The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - NFC, Wilson, Jackson

Episode Date: September 29, 2022

Colin gives his grades for the NFC Russell Wilson is not on the decline Thoughts on Lamar Jackson's great start of the season   Guest: Greg CosellSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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FS1. Greg Co. Sell less than five minutes. Jason McIntyre. Joining us as always, I love Cincinnati tonight in a triumphant win. Here's the problem. Everybody and their mom loves Cincinnati tonight. Well, you know what? A lot of times America is just full of smart people. Not regularly. No comment. Especially on social media. So I got to tell you a little inside story here.

So years and years ago, when I worked at another company, one of the big managers over there, they were looking for a radio person. And we went to dinner. And he said, I want to. you to listen to this guy. You think he'd be any good. And it was in the football season. And he said, I'm going to let you listen to his Monday show. And I said, anybody can do a Monday show during the football season.

Go pull his show from August 8th on a Tuesday. If he's a player, he's interesting. Anybody sounds interesting on a Monday after the NFL season. Go get me a Tuesday in August. If he's good, hire him. Tonight is that night for Tua. Ooh, you get the Patriots at home, a northern team playing in that weather in Miami. Buffalo, cold weather team coming down to Miami, defense on the field.

Tonight, the deck is stacked against Tua. Your defense was on the field for 90 steps in that Miami heat. Short week, on the road. Great quarterback on the other side. Tua gets a lot of credit for bubble screens that become touchdowns and blown coverages hitting layup throws. Tonight is a Tuesday show in August. Be great. Your defense is shot.

Your defense was on the field against Josh Allen, running. and around. 90 plays in that heat. That's body cramps for two days. You're banged up. They arguably have as good, maybe better, maybe worse, but they certainly have the only other receiving core in the AFC that is equally frightening. And Joe Burrell's great. And you're banged up. That's where great is. At home, northern teams, in September, Miami weather. Nobody's really seen McDaniel. Everybody's just trying to figure out what Mike McDaniel is. Now there's three games on tape of what Mike McDaniel's tendencies are.

Now you're going to start seeing people go, okay, this is what he does. The first two, three games of the year, you're taking Niners tape. You don't even know what the coach does. Now you know what the coach does. Now you have a defense that is shot. Now you're on the road. Now it's a short week. Now let me see Tua tonight.

I'll start judging Tua tonight. I'll judge that radio tape Tuesday and August. You don't get to give me one October 15th of Monday. That's a layup. Greg CoSell, 43 years NFL films. So it is amazing. When you get the right coach with a talented quarterback, Jacksonville, it gets good really fast. And, you know, Doug Peterson offensive guy, Nick Sariani offensive guy to young

quarterbacks, I do think it helps. So let's talk about this, Trevor Lawrence. you had said that he wasn't seeing the field. You know, he's growing. So let's talk about him first. Did you see a little growth this week? Anything you saw? Their last six, seven drives, they were very effective.

Yep. Well, I think overall, Colin, you're seeing the impact of coaching. And I've always been a believer in that, you know, going back to when I started in the business and was fortunate to be around great coaches like a Bill Walsh. And I think you're seeing that with Trevor Lawrence. because I noticed immediately week one, and it will be incremental, Colin, but I noticed week one that his drop and his set in the pocket were quicker. They're speeding up his feet. He was a little deliberate. They're trying to shorten his stride because he's always been a strider. He's very good on the move, as we're seeing right here. That has always been a strength of his game. But he needed to be more efficient from the pocket, more compact, more refined, and you're starting to see that. So now he can make throws. in muddied contested pockets, which by the way, you hardly ever saw in college, so you really didn't have a great feel for how that would play out in the NFL. So now you're seeing him

have to work when the pocket is being squeezed, and you can't stride when the pocket is being squeezed. So he's getting better at that. So you can clearly see that on tape, and the improvement is evident, but as I said, it will be incremental. It's not going to happen on every single snap. Now, Philadelphia is playing like the best team in the league, so let's stay on Jacksonville. That defensive front may be the best defensive. Jalen Hertz, we don't think of this right, instinctively. This may be the best defensive front he's faced so far this year in Jacksonville. What's the tape say?

Yeah, I mean, again, you know, I'm not in the prediction business, so I don't know what Jacksonville's record will be when the season's over, but they are really accumulating talent on defense and a certain kind of talent. Their defensive front is long and athletic. a lot of multiple front looks, people that can play in different spots. And keep in mind there, D.C. came, Mike Caldwell, he came from Tampa with Todd Bowles. So what did balls have in Tampa? He had Levante David and Devin White.

So what is he now putting together in Jacksonville, Foy Aluacoon, who's a very overlooked, I should say, player by media people, not in the league, a really good linebacker. And they draft Devin Lloyd, who's 6162. So he's putting together a nickel linebacking unit just like they had in Tampa. So this front group is really, really good. Now, they're going up against arguably the best O line in the NFL. And when you watch the three games of Jalen Hertz, he has been secure and clean in the pocket and able to really pick out where he wants to throw the football. All right.

Buffalo, Baltimore could be a fireworks show. These are excellent teams. So Lamar leads the NFL with 12 total touchdowns. What are they doing, and we know he's unique, what are they doing schematically, Greg, that is, you know, that's a different looker unique from the league because they're just explosive. Yeah, they're totally unique and they're very hard to prepare for because think about this, Colin. I'm sure you talk about this a lot. We live in an age of three wide receivers, okay? I don't know what the league-wide percentage is, but clearly we live in an age where 11 personnel, meaning one back, one tight-in, and three wide receivers is the majority.

already offensive personnel package. So think about this with the Ravens that when you have to prepare for them and you don't get a lot of time in a week, especially if they're not in your division, in three games, in three games, they have played only 17 snaps with three wide receivers on the field. They play out of base personnel. So not only do you have to prepare for Lamar, who you can't simulate in practice with his speed, but now you have to figure out how you want to play against a team. that does not play with three wide receivers that you're used to preparing for every single week.

Very interesting. You know, Buffalo, I've said this. I watch Cam and Big Ben come into this league and run around. Think how big they are. And they literally, at 32, 33 years old, they're not the same player. I watch Josh Allen run around. I'm like, okay, this is great and cute and we all love this, all you fantasy football fans. This is not going to last.

I've seen it. I look at Buffalo and I'm like, you better win a Super Bowl in the next three years. I don't think you can sustain your quarterback getting sacked four times, running eight times, hit 11 times. What's the tape say? And I think you're right. I've talked to coaches who say that as much as they love Josh, and it's hard not to, that you just can't play like that no matter how big he is. And we know that he's competitive and all that good stuff, but it's really hard to play that way.

And I've said going back to last year, when they really started to become pass heavy, that they're going to need to run the ball with some kind of production. They'll never be a volume running team. But, you know, Josh Allen, you made the point that they ran 90 plays last week against Miami. Okay. 71 of those plays were Josh Allen called dropbacks. You can't drop back that many times.

It's just too hard. Not only on Josh Allen, it's too hard on your offensive line. People never think about that. Yeah. It's really hard on your offensive line, and they do not have one of the best offensive lines in the league. So Sunday night we get Mahomes Brady. It's very interesting is we know what Tampa is. Old quarterback, really nice weapons when healthy, very good front seven.

Kansas City, we view as Andy Reid, the great play designer, Mahomes, the great quarterback talent. But we kind of look past their defense. But it's interesting. I mean, we do because it's such a firework. show offensively. When you look at the Chief's defense, because I know Kansas City is going to put, I know Tampa's going to put a little heat on Patrick. That's just what they do.

Can the Chief's defense stack up this week against Brady? Well, when you watch Steve Spagnola, and I know Steve, and I watched his defenses through the years, he's very good and very sneaky with his pressure concepts. And I think what he'll do is given that Brady is obviously. obviously a pocket quarterback. They have to sort out their offensive line. That's been an issue through three games. I think you're going to see situationally spags bring pressure. And he's very good at how he kind of defines that pressure. He'll show a pressure look from one side to get the protection to declare, then back off that side and bring it from the other side. He's very good.

He'll play a lot of what we call cover zero where there's no free safety in the middle of the field. So he just brings six and matches up with five. He did that more last year than any team in the league. So there will be pressure that Spags will put on not only Brady, but that offensive line. Because when you see pressure fronts, you have to sort that out before the snap of the ball collar because you can't change your protection in the middle of the play. You know, Rams play San Francisco on Monday night, and it's really interesting. So we, the Rams have really chaos at receiver. We think, oh, Stafford Cooper Cut McVay, it's fine.

OBJ's not here. Tutu Atwell, I think's a bust. Alan Robinson's not getting separation. Van Jefferson is out. And all of a sudden, this wildly productive offense, which by the way, Brian Allen the center out for another month. Andrew Whitworth retired. There's a lot of duct tape and makeup being put on this.

They got a little bit of a personnel crisis here at wide receiver. What do you make, what is McVeigh doing? And by the way, it was exposed against Buffalo. Okay. Since then, though, they're winning games. So what is McVeigh doing? He's kind of, you know, the great coaches can mask issues. What is he doing since then with this kind of personnel crisis?

Well, one quick point. The left tackle note boom, who was clearly exposed in that opener against Buffalo, has played much better in the last two games in one-on-one pass protection. So that's a real positive for them. But what he's doing? Because, you know, Ben Jefferson was not the big volume target guy or the big numbers production guy. Right. But he was an important player.

And without him, McVeigh is trying to figure out how this all works. And one thing he's done in the last two weeks, and it's been really effective is he's taken Ben Skoronic, who I'm sure nobody thinks is a great receiver. And he's lined him up as an eye formation fullback. 30 snaps in the last two games. And the play we're looking at right now was a great example of him as an I-Formation fullback working through the line of scrimmage. The cards defense did not account for him catching a 26-yarder.

And here he is as a lead blocker in the run game. So McVeigh is an expansive thinker, as we know, Colin, when it comes to offense. And he's taking a player who's not a great talent. If he just played normal wide receiver, he wouldn't be one of those guys that catches 80 balls and he's finding a way to make him a part of this offense and be a factor in the offense, even if the ball is not in his hands. And I think that's really the genius of McVeigh. That is why you are so great on that show, this show.

It's just this is such great video and really, because I watch this and I thought, McVeigh is so clever. They've got real. He's really clever. Yeah, I mean, they've got a real crisis at wide receiver here. They really don't. So let's segue to this. Miami, Cincinnati tonight.

Now, I had said this. Burrow didn't practice, had a major surgery, didn't play in the preseason. And so he just didn't take many snaps. They had offensive line changes. So, like, he scuffed in week one. It was almost predictable. Brady had the same issue. Stafford, because of arm sore and the same issue.

They all scuffed week one. So I felt the second half against Dallas, I'm like, okay, I can see my untrained eye can see something. They're getting right. is there anything, and last week against the Jets, but is there anything that still concerns you with the Bengals who play tonight in our favor? Well, it will concern me tonight against this specific opponent because the

dolphins are a very aggressive defense. They're very multiple with their fronts. They put a lot of people on the line of scrimmage, Colin, six guys, seven guys. Now, they don't always come. Obviously, they'll back off at times. I mean, Javon, the safety is really good at being honest. the line of scrimmage on the edge and then racing back to be a deep safety in cover three. So the offensive line for the Bengals will have a lot to sort out and it's a short week.

So this is no knock on Joe Burrow or the receivers who are tremendous. I agree with what you said about the receivers in our lead in here. But this is going to be a tough game for this offensive line. And I think Joe Burrough is going to have to be very conscious of getting the ball out. He can't sit in the pocket. Now, there are times he can't, obviously. But, I mean, in general, when he sees all those pressure front looks, he's going to have to be very aware of getting the ball out.

All right. So obviously, Mike McDaniel has been a gift from the heavens, the football gods, to Tua. He actually has somebody that appears to like him. You're obviously seeing some schematic changes with this relationship. Oh, for sure. And I think, look, I think that Mike McDaniel clearly understands. stands to his strengths and his limitations. Everybody who's been around to as a coach knows that he's a

certain kind of player. He's not a big arm guy. People see a deep ball and they think, wow, that's an arm strained throw. When you throw a timing deep ball, those are not arm strength throws. He's a timing player. He's a rhythm player. He has to, for the most part, there's always exceptions, for the most part, hit his back foot and the ball come out. Now, coaches help you with that. Coaches who understand what they're going to get from a defense in a given situation can help with their play design. And quite honestly, Colin, that really takes us to the play that I wanted to show this week. So it probably makes sense for us to see that play now because it was a very big play last week against the bills.

It was probably the play that really turned the game around. It was a 47-yard at O'Wada on 3rd and 22. So here you're going to see the two safeties. They're going to drop and it's going to be cover two. The other part of cover two that's important is you're going to have the middle hole defender. Here it's the linebacker Edmonds. He drops deep. Okay, so now what you want is you want to get Waddle on this corner post route.

That's where you'd like to go with the football. So what do you have to do is you have to control with routes the middle hole defender. Sherfield does that with his route. And then you have to control the backside safety. And Hill does that with his vertical route. to the outside. So now what you get is you get Waddle running his route because it's covered two on a safety. This is exactly what you want. He has a two-way go and he's going to run a corner post. So when he breaks to the corner, that safety turns to the corner and now he's beat. He comes back inside. And because they control the middle hole defender and the backside safety,

there's no one there. Yeah. So if you're a safety, you want him to have to go to the sideline, not to the middle. the field because you cannot count on help based on the complementary routes. So this was really brilliant design, well executed. I don't want to say it was an easy routine throw, but it wasn't a tight window throw. Good stuff. As always, Greg Kossel, 43 years at NFL films. Thanks, Greg. Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. You bet. One of the things he touched on very early in that 15 to 18 minute discussion was Josh Allen. We have another defensive coach, Sean McKeown. Dermott, six years in, can't develop a run game. I like Sean McDermott, but look at the offenses that are struggling.

It's defensive head coaches. Pittsburgh can't get the coordinator or offensive line right. It's four straight years, Mike Tomlin. It's not that they can't coach. The leagues pivoted away from that side. And I like McDermott. They can't win close games. They can't run the football.

You got to run the football to some degree to win close because generally speaking, you want to play keepaway. The only way they run it is Josh Allen. So you get to a point, if they lose again in the playoffs this year because they can't run the football, you're not only losing games, you're shortening Josh Allen's career. Two things are happening in Buffalo. You've got to be able to see around corners in business. If you own a football team, we can't beat the Chiefs, we can't run the ball, and I'm taking years off my quarterback's life.

Mahomes is generally, not always, but generally had a decent run game. You know, that's why they drafted a center from Oklahoma. That's why they spent money on that offensive line. So Patrick doesn't get hit and they can develop a run game. We got five, six years with McDermott. O-line's not very good. I think it's better this year. They went out and spent some money.

The run game's not good. Look around, see the big picture here. It's taking years off of Josh Allen's career. So you better win quick. 20, 23, right around the corner. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, 7. days a week within the iHeart radio app search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like

imagine an olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged it's the enhanced games some call it grotesque others say it's unleashing human potential either way the podcast superhuman documented it all embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year within probably ten days i'd put on ten pounds i was having trouble stopping the muscle growth Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, CliverTaylor 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.

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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 Jett. 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 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. They're finishing that sentence.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different. different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Start Saturday strong with Big Noon Saturday as fourth-ranked Michigan puts its dominant ground game to the test against Iowa. Then it's a pivotal Big 12 clash as ninth ranked Oklahoma State takes on number 16, Baylor, all on Fox and the Fox Sports app. By the way, just put Michigan football on noon, Fox, I'm in. Every week.

Every week. I like everything. The fight song, the Unis, Iowa's a great place. Love the fight song. Love everything. You know, a lot of times you see on social media, sort of a casualness with integrity. I'm not a moralist. Okay, I'm not.

I made a lot of mistakes in my life. but integrity matters. And from about 1995 to 2005, maybe 2010, baseball was a soiled mess. You couldn't trust anything. And I see a lot of this from people. Yeah, man, but it was also really popular then. Porn is really popular.

Want your kids in it? We had a former president that was popular with half the country. Thank God he's no longer in office. Popular and integrity can go hand in hand. I think they do now in baseball with Aaron Judge, who tied Roger Maris's record last night. Good kid, and I believe a clean kid. If you didn't hear it, here it is.

There goes to deep left. It is high. It is far. It is gone. Number 61. He ties Rob. Roger Maris for the American League single season record with 61 home runs. It's a two-run, Judgy and blast.

Here comes the judge. That young man in the glasses was Roger Maris Jr. Maybe not that young after the game. He said, Aaron Judge, now that's the real home run king. I think it means a lot, and it's not just for me. I think it means a lot for a lot of people, you know, that he's clean. he's a Yankee, he plays a game the right way, and I think it gives people a chance to look at somebody

who should be revered for hitting 62 home runs and not just as a guy who did it in the American League. He should be revered for being the actual single-season home run champ. I mean, that's really who he is if he hits 62, and I think that's what needs to happen. I think baseball needs to look at the records, and I think baseball should do something. Nobody questions that steroids created more home runs, McGuire Sosa, it was fun, but it lacked integrity.

We're very casual with that now. I'm not blaming any individual politician. It's just part of what it is now. But it is important. Athletes, whether they should be or not, tend to be role models. Aaron Judge is a great role model, I believe. J-Mac with the news. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. All right, first up, Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs. They got the big Sunday night matchup against the Bucks and Brady. They just announced the game will be played in Tampa, despite the hurricane that tore through. The game will be in Tampa. Okay. You know, Brady and Mahomes head-to-head was a pretty one-sided Super Bowl because the Chief's offensive line was hurt. But Mahomes gave some insight into how long he wants to play if he can go to 45, like Tom Brady.

Yeah, I want to play as long as I can play. and I can still have a chance to help the team get better. Obviously, it's hard to play that to your 45 years old, and I don't want to be out there just hanging on. And I think you see what Tom is he's still playing at a very high level. And I think that's why it's hard for him to kind of give it up. When you're playing at a high level, you don't want to leave it. Yeah.

He's only 27. By the way, as another quarterback in Green Bay constantly remind you, he doesn't need the game and will retire soon, Mahomes is like, Russell Wilson's like, Dak is like, Lamarra's like, I'll play as long as I can. It's easier to root for those guys. I love how, I'm sure the audience caught that.

This is a Patrick Mahomes, Tom Brady topic, and you got it in an Aaron Rogers, right in there. Well done, if you're going to retire, you have to mention every 15 minutes. Like, fans want to support you and love you and wrap their arms around you. I get that.

If we lose Aaron Rogers to retirement, a big chunk of the show, we better not replace it with Justin Fields. That's for sure. Justin Fields up next. He has less than 300 passing yards, Colin, through three games. It's 22. That's insane. Yeah, lowest passer rating among starters.

Bears' offense hasn't been able to get much going. Field says the struggles, hey, they're just part of the process with a defensive coach. My response to that is really just, you know, get back to work and keep working. Just learning from your mistakes, knowing that you're not going to be perfect and just, you know, moving on. And just, you know, excepting the fact that, you know, we won the game. And it's easier to correct mistakes after winning and a loss, of course. So just correcting each and every mistake and just trying to be better in every aspect. I went to pro football focus this morning.

Grades for offensive line. They don't grade very well. I think they spent the least money on offensive line in the entire league. But by the way, body language guy, what does he say about Justin Fields right there? Like slouched, sleepy eyes. He just doesn't look that interested. Like, listen, I like the bears. I like him this weekend against the Giants.

Yeah, I'm way more concerned with his lack of completions than his casualness. You saw Mahomes in the prior interview, standing up straight like a man, speaking eloquently. And Justin feels just like, yo, you know. Listen, he didn't wear his hat backwards, so I'm good. Oh, yeah, big bonus there. Listen, the stats don't lie. He's, you know, they're struggling. But again, this is the one quarterback out of all these.

I said, you better be patient because defensive coach, battle line, no weapons, goofy, goofy front office, I have to give him the year. Goofy. Now, at the end of the year, if we're still into seven completions a week, but of all the young ones, I'm going to give him a lot of leeway this organization. This is amazing to think about. Name the last great quarterback for this entire franchise. And I mean, he was great more than an hour.

Rex Grossman? No, he wasn't. He's not great. Jim McMahon. He was not great for, it was a bear's defense. Jay Cutler. Wasn't great. So they've never developed a great quarterback, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000, not one.

Johnny Lou Jack. Oh, that's not even a real name. Is it? No, I thought it was a DJ. It was apparently a Bears quarterback in the 50s. That was his name, Johnny Lou Jack. He also did afternoons on 95.6 Chicago's Best Rock. He would go to practice and then go do a radio.

Was radio invented back then? I have no idea. So, no, I mean, if you don't develop something in 60 years, I'm going to give the kid a break. I think we hype Darnell Mooney as his best wide receiver. I don't know if he has a catch. I don't even know if he has a catch this season. Well, he's more of a three or a two. Cole Komet, I drafted him in fantasy, dropped him after like three minutes.

I mean, the guy's a dud. I do like the Bears this weekend, though. You do. Okay. A little bit. Zion Williamson took part in his first five-on-five scrimmage of the season. Zion, look at that. despite not participating in any of these workouts.

He's got a new ring. The earring? It's good looking. It's like a Michael Jordan big earring. Did you know that I had two earrings when I was like my parents said I could not get it in high school? I went to Beach Week after senior year, got them peers, came home. My parents were not happy with me at all. At any rate.

Zion was not rusty, Colin. And head coach Willie Green said Zion looked amazing. And he dominated his scrimmage. Big shocker there, right? Zion Williams is dominating. I want to get back to this. So you had two earrings. Yeah, if you look closely at my ears and don't do it with the cameras, but I still have the holes there.

My kids ask, like, what's up with that, Dad? I was like, yeah, I had two earrings. Not the hoops. I had the small hoops. So you're one of those people that goes, one of those guys that goes on vacation to Jamaica comes back wearing beads. No, no, absolutely not. I was not one of those guys. Hey, no, whoa.

What are you got to get Jamaica, man? Come on, you like a good red stripe every now and then? Listen, I'm not, what you're saying is you're one of these people that I would admit when I went to Europe, I came back here and didn't want to work. I thought you were going to say your backpack guy. No, I mean, I went to Italy, and I'm like, I just want to walk around and drink espresso and hang out with all these wonderful people. Because Italy is so chill. A lot of beautiful people in Italy, too, huh?

Well, my wife is beautiful. That's who I was with. I didn't notice. But the point was, we all are, we all have a little bit of this, right? We're all. Yeah. It was a rebellious stage. It was like cool in the 90s.

A few of those. Cool. in the 90s to have earrings. MTV spring break kind of era. All right. I didn't know you were a rebel. Well, now my son's becoming a rebel, and that's not going well for me at home. Love to hear that.

You keep making things rough for dad. That's the way to do it. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. By the way, I'm not saying anybody that wears beads is a nobody. I'm saying when guys like him go to Jamaica come back wearing beads. That makes me laugh.

I had a boss that did that once. No, I'm not joking. He went to Jamaica for five days, came back with beads. If you live in Jamaica and have beads, that's a whole different thing. Was his name Michael Scott by any chance from the office? No, but it was a very Michael Scott move. It happened pre-office. Oh, wow.

That was ahead of his time. People go somewhere, they come back, and they've been so influenced after four days on the beach or anywhere that they're like, they suddenly, you know, you start becoming the place you visited for four days, not the person you were for like 48. Yeah. That's my point on that point. 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, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada, and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right.

Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arington, T.J. Hushmanzada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast from. 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 is a win.

I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball. 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-taped 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 cracks. 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. 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.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. 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, is 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. These days, every new potential hire feels like a high-stakes wager for a small business. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com slash heard. Terms and conditions apply. All right, here we go. Yesterday at this time, we did AFC grades. We graded every team in the AFC that we think matters.

We're going to do the same now. Gridiron grades for the NFC. JMAQ, here we go. Colin, since you struggled so much yesterday with this, I'll start you off with a layup, the Philadelphia Eagles. I think they're the A-plus. Yes. Yesterday I gave Jacksonville and A-plus because of their growth.

Philadelphia, I mean, they last started Forno, like 15, 16 years ago, led all of their games by 17 points. They've come out strong early. So obviously on paper, they've got a plan and then they execute it. And then in the second half, they do as well. Like unlike Green Bay, which is good early, not late, both halves. They've obviously got a plan. They make the schematic changes necessary at half. They're an A plus. Dallas Cowboys lose their quarterback in week one. The sky is falling and they got two dubs. I'd give them a B too many penalties. Okay.

But they are two and one with a backup quarterback. They've increased their scoring in offense each week with a backup quarterback. They also lead the NFL with sacks. But again, they don't feel disciplined and buttoned up, way too many penalties. O-line's still a little bit of a work in progress. They get a B. I can't believe we're doing the Washington commanders after not doing the Jets yesterday. But the commanders, one of the worst teams in the league, how you grade them out?

D, they've allowed 15 sacks, most in the NFL. Their defense has one takeaway. They have a defensive coach and good defensive personnel. Almost a failing grade, but I don't like to fail students early. We're only in the first semester. The two-and-one fraudulent New York Giants, how you give them a grade? I would say C-plus. I mean, I do think Daniel Jones is better than last year, but they have the 30th ranked passing offense.

They only have seven big plays. And I know, listen, I know I'm beating up on Daniel Jones. but at some point, your young quarterback has to be the solution because this is not baseball. There's a salary cap. All these teams are imperfect. Burrow got to a Super Bowl with a bad old line last year. I'm not saying you have to get to the Super Bowl. You can't be 30th in passing.

Like there is some talent there. You do have a great left tackle. So I give them a C plus. How about Brady and the two and one bucks? They've had a lot of injuries, Colin. Do you give them kind of incomplete here? You're allowed to give that, by the way. I would say a B plus.

They've overcome a lot. Their offense, only three offensive touchdown. That's the problem. But I mean, Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Julio Jones, Donovan Smith, the left tackle. I thought it was very obvious last week against Green Bay. Folks, the chargers aren't going to look the same without Rishon Slater. Like, you lose a runner-in-off Donovan Smith's great. He's certainly solid to good.

So I give him a B-plus for overcoming. Even though it's not pretty with them, optically, they don't score much. They've overcome a lot. Are your favorite team in the league, the Green Bay Packers, who are two and one, I should remind you before you answer. A C. Their 27th ranked offense with Aaron Rogers and Aaron Jones. And they have five giveaways. So they've been a little sloppier.

They're not scoring a lot of points. Aren't you concerned a little? No. Not at all. Not at all. Wow. Not at all. Look at the receivers.

You just said Tampa's receivers have been all banged up. He's got a bunch of new guys. Two rookies out there. There. Romeo Dubs and Christian Watson. You and I see the Packers totally. I know. That's what makes it so beautiful.

But we can move on. Minnesota Vikings, who are two and one, kind of lucky. They did smash the Packers in week one, but I don't know what the hell's going on with them in the last two weeks. All right.

They're a B. They beat Green Bay handily. They're two and one. The only loss came on the road Monday Night Football at Philadelphia, the best team in the NFC. They're also the second least penalized team in the league.

They're healthy. They thumped a good team in Green Bay, a team you like. So it's like, Listen, they didn't, again, in college football, I'd be worried if Georgia was behind an average team. But in the NFL, you're behind average teams. They were behind Detroit. I look at it and think they came back and won.

That was a nice comeback from behind win. A near loss for the Viscata. That scared the hell out of me. Dude, I had them in Survivor, and they were trailing like 90% of the game. Well, that explains your angst. They did not cover the spread as well. Let's go to the Chicago Bears, who we kind of slammed here, Justin Fields. They are two and one headed toward maybe three and one, Colin.

C-minus. Only team with more rushing yards than passing yards. In all three games, they've had 105 yards or fewer passing. You don't have to be great at it, but let's be honest. You've got to be a threat. And so now on film, people are watching this offense, and they're not even a threat to run. So I think it's going to get harder, not easier going forward. Speaking of threats, the Detroit Lions only one and two, but man, they are frisky.

Oh, I think it's a B plus. Oh. I think, listen, I know they're one and two, but their offense is number two scoring offense. You know, the other thing, it was easy to dump on Jared Goff when he left. Can we be honest about this? At least at home. Jared Goff's been excellent. Yeah, indoors.

He's great. Well, okay. He plays half his games. No, he plays Minnesota every year, so he plays more than half his game. indoors. So, I mean, I've got to be, it's easy to just relegate him, like it's English soccer to the lower division. I think Jared Goff, we've got to do a Jared Goff topic.

That'll move the meter. I think he's played better than even Detroit thought he would play. I think he's been very good at home. Their offensive coordinator has been phenomenal. Ben Johnson, I never heard of the guy. Sewell's a home run at tackle. Jeff Okuda, the cornerback out of Ohio State played extremely well, locked up Justin Jefferson last week.

No, I think I think Detroit's interesting. L.A. Rams, who you, I think, had winning the Super Bowl back to back at the beginning of the season. No, I did. I had Buffalo winning. Oh, yeah, Buffalo over the Rams. So I have the Rams as a B. They have major injuries, worst rushing offense in the NFC. And Matt Stafford leads the, is it NFL or NFC? NFL with five picks. So they've been sloppy, but a lot of it is I'll give them a high grade a B

because I don't think people realize after Cooper Cup, it's a little bit of a mess at wide receiver. Let's go to the San Francisco 49ers, your man crush, Lynch, and Shanahan. I think they're one and two, and they got a tough one this weekend. How do you grade out their first three games? B-plus, Garoppolo will be better. More snaps. Defense only team holding their opponents under four yards a play. This is a great defense.

They're not healthy offensively. I worry about Trent Williams being out. But again, I think they've played, you know, they've had two quarters. They're already on their second quarterback, so it's not easy. Arizona Cardinals, Kyler Marie. I'd probably go D-plus. Ooh, ouch. They've lost seven of their last nine games.

Their third down offense with Kyler is awful. Their defense is awful. Right now they have the worst scoring defense in the league. So you've got to give me something. Like, you can say what you want about Chicago, but they're playing defense. Rokhan Smith is an unbelievable player. You've got to give me something to grab onto. What do I grab onto in Arizona?

The quarterback, the coach, the defense, third down. What do I grab on? There's nothing to grab onto. DeAndre Hopkins coming back in like two weeks. But he's not there now. Yeah, right, right, right. And we could wrap up with this Seattle Seahawks. Remember, I told the audience I would shave a Seahawks insignia in my head if they had a winning record at the end of the season.

That is the best bet I've ever made in my life. There's no chance they will be nine and eight. I would give them a C. I think they'd been what we thought, but they beat Denver and they were competitive against Atlanta. I mean, they're 28th and total offense. So you know where they're going to draft first. They have a two first, two second, and two fourth. They're going to literally change their franchise.

This is the biggest draft in the history of the Seahawks. Two first, two seconds, and I believe two fourths. So after the fourth round is a lot of finger crossing, but most NFL GMs believe your first round picks a pro bowler. Your second round pick is a starter. Your third and fourth round picks start eventually fairly soon. So Seattle's got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven elite picks. So my only thing with that is historically the Seahawks have done better drafting in the mid-rounds. they've kind of blown their early picks.

I'm calling it up here on the internet. I know, I know. Some shaky picks in the first round in the last couple years, Colin. I'm trying to be more positive with my hometown team. All right, there we go. Gridiron, greats. This is interesting with God. You did this yesterday at the end of the show, and it was funny.

Uh-oh. So when you criticize, everybody criticizes Jared Goff, you give me a quarterback, and I'll tell you if I take Goff or the other quarterback. You know where I'm going to start things. Where? Zach Wilson. Goff. Wow.

You almost look incredible. Ridgillus. No, no-brainer. He knows his limitations. He's not running around doing Hero Ball. Okay, Goff or Stafford? Stafford. Gough or Gino Smith? All right, damn it. I'm off my game. I'm off my game. All right. Let's go with Kurt Cousins, who is a lightning rod.

Goff, Goff? No. Time out. Time out. No, no, time out. I watch Goff on Monday night football out duel Patrick Mahomes. That was All McVeigh. You know that. No, I wasn't all McVeigh. McVeigh, come on. McVeigh scheming dudes open the entire. Time out. How is Kyle Shanahan without Garoppel?

He doesn't win. How's Belichick without Brady? You need the quarterback. I've seen Goff going to big games and out dual guys. Not consistently, but I've seen it. And I like Kirk. He shrinks. He's owing, what is he on Monday Night Football?

He's the worst ever in the history of Monday Night Football. Okay. One more, one more. Jared Goff or Jalen Hertz. Right now, Jalen Hertz. Yeah. He's more dynamic. Yeah.

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 grace. Listen to Superhuman on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 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. A win is 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 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's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.