The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Herd Hierarchy, Simmons

Episode Date: October 19, 2021

Colin's new Herd HierarchyMore on the end of the Bills-Titans gameBen Simmons has been suspendedGuests: Moose Johnston, Ric Bucher Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRodio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. Hour 2. Live in L.A. It's the Herd Dodgers season on the line today at 2 o'clock.

Pacific Walker, Bueller goes for the Dodgers. Here's the season today. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, IHeartRadio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. It's just blink of an eye. Very, very long season. all of a sudden you look up Dodgers had that do-or-die game

Cardinals, one close do-or-die game against the Giants, one close, this whole season for them. Injuries, urgency, winner go home, and they've answered the bell every time. So here's the season today. You're at home.

You probably have your number two. Scher would be considered, you know, your number one because of his experience with the Detroit Tigers and the nationals. Walker Bueller's your great young arm. They need like eight good innings from him. Go to Jansen in the bullpen, give everybody else rest, and then they got a shot to beat Atlanta.

Well, listen, this is what it's all about. This is what you make the big bucks for, the big moments. So here we go. It's the herd hierarchy. There are a lot of good teams. I pay respect to one team. I'm not sure they're a top 10 team, but I have to respect their quarterback. So here we go.

Heard hierarchy. Time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. I'm going to put the Raiders in there because I think they're very viable offensively, and it's mostly for Derek Carr, who's already on his fifth coach now with the Raiders. He's second most passing yards in the NFL. He has multiple touchdown passes in every Raider game this year, every win for them.

The offensive line is regressed. They're swimming in chaos. They're not brilliantly run or not. managed or coached, and here are the Raiders in a tough division at 4 and 2. Now, they don't take the ball away at all. They got three takeaways against Denver. They had three all season. So it's a very limited team that has to win only one way a shootout, but they deserve

recognition Raiders at 10. Number 9. The Titans, they're boring. They do it a different way, but let's be honest, outside of an overtime loss to the Jets, they'd be on a five-game winning streak. the bills have a great pass rush. They didn't allow a single sack last night. And Ryan Tannehill may put you to sleep,

but it's the ninth game. He's come back in the fourth quarter to win. By the way, that's the most in the NFL in that span. So the reality is since he's become a Titan, he's been a very good late game quarterback. And Derek Henry's the best running back by a mile. I think they're well-coached. They don't have the offensive firepower.

They're not going to be as flashy as Kansas City. They're not controversial like a Cleveland. They're a really well-coached football team that can go toe-to-to-to physically with every team in this league. They're number nine. Number eight. I don't know what to do with Green Bay because I don't think they're playing great football. And this is every single year with Matt LaFleur, they've started five and one. And they just beat the Bears.

And they always beat the Bears. I feel they're very dependent on one wide receiver, Devonte Adams. I will say this. The Packers' defense, 16 straight games. They're not going to allow a 300-yard passer. I think they're pretty good on the back end. They have one of the great corners in the game that will be coming back, Jayaer Alexander.

It's a good football team. I don't think they're playing brilliant football right now. It feels like it's dependent on Aaron Rogers, Aaron Jones, and Devonte Adams, but I put them at 8. Number 7. Here comes Kansas City. They are averaging 3.1 points. per drive.

What does that tell you? They don't go three and out. Most dangerous offense in the league, they've got to end the turnovers. Now, here's the good news. They're not punning, so the offense is still fine when they don't turn it over. They've had 10 punts this year.

That's bizarre. It's the fewest in the NFL. Here's the downside why I only put him seven. They're allowing seven yards of play. It's just hard to win in a quarterback league when you're almost giving up a first down every play. So it's a firework show. They cut down on the turnovers.

They're going to end up winning this division. Number six. Tampa Bay. I think they'll be higher than this in a month, but three of their top four secondary players are out. They're the most penalized team. But they're number one in passing. They're going to have three receivers over 1,000 yards.

They have the greatest quarterback of all time. Again, this week, they're about five or six in the league. I think in a month they're probably top three, Tampa Bay at number six. Number five. But I'll give Dallas, even though Dallas lost them, I think this morning, Dallas is the better team. They lead the NFL in yards per play, 6.6. They've outgamed every opponent, including Tampa Bay this year. They have only team in the league that's 6 and 0 against the spread.

What does that tell you? They're still undervalued by everybody around the league. Vegas doesn't want you to bet the Cowboys, the most popular team in America, and go 6 and 0. That's the team they don't want to be. and six on. This defense is fast. I think they have the best playmaking corner in the league. I thought tight end was an issue. It's not. It's become very productive. As long as they're healthy on the offensive line, this is as good and productive an offense outside of maybe Kansas City as the league has. Number four. I'll give it to the Rams because I think they're overall a better

defense than Dallas, but four of their five wins have come against playoff teams last year. So they have played a really tough schedule and they're winning games. And in 18 straight games, over 300 yards offense. So I think they're brilliantly coached. Matt Stafford gives them big play potential. You know, their offensive line always feels old to me, but every time I go to PFF, it's rated in the top four. Cam Acres is gone, but Sony, Michelle and Henderson have been excellent replacements.

So Michelle comes from somewhere else. Henderson was already on the roster. They look great this past weekend. There's no reason why they can't win the NFC. There's nothing standing in their way. They've got a pass rush. They've got a quarterback. They're explosive.

They can own the clock. They lead it half. They've never lost under McVeigh. Number three. But I'd give the Ravens a slight edge because I think they're so electric at quarterback. They're on a five-game winning streak. They're only lost to the Raiders. That's another reason I put the Raiders in the poll.

They'd be the number one AFC seed right now. You know, it comes down to this with Lamar Jackson. He's won 10 of 11 start. He's won 85% of his games. Whether you like, they're not always pretty. I mean, against the Colts, they were bad first half. They have bad quarters. You know, very much, Lamar's very much a rhythm player.

And when he's not in a rhythm, he'll have a bad half or a bad series or a bad quarter. But they are so electric and so dynamic. And I'm not sure there's a roster in the NFL where guys are closer. I got Baltimore at three. Number two. I'm going to move Buffalo down one spot. By the way, they had more yards, more plays, more first. downs, more time of possessions than the Titans.

They came a banana peel on a slip by Josh Allen from beating a good football team. I'm not going to drop them more than one spot. This is still an excellent football team. 75% of the time, maybe 95% with Josh Allen, you're going to get a first down on that play. He slipped. I'm not going to drop him. Bill's number two. Number one.

What do you want me to do with Arizona? You know the thing I like about Arizona? We pay all this attention to Kyler Murray, and we should. But it's not just that he's dynamic. He's completing 74% of his passes. So they've got veteran leadership. They can get your short yardage. They can run the football.

They protect the quarterback. They get to your quarterback. I think we're spending so much time saying it's all about Kyler and DeAndre Hopkins. Oh, yeah, that's great. That's the icing. But the cake is really good here. They protect it. They run it.

They get after your quarterback. I really like what Steve Kime did. J.J. Watt. Going out and getting, you know, Matt Prater, like veteran presence on special teams, offense, defense, right now. I'm going to tell you something. They are a Hail Mary away from beating Cleveland 37 to 7 in Cleveland. That Hail Mary is, you know, you start to think,

odd games pretty competitive. It wasn't competitive, like at all. And Cleveland's good. All right. First fullback in the history of football to be named to a Pro Bowl, 11 years, three Super Bowl rings, and a couple of Pro Bowls. Moose Johnson joining us, Fox Sports NFL analyst. By the way, you had the bank.

I want to talk Bengals before we get to Dallas because you had the Bengals this past week. And I was shocked that they would go on the road and complete. I'm not saying Detroit's great, but you've been in this league for a long time. It's hard to blow people out in the road. Cincinnati's kind of a rebuilding team. I was kind of like, wow, that's something, right? Like for people that didn't see it, why was it so effortless for Cincinnati? What did they do?

Because I just was, that game wasn't even close. second quarter it was over. Yeah, well, maybe second half a little bit. I think in the first quarter, it was a little bit more competitive than I anticipated. I think the big thing, Colin, is that emotional gas tank for the Detroit Lions finally hit empty. I mean, after losing the way they've lost those first five games to start the year, but still came back to work every Monday, ready to get back at it.

Let's fix our mistakes. Let's improve in the areas we can improve in. We know we have a small margin for error. We're not as talented as most of the teams that we're going to be facing down the stretch. here. But they come in and continue to grind and continue to work. And I think it just finally caught up with them in the second half of that game. And, you know, that's, that was the one concern that we had about Detroit. But it was one of the things I wanted to see from Cincinnati because Zach Taylor, the head coach said that Green Bay game was not a measuring stick for us. I know

how good we are and that was a tough loss. I thought it would be more impressive to me to see Cincinnati come out after that tough loss against a very stubborn, tough Detroit line team and just knocked them out the park early. Yeah. So I want to ask you about this because I, we don't talk about this in the media, but I think it's really important that when you're a football coach, you got 55, 60, alpha males, successful guys, hard workers, mostly aggressive guys. I would be, if I had a quarterback I trusted, Moose, I would go for it and fourth and three constantly because I think I would get, I would understand the temperature of the room is that I'm not going to go to my special teams. I'm not going to backups. I'm not going to a kicker. I think sometimes,

just to buy equity in a room, if you trust your quarterback, you just go for it. And you live with the consequences. So I didn't have a problem with Buffalo last night going forward. Kind of what's your takeaway on that? I didn't have a problem either, especially on the road against a team like Tennessee. You don't want to get into overtime. So to me, it's the execution of it. Every time we see these situations and it comes up short, everybody wants to complain about the decision that was made.

How about the execution? Look at Dion Dawkins. watch what happens to your left tackle. That's where the play breaks down. It's not the play call. It's the execution of the play that was called. And listen, I was a part of that back when we played in Dallas. We went to Philadelphia.

We got stuffed on fourth and whatnot once but twice. We were saved by the two-minute warning being called right prior to the snap. And we came back and ran the exact same play and got stuffed again. So I understand, you know, the play call. Some people will go there, but I always go to the execution. As players in the NFL, that play comes into the huddle, and you may not agree with it. You may have wanted something else,

but that's what was called, and you go out and you execute that play. Yeah. Listen, I've said this. I thought Dallas would be a playoff team. But one of my criticisms on Dallas is it's a very insular organization. It's the Jones family. I'm a big believer.

If you own a company, you need outside voices, and it's not kind of the way it's run. But I will say this. You look at the last two drafts, Moose. Boy, they've hit some home runs. I mean, out of the park. Trayvon Diggs may be the best young corner in the game, Michael Parsons. I mean, they've really done C.D. Lamb, I didn't love it.

I thought they don't need a wide receiver. He's spectacular. Yeah. And I'm from the outside looking in, but the guys like me, the people like me sometimes, we look at the Cowboys and think it's just, it's all the Jones family. It's a, you know, they don't let anybody else in. Are they better run than we give them credit for? Will McLeigh has done an outstanding job.

And I think Stephen Jones is taking a bigger role in that department. And I think that they've got a really, really good chemistry. I think that Will McLeigh has done a great job of being able to provide Jerry Jones a snapshot of a player based on color coding, where he can pick up a one sheeter and look at it and really have a good feel for what Will and Stephen are thinking. So I think it's always been a joint effort. I think there's a little bit more responsibility, maybe shifting with some of the people who've been a part of that decision-making process. But Will McLean and Stephen Jones have got a really good. chemistry going right now. I've had the privilege and the honor to sit in on some of those draft

meetings, and it is cumulative effort. I mean, you're talking about all the scouts. Everybody has the opportunity to step up and voice their opinion for or against a player at that time. So it's not the way we look at it from the outside where we think it's a real small group at the top funneling it down. It's a large group at the bottom pushing it up. So I think they're getting a lot of good information. And you just ran through a list of guys. I was the same with you with CD Lamb, because they just got in Michael Gallagher, who was a heck of a player in the third round, you know, the year before. So they've done a really nice job. I think it's showing up this year.

That's the most impressive thing to me is if they had that depth issue that they had last year, you know, we've seen them weathered the storm on the defensive side of the ball. There's some good players that have been out of this lineup for several weeks now, and they're still playing at a high-low. No, that's a great point. By the way, the concern is, and I said this yesterday, is that, if a coach or a player kept making the same mistake, I mean, if you had a wide receiver that dropped the football, like, that's who he is after a while. You're like, listen, he's fast. He runs good routes, but he drops the ball. Mike McCarthy, I went back and found an article from 2017, and they talked about his game management and his weird use of timeouts. It's the same thing. I'm like, that feels like a legitimate concern that maybe Mike should be taken out of the end-of-half clock management thing.

Is that a reasonable request and is that being talked about in Dallas? It pops up every once in a while. I think the last time, I think it was the Philadelphia game where they let that minute and 10 seconds kind of burn at the end of that first half. You know, they were playing well, but they weren't producing points at that time. So that game was much closer than it should have been. And I think that a lot of the fan base felt that that was an opportunity. There was plenty of time at that point. If they were more wise with the use of their timeouts to get another opportunity to get to get

not three, but potentially seven, as explosive as they were in that first half. So it does pop up from time to time. There's been a number of coaches around the NFL who struggled with this. There's a lot going on on game day. And that's just one of the other elements that you're worried about. So I have seen some of the head coaches really kind of delegate that. And there's been conversations about that once they get into those situations, but it's a shared responsibility.

I went up and visited with the Chiefs one year. And that was Andy Reid's big focus, that offseason was because, you know, he was always criticized for his clock management. And Andy, he went back and he took 1,300 plays from the NFL season that he felt were impactful. End of half, end of game with decision makings regarding the clock. And went through all of the different scenarios and tried to come up with some type of philosophy at those points in the game. So it's something that I think sometimes coaches overlook until it becomes something really, really important on game day. And then it's too late because you haven't prepared yourself.

So when you look around the league, Is there a team? I thought it was Buffalo until last night. Is there a team? I put Arizona number one because I think they're winning, they're doing multiple things well. They're not dependent. You know, Kyler, beyond being excellent playmakers,

completing like 74% of his throws, which is insane. Is there a team to you that jumps out? Or do you think there's seven or eight in this league that are all tight? I think there's four to six that are tight. I love your analogy with Arizona about the cake. get caught up with the icing and the cake is pretty good. And I think they actually changed the flavoring of the cake in the offseason because when we had them a couple of weeks ago against the Rams, our entire group felt differently walking out

of the production meeting, especially in regards to Kyler Murray. There's something different about him this year. He was, I'm not saying that he wasn't enjoyable in the past, but he was a little bit curt with his responses. This time he was much more engaging. you could see that there was a sense of ownership with him on the offensive side of the ball. And when we talked to some people within the organization, really what it came down to is Patrick Peterson moving on to Minnesota on the defensive side.

And Larry Fitzgerald still trying to figure out exactly what he wants to do on the offensive side. So some of these younger guys have now stepped up into leadership roles. And I think that Kyler Murray is one of those guys and he's embraced it. And I think your other great point was the addition of some veteran leadership in J.J. Watt, in A.J. Green, Rodney Hudson. I think that that has been really, really important, too. Here's what you have to do to be a pro. And when you've got a young roster and your young players can watch three guys like that, get ready. Not what they do on Sunday, but what they do Monday through Saturday to get ready for Sunday. That's a huge plus as well.

Moose, Fox Sports NFL Adelance, Three Rings. Great seeing you as always, my man. Thank you so much for stopping by. Yeah, you got it. Always good to visit Colin. Yeah. Arizona's a fun story. There's always a team that jumps out in this league every year and there's a team we're like, okay, and that's Arizona this year. But I think my favorite part about Arizona was the way in which they popped. They moved off a coach and a quarterback. Nothing against the people, Steve Wilkes or Josh Rosen, but it was like, nobody does that in this sport. Hey, made a mistake, coach quarterback.

Boom, change. And it's worked. You just do not see that in professional sports where a general manager has ownership of a mistake in the two most vital areas. The head coach and the quarterback, he moved off both, and the winner are the fans in Arizona. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say

it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's super 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, 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 a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed 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 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, you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? 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, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Tonight, it's game four of the ALCS as Jose Altoube and the Astros.

take on Zander Bogart's and the Red Sox at 7.30 Eastern, 430 Pacific, only on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. A lot of good stuff going on. Red Sox keep hitting grand slams. We're so lucky. October, the weather's perfect. Like, it's cool now. I open up the window in my bedroom. It's incredible.

It is so cold. I get up this morning and it's like so great. It's just, it's cold. And these gate, today I get an afternoon. basically do-or-die baseball game for one of the most talented teams in the last 10 years, the Dodgers. How good is the after a Monday night football game, almost all these standalone games this year have been fantastic.

You get that and then the NBA starts today. We'll be watching that tonight. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, it appears to be hitting the fan in Philadelphia. It's funny. Ben Simmons was kicked out of today's 76ers practice.

for not being engaged, according to sources, that led to him being suspended for behavior detrimental to the team for tomorrow night's season opener on the road against the Pelicans. Simmons was expected to speak to the media today for the first time since the Sixers lost to the Hawks in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals. But obviously that is now canceled. Joel Embed, however, did speak to the media after practice. And he was asked about Simmons. And he said at this point, I don't care about that, man. honestly. He does whatever he wants. That's not my job. I'm only focused on trying to make the team better, win some games, play hard every night, and try to lead the guys that we have here.

I am not here to babysit. This has always been my rule. I've talked about this before. I'm I cannot babysit other men. Like at 35, if you don't have your act together. I'm not babysitting anybody. If you are not in my blood, I'm not babysitting you. So it's like at this point with Ben Simmons, he is so spoiled, he's such a brat that, I mean, when you wear, when you put a cell phone in your sweats, you're just, you're just trying to be obnoxious. You're being obnoxious to prove a point. And you know what I hope they do? I hope they trade him to an awful team. And fans heckle him. That's where I know Ben Simmons. How could he go to a good team? We're showing video of practice. He had on his sweatpants, so he wasn't really engaged and he had a cell phone in his

pocket during practice. We're also showing video of him now. the team is breaking down in the huddle after practice. He's not in the huddle and he's walking around in the back and then just kind of walks off. Doc Rivers also spoke to the media after practice and said, I thought he was a distraction today. I didn't think he wanted to do what everyone else was doing. I'm not going to give Ben every chance to be part of the team. As a coach, I have to protect the team first.

Here's my question with Ben Simmons and what's happening right now. One, the Sixers are not a bad team. No, I like the roster. If this was a poorly run organization. Yeah. Now listen, we have questions about them allowing this to get to this point, but they're not a bad, a poorly run team. They have a championship winning head coach. They have another star in Joelle and B.

They have a good roster. They're considered a contender every single year. So it's not like you're leaving a terrible poorly run organization that's flying through coaches and can't get the roster right and the fans are iffy. This is a very well-respected organization. Oh, they have a star. It's at Tobias Harris-Curray. MB, it's not a bad team at all. If Ben Simmons was 75% as good as we thought he would be, it's a championship level team.

Well, yeah, that's the other part. You're playing a role in them not being successful with your actual play on the actual court. So we can talk about all the intangibles and getting along and all those other things. You didn't play well enough for them to be where they're supposed to be. Honestly, sometimes I wonder, and I don't know his background here much about it. But, like, if I was acting, if my son was acting like this at 23, I would call him as a dad and say, get it together. You're embarrassing the, you're being a schmuck.

Is there nobody in his life that will say anything? I don't know, because I don't know what the end game is here. Like, it's not about, I could support this behavior, I suppose. If he was being mistreated, if it was a dysfunctional situation, if it was very obvious that he's being wrong to But that's not the situation. It's disrespectful to the rest of the team. Who is there engaged trying to win a championship? They didn't do you wrong.

Like, okay, get the comments at the end of the season. Okay, we're adults here, right? Like at one point you move on from that. If I'm another team, why am I interested in this? What is the motivation? The takeaway from this, once again, in life when you have crisis, and you're not directly involved in it.

You're the other NBA teams. You watch it. and learn from it. The rule on this with Kyrie last year leaving for two weeks and Ben Simmons, when you sniff it at practice, get on the phone and move him. It always gets worse. It always gets worse. We went on this for two, three years.

Kyrie last year literally disappeared for two weeks. You get on the phone quietly and you move him. Every time, because now with social media, players can have their own message. They can control the narrative. you've got to get out of bad spaces. And the NBA, the way the CBA works here, teams are, and the NFL, you could just cut a guy. But that's not the CBA here.

So the player has huge leverage. And where can he go? If I'm another team, I'm looking at it like this. Does he still offer some elite traits? Yes. Is he still a great player? Yes. But if you're doing this to the Sixers,

who have a championship contending roster, who have a good coach, who are well-run organization with a good fan base, very well-respected, you come to us, and you get tired of the way that we do things, why are you not going to do this again? Why are you not going to put us in a bad spot?

Of course you are. So this is a very bizarre situation. So the Giants got blowdown again on Sunday, losing 38 to 11 to the Rams, and head coach Joe Judd said that this team won't quit, and there's still a lot of football to be played. He said this is definitely going to get better. I don't know what kind of guarantee fans wants,

but I can assure everyone out there as Giants fans, and they want to know when it's going to turn. I can tell them we're working tirelessly to make sure we get this thing turned in the right. direction, not just for short-term results, but for long-term success. They are currently 1 in 5 after finishing 6 and 10 last season. State of New York football, pretty rough. Jets are 1 and 4 in how to buy this week. If you have three things going on with your football team, you cannot win. Your quarterback's mistake prone, your offensive line is awful, and you

are missing your best player or two. So Sequin Barclay can stay healthy, quarterback's turnover prone, offensive line's bad. Y'all love Robert's soft. for the Jets, why can't he win? His quarterback's mistake prone, the offensive line's bad, and they don't have enough star power. Frank Reich had just two of these, and he's a good coach. Earlier this year, his stars were all beat up, and the offensive line was bad. Just two of them. His quarterback wasn't mistake prone, Carson Wentz, and they couldn't win.

They went 0 and 3. The three things in this league that just kill it. Your quarterback turns it over, your O line is awful, so you can't engineer a run game, and your top players are hurt. Seekwon Barclay's never healthy, so this is not a job. Joe Judge issue. I'll defend him to the end. Brian Flores, we thought he was a good coach. His quarterback plays not great.

They don't have a lot. Will Fuller's not playing Star Power and the offensive line's a mess in Miami. You can't. Belichick has a good offensive line and Mack Jones doesn't turn it over and he can't win. I just don't know what the solve is because I agree with you. I don't think that it's Joe Judge, but someone has to answer for this eventually. Get a get fired. They'll fire the GM. you're hearing booze in the stadium. The fans are not happy as they shouldn't be. Like this should be a significant step-up year anyway.

Like you have to start showing progress. They have pieces. Do you start moving pieces and get to number one, two or three in the draft and do another quarterback? I mean, we know this to be true. Except last night. Well, this past weekend, if you count Monday as next week, although we don't, of the 14 games, the best quarterback won 13 of them.

So could you solve it if you got the? the right quarterback. Absolutely. Yeah. So do you just do in Arizona and say, okay, we have Daniel Jones, but we're going to draft another quarterback because right now, to me, there's something culturally wrong with the Giants. Since Coughlin left, they're just bad. They can't. You're now on your third coach.

Is it front office? Is it scouting? Whatever it is, it's not working upstairs. No. Jones has four passing touchdowns and four interceptions this year. Not good enough. So Jimmy Garoppolo participated in practice yesterday. Tray Lance is still sideline with a knee injury.

So according to the San Francisco Chronicle, Jimmy G. did not appear to be limited by the calf injury from early October. He has missed the last six quarters from the calf strain in the first half of the team's week four loss of the Seahawks. Trey Lance started the following weeks of the Cardinals but left with a knee sprain. So they host the Colts on Sunday night and are currently three and a half point favorites, according to Fox Bet, are the Niners. That numbers come down. It was four at one point.

if it comes down to three, take the Niners. Because generally, Sean McVeigh with extra prep time, how good do they look? If you give me Kyle Shanahan with an extra four or five days to prep, you have a buy week, it's pretty good. I mean, yes, but who's going to be playing quarterback is the question? I think Garoplo is. If he's healthy, I mean, this is always the question with Jimmy G. And now you have another injury with Trey Lance.

They really can't seem to get it together with these injuries across the board with the 49ers. But it's, I just don't know what to make. of them this year. That division is so difficult. And now you have the Niners and the Seahawks dealing with quarterback injuries. I think the division could quickly get away from both of those teams. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's

the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line. 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. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlie. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually

talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches, we talk to players, we tell you stories. You download it, you listen to it, I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Alib 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 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. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Cliverman. 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, men, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

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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 J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day But just so y'all know

I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack So I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you finishing that sentence And yes

I don't think there's a more important year For black people Really? Yeah For me it's one of the most important years For black people in American history Listen to look back at it On the IHeart Radio app

Apple Podcasts Or wherever you get your podcast 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, Tript Fantine, 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.

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Go to NetSuite by Oracle. One of a kind financing. NetSuite.com slash herd, H-E-R-D right now. You know, I was thinking about it. I had my herd hierarchy. And I was thinking, I mean, this morning, eight divisions in football, seven are led by the best quarterback in the division.

The only one that's not as Mahomes, and he's a game out, to Derek Karnh Herbert, who are also excellent. So you've got to have a quarterback. And, you know, but I was looking at the 10 teams I hadn't heard hierarchy and their quarterbacks. And this is where the NFL is so well positioned for the future is that of the 10 quarterbacks, you're covered for the future. You've got four young guys, Mahomes, Lamar, Josh, and Kyler.

So the future is covered. You got the old guys who have the brand who, you know, they're good for branding. We've seen them before. They're part of the sports history. Aaron Rogers, Brady, and Matt Stafford. You got the old guys, the veteran guys that a lot of people root for. And you don't just have old guys and young guys. Then you got guys in the middle that are kind of in their prime.

They're very, very good, Dak, Tanna Hill, and Derek Carr. You're covered. You got the future. You got the older present. You got really good guys who are a little under the radar. Maybe you're not ranked here or there. The NFL is in a really good spot right now. Their branding's good.

The right teams are good. I mean, if you look at Fox, we have the NFC. You know what this? I was just talking to a boss this morning about this. You know what we're going to get in the playoffs? We're going to get Dak and the Cowboys. We're going to get Aaron Rogers and the Packers. And we're going to get a lot of Tom Brady.

And number four could be the L.A. market, the Rams. And they're fun to watch. The Rams are very explosive. They're very well coached. That's pretty good. Now, you have smaller markets in the AFC, but I get Lamar, Mahomes, Josh Allen. I mean, just this league has, you got the old guys with the big brands. You got the emerging stars.

You got big markets, L.A. covered. You got Buffalo and Baltimore covered. My daughter called me this morning. Can you get me Ravens tickets? I want to go see a friend in Baltimore. I'm like, they sell all their seats. Can you ask for Jags tickets? I can get you Jaguars?

Can I get some Baltimore tickets? I mean, I feel like you have that influence. I think you have that power. I'm like Baltimore. And they still like you in Baltimore. They should. Yeah. I love Baltimore.

Now where could you not get tickets? Might be a little difficult in Cleveland. I wouldn't go to Cleveland at this point. I'm not sure. I might have to make the calls in Miami. That's funny. Is Buecker ready to go? NBA season starts the night.

My buddy Fox Sports NBA analyst, Rick Buecher joins us live. I mean, Ravens tickets. Who can get Ravens tickets? All right. So I said this, I do kind of feel with the Lakers. It kind of does feel like, listen, Westbrook, listen, he doesn't wear well over time. AD's slightly declining.

LeBron's older. Frank Vogel, a lot of egos could be turbulent. It kind of feels like this is, this may be LeBron's last. great shot, right? No longer to young stars saddle up with LeBron like they did in Miami feeling, oh, go win a championship with LeBron. It does feel like to me this year, this could be LeBron's last King of the Hill year where he's a favorite, he goes and wins, or am I too hyperbolic here? No, Colin, I don't know why you're equivocating. Like, why are you half stepping on this?

Without question, they've pushed all their chips to the middle of the table. This is the last gasp. Let's get all of the old guard together. Let's get a bunch of guys who have not won a championship and may be hungry for it and may be willing to sacrifice in order to get it done. Let's see if this ultimately will work. But with five guys over the age of 35,

and I believe nine on the roster over the age of 30, we know which direction this team is going. And they've basically spent all of their actions. assets, all of their young assets and building blocks in order to take this one last shot. And look, LeBron doesn't need it to justify the move to L.A., but ultimately, if we're going to say this was an unqualified success in coming to the Lakers, to, without question, sounds better than one. But just be forewarned, if they don't get it, they are falling off the cliff after this.

They are old and expensive, and that's not a good thing to have with a guy who's 37 years old, who you cannot replicate with another piece. It's not like we're going to find somebody else, and we can kind of massage this and build around him instead of LeBron. They already tried that. That was the idea with Anthony Davis. We've already seen that it's not going to go in that direction. So you don't have to, like, question that you're moving. this direction, like open up the sail and go up full bore.

Yeah. This is the last best chance. Okay. How does Kyrie play out? I said this last year when he disappeared for two weeks. He's the only star in my life I'd trade for bench players. I just get him out of the organization. He said he won't retire, which I think does give Brooklyn a little tiny crevice to

potentially move him. I think the Clippers could be an interesting place. How do you think it ends in Brooklyn with Kyrie? I think just one of two things. Well, the first thing will be that they just want to see how long is this mandate going to stay in place? And can, how can we get along through the first 15, 20 games? What do we look like? Are we sailing? Are we fine? Are we okay? I hate to use the sailing reference twice in a row. But the, like, how are we? And if we're okay with Kyrie being on the side, then maybe we just wait this out. and we get him back when the mandate is loosened and see where we go. Now, if they're struggling right out of the gate, then that's obviously an asset that they can translate into an addition of talent. But the other tricky part is going to be,

regardless of what he says as far as I'm not going to retire, the question still is, what impact is he going to have on your franchise? And is he going to be there because of, or not be there because of something else that's come up, some other cause that distracts him or that he finds more important. He said it at one of the post-game press conferences, basketball just wasn't that important to him. It wasn't the most important thing.

I think it was the Palestine-Israel conflict. And he had just spent two and a half hours playing basketball, but as soon as he got to the podium, there were more important things. If I'm running a franchise and what I have to pay Kyrie Irving and what I'd have to give up to get Kyrie Irving, a guy that's not all in on doing his job is not a guy I would want in in my franchise. For the same reason that you're saying, if I'm Brooklyn, I would like to move on without him, I would think every other franchise would have the trepidation of bringing him in.

By the way, Ben Simmons, we got a couple of minutes left. I said this years ago, when a player's a problem, get on the phone, do it quietly move him. It only gets worse. The player has more leverage. Does Ben Simmons have a market in this league? Could you trade him? Oh yeah, you can trade him. You just can't trade him for what Darry where Darry has set the standard. You're not going to get a C.J. McCullum, much less a Damian Lillard. You're not going to get a Bradley Beale. You're going to have to, Darry's going to have to get to the point where he believes in addition by subtraction. And that's not where he is right now. The problem is with Ben is that Ben, is that

Ben very much wants to be traded. He has made that clear. They have not traded him. So now he said, you know what, you embarrassed me last summer by saying that I was the reason. One play was the reason that we lost the series to the Atlanta Hawks. You put that all on me. You know what? I'm going to embarrass you now. I'm going to show up in order to get my paycheck, but I'm not going to listen to you. I'm not going to let you think that you can talk me into returning. I'm going to be as I'm going to humiliate you in the same way that you humiliated me last summer. And that's what he's about. The problem is that that undermines the ability to trade him.

Because everybody is looking at it saying, well, Daryl has to move him. It has to be addition by subtraction. So we're going to lowball him. And Daryl's like, no, I got a team that's, I think, on the cusp of playing for a championship. I need to get talent that can help me right now. Draft picks isn't going to do it. Young talent isn't going to do it. I need a bona fide all-star coming back in my direction.

And that's just because of the way Ben is handling it and where Daryl has set the bar, there's no easy solution right now. I would imagine what they're going to try to do is hope that they can get, again, very much like the Kyrie Irving situation. Let's see the first 15-20 games. Let's see if somebody who thinks they're a title contender starts to panic. Let's see if the Los Angeles Lakers get off to a terrible start and say, you know what, we got to change something up.

We need to add some defense. Could they bite on something? That, I believe, is going to be the strategy at this point because there is not a market for Ben Simmons as of right now, at least not one that Darry finds suitable. All right. League starts tonight. Good seeing you, buddy. or Fox Sports NBA analyst, good stuff.

It is, you know, it is, you never see this in the WNBA. It's something about guys and egos. When's the last time you had two stars in the WNBA pouting and crazy time? Like you don't see it. You know, I just look at this and I'm like, the media loves for athletes to have power and say, but this has always been my knock. The NBA has always been a players league. I'm comfortable with that.

But there is a point where labor has to be. responsible. And remember, labor in the NBA is like 27 years old. So the hierarchy, the way football is built, the power is into older coaches and older quarterbacks and older GMs, just like the company I work for and all the companies. And the NBA, the power is often with 26-year-olds. It doesn't matter what business you're in. That's a dicey proposition. So it's interesting because both the Nets and the Sixers have put their foot down in the last like 10 days. They're like, enough now. We're over it. We're not going to do a harden in Houston where you just, you really, you upend the franchise. So I praise both the Sixers and the Nets for saying, enough is enough. We're not going to be

controlled by one person. We've got a bunch of good dudes here and a bunch of good coaches, and we're not going to let one employee in their 20s ruin our franchise. For that, the Sixers and the Nets deserve credit. Hour three next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite, on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day

and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to and learn the hard way with your feet. favorite therapist and hosts 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 Clifers 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 Clivert Show on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the stuff,

scenes follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.