The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Looking at the matchups

Episode Date: February 7, 2024

Hall of Famer Steve Young joins the show to give his thoughts on Super Bowl LVIIISee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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J. Mack, getting very close. You are clearly on the side of Brock Purdy in the Niners. Not with confidence. I'm just rooting. But yes, I have bet that he's. I'm on the side of Kansas City. I would say the hole in Kansas City is their run defense, and one of the strengths of the Niners is their run offense.

Certainly. So I can see a game. I can visualize a game in which Kyle Shanahan says, we're not thrown it 25 times. It is Debo. It is McCaffrey, and we are going to run the football and keep it away from Mahomes. And I don't think the Chiefs have been a great run defense this year.

They're terrific against the pass. They generate a better pass rush than Kansas City. They have nine more sacks, 26 more hurries with all these kids. So the pass rush is actually, you think the Niners is built on that? No, Bose has been great, and that's about it. So the front seven, I think it's better in Kansas City. You just know the names of the Niners. But I can see Kyle Shanahan saying, we're not winning with Bertie out dueling Mahomes.

But we have the backs and the infantry. Debo, McCaffrey, left side of the O line, we are pounding it for three and a half hours. Ravens were supposed to do that, and the game plan kind of went awry. But they abandoned the run game. So Kyle Shanahan will not abandon the run game. I hope so. Let me ask, I think you had the stat that

Patrick Wilhomes has only lost to two quarterbacks in the playoffs, Brady and Burrow, and otherwise he's like 11 and 0, 12 and 0, whatever the number is. What happens if Brock Purdy beats Mahomes in the Super Bowl? Let's see if it happens first. Well, what if it happens? Are you ready? Are you ready for that in case it does go down?

I'm getting a cough. What if he throws the ball 18 times, doesn't play particularly well, has one good drive late third quarter to give him a lead and they win? Do I have to come on here? When is a team? Loses a team. Well, that's not true. You get paid.

It's not winning and losing as a team. Mark Sanchez got the back-to-back to a FC championships. They didn't give him a Brady contract. It's not winning and lose. You have to look at everything and say, how does he fit? Like I said yesterday, and I believe this, there are certain opportunities. I thought I got very lucky. My first time out of college was Vegas. And for me, it was a perfect fit for my life, proximity, the weather. I couldn't have done better. I wouldn't have worked in

Detroit, Philadelphia, LA, they would have eaten me alive. Vegas was a small city getting big fast. I was single, pretty girls, no state tax, a lot of sun, and a place I could be. make mistakes. Perfect place to start my career. I can argue everybody's got this. Some of you, you'll get seven, the average person in America has eight jobs. There's going to be one or two that really, and hopefully you hold on to it, it's a perfect fit. You like the town. You like your boss. It plays into your strengths. The salary is redeemable. It's good. I've had bad fits. Tampa. You know, it just didn't work for a lot of reasons. So good people didn't work for me. So everything is about fit.

And outside of a couple of players like a Mahomes, you know, Josh Allen, I think quarterbacks overwhelmingly in this sport. It's where you land. And I can make an argument that San Francisco with Purdy, a brilliant run-first coach, lots of veteran players that sticks to his play sheet, does not ask you to make big downfield throws very often, is the perfect landing spot. I thought Tampa for Baker Mayfield was perfect.

No pressure. They just got their ring. Good receivers. Great weather. Bad division. Baker was the most talented quarterback in a division. You put Baker in the north where there's Lamar, there's Joe Burrow, and Baker field. He was in that division.

Like, and there was just too much noise. You can go hide in the NFC South. You can hide. Baker sort of rehabbed his image. Good receivers, defensive coach to keep the score down. Baker perfect fit. I'm just, and I think Baker could work in several fits. I think Brock works well in this one,

and it may be the team, a coach that is tied to his play sheet, basically says follow orders. That's not going to work for Josh Allen, Lamar and Herbert, maybe. It's not going to work for a lot of these guys. It's perfect for Garapolo and perfect for Purdy. NFL is so crazy about who you get connected with coach-wise. if Brock Purdy lands in, let's just say Seattle.

We probably don't even know his name right now. That's right. Right, we probably don't know his name. This is the interesting one. What if Patrick Mahomes does not get Andy Reed to start his career? And he lands in Tennessee with a defensive coach. I think he wins a ton of games. What? A ton of games.

I don't know if he has rings. But Vrable was a very good defensive coach. So he'd have a great defensive staff. He'd be highly, but they never have enough receivers. They don't have the infrastructure. They don't have Brett Feech. They don't have the Hunt family. He started with, I mean, when you get Tyreek Hill, let's not bad.

I think he would win. I think would his story be closer to Lamar? Bunch of wins, no rings. I don't know about MVP's and stuff. Come on, let's be real. Patrick Mahomes fell in the draft to 10. Chiefs got him and him and Andy Reed. That's why I- He gets to sit for a year.

And I'm not knocking Mahomes. Obviously, he's amazing with Reed. But like, if he goes somewhere else, I don't know, Detroit before Ben Johnson. say. Like, what is what is involved? We don't know. Well, I think. Tom Brady doesn't land in New England, Colin. It is the great, if Drew Bletso does not get hurt. A prime example. So Brady wasn't ready to be the star of the show.

Didn't play as a rookie. Two years after that, he was a game manager. But he had the best defensive coach ever, excellent defense. And at that point, they had a functional front office and he had offensive players. So Brady managed his way. He was good in crucial moments like Michigan. he was good in big games, but he was mostly managing plus, not just managing, managing plus.

That's what Purdy's doing. He's managing plus making some plays with his feet. Tom was managing plus making some big boy throws. And then by like year four, you're like, no, Tom's pretty good. He's big, he's got a good arm, he's a workaholic, he's super bright. So Brady did. Now, I think there was a point with Tom by the Atlanta Super Bowl. Tom was way more important, way more important than Belichick.

I mean, the Philadelphia Super Bowl. Tom has one of the great Super Bowls ever and loses because Belichick's stubborn. Malcolm Butler couldn't win the Super Bowl. So I think the relationship with Belichick was Bill first four years key. Then they shared importance for a while. Last five, six years, all Brady. So I think Mahomes early, the credit goes to read. I think now they sharing it this point forward.

I really think this year with Mahomes with a weak receiving corps, having to be forced to play quarterback with limitations, I think Mahomes is now more important than Reed. I thought the first couple years it was Andy, then they were both vital, and then I think we're moving to a point where Mahomes intellectually, and he'll be the first to tell you, first couple of years, you're trying to catch up. Then the light goes on. I think now Mahomes, you have all the upside, and now he's got the Brady gene, which is, I just don't make mistakes. And to take this a step further, I know you like Trevor Lawrence, we both loved him coming out of Clemson. let's be real. It didn't work well

initially with Urban Meyer and now Doug Peterson. They get to the playoffs last year and now they regress. I don't know if Trevor Lawrence is going to be the generational guy that we think he's supposed to... I could very well be wrong on that. Yeah, and that's why this Caleb Williams hype is getting a little

silly. Like, folks, a lot of it is matching coach and player and skill set. Do you try to put the circle in the square hole, which is what some of these coaches try to do? It's really different. and I'm not dinging Mahomes here. This is just the reality. No, where you land is massive.

In the NFL. In the NBA, it's a little different, you know, skills, the five players on the court. If Justin Herbert didn't get hardball and got another coordinator that doesn't work, he's never viewed as a great one. Remember, Justin Herbert started the season on the bench. After they saw, I think was it Tyrod Taylor

and he had the heart or the puncture in the chest before the game, that's the only reason Justin for Herbert was on the field. And he was really good against the Chiefs in the Holmes. Exactly. And it was like, what are these guys seeing? Wild stuff. All right. So how about this story?

Adam Schaefter was on a Chicago radio station. Waddle and Sylvie, ESPN 1000 in Chicago. As Schaefter said, they were talking about getting a second round pick for Justin Fields. Adam Schaefter said, oh, yeah, I think they might be able to get a one. Excuse me? I beg your jargon? What? Hello?

You know what I tell Schaefter? If I heard that and I was the bear, I'd call him off the air and say, could you give us the number of the GM that told you that? We'll give you every scoop for a decade. So think about this. I want you to think, this is the easiest decision Chicago's ever made

to move Justin Fields. Justin Fields, forget his record. Three and 12 in division, 10 and 28. Forget that. He had the worst fourth quarter passer rating in the NFL this year, 53, in the whole year, and the whole league. He had the lowest completion percentage, 51%, fourth quarter, the entire quarter.

league. He had nine fourth quarter giveaways most in the NFL. And I want to contextualize this. He played the Vikings past defense twice, 24th. The Lions passed defense twice, 27th. They played Washington, too, 32nd best past defense and Tampa, 29th best past defense. He got cupcakes past defenses. He didn't face most of the league's best. So, folks, I'm not being harsh. don't blame the teacher for your bad grade don't blame the bagel for your weight gain and don't blame the data for criticism of your below average quarterback

like if you can get a he's also struggled to stay healthy miss four more games this year 11 and 3 years now that's becoming a Daniel Jones issue in New York we don't like Daniel he can't stay healthy Daniel has some big plays Daniel can move Daniel's big Daniel makes throws

Daniel got to the playoffs Daniel's not very good and he can't stay healthy. So like if you're struggling with this one, Chicago, I don't, and they have been offensively clueless. They've had great defenses, great players, great pass rushers, Butkus Erlach are two of the best linebackers ever, Olin Croyd's, one of the best centers ever, Walter Payton, probably the best running back I've ever seen.

They've had great, great individual players and great defenses. They don't get offense. I mean, again, if you're driving 85 and a 55, Don't blame the speed gun. Slow down. Like Justin Fields as a fourth quarter quarterback, A, he can't stay healthy. He gives the ball away too much. He is atrocious in the fourth quarter.

That is the deciding the game quarter in the NFL. If you can get a first, you do it today. Two seconds. Today, I think he's worth a second to a third. Trey Lance got a four. I think he can get a two. I do think he has talent. This is not a difficult one.

This one's not hard. Steve Young is around the corner. I have a great parlay for you this weekend. Thanks to Draft King Sportsbook. New users use the code herd, H-E-R-D when you download the app. It's quick and easy. Now for my parley pick.

Via the draft king sports book, I'll take the Chiefs plus two in the Super Bowl against the Niners and under 47.5 points. And Brock Purdy under one and a half touchdown passes. he'll have one, but it's a low-scoring game, I think they'll lean on Christian McCaffrey. You want to take the herd parlay, check out Draft King's sportsbook, new users. Code is Herd, H-E-R-D when you download the app.

21-plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem. Call 1-800-Gambler. In New York, call 8778-8-Hope-N-Y or text Hope-N-Y-4-669. See show notes for full details. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. That's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment,

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. 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 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 finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Steve Young's around the corner. It says here on the sheet the last 49er Super Bowl win. If I threw that out, because they've been so good for so long,

when's the last 49er Super Bowl win? Not to put you on the spot, but it's... Was it the 55-10? It was a beat down to the Falcons or the Chargers? Ninety-94. Isn't that crazy? This organization has been so good for so long in so many big games. And you're like, that's why it's...

This fan bay, people don't understand this. If you live out east, they're the Yankees out west. Like if you see football jerseys out west, it's the Niners. If you see baseball hats out west, mostly the Dodgers. In the south, you see Braves hats on the East Coast. Yankee hats everywhere. But if you go to any West Coast game, it can be Denver, Rams, Chargers, Seattle. There will be Arizona, a huge 49ers sea of red.

They have been so good for so long, but getting that prize, you know, it was, it was Montana, it was young, it's their great quarterbacks. Since then, they've had good quarterbacks, great players, great roster, some great coaches. But it just shows you how hard it is to win this thing. I mean, it's hard to remember. The Singletary years were choppy. Tom Sula briefly, a disaster. But they've been a lot of good teams. They've been a lot of good Niners teams.

Those Super Bowls, man, they are elusive. Cowboys have been mostly good to very good for 25 years. I mean, Dax went in 12. Romo was very good. Romo had good years. I mean, Cowboys have rarely been bad. Look how hard it is to win these things. Brady and Mahomes are ball hogs, trophy hogs.

They're just stealing all of them. You said Tony Romo. I hear Romo. I'm like, oh, wow, I forgot about that guy. Undrafted. Everybody loved him. He was like an underdog. He was good.

Yeah. He was very good. Romo was very, he wasn't good. Dach's good. I thought Romo... Is there a Brock Purdyness to Romo? No, I always thought Tony Romo and Joe Burrow were comps. Burrow is a more accurate thrower.

Romo was a great playmaker. Little bit, sometimes a little loose. He's a little loose, but Tony Romo could play. Tony Romo was really good. And he didn't have, once he left, their old line got great. So, Dak got the good old lines. Tony got the, you know what, kicked out of him for years. because they didn't have good old lines.

That's why they spent all those first round picks, Tyron Smith, Zach Martin. Tony Romo got beat up because of bad old lines. I just remember collectively as a nation, we rooted for Romo. We rooted for Brady, kind of an underdog, six-round guy. But for whatever reason right now, the narrative around Brock Purdy is not one of, we're rooting for it. Because Brady and Romo looked like big-time players. Pretty small.

It rains. He can't hold on the ball. He doesn't pass the eye test. passes the win test, but he doesn't pass the eye test. I mean, like that Herbert's not winning. 6-6-250 runs over people. Literally, forearms, linebackers, power arm. He doesn't have the production of Purdy.

If I said you, Herbert Purdy, next five years, who would you build your franchise around? Well, Purdy's winning all the games. That's why you have to put everything in perspective. Herbert's a, you ever stood next to Justin Herbert? I'm 6'2, buck 95. I feel like his a little, his son,

he is a dude. You know who makes him look small as like Ryan Leaf, Jamarcus Russell, a lot of big strapping quarterbacks who kind of failed the eye test. Well, a lot of quarterbacks big and small have failed.

Most 50% of first round quarterbacks don't work. Bomb, yeah. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs,

they're going to be underdogs for the third. straight game, not a role they're used to. Chiefs still getting two, two and a half, depending where you shop. Here's what the home said about the team's mindset as an underdog. I think you approached like any other game. I never feel like the underdog. I always felt like we have a chance to win the football game,

and that's how we approach every single game. And we were underdogs in the last Super Bowl. So all you can do is just have that same mindset of just going out there playing your best football, best football, and hoping that you end up with a win. I forgot they were dogs against the Eagles last year. No, they were, weren't they? I had any Eagles in that one.

Eagles led by 10 at halftime and totally blew it. A lot of people lead the Chiefs. A lot of people lead the Chiefs at halftime. One of us may have made a 49ers first half bet in the Super Bowl. Moneyline. Purdy hasn't been great in the first half. Not the last two games, but if you look at the full season. The playoff game.

Oh, I'm sorry. Carolina's not on the docket this weekend. The full season. No PJ Walker Sunday. Fourth leading first half scoring team in the league. Here's Mahomes. Summers is a dog. Good God.

So that means he's basically playing a great quarterback on the road. Here's Patrick Mahomes playing great quarterbacks on the road. Nine and three, and the team scores 33 again. Don't you feel they need to get knocked down? Just a peg, just a taste. Not since Taylor joined the bandwagon. Oh, that's right. T. Swift is there.

Yeah, I'm not allowed. My daughter will not let me root openly for the Niners in this. I can't. I hope they win swiftly. That was terrible. That was terrible. All right, let's move on. Ooh, Pittsburgh.

This is interesting here, Colin. So Kenny Pickett, you know, I was on the Kenny Pickett train. It derailed early. Mike Tomlin said he still feels good about Pickett. He also added there would be heavy competition in camp. Now it gets worse. In a recent interview, Team President Art Rooney said the Steelers are not closing the door on anything. They shouldn't.

Regarding pursuing a veteran quarterback veteran. You think Kirk Cousins wouldn't win, with this team? He's not going to Pittsburgh. Why not? Come on. He's a very conservative guy. It's a conservative organization. I think he's a great fit. He's an indoor quarter, but come on, he melts outside. Worse than I do, and I don't like cold weather. Kirk Cousins is not a cold weather quarter. He did play in Washington. He did snow there. Michigan State, too. I mean, whatever. Michigan State, balmy. Michigan, East Lansing, I think of that beach front. Pittsburgh, a little different.

I don't know, Colin. I say Russell Wilson, what does that do for you? There's a lot of money, and they're paying a lot of defenders. If the Broncos have to dump them. And they take that the hit. I think Russell would work there. That's a veteran court. He's going to make fewer mistakes. We know that than Pickett and whoever the other guy is.

Mason, Rubin'nobined. I like Russell Wilson. You don't think there's any value there? No, really. Okay. Moving on. Rapping up with Liam Cohen is back in the NFL. He was the Kentucky offensive coordinator last season.

And he made it known that he would love to coach Baker Mayfield. again, they were both with the Rams in 2022. Now, Cohen with the Bucks. He's an igniter, and that's the type of guy that you want to be around. He came into our organization at a really difficult time, a time that we weren't having a lot of fun. And he came in and made football fun for a lot of people at that time. He came in and made football competitive again at practice.

The opportunity to be around him potentially every day, to coach a guy that's as competitive as he is. That's something that I really wanted to be around and was very intriguing for us. J-MAC with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. I haven't talked to him in a while.

He's a pro-football Hall of Famer. I've said on this show before, I think he's probably the most underrated player in league history. And that's being for somebody that's got three rings, who was a number one pick, who is a Hall of Famer. But there was a little bit of Joe Montana Shadow. But for those of us who watched Steve Young play, he is as good as the top 10 quarterbacks ever. He was that special. Like Mahomes, he moved very well. Like Purdy, he played for the Niners.

Steve Young now joining us live, the Pro Football Hall of Famer. Steve, it's great to see you. I have, Steve Young, haven't seen any of the one. Yeah, great to see you. That's a kind introduction. I appreciate that. Great to talk to you. I love talking to you.

Yeah. So it's interesting. You had Mike Shanahan, if I recall the Niners O.C. Mike Shanahan. So I love Kyle Shanahan. Do you see between the play calling and personality, do you see his dad with him? Because you know his dad.

Colin, I'm glad you asked me that. Not many people have. Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan literally are twins. I mean, the apple does not fall far from the tree. Mike Shanahan's the guy that came in on Wednesday with an installation.

He would put up the linebackers or the safeties or I would say, like, these guys are terrible. We're going to rip their butts. Here's the five plays that we're going to run until they, and when they finally catch up to those five plays, here's the next five, and we're going to run them out of the building. And then at halftime, he'd walk in and say,

I told you we're going to run them out of the building. He was very aggressive. He was innovative. He was thoughtful. He was, you couldn't hold him back. And Kyle is exactly the same. People want to box Kyle in. Oh, he likes to run the football.

He likes to, no, Kyle is like his dad. He's innovative. He's probably the most innovative minor than Andy Reid in the league today. And the run game, with the past game. And so your question is really the right one. He is his dad. His dad won Super Bowls, and Kyle will win Super Bowls and has been around Super Bowls because of the way they look at the game.

They're aggressive and innovative. And it's very rare you get two of those two qualities together. You know, it's interesting. You're not only one of the greats that ever played the position with a very broad life, but you played, obviously, with Joe Montana. and I both think you're both highly conscientious, really good guys have done well beyond football. When you were the younger quarterback,

and I look at Mahomes, and I felt this year, despite his numbers being down, he graduated. He, like now, cannot throw the ball. He, and it's easy when you're less talented, and I love Tom Brady, but Tom Brady's not throwing sidearm,

he's not running a 4-4. When you're gifted, you were physically gifted. Malhombs is physically gifted. It is hard to say, Steve, stay in the pocket and complete six-yard hitches. I felt Mahomes this year graduated to quarterback you. Go to your career. When you were full of energy, could outrun linebackers. Do you remember the time that you're like, I think I'm growing up.

I don't want to get hit anymore. Do you remember those years for you? It wasn't good. is another phenomenal question. It is the question of the day because the prototype quarterback is Patrick Mahomes. I was an oddity back in the day. Today's game, I am the prototype.

And so we've got to recognize that the challenge, when you can move, but yet we also know championship football is played from the pocket. Efficient, superlative passing is really where you win championships.

But the guys that can run around are the ones that are going to make it happen because there's all these yards today in the game. First downs, touchdowns that are available that you've got to be able to go get. So it becomes that, I always said, it's the challenge of running a jackhammer one play when you run around, SIF Armored Defensive Lyman, make a big pass or sideline or run, downfield. And then the next play, you've got to play the violin. And the violin versus the jackhammer.

That's something you're right. A lot of quarterbacks don't have to face. So there is a matriculation and mindset, maturity that has. to come and I agree a thousand percent I have watched Patrick Mahomes go from I just want to put a Superman cape on yeah that's all I want to do I'm awesome at it and now realizing oh my gosh that's not enough Superman plays to go win championships you remember the Bengal championship game a couple years ago where it really hit home and so he's decided with Andy Reid I'm going to go back and study because in the end no matter if you can move or not the quarterback position is a cerebral

data gathering data retention, reflexive recall game. And if you own the data and you can move around, you're going to be the king of the castle. So I think that Patrick Mahomes has absolutely graduated this year. You can see the maturity in that. You know what? I don't actually even have to put the quarterback role on. I can just hand it off. I can just drop it off. And the efficiency, you've seen the playoffs, their offense seems like it's been very dink and dunk, very efficiency-motivated, right?

I think Patrick said, look, I want to be 18 for 20 at halftime for 130 yards, and we're up 17, you know, three. That's what I, and I think that that's maturity, and that's why they're going to be so tough to beat because of his maturity. You know, we got into this discussion earlier. Jason had said, what if Mahomes didn't land Andy Reid? He got a young defensive coach, like a Justin Herbert. It doesn't work. He goes through another. And I said, I think he would win a lot, but I do think where you land,

is a big component of it. Brady's not bringing those rings home, those early rings without Belichick. Now, later in Tom's career, he was more important than the coach. But you had Shanahan and Bill Walsh early. Have you ever thought, and Andy Reed with Mahomes,

have you ever thought to yourself, Steve? I remember you in college at BYU. I remember, I'm old enough. I remember the bandits. I remember. You would have succeeded. But if you ever thought to yourself, man, Bill Walsh and Shanahan,

it was like, it was like class how that helped you there's no question people need to get over it quarterback it's the ultimate team game if you're going to be a great quarterback you need a ton of help and if you don't get that help

you're going to see people suffer and you can still I always say if you don't get a lot of help you should be able to at least put up a flare or a signal that you know what I'm still a great player I just can't quite show you right now but when they come together and I see that with

like a Sam Darnold. I still believe that Sam Darnold has a lot in him. I saw some white flags go up when he was in Carolina and the Jets. Like, I do have this figured out. Just give me a chance. There are only, I'm going to say, I'm going to be inflammatory, five to seven places that I would want to play in the NFL today as quarterback. And so when you get to those places and you have those innovative minds

who can understand the position, who can teach it and guide it, and then also get out of the way, it's a miracle. So in many ways, you've just described what has to happen for Peyton Manning to come together with his coaches, with Tom Brady, with Dan Marino, with myself, with John Elway, with Mike Shanahan again. Like, everybody needs that help, and when it comes together, you can go to the Super Bowl, you can be Hall of Fame, but that's part of it. And I always say, well, what's more important?

The coach or the player or the lineman, or like, we're all in it together. And I think you have to just kind of capitulate to that fact. So I was surprised to read this Because the Niners have been so good For most of my life I mean they've had some down years Jim Tom Sula Okay, but they've mostly been great

So their last Super Bowl win came with you in 1994 And I'm like, wait a minute Crazy Is that right? It doesn't seem right Doesn't seem right That's crazy to me I mean it's almost like the Yankees have one more recently

But it's amazing Like when's the last time the Yankees won't And I looked at it this year in baseball I'm like, wait, it doesn't make any sense. Do you think, give me the mindset of this sea of Niner fans in the organization. You've been so good for so long, and you're a 30-year run. Do you, if, I said this earlier this week, if it goes sideways Sunday and it doesn't work and Purdy struggles, what do they wake up Monday and say about Brock Purdy?

What do they say, I mean, what happens if it goes sideways again? I think about Kyle Shanahan when he had the Super Bowl at Atlanta, when he had it against the Chiefs four years ago, how John Lynch left the suite I was in to go down to the field to just kind of take in the last minutes of the Super Bowl and go win it. I mean, it's been in our mouth, the taste has been in our mouth a number of times, and it's been kind of ripped away from us. And so, yeah, if it does go sideways, Colin, it's going to be as painful as anyone. because a lot of teams don't have the expectations. That's right. You rightfully say the 49ers are expected to be here. And if you have a 1-1 in 30 years, what have you guys been doing?

So that's all on the table. And that's why I think that what I love about this team and the organization today that John's built, that Kyle's put, that Jed's built, and that Brock's running, is that it's resonant to me. The players in the locker room, the guys, the leadership, the spirit, the selflessness. It all resonates. and so it's all part of why I love this team and why it does seem like it's a 49er championship team,

but now you have to go win it. And we recognize that if you don't win it, you've got to go start over. And when you start over in today's game, you lose people. Is Debo here, is George here, can Christian be held on to? You know, what happens to Trent Williams?

Like all these, this is the best collection of talent in the free agency era since, I want to say, since the Cowboys of 92 or 3 or 4, like, or even our teams, of 94, 95, like, this is an amazing group of people. And so it's almost, remember at Thanksgiving, it was like it was destiny. Who's going to beat these guys? And so if it goes sideways this weekend after the last couple of weeks of playoff football

that hasn't gone really well, it's going to, like in the NFL today, it's a restart. But everyone's, it's going to be a painful gutting that you can't imagine because it's the 49ers. So you were in a Super Bowl 30 years ago, and it was big then. Do you ever look at what it's become? I mean, you could probably in 94 go out to eat dinner with a friend and sit in a corner and hide. Could you back in 94? No, Colin, it hasn't. The Super Bowl really Super Bowl changed in the 80s.

And then by the time 90s kind of hit and the night, like, we were 95, it was, I mean, obviously it's bigger. But it's bigger in a way that, like, it's big and then bigger. It's incremental. It's not a huge jump. The huge jump happened in the 80s. And I feel like it's resonant. When I come down to the Super Bowl, it feels, you know, it's not Radio Row now. It's media row.

It's like they've done some things that are different. We're doing obviously video now. But there's big changes in that way. But we played in Miami, and we were hunkered down, and it was worldwide news. I mean, it hasn't changed that much. You're partnering with Dove on their mission, a great mission to make sports a place where all girls can thrive. they belong to the body confident sport program. A classy venture with Dove doesn't surprise me you're part of it.

Anything you want to add to that? Yeah, I do because it's very personal to me. My two high school girls were invited by the state of California to play flag football this year for the first time in history. Cool. The first game, three or four, 80-year-old women came to the game. We're sitting in the stands. My wife went over to him and asked him,

There's only five people in the stands. Like, what are you doing here? He said, you know what? We heard that girls were finally able to play football. And we dreamed about doing this when we were young. We just want to see it. The empowerment that they're feeling. And so Dove has this program.

It's an empowerment program. Over half, about half of the girls in America who, or over 14, don't play sports because of how they feel in their skin. And Dove has said to themselves, you know what, let's get the science behind it. Let's empower the coaches so we can speak to the girls so they can be empowered to go play the sports they love. And I experienced this with Fly Football. The reason why they asked me is because I coached, I watched them start with the first day, I don't know football, but I know that I love it because my dad loves it and my brothers love it.

And by the end of the season, my girls turned to me said, I've played all the sports in the world. This is my favorite sport. So empowering women and young girls to go play sports. And so Doves doing something about it, and they ask me to come and kind of, hey, do you mind process it? lighting this I'm like look it's in my heart I want to empower my girls to be able to feel like they have body awareness of body you know positivity so that I'm not going to actually opt out of sports I'm not going to play because of it so in the end it's an empowerment thing for women and I by the way Colin girls flag football is going to be in the Olympics in 2020 that's right that's right by what happened in California that by what happened in California this year by the explosiveness of how many girls came out for flag football, it will take over soccer.

It's going to threaten volleyball. It's going to threaten dance. I mean, girls' flag football is going to explode. Steve, it's a pleasure. I only going to talk to you about once every couple of years. You know, I think the world of you. I know, I miss it. You have the best questions.

I just want to hang around. Ask me more of these amazing questions because they're right in the middle of my heart, the things that I think about all the time. So I'm very grateful. All right. Hall of Fame or Steve Young, one of the all-time great. Thanks, man.

All right, Colin. All right. Former teammate at the other place. Really smart guy. Good heart, good family, everything. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, gang, this is Jay Glazer, host of Unbreakable, a mental wealth podcast. And every week, we will have on leaders from sports entertainment like Sean McVeigh,

Lindsey Vaughn, Michael Phelps, David Spade, Guy Fierney, and also those who can help us in between the ears. Anyone from a therapist to someone like Ed Milet or John Gorton. We've all been through some sort of adversity. To get to the top, we've all used different tools. Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer and Mental Wealth podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it. 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 what 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-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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 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 finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Sunday on Fox, Caitlin Clark looks to make history and set the all-time scoring record. as she leads second-ranked Iowa against Nebraska Sunday at 1 p.m. Eastern, 10 a.m. Pacific only on Fox and the Fox Sports app. Does everybody understand? I know they do with this building. How big of a poll she is. She's literally gone head-to-head against the Miami Heat and the Celtics and got a bigger rating. Like Caitlin Clark is, thus Steph Curry. I'm trying to think of a college male basketball player that had the kind of pull to get people to a TV. Zion Williamson. I think you're probably wrong. He was massive at Duke.

Now there was a time when you had the great UNLV and Duke teams, but I'm talking an individual player. Caitlin Clark's and Zion, I don't know the Zion numbers, but it's remarkable when you do something that's never been seen before in your platform or whatever it is, but like she's pulling away NBA people. That's pretty remarkable. Yeah, she's an incredible watch.

She's got a lot of fans. She's doing stuff that nobody else is doing. Like, if you watch her closely, Fox had a camera on her, just her on like TikTok over the past weekend. And she's fascinating. She, like, is not the most athletic player, gets open, makes shots. She's really fun to watch me. Well, I mean, the comp is obviously Steph Curry, and Steph Curry's not the most athletic.

You know, it's funny. Luca's got this. I was talking to somebody about Luca the other night, and they're like, he's not a great athlete. He's got a weird body. Basketball is interesting. Some people are built to score. Luca is built to score. Caitlin Clark.

It's not just the NBA's filled for the great athletes. James Hardin was built to score. James has just got great handles. He's a little kind of trunky, heavy in the middle. He can push off your body. James Hardin, Arizona stayed on. Guys built the score. Doesn't play great in the defensive end.

As these age, he's become a better distributor. But some guy, the ball to some people playing basketball, it is glued to the hand. It just works. You have the body type, the quickness. Don't have to be the world's greatest athlete. how you know, Caitlin Clark's a big deal. My wife said, do you know if she's playing any games? Can you check the schedule to see if she's playing

out west so we can go watch her? My wife does not. She doesn't care about sports, similar to your wife. She doesn't care. She wanted to find out if Caitlin Clark was around so we could go watch her in the arena. She didn't come west this season. Wow. So Chip Kelly's interviewing for the Seahawk offensive coordinator job.

I think it's actually a perfect one. So McDonald, Mike McDonald, the young coordinator of the Seahawks just hired from Baltimore is the youngest coach in the NFL. Sean McVeigh, remember when he got into the NFL, he hired Wade Phillips, who was at the time 70, as an old defensive coordinator. So Mike McDonald's a very, just flip it, he's a young defensive coordinator. How about a 60-year-old Chip Kelly? I'd seen Chip a couple of times in the last couple of weeks, consider him a good friend.

Chip Kelly's going to arrive there and kind of, you know, kind of guide him, you know, the gentle guidance of a veteran guy. I got my takeaway on this is I love Chip, and I think he's squeezed. every last bit of juice out of that UCLA orange. In the last six years, he's beaten rival USC three times, and USC's got much more money and is much more committed to football. In the last two years, he's had more players drafted out of UCLA to the NFL than any other PAC-12 school, and they don't have a collective. And I think what, if you're being realistic about this, guys are not generally great with

exits. We've got pickup lines. We know how to break up. Is it exit time for Chip Kelly? Because it's one thing to have a small collective in the PAC-Den. 12. But now you're going to the Big Ten, Penn State, big collective, Ohio State, massive collective, Michigan, big collective. And then Washington, Oregon, USC have the three biggest Pact 12 collectives. They're all moving to the Big Ten. So, Wisconsin's got a bigger collective. Collective,

if you don't know what that means for the uninitiated, that's the new NIL in college where you have boosters, put money in a pot, and you can pay certain players, college players, preferably. So I think UCLA may be in the same class as Michigan State, but I'm not sure if they are. They may have the eighth biggest collective in their conference. You can't ask a coach to get to the playoff if you have the eighth biggest collective. That's just in the Big Ten. The SEC, they'd probably have the 13th biggest collective. So again, six years, he's beaten USC three times.

Hammered Lincoln Riley's club this past year. They put a lot of guys in the NFL. I think they're ninth in the country last three years. And we're talking Bama, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, Clemson, like the big dogs in college football. I think UCLA last three years is in the top nine or ten. So I just wonder if he squeezed every bit of juice out of that. But I do think you saw the Boston college coach become a coordinator. I think what happens, if you're at a school where you can win seven or eight games,

but you don't have the booster support. because now you've got to manage your own players, recruit other players, manage essentially the cap. You become a general manager. You're managing, how much do I give this guy? How much do I meet that guy? So it's always been a have and a have-nought sport. It feels like UCLA now has fallen into have-nots territory. UCLA had Troy Aikman.

They were usually an eight-nine win team. I just don't know financially, unless they got some billionaires that are going to put in 12, 15 million bucks a year. I don't know if the big 10, I don't know if they can compete. Because you're talking the six biggest collect, five biggest collectives, and now the three biggest collectives from the Pack 12, all merging. What are they going to be? Like, ninth? You're not even competing for the playoff if you have the ninth biggest collective. That's the new modern world. Sorry. I think if I ran UCLA football, I think I would strongly consider a seven-figure OC job. I think Seattle's a good fit.

Hour three 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 funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.