much and have a great weekend. Thanks, Colin. You bet. Yeah, people forget this. It's hard to even fathom. In the 70s when Larry O'Brien, you know, God rest his soul, was the commissioner. The NBA finals were on tape delay after the 11 o'clock news. I remember as a kid watching in the 70s, tape delayed NBA games.

I mean, it's just insane. Now their YouTube stuff gets massive numbers. Forget the networks they're on. So, and Magic and Bird, they kind of ushered it in, these two, and they were so perfect for their cities. The scrappy Bird felt like Boston. Magic with a smile opening up, Kareem a little bit, felt like L.A. Magic in Boston, Bird in L.A. They'd have won.

Wouldn't have felt as cool. Hour three on A Friday. 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, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two.

Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the eye, Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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 year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.