The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Brian Kelly, trash talk

Episode Date: December 9, 2021

Despite controversy, Brian Kelly wins wherever he goesAaron Rodgers comments on trash talking the Bears fansGuest: Greg Cosell Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me.

84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year. 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 iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go live in Los Angeles.

It's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. We're going to have Greg CoSell on in just about five minutes. If you bet on football, do fantasy football, or just love getting smarter about football. He's got great stuff. Greg CoSell, 42 years NFL film, my favorite 15 minutes of the week. Joy Taylor is now joining me. The, you know, it's interesting. if you work in sports, it's highly emotional business.

Not every emotion. I mean, accounting is not as emotional, maybe except for a few weeks in April. But there are businesses where they're volatile and they're intense and they're urgent. And I think football is unique because you have one game a week. Yes, the high level of urgency. You know, the average baseball game. I mean, how many times do the Dodgers face urgency or the Yankees face? There's a series here or there.

But in football, like, it's, especially college. It's like, it's intense. It's urgent. and there's a lot of emotion and seasons, sometimes luck plays apart. You can get bad weather. You can get a bad bounce. And so it's funny because Brian Kelly goes to LSU. And Brian's intense.

They had protests early on at Notre Dame to get him fired. He has battle tested. He left Cincinnati and got ripped because he bailed on him. He left Notre Dame. He got ripped because he bailed on him. He just lost his best quarterback, Max Johnson. I mean, they're running out of quarterbacks. And his brother, Max Johnson's,

brothers, a big superstar tied end, they both left. And everybody's, oh, Brian Kelly, oh my God. First of all, he's battle tested. He's been through this. Okay, he's used to the media scrutiny. Number two is he's, let's be honest, he's the best coach of the six new big brand coaches. There's an argument to be made. He's won more than any of them. He's a great coach. Number two is, he also landed in a place LSU where academically you can get players in, if you want him in, and it's an incredible state for high school football, and it's an incredible region for high school football. So Brian Kelly right now is off to a very, very bumpy start.

But folks, that's because he has a bumpy personality. If you look at a lot of the great football coaches of all time, Bill Parcells, is bumpy, and it was always bumpy early, and Belichick, and Sabins got a lot, Tom Coughlin, Mike Ditka, not everybody comes, you know, aniseptically sealed. Not everything is soft and easy. Football is intense. And some of the great coaches ever are intense.

Now, you also get Tony Dungeys. You also get Bill Walsh, the mentor. You also get Don Shula. A lot of guys aren't yellers and screamers. They're not intense. But I look at Brian Kelly and I'm like, yeah, it's bumpy. Everything with Brian's bumpy. Notre Dame was bumpy for years.

The way he left Cincinnati was. Mattie was turbulent, and this is a bit of a mess. He's an outsider. Now he's moving off coaches. Only one coach from Notre Dame followed him. Oh, wait. Only one coach from Michigan State followed Sabin to LSU. It was Adam Gase, a grad assistant.

None of Sabin's coaches followed him to LSU. That was a story for years. Now nobody talks about it because Nick's not for everybody. Nick wears out coaches. Nick's reputation is the players. love him, the coaches hate him. Same with Belichick, same with Parcells. I mean, like, when you work for Bill, Josh McDaniels, give me out of here. Then I come back. And then the owner steps in and pays him a fortune. But, you know, some of these coaches, they're great with players.

They're hard on their coaches. And so, like, it's not shocking that this whole thing for Brian's a little up and down early. That's his personality. He's gruff. He is rough. Sabin can be gruff. I mean, you remember some of those Sabin-lane Kiffin, like, arguing, That's the stuff we saw publicly. You know Savin was chewing out, Lane Kiffin behind the scenes because on national television he was chewing him out. So it's don't overreact to this stuff. Great coach, great football program, and this is his personality. And, you know, certain people, you know, if you ever replace somebody at any job,

and Ed Orsouin was very popular in Louisiana. People loved Ed Orgeron. They didn't love his coaching. They loved Ed. Sometimes you've got to clean something out. You just got to, I had this discussion last night. I've had enough movement in my career where sometimes I, not here, but other places, you come to a new place and you've got to clean the room out.

You've got to get new people, got to get a new audience. You kind of go and just do things the opposite of what the previous host did or the previous boss did. It's okay. All I know is Brian Kelly wins everywhere. He wins everywhere. with that Greg Kossel, 42 years NFL films joining us. So a lot of what people were saying about the Patriots Bill's Money Night was, gosh, New England's running four plays. It's the G lead, the guard lead.

It's just so simple. Why couldn't Buffalo stop it? All right, let's ask you the expert. Why couldn't Buffalo stop it? Or did they stop it more than we think in New England only had a couple big runs? I would say, you know, it's interesting you ask that because I would say that they, they controlled the game with their run game. It was really interesting because they only ran 46 plays, which seems like a very small number. It is a small number, but yet they controlled the ball for over 32 minutes.

So they did control the game with their run game. And I thought they had a very good understanding of Buffalo's defensive front. Buffalo is what we call an overfront as their foundation. It means their front is shifted to the strong side of the offensive formation, where there's a tight end, or a sixth offensive lineman as the Patriots used on quite a few snaps, actually 30 snaps with six offensive linemen. And I thought the Patriots did a really good job of understanding how to create angle blocks and leverage blocks. And then the other point, Colin, it's just the way it is, is people were moved. You know, when there's double teams, very often people get moved.

And that creates lanes. And the Patriots did an excellent job. But I have a question for you. Do you think that Bill Belichick would have played that way if it was 50 and beautiful weather? Or do you think that was the game plan no matter what? I think Bill made, because he's been in so many of these games that feel like you're playing in Nor'easter, I think Bill made decisions before the game. We're not going to kick a field goal unless we're 10-yard line or closer.

We are not going to throw the ball unless we have the win behind us. I think Bill made decisions before the game. I think Buffalo. Oh, of course. Yeah, I think, I don't know if Buffalo did. I think Buffalo made decisions in the game. I think Bill made them before the game. And so I think if there's no win, they probably throw it 20 times.

That's my, you know. It's interesting to say that because Buffalo came out in the game with six offensive linemen, two tight ends. They clearly tried to run the ball as well. They just don't run the ball well. And I think we're seeing as the season progresses, which was obvious on tape from the beginning of the season is that Buffalo has two distinct weaknesses on the offensive side of the ball. Their offensive line is not very good, and they can't run the ball. And those two weaknesses are

going to come back to haunt them. They can come back to haunt them in any given game. And this was a game where it did come back to haunt them. And I think because of those weaknesses, my sense is, we'll never know, because Belichick will not talk about it publicly. But my sense is he also did not believe that Buffalo could score very much on his defense. You know, it's interesting about Josh Allen. So I actually like, I like Buffalo against Tampa this week. I think they're desperate. I don't think they think they can run the ball. So they're not going to try to. They're going to throw it 45 to 50 times against Tampa. They're totally desperate. If they can protect, if they can protect, that's the issue. So what did you make of Josh Allen's performance on Monday?

Because we spent so much time on New England. Were you disappointed, discouraged? What did you make of Josh? I think he missed a few things and that game, all those things become magnified, but he also made a couple of great throws. That throw to dig should have been a touchdown. And if it was a touchdown, we might be having a different conversation totally. I think that he's in a very difficult position, Colin, because they cannot run and their offensive line isn't very good.

Every game becomes a referendum on Josh Allen. He needs to be great on every single play or people think he's not a good player because they don't have anything else they can really do with any consistency on offense. So they can only win one way, quite honestly, on offense. And that's for Josh Allen to be great. And that's asking a little too much of any quarterback. Very few in the history of the game can you ask that of. So I want to talk about the Cowboys. They play Washington this week.

And I guess it's not must win for them. But they are healthier now. Amari Cooper is back. Zeke has rested. You can be a great player in the NFL, but that doesn't mean you're always the most valuable player. You can just be a great player. But when I watch Dallas's defense, Micah Parsons feels so important to that defense. What does the film say? Yeah. Well, personally, I believe the film tells me that he is the best edge pass rusher in the National Football League this season. And so I am fascinated to see what they're going to do. I think,

I think you have to discount the game against the Saints a little bit because they used him as a spy because of Taysam Hill. And Taysam Hill is a little unique as a quarterback. But now that they have their people back, Lawrence was back last week, they're getting Gregory back, they're getting Gallimar back. How will they use Micah Parsons? Because they could bring him back to stacked linebacker, which to me, based on tape, I think he should definitely be an edge player, certainly in long yardage situations. one thing, if you want to play him at Stackbacker, you know, on first and 10, second, and four, that's fine. But I think when it gets to passing situations, to me, he should be an edge pass rusher

because the tape tells me that he has been the best edge pass rusher in the NFL this season. All right. So now Dallas plays Washington. This is again, it feels bigger for Washington than Dallas. Now, early in the year, the narrative was, how can Washington have all these great defensive linemen and be so bad defensively? Then they lose Chase Young. and they're actually better defensively.

So we know Ron Rivera knows defense. I think like half of the years he was in Carolina, it was a top 10 defense. So what have they done schematically losing Chase Young that's made him a better defense? They made a dramatic change starting week 10 when they played the Bucks, and that was the beginning of their four-game winning streak. Leading up to that game for that part of the season,

the first 10 games or nine games, they had played a high percentage of men. man-to-man defense. Starting week 10, they've been playing almost all zone. In fact, they have one of the lowest percentages of cover one, man coverage in the NFL. They'll play some of it on third down. That's when they play it. Not every third down, some. But other than that, they play literally zone on every snap. And the other thing that they've done, which is really turned out well for them, is now their base defense, as so many other teams are doing, in the league, including New England, is their base defense is big nickel.

They play with three safeties. They play with McCain, Cameron Curl, and Landon Collins as their base defense. So essentially, they play with four downlinement, two linebackers, and they play with three safeties. And that's what they've done. And they've played very well. Plus, Jimin Davis, the rookie linebacker, has really started to play well in the last number of weeks.

And he's six three, two hundred thirty five pounds. He is a physical specimen. I want to move to Kansas City because I honestly feel the strength of the team, and I don't know what the film says, is actually their defense right now. I think their offense doesn't quite have an identity. I think not that he's broken, but Mahomes is a little off, little squirly, little sidearm stuff as mechanics. They don't have much of a run game. They don't commit to it.

But the defense. So we know just based on what they're doing, what our eyes see, their defense is better. Is it schematic? Is it Chris Jones moving? inside. What is it with their defense? Last five games, they've won. A couple of things. Number one, they're playing more cover two. They've always had cover two as part of their arsenal, but they've played more of it, and they're good at it. And Tyran Matthew is very good at disguising the intentions. He ends up being what we call the middle hole defender in cover two, and he's really good in that

role. It's almost like a robber role, reading routes, seeing things, and he's so aware and so smart. And so that's been a big factor. You mentioned Chris Jones. I think moving him inside has really helped them as well. To me, he was not really comfortable on the edge. He's an inside player. He's a dominant inside player. If you think back a few weeks ago when they beat the Cowboys, I think it was 19. They couldn't block him. Final score. He dominated. And by the way, he had dominant snaps, several of them against Zach Martin. So he's a really good inside player. and I tell you who I think has really helped them, particularly with their run defense, and that's the rookie linebacker, Nick Baldwin. He's a very, very good run defender.

All right. So listen, we can see right now, whether it's seeing the field, whether it's he feels rushed. But Baltimore's done a pretty good job every year to give, you know, give Lamar a little more that gave him the coordinator, then Mark Ingram, then a tight end, then they're giving him stuff. And he is he is either plateaued or regressed. What is the film saying? Yeah, right now he's in that classic case where he is just not seeing things. And he's just not, even plays that are designed for a specific thing where, hey, this is where we know we want you to throw the ball. He's not throwing it.

So basic route concept. So I just made a note to myself as I was, as I've been watching his tape, is he not seeing it? Is he uncertain in the pocket? And how about this? Since week 10. Okay, he's played three games since week 10. Colin, because he missed one game. Yeah.

That was the game the Dolphins just lined up with those six, seven, eight-man fronts and literally blitzed mercilessly. Well, teams have noticed that, and teams are blitzing the Ravens. Now, it's not just Lamar there blitzing, but he's the quarterback. Now, his quarterback rating against Blitz in the last three games is 9.4. Wow. Think about that for a minute. They cannot function against Blitz.

Now, as I said, it's not just him. I think they're really struggling on the O line in how to handle pressure fronts, where there are six or seven people on the line of scrimmage. And you've got to figure out how you want to go about blocking them, who the O line is responsible for, who the quarterback is responsible for. These are all factors. But the bottom line is they have not been able to function versus Blitz in the last three games Lamar Jackson has played.

Greg Kossel joining us. Greg, you know, sometimes when you lose a player, you can, like when the Rams lost Cam Acres, you go get Sony Michelle, he's about 75% of them, and you do what you can. And then you lose Robert Woods, and there's not a Robert Woods on the market. And so you've got to, now you get OBJ, who's a different kind of player. But you can also make schematic changes. And the Rams right now, they're dealing with no Robert Woods, no Cam Acres, so it's not the same team. There are certain things you just can't do.

And that maybe with OBJ, a little more speed than Woods, maybe there are things. you can do. Did you notice, you know, and again, it's hard to judge anything on the Jags, but they did look a little more physical against the Jags. When I watched, I thought they were a little bit more physical. What is McVeigh doing now? Because he's going to have to tweak if he wants to go to the next level. Oh, so he did. What did he do? He did tweak. Number one, they played this past week. And you can talk about the Jags all you want. The Jacks, Jags have had some good defensive games this season. What they did, 16 snaps, Colin, with six offensive linemen. Prior to that game, they played one snap with six offensive linemen.

That's not a McVeigh thing, six offensive linemen, but they had 16 snaps of it this past week. So they wanted to run the ball. They wanted to create some physicality in their offense and run. The other thing, and this might not seem like a big deal to a lot of people, but it is. And normally it's the kind of thing you were doing in offseason. With the loss of Woods, okay, he was their Z receiver. And the Z receiver in an offense is the off the ball receiver, the movement receiver, the motion receiver. What they've now done is they've moved Van Jefferson to that role. So he has to learn that position during the season, okay, because O'Dell Beckham is not that guy.

Odell Beckham is an X, and that's the receiver that lines up on the ball. So they've had to make a change at the receiver position as well. And as I said, it might not seem like a big deal, but it is a big deal. So they've had to tweak and adjust as the season's gone on here. You know, we were talking as a staff this morning about Justin Herbert. And I said, you know, he's got Mahomes in his division. So, you know, it would be like having Marino in your division. It wouldn't matter how good you are.

You're not going to get talked about. And Herbert, you know, the Chargers are the number two pro franchise in Los Angeles. He's a quiet kid. He played up in Oregon. You know, he, but I watched him against Cincinnati. and there's just nothing I don't like. I like everything. There's just nothing.

And I don't want to go crazy because I like him. You know what I mean? I don't want to have certain confirmation bias. But what do the tape say against Cincinnati? Well, you know, look, you have to talk every day about this stuff. And it's so easy when a guy doesn't have a great game, then people say, well, is he really as good as we think? I mean, this is the NFL.

Not every week does the quarterback have a phenomenal game. We're talking about a high-level. level traits player. And by the way, I thought he missed a couple of things this week. But you know what? That happens a lot too. You know, Tom Brady missed a couple of things this week as well. But Herbert is a really gifted player. I think they run an offense that is not built to really push the ball down the field at this point in time. They'll take some designed shots like this touchdown that we're looking at to Guyton was a designed shot play. But they're really much more of a rhythmic pass game. And some might say, hey, let this kid push it

down the field a little more. Maybe they'll get to that. But the bottom line is he sees things well. He made a throw for a touchdown this past week, Colin, that I don't think people realize how good it was. And that's the play I want to show. So we can get to that right now because I don't, you know, there are so many elements to this play I think that people were not aware of. It's a fourth down play in the tight red zone at the four yard line. So they're expecting man coverage here. So what they do is they send Jalen Guyton in motion across the formation. And that he's the man zone indicator in their mind. And Mike Hilton starts to run across the formation with him.

And they think, okay, it's man. That's what Herbert sees. Now, the other thing he sees that confirms man to him is Eli Apple pressed on Mike Williams. That looks like man. There's also a linebacker, Jermaine Pratt, who's going to be matched on Echolar. All this to that side of the field looks like man. So he wants to throw the wheel route to Echler.

I mean, that's the play against man. But you know what? It ends up not being man. You can see Herbert looking over there. But what you get is they drop into zone and the wheel route is taken away because the corner is dropping off. So the wheel route is not there. So let's look at Keenan Allen on the other side of the formation now.

And these are the three defenders you want to focus on. Because remember, it's now zone, not man. and Herbert has to read that after the snap of the ball. There's not a lot of time here. So he looks left, registers and processes that it is zoned. Yeah, you can see it. So now there's three defenders he has to deal with. But look how quickly, Colin, he snaps his head around and sticks this throw.

I mean, this is a seed. Look at it. This is a seed, but the decision making and the awareness is just mind boggling. So it doesn't seem like much, but that's a big, time quarterback play on fourth down. God, that's fun. He does have an arm, man. He throws it like somebody on the internet was comparing him to a javelin

thrower and they put it next to each other. The way he steps into it. He is such a gifted kid. Greg, great talking to you again. Happy holidays. We'll talk soon. All right. Thanks, Colin.

Appreciate it. You bet. I love that stuff. Do you see that? You immediately saw on the wheel route to the running back, I know our radio audience, that it essentially went from man. Oh, it's own. And you have literally one, you got to make the decision.

Like so much of this stuff. Yeah. When Greg breaks it down like that, it kind of makes you feel a little silly for being extra critical of these guys. Like a little less on that throw, it's definitely picked. And he had to make a decision in a tight jumbled red zone. Yeah. I have to go from man to zone.

So I have less than a quarter of a second to make the pivot and go to another player. Yeah. And then physically get it there. You got to get your, you got to get your. eight hours and eat your weedies. You're going to play that position. Want 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'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

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

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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far. far away, such as the biology of ton-tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality

and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to bowl your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Tonight, on Thursday night football, it's a clash of playoff hopefuls.

Big Ben and the Steelers had to Minnesota to face Kirk Cousins and the Vikings. Thursday night football at 7.30 Eastern, 430 Pacific on 4th. Fox NFL network and streaming on Prime video. And don't miss your chance to win $30,000 of Terry Bradshaw's money tonight playing Fox bet. Super 6. The Thursday night football jackpot has been hit five times this season and you could be

next. Scan the QR code now and answer six questions about Steelers Vikings for your shot to win. Colin, one of the questions is who will win and by how many points? It's really, I mean, most people would say because of the quarterback efficiency with Kirk Cousins at home, I think most

people are going to take the Vikings. I like, and I can see the Vikings winning by one point, 26, 24, 27, 26. But if you're telling me it's a better and I get points as Mike Tomlin, I'd take that. But I do think if you just say it out loud, Kirk Cousins, that offense, Delvin Cook, at home, feel like they should win the game. But that's the difference between gambling and picking a winner. So I would take the points with Pittsburgh. You know, it's an interesting game. because if Mike Zimmer loses at home to a Pittsburgh team that's pretty uneven, I think Mike Zimmer's out of work. I mean, they'll make a decision upstairs.

We always say this. Owners make a decision well in advance of what the media knows. So I think if Mike Zimmer, because he's not going to have a lot of players rush to his defense, he's a little prickly. And he's a defensive guy in an offensive league. So I think if Mike Zimmer loses tonight, I think there's going to be decisions made upstairs. And I don't think he'll be unemployed long. I think he's really capable.

If Pittsburgh loses, I don't know if it changes anything because the whole division they're in, Cleveland's a little bit of a mess, Baltimore is struggling. Cincinnati's good, but let's be honest. They're good like every other week. So I feel like Minnesota is the more desperate team tonight, the more I think about it. But I think it's a, the marquee would tell you this is not that important a game. You've got a coach's job on the line. What have been, by the way, plays great tonight.

night. And he played great last night or last week. And you're like, all right, we're going to get rid of him, right? So there's a lot on the line tonight. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, sticking with that game tonight, someone who might have something to say about that Kirk Cousin's offense and how it's going to go for them is T.J. Watt, who's having another incredible season. Despite missing two games, He still leads the league with 16 sacks and is tied for first with 16 tackles for loss. He's a clear frontrunner for a defensive player of the year. And Big Ben thinks he should be in consideration for MVP as well.

He truly is a special player. I'm glad that I've never been sacked by him because he's not allowed to get close to me. But he is a game changer and a game record. And I've been a part of guys like that Troy Palomalu who can change a football game. And it doesn't happen on defense that often. To be a literal game changer on defense is something completely special. He should absolutely get MVP votes as well because that's what kind of a player he is. Yeah, no, he is, you do not have to know football to watch Michigan football and see Hutchinson

in their defensive end and go, oh, like he's the best player on the field. It didn't matter who they're playing. You watch T.J. Watt, he's unblockable. He is so athletic and twitchy for an athlete. athlete that size. Like he makes decent. Like, like good. Micah Parsons does this. Like, like Chris Jones does this. There's a handful of defensive guys, Fletcher Cox or Aaron Donald in their prime. You can put pro bowl offensive linemen against them and they just can't block him. Well, Ben's right. He's a disruptor on defense. He's a game changer. And when you

can have great defensive players, there is something that's a little bit extra special about the guys that you just mentioned. And Troy Palomalo is a good comparison to T.J. Watt. Just somebody who... Ed Reed was like that. Yes, you always have to account for and can make plays that will literally change the game. He's had 16 sacks, 16 tackles for loss, 26 quarterback hits, four forced fumbles,

and with five regular season games remaining, he has seven sacks away from breaking Michael Strahan's record for the most sacks in the season. Just to tell you how rare it is, there's only three safeties in my entire life that have been game records. Ed Reed, Ronnie Lott, and Troy Palomalu. Like, you watch the game and you're like,

oh, the safety is literally changing the game. Now, Jamal Adams is talented. Earl Thomas was talented. But it is rare. Now, T.J. is a defensive lineman. So Lawrence Taylor was in this role. We've seen more of those. But Kaleo Mack was briefly, but I don't feel like he's there anymore.

I think T.J's moved past him. The bosses, by the way, when healthy, are very much in this category. Foxbet has him as the current favorite to win defensive player of the year at plus 160. So through 12 games this season, Patrick Mahomes has already tied his career high in interceptions. He's also thrown more this year than he did in the last two seasons combined. But even though he's throwing more picks than ever, he is not letting that affect his approach. It's part of football.

Luckily enough, our defense is playing good enough that whenever they've happened, they've been able to get stopped and get turnovers or whatever it is and not let it impact the team. I'll try to limit them as much as possible. But at the same time, I have to be me and I have to continue to throw the football and give guys chance. to make place. He's never been a big interception. He's like Aaron Rogers a little bit. He's not a big interception guy. His decision making's good. It's his mechanics. He's just a loose player. And by the way, I love watching him play, but he's a little loose. Well, he relies on his extreme talent. And we talk about this all the time. If you're extremely talented at something, if you have some sort of special

talent, you want to use that talent. The game the other night with the Bills and the Patriots, what Mac Jones did. No. It's tough to ask that from somebody who you've seen incredible feats from. I think that's a credit to Mac Jones, but he's also a rookie, right?

So you can go to him and be like, listen, you're not throwing the ball tonight. And I'm sorry. You don't have enough clout in this room to fight back on our game play. But like Patrick Mahomes. It's harder. It's harder.

Now, he had went 50 and 12 touchdown interception ratio, in 2018, 15 and 12, 2019, 26 to 5, 38 to 6 in 2020, 25 and 12 so far this season. Now, let's be fair here to Patrick Mahomes. And I don't, I can't contextualize this because I haven't thought a lot about this. There's an argument to be made, though, outside of the Jets, Houston, and Jacksonville, almost everybody's good in the AFC. Some of this is, well, the chargers are now better.

Denver's still viable. the Raiders score points. Mahomes is not lighting the world up because unlike Tom Brady and the AFC East, every week he's got like even his division foes. Yeah, like the AFC, the NFC is four great teams at the top and a bunch of nonsense. The AFC's got a couple of bad teams.

I mean, a couple of bad teams. But everybody else is pretty good. Well, also to respond directly to what he said, he's right. You can't just change how you play. the game. He is going to play how he plays. He's had success playing how he plays. You're not going to win the

Super Bowl every year. Sometimes you're going to have down years. Sometimes you're going to have adjustments. Maybe your opponents are better. There's a lot of different factors in what's going. And we know that the offense has struggled a little bit. When he won his Super Bowl, it was so funny. The media went crazy. He's going to win seven Super Bowls. And I said, if you could sign up

for Mahomes for two more Super Bowls over the next 10 years after he won one. He wins three and 11 years. You're out of your mind if you don't sign up for that. Of course. Out of your mind. And people are like, no way!

You understand everybody else is trying to win two and Belichick still in the AFC. It's like the conversation about the Hedels when LeBron Wade and Bosch did the one, not two, not three, not four. Like happy, completely happy with two championships and four straight strips to the finals. Incredibly. Totally happy. I do not.

Was it a 20-year dynasty? No. But I'm completely happy with that experience. You got a great half decade of Miami experience. still never be duplicated. Not complaining at all. So there's been a lot of notable college football coaching changes in the last few weeks. Yes. And some of these coaches have been criticized for leaving the teams before the season is over.

Yes. Also not being professional, no integrity, no morals, amongst other big, scary words that have been thrown around. And this trend has been influenced a lot by the early signing period, which began in 2017. And we hate that. And it allows recruits to signless schools in mid-December. Hate it. But that could be changing. So Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bolesby said that there have been some preliminary discussions about changing the early signing period for recruiting. He said there's been some talk about moving it until after the start of the new year

or even eliminating it altogether. I don't mind having it. I do think that the best compromise for it is to move it after the beginning of the new year because then everyone seasons over. Yeah, well, the old recruiting was February 2nd, 3rd. It was Super Bowl week. that week was you and I'd be doing Super Bowl shows and be recruiting day on like Wednesday

and then the Super Bowl was on the following Sunday I'm totally okay with that. This is why I keep defending these coaches. You have no time. You have to get your guy in before the signing period. You're going to lose recruits. Brian Kelly could have absolutely if he knew he was going to LSU

just waited to watch what happened and then once Notre Dame is not in then he can say, hey, I'm going to strongly recommend Marcus Freeman go, and it feels easier. Yep. Because really in the end, Notre Dame did not get into the playoff, but it felt wrong. It felt ugly. It felt early.

Yeah, it felt early. It felt drastic. And it was the same with Oklahoma. Like it felt like an overnight decision. Well, yeah, because you have to get in there. You've got to get on the road recruiting right away because this early signing period, you could lose valuable recruits. Yes, because both Miami and USC have really need. line help immediately. They can't give up. Christobal and Lincoln Riley just can't give up a year. But all of these schools, like if you're Notre Dame, you're really competing with these top... Michigan, Ohio State. But they're also competing with Stanford and Northwestern. Like,

there's actually a smaller pool of recruits because you have such high academic standards. True. So this is an urgency timeline thing with these coaches. On top of them, obviously, wanting to go other places and they're making decisions for other reasons. This is really encouraging. Like, this is really smart. Like, folks, you made a mistake. Remember when David Stern came out, Joy, they introduced the new basketball. And like 10 games in, he's like, that was bad. Anybody wants some basketballs? Like, the players were like, LeBron's like, you didn't okay out with us. David Stern also introduced the shirt, jerseys or something. Yeah, those aren't go well. Yeah, and that was a disaster. But David Stern was always marketing and pushing, but he had no

problem saying, oh, I whiffed on that totally. It's okay to try things. It's okay to adjust things. But If it doesn't work, this is not working. Don't stick with it because you just made a decision. Like you're allowed to change things. Everything doesn't work. And for all the fan reactions and a lot of people feel like it felt a bit harsh. It felt a bit drastic. It felt unfair to the players.

Okay, well, what do you want me to do? Like, this is the structure of the sport. And we all know recruiting is the whole sport. Your players and the talent that you have is the sport. So if you have to go out there and recruit right away, then you've got to make a decision right away, which is going to feel drastic, and it is drastic, and it is sudden. So just change it.

Yeah, joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Law. 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, what's up everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game.

What is Up on Game, you ask? along with my fellow pro-bowler, T.J. Hushmanzada and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up On Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushman Zada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast from. 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 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 celebrate. 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 a 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 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.

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 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 cracking the A. 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. Weather's looking nasty.

Don't change your plans. Change your wiper blades. Go to Amazon Prime to get Michelin Wiper Blades available on Amazon Prime. I watched a lot of Amazon Prime. Watching a lot of stuff. Last night was just a TV night for me. I was bouncing around Amazon Prime all night. I just felt like it.

There was no big game I had to watch. Heat one. Beat the Bucks. Did the Celtics or Clippers when I watched about 15 minutes of that? Last night I took a night off. I went and watched I went and watched some Bippers one

111 111 111. All right. By the way, I like a little trash talk from all my athletes. I think it's funny except quarterbacks. I think there's something I would call

it was always my knock on Trump. He wasn't presidential. I like my presidents to be presidential. Even if I don't agree with their policies, liberal conservative, doesn't matter. Be presidential. I want my quarterbacks to be quarterbackial.

And generally if a quarterback has conflict, you know, Jay Cutler had a lot of conflict. Cam had some conflict. You know, the kid in Cleveland had some conflict. It's usually somebody that's struggling. Very few great quarterbacks ever have been motivated or driven by conflict. Aaron's it. And so I've come to terms with this is just who he is. He likes to put it out there.

He likes to tweak the media. He likes to tweak the organization in Greenfield. It's his personality, so I have to come to terms with it. I mean, quarterbacks look different than ever. You got Kyler Murray's like 5, 10 running around, and then you got Josh Allen's 6-6 and running around. And so quarterbacks come in all shapes and sizes. So Aaron's size and shape is kind of normal, but his personality isn't. And so as we have, here's the moment he got people riled up in Chicago.

Let's roll the tape on this. And he does own Chicago. He talked about talking trash to the Bears and their fans. I don't know. You can question a whole lot of what I said. You know, we've had a good record over the years against them and won a lot of games in Soldier Field and at Lambeau Field. So it's been a great rivalry.

I'm proud to be a part of it. You know, we have gotten the better of them the last, I don't know, 27, 28 times we played them for the most part. obviously I think the record kind of speaks for itself, but I get it. At some point, that will be used against me. It is what it is. I don't regret saying it at all. It's different in the NBA.

Most great NBA players, they're going to chatter. It's rare when they don't. Kareem and Tim Duncan were considered stoic. I mean, Steve Kerr said last week a great line about Steph Kerr. He's the perfect combination of arrogance and humility. And we think Steph's nice guy, but in the NBA, you, truck, you dunk, you shoot, you got a little wiggle. Like, that's understood. Like, that's part of playground basketball. You got a little, you got a little chip on your

shoulder. You got a chirp a little bit. That's the fun of basketball. Ruckers Park. It doesn't matter where it is. That is totally understood with NBA stars. Barkley talked it. Katie talks it, magic talked it. Kobe talk it. Duncan and Kareem were like unique. In the NFL, it's the opposite. It's very rare that a quarterback would be chippy and chirpy. And Big Ben's had some drama. Aaron's had some drama. John Elway had a little conflict early in his career. It just doesn't happen much. So I've come to the reality that the football and the basketball culture is just totally different. And that's okay. And Aaron Rogers is just a totally different personality. He's got a little Jay Cutler. He can be a little moody like Cam. He can be a little chirpy at his organization

like the kid in Cleveland. But I have to come to terms with like we are seeing now the elevation of net worth and value to quarterbacks go through the roof. I mean, the salaries have doubled and tripled in the last 10 years for quarterback, and the importance has quadrupled for quarterbacks. So it's okay if a 27 to 35 year old quarterback feels himself. It's okay. Like, I've come to terms with it. It's like, this is just the reality.

The NBA is very comfortable with it. It adds to it. It's funny. I like Katie talking trash. I think it's funny when Chris Paul gets in guys kids. I thought it was funny. The late Kobe Bryant, you know, somebody would throw a ball at his face. He wouldn't flinch like Michael Jordan, the finger wagging.

That's just part of basketball. It's becoming a little more part of football. Not a lot. You don't get a lot of it. But Aaron is sort of the North Star of this dynamic change, personality change. We're seeing more of in the NFL. I'm okay with it. I am.

The taunting thing. Now, I didn't consider that taunting. Well, you're allowed to celebrate still. I guess. You have a right on the road to rival score a touchdown. He's also factually correct. I do own you. All right, hour three live in L.A. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that. excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeard 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 a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

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

Guaranteed human.