The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Herd Hierarchy, Patriots, LA

Episode Date: October 12, 2021

Colin's new Herd HierarchyRex Ryan is wrong about the Patriots and Mac JonesLA is not a bad sports townGuest: Daniel Jeremiah Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here, here we go. It's our number two. Live in Los Angeles, it's the Hurd. Wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. In about five minutes, Daniel Jeremiah, I was an NFL scout for the Browns, the Eagles, the Ravens.

He does the Chargers radio. He's super smart guy. I'll ask him about my herd hierarchy. So this is, I think it's understood. I've had the same team number one. I really like Buffalo. I like everything about Buffalo. I like the fact they have nine defensive linemen that plan a rotation.

I love their quarterback. I like their coach. I think they've solved their pass rush over the last two drafts. They also are improving on the offensive line. The running backs are kind of okay. Sometimes Josh Allen's their best running threat. But this, I feel like the herd hierarchy, should be one team and then everybody else is within a field goal.

I feel like it's inches and then the bills are feet. Like the bills are better than people. Like that game against Kansas City, I didn't even think they played brilliantly and they completely crushed them. So let's go to our herd hierarchy. I think you know who number one is. Here we go. Heard hierarchy.

Time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams according to college. Number 10. All right. I'm going to put Kansas City at 10. here's what worries me. They're tied for the most turnovers in the league with Jacksonville. They've gotten sloppy. Their defense is allowing over seven yards of play. That's on pace to be the worst in league history.

How do you beat them? Keep Mahomes as a spectator. You can't give up seven yards of play. Mahomes has six picks this year. So the protection I'm worried about, the sloppiness, they're bad situationally, but they can win a lot of firework shows. So they're still in the list. I put them at number 10, Kansas City. Number nine. I'm going to move Cleveland up despite a loss because I think if Cleveland played the Chiefs today, I think they could beat them and they did control them for two and a half quarters at Arrowhead. They're the number one rushing team in the league. I still like that.

I thought they should have won the Chargers game. I didn't like the PI call. But they've now blown two 10 plus point leads. That's a problem. Also, Mayfield's third career loss when his team scores 40 points. So again, I think Baker, when he doesn't have to throw, can throw. When he's forced to throw, he's not as efficient, so I put Cleveland at 10. Number eight.

The team I dropped the most was the Packers. I have watched them be outplayed for long stretches by Cincinnati and Detroit this year. They're four and one, but the only team that's four and one that has four wins with a negative point differential. I've seen them get blown out. I see him struggle with the Bengals and the Lions. they're just not quite right on special teams. They got very conservative with play calling this week. That worries me.

Their offensive lines, okay, not as good as last year. They are wildly dependent on Devante Adams. They don't have a two. That worries me. So I know they're a good team, but man, they need Devante Adams to be special every Sunday. And so I only put them at eight. Number seven.

I think the Chargers do more things well than Green Bay right now. so I edge him ahead. Listen, here's the thing with Herbert. He's getting better. Like, he could be better this Sunday than last Sunday. He's got three straight games with three touchdown passes in 100-plus passer rating. I still think you can run on this team. That's why I can't have them in the top five.

That concerns me. And I think they have to address that in the draft, get beefier through the middle of the defense. But there's not a lot not to like. They have an emerging star at quarterback. He appears to be getting better. and by the way, Rashaun Slater at left tackle is not just the best rookie offensive lineman. He's in the

argument for the best left tackle this morning in the NFL. And then Asante Samuel is an absolute home run. So they took a good roster. Herbert Asante Rishon are stars not paying anybody anything. It is a bright future. Number six.

I don't move the Buccaneers. I keep them at six. Number one passing offense but the worst passing defense. Now this week and they look fantastic, but you're thinking the same thing I am. They're winning games, but they're just not quite right defensively. So Brady looked fantastic. They've got a ton of weapons.

We know they'll be around in the end, especially the top of the NFC that is weaker. But their greatest strength is they're on pace to have three receivers for over 1,000 yards. They can win like Kansas City, but with a better defense. I just, they're not quite right yet. Number five. Ravens. Now, I dropped them from two to five. I think they're becoming a little dependent on Lamar Jackson being amazing. They were outplayed last night for three quarters. At least two and a half quarters, they were outplayed. They were outplayed completely by Detroit. So I love Lamar. And I said this. He's lightning. You never know how it's going to go or look, but it's art.

There's something about the unpredictability of it. But boy, they're becoming incredibly reliant on him saving them. It's the largest comeback. back 19 points, by the way, in Lamar's career. He's overcome 10 plus point deficits in three of his last seven games. So we can bury that narrative. He's fine coming from behind. Number four. The Rams by an inch. Listen, this is where I give him credit. All four of the Rams wins have come against teams that made the playoffs last year. So they're beating real football teams. Stafford has been a little inconsistent, but here's another number that Vegas loves. They're averaging almost seven yards of play. 6.7 yards. That's a big deal in Vegas. That moves the number. They are wildly explosive,

but they can also do the details well and get short yards. So I put them at four. Number three. Arizona. I mean, didn't play particularly well and still won. That's a sign of a good team. They play Cleveland this week. Good luck Cleveland. I think Kyler Murray is the story here. First year, he was dynamic with his legs. Okay, passer. Second year, took away some of the mistakes as a passer. Third year, he's now an elite passer with the legs. They also went out and got leaders like a J.J. Watt. So I like teams that score a lot that have a pass rush. That's what Peyton Manning and Bill Ponyon built. We knew we were going to lead a lot of games, so we got to get pass rushers because you've got to throw to beat us. So they have a combination here.

The big play offense, the pass rushers on the other side, Arizona at three. Number two. I'm going to be honest with you. Dallas is the only team that has not played poorly this year. and their only loss, they outplayed Tampa. They outplayed the Chargers. And by the way, they're 28 and O when they have more rush attempts than pass attempts in the DAC era. Well, what does that tell you? Well, right now they've got Zeke playing great with Juice and Tony Pollard and the O'Line's healthy. So this team, we've always said, all quarterbacks are better when they threw 32 times, not 58, like Ben last year.

But now they're running the ball, two backs, that just amplifies their ability to score on the perimeter and improving tight end unit. You tell me, my eyes don't lie. They basically in the last two years have hit four home runs in the draft from CD Lam. Got Micah Parsons, defensive lineman from UCLA. They've got Trayvon Diggs. Folks, these are four new stars on this team. I got them at two. Number one.

Had them last week. Kevin, this week, I don't think it's particularly close. I think they beat Dallas by a touchdown. I think Buffalo is fantastic. Last two years, pass rush has been an issue. It's no longer an issue. Seven plays of over 20 yards against Kansas City. They are not a great running team, I guess,

in the salary cap era, you can't be a perfect team. So you could say, if you force them to run, well, they don't necessarily, they're not forced to run much. I will say this. I thought it was impressive to go on the road and hammer Kansas City and Stefan Diggs was not that valuable because I think he's arguably the best receiver in the NFL. So there it is. Joey, you have any big disagreements, anything that just drives you nuts here.

Nothing drives me nuts. I would swap Arizona and Dallas. Arizona is undefeated. You're such a cowboy hater. They did. The Cowboys are good this year. And I don't know why everyone didn't see it. Well, I didn't. I didn't. It was a tack is back. Well, and they.

And they made some huge. changes on defense. Yeah. Dan Quinn. They did not sit there and ride it out, and I think they deserve credit for being aggressive. All right. You know Daniel Jeremiah.

Scout three times, Chargers, a broadcaster. He's going to join us live. NFL Network, super smart dude. All right. Heard hierarchy. What part of its nonsense? I moved Green Bay way back.

I just don't think, I said this with Tampa. They're good. They're just not quite right. Like Dallas feels like all their units. They're just, they got it right. Anything in the herd hierarchy you dismiss. you didn't like?

I'll tell you what, Colin, that might be surprising, but having called the Charger games and look at their schedule on who I've seen this year, and that's the Chiefs, the Cowboys, the Browns, the Browns are the most talented team

that I've studied this year that the Chargers have played. That includes the Dallas Cowboys. That was a Dallas Cowboys team that ran the ball really well against the Chargers. They scored 20 points in that game. So they've been putting 40 on just about everybody else,

but seeing them up close and studying them, that's a good team. But I thought the Browns are a more talented team, even than the Dallas Cowboys, particularly in the trenches. That team is really good. You know, and Baker's not at the level as those other top quarterbacks. He's not. When you're getting that in the playoffs, you're going to have to see Mahomes and potentially

Herbert and Josh Allen. He's not in that group. I'm telling you, Colin, the rest of that roster is loaded. Let me ask you this, because I got some pushback from Michael Vick. I said, listen, there's no way Justin Herbert on a third and 10 would run the ball. Brandon Staley would not run the ball in the line. I don't want to be anti-Baker here. But coaches tell us what they think of their personnel by what they do and what they call on later downs.

I did not love that. They took the ball out of his hands. You were broadcasting the game. What did you make of that move by Cleveland? So when I saw it live, I kind of left the stadium thinking, okay, there's two plays that tell you all you need to know about this game. You have the Browns with a chance to try and put the game away running the football on third and 10. You have early in the third quarter going for it twice on fourth down, the second of which was fourth and seven. and you put the ball on Herbert's hands

and he makes things happen. Now, when I went back and watched the tape, Colin, I'm not so sure that Baker didn't check himself into that run because the way the charges were lined up, there was a big bubble, there was a big hole on the left side, Chenanooso ended up kind of rotating over late. So I think he thought they were going to pop a run, and I thought Baker might have audible that.

That wasn't the biggest takeaway when watching the tape. The biggest takeaway watching the tape was when you go watch the two-minute drill at the end with that type of time and you take the elite corner, quarterbacks, a special quarterbacks, they're going to get right down the field. And it was check down, check down, and then a couple Hail Mary's. They had time to do work in the middle of the field and he wouldn't take shots. That was, to me, the biggest takeaway.

And I think Coach Defansky or someone after the game said, well, we had two backup tackles and we, you know, the charters hit him one time. Derwin James hit him one time in that game. Those backup tackles played really well. So that to me was a little bit of the difference between Baker and some of the upper tier guys you're going to see in the playoffs. So Eagles, Browns, Ravens, you were a scout. So I said this.

I don't have a problem admitting I'm wrong. I do a calling right, calling wrong every money. I got a problem with it. I had my doubts about Lamar. He looked skinny. He took big hits. He had a weird throwing motion. And his first year in the league, I'm like,

I'm not sure this is going to work. But I can acknowledge that he came back the next year stronger. He had traps. He was big. He takes fewer hits. The throwing's getting better. you were a scout, so I had my doubts, but I also had my doubts on Josh Allen. I said he could be great or he could be awful.

He struggles with accuracy. Where were you when Lamar came in and where are you now as a former scout? Well, I had Lamar, if I'm not mistaken, I think is like my 30th to 31st player rated in that draft. So he's in my top 32, but obviously way too low. You guys have been an MVP. He's taking the team to the playoffs every year. He's a superstar. We saw that again last night.

This is kind of the lesson I've learned in looking at quarterback mistakes that I've made, Colin. And that's being too low on Mahomes, being too low on Lamar, being a little bit too low on Justin Herbert. Those guys, Josh Allen, a little bit too low on Josh Allen. Now, to me, when you look at those guys, they're all incredibly talented. And then they had flaws in their game, each and every one of them, but they're hard workers and they're intelligent. So when you have the talent, the intelligence, and the work ethic, the lesson that I've learned is those guys figure it out. Yeah. It might take a couple years like it did for Josh Allen, but you bet on those.

That's why I bet on Trey Lance. And I know, you know, we'll see some ups and downs from him early in his career. And I'm sure some people will punt on Trey Lance. But he's talented, he's hardworking, and he's intelligent. And that's been the lesson that I've learned. Yeah. By the way, on the Carson Went situation, I want to give Indy some love here because their schedule softens.

They're going to win a bunch of games here over the next two months. I don't think he's the problem, Daniel. I watched him last night. Again, he is, I mean, Lamar just overwhelms the room. But I do think this morning, and they may not stay on him forever, I don't, you know what I think the Colts issue is? And we were talking about this before. In the NFL, it's not just having good players.

You have to have the right positions. Left tackle, corner, wide receiver. Edge rusher. The Colts aren't special at the key positions. I think Wentz has some special. Your takeaway, that's my problem with the Colts is they don't have the great. left tackle, the great corner, the great number one receiver. I think Wendz has been fine.

What's the tape say? I was thinking the big winner from that game last night was Mitchell Trubisky, because you're watching that game and you're saying, okay, I saw Carson Wince play good football once upon a time. And then it has really fallen off. And the Colts bet, you know what, if we can fix the environment around him, get him more comfortable, we can bring that great player out of him or that great play out of him.

Trubisky, when you go back and look at him with the Bears, that one year when they went to the playoffs, he played pretty. well. And then he has kind of falling off a cliff. And I think this is showing, hey, let's be patient with some of these guys, getting a new opportunity, some new voices, in this case, familiar voices. You can see their talent come out. But yeah, to me, watching that game last night was the best I've seen Carson in quite some time. But me and Bucky were talking about this on the podcast today, though, Colin. Think about it. You said the schedule gets lighter. Let's just say for some reason, they have more games like this one, where Carson plays really well and they lose. And now you're

staring at that number. If you get 70% of the snaps, you forego your first round. pick to the Philadelphia Eagles. If you thought people got upset when the Philadelphia Eagles laid down in that last week against the Washington football team, what would happen if the Colts were to sit down Carson Wentz, who was playing well at the end of the year to make sure they don't end up losing a first round pick? Can you imagine that conversation? I want to go back because Lamar and Herbert face each other this week. It's going to be, you know, the game of the week. They pay me to call these games, by the way. Don't tell anybody. I can't believe I'm getting paid to watch Justin Herbert.

every week against these guys. So I want to talk about Herbert is that I was talking to Mark Trussman used to coach the Bears and he said Herbert's easier to coach than Mahomes. He goes, Mahomes has more gifts, but you've got to rein some of them in. He said with Herbert, his footwork and his composure and his pocket awareness, it's just, it's kind of magical. Was there, I mean, you're part of the organization for the Chargers. How does his greatness early?

Does it change how ownership views things? Tom Telesco, the GM view thing. When you hit a home run to this level this early, does it kind of change how you operate going forward? I joke about it with Tom Telesco on the team playing all the time. I go, man, you got the easy part now. Once you've got this dude, you've got this, you hit on this massive home run with Justin Herbert,

now you can go out and buy the rest. You've got the foundation of the house in place. You can go get some drapes. I mean, that's no big deal. Right. But he's, they are, they put the ball in. his hands, they trust him. And I think a lot's been made about Staley's aggressiveness. Well, there's a reason he's aggressive because he trusts this kid and he has given him reason to

believe. So yeah, he is, what he's doing is rare. And the difference between him and the homes, in my opinion, is that with Herbert, you're getting all this excitement and this explosiveness without that some of that recklessness that Holmes can kind of drift into. This kid doesn't play reckless. He's where he's supposed to be in the pocket. He's on time with his throws. You design a shot play he hits it. You might get a little more pizzazz with Mahomes and some of the scramble around some of the wild stuff, but you got to live with some of the reckless mistakes. Herbert, three games in a row, he's got 11 touchdowns, no picks against three really good teams. And it's not like you're sitting there going, wow, he got away with that one. Like he doesn't make

bad decisions. It's been incredible. By the way, I want to do one college question as a former scout for three teams, Spencer Rattler. So I watched the Oklahoma game this weekend. He's supposed to be Mr. Wonderful. The backup comes in, and I thought, well, the backup's better than the starting guy. And I don't know if it's particularly close. I mean, I mean, just arm, composure, accuracy. Is Spencer Rattler like no longer a first round pick? Well, you know, I'm always careful on this because everybody's got their job to do, right? And so I watched three games on Spencer Rattler over the summer. I wrote a little thing on NFL.com. And to me, I said he's not in the same class as the other Oklahoma quarterbacks. There's a lot of room for

growth there. I thought at the, at the ultimate upside for him was you're looking at a Jeff Garcia type player. Yeah, I get that. So I don't know, like I know, I guess there's other places where you were talk of him being the first overall pick. I never saw that. I never viewed him as that. I think that's an unfair expectation

to put on him. But I watched that game. I haven't watched the tape of it, but I watched it on TV. And there was a noticeable difference when the other kid came in, the young freshman came in there. It was like, okay, that looks different. And I'd be, I mean, to me, if I'm Lincoln Riley, I don't know, If that kid's the future, let's go right now.

Daniel Jeremiah Chargers, Scout. Great seeing you, my man. Thanks. Hey, Joy. Hey, DJ. Yeah, they work together. Amazon stuff Thursday nights. They're a big deal.

So you should watch their stuff. That's Thursday nights. You, him, Bucky Brooks. And where do you do it on Amazon? Prime video. Prime video. On Twitch. I got that at home.

It's the blue one with the arrow thing. Yeah. Everything's colors to me. One more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the iHeart radio app. Search heard 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. 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 Jek.

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 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.

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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you

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growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. This week, Thursday night football is on Fox. Tom Brady and the Bucks are on a roll, but Jalen Hertz, Devante Smith, and the Eagles might have something special for them in Philly.

Thursday, 730 Eastern, 430 Pacific, on Fox NFL Network and streaming on Prime Video. I'm going to get to Jalen Hertz in a second because it makes, there's something brewing in my head and it makes me think about it. But I want to start with this. So Rex Ryan is a former Jets coach and Bill's coach. It's funny. I don't remember the Bill's years much. I remember the Jets years a lot.

They were a much better team. So against Bill Belichick, he's four and 12 in the regular season. Five and 12, I guess if you count the playoffs or something like that. That's his record. Five and 12 against Belichick, whatever it is, regular season, postseason, whatever. he's had some success. But his brand now at ESPN is anti-Bill and anti-Patriots. I've been in this business 30 years.

I can see when somebody over the course of two years, they have a new brand. He's just anti-Bill all the time. And now it's easy to beat up on Bill because he lost the best quarterback that's ever played. And he's in a division with Josh Allen. So Bill's going to lose a lot of games to Buffalo at least. So Rex Ryan came out and he was ripping Mack Jones. His quote was, Patriots won't make the playoffs with him. He's a P-shooter at quarterback.

That's somebody that doesn't have a big. arm. When the ball travels down the field more than 15 yards, it's bad news for the guy. He's like Danny Wharfell. So let me start with this. I covered Danny Wharfill in college. That's how old I am. Mac Jones is a thousand times better than Danny Wharfel. Danny Whirful was not an NFL quarterback. He was not an NFL backup quarterback. Mac Jones, I think, is a really, really medium to low-end NFL starting quarterback. But the reason I don't have really strong opinions on Mac Jones is because you, and I predicted what we thought Mac Jones would be.

And is exactly what we thought he was. He's the opposite of Lamar Jackson. He's got a low ceiling. He's not very athletic. He can't take average players and make him great. If it's not on script, it's not going to work. He's exactly what you thought. He's exactly what I thought.

When you have a low ceiling, it's pretty easy. And you go into a really strong system, it's pretty easy to predict what you're going to be. The guys that are hard to predict, or Lamar and Josh Allen, where they have wildly high ceilings, but boy, they need the right coach. I mean, if Josh Allen goes to the Jaguars, he's not beaten Kansas City in Kansas City. If Lamar goes to the Jaguars, you think he's going to be this good? Baltimore and Buffalo have great ecosystems for those guys to flourish.

Those are the guys that are hard to guess. Max Jones is easy. You nailed it. You predicted it. You nailed it. In a system without great wide receivers, he's efficient and steady, and that's kind of what he can do. He can't make anything out of nothing, and that's what Lamar's specialty is. And so the idea that he's Danny Wharfell is, it's just not, doesn't make any sense.

Danny Werfel, and maybe that's why Rex isn't coaching. He had bad personnel vibes or something, because that's not close. All right. One more thing. So Kyler Murray is the third player in NFL history with 1,500 pass yards and a 75% completion percentage in the first five games of the season. You know, it's interesting who he joins, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees. And this is interesting, and it makes me think about Jalen Hertz. I would have never guessed this was going to happen his rookie year. When you can run around Kyler, Josh Allen Lamar, it buys you time two or three years,

Russell Wilson, to figure out playing the quarterback position from the pocket. That's really hard. Running around when you're fast, isn't. figuring out how to play quarterback in the pocket is really hard. And so that's why I thought about Jalen Hertz this morning. I thought, I've got to slow down on Jalen Hertz. Because there's a little bit of all those quarterbacks, Josh Allen, Russell Wilson. Looks a little lost in the pocket, but it's running around and making plays.

I'm going to be more patient on Jalen Hertz. Coming up on FS1, White Sox Astros game four. If you want to keep watching the herd, flip over right now to, F.S2. And with that, Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, aside from that amazing game last night, we got some other news around the NFL.

John Gruden stepped down as the coach of the Las Vegas Raiders football team. Hours after the New York Times, detailed emails in which he made homophobic and misogynistic remarks. Following an earlier report, that he made racist statements about Samora Smith, the director of the NFL PA. So Rich Bessatia will be the interim head coach now for the Raiders. He is the special teams coordinator. This all happened very quickly once the New York Times article was released. It was a during a seven period, seven-year period of time. Gruden criticized Roger Goodell. He talked about the concocted. Cushion protocols. He called Godella homophobic slur. Obviously talked about Samora Smith. He wanted Eric Reed fired for kneeling, suggested that the NFL shouldn't have pressured Jeff Fisher to draft Michael Sam, the first openly gay player that was in the league. Pretty much covered

every base for anything that you would offend someone for. I mean, at some point, ripping the commissioner on email, It's just not smart. Well, I mean, when you live your life without any consequences or repercussions for anything that you do, you tend to not think about what could possibly happen when you rip the commissioner of the league that you cover at this point. He wasn't coaching in the NFL. He was covering the NFL. But yeah, that's generally how these things go. I would be honest, none of this surprised me.

We're at the point in life where this is, this is, my existence. Like, I operate in this space where I have experienced these things so much that it no longer surprises me. Like, this is a reality for people. So to me, my reaction is one, the NFL did the right thing. The Raiders did the right thing in moving on. Yeah, yeah, you had to move on. It's one thing to make a mistake. It's another thing to have a pattern of behavior over years and years of time. And when you speak this way that consistently, on email. email, that is a reflection of not only how you think, but how you behave. So my other reaction to it is an immediate wave of anxiety of if this is what we're reading in emails, what is happening

that we're not seeing? Because this is truly how you think. This is how you view anyone around you that doesn't look or think like you as beneath you. You and I talked about this. Everybody's had a bad tweet. Everybody's had too many cocktails with friends. We're not saying people don't make mistakes. People say, nobody's perfect. You and I have never sought perfection. Nobody's asking for perfection. No, we're not. We're just saying seven years, face of the franchise, Chuckie Dolls in the stands, you are the face of this move. Well, with great power comes great responsibility. Seven years, multiple groups, multiple things, ripping this, ripping this, ripping that, it's too much. People, this idea, as I said, John canceled himself. People use the cancel culture all the

time. People can get in trouble, but they aren't, I think by and large, America will allow mistakes. We've seen a lot of people make mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes. But when it's lava flown out of a volcano for seven years and it's multiple groups and multiple sources, okay, that's different than you're at a cocktail party, you get lubricated, you say something, you drive home and your wife's like, you're an idiot, apologize. That's different than this. There is a big difference between making a mistake and a lifestyle. Yes, that's a good way to put it. This is a lifestyle for John Gruden.

And when you are, as your point, you're someone who has a lot of power and responsibility. If this is how you think, if this is what you believe, then that's how you hire. That's how you pay people. That's how you treat people. You can't separate believing that people are this way from how you conduct your business. And that's the gap that people who are talking about cancel culture are missing. This is who he is. So you think he just shuts that off when it's time to hire people, when it's time to allow people to come into the room, when it's time to take advice and have a diverse workplace.

You think he just removes how he feels about LGBT people, about women, about black men, about black women. You think he just shuts that off when it's time to make decisions and power. And it's not limited to John Gruden. So while John Gruden is the one who's gone today, let's not forget there were a lot of other names mentioned in this. And this is a result of an investigation of the Washington football team. Which has been... Which I'm looking forward to seeing the results of that.

Yeah, that's been a little bit of a clown show for about 10 years. Yeah. I'm not even going to get into what that investigation is about, because if you don't, we don't have enough time, but you can go read that yourself. Yeah. This is a result of powerful men who all look the same, being in the room together in a boys' club,

not being held accountable for their actions for decades. And this is what you get. So ever since the Chargers moved to L.A., they've been dealing with a lack of home field advantage at their games. We talk about it every time that there's going to be a large group of the away team fans there. But Brandon Staley thinks that having big stars in the roster will start to draw more fans to the team. He said, I think that most people that watch the game like to see a lot of people touch the ball. They want to see a team that can score a lot of different ways.

And I think people show up for stars in pro sports. our team has a lot of them in terms of guys that the average fan is going to say that person stands out to me. Well, he's right. This is not Green Bay where it's the only game in town. So in Los Angeles, where you've got a lot of options, the beach, the mountains, people make good money. They shop, they eat out. In Los Angeles, I do believe, I think I've said this to you, Joy, in Los Angeles is one of those cities. It's not that you win. It is how you win. Yeah. Like Magic Johnson, Kobe and Shaq. I mean, there's a reason Jerry West, new.

Every Detroit team in my life that's won in the NBA has been a tough team. Yeah. Because Detroit's a tough city. Los Angeles teams that win all got stars. You have to reflect your community. You have to understand the temperature of your city and what dry. By the way, you're from Miami.

There's a reason they go out and get Jimmy Butler and LeBron, Shack. Yes. Because it's a distracted market of perfect weather and aqua water. And so, you know, I mean, there is, Pat Riley knows it. And you also have to win, of course. Yes. And that is a big part of this.

That's the baseline. That's the baseline is that you are competitive. But it's easy to wrap your arms around this team. Like to his points, they have stars. They have good guys. They have an electric way of playing. Justin Herbert is emerging as a star in the league. And I do think that's going to matter here in Los Angeles and just for their brand around the NFL.

So I don't think that this will continue as long as it has been. for the past couple years. It's their first year in SoFi as well, and it's a distracted market, but I think the winning is what will bring people in and grow the fan base here in L.A. They go to Baltimore on Sunday and are currently three-point

underdogs. That is going to be one of the games of the week. Lamar Jackson is it the line three and a half or three? It's three right now. I think yesterday it may have been three and a half. Three and a half I'll take the chargers because they also have an extra day to prep.

You know, they lose it on travel. So, but it's going to be wild. You know, we got to be honest here. The Colts outplayed the Ravens for two and a half quarters. Well, let's talk about that. Lamar Jackson led the Ravens to a 31-25 comeback win. It was bleak in the first half. I mean, it was almost boring.

And I really felt like this was a game the Colts kind of had to win. Oh, and I thought they, there was, in my first opinion for the first half was, this is going to be a really boring game. Grunes the story. the game is awful, and then Lamar kind of changed things. Yes. Well, John Harbaugh was also extremely impressed with his quarterback. Performances I've ever seen, you know, and it wasn't easy. I mean, it wasn't like we came out just, you know, up and down the field.

We had to overcome and fight through some things. He was under pressure. He created plays with his feet. First of all, we've got Lamar Jackson, all right? And then next of all, we got a bunch of guys just like Lamar Jackson with heart and spirit and soul and persistence and all the other things. Lamar rally the Ravens from a 25-9 fourth quarter deficits. Three consecutive touchdown drives, a sentence at overtime.

Fourth straight touchdown drive came in overtime, and he ended the game on a five-yard toss to Marquise Brown. It was a very exciting game. You know, it's funny about him. He's so fast. So usually if a player fumbles, I can watch it and go fumble, but Lamar fumbled and I'm like, I just have to see it again. Because it went so fast.

I'm like, was his knee down? And then it's easily thundles. down. It wasn't even close to a fumble. But with Lamar, he wiggles in and out of space and you're like, and he fumbled and I'm like, I have no idea if that's a real fumble. And then you watch the replay and it was like, oh, his knee was down easily. It wasn't even close. I think this was a really, this is a really big win for Lamar. I don't, I'm with you. I don't get the criticism of Lamar. He's young. He's exciting. He does something the best out of anyone at his position in the league. He's won an MVP. He can obviously throw the ball. It just says,

It's like it's, that's like a nonsense thing to say at this point. He's obviously capable of throwing the ball. That's not. But there was a question about if he can come from behind. From behind. And he did that. He is a, he's just, it's very exciting to see all the young stars in this league. Like Alex was talking about all the young stars in Major League baseball.

I feel the same way about the NFL. Like the young quarterbacks, the young stars this league, like it's, it's so easy and fun to root for them. Remember when people when the NFL started clamping down on like headshots and over the middle? everybody's like, put dress. I can't stand this league. It's like, does anybody understand how much better the league is today than 10 years ago? It's way more fun to watch. The quarterback plays better.

Wide receivers now all want to go over the middle. Yeah. They all want, used to be had one guy, Michael Irvin would be like, okay, Michael will go over the middle. Nobody else. Like you take, by the way, UFC did this as well. When UFC first came out, they were like gouging. Yeah. I gouging.

And it's like, they were like, no, no. We have to attract people that like, like fighting, but it's too. much. Meathead guys like, oh, put dress on. It's like, you have to attract the widest group. And the NFL has gotten rid of some of the violence that is bad

for the sport. It's not only just bad for the sport, it's bad for the players. You're going to have stars missing time. It doesn't make any sense. And guess what? The ratings are up and people enjoy it. So they're right. 17%. Yeah. Do we like football? Yes. Even the boycotters are watching football. Joy with

the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Law. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. He's by Carmen. I'm Dan Byrd.

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. 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 sits, 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 Byer, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, at 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 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. Yep, that's me.

Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skisks. hits, 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. 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you. 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, you're 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your

favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns. Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now.

I love my Fairety clothes, founded by Twin Brothers Family. business guarantee their clothes for life. Fairety offering 20% off with a code herd. Fairety brand.com slash heard. You know, you and I, Joy, have talked about this before.

I always laugh at people. No cities get more crap than L.A., New York, and Chicago. Oh, those places, dangerous. It's where all the jobs are. It's where all the revenue in America is, right?

Like the California economy, 40 million people, is bigger than all but four economies in the world. They're countries. Like, China's is bigger. America's is bigger. Japan's is bigger.

I don't even know who's ahead of them. It's like there's stuff to do in those cities. Like, it does matter in Los Angeles. How you win. Our weather's great. In Buffalo, there's nothing else to do. The weather's terrible. You're locked indoors for six months.

So the bills become a bigger part of your life. In Green Bay. six months you're locked indoors the packers become a huge part of your life the minute the rams are not interesting it's 72 degrees out i got a beach i got a beach four and a half minutes from my house so in los angeles like stafford i talked to stan cronkey the owner of the rams about this at a party about a month ago i said stafford feels more like and plays more like the quarterback for our los angeles football team golf felt small nice kid felt small stafford feels big you need to star at And it's like with the Dodgers.

It's like Mookie Betts and Max Scher. Yeah, that feels like a Los Angeles baseball team should. Nothing against Mac Muncie, but like Mookiee Betts is a star. And Max Scherzer at the break. Clayton Kershaw is a star. And it does matter here. So like Los Angeles right now is in a very unique space in sports. All of our teams win.

All of them. Clippers, Lakers, Dodgers, Rams, Chargers. And they're all driven by stars. I mean, you say the Chargers, but Herbert now is a star. Bose is a star. Don't get yourself. Mike William, these guys are emerging as stars because Herbert's making everybody look better. So whenever people say Los Angeles isn't a great sports town, I've gone to volleyball beach tournaments that get 300,000 people here, the L.A. marathon.

Folks, we have so many teams and so many things to do and so many distractions. I always say Miami's not a great sports town. It's a great event town. LA is a great sports town. The Dodgers draw almost 5 million people. And by the way, when you watch a Dodger game, you'll be amazed how few people are drinking beer. They just go to watch the games.

Like I remarked about this the other day, you watch a Dodger game, I'm fascinated by it. Nobody's eating. Everybody's watching the games. But when you have so many options and things to do, it does matter how you construct a team. And I said, when LeBron came to town, because the Lakers have always been.

Lakers and Dodgers have always, when USC football's big, that feels big, but I think those days are over. It's a Dodger-Laker town. And when the Lakers get a star like Kobe and Shaq, they can shrink everybody else. Everybody else gets very small. So when the Lakers went and got LeBron, I don't think it was a coincidence. The Clippers are like, we got to get Kauai. And the Dodgers are like, yeah, we're going to get Mookie Betts. You're all competing.

There's only so many. There's a lot of sweets and there's only so many you can sell. So I do think there's the LeBron factor in Cleveland. It doesn't really matter because you're going to go to the games. It's Cleveland. It's the winner. The NBA is a winner league. It doesn't matter.

Hell, the Lakers share their arena with another team. So, and there's, you know, again, you go in a seven game, you lose seven to ten games in Los Angeles, even with the Lakers. You're going to see empty seats. I mean, I'm not even counting Orange County where the angels are at. And they got the MVP in Otani, Mike Trout. They got plenty of stars down there. And they won a World Series, I think, in the last 20 years. So it does matter.

When people say LA's a bad sports town, you have to construct it differently here. We have more things to do. You have bad weather. We have Mediterranean weather. And it's also 8,000 restaurants. It's one of the great food cities in North America. The economy is on fire. They're building YouTube and Google and Facebook.

They literally, YouTube bought a mall, 300 yards from where I sit, a mall. And they're building a huge office. There's a lot of money and a lot of options and things. to do. And we got mountains in the state, right out of the state. People go ski. People go hike. And so it's a good time for L.A. Sports. But when I watch the Dodgers, it is like, I think Alex Rodriguez brought up a good point between losing Kike Hernandez and losing Max Muncie and losing Jock Peterson, you know, moving off players. And then Bellinger got, it's just been a hard season. They have earned every win. They have needed every dollar. But it has been, I mean, San Francisco's no fluke.

good all year. They've got a lot of good players. The Dodgers between injuries, players leaving. They are their season on the brink this afternoon. I am here to watch it. It's going to be absolutely fantastic. I'd be honest. I want to see the Dodgers keep winning. They're fun. Hour three. Heard next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and headwriter, 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 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations. that it's really not safe to have anywhere,

but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media. Well now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, 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 Podcast, 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