The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Herd Hierarchy, Kyle Shanahan, Patriots

Episode Date: September 20, 2022

Colin's new Herd Hierarchy Niners HC Kyle Shanahan wants a QB that fits his system The Patriots continue to struggle with their offense   Guest: Jonathan VilmaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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However you may be listening. We're on iHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Heard hierarchy in a couple of minutes. Jay Mack is joining us today. Buffalo looks really, really good. Tennessee, you know, it's nothing last. I was telling my wife this last night. Like nothing lasts forever.

So, like, when you get a Steph Curry or you get a Josh Allen, you just got to go all in. Like Tampa was bad forever. They get Brady. Just get over the cap. Don't worry about the future. Go all in and win now because there's no guarantees in life. And, like, we got into this discussion about Nebraska football. Everybody's like, well, it's the coach.

It's possible that Nebraska football was great because of one great coach. And that's it. Oregon State basketball was great for about 20 years with the guy named Ralph Miller. and it's never been great since. You know, I mean, like, so in sports, you're asking fans to spend so much money now to go to games and participate once you have, like Philadelphia with Jalen Hertz, how long is that style going to last? I don't know, but I am going all in on that style right now.

You get that rookie quarterback, you get that expensive wide receiver free agent. You know, you add Tyreek Hill to Tua. Jalen Hertz gets A.J. Brown. Stefan Diggs goes to Josh Allen and all these quarterbacks are like, oh, I've got an awesome receiver to work with. Next thing you know, the team's popping. Yep, so let's do it.

The herd hierarchy, the top 10 teams in the National Football League on a Tuesday every week at this time. Here we go. Heard hierarchy. Time is now, let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Number 10. By the way, there's not much to like about the Rams.

Their defense, their third down defense, is lousy. They're not running the ball effectively. They've given up the ball six times, tied for the most in the NFL, and they're averaging 58 yards rushing. That's 31st. Why do I like them?

Because I trust McVeigh, Aaron, Donald, that defensive front, and Stafford. But right now, Stafford didn't play in the games. He didn't practice much in the preseason, and they are choppy up front, and they're a mess. They're doing things that lose football games. But again, I know my coach is an A, My quarterback's an A, and the defensive front is a real thing, so I think they'll get it figured out.

I feel the same way about Cincinnati, but I think the Rams are better than Cincinnati. Number nine. The Ravens. Listen, they had a bad fourth quarter. That's the biggest blown lead tied for it in franchise history. This is a really good team. They're the only team averaging seven yards of play. That's the best.

Not even Kansas City averages that. They're fine. They've only given up one turnover all year. That's tied for the fewest in the league. They do a lot right. They had a terrible quarter because they got a bunch of rookies in the back end. Baltimore is an excellent organization. I probably have them too low.

I'll put them at nine. Number eight. Listen, I like Minnesota, and I picked the Eagles last night to win. This was a tough spot off a Green Bay divisional rival game and a great performance. Kirk Cousins now is 2 and 10 on Monday night football. Their defense, though, it gets carved up a little bit on the ground. They're giving up six and a half yards of play. not good enough. But they do have a lot of sacks. So last year, one of the issues was they gave up

big chunks of yardage and had no pressure. So they are getting to the quarterback. They are creating situations of distress for the other quarterback. So I still like them, Vikings 8. Number 7. I don't buy too much into the dolphins, but I will say this. They're number two in total offense. They're a lot like Philadelphia over in the other conferences. They're productive. They're moving the ball. Tyree Khill, right? now and Jalen Waddle are the two leading receivers in the league. And they've got an excellent young coach. They really are a lot like Philadelphia.

The difference is I think Jalen Hertz is more dynamic than Tua is. Tua may be a better thrower. But we've got to be honest about it. In their last nine starts with Tua, they're eight and one. I got to be honest. They win games with Tua. It's not pretty, but they all come in shapes and sizes now at quarterback. They're all different.

Some don't have a big arm. some run more. And right now they're winning games, and I think they have a brilliant young coach. Number six. Listen, the Niners roster to me is second only to Buffalo in the NFL. Jimmy G. came in Sunday, cold, 100-passer rating. Jimmy G. is 35 and 16 as a starter, and the division's weaker. The Niners' offense right now is more rushing yards than passing yards because of how they

initially started the season. But in the end, they're doing this without George Kettle and Elijah Mitchell. This is a great roster. They have drafted and developed the offensive side very well. Don't love the right side of their offensive line. But to me this morning, this feels like a team that could play for the NFC championship. I would be the least shocked guy in the world. Number five.

Let's not beat up on the Chargers for losing to Kansas City. They lost two starting offensive linemen, including a Pro Bowl center, and Keenan Allen hasn't played much this year. He is really valuable to their offense on third down. Herbert has been unbelievable this year. his quarterback ratings is 112 and Khalil Mack and Joey Bosa may be the best pass rush

in the league right now, not named Buffalo. So I don't take much from that loss. They went toe to toe at Arrowhead. The difference is they were missing a Pro Bowl center and their most valuable wide receiver and Herbert was playing with crashed up ribs. That was one of the great losses

of the year for the Chargers. Number four. Listen, Philadelphia knows what they are. One giveaway all season. Easily the number rushing team, wildly productive quarterback, who now is a superstar receiver. Folks, they're averaging like 165 yards rushing a game. Nobody's even close to that. So I think they're a handful.

I think they're hard to prepare for. Listen, they were productive last year. They were productive in week one. I don't think this is, I don't think we're overreacting. By the way, it's not going to end. They play the commanders in the Jaguars next. So as Jason said, their schedule is made for a young team to develop and get confidence. I think Philly's good.

I put him at four. Number three. And I put Tampa at three because of Tom Brady. Is that I just think Brady because of the 11 days off in camp and not playing in the preseason and all the offensive line issues, they are rusty. But to be honest with you, if you look at how many players have been out of games, the fact they're 2 and 0, including a win on the road against the Saints, this is a really good defensive front.

They can run the ball, they can throw it. They are just falling apart physically on offense. But let's not kid yourself. You'll line up all these teams. in the NFC. Would you trust Garoppolo over Brady or Jalen Hertz over Brady or Stafford today over Brady or Aaron Rogers with no receivers over Brady? I wouldn't. That to me is the best NFC team Tampa. Number two. Kansas City. Nothing wrong with the offense. Every stat is great. The O line's good. The tight ends a star. The quarterback doesn't make mistake. I got nothing.

No problems with Kansas City. But I don't think their defense is good enough to bail them out if Mahomes goes on one of those four or five-game mechanical slides where he's not quite right. So the Chiefs at number two. Number one. And I think Buffalo's defense with an offense that may not be quite as slick as Kansas City overall coaching pass rush defense. This defense is good enough to bail out the offense if Josh Allen struggles. I don't think Kansas City's defense is, and that's the difference. They are the ultimate Mike Tyson.

They may not always have a great jab. but they'll knock you out if you're not prepared. They're a blast to watch. They run in the football. They can. Their corners. You know, here's the other thing. They've had some injuries to overcome.

I just don't see a weakness. They're not always, always the most efficient, but their knockout punch is equal to Kansas City with a much better defensive front. And that's why they're number one. And with that, Jonathan Velma, Fox Sports played in the NFL for a decade, joining us live. All right, so everybody this morning saying settle down on Philadelphia, settle down. And my takeaway is, okay, time out.

I look around the NFC. I don't see a great team. But in Philadelphia, I see a team that is great at something. Is that they have defined, listen, we're hard to prepare for. You don't have a Jalen Hertz on your roster to prepare for us. We're going to run the ball. If you have a superior quarterback, we're going to play keepaway. Now we've added a dimension.

with a star receiver. I look at that offense. All I know is this, the last two years, Jonathan, it's productive. I see 30 points, 28 points, 350 yards, 400 yards. I don't think they're a fluke. I think this Philadelphia team's a handful. Your thoughts? I 100% agree with you. When you look at the offense, I really start looking at the offensive line by all pro Jason Kelsey. That's where it starts. when you talk about being able to rush for five yards of carry, six yards of carry, 165 yards a game, it starts up front. I remember watching them last year called a couple of their games, and everyone was clamoring about why wouldn't they run the ball more?

And it was true because every time they ran the football, they were getting five yards, six yards of pop. Miles Sanders was back there, and of course with the zone read and RPO's with Jalen Hertz. All of a sudden they figured out, hmm, maybe we should run the ball a little bit more. And oh, maybe that will open up the passing game. game. And when they did that last year, it was effective against all the teams, except the playoff teams. So they said, all right, let's take a step back. What are we missing? We're missing that big play wide receiver. In comes AJ Brown. Now you have AJ Brown. Devante Smith. You

already could run the ball at will whenever you wanted to. Jalen Hertz is getting much more comfortable in the pocket sitting there. I mean, the world's their oyster. They can do whatever they want offensively and they're legit. Listen, we talk offense a lot on show. shows like this, right? It's quarterbacks and offense. But when you see a front seven like Buffaloes and you're a former linebacker, you know, put your expertise hat on. They got some great players like Vaughn Miller, but a lot of it is assignment football. A lot of it is aggressiveness. What do you see with that Buffalo front? So what I see is a defensive coordinator in Leslie Frazier, who's done a phenomenal job of identity.

identifying not just the best players, the best players that fit his system. And his system is simple, violent, fast, and physical. And so he said, okay, I'm not going to go and look for who the best players and spend a whole bunch of money everywhere. I'm going to go and get a Von Miller. Why do I need a Von Miller? Because I know that if I have him, I'm going to get one-on-ones on the other side with Greg Russo.

And now if I have one-on-ones on the other side, I'm going to be able to get productivity from a Greg Russo who's fast, long, and rangery, right? This is the element that Von Miller brings. So Von Miller is not just great. He's great for the system. Same thing with the linebackers. The linebackers, they're great and they're violent, but they also can cover. I need guys that can cover and communicate.

So Leslie Fraser has done a phenomenal job of building that defense, and it took a few years now to build the defense the way that he sees fit and the way that they can be most productive. because when you look at the offensive side, you say, man, they're doing such great things. Ken Dorsey, offensive coordinator, just a phenomenal job. But then you still have to look back and say, whoa, the reason why you put them number one, right? Whoa, that defense, they are for real. And they have built a really, really good team.

So listen, I didn't think Nick Sariani watching his first press conference. I thought, woo, he is nervous and he's proven me wrong. I watched Dan Campbell's first press conference, and he's talking about biting kneecap. and I'm like, oh, brother. But I got to tell you something. Jared Goff at home, you had their game this week, has been excellent. Jared Goff has been excellent. I look at their offensive weapons.

They play hard. I mean, they play Philadelphia, had him dead, and they just kept coming back. I know it's crazy. But I look at that division right now. Detroit's got something offensively. I don't know, Jonathan. I think they have a chance to be a wild card playoff team. watch that offense.

There's something there. You saw them this week. What your thoughts? You know, Colin, the only issue I have with you right now is that you're not saying it with conviction. You got to say it with conviction. Listen, this team, they can produce offensively, defensively they're good enough. Aidan Hutchinson is a phenomenal rookie.

Yes, they will be a contender for a playoff spot. Will they win the division? I don't know yet to be determined. But I do know that their offense is good enough. Ben Johnson, the offensive coordinator. He does a great job of calling the game. And you know it's also the thing that people don't understand. Those three interior alignment, center guard, guard.

Those are backups. Those aren't even their starters. Once their starters come back, if they do come back, you're talking about one of the best offensive lines in the NFL behind or excuse me in front of a D'Andre Swift, who I think is one of the most phenomenal young premier running backs in the game. So my only issue, Colin, is that you got to say with more conviction, man. These guys are good. We don't have to write them off anytime anymore. Dan Campbell has them

believing. It's a culture of toughness, physicality, and you see the way they run the football. Jared Goff is doing a great job, him and Ben Johnson, of having a great relationship of getting the ball to Amonrae St. Brown and now really exposing those defenses. They couldn't do it last year. They're doing it now, and they have a shot at making the playoffs. You know, I've said this to defend Kyle Shanahan, is when you play in the NFL, especially like linebacker, defensive line, offensive line in the trenches, you're actually giving up years of your life. There's not a lot of 97-year-old former NFL players. And so when you're asking men to do that, it's almost like these jobs where my stepdad was a utility form and during lightning storms, he'd go up on power lines. Those jobs you can only do for

so long. So you've got to give people rewards for those. And I watched all those Niner players when Jimmy G came in and got the first touchdown, they want to win games. They don't care about prospects and draft picks and growth. They don't care. You're asking these guys to get into a four-hour wrestling match. And it's like I can feel terrible for the young kid. But I'm watching that team react to Jimmy G. And that reaction is, we're a better team this morning.

And I think, should I feel guilty for saying that? You've been in these situations. Sunday in football, it's just about driving to a stadium and winning above everything else, including feelings. Your thoughts on what's going on with the Niners? Wow. It's such a precarious predicament for the players and for the coaching administration and staff because for an office, you have to answer to the owner, right?

John Lynch has to answer to the owner as to why they pick Trey Lans. And so you now have to sacrifice, unfortunately, to your point, you have to sacrifice the team because you have to justify this or else your job is on the line. And then as a player, you're saying, all right, I'm going to rally around him. Sure, I'll do that, but it's not the same. And as you just said, the body language is what comes out, and everybody notices who should have been the start, which is Jimmy G. Now, look, it's easy for us to say that in hindsight.

He has one good game as he performs. let's see how the season goes, right? Because I'm also very aware that I'm not there day in, day out, with both quarterbacks. I'm not there watching their progressions or how they practice and if they're making the right reads. So there had to be something, hopefully, that there was there that John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan, could justify to the players as well as to the front office and the ownership to say, this is why we're starting trade lands and we're going to make it very public and very well known. Now, Jimmy G, if I'm him, yeah, everyone's rallying around me, but I hope that this was a humbling experience to say, all right, what do I need to fix?

What are my issues? Why are they attacking me so to make me a backup, try and trade me away, couldn't trade me away, couldn't find value for me. What am I missing? What can I do better? Hopefully he did learn what he can do better, and that's going to carry on through the season. Okay, you have the Raiders and the Titans this week, which is actually a fascinating desperation game. Now, I had the Raiders for fourth place, but their offense hasn't looked right. The Titans, I almost understand.

They lose A.J. Brown. They've had some injuries. Like, we all kind of felt in this room the Titans would peel back a little bit. But the Raiders' offense, we thought, would be amazing. It hasn't been. What are you seeing? Is it just protection issues? No.

On the contrary, I'm looking at an offense. I just was watching their film right now where there are a lot of predetermined throws. There are a lot of anticipations of matchups as opposed to letting the offense just play itself out. When there's a time that they want to throw to Hunter Renfro, then they're going to go and configure the route, et cetera, the matchup,

and then they're going to force the ball that way. That's where it's supposed to go. Same thing with Devante Adams. If he's supposed to get the ball in his play, that's where they're going to try to force the football. I don't think an offense is smooth or productive that way. It just has to flow. It has to be natural and you have to be able to get into a rhythm.

Now, that being said, the run game and Josh Jacobs, I'm baffled why they're not doing that more. Josh Jacobs is a stud. He is an absolute stud. I've seen him make two guys, three guys miss on one play, get eight or nine yards. So if you just think back to what makes, forget just the Raiders, basically any team really good, especially down the stretch. You have a good running game and then you let the offense, the play action, deep balls, You let it come to you as you see the defense, as you see the secondary. So going back to basics, start with the running game, and then don't force the ball anywhere.

Let it come to you, and they'll be fine. Jonathan Vilba Fox Sports Titans Raiders this week. Good seeing you, Jonathan. You too, Colin. Always good. Yeah. College football weekend. You're starting to see now some conference games are going to be very interesting this weekend.

So it's a very, we're starting to get closer to October. Do you understand how great it's going to be in October? you're going to have the Mets in the playoffs, the Dodgers in the playoffs, probably the Braves in the playoffs, the Yankees in the playoffs, then you're going to have the World Cup, then you're going to have, I mean, college football heats up, then the NFL. It's going to be October and early November through Thanksgiving. It's going to be the greatest six to eight week stretch to me in the history of Fox Sports. But in this country, if you love sports, we've got the youngest World Cup team, but are most talented. We've got the biggest brands in baseball, mostly making the playoffs. You have, like in college football now, Miami's Oakland, Texas, USC's back along with the SEC. Feels like it's all building. It's going to be a monster in November.

Colin, can I ask a quick question about the herd hierarchy? Yeah. Who was 11? Green Bay. Did you consider the Jags or Jets for 12? Nope. Because you know the Packers have the fourth best Super Bowl odds in the NFL. And according to football outsiders, advanced stats,

Jacksonville is the number two team through two weeks, which it's two weeks. Time out. So here's why I haven't put Green Bay. I've been consistent with Green Bay. Yes. So what Green Bay does is they lose to the good teams. They'll lose to Tampa this weekend. They lost to Minnesota.

And then they go on primetime, crush the bears. And everybody's like, they're amazing. This is what they do. Green Bay has been doing this now for years. Playoff, Aaron Rogers, losing record last five years. Games against Tampa can't beat Brady O and two. Games against the Niners losing record. Games against Minnesota last nine, five and four.

But then they go home and networks love to put Packer games on TV like Packers Bears because it has historic relevance. They crush Chicago and everybody buys in. They literally have two young rookie wide receivers they won't throw to, screens and jet sweeps. I think they're going to go to Tampa. I think it's a bad matchup. So I said to you, there's five games on the Packers schedule I care about. They've played one of them, Minnesota. they lost. Tampa is the second one. They also play Buffalo, Minnesota again, and there's

another good team in there. That's all I care about. I don't want to see them play their division outside of Minnesota. I know what they do to Detroit and Chicago. They're 11 and one in their last 12. I'd say this is your best herd hierarchy since I've joined the show. The most accurate, the only thing is the dolphins probably have two of the best wins of anybody on that list. Right. I think they should be higher than the 49ers. I have said this before. There are certain players I like more than the public. I like Garapolo and I have for years more than the public. I don't think you can win 70% of your games. You could say it's Kyle Shanahan. Kyle Shanahan wins 30% of his games without Garoppolo. So we never give Garapolo credit. He is actually for

this system. He's the Chris Paul. He's a great distributor. He's not athletic enough to run out of completions. He doesn't get you in trouble with a deep ball because he has a huge arm. This offense is built to get it to Kittle early, Debo early, Iyuk early, Elijah Mitchell early in the offensive play. Get it to him early and get out of the way. He's not one of these guys that thinks I can run around it. It's not what he does.

Or a guy that's going to wait in the pocket. He gets the snap, finds the guy, gets it to him. He is built. He led Mahomes in the fourth quarter of a Super Bowl. Like I know he hits one more throw. He beats Mahomes. He is built. I'm not saying he's a great quarterback.

He is built. There's a reason, by the way, that Shanahan, many reports, I didn't know this to be true, that he wanted Mac Jones, who's not nearly as athletic as Trey. Why? Because he's a distributor and he won't run out of design plays. Kyle Shanahan would go crazy with Kyler Murray. It would go crazy. They don't work together because Kyler would run out of things, run out of design plays. Kyle Shanahan wants you to be loyal to his play design. And, loyal to his call and being a little less gifted actually plays to that. You always think everybody wants, you know, you just want this and you want the best and you want that. Coaches have sensibilities, coaches have strengths. There are certain players. Brady was perfect for Belichick. Perfect with Dante Scarnackia.

He played within a system. He would take a salary cap reduction. He was a sacrificer for Bill's defense. He would have driven Bill. They lasted 20 years. That's because Tom basically relented over and from his salary to a style of play. We see Tom's personality in Tampa. He's a totally different guy.

But he was Monday he'd go on Boston radio. He'd give you the message. Playing hard. I'm disappointed. Brady and Belichick, the fact they lasted 20 years is unbelievable. Duncan and Popovich. Duncan would spread the news. Not only was he great.

I think Popovich and Kobe could have had their issues. But Duncan, at the end of his career, would take a salary cap reduction, would spread the gospel, a hard worker, no ego, listen to the coach. It's not always the most talented guy. Garapolo fits what Kyle wants, which is, here's the play. I designed it. Don't get clever and don't get cute. Get it to my playmakers. I think it works. And I've been saying this for three years. I know he's not a top 10 quarterback, but for the system, which I think is the smartest system in the league, you're seeing it in Miami now. You're seeing the same system in Miami. Look how good Tua looks. By the way, doesn't Tua have limitations?

How do we know McDaniel doesn't like that Tua doesn't run around? McDaniels is like he's perfect. I design the play. He can just. Tua and Garoppolo may be a lot closer than you think. Not huge arms, not mobile. They deliver the ball early. in the progression to really gifted playmakers.

That's just what McDaniel and Kyle like. Now, why don't you running around out of the play? One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman. Human 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'll say. 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,

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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 taun 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 blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam 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 you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed. 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. The biggest sporting event on the planet returns to Fox Sports. And for the first time ever, it's taking over. for the holiday season. The FIFA World Cup, live from Qatar, starting November 20th on Fox and FS1. You know, I was thinking about Jalen Hertz.

If you look at Jalen Hertz of the Eagles' career numbers, they're not impressive. Right? He's like his passer ratings mid-80s. He's completion percentage is 60%, which is like the line you have to hit. That's the minimum you can complete, 60-61. There's no great quarterbacks in league history completing in this modern era, 58%. and his touchdown to interception ratio is not very impressive, 23 to 14. So his career numbers are not impressive, but two things to consider.

He's got 16 touchdowns running, 1,200 yards, and how much he's improving. And this is a real thing. If you go look at his first year or his second year, look at these numbers. His completion percentage, this is amazing. 52. That's sort of where the Justin Fields-Lant situation to 61 this year. almost 70. Wow. Passer rating. Passing yards per game. Seventy 209 now 300. Passer rating. This is really impressive. 77's a backup. Eighty-seven is a low-end starter. Ninety-seven, you're on the cusp of getting

a couple of Pro Bowl votes. You remember they drafted him when they had Carson Wentz and they were like, oh, why don't they drafted Jalen Hurts? They don't need this guy. I said that. I said that. I'm like, second round. What are you doing? Listen, he went to Alabama because he didn't win a national title. He got there twice. They did, but he got benched for Tua, right? So, well, okay. And he's like, no, I'm good. I was a great high school. He goes to Oklahoma and he has like 30 touchdown, six, seven picks with Lincoln Riley is, but the key is, is a lot of these young guys, if you go look at Jaylon's first year, it's got a Jordan Love feel to it. Then he makes a huge leap. That's my knock with Jordan Love. I'm not seeing the leap. Like Justin Fields, that's going to be the issue.

It's okay if they stink in year one. Jaylen Hurts wasn't good. then he makes this big leap. Now he's made an even bigger leap to the third year. So we all know that quarterbacks, I mean, Patrick Mahomes said it wasn't until the beginning of year three where he could read a defense. Like Russell Wilson said, year three, like I was playing in the dark and the light went on. But the difference is a lot of these young quarterbacks, it starts bad and you've got a little improvement. And that's the ceiling. This kid has taken two huge steps.

And I look at those numbers now and I'm like, they feel. finally got him a star receiver. Same coach, back-to-back years. I know you can't quantify it, Colin, but when you say this kid's a winner, like that's what he is. One's at one in high school.

Goes to Alabama. Wins a lot of games. Goes to Oklahoma. Wins. Goes to Philly. Well, he's not that good. He's winning games, got them to the playoffs last year.

Now he's like an MVP candidate. Like, I know you can't put a number on it, but this guy just, he wins. That's what he does. Yeah, and it's another, it's Josh Allen. Pretty chopy in year one, but you're seeing this remarkable.

talent. And then Josh Allen, end of year two and Jaylen into year two, you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa. Then Josh takes another step. Jalen's taken, go look at those year one, two, three numbers. That second to third step, I didn't think was possible. I thought last year is kind of what he was. You know what I think? I think Russell Wilson is the perfect comparison for him. Good college football player at two programs, comes in undersized. People don't really believe in him. Mid-round pick. And then all of a sudden is, well, this guy's kind of good. I mean, Russell Wilson hit immediately because I think he was a little older. He's like 23, 24.

Hertz, looking good, man. His second year numbers, I thought that's kind of what he was, which is 61% completion percentage, high 80 passer rating. This jump is like, now it's two games, and their schedule is pretty soft. But you watched last night. Somebody said that the announcer said it last night. The Eagles play-by-play guy, Merrill Reese, has been doing it for 100 years. It's like, that's the best half of football we've had in Philadelphia.

from a quarterback in like decades. They may not lose a game in that division this year. I know the Giants are 2-0, but it's a little Fugazi in those numbers. Washington ain't good. A little Fugazi. Dallas is not good. Like, is a 12-win team maybe? I don't want to go overboard.

I know, but it's the offense is, man, this kid has made huge. Back-to-back-year leaps. The defense? Pretty damn good. We're going to talk about it now to start her online. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no. Turn on the news.

This. is the herd line news. So the Philly defense kind of confounded Kirk Cousins. Listen, again, it's one performance except he's now the worst. He has the worst record of any quarterback in the history of Monday night football. Wow. Two and ten. Kirk Cousins, the bright lights come on and he turns into a bit of a joke.

Listen, Colin, you don't want to hammer the guy off one bad performance. We both like the Vikings this year. He was atrocious. He threw three red zone interceptions. At one point, Aikman says, you can't just throw the ball up in the end zone. And on the next play, he doesn't. And it's picked off and you're like, what are we doing here, Kirk? Now, listen, I told you, I love them to win their division.

I loved Philadelphia last night. Sometimes you just coming off that Packer game, going to Philly, opening at home, you could sense this was going to be a rough one. Well, I'll just say the media spotlight is going to be big on him this week because they played Detroit. And they're a favor by six points, right? Six or seven. Detroit is scoring a lot of points. The Minnesota defense last night was shredded in the first half.

just torched. Kirk Cousers better not lose this game this week. You don't want to fall to one and two, especially with you and I backing them heavily. All right, next up, Trey Lance underwent successful surgery on Monday following his ankle injury. He posted on social media.

He's ready to start his recovery and come back better than ever. Kyle Shanahan is still expecting to have Lance with the team as he goes through the rehab process. As soon as he can get back in here and start rehabbing, we're going to want him a part of everything. Every meeting he can be at, every practice he can be at. I know he's not going to be able to do all of that because of how much he's got to rehab,

but especially in those meetings and stuff, we don't plan on tray being away from us at all. Whenever he's not taken care of his ankle, plan on being with us. You know, they always say you can't learn anything not playing, but let me ask you, before you take the test, is there any value in just studying the test before you see the test? The idea that you're going to be in a film room for a year with Kyle Shanahan and Garoppolo, and he can't glean anything from that? Like his career's not over. He didn't break a spine or a back.

It's an ankle. And by the way, all these young athletes who get hurt, they all recover in about 50% of the time. I mean, would you be surprised by, I mean, I don't know broken ankles, but late November if somebody said, yeah, it was throwing on the sideline. I mean, it's like this is the way it works with all these guys. They get healthy bodies. My takeaway, though, is the idea that you can't get better

sitting with a master in Shanahan and that quarterback room for the next six months, I think you can. I think the counter to that is he will have played, I think, five games in two years. He missed all of 2020. So we're talking about four football games in three years. And remember, Dak had a similar injury, not totally the same, but he didn't run at all in the first, like, three months of last season coming off the injury. Trey Lances are running quarterback. Well, I think that's, okay, let me say this.

I think that's overvalued. So when you watch Hertz or Kyler Murray, they are really twice. witchy and gifted. Trey's a power runner. It's much more Cam Newton in that he's not a guy that like he's a thrower of the football. He's got a power arm. He's got a really good arm. So this whole thing he's a running quarterback.

No. He's like Cam. You can use him running. But Cam wasn't out in the side making guys miss like Kyler and Russell Wilson or or Jalen Hertz. He's a power thrower and a power runner. The issue is he hasn't played a lot and now he's going to play less. That's a real concern.

The accuracy issues in the preseason, they hiccup of the giddy up on his throat. But I don't look at him and go, that's a running quarterback. At this point in his career, Kyle was calling those plays because that was the most effective way to get first downs. But he's a pocket guy that can move. I think there's a big difference between Kyler Murray, literally, if he doesn't run, is not the same player at all. Right. So we're six months out, right? So let's just say, offseason comes, Jimmy G signs with whatever team you want.

you're going into next season with Trey Lances, QB1. Yeah, well, no, I think you're going with Garoppolo and Tray Lance again. I think you're doing it again. Goroplo ain't staying in San Francisco. Well, all right. That's what you said two months ago. That's, yes, that's what I thought too. Let me ask you this.

If they get to the Super Bowl, in the NFC, totally possible. You're not bringing Garopolo back? I would make Garapolo my quarterback and say thank you for your service. Well, that's what you would do. But I think he gave up too much to just bail on him. I think the kid's going to get another chance and we'll see how it plays out. But I don't see him as a running quarterback. I don't. I think Kyler is a great thrower who has to run to really add the next layer to his game.

They don't win that game without him moving against the Raiders. All right. Finally, the NBA and the Players Association expected to agree on moving the age of eligibility for the draft from 19 down to 18. This would clear the way for high school players to jump straight to the NBA. It could go into effect as early as 2024. Obviously, everybody wants to bring up LeBron and his son's coming in the league. But Colin, overall, a good or bad move for the NBA. I don't think you should ever force young people to go to college. Now, in football, because of the violent aspect and the concerns, I think it works.

But I think in basketball, where you don't have a regulated level of extreme violence, I think in basketball, if a kid just doesn't want to go to school, let's not fake it. Let's not pretend. And also, I think the concerns, though, has been that NBA scouts don't want to be in high school gyms. All right, it's not the end of the world. There's a lot of people in gyms. To me, if a kid doesn't want, first of all, what if a kid's just gifted? If LeBron came out again, oh, we're going to play a charade that he has to go to college?

So I think this is what the G League was developed for. For a kid that, listen, man, I'm not a college guy, I'm a baller. You can go to the G League for two years or you can go overseas. But I don't like having to wedge kids into a school if they don't want to go to school. Not everybody wants to go to college. Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, a whole of favorite. Now, they're few and far between. If you're not a, let's say you're not a basketball player.

A lot of people are having excellent, they go to a vocational school. Like, they are, they love cars. Why do they have to go to college? Why are we forcing kids to go to college? College isn't for everybody. I'd say, my opinion on college has always been, if you have three or four kids, one of them is probably not perfectly designed to go to college. He doesn't have the personality.

It's not his thing. He just wants to, people, there's a world out there, sports and non-sports. where you don't have to go to college and can have an incredibly redeemable life. And a lot of these guys just go for essentially eight months as soon as March Madness is over. They're out of school preparing for the draft. So it's not even like a full year in college. It's a charade.

You take fake classes and you're barely... It's ridiculous. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. 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. He's by Carmen, I'm Dan Byard. We have a brand new fantasy football podcast called I Want Your Flex. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, we come up with new episodes to not only look back at what happened, what you need to do at that minute, and also look ahead of what's coming up in the fantasy football world. That's right, Dan. Every week, we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup, Sit, starts, fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready to dominate the competition.

Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, Dan Beyer, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win.

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 taun 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 blow your mind on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking.

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the look back. Added 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 yeah, yeah. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, 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. So, Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

You know, they don't let fans into practice. You can't film it. And they let media in very briefly. So the media has to rely on people inside practice. I've done this through the years. you have a scout, you have a friend, you have somebody that saw stuff, and you can get little hints on what's happening and what's not happening. But I saw a story this morning. The Patriots aren't acting like they trust Mack Jones.

They gained all of their yards on the ground in their final drive. Statistically, he was okay. The quote here is Belichick coached like he was trying to minimize the damage. Yeah, because unlike the media and the fans, he sees practice and what he can't do. There's a reason the Steelers don't unleash Tribesical. there's nothing to unleash. So the one thing you don't want to do as a coach is ask a player to do something he can't do. Right?

And so Justin Fields right now, he has 15 completions in two weeks. You can't have him throwing 45 times with that offensive line. You can't ask him to do that. So you've got to ask him to run around a little. And he may get hurt. Quarterbacks get hurt. Mack Jones. Nelson Aguilar made probably the best catch he's made as a Patriot,

but they don't have anybody that separates. They have an average receiving core, an average tight end room. The offensive lines good, not great, and so they hand the ball off and do a lot of screens. You're supposed to ask Mack Jones to do things he can't do? So, you know, when I see the complaints about Mitch Trubisky playing it safe, Tomlin watches practice. I know this is crazy, but he knows his personnel better than I do and you do and everybody knows. And so I think bad coaching is asking players to do something they can't consistently do.

That erodes trust on other players. So Mac Jones, there's a reason Belichick coaches him to minimize the damage. Because if you ask him to do much, too much, he'll screw stuff up. And you can't ask Justin Fields at this point in his career to throw 45 times. And so there's just, there's limitations on what some of these guys can do. It doesn't matter if it's Trey Lance, Justin Fields, Mac Jones. By the way, Mike McDaniel. everybody's like, oh, look at Tua.

He underthrew one touchdown, over through another, hit wide open guys. I know y'all think today, Tua's great. He's the second best receiver. He was the second best quarterback on that field Sunday. He had a really good fourth quarter. So now, and again, Belichick and Kyle Shanahan, you know, have earned our respect. Now, if it's Matt Eber, Fluse, and you got some questions about how much he knows offense, I think that's reasonable.

But when it comes to a Shanahan or a Belichick, they sit and walk. film of practice. They know what their players can do. They know what their players can't. Some receivers are sideline guys. Some guys are just slot guys. And that's what they can do. Your second best tackle, you put them on the right. Your best tackle with better feet, you put them on the left side. You know what guys can do and what guys can do. The ability to identify a player's strengths and weaknesses. That's what Lincoln Riley's done at USC. He's not asking any of these guys to do what they can't do. There are guys that can rust the passler and that's all they can do.

And there's receivers that aren't fast. They're not going to be on the sideline. You've got to be able to identify that. So I look at the Patriots from Mack Jones. I never think they're minimizing his talent. Oh, he could do so much more if they unleashed him. There's nothing to unleash. 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 I-Heart 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, 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 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.