The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Can the Chiefs win it again?

Episode Date: February 13, 2024

Thoughts on the Chiefs dynasty, if they can win three in a row, and who can possibly knock them off next season What is the best way to stop Patrick Mahomes?   Guest: Nick WrightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's hour two live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. One of the things I said yesterday about the Super Bowl is we love to blame in the media. It's their fault. It's their fault.

I really didn't think it was anybody's fault. I thought Mahomes pulled a Mahomes. A Reed pulled a reed. A Kelsey pulled a Kelsey. Sometimes with great people, it's nobody's fault that looks at. Braun kept getting to the Eastern Conference Finals and winning the Eastern Conference Finals. You could talk about the coaches that he beat, the players that he beat. LeBron was just better.

Sometimes Michael Jordan was just better. Mahomes is just better. Tiger Woods was just better. It doesn't mean your caddy picked the wrong club. Tiger could overcome more elements. You know, that's the reality. We're always looking for blame in the media and because it gets more clicks or it gets a better story. I mean, the big knock on Shanahan.

is in overtime, he took the ball. Well, think about the game. So Kansas City's first nine drives. This is with Reed, Mahomes, Kelsey. Nine drives, first nine, nothing. Last four, they scored. Why? Because San Francisco's defense wore down,

and because Kansas City is prone to make great adjustments on both side of the ball. So Shanahan looks at it and thinks, well, they sort of figured our defense out, and my guys are gassed. So I'll take the ball first and I'll eventually get it last. If that's terrible coaching, I'll sign up for it. Again, you've got to contextualize this stuff.

Both defenses at the end of the game, remember, Brock Purdy took it and went 13 plays on a drive. Did Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen have 13 play drives against the Chief's defense? What happens? Chief's defense was on the field a lot. San Francisco's, remember, defense is chasing and pursuing. It's more exhausting than offense. defense is all about running after people and chasing people. And it's the Super Bowl.

There's enormous amounts of stress in this game and stress equals fatigue. So I thought the Niners defense dominant in the first half just got tired. And Kansas City solved a lot of the issues, made adjustments what they're prone to do. And then in their last three drives before overtime, they were moving the ball. I mean, good God, Mahalms on his final drive in overtime went eight for eight. It was like a seven-on-seven drill. why defenses get tired defenses get worn down i mean you're asking nick bosa to play relentless football for four hours chasing mahomes around you're not the same player with two minutes left in

overtime as he is to start the game he's not the same player mohomes is the same quarterback because he's got more information and he's not running around much but you're asking corners and linebackers and fred warner and boza these guys are chasing mahomes all day shocking three and a half hours later, those orange slices and red bulls at half time, there's limitations. Guys get tired. So Shanahan's like, my defense was on the field for an 11-blade drive. Chasing Mahomes are gassed. I want to give them a break.

I think their defense is a bit gassed. We can move on them, and they did. Went 13 plays. They had a first and 10 at the 15-yard line. The difference is Mahomes got the ball in the end zone. Pretty couldn't. But if you're knocking for that, if that to you is bad coaching, I don't know what to tell you. So yesterday, and we kind of expected this.

So Nick Wright, as you know, worked in Kansas City. And, you know, I've always felt like I don't have a team per se, a professional team. So, you know, my teams weren't any good. So even though I'm from the Pacific Northwest, I lived in Connecticut. So when the Seahawks met the Patriots, I was like, I just won a great game. I really do. So I don't really have a team, and Nick would tell you, he's got the Chiefs. So we have some video, First Things First yesterday.

There wasn't a lot of subtlety with it. It was very much a Kansas City Chief's Day. Yeah, there's Nick Wright pulling up in his red suit. Again, this is, yeah, this was a little over the top, but we don't ask Nick to be subtle. That's not what we ask of him. And once inside the show, Yes, there's a band, never a doubt, which of course Nick got tattooed on him.

It was a glorious moment, but I will tell you that I didn't grow up with a team. So I am four people. J. Mack, you grew up with the Jets. Bill Simmons grew up with the Celtics. Guys I know, Frank, Nick grew up with the Kansas City Chiefs. So Greenie, who I used to work with was a Jets fan. And you guys all bleed for your teams. and I never had a professional team because mine were no good.

And it was just like, I like college more than pro when I was like nine to 20 years old. And I never had a team. So I kind of adopted the team when I worked in Tampa. I liked Tampa. When I worked in Connecticut, I was into, I really like the Patriots. And right now, I think I'm very happy with Andy Reed and Brett Veach, who I can text and talk to in my home. So I kind of like who's hot. I know it's like I'm a bandwagon fan.

I like who's good. Like right now, I want to see, I want to see Harbaugh and, Justin Herbert, because I know both, I want to see him succeed. I live in Los Angeles. My friends are Charger fans. I want to see him crush. Will they? I think they will.

So Nick Wright is, you know, he's, and he got a tattoo, by the way, never a doubt. And so Patrick Mahomes yesterday, first thing he tweeted after the Super Bowl, Patrick Mahomes tweeted in a reference to Nick Wright, never a doubt. So I thought it was a pretty special moment for Nick Wright yesterday. Is Nick ready to go? not quite yet we'll get them in a second the ratings for this game by the way

123.4 million I know it had 54 seconds of Taylor Swift but I got 25 minutes of Usher so I can live with it you know it one of the things we have to remember the print media hates this but people basically look at sports as escapism they don't love

politics with their sports the Kaepernick year it went down and that was viewed as political by many they like celebrities with their sports. They do. I watched the Laker Nick game a couple Saturdays ago, and the first thing they showed off the top of the broadcast on ABC was all the celebrities. So we, in our vacations and our sports, we like celebrities.

If you were to pool on vacation and you looked over and saw a celebrity, the rock, you'd be like, that's cool. If you were on vacation and somebody came up and you got into a political debate on vacation, that really wouldn't be cool. So I think with celebrities, we like them with our sports. It's cool to watch Paul Rudd. at a chief's game. It's cool to watch celebrities care as much as we do about sports.

It's relatable. I think that's part of Brock Purdy's charm. He's relatable. And with that, we go to Nick Wright. First things first. Oh, Colin. So we just showed... We showed the van pulling up. We showed all this. And I said, I don't have a professional team for you.

It is... And I asked you this a couple weeks ago, and you were totally honest. You said you were disappointed. They didn't draft. Sean Watson. You were totally up front with it. Yeah. But what is it like? Tell me what it's like. Your favorite team has the best player in the world and is likely to win again next year.

I've never been in that position. What is it like? I mean, it's unbelievable because of the context of what the chiefs had been my entire life before it, which was not like a sad sack franchise that never competed, but a team that was the worst type of team to root for. Consistently good in the regular season, get your hopes up, and then inventing ways to lose. Like, since Joe Montana left, they had three seasons. They were 13 and 3 in the one seed and lost a home playoff game.

John Elway beat him in the fourth quarter twice. They lost a 18-point lead to, Marcus Marriota in the playoffs. They lost a 28-point lead to Andrew Luck. They played the Steelers in the playoffs. They scored two touchdowns. The Steelers scored zero touchdowns. The Steelers won that game.

That was my life as a Chiefs fan. And then this Supernova comes in. And here's the thing, Colin, that what legends of the sports change how we see sports. to bring up Brady and Mahomes, not in a goat comp, but in what they both have done to our brains. So before Tom Brady came around, all of NFL history when down 10 points in the playoffs, won 11% of those games. 11% of those games was a 10-point playoff comeback.

Then Brady came around and won almost half of them. What it was 10 or 9, 8 and 10, I believe in those situations. And he changed the math on like, oh my God, you could be down double digits in the playoffs and have a coin flip chance. Mahomes has won five of seven of them. Mahomes, the fact, he wins 83% down double digits. In all of Super Bowl history, every quarterback not named Patrick Mahomes or Tom Brady went down double digits in the school. Super Bowl is 2 and 48. Tom is 2 and 1 Patrick is 3 in 1. What these two guys have done to change what we think is realistic within the game or realistic within a

ring count, which was Montana Bradshaw forever, 4. Impossible to get more than it. Then Brady damn near doubles it up and Patrick almost has it before he hits 30 and we're like, well who knows? That's what we're what it is. And the fact that it's my hometown team, and as you were gracious enough to mention, the fact that, you know, he's shouted out the show and me moments after winning the Super Bowl. I mean, it's almost as cool as the first time I was on your show. It's probably number two, career moment right there. That's it. Well, I'm honored to be right behind Patrick Mahomes. You know, I said this earlier. I think you would have loved this segment. I said,

we tend to love what we relate to. And Jimmy Garoppolo looked like a movie star he was traded for and coveted and got crushed the entire time. He was always to blame. Brock Purdy's Mr. Irrelevant, making nothing. We relate to him. If you go to their 27 starts and Purdy had an all-star cast around him, they're virtually identical. Purdy average 29 a game.

Garoppolo averaged 28.9 a game. That's pretty good. Pretty is more efficient simply because he has four to five Hall of Famers around him. Both Garapolo totally blamed for missing a deep throw, as our staff showed earlier. Purdy missed two easier, shorter throws in the end zone. As somebody who beat both, I view Garoppolo and Purdy, Brock's more athletic, Garoppolo's probably bigger, stronger. But it's interesting how Garoppolo was blamed for this loss on a 55-yard arid-out throw,

where his man beat the other by a yard and a half, Purdy got a pass on much shorter throws. The second, this is the first, he missed badly, badly on shorter throws. So your takeaway on the big gap, the perceived gap between the well-like Purdy and the bum Garoppolo. Well, listen, I do think Purdy is better than Garapolo.

I also think one, I don't think Garoppolo was, from people around him and from coaches you've talked to, I don't think necessarily pre-snap. He was the sharpest quarterback in the league. I don't know if he put in all the work that they necessarily expected. So I think Purdy is better than Jimmy G. Yeah.

But the way they are discussed, you would think the golf is enormous. And what is so odd to me is so many of the folks who love Purdy, when Jimmy G was winning games, they would say he had this magic winning pixie dust, and then he goes to the Raiders, that dust immediately goes away, and now they are fine with saying, no, he was not that good. I do think Brock Purdy played well, relatively well in the Super Bowl. He is not the reason they lost. I thought the Chiefs were going to have a massive edge in the turnover battle

because I thought Brock was going to make a couple egregious mistakes. He didn't. And for a million bucks a year, obviously he provides massive value. question is, is he ever going to elevate to where when you have, if you have to pay him and then you can't have the cast of Avengers around him, can he elevate? I have my doubts there, and I think the point you made last week is one of, it's one of those, sometimes people make a point, and I always jealous, I didn't think of it, because the moment they say it, I'm like, oh yeah, that's obvious, but I hadn't thought about it. Everyone assumes, oh, he's in year two,

He's going to have this massive incline of growth. When you're a four-year starter, as you put out in college, physically limited, are you more likely going to be closer to your finished product in year two than a raw athlete would be in year two? I think the answer to that's yes. So I think that, and Brock is way better than Mack Jones, but Mac Jones was a similar spot. Longtime college player, physically limited, accurate,

it's supposed to be smart, he never got a 1% better from his rookie year. Who he came in as is who he is now. I do wonder if Brock is just if he reached his ceiling quickly, and if we're not going to see as much growth as you would see from a more highly touted prospect. So we may disagree on this because you are mathier than me and you compartmentalize. You're a great poker player, so I think we'll disagree. But I have been in this business 30 years. and I don't know what a single button or lever does in the control room.

The orchestra conductor cannot play the clarinet. I don't know if my flood insurance works. I don't know how my accountant does with my taxes or my stockbroker with my mutual funds. I make it, give it to them, and I try to get somebody that's ethical. But we pay people in society to do things for us. Kyle Shanahan and Andy Reid knew the overtime rules. McColl Hardman didn't. Kyle Uscheck didn't.

Basically, the NFL doesn't come out and go, okay, guys, field goals are worth seven, touchdowns three. No using your hands. The league changes overtime every year, and Andy and Kyle know it. But not every player does, because guys catch it on offense, don't fumble, and tackle on defense.

And I'm okay with that. If the coach knows and the quarterback talking to the coach knows it. I don't need my 24-year-old McCall Hardman bouncing around the league guy to know everything. Are you bothered the fact that Niner players are like, yeah, we didn't know all the rules? So, all right, yeah, well, a couple things. I'm a little bothered, and I'm not sure that McCall didn't know the rules. McColl has said that is fake news, Colin. He said he claimed he blacked out. He says it's not that he didn't know the rules, but he blacked out. It was such a great moment. And Chris, I'm just telling you what the man says. says, Chris Jones, you know, said the chiefs had multiple meetings about it. They knew what the

strategy was going to be. They knew the rules. He actually explained the rules quite eloquently because the rules were, of course, changed because of the chief, a game the chiefs were in. So let me ask you this, because I'm now going to throw something at you that I don't know that you've considered. Because you're saying essentially, what does it matter if the Niners know the intricacies of the rules? They're just going to try to do their best no matter what. So Kyle Eusechek thought it was score a touchdown and win the game. It obviously was not. What if he had and he rips his helmet off and starts doing snow angels and the Niners pour out onto the field?

And all of a sudden, they're kicking off from the one because they got the most unsportsmanlike conducts in the history of the league because everyone thought they just won the Super Bowl. Or even if that doesn't happen, there is obviously emotional letdowns. in sports, if you're a Niners defender and you're watching them drive the field, do you have an element of, all right, we might not even have to go out there? All right. Oh, wait, they scored. We won. Oh, wait, hold on. Now it's the biggest drive of my life against Patrick Mahomes. So, yeah, I don't think it is a cardinal offense, but I do think the Chiefs were a little more buttoned up, a little more prepared. Yeah. And I think that you could see that in various spots of the game. Yeah. I do think the official did say what it was. Even the announcers were trying to put their arms around it.

I also think over the course of a sideline or a game, this happens a lot of time. You talk to a player, hey, if we win, I mean, veteran players, kids. So I do think over the course of a drive, you would discuss it among your players. But I said this earlier, the average play, these are 24-year-old young men. You want them to play hard and fast. I do not want too much up in that parking garage. I don't want them to know documentate. Like, go play hard, go play fast.

You tackle, you catch, don't fumble, get out of bounds. So I'm, I think, a little more lenient on it, but I think your point is well taken. Finally, finally. Yeah. Is there anything about Kansas City next year? Three Pete's never been done, which if you're a mean and grew up with the Steelers in the 70s, and they were so dominant for nine years, it's inconceivable. They didn't win three.

So there's a psychological factor. There's a hunter to hunted factor. There's injuries. Malholmes now has paid a fortune. Is there any little thing about the Niners that you're a little worried about going for a 3P? Oh. Well, about the Chiefs. Or about the Chiefs.

The Chiefs. Okay, got you. I was going to say the Niners could be still the best team in the NFC, but I do. Brandon Ayukes seems a little unhappy. I wonder if the Niners are going to have a bit of that super. Bowl hangover. But so here are, there is one first level concern and then there is a historical concern. So the first level concern is this. Is Chris Jones going to be back? Right. Chris Jones is universally accepted as a great player with this Super Bowl. I think he's

punched his Hall of Fame ticket because he's the best defender on a dynasty. Yep. And I still think he might be underrated, Colin. I agree. He was, Josh Allen had, I think, with Shakir in the end zone, right before the missed kick, he couldn't get it there because Chris Jones bumped, you know, bumped Dion Dawkins into him. Brock Purdy had two guys open in overtime. He couldn't get it to him because Chris Jones was flying at him. So if Chris Jones leaves, that is a massive void. Now, Ligerius Sneed also could leave, but the chiefs have McDuffie. They develop in draft corners so well that you feel like that is maybe a little more replaceable even though Sneed was extraordinary start to finish of the year.

That's the first, that's the level one. The historical one would be this. Why didn't other teams do it? So I went through it. So if we just go kind of modern era of football, Colin, so post-Stealers, because the Steelers, the reason they didn't do it the first time was because the Raiders beat them and the Raiders were juggernauts right alongside them. and in the next year they had a lot of injuries in their retirements.

Why didn't the Niners do it after 1989? Because they lost one of the greatest football games ever played on a field goal at the end to the Giants. You know what I mean? Like a team that was of their caliber beat them in a classic. The Broncos had Elway retire, so throw that one out. The Patriots in 05 just weren't that good all year long. And I left out the Cowboys. The Cowboys, why didn't they do it?

because the other team that was right there with them, the Niners finally got them. So the question is, is there a team right now right there on the Chief's heels that it will be their time and their turn? And everyone's answer is, yes, Nick, I know the answer to that question. It's the Buffalo Bills, which makes me so excited for the fourth straight year of everyone saying, this will be the year! This is the time they break through. This is the Niners in 94, this is the Giants in 90, and everyone can believe that. And the time that Josh Allen beats Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs will be the, you know,

I guess there's a first time for everything, but I don't, I, you know, all believe it when I see it. I said last year on this show, on your show, the Tuesday after the Super Bowl, I said that last year's Chief's team was going to be the worst team the Chiefs had until Kelsey retired. This year's team appeared to be worse and then was better in the playoffs. With Kelsey coming back, even though, sorry, Jay Mack, he wasn't one of the 10 best players in that game, sure looked like it to me. Even with Kelsey coming back, I think they're going to be overwhelming favorites for a good reason. By the way, I do think Chris Jones leaves don't have inside Intel. And James Cook and Dalton Kincaid are, to me, next level players.

So I did have a very early-heard hierarchy. I did a very early-hurts hierarchy. Kansas City is still very viable at the top. This guy, this guy, unbelievable. James Cook. I mean, of course. Dalton King King. James Cook, what are you going to do?

Oh, yeah, and I'm sure Stefan Diggs is going to be very happy of this offseason. I'm sure there's nothing to worry about there. You know what? I will say this, and then I know you got to go. The media is, and I get why some players get frustrated, I'm sure Stefan Diggs is like, man, I one time throw my hands up on the sideline to Josh Allen. It's a meme for 18 months. Travis Kelsey almost does an elder abuse to Andy Reid, and everyone's like,

ah, they love each other. Everything's fine. It's not always fair. I get it. They win the championship. I defended Kelsey yesterday on that as well. Maybe I just like Kansas City. There's so many players.

I even Mahomes, Andy Reed. I like him. Yeah, of course. Almost as much as the bills, but I like him a lot. I really, really do. Nick Wright, first things first, watch it after us. Fastest growing show on Sports Cable. Fun today.

It's a good life. It is. I mean, to be a fan of a team and the team becomes the best in the world with some of the best players ever is a pretty cool thing. Happy for them. 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.

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Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, we're starting with the Kyle Shanahan decision to get the ball in overtime. He said it was because he wanted to have the ball first. Should the game have been tied after the first two possessions? But according to Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones, the Niners would have never gotten the ball back. Both players said the Chiefs would have gone for two if they had scored after the Niners had scored. scored and they had scripted it and were ready to go.

My gut tells me that touchdown pass to Hardman was the two-point conversion play, because that is a beautiful two-point play. It's like unstoppable. Yeah. They had a couple of them. They had another one when Kelsey and fourth quarter went in motion, and then Patrick rolled to that side and chose to run. You know, again, this was noted by the announcers. A lot of the plays that were succeeding in this game, a lot of it would not have been designed with defensive headcount.

with defensive head coaches. Some of this stuff, this was one of the more clever. You had two great defensive rosters. A lot of this stuff was just really clever coaching. I mean, by the way, 10 out of the last 10 Super Bowl coaches are offensive coaches. Offensive coaches are dominating the last three years of the playoffs. What you were watching is elevated coaching. By the way, the most surprising team in the league this year, you could argue was the Rams

that went out and won a playoff game, offensive coach. So I think what you watched in the Super Bowl and it's why I, have been very reticent, very reluctant to blame anybody, with some brilliant coaching. It is tough. I mean, it's just these are really, and this is not a knock on Mahomes or Purdy, but some of these completions and some of these plays, they were just scheme brilliantly. There's only so much you can do. This is a sport of deception.

A couple things. First of all, it's funny, I looked at Andy Reid's coaching history, and he was awesome with the Eagles, as you noticed. Oh, yeah. He was essentially what Kyle Shanahan is now. That's right. a really good offensive mind who could not win the big game. 20 years to win a Super Bowl.

And good quarterbacks, but never a superstar. Well, McNabb. What was McNabb? Okay, he was a B. He was never like the NBA of the league. He struggled with accuracy. He was an athletic quarterback. I liked him. But, I mean, he came into a Super Bowl out of shape.

I mean, remember the Super Bowl story? I mean, he was... Was he the one puking in the huddle on the final drive of the Super Bowl? He was, like, nervous about... I don't remember if he was... was hitting somebody on that teeth. Donovan was fine. But Andy, we're talking about Brady, Manning, Mahalms, Big Ben, like all-time stuff. So even great Andy Reid and Shanahan, in this sport, which has never been more offensively driven and quarterback-centric, you can only do so much.

You can get real. McVeigh got to a Super Bowl with Goff, and then he got shut down. He goes with Stafford, he wins. He wins, right? I mean, remember, Stafford and Goff, they're both good, but Stafford doing no look throws the Cooper Cup on the way. winning drive. Is it safe to say that Shanahan thought he had his Mahomes in Tray Lance? And that's why he moved up to get him. He didn't think that. He thought, I have to get more athletic. And they got it with Purdy. But in the end, he wanted Brady and he wanted Stafford.

But why did he trade up and draft Trey Lance? Because they thought Tray Lance was more athletic than he was when he got there. And then he arrived and it's like, oh, he's not as athletic as we thought. And that's been verified. I just want to remind people. Chiefs in overtime against the Patriots. Do you remember that AFC title game? It was pretty, it was like a... Patriots were dominating the first half, and it was like 14-0-0.

And then the Chiefs storm back in overtime. Patriots win the coin toss, right down the field, touchdown. Mahomes does not get a chance. Do you remember that game? Well, Burrow and Brady are the only people that have beaten Mahomes. You can beat Mahomes,

but you need another Hall of Fame-level player to do it. And you can't let him have the ball last. And, by the way, Eli Manning beat Brady twice in Super Bowls. Eli's going to get into the Hall of Fame. And we'll talk about it later, but I do like the topic of how do you stop Mahomes? I have some ideas. I've been reading some stuff.

It's a good topic, good discussion. Next up here, we will go back to Mahomes, who kept off another pretty good season, right? Regular season was not great, but playoffs are all the matters, and he won another Super Bowl MVP. And next season, Patrick Mahomes is the early favorite to win the NFL MVP. I think this would be a horrible bet. Do not do it. Follow by, look at who's on that list. CJ Stroud plus 1100. Josh Allen's in the mix, Joe Burrow, Lamar Jackson.

Let me throw one up there. Can I guess who it's going to be? Yeah. Jordan Love. Yeah. Now watch Jordan Love, weaker conference. Their receiving tight end talent is an offensive coach. Jordan Love's going to put up, if his ascension continues,

Jordan Love's going to put up big numbers. I'm telling you right now, Kansas City is well-run. Outside of Rishi Rice, I'm not sure they have a receiver that makes the top four for Green Bay. Those tight ends, those receivers, they have like six guys I like. They can all play. Christian Watson was the highly touted one. He's the one that can't stay healthy that I can move off of, and he's talented. But Dobbs and all of them, they're all good.

Anyone missing on that list, Tua? Maybe he was in the mix. No question. Tua's got to be up there. I will go with my sleeper. Justin Herbert. Here's the thing. I would put Stafford above Herbert

because I think Stafford is really the centerpiece of that offense with McVeigh's creativity. Harbaugh is going to run the football and he's going to take the ball out of Herbert's hands a little because if you look at the number of passes attempted with Herbert, the whole team is, it's like Buffalo early with Josh Allen.

I think Harbaugh is going to try to scale back and give Herbert more support where I think McVeigh is more willing to pile more on Stafford because he's that team between Puka and Cooper Cup I mean I think I think you can just listen you got about two more years of Stafford pile it on remember though you got to have one of the best records in the league that's like mandatory I don't know that the Rams are that good I can see the Chargers making a leak a Chargers are fascinating this offseason

some of their high-end talent we'll see final story is Brock Purdy who you slander to open the the show. He had a good Super Bowl, error-free Super Bowl, I should add. Had Ayyuk there, the safety did come over late. This passed to Debo a little bit long. A little long. Stop, come on! What are you? A perfection from Purdy?

He demanded it from Garoppolo, but go ahead. Steve Young gave Purdy some advice following the loss. Brock told you last week after the championship game, not the biggest, not the strongest, I'm not the fastest. So he's going to do it in his own Brock Purdy. and his superpower is processing. And he processed very well yesterday. He's going to continue to, he's going to be whatever, what he is and who he is, is all on display.

And so I would tell Brock, though, in today's game, make sure that you can go get those 60, 80, 100 yards, and just maybe adjust your game so you make sure that you can go get those. For the record. Oh, here we go. Just in the NFC, take out Mahomes, Alan, Lamar, Borough. Just in the NFC. Name your five you think best

quarterbacks in the NFC. NFC. NFC. Five best. I'm just curious. Define best. There's just a draft and I get first pick and who am I take it? Just find the guys you think of the best. You know, I don't have to explain best. Like I would put... Stafford would be my... I just quickly

went through in my head the quarterback's of each division. I would go golf too. I would not go Goff 2. I think I would strongly consider Brock Purdy. Okay. He was top 5 in every category passing

imaginable this season. Stats. Who needs them? Who would you go? Do Jordan Love 3? I would go. I think it gets murky. I think Stafford is one.

And then I think you get into a, I would go Goff 2 because he's gotten to two NFC championships. Goff over deck? Yes. off over Kyler Murray? No, then I think I would go. Kyler, Jalen Hertz, really, really close.

I like both. I forgot about Jalen Hurts. Jordan Love, not quite as much success, probably five-ish. And then that's my top five. So Purdy not top five in the NSA. And I have, yeah, I don't think, I have no issue with that. Derek Carr? Not top five, no.

I'm talking Stafford one. I would go Hertz too. Let me readjust. Okay, by the way, I'd have Hertz three or four. I tend to like Kyler Murray more than you. Wait, I'm sorry. You would have golf ahead of Hertz? Oh, stop.

Just in terms of from the pocket, he's pretty good. I think, again, it's inches not feet. Stafford's the best. In the NFC, yes. Yeah, he's the best talent. Gough over Hertz. I'm saying Gough's been, golf's really good. He is good.

Right? Hertz did not have a good. By the way, but Gop back out here in the South Bay now? I'm sure we'll run into him. Nobody knows what South Watering Hole is. It's an area in Los Angeles. Nobody knows what it means. Why don't we go out for a burger tonight? Your treat.

I have a dinner tonight. A very, very powerful person. By the way, Jalen Hertz, and I love Jaylon, has had one season with a passer rating over 90. I think he's had like three seasons, right? I don't care. Look at Goff. Goff's been around the league like nine years or whatever.

Goff's now one big with two coaches. Hertz has not won big with more than one coordinator. I take golf and I like Hertz and I also think Kyler Murray is in a very short list of now the most

underrated player in the entire sport who? Kyler Murray I think he's insane Colin are we having an earthquake right now because I feel the goalposts moving

all over the freaking place come on are you serious I like him I'm just telling you I like him I'm a Kyler Murray guy I think he's great

J Mack with the news well that's the news and thanks for stopping by the Hurd Lodge has only had one year of a passer rating over 90, golf's only had two years under 90s.

And one of those, I think, first year with Detroit, which was in a complete and utter... First year as a starter, that mess with Jeff Fisher and Wanky, it was a mess. And then the first year of Detroit, was he maybe? What was the second one? Fourth year, I mean, just, the guy's good.

That's good. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA

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hearing, and chasing. Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein. 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert 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, 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. 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. The biggest day in racing just got bigger as Grand Marshal Dwayne the Rock Johnson will kick off the Daytona 500. The Great American Race returns Sunday at 2.30 Eastern only on Fox. We were talking during the break about like how do you stop greatness? And J-Mack asked me the question. He said, how do you stop Mahalms?

Nobody talks about it. You can furnish your roster with whatever you want. Like there was no stopping Tiger Woods for a decade. He was just better than people. You could change clubs. It didn't matter. He changed clubs. Michael Jordan, you just had to wait until he got old.

LeBron in the East. Save it in the SEC. Kind of wait for age or injury. You asked the question, how do you stop Mahomes? And my takeaway, as San Francisco twice as outplayed him for three quarters, had arguably the better roster, had also an elite coach, you just have to wait for Mahomes to get hurt or age, is my opinion. So one thing that jumps out is both.

the San Francisco Super Bowls that that pass rush got to Mahomes in the first half was problematic. The problem is you can't just say Bosa, go run chase after Patrick Mahomes for four quarters, for 70 play. Like that's impossible. So they wear down in the fourth quarter. So what Lou Amaruno did in that comeback in Kansas City, and I was reading about it, he kept tweaking the looks that he was giving Mahomes. Hey, we're not going to go the same look the entire game.

He's going to figure it out. He's too smart. So sometimes you've got to go single high safety. then you play the cover two, then you go zero blitz. You've got to give him different looks. And if you notice, Colin, in that 49ers game, like late in the game, over the middle, Rice, over the middle Kelsey. Like Mahomes figured out the Rubik's Cube. It just took him a little while.

So bottom line is you've got to be diverse in the looks you give him. And people, hey, it's working. Mahomes, first nine possessions, six points. They're not doing anything. Well, they kept the tendency and didn't change it. And that's, I would blame Wilkes a little bit for staying on tendency. because ultimately Mahomes figured it out. And also they had Joe Burrough.

So Manning beats Brady, Burrow beats Mahom. You can do everything right. In my opinion, Brock Purdy's not good enough. Garoppolo's not good enough. You can beat Mahomes and you can beat Brady. But even when everything went right for the Giants, great roster, great coach, great players, Hall of Fame quarterback,

it still came down to one Mario Manningham catch and one David Tyree lucky catch. So to beat the legends is really, really hard. The Chiefs only scored 25. They didn't light up the 49ers defense. No. So, I mean, but what's discouraging is they only had one number one receiver who's probably a great two Rishi Rice.

So this was a very vulnerable Kansas City offense. It was last year a very vulnerable defense because it had all the rookies. What's discouraging is San Francisco is about as close as you can get to beating them, and they're getting old. Well, listen, there's a reason in a. are favored to win the Super Bowl next year. A lot of questions about this Chief's defense. Chris Jones and Sneed are demanding big, big bucks as well, they should.

Sneed would be very hard for me to move off. Because I have multiple rings with Chris Jones and he's up there in age, and they also have other players around him, again, it would be a hard move for me. You're going to keep one and move off the other. Now, because McDuffie is so great, there's an argument to let Sneed go who didn't have a great Super Bowl because there's very few great interior delinemen.

Chris Jones is one of them. There's a bunch of really good corners. And McDuffie, you and I would acknowledge this. That guy is... He might be the best blitzing defensive back in the lead. So there's an argument. If we lose Sneed, we've got a bunch of guys in the back we like. We'll pay less need Rams says this.

I'm always going to pay for somebody great in the front five. The question is, do you pay linebackers, corner safeties? It's a real question. I looked at the Niners' free eight. It's not a brutal list. It's Joanne Jennings, Kinlaw, who's not been great. Chase Young, not been great. They're going to move off theirs.

Right. So the quarterback's making nothing. They are only a few moves. Remember, they get the safety back, Hufunga, who is awesome last year. I think you've got to pick the Niners to win the Super Bowl next year. I know people don't want to hear that. No, you have to pick the Niners to get to the Super Bowl. Well, the NFC is also tremendously weaker than the AFC.

No, no. Detroit's young and getting better. The Rams. without a top four team in the ASE. Green Bay, young and getting better. When are you going to rank the teams for the all season? Is that today or tomorrow? I'll sleep on it.

We got to, come on. AFC's so stacked. Live in L.A. Hour 3 coming up to herd. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and headwriter,

Peter 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 I-Heart 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 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment

for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a impact 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.