The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Herd Hierarchy, Matt Rhule

Episode Date: October 11, 2022

Colin's new Herd Hierarchy Thoughts on the Panthers firing HC Matt Rhule and college coaches going to the NFL   Guest: Mitchell SchwartzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year.

It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for Black. people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the Heard at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the

iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. My hurt hierarchy in a couple of minutes, J-MAC, joining us. The Raiders are the best one-and-four team in league history.

They've lost four close games to four pretty talented teams. Chargers, Tennessee, Kansas City, and, you know, Arizona's talented, though they're struggling. I think the right... My takeaway in the Raiders is watch them now. You said the schedule lightens up. Yeah, after the buy, it gets a lot of easy. Yeah. The Raiders have, in this league right now, if you've got that many good offensive players

and a good offensive coach and Derek Carr, you're going to win games. You can't get, last year, Minnesota lost all these close games. Now Minnesota's winning these games. So maybe the Raiders last year won a lot of these close ones. Seven and two in close games last year. And it turns. Like there are certain things like fumble recovery. are random. Winning close games

tends to be random. Maybe the football gods are tweaking the Raiders. At some point, Josh McDaniels is you know, Raiders fans, they're a little unhappy right now with Josh McDaniels. Raiders fans are a little unhinged all years. You don't blow two 17 point leads, Colin, in the

NFL unless there's a problem here. Something's going on. Why are you blowing these big leads? I don't know. I don't want to start any fires here on the herd, but just give it some thought. Josh McDaniels, post games. Okay. Yeah, let's not go for it. Josh McDaniels, you think there's a, you think he's on the hot seat?

No, no, not yet. Okay. I think the Raiders are going to turn it. I think they're the team that's going to turn it and be, I love watching them play. Every game they're in, they're like the better version. They're the more successful brother of the lions. Their games are entertaining, but I trust the Raiders to actually win some big games. All right, here we go.

Top 10 teams, really tough at the bottom end of this. I don't know if I'm right, but here we go. Heard hierarchy. Time is now, let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Number 10. Listen, I'm going to go with the Chargers. It's a passing league, and they're second in the league in passing.

They've got weapons. And believe it or not, even after losing Rashon Slater, the left tackle, Herbert's the least sack quarterback in the league. That tells you they've got a Pro Bowl center and some depth on the offensive line. Listen, they're three and two. Now, they've only beaten the Raiders, Texans, and Browns. But this is a passing league. I like the weapons.

I love the quarterback, and they're protecting him. I got the Chargers at 10. Number nine. The Bengals, most underrated defense in the league. They have no stars. Does everybody understand how good this defense is? It's allowing the lowest completion percentage in the league. And the announcer said this the other, and I think it was Mike Chorico.

It's a great defense. But they just don't have an Aaron Donald or a Jalen Ramsey or somebody named Bosa. This is a real defense. Now, the concern is they have taken away. the deep shots for Joe Burrow. They're literally defending him different, so they're only averaging about 4.8 yards of play, which is bottom quarter of the league. That they got to get right, Bengals at 9. Number 8. Dallas, it's mostly a defensive story. They've held all five of their opponents to a touchdown. Now, some of this is they've been playing, you know, less than dynamic

offenses. But if you can win with a backup, and I mean, you watch that Rams game, they had that thing won, seven minutes in. Block punt, defensive touchdown. So they've scored in 13 consecutive quarters. That's what a backup. No team in the league has done that, not even Kansas City. They have scored in 13 consecutive quarters, Cowboys at 8. Number 7. My Vikings, I called it, I said all those close losses are going to become close wins with an offensive coach.

Minnesota's only loss came on the road Monday night football to Philadelphia. Now, they're not great enough to blow people out. That's why they can struggle with Chicago or struggle with Detroit. They're not that dynamic at quarterback, but Kirk Cousins leaves the NFL with three game-winning drives. And that was my whole rant this offseason. Kirk Cousins needs to feel supported. He's a very solid B-2-B-plus quarterback when he feels supported. He didn't last year.

He got tight-latan games. This year he's not. This is a real football. I don't think it's a Super Bowl team. But it's a win-a-division win-off game team. Vikings at 7. Number six. Listen, Tampa Bay.

Okay, they lost. They were all beat up, and when they were injury riddled, they lost to the Chiefs and Packers. I'm okay with this team. They literally missed all their receivers in one game. Brady, this is the most past-centric offense Brady's ever had. He has 141 completions. That's tied for the most in the NFL.

He's a 45-year-old quarterback. That's not the way it's supposed to work. And they lead the NFL in Sack Differential. So Tom gets protected, and they get after your quarterback. I got the experience, I got the defensive personnel, I got Brady and playmakers, I put them at six, they could be low. Number five. But I love Baltimore. Listen, they've led by double digits, 10 plus points in all five of their games.

Their defense leads the NFL and takeaways, and Lamar's got 10 passing touchdowns from the middle of the pocket. So that's viewed as the weakness, right? You know, Lamar, the throwing part, no, he's got 10 touchdowns standing in the pocket, tied for the most in the NFL. It is weird. They're not a great home team, which I always thought Baltimore was one of the toughest places in the league to go play. I think, by the way, here's a new rule on the show. Primetime game, pick Harbaugh. I mean, John Arbaugh has got to be the most underrated coach of my lifetime.

The bigger the game, the better the Ravens play. Ravens at 5. Number 4. God, I love the Niners. Too bad half the team is hurt. This team is, first of all, fewest yards per play allowed in the NFL. Nobody gives you less per play than the Niners. They lead the NFL in sacks and sacked differential.

They have the number one scoring defense. This without multiple starters. They have been ravaged by injuries. They lost another four this week. This team is loaded and Garoppolo doesn't make mistakes. He's Chris Paul, third in the league and touchdown to interception ratio. If this team gets healthy, I'll call it right now. they're the first or second best team in the league.

They're not close to healthy now, and they're still winning games convincingly. That is a roster. Number three. The Bills. Okay, listen, we all like the Bills. 20 of their last 22 wins or blowouts. My concern is, why don't they win close?

Because they don't have a consistent run game. They don't get those tiny yards. They are too dependent on Josh Allen, and he's great. If you got to be dependent on somebody in the league, make it Josh Allen or Malhomes. That part I like. But they only win one way. Blow out.

You're not going to blow out Kansas City. You're not going to blow out Baltimore. You're going to be in close games. They have got to figure out a way to consistently run the ball what it's not in the hands of Josh Allen bills at three. Number two. The Chiefs. You know, they're like the opposite of the Niners.

It's most of their talents on offense, but they are situationally brilliant. Playmakers on offense. smartest offensive coach, best quarterback. There's not a lot I don't like. They lead the NFL in first downs. They had almost 30 last night. So here's the other thing about them. They just move the chains. And nobody in the league plays better from behind. That is a huge quality in the NFL. They're a great team from behind. I have them at two. Number one. I don't think they're a Super Bowl team, but Philadelphia's stats, folks, fewest giveaways. Lead the NFL

NFL in big plays. Yes, they do with 44. They have the most takeaways and the fewest giveaways. So they play great defense. They protect the quarterback. They lead the NFL and turn over differential. Only team not to have trailed in the second half. I don't know if they're peaking early, but the data tells you right now, they make no mistakes, they force you into them, they dominate time of possession, and you would think, oh, it's kind of a, they don't do a lot of big plays. They leave the NFL in big plays. Some of this is front office. Some is Jalen Hertz. It's just impressive. That's all I know. Mitchell Schwartz, the three-time pro bowler, the Super Bowl champ, is joining us now live.

First of all, we usually have your brother. Go ahead. Give me that. We usually have your brother. Now we have you, Mitchell, and we appreciate that. We know you're much busier than your brother, and you have a much busier life. So when you stop by, we know. It's very important. So I want to talk about Kansas City because I said this, is that every great quarterback in my lifetime has a thing. And we know Mahomes is talented. I honestly think his thing is he at times is better coming from behind than leading.

And that is not the case with most even great quarterbacks. You were in that huddle. You were there. Is it magnetic? Can you sense it? Can you feel it? Because I watched him on the sidelines. He is more energized trailing by.

14. Your thoughts on that. Yeah, he's the most competitive guy I've ever known. And so when he gets down, he gets frustrated and he internalizes it. And that's the cool thing with the coaching staff. Like they don't have to get on him. They'll go over to him like, hey, keep your head up, all that stuff. He's like, get away from me, guys. I know what I'm doing. It just, that competitive fire burns. And he wants to show everybody how good he is. And he just can't handle losing. And so that flip, you know, kind of does get switched. Now, you can argue that the refs flipped the switch for the Chiefs last night. But yeah, he elevates his game to a level that, you know, you just don't usually see when you are behind. I mean, I think there's a stat out there that in games, if he's

been down double digits points, like the team has more than a 50% chance of winning, which is just like a wild stat to think about that if you go down by more than 10 points, you're still more likely than not to win the game. And to your point, it just shows how good he is when he goes down. Did you know, because you were with the Chiefs now for half a decade, you got to see the early Travis Kelsey. Did you know instantly? out of Cincinnati. Did you know instantly, that guy is a problem?

Well, with Trav, nothing really happens on the field, like it's drawn up on the paper and like they do an install. He kind of just goes out there and feels everything and creates. And so you could say, oh, well, he doesn't do the direct coaching

or he doesn't do that. But like he finds space. He understands defense. He understands coverage. You know, I could be in the huddle and we could be kind of talking to each other and BSing a little bit, you know, as a play's being called,

you know, the game obviously, but he'd be able to kind of joke, you know, have that discussion and still hear the play with one ear and then get to the line and accomplish it. And it's just, he's got this almost savant-like ability to understand defense, understand spacing, understand, you know, you visualize in your mind of Travis catching ball over the middle, he plants his foot, he spins the other way and the DB is left grasping for air because he just feels everybody around him, his backs to the guy. He has no idea exactly where he is, but he's done it enough and he just understands that spacing. And so you could tell early on, you know, he was a guy that kind of got got it, quote unquote, got it.

You know, we don't really like to reduce things down to something that simple. But he definitely gets it and you could see it early. And, you know, he's been remarkably consistent and remarkably healthy. And that's the thing now that he's 33. I mean, he's still just, you know, putting these seasons out and staying healthy. And it's really cool to watch. You know, it's interesting. I am an analytic fan, basketball, baseball, football. But I do think it is a little different, Mitchell in football because you have a scarcity of games. So you can be in analytics, but if you don't win Sunday, that flight home, there's going to be guys on that plane that are like, our coach is out of his gourd, right?

Like there's an urgency to football that doesn't allow for experimentation, like in the NBA or baseball, where you can say, hey, in the NBA, we're going to do some defensive adjustments here in February. You don't get that in football. So, you know, Brandon Staley's done a couple, and I'm wincing. But last night, the Raiders went for. it and my takeaway is, well, I'm an arrowhead with Mahomes. Of course I'm going for it.

So as a player, did your takeaway, because everybody always thinks the players always want to go for it. And I'm like, I don't know if that's necessary. Keenan Allen called out his coach on Twitter. As an offensive lineman, were there times that you didn't want to go for it on fourth and short? Yeah, there's certain times in a game where you just kind of understand the smart players kick the field goal or to punt.

You know, I'm with you. the analytics. I like that we're getting smarter about sports that we understand more. And I think you made a really great point that, you know, in football, if it's a 52% decision versus 48%, you know, that's a 4% spread. That's over thousands of data points. And you only have one of those, maybe two of those opportunities in one game. And so you're looking at, you know, fractions of percentages and these really tiny margins. And, you know, that's where Baltimore gets brought up a lot. And you kind of just have to do it all the time and just hope for the whole season, the numbers kind of bear out and it gives you that little bit of an advantage.

It's just so difficult to boil it down and know the models do a good job of taking to account who's the quarterback, what's dating we're playing in, is it arrowhead, is it, you know, Derek Carr let offense versus the Mahomes lead offense. But in that instance, I think they made their right choice. And to your point, I don't think it was an analytics decision. I think it was that, hey, we got Mahomes over there on that sideline. We want to go ahead. You know, we think our defense can do good things.

You know, obviously first half, the pressure of the front four, maybe if we force them into throwing the ball into having to, you know, come back and win the scale. game. We can get some good pressure up front. We can get a strip sack. We can put the thing away. So, listen, two things I believe Mitchell can be true. I can be concerned about Tua and think the Dolphins medical staff screwed it up. And also, quarterbacks get hit. It's the reality of the league. I've had friends, Bledso, Dilfer, Burrow. They're like, yeah, I get fuzzy. That's the position. So I can think two things. I think the protocols for quarterback. to me, if you wobble, any time between the lines,

you are out that game and next week. You're out. I don't care. But I also don't want to eliminate players like Chris Jones or Jared in Atlanta. That is why they get paid. I thought that was one of the best defensive plays I've seen this year. As an offensive lineman, how do you view the roughing the passer calls? I think it's gone way too far.

Obviously, I'm going to look out for offensive alignment. I don't want the quarterbacks being touched. But this is football. The quarterbacks are signing up for it. We sign up for it. There's an element of physicality that you just can't take out of the game. Otherwise, it becomes something that we don't love, that we don't like watching. And I think these, you know, the putting your whole weight on a guy, I understand the intent.

And I think it was really maybe Rogers a few years ago that kind of felt like he got pile-draved a little bit. And the defender kind of, you know, tilted his shoulders down into Rogers, lifted his butt up and put his full weight into the quarterback. We honestly haven't seen a hit like that in a while. A lot of these guys, they're tackling the quarterback. you know, they're essentially if your shoulders and your hips are kind of parallel as you're going to the ground, it's really difficult to like drive your force into the quarterback. And I think these D-Lyman are doing a really good job. Krista, as good of a job as you can imagine, he stripped the ball.

He had the ball in his right hand. His left arm clearly was bracing against the ground to not fully fall on car. And somehow that's still a penalty. And Grady Jarrett, I mean, he gently, you know, flung Brady to the ground. It wasn't even necessarily a fling. I don't know what is the lesser term of that. But these guys are trying. I mean, they're huge dudes.

like asking 300 pounders who are dancing around double triple teams, you know, getting a quarterback in their grasp, like what are they supposed to do? I think it has gone a little bit too far. I think some common sense just needs to be shown. You know, I'm, I'm not opposed to adding a replay for it. I hate slowing down the game. But I think if you do, you just watch it two or three times in real speed with a couple different angles. And you can tell in real speed what the intent was. I think it's pretty easy. I do think they roll it back a bit. And, you know, if you don't want your quarterback hit, you just got to protect them a little better. Yep, four Pro Bowls, a Super Bowl champ, super smart guy. He's a Cal Bear. Every time we bring on somebody from Cal, they're pretty smart. That's a good thing. Good thing about the Cal Bears. It's great seeing you. Say hi to your brother. As always. By the way, to your point, I was just thinking about this. Max Crosby last night, Sack Mahomes, to your point. And he just bear hugged him. And then he let him go. It was like, Max, you know, these guys don't want to get in trouble. Half of these guys are in golf tournaments after the year. I mean, they really, I really thought Chris Jones made the play.

of the year defensively, and it's like, guys, we used to take catches from receivers. That's not what fans want. You can't take the best defensive player of the year from Chris Jones. Mitchell, it's a pleasure. Love your work, and thank you. Thanks as always for having me on and enjoyed it. You bet. Jeff Schwartz, Mitchell Schwartz,

two smart guys. Yeah. Okay, so you had the Cincinnati Bengals checking in. You do know they're two and three, right? Okay, this is not the standing. Wait, wait, wait, wait, I didn't get to finish. I'm not doing the standing. I didn't get to finish. When I used to work at the other network, everybody'd have a top 10,

and you might as well have had the standings. No, no, no. You don't think the Bengals, the Bengals came within, you know, one play by Lamar from winning in Baltimore. The Bengals have beaten Joe Flacco of My Jets and the combination of Tua and Teddy in what was the worst spot ever, and both of us loved the Bengals in that game. Okay. So what about the New York Giants?

They are four in one. They tick down the Packers. They took down the Titans. And they only loss is to the Dallas Cowboys. You are in your herd hierarchy. I have them 12. Who's 11? Guess.

Packers. Jets? Jets? Miami. Well, no. With Skylar Thompson? Well, I don't know who's playing. If you told me Skylar Thompson, then I'd put the Giants ahead.

I think Miami's a good football team. They just have injuries at quarterback. I like their personnel a lot. I think Miami's got it going. I just think... I don't like the Giants, but four and one, only lost to the Cowboys? I know they're limited, but... I have them at 12.

By the way, you were on me on the... Packers. I was, I was incorrect. I was incorrect. I got rid of the Jags. They're like 17th now. By the way, Giants Ravens is interesting this weekend. No, Giants plus five and a half. Yeah. Lank Martindale against his team that booted him and he saw Lamar Jackson and practice knows him as well as anybody. Giants are the play. I don't know if they'll win, but that's the play. Ravens had another injury in the secondary Marcus Williams is done. It's like, dude, they are a mass unit again. Baltimore and San Francisco for whatever reasons, the last couple years can't stay healthy. Some of it's just because the physical brand of football they play.

Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of 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 yeah, yeah, yeah. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode

where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tonight, NL West Rivals square off in game one of the NLDS as Mani Machado and the Padres take on Muki Betts and the Dodgers at 9 Eastern, six Pacific. only on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. We've got good stuff. That'll be a good series. Now, the Dodgers have dominated that series,

but everything changes in the postseason. I mean, we thought the Mets were really, really good. And then in the second half of the season, you're like, they don't have enough guys who can hit. They went against the pod. Podraiser are West Coast baseball right now. The Mariners have a star. The Padres have several.

The Dodgers have an all-star lineup. But keep your awe in Houston. Still contend, that's the best team in baseball. Jay Mack with a news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Spent some time talking about the Chris Jones roughing the passer call.

Well, there was another one, obviously, the Tom Brady one on Sunday that caused outrage in week five. And the league is reportedly discussing plans about whether or not they should change things when the team owners meet in New York next week. Now, no changes are expected during the season, but future adjustments could be considered.

Colin, this doesn't seem that difficult, right? If you're an official and you look at the replay of Chris Jones, well, the ball was loose. That's not a roughing the passer flight. Shouldn't it have been obvious to them? I don't know how they could get it so wrong last night. Yeah, and also, these are standalone games. So if this game is buried in the one o'clock window, it doesn't get nearly to play. Like the Atlanta-Tampa call was horrible, but the Rams' Cowboys game was on,

so a lot of the country didn't see it. A standalone game that's a great game with Mahalms. The Jarrett call, many think I don't, was just as bad as this, call, but not as much of the country saw it. So when you screw things up in this league, bury it in the one o'clock window. These standalone games, you've got 15 million people. This is the Jarrett call, which it's a bad call, too. The difference, of course, is Chris Jones took the ball away.

It was literally a turnover. You changed possessions. And it was at the end of the half, could have been easily free for the Chiefs League. Absolutely. And you can't, like, remember when we were all going crazy on the catch rule? And I remember having Roger Goodell on the show. And I said, Roger, you're in the business of elevations. great players. That's why people watch the NBA or baseball. They want their stars.

You're literally taking catches, amazing catches from your dress playmakers. Chris Jones made the defensive play of the year last night and you took it away from him. That is a problem. If you go back and look at the Tua injury he suffered against the Bengals, there was no

flag on that play, Colin. He got ragdolled and knocked out no flag. So obviously the league saw that and it's like, we got to overcompensate. Anyone touches an official. You made a great note on Max Crosby. he had Mahomes wrapped up. He just let go. Because the referee's right there.

You don't need to get a whistle. That would be, I think that would be ideal. But again, when you're a defensive lineman, if you can get a sack, a game, you get a hundred million dollar contract. So these guys are battling for three and a half hours. They get the quarterback in their grasp once, and you ask them to just bear hug and let it go. You're excited. Of course you are. And there's also when you're a 309-pound guy and you don't come in with a clean shot, you're off balance.

You drive in, you get the quarterback, you put your weight on him. The idea that you're going to land soft, you're asking these defensive guys to do what's physically impossible. Speaking of Crosby, he was incredible last night. He's got to be in that Bosa category, Micah Parsons. Just a total game changer. All right, next up, let's go to the Chargers. And your guy, Brandon Staley, Chargers were up by too late in the fourth. Of course, Staley elected to go for it on fourth of one.

They did not get it, but luckily, you know, the Browns could not make the field goal. But Keenan Allen, who was sitting at home on his sofa with a hamstring injury, tweeted, WTF are we doing? And of course, that got a billion retweets. Well, Staley has talked about it. Says, hey, no heart feelings between me and Keenan Allen. Anyone that's been a part of competition knows that when you're not a part of it, you can kind of feel some type of way.

Keenan's heart is with me with us. I'm understanding of where he was in that moment because he's not with the team or in the fire. That's a money down that he's used to being out there. We're going to become closer because of it. We already became closer this morning. I'm going to go ahead and disagree with Brandon Staley a little bit. I didn't like to call. I don't want to say he's lost the locker room.

Back to back years, he's made a fourth down call. He's one for one. But I think he's not owning the situational nature of fourth down calls. Jacobi Brissette, make him beat you. Derek Carr last year, punt it. How about the final week of the season where he called a timeout on that Raiders final drive. It looked like it was going to be a tie game. Chargers in the playoffs. Raiders are like, oh, no, let's go for it. We get the field goal in week 18. Like, Staley is basically like batting

zero in a lot of these scenarios. And Colin, you know, you hear stuff. And Staley's not in a good position right now with the Chargers. Well, I think that Keenan Allen tweet and the fact that he kept it up and didn't delete it, he was speaking for more than Keenan Allen. Maybe. Maybe. To have the courage to put that up. If I called out my boss, at Fox. I would do that knowing many of my associates felt the same way. I'm not putting myself on an island. I mean, so Keenan Allen, who is a great player, and when he was out, it changes the temperature

in the room for them. I think Staley's a smart guy. That doesn't mean he's a great football coach. He's just a smart guy, which I'm glad he's smart. I want my smart guy. McVeigh's both. Staley right now is proven to be smart. Yeah.

Is he a great coach? A big part of that is situational football. This was a one o'clock game, you know, and it's still got a massive highlight. Just by the way, Monday night football, so-fi, Chargers, Broncos. Staley better be on point for that one, okay? No mistakes in the island games. And finally, Colin, Bailey Zappy had a solid performance in his first start ever on Sunday. Patriots got an easy win over the Lions, mostly thanks to the defense.

It remains unclear when Mack Jones will be ready to return from the ankle. Belichick is shutting down any future quarterback controversy between his players. Yeah, I'm not going to get into a lot of hypotheticals on all different things that might or might not happen and all that. That's just, to me, a waste of time. I'm not going to sit around here and dream up scenarios. We'll take things as they come and go from there. So Jerry Jones likes to stoke a quarterback controversy. Bill Belichick done a little bit of winning in his career.

I'm not even touching that nonsense. Well, Andy Reid, would they ask him about Chris Jones? I'm not getting fine. I'm getting out of here. Smart. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Heard Lye News. You know, I admitted that Sam Darnold didn't work. It'd be funny. It'd be nice if some of you admitted Baker was a whiff. But be that as it may, I like Carson Wentz more than other people. It should be noted, the Colts were ninth in scoring last year with Carson Wentz. They're now dead last in the league. Just throwing it out there. I know I like Carson Wentz more than you.

But we have a trend in the NFL. Mike Zimmer struggled with his quarterback, Belichick at the end, struggle with Brady, Pete Carroll struggled with Russell Wilson, Brian Flores couldn't get along a defensive coach with Tua. And now Ron Rivera, defensive coach struggling with Carson Wentz. He called him out at a press conference yesterday, here, or a month Sunday. You know, they're up to a faster start. The Eagles, the Cowboys, you know, they've kind of all been rebuilding, too, the last couple years, and it seems like they're farther ahead.

Why do you think the teams in the division are either had at this point? Quarterback. The truth is that this is a quarterback-driven league. And if you look at the teams that have been able to sustain success, they've been able to build it around a specific quarterback. Not great. Alex Smith defended. Now, he played for Washington, too.

He knows what a circus it can be. He defended Carson Wentz. I'm not here to defend Carson Wentz. He's had a tumultuous career and ups and downs. But this is a defensive head coach that is absolutely driving the bus over his quarterback. The blame has got to be spread around. This is a team sport. It is the ultimate team sport and how a head coach can stand up there in front of the media and usher one word and it's quarterback.

Again, Zimmer couldn't get along with cousins. He gets fired. They're bringing an offensive guy. Kirk's plan well. Mike Tomlin. How many years do you get to figure out the offensive line? Sean McDermott, who's a great coach? How long does it take to get a running game?

Brian Daibald's done it with a bad O line in five games in New York. We have a trend here. Defensive coaches, many are struggling as the league pivots to an offensive coach. A lot of these guys, there's a way to win. Yeah, get along with your quarterback. Mike Zimmer's a good coach, got fired. Ron Rivera can coach. He's going to get fired.

He's on the hottest seat in the league. So, you know, Pete Carroll's fine, and he's doing it with Gino, but he's run through offensive coordinators, and at the end, he wore out Russell, and Belichick wore out Brady. I just, and I like Ron Rivera. I think Ron Rivera's a good coach. I wouldn't go there. Carson Wentz has had so many people pile on him.

Jim Ursay, the Philadelphia fans. That's the last thing I'm going to do is beat up on Carson Wentz. The Colts are now 32nd. and scoring. They were ninth with Wentz. Don't tell me he was the problem. They don't have enough playmakers. And I know he's not as good as you think. Okay. Is he the 18th best quarterback in the league? I always thought he was around 12. He's probably 18 to 20. I get it. This isn't how you solve it. That's not how you solve the problem. J. Mack is disgusted by my take. I mean, Colin, listen, I was on Washington in that game. I had a significant amount of money

on Washington. And I'll just say this. Carson Wentz three chances from the, what, two-yard line to win the game. He's the reason they lost that game. They got in position, you're at the three-yard line, and you can't get them two yards. He was terrible. Now, I know he threw for 350 yards, one bomb. Tennessee secondary is garbage. Are you defending Carson Wentz here? He threw for three and a half football fields. Guys, a bomb. Okay, so should we bring up the 170 he threw for against Dallas? He takes sacks Like he's taking tickets at a bakery? I mean, the guy says, he is not a good quarterback. There's a reason Philly dumped him.

There's a reason the Colts were like, get out of here. And now Ron Rivera is running the truck over him. All right. We'll disagree. Carson Wentz. Is that who you want to plant your flag on that guy? I'm just saying he's better than you guys give him credit for. Go look at the Colts offense.

32nd in the league. Dead last. In scoring, which seems to me to matter in the league. Any of his teammates come out and defend him yesterday after Rivera just destroyed him? Anyone come out and say, hey, listen. Carson Carson's our guy. Anyone, one player. Have you heard one eagle or cold come out and defend Carson Wentz? There's a reason. He's not liked in locker rooms. The guy thinks he's amazing and he's not. Sorry to go in on Carson there. Apologies to his family. But you hear stuff and he's apparently just not like a team guy.

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. What do you get when you combine a three-time manager of the year at a three-time Three-time national sports writer of the year. It's the Book of Joe podcast. Hey, this is Tom Verducci from Fox Sports, MLB Network and Sports Illustrated. And I'm Joe Madden, and we're going to be around to talk a little bit about managerial decisions, playoff games, and what may have occurred into the dugout, maybe in the 1980s. I can't wait for this, Joe.

We're going to dive into what goes on in the dugout and behind the scenes in Major League Baseball. Cars, whine, whatever else we want to talk about. Listen to the Book of Joe podcast on the IHeart Radio app, on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, 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. from black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Padres Dodgers, Game 1 today, NLDS, Discover card key matchup.

Other banks make it complicated. Discover doesn't. Redeem your rewards. Cash, any amount, any time. Discover.com slash redeem rewards. Terms apply. So Matt Rule got fired yesterday after a 1-4 start. It was very quick, but in college football, 75% of it is the head coach.

Ohio State, Clemson, Bama, Georgia, Oklahoma, those teams win forever regardless of who the quarterback is. Oklahoma now doesn't have the right coach. They lose, right? Clemson lost for years. They got the right coach. Ohio State briefly didn't have a right coach. Now they do they win. Bama has had bad teams, not with Saban.

College, it's about the coach. NFL's different. The games are closer, the margins are smaller. It's about, do you have a quarterback that can make a play late? Matt Rule never got one. Spurrier, Saban, Urban Meyer, great college coaches, where you're the GM and the Colch and the culture center and everything. That's what it's all about.

Pay the coach, whatever it costs in college for a great coach. Figure out the quarterback and the other players later. But, I mean, Brady's a great example. He won with Ariens. He's winning with Todd Bowles. He went with Belichick. The coach becomes less crucial. Now, that doesn't mean I would.

would not look at a college coach eventually. But college and pro football are totally different and sometimes you need a different kind of guy. Sean Payton was on our show yesterday. He's an NFL guy through and through and he talked about it. First off, the jump sometimes from a successful college head coach to an NFL head coach is larger than you think. I particularly don't like getting dressed up. But in college as a head coach, you're going to be in dress shoes, slacks. I like putting a pair of Jordan's on and sweats and going to watch film. Yeah. And I don't want to deal with a booster and I don't really want to talk to the parent of a player.

The transition number one is significant. I always felt you have to know your own personality. If control matters to you, be a college coach. Nick Saban likes control. That's his personality. And there can be a lot of reasons. That's not a criticism. A lot of people like control.

Maybe you had a chaotic childhood. Maybe you didn't have control early in your life. And your psychology is you like to control things. You trust yourself. You don't trust others as much. I think that's if you like control colleges for you. In the NFL, you don't have control. The owner can buy and you can sell you anytime he wants.

He can fire you. Owners don't care. They write $40 million checks. They're rounding errors. You have no control in the NFL. Also, you have a GM. So you don't even control all your draft picks. also in the NFL, you've got agents to deal with.

So you're going to have to pay a quarterback more than maybe you'll want, and that means you don't get that number two great corner or that second really good running back. So if you're a control guy, and that is not a criticism. Urban Meyer, your savings, your spurious, they have a personality, they like things their way, they don't want to deal with an owner or a GM. And, you know, these guys are the richest guys in their state, highest paid state employees. college is a control game NFL is just about film are you a film junkie do you just sit and watch film all day there are no boosters no NCAA no athletic director don't got to go to banquets don't have to deal

with parents it is the best football coaching in the world college football you're limited how long you can practice like 17 hours a week or 20 hours a week in the NFL practice just another hour. And so I'm not against college coaches. But if I was an owner, like David Tepper came out and said, we've got to create a culture here. It sounds like he's looking for a culture creator. Go draft the quarterback.

You don't have to have the world's greatest culture setter. If you have Justin Herbert or Joe, is Zach Taylor create a great culture? I don't know. He got Joe Burrow. And he's got good weapons. I don't know what their culture is. I don't even like his play calling all the time.

He's got Joe Burrow. so I'm pretty good with it. Your culture in pro football is created by winning. Nobody has a great culture in the NFL if they don't win, and nobody in the NFL wins with a C-minus quarterback. Jerry Jones is talking about the whole winning streak with Cooper Rush, and, you know, Jerry, he likes Stoken things. He likes, you know, he's Jerry, likes to talk.

Here's Jerry on the winning streak in Cooper Rush. DAC is the number one quarterback, is our guy. But isn't it great that somebody came in and played well enough so that we can ask that question? That's my point. I have no idea whether he'll line up against Philadelphia or not, but he'll get better. And what's inspirational here is that we've got a lot of good players that didn't play today that we've got help over the way with. Cooper Rush and the Dak Prescott syndrome, so to speak.

that deal is very a fingerprint of this team. You know, what's interesting is I, for some reason, and maybe it's just the proof I've seen, I have no concern at all that DAC will be bothered by this. I think Aaron Rogers would. I think Big Ben would. I think maybe Kyler Murray would. And those are guys, to me, are more talented than DAC. But DAC's great quality has always been not as tangibles.

It's his intangibles. He's rock solid as a guy. He believes in himself. He's an underdog. He's always been doubted. He's always been a fighter. I don't think this will disrupt Dak at all. I don't think Big Ben could handle it.

By the way, I don't think Aaron Rogers would love it. I don't think Kyler Murray would love it based on their personality. You know, the other guy that I thought handled it well was Drew Brees. Another guy who's a little small, doubted, moved. So I think what's amazing about the NFL is half of the league. Half of the players are undrafted. Think about that. In the NBA and baseball, after the first round, you run out of players.

You can name on one hand the great all-time second-round players. Half the NFL is undrafted. And look at how many great players were not even offered multiple college scholarships. The best receiver in the NFL may be Cooper Cup. No Division I offers. I think the best receiver is Devonte Adams. Fresno State. Pac-12 ignored him.

The best quarterback is Patrick Mahomes. Longhorn, Sooners, no thanks. Texas Tech. The second best Josh Allen. Wyoming, no college scholarship offers. His dad had to send out tapes. Cooper Cup, Devante Adams, Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes.

What makes the NFL really unique is ups and stairs. Nobody's tackling basketball players. Nobody's tackling baseball players. There's a physical component and an emotional toughness with this sport that really separates. It's amazing. When you look at quarterbacks that thrive in this league, how often historically they went to non-football powers. Big Ben didn't. Aaron Rogers didn't. Look at them. Look at a lot of these successful quarterbacks. Jalen Hertz was doubted, you know, a lot of them. And I think the Toughness of DAC above the shoulders, rock solid. He won't.

There's no diva with Dak Prescott. Fourth rounder, Mississippi State. Everybody's always doubted. It's like Drew Brees. Texas's not interested. Goes to Purdue, right? Like a basketball school. And so I don't have any concerns with him coming in.

My only concerns with Dak have always been when you think as an organization, he can carry average players. that that's the concern that's not what he is what he is is a guy that can stabilize you give him protection in a running game he's not going to make mistakes he's tough he's reliable he'll be there for you um but i don't i don't think this it's hard to have a quarterback controversy when the quarterback wouldn't allow it i think this would unravel big ben he'd be leaking stuff to the press when they drafted the kid out of Oklahoma state that drove him nuts He was like in the prime of his career.

Over 31,000 businesses have the confidence they need because of NetSuite. Right now, net suite.com slash herd one-of-a-kind, flexible financing, hour number three. Chip Kelly, how about UCLA? Undefeated. Is that the best team? Chip Kelly, we saw what he did at Oregon. He's doing it at UCLA. Bruins are undefeated.

Third hour on a Tuesday, it's the Hurstead. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes.

Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

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

Clivert 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills 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 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.