The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Patriots documentary

Episode Date: February 16, 2024

Colin gives his way too early NFL predictions 3-time Super Bowl champion Eric Mangini joins the show to discuss Colin's way too early 2024 NFL playoff predictions and his perspective on working with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady after the release of a documentary covering the Patriots dynastySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day in the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, here we go. It's hour two. It's live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for Megynast part of your day. Last show for a while.

Cruise off next week. Fixing the control room. All sorts of gadgets, levers, switches being put in. Show be very dynamic when we get back. New levers all through the building. I'm very much a lever guy. Switches. Pullies, levers being added, graphic packages in the works, very excited.

You sound like Dr. Dre hitting the switches back in the day. You have no idea what I'm talking about. I do, actually. Oh, okay. Are you more likely to come back from the week rested with a big tan or a ski injury or like just huge biceps from working out? No, I will all work out every day. But I will not get sun.

I'll tell you that. I will not be in an area where I'm getting sun. I will be working with my wife on a project. And that's... Should go back to Iceland. Why not? You'll be... You'll be...

Undisclosed, sunny location. You got to... I don't need to get recognized any more than there is. Such a hassle for you. I can hear the rules. You barely get recognized on your basketball team. All right.

Out. I kid because I can't. I hit a clutch three last night. Just to remind you. Nobody cares. All right, here we go. It's the way too early predictions. I looked at schedules.

I'll give you an example in the AFC. Houston doesn't make it. What? Now they have to play with expectations. Schedule is significantly harder. And, oh, by the way, Anthony Richardson and Trevor Lawrence are both healthy again. So that's a team I like. I don't think Houston bottoms out. Sophomore slump.

That's a team. So remember, per season, last decade, six new teams make the playoffs. So all you fanboys out there, well, we made that six new teams. That's the average for a decade. So I went through it this morning and I ended up with six. AFC. Shocker, I'm taking the best quarterbacks overwhelmingly. I have the Bills, the Bingles, the Colts, the Chiefs winning their division.

I have the Ravens, Jags, Chargers as wild cards. So the Bills have won their divisions four straight years. The Bingles have had double-digit wins and led their division before Burrow gets hurt. I think they'll rebound. I think Shane Steikens, as good a young offensive coach as the league has had in years. They've got $60 million in cap space, and I like a lot of their young players. They almost got to the playoffs with Gardner Minshu. Anthony Richardson getting hurt in a weird way as a break, because now he could learn from the sidelines.

I have talked to Chris Ballard. They love that kid, and I'll take my homes. By the way, my wild card teams are quarterbacked by Lamar Jackson, Trevor Lawrence, and Justin Herbert. I'm taking the best quarterback. I don't know if Anthony Richardson is, but it's a wonky division. I look at their schedule. I look at Stuyken.

I look at their cap space. Oh, by the way, the Jags started 8 and 3 before Trevor Lawrence got hurt. They also hired a defensive coordinator, Ryan Nielsen from Atlanta, who did the best job with Atlanta's defense in a long time. And the Chargers, by the way, lost seven games by three or less, even with Brandon Staley, which was Manorneux. overboard, they were in a lot of games. Now Harbaugh gets his star quarterback. So I've got four new teams, Bengals, Colts, Jags, Chargers. Nothing against Miami, but Tuoh was completely

healthy this year. Think that's going to happen again next? Also, still don't love their old line. Houston, I like him a lot. Schedule's tougher. Now you're playing with expectations. Trevor Lawrence healthy. Now, look at the Texans' opponents. There's some tough ones there. Cowboys on the road, Chiefs on the road. Packers, I think, are excellent on the road. You face Aaron Rogers, and he's healthy early on the road.

Home games, well, good luck. Lions are really good, Ravens are really good. Dolphins score a lot of points. Bill score a lot of points. That's a tough schedule for the Houston Texans. And they still are in a rebuild. They're still trying to rebuild that roster. So I like Houston.

I think they pull back a game or two. All right, let's go to the NFC. I have two new playoff teams. Commanders win their division, Packers win their division, Falcons win their division, Rams win their division. Wildcards are Cowboys, Lions, Niners.

Why commanders? $75 million in cap space. Love Dan, Quinn, and Cliff Kingsbury as a staff. I think the Eagles and the Cowboys because of age and drama are vulnerable. I think the commanders, we have a surprise team every year in the league. I think they get Drake May. I think Drake May is like Justin Herbert as a comp, played in a simple college offense,

and will be better than people think immediately. Herbert was, C.J. Stroud was, I think Drake May is that guy this year. Packers, I love their young offensive personnel. Don't like it. I love it. They're kids. and they went into Dallas and hammered the Cowboys. I thought LeFleur had his best job as a head coach, did his best job.

Falcons, I think they land Russell Wilson or Kirk Cousins. Top five offensive line, nice pieces. I think they get a veteran in there for a couple of years, and Atlanta wins. Kind of a weak division. Rams, second youngest team that made the playoffs to the Packers. I think one of the great coaches in football, they've got 11 draft picks. and about 30 million a cap space. I think the Rams are in the Super Bowl bubble,

potentially. I have the Cowboys, Lions, and Niners, all with offensive coaches getting in. So again, the quarterbacks are Matt Stafford, I think a Russell Wilson potential in Atlanta, Kyle Shanahan Brock Purdy, Jared Goff, Dak Prescott, Jordan Love, and the one surprise. Last year it was C.J. Stroud. This year, for me, it's Drake May.

There you go. Six new playoff teams. Okay, man, Jeannie's going to tear this apart. let's go live to Eric Manjini my way too early oh boy oh brother I am not

I'm not going to tear it apart as bad as you think Colin I like most of your AFC picks I think those are those are all solid I get what you're saying about Houston I think that's that's realistic

I'm fascinated by where the Jets can be if we actually get to see Aaron Rogers play that that to me and the bills too the bills had to fight to to to make it work this season there's so much so many things I'd overcome I don't know whether they can continue or whether they're going to be too tired to that to win the division again next year so overall though this is I think a really good group I like the charges pick I like the jaggers pick yeah this one's solid NFC I've got a little a few more questions on though what what specifically specifically what?

I don't love the Atlanta pick. I don't love that pick at all. Look, I've been on Atlanta for years, and they continue to disappoint me. I know. And I don't think with the coaching change, it's going to be enough, although that division is so up in the air.

And the commanders, I like them as a wild card. Obviously, I love Dan Quinn, but I think the Giants are going to rebound. I think this year was less indicative of who they are. and they're closer to the first year team, and Ryan will do a good job of fixing the roster and getting things in place. So I like the Giants in this mix somewhere, either as a wild card or, you know, potentially a division winner. All right. That's not bad. Yeah, by the way, I joke on.

And the Lions, too, I think you're too low on them. I think they're going to win the division. They've got a young team. They've got salary cap space. They do a great job drafting. They've got continuity in the coordinators. they've established an identity the guys have bought into it

people like the discipline there which is rare and they've gotten over all those humps of not winning the division not going to playoffs not winning a playoff game winning two playoff games but there's a ton to like with Detroit okay now I've got four more before the season

starts so I do one after the coaches are in do one after free agency do one after the draft and free agency and then I do one I don't know camp preseason nonsense. So I may switch on that one. I gave that some thought this morning. Now, you declined to be

interview for the documentary, Dynasty. You've not watched the first two episodes, but you know very well. I defended Belichick this morning. I said he'd been fired in Cleveland. They just paid Bledsoe and he was really popular. And when he got healthy again,

later in the year, about eight, ten weeks later, Bill went back to Bill stayed with Brady. And in fact, when Brady, when Brady got hurt in the AFC championship and Drew saved the day they went back to Brady in the Super Bowl and I said you cannot love Bill

Cleveland was a bit of a mess first year New England wasn't a mess Bledso was paid well liked the media liked him the owner liked him you were there I said I felt like there was a lot of intestinal fortitude and courage by Bill

in that moment is that what you recall what one of Bill's greatest strength is he doesn't care what the fans think he should do. He doesn't care what the media thinks he should do. He's going to do what he believes is right. And remember, this is the guy who cut Bernie Kozar. And at that point, Bernie really was at the end of his career. He went to Dallas and helped out a little bit as a backup.

But Benny Testaberti was a better quarterback. But that was hugely unpopular in Cleveland. And then when we were in New England and Tom came in, remember we were 5 and 11 with drew the year before we're 0 and 2 when drew got hurt Tom comes in we start we win our first game big against the Colts then lose the next one then win the next two we're five and five through 10 games and then don't lose another game so it's it's hard the easy thing for him to do would have gone back to the $100 million quarter would have gone back to the star but but at that moment

Tom had the team and and Tom was doing all the things that that we were looking for him to do offensively and that's not a knock on Drew at all but when you're a star and when you're paid like that you have very strong ideas as to how things could go or should go and Tom was willing to do it the way that Bill wanted it done the way that Charlie wanted done and it was working why why would we move away from it yeah so um you know we were talking about this yesterday is that We start pivoting now to combine free agency and draft. And this is a draft in which it's considered to be a really high-end quarterback draft. But I said, it reminds me of the 2021 draft class at quarterback.

You had Trevor Lawrence. This one has Caleb Williams. Seen as an absolute, you know, not going to miss. May not be a superstar, but there's just too much talent. He'll overcome some nonsense wherever he lands. He'll make it. But after that, we heard hype about Trey Lance and Mack Jones and Zach Wilson as It's like, no, no, no, no, that's, none of that's working.

And I don't know Jaylen Daniels. I, Bo Nicks, Michael Pettick's injuries. When you look at this quarterback class, my take is outside of Caleb Williams, just like that one outside of Trevor Lawrence, it's just going to depend where they land. That's all it. These guys aren't good enough. Do you look at this quarterback class is better than average? Well, the volume of information that's going to come in between now and the draft is going to be staggering. and where these guys place, where they end up placing in the hierarchy is going to change dramatically.

Remember last year, Colin, when everybody talked about C.J. Stroud and he took that personality test or that intelligent test, and supposedly it was such a bad result and people had questions, all those things that happened. And there's going to be interviews and pro days and on and on and on. and there's going to be some guy that that's not even on the list that's going to pop. And then other guys are going to follow on with Caleb. How does he interview? How well does he connect with the teams that go out and spend time with him? That's a big part of it.

You're getting married to this player as a franchise and everything is interconnected to him. You better connect and you better believe in who he is, not just ability-wise, but can he lead men? is he going to continue to improve? Does he have a great work ethic? All those other things that's so important as to whether or not he actually reaches the potential of the talent he's shown in college. I want to go back to the Super Bowl.

I think I'm in the minority. I did defend Kyle Shanahan a little on overtime, and I said, listen, his defense was gassed. They were just on the field for 11 plays. And his takeaway was, I want to control it. I love my skill people. Their defense is tired.

So is mine. And it worked. They moved down the field. 13 plays against a great Kansas City defense. They just couldn't get it into the end zone. But a lot of people make a point and it's a valid one. You want to let the other team have the ball first because then you can get four downs. And, you know, you know what you have to do.

Absolutely true. But San Francisco would say, well, if we score a touchdown and they do, I get the ball last. there's this sense that Shanahan really screwed up. Do you view it that way? If he really went into it with the mindset of we want the ball third, we think we're going to go down and score, kick a field goal, they're going to do the same thing, and then we get the ball in sudden death.

And that was the thought process that I'm all for it. And you can criticize any head coach for any decision, but there is a rhyme and reason as to why he did it. So if you're taking that at face value, then I'm fine with it. I don't love the idea of giving Patrick Mahomes four downs, but that was Kyle's prerogative. What I didn't like it all is how many players have come out and said we had no idea about the rules. We had no idea about the difference between regular season and the playoffs. That to me was really disappointing because that's something you can easily cover in meetings.

you should cover multiple times and guys should know understand exactly what the situation is as opposed to after the game saying I didn't even realize it could play out that way. Yeah. So I asked Jimmy Johnson about this.

I said, Jimmy, you've won back-to-back Super Bowls. Nobody's won a third. Not even the Steelers of the 70s when you didn't have the salary cap and there was less mobility and all the great players stayed on your team. It's hard.

You just think, are Steelers? So you tell me, and Jimmy said it's the disease of me. The secretary wants a raise. The slot corner wants a raise. In New England, I don't feel like Dallas has always had a bigger sense of itself. Like Dallas is star making. That's the Cowboys.

New England doesn't feel like that. But why didn't the Patriots, why was it so hard to repeat or win three in a row in your opinion? Well, the disease of me was a big part. of why after we won our first Super Bowl, we missed the playoffs the following season. Because guys, everybody wanted to raise, everybody was doing commercials, everybody thought that we could do all the same things

that we did the previous year and have the same result, not realizing that we had to do it better. And then we learned from that, won that next Super Bowl, and we're able to build off that and win two in a row. But it's not just the disease of me, it's fatigue. Everything goes so much longer

than the rest of the league. So you have it the first year after the Super Bowl where your offseason is shortened. Everything's abbreviated. You go into the next season. People are gunning for you again. Every game you have to be up for it. And you saw throughout the course of this year where Kansas City didn't play anywhere near what we expected them to play like. And Patrick Mahomes, especially, they had trouble in the second half.

They had trouble in the red zone. He had below 80 QB ratings seven times, which he had only had 10 over the course of the rest of his career like there were a lot of hurdles they had to overcome this season and next year it's going to be that much more fatigue they've got the lower draft picks hopefully they can bring some free agents in that want to go win a super role like we were able to in new england but it's it it's just and you've got to be healthy they had a fairly healthy season for for you know, a team that was trying to repeat. So to get lucky from a health perspective as well,

three years in a row, that's rare. By the way, you wouldn't even be interviewed for the documentary on the Patriots. What did you tell when they tell, Eric, we'd love to have you, we'll buy you some fresca, we'll have fresh pringles, will it be an air-conditioned room,

and you said, not interested? Look, I think this is like the third or fourth documentary that I've been interviewed for, So it's like how many times can I rehash the same things? And it wasn't trying to give anybody a hard time. It's just I've done multiple documentaries on this topic, and I've lived through it, and I'm happy to talk about it after they've interviewed everybody else,

but just rehashing the same continuous issues over and over again gets a little redundant for everybody, I think. All right, Eric. We probably won't see you until last. after free agency but we'll miss you i'm going on vacation next week to a northern climate so i'm going to sit in the rain and win but i'm okay with it i'm okay with it or you have a great time you've earned it yes you've earned that nice vacation relax have fun yeah i'm exhausted from all my talking you are i know you're like the three pete of announcers you know every year so good

great seeing you coach eric mangini see you come all right we'll have jeff benedict who wrote the book that's become the Apple Plus series. We'll have him on coming up. I think it's early March. So I look forward to that. Jeff's a good guy. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast, 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from Batsy, 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,

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Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new, new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the

ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right. So the Chiefs won the Super Bowl. They got a couple players, they have to figure out what to do with on the defensive side. Now, the Chiefs pay more of their money on the offensive side, but Chris Jones, to me, I can't get rid of him. The Chiefs have a decision at Corner with Legerius Sneed, who is excellent, but he had a bad Super Bowl,

and their other corner, Trent McDuffie, is better. And that's saying something, because Sneeds are really good. I didn't love this. This was Kay Adams, Legerius Sneed. It's kind of funny banner, but I didn't think the timing was great on this. pay me pay me pay me

that's what I got to say pay me it's all fun but timing matters you had a bad Super Bowl and the other cornerbacks way better and frankly there's no proof paying cornerbacks matters that much

the jets in Denver have great corners San Francisco and Detroit made the NFC championship the weakness of both I would argue corner I think corner has become due to rule changes an over-drafted, over-rated, overpaid position. I am in the minority. I think I'd spend my money. If you told me, I have five positions to pay my money. Quarterback one, left-tackled two, edge rusher, three, weapons, a couple, four and five. I think center is the most

underrated position in the league and has been, as the league has gotten more sophisticated and no huddles and hurry up. By the way, here's the teams with great centers. See if you've heard of them. Philly, Detroit, Kansas City, Baltimore, and Miami. Great centers matter. So, and that's not to say, I believe in the draft, if I was a GM, I would take quarterbacks, power, and size in the first two rounds. Speed, three through seven. So I think there's all sorts of great corners in the league that came in the third, fourth, fifth, six, seven. Seattle's nailed a couple of them late. But again, Legerius needs a good player. I'm not saying you shouldn't pay him, but when you have a bad Super Bowl, I wouldn't joke about money, especially.

because if you go look at the recent history of Brett Veach, the GM of the Chiefs, they draft and develop corners about as well as anybody in the National Football League. And you're going to have to pay McDuffie. Nobody pays two corners. Just a thought. Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

There's a lot of meat on that bone about who to pay, because remember the Ravens are like, hey, we're going to pay linebackers. The Niners, we're going to pay linebackers. has worked in the regular season. Nobody can pay two corners. You can pay, listen, there's some things we know that you need to pay eventually. Quarterback, left tackle, edge rusher, and a weapon. That's a gimmy. The question becomes, then what? Now, Baltimore and San Francisco, good teams pay linebackers. So you can't say they don't have value. If they're great, Roquan Smith, Fred Warner, Greenlaw, then you pay them. Patrick, Queen. You know, again, but you can't pay two linebackers. That's where it gets difficult. I don't believe you can pay two corners.

Well, I'm just saying, if you don't want to pay Sneed, you better find somebody to jam up number one receivers because that's what Sneed did all season. What about McDuffie? That's not his strength. His strength is slot and blitzing. He's like a kind of a Swiss Army knife guy. I think that would be a huge loss. It is a tough decision for the Chiefs. They lost Tyreek Hill and one back-to-back Super Bowls. On the offensive side, yes. Yeah, I think, and they have a history. Remember they got that kid they gave to San Francisco? Ward? The cornerback? Yeah. I mean, he was great. They let him go. And then they get McDuffie.

So it's like this is an or, it's almost like Pittsburgh. If you're a wide receiver and Steelers always, yep, yep, yep. That's just who they are. It's kind of funny. Does anybody draft and develop wide receivers better than Pittsburgh? Probably not. I mean, the last 20 years. I mean, go back to Swan and Stollworth.

The Steelers always have great receivers. Be careful. Kansas City under Brett Beach, they do corners really well. Yeah, all right. We need new teams in the Super Bowl. Done with Kansas City. All right. What'd you have for breakfast this morning?

Mutton, T-bone, or do you have cereal? I don't do breakfast. I'm trying to slim down, bro. I'm trying to get like you. You know, I noticed that a couple days ago. Yeah. Little soft. Oh, wow.

Okay, let's go to Jim Harbaugh, who's anything but soft. Well, you wear skin-tight t-shirts to work. It's got to flex, bro. I don't know where I'm going now. So Jim Harbaugh is one of the coach of the year favorites, Colin. You love it. I love it. I mean, come on.

He's plus 550. He won Coach of the Year with the Niners and his first season with the team. He is the favorite now. Matt LaFleur is second. Wow, Rahim Morris. That's high. Steichen?

I had a Steichen ticket that I felt good about last season. D'Amico Ryan. Oh, come on. Robert Sala? Well, I mean, Harbaugh, LeFleur, and Stichen. I like Salon. For the record, I know he's a fan of the show. No, I got nothing.

I'm saying Lefleur and Harbar very obvious. Ream Morris is that high. It's interesting because they don't have a quarterback. To win the year. award you got to win like 10 games they don't have a quarterback that's a that's a I got nothing against Ray I think he'd be good but Desmond Ritter's a quarterback not going to win coach of the year if that's your quarterback so that tells me the betting market thinks they're going to go by Kirk Cousins Justin Fields or Russell Wilson that's what they're going to go buy somebody

they could draft too but Ray Morris is not winning coach of the year um where's big they on that list you you got the Rams winning 15 games Super Bowl division everything 11 12 nobody's even the chiefs won't win 15. Not with Harbaugh in that division. Sean Payton? He gets his quarterback? 15? No, no, not 15. Just coach of the year. It could be. It's always some outlier. What was Stefanski this time last year? He wasn't on. I think Shane Steichen would probably Lafleur and Shane Steichen. I think Shane Steichen's going to win that division.

I like the Colts roster. I think... Let's see what they got a lot of cap space, man. They got like 60 large. You got to spend it well, though. We've seen some teams... Chris Ballard doesn't... Look at his free agent stuff. He doesn't spend wildly. He tends to be like a thursday. He tends to be like a thursday. third, fourth day, free agent. Is he only going to get involved? I don't know.

Yeah, there you go. That's the problem. Next up. NFL draft. Okay, this is what I, you know, I think you're going to like. Okay, Colin. So, quarterback's obviously the big topic. Caleb Williams, Drake May, Jaden, Daniels,

likely to go in the top five. One quarterback hasn't got enough love, and that's J.J. McCarthy. This show's giving him props. Not everyone else. Colin, there is a report. Now, it's kind of an obscure website, but the guy covers the league.

He covers an AFC team. He is claiming one NFC team has J.J. McCarthy as their second quarterback on their draft board. I find this hard to believe that the quarterback draft board has already set this early in the process? They're not. No way. So who's the blogger? They're not set yet.

I know they're not. I don't think you put that out there without having some kind of connection. Nobody's board is set yet. Yeah, they haven't even interviewed quarterbacks at the company. No, no, no, I talked to, I was texting one, a GM last night. They're not, their quarterback board's not set. It does feel like this is a reach, but it's still spicy. that McCarthy. Now they may think he's the, you know, you may watch, I mean, I just talked to somebody two days ago yesterday that had already watched six J.J. McCarthy games in college. And?

Not a huge fan. Had watched only six, though. He's going to go back and watch previous. If you watch most of the last four games outside the playoff, he was throwing for like a buck 50. I thought he was great second half Penn State. He didn't throw. What, handing the ball off every time? Hey, I know, outside of the first throw against Alabama, which he tried to throw interception. on the very first play. He made some major big-time plays against the defense that's going to put probably two guys in the first round with the cornerback and the edge rusher?

I don't want to be negative on these guys. I was very negative on Zach Wilson, and I go to Utah a lot. I don't want it negative on these guys. Huh? What's the connection there? I just don't want to be too negative. I'm hoping they all work. Zach Wilson was one.

I was just day one. Not going to work. Right. But I don't. I don't have a strong, I don't have, I have a higher opinion of J.J. McCarthy than I had of Zach Wilson, but there are things I don't see what everybody else sees. Well, you know, you know who saw something they liked? This guy named Jim Harbaugh. And Jim Harbaugh puts McCarthy in and finally, McCarthy lost, I think, one game in college. Well, I'm not, first of all, it's college.

Yeah, but Harbaugh is a quarterback whisper. He liked McCarthy. I don't doubt Jim Harbaugh. By the way, Jim, have you noticed, doesn't need a quarterback. So what's he going to do? My guy at Michigan was the best. Yeah, of course. He's Johnny Unitas plus Brady. He doesn't need a quarterback.

Yeah. Jim wouldn't say a word about quarterbacks if he needed one and had that fifth pick. He wouldn't say anything. I need to do a deep dive, but I'm of the belief that the quarterback who goes first, if you look at like the last 23 years, go back this century. The quarterback who goes first doesn't usually anything. end up the best. Well, because they end up with the crappiest team. In a crap franchise, and bad organization, coaches get run out. Almost always a terrible offensive line.

Kyler Murray, Joe Burrow. You don't want to go first. I think it's safe to say you, I know for money you want to go first and endorsements and stuff. Does number one pick sounds big? Sounds big. That's the last what? The bloom is off the roads in like two years for most of those guys. You know? And it's like the Josh Allen at seven, a Lamar at 32. Guys who fall got a better organization, better teams. this yesterday. Andrew Luck, number one. Awful offensive line, short career. Burrow, constantly

hurt, number one. Kyler Murray, hurt. Trevor Lawrence last year. Bad O. Line, banged up. Bryce Young, number one. If he goes to Houston, Bryce, he gets Laramie Tunzel as a left tackle. That's different than their left tackle. So the number one pig, Caleb Williams. Bears have a tackle they like, and I think one guard they like. But that offensive line is average. I didn't try to push it, but the Bears released two starters yesterday. On the, on their O line?

I saved it for the podcast. Where, where? One on the O line, Cody Whitehaer, and then Eddie Jackson and the secondary. Well, Whitehair, I don't think is a surprise. Who in the secondary? Eddie Jackson. And I'm like, why didn't you trade those guys at the deadline for anything? You could have got a pick or something.

They ended up getting nothing. They just cut the guys. And I think there's something with Ibra Fluse and wanted to keep his job anyways. Let's move on. Final story, Colin. Listen, this is starting to become a problem in Milwaukee. The bucks last night. A mess.

They lost to the Grizzlies. and the Grizzlies are a mass unit. The bucks are now three and seven since Doc Rivers took over, and Rivers is starting to get ticked off. Listen to these comments about his team last night. First play, we gamble for the 50th time in the corner. Guy drives. We have to help leads to a three.

We come back on our set. Two guys forget what we're running. Then we miss a shot, and then nobody gets back. That's how we start out the third quarter. That tells you all you need to know about where our hands. heads were. You know, we had some guys here. We had some guys in Kabul.

So, if you really want to drill down on the bucks, I think they screwed up badly this offseason, but from the coach, the Drew Holiday. Drew Holiday is such a smart character guy. You want that guy in your locker room. And we're not knocking

Dame. Dane's obviously great. But they changed so much from the coach to Dame. They went out and got Patrick Beverly. And dame's just a score. Dame's small. He doesn't defend. You know how tough it is to go to a new locker room after spending, what, 12, 13 years in Portland, and you're the guy, you're the alpha.

Now you've got to come and be like the second guy and you don't really play defense. It's just the bucks, the vibes are not great around that team right now. And we saw what happened with him being the Sixers. This is the Celtics year, Colin. This is the Celtics year. And I don't, listen, you don't like to say negative stuff about Doc Rivers. It's early. I'll give him that.

Well, remember. Bro. Get out of the first round, please, Doc. Don't lose in the first round. I'm not kidding. The Clippers look like a disaster when they put Hardin' in. They were 0.4, 0.5. And they looked horrible.

Yes. And then it takes time. And so I think I always tend to be patient when you move the chest pieces. We like Janus. Dane's a good closer. Middleton's not what he was. there's an argument well we said this

when the Celtics got Drew Holiday and let Marcus Smart go we said they just got like a jet-fueled version of Marcus Smart like he's Marcus Smart Plus and they traded basically Grant Williams is gone

and Porzingis is now in William's a huge upgrade he's not in shape or something yesterday last thought on Doc Rivers so you mentioned the clipper starting like 0 and 5 with Hardin Ty Lou was saying the right things give us time blah blah blah

Doc Rivers said we had some guys in Cabo. I don't know how that's going to go over in the locker room. Honestly, I don't. Buck's got some problems, man. Tailu, coach of the year. To get Westbrook to come off the bench, hardened to buy in, Coach of the year is Tyler.

Yeah, I mean, OKC's coach, your boy in Minnesota. Everybody liked O'KC. Not second seed in the West, good. Well, the West is weird. What about the guy, Missoula? They're running away. with the east? They should be.

They have the best roster easily in the east. The Clippers don't... It's... I mean, they get... And maybe it was Westbrook's idea, but I think Ty Lou is such a strong personality that his ability to get Westbrook to buy in to coming off the bench, Westbrook deserves credit, so does Ty.

I would give Ty the code to the year. I can't wait for the second order effects to kick in once Milwaukee gets bounced early. So where's Yonis going to end up in a year? When's Janice going to become a Laker? Does he want to come to Hollywood? I mean, I like the Janus Milwaukee story. But, you know, Fav left, Aaron left.

Kareem left. Kareem demanded out early. The only thing that hasn't left is a cheese and then Wisconsin Dell. There you go. It's a beautiful shopping mall. Never leaves. J. Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. It is crazy. Like Doc Rivers was a broadcaster. he was a new broadcaster for the NBA on ABC and then an hour later he's coaching the box that is so random

I'm sure the people over to ESPN didn't love that right like you made a new whole broadcast they got rid of like really popular people that were great and they brought a new guy in and the new guy leaves for the all-star break that couldn't have played well in the building just

be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA great vibe. All happening in only

one place. This League Uncut. The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haines. And me, Mark Stein. Join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to this league uncut with Chris Haynes and

Mark Stein on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform

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

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics

from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The United Football League will begin to play March 30th, and you can catch games on ABC, ESPN, Fox, and FS1. The UFL debuted its official new ball yesterday designed with the help of Cowboys Kicker and USFL alumni, Brandon Aubrey. You can see the ball here on the camera. Coward, they wanted me to throw this to you, but then someone said you can.

You've got hands like a linebacker, you can't catch a cold? No, I don't. You sure? Yes. All right, here we go. I can care. Here we go. Oh, oh.

By the way, one-handed. In the lights. Do it again for the TV audience. I might drop it. All right. No chance of that. Closer to me. Closer.

Okay, there is. Boom, look at that. Look at this. I'm QB1 on this staff. Okay, now, now just to be obnoxious. She's, what is that? Sorry. Who are you?

Brock Purdy? What is that? Come on. Goodness gracious. I'm sorry. I've told you before. I would invest in, I've been wrong twice, I think spring football is going to work. I think the O-line plays a bit off, but the receiver backs, safety's receiver quarterback

play. There's so many quarterbacks now because all these seven-on-seven camps, the quarterback receiver corner tight-end, there's dudes. Like, if you're a good O-Linman, you're in the league. Like, that's not great. Same Canadian football league. If you're playing O-line there, you're not an NFL alignment. NFL's dying for alignment.

Outside of that, you watch it, guys can play. So it's interesting. Earlier, I made my, I do it four times before the season. After all the coaches are hired and the Super Bowl is over, I say, okay, here's my predictions. And then I do it after a free agency, after the draft, and then once or twice during preseason. I think I wait to the last day because of injuries and that kind of stuff. So I said, you've got to have at least six new teams in the playoffs. That's the average the last decade.

So I did it this morning, and I ended up with six. I didn't really go out of my way to do it, but that's what I ended up with. Like the Houston Texans are a team, by the way, that I think are very good, but their schedule now is brutal. Now they play with expectations, and both Trevor Lawrence in their division and Anthony Richardson, really gifted quarterbacks with offensive coaches will be healthy. That's an obvious one where Houston takes a mini step back. Jacksonville and Indy take big steps up. By the way, Indie's got a lot of cap space to buy a lot of problems out.

So here are my predictions again. I have six new playoff teams. I think Joe Burroughs been winning that division when he's healthy. He comes back. So I don't think that's a big daring stab by me. I'm going to take Buffalo. So if you look at the quarterbacks, I take. I take, first of all, I take a lot of offensive coaches.

Right? So I've got four of the six offensive coaches. Harbaugh's kind of a special teamer and Sean McDermott, but they both have star quarterbacks. So I take Buffalo, Sincy, Colts, Chiefs to win divisions, Ravens, Jags, Chargers as the wildcard teams. Now, in the NFC, which I think is harder to predict because you don't have as many great quarterbacks,

and I tend to lean to great quarterbacks. My version of Houston this year, next year will be Washington, where they have the number two pick. I think they're going to go get Drake May, and like C.J. Stroud, I think he's going to be better than people anticipate. It's not. I still have Dallas making the playoffs. Philadelphia will battle, but I don't necessarily love who they got at coordinator.

They're getting old. And we have not seen Jalen Hertz without Shane Steichen be elite. So I think the commanders with this coaching staff in the most cap space win the division. Somebody every year shocks the league. That's my shocking team. Green Bay wins the division. I think Jordan Love is just on the precipice of some big years with these great young receivers and tight ends. I think Atlanta wins, not because I love them now,

but I think they're going to go buy a quarterback. My guess is Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, or Justin Fields. All of them, I think, would win the division. Justin, I'm not sure about Kirk, Russell, I do think. Rams, second youngest team to Green Bay won a playoff game, went toe-to-to-toe with Detroit to get another playoff win. And did the Rams win a playoff game or just get there? They lost the Detroit, I forget.

They lost to Detroit. That was their only playoff game, right? All right, my bad. I think so. My bad. My bad. Somebody smart. First of all, I need to, we need to address this.

And then I have Cowboys, Lions, Niners making the playoffs. So I think people will see this and be like, where are the Eagles? They went to the Super Bowl. And I know you mentioned the Jalen Hurts. And then we're awful, awful at the end of last year. So I didn't realize. You know how awful? I didn't realize this.

Do you know what they were in defense last year? DVOA defense? 30th? 29th. I didn't know who was that bad. You could see. And by the way, they've got an expensive roster. Where are they going to go buy that up?

You see Hassan Reddick allegedly. asked out and then he tried to walk it back. I think Hassan Reddick is, I would go look at him. I think the Rams are going to go spend money on a rush end. Don't be shocked at the Rams don't look at Hassan Redick. I'm not that I have any sources.

I'm just saying Hassan Reddick on the market, I can think of three teams off the top of my head that would go get it. By the way, an hour from now I'm going to do something similar to this and I'm a little upset with you. But I'll tell you about it then. All right. Rick Buker's around the corner.

Warriors, Clay hit the bench, Clay was ticked off, Clay was on fire. Hour three next on a Friday. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast'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'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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 Cliver Show.

This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.