The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Right & wrong, Bengals

Episode Date: February 14, 2022

Where Colin was right and wrongBengals fans have no right to complainGuest: Eric Dickerson Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You know, it's funny, we live in this world now where everything comes in twos. The Georgia Bulldogs won the national title, so to the Atlanta Braves. A couple years ago, it was the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Los Angeles, we're getting, you know, we've got the Dodgers, we got the Lakers, we got the Rams, not all in one year. But for whatever reason, we got into this thing where like cities, or, you know, we'll have this one or two year stretch. Atlanta, Georgia just had this with the Bulldogs finally beaten Bama.

And the Braves, by the way, for years and years, the Braves in Georgia have been great organizations, really functional businesses. And you're always like, ah, the Braves should have more than one world series, Georgia Bulldogs. And they get it in the same year. And I don't know if it's karma. I don't know what it is.

I mean, it might have something to do with, you know, once a team in your market or, you know, around the same fan bases that, you know, the Falcons and Georgia Bulldogs might share. It kind of forces the other organizations in the city to be a little more aggressive. I agree with that. To step up a little bit. Yes. You know, not if you're going to lose the fan base, but, you know, there just is a little more pressure that there's, well, the Lakers are winning and the Dodgers are winning. No, we said this. When the Lakers went and got LeBron James, and I know the executives around town, you know, most of them,

pretty well. It put pressure on everybody. Okay, this huge brand is now going to converge with LeBron's brand. We're going to spend the money. And I said this. The Rams were building a stadium when that happened. And it was costing them about $4 billion more than they thought. And their takeaway was, and I think Stan Cronky at one point, that was the reason he was willing to move off Gough because Gough didn't feel big enough for the stadium and his plans. Unfair or not, Stafford feels big enough for the room. Well, yes. And there's only so much money to go around with fans.

Like, fans can't generally have season tickets to the Lakers and season tickets to the Dodgers and season tickets to the Rams. Like if you're only going to spend so much money going to these games. So if you have to pick and choose where you're going to go, you want to go to a place that's competitive. Yeah, I talked to the USC Athletic Director about a year ago when they were going to move off their coach. And I said, whatever you do, this is Los Angeles. You have to go big on a coach. Nobody here wants you to hire the Iowa State coach or the Cincinnati coach. It will disappear in this city.

It'll just disappear. It's not about just winning in Los Angeles. It's a distracted market. You saw the weather. It's mid-February. Look at our weather. It's jammed at the beach. I drove by the beach Friday.

It was packed. Why wouldn't it be? It was 80 degrees. It was like the middle of the summer. So it does matter. When LeBron came to town, I think it's. made everybody look around and go, we got to go big on this stuff. Yeah. And of course, because it's Los Angeles, we couldn't do two. We had to have three.

Oh, boy. All right. Colin was right. Colin was wrong. Here we go. Where Colin was right. Well, we did predict a close Super Bowl. A lot of people thought the Rams would blow them out. And our takeaway was going into the game, I said the Bengals have been in 20 games. 18 have been close. They just play close. And they've got a good offense. They can play from behind. You know, a lot of these teams get into a Super Bowl. And if they fall behind, they're doomed. You know, the Bengals, they got playmakers. So two very strong defensive fronts. These teams mirror each other in a lot of ways.

Really strong quarterback wide receiver groups, good defensive ends, good defensive lines. The difference is the Rams were a lot more experienced. Coach, roster, defensive front. Where Colin was raw. Listen, I liked the Matt Stafford move, but I said, listen, even Vegas said they go from 10 to 10 and a half wins. I did not think he was going to win a Super Bowl. I did not think he would become the highest,

rated fourth quarter quarterback in the NFL. I did not think he would blow out Tom Brady twice. Stafford is so functional and so adult and so focused. I just didn't appreciate it in Detroit. I mean, everybody always said, oh, he's got all these comeback wins in Detroit. And I'm like, yeah, he's always trailing in Detroit. But he's one of those players that until you see him every week, you don't appreciate his greatness and his maturity and his ability.

when his team is melting or even when he is melting to just flip a switch, get it right, and then move on. Where Colin was right? I've been a huge fan. I've been banging on this for four or five years. Go for it. Be aggressive. The Rams aggressive DNA is my kind of team.

People are busy. I'm aggressive in my life. Why shouldn't my football team? Rams haven't had a first round pick since 2016. They're a late football. first round drafting team. What's the point? Go get Jalen Ramsey. Go get Von Miller. Go get Matt Stafford. Highly aggressive teams in baseball, NBA. It doesn't matter if it's hockey. Aggressive wins. OBJ and Vaughn Miller were classic cases of. We're going to give up some draft picks.

We're going to pay a little extra money. But in the end, we have playmakers and weren't both great yesterday? OBJ's first half and Bond Miller's second. Where Colin was wrong. For years and years, I called wide receivers icing. I said, the cake is the coach, the GM, the quarterback, the O line, and the D line. That's the cake of football. Wide receivers are nice. They're icing. Yeah, they're not icing anymore.

Two of the last four MVP's in the Super Bowl are wide receivers. The NFL has changed its rules. You can't touch wide receivers. They now own the middle of the field. And if you couple them with good quarterbacks and offensive coaches, they are unstoppable. Think about this. I've never seen an offensive line that bad in a Super Bowl from Cincinnati, but yet they're great at quarterback and wide receivers, so they're in.

I mean, it used to be in my entire life, if you had a bad O line, you're not getting past the first round. You can't have a terrible O line. Joe Burrow was sacked 70 times this year. Still got to the Super Bowl. Wide receivers now are just a notch below quarterbacks in value. I think we've seen it now. Where Colin was right?

I never bought into the Brooklyn Nets Big Three dominating the NBA. First of all, if you have three guys that cost that much, you're going to have a bad bench, you're going to have holes. Just the reality, even the Miami Heat with LeBron and his prime. Didn't have much size, we're average at point guard.

And I also think, I said, Kevin Durant is going to regret moving off Steph Curry for Kyrie Irving. He is going to absolutely regret it. it'll be privately, he won't make it public, but this team imploded. My feeling was it's going to burn hot for a very short time, and they'll win a bunch of games, but it disintegrated for very predictable reasons. Where Colin was wrong.

You know, I like Carson Wentz, and I thought the Colt should have gone for it, but according to sources, they're ready to move off Carson Wentz, and they'd like to do it by March. You know, I still think he's big, strong, and athletic, and I think for most of the year, he was really good, but he was still. terrible against Tennessee twice, and he completely melted down at the end of the year. His last two games against the Raiders and the Jags, he completed 58% of his throws. I think he's explosive.

I think he's a big, strong athlete. I think the Steelers should make a run at him. But the truth is, I was a big proponent of this move, and he's costly, and he is unpredictable. And in the end, I like him more than the results. When he melted down late in the season, I have to own that. That was on him, not on the roster, not on the coach, not on the ownership. He melted down. Where Colin was right?

Ben Simmons, Joel M. Bede. I said it two years ago. It doesn't work. They don't like each other and their games don't work. M. Bid is a dominant player. Okay, but he clogs up the lane. Ben Simmons needs the lane because he's not a great shooter. He needs an open floor.

I actually think, and again, I don't know where he's at mentally, but I will say this about Brooklyn. Durant and Kyrie, Patty Mills, Seth Curry are really good shooters. Ben Simmons can work if he's surrounded with good shooters. So there's a chance he's going to come in, play great defense, distribute, and be good for them. But the Simmons Embedd thing, I didn't get it day one. I don't get it now. I think both are better off.

Where Colin was right? Everybody tells you all these conservative outlets. Nobody wants to live in California. Nobody wants to live in Los Angeles. Can you stop? The weather, the tech, everything. In 2022 in America, there's never been more options for the truly talented. The best artists, the best actors, the best tech people, the best entrepreneurs, the best doctors.

There are options. You can now live virtually anywhere. And it's incredibly attractive to the McVeves and the Vonnegades and the Von Millers. Matt Stafford chose Los Angeles. Obj called and said, I want to be in Los Angeles. By the way, everybody keeps talking about everybody moving from here. I checked our population this morning. 39,000, 600,000 people. Not a lot of people are moving. And yesterday was a 10-hour chamber of commerce advertisement for not only the city of Los Angeles, but for entrepreneurial people and stars and artists.

Folks, it's dead of winter. It's 82. I'm sorry. That's attractive. We have lemons and oranges all over our trees. People like to live here. You're going to have to come to terms with it. Great to have you in today.

Eric Dickerson's probably very happy. Probably very happy today. Mr. Ram? I think so. Oh, yeah. It's fun. Listen, I understand. that, you know, a lot of people today are, you guys are just obnoxious.

Cincinnati is going to be around for a long time. They better draft offensive linemen. Joe Burrow was sacked 70 times. I mean, it's egregious. If you're questioning whether or not Joe Burroughs capable in any kind of way, you should consider that. I don't know that there's another quarterback that could overcome that. Like, it's not normal. There was a play in the second half where Joe Burroughs.

body was contorted. My initial impressions, I mean, he winced in pain. He looked hurt. I didn't think he was... I agree with Shannon. I don't think he would have went back in if it was... No, I thought he was out. And I thought to myself, oh, they've ruined his career.

They have ruined his career. Like, you've got to go to that draft, and you just got to go... If I was Cincinnati, I'd move up and get the center from Iowa. I would draft four players. I'd give up everything to get a left tackle, a center, go to the free... You got the free agent market. They have plenty of picks and they have plenty of money. This is what the Chargers did.

They went out and spent for a center, a Pro Bowl center. They drafted left tackle. They got somebody from the Steelers. In one year, Justin Herbert had more time to throw because that is the asset in your organization. You are not here without Burrow. You got to protect that kid. No, it's not a question. And for as great as Jamar Chase is and the defense and all of that, there's lots of teams

that have those. Like, Jamar Chase is obviously incredible. A lot of what the – He still plays a dependent position. I mean, we were just talking about Cooper Cup and how incredible he is. Someone has to get him the ball. So at the end of the day, this is on Joe Burrow. You have to protect him.

I mean, we have a cautionary tale of this, and it's Andrew Luck. Now, we've seen it. We've seen this. Think about this. What if Burrow, I mean, again, the way he was contorted, what if he's contorted six more inches and it breaks something? We literally saw it last year. Yeah, it's over.

The dreams are over. Like, now you're coming back from two punitive injuries. The good news, I think, is that, I'm pretty sure the Bengals know this. You'd have to be really, really, really poorly run to get to the Super Bowl and see how things ended and think we need anything other than a complete offensive line. Good stuff. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented. it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm 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. 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

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Kim, well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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 yeah, yeah, literally. But just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade. of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

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kicks off the 2022 NASCAR season at 2.30 Eastern 1130 Pacific only on Fox and the Fox Sports app. He's a Hall of Famer, the greatest ram. Eric Dickerson joining us live. You know he's in a good move. Retired is the number two all-time leading rusher. So I do think the Rams are the better team. They had bigger stars. The stars played better. What was your feeling driving home? What was your feeling driving home? Ram Super Bowl champs? A very good feeling. Not just for the team, but for the city of Los Angeles, for the have the first Super Bowl won by the Los Angeles Rams in the city of L.A.

I mean, we've had some great teams in L.A. Going back to the 70s and the 60s, under the Fills, they never won a Super Bowl. We never won a Super Bowl. They won their first Super Bowl in St. Louis, but to bring one home to Los Angeles, I think that was just, that was the best part of it for me. You know, I was critical of McVeigh on social media.

I kept saying, man, we're wasting these. precious downs on running the ball, but he kept running and he kept running. What did you make of that when they were trailing late? You know, I think it's important to run the football. Sometimes it doesn't get yards, but what it does is it freezes up. It freezes the linebackers. We have to step forward to play the run. So if you're just throwing the ball solely just throwing it, throwing it, then they don't

have to worry about the pass. But when you run the ball just a few times, even if you don't get the yards that you want, it's important to keep that running game going out. And I was shocked. I got to say, I was shocked that he was running the ball as much. much as he did. But I think that was, believe it or not, they didn't get a lot of yards with it. But I think that kind of could make the difference in that football game. You have great connections in the organization as we watched the Bengals run defense was very

stout. It's a great front for them. You know Stafford behind the scenes, you hear things because you're close to the organization. What don't I see with Matt Stafford beyond just the great arm? Because there's a certain maturity. I watched this team melt around him against Tom Brady and Tampa, and he just, you know what I mean? There's something to be said. A lot of times I don't see what you do. What is it about Stafford that's different? When you talk to players about Matt Stafford,

they talk about his grit, his willingness to win. He's not afraid. He's not afraid to take the hit and how he wants to win. I think that's what people don't know about Matt Stafford. And what a great teammate he is. You know, guys stand up for him. You know, the press talk about him, Matt Stafford can't do this.

Matt Stafford has never won the playoff game. Matt Stafford has done that. I mean, think about it. In Detroit, the last time Matt Stafford, I mean, the last time the Detroit Lions on a playoff game, Matt Stafford was three years old. So that just goes to show you how bad the Detroit Lions are and how good this guy is. I mean, it's amazing that the players really love Matt. And I think I always said that that was the thing we were missing, you know, to put us in the Super Bowl as a quarterback. OBJ got hurt non-contact injury.

Do you bring him back if you're the Rams? I mean, they've got some good young players. Robert Woods come back. What do you do with OBJ? I think you're bringing back. I really do. I like to see him come back to LA. I mean, he really was a big game changing for us this season. And that football game, I think when he got hurt, it changed the dynamics of that game because all of a sudden became almost like one and a half dimensional. We run the football, wasn't getting any yards with it, but then the only guy we could really go to was Cooper Cup. And they knew that. So I think having OBJ, you know, back, you know, with Robert Woods, you know, with Van Jefferson, I think is a great combination. Do you worry about L.A. Stars, Andrew Whitworth probably retires. I would guess that. Do you think San Francisco, that's a very tough division, Shanahan and McVeigh, it's a real battle? Do you worry about there'll be a little hangover for the Rams after that win?

Well, I don't think it would be a hangover. When the season starts, you don't think about it before winning the Super Bowl. That's great and everything, but you've got to get ready for that next year. That's what it's all about. You get ready for the games right in front of you. Look, we have a lot of great players on this football team. Let's hope we can keep as many as we possibly can. We probably will lose a few.

But I think the main focus of this team is Aaron Down, Jalen Ramsey, the quarterback Matt Stafford, hoping to keep Von Miller, you know, and just keep that core together. And, you know, we'll have a group of cup already in place. Let's keep that core of guys together in that defensive front we have and just add to it. The Bengals offensive line, their D-line's fantastic. They're O-lines a bit of a mess. Did you feel for Burrow?

I mean, Joe Mixon didn't have much room either. I mean, you've played behind in Indianapolis. Bad O-lines. What did you make of it? It's no fun. I put it to you like that. It's no fun getting hit in the back field. It's no fun getting stuffed all the time.

Watching that offensive lines, especially in the second half, that defense just took over. I mean, you saw that they were really hitting Joe Burroughs. And I felt for him, even though he's on the other team, you just know he's a fantastic quarterback, but you don't want to see him get hurt because of the guys up front. They have to draft offensive line, offensive line, and more offensive line. Because that's all they need.

I mean, that defensive front was great and keep that football team together as much as they can. You know, so, you know, they could be back here again next year with the players they have if they keep them intact and add to that offensive line. Yeah. Aaron Donald is probably as physically disruptive as any players. I remember. So you played against some great players. Was there ever a player that was

as physically, and I'm not talking speed, if you ever see a player, be on the field with a player that was as physically dominant as Aaron Donald? For sure, Reggie White. Reggie White and Aaron reminds me so much of each other. I mean,

Reggie was a little bit taller, his arms were a lot longer, but let me tell you. See, we didn't have the social media, we didn't have all the coverage that we have now, but Reggie White was the guy that was just as disruptive, maybe even more. But, I mean, it's hard to compare the two because, you know, the different eras. But, man, when I watch him, I tell him, I say, you remind me so much of Richard White. Yeah.

So, Eric, today now you're part of an organization that are Super Bowl champions. How do you celebrate, Eric? You know, even when I played when we won't, I wouldn't have celebrating. I didn't want to go to any parties last night. I just thought about the season. You know, you're most important to call it. I'm just happy for the players because I know how hard this is. I never got to a Super Bowl, got to an NFC championship game.

You know, it's a lot that goes into a season. And when the season's over, you just want to relax and just catch your breath for a minute. So more than anything, I'm happy for the football players that play for the Los Angeles Rams because I know how hard that is. And, hey, I'm happy for our city of Los Angeles. When you heard that Sean McVeigh may leave for broadcasting, what did you think when you heard those rumors? Not happening.

Not going to happen. Please. Please. That ain't going to happen. He loves coaching too much. That's not going to happen. I know. I was thinking he's 36.

He'll probably live to be 96. He's not going to coach for 60 years? You're going to hang around and broadcast? I heard that and I thought, hey, he's too young. Man, look at him right there. He loves being a head coach. He loves football. He loves that passion.

It's no passion being in the boot. You know, talking about a football game. You want to be out there in the game. That's why I don't like going to football games. want to play the game. You know, I can't play it anymore, but I love playing it. Yeah. All right, buddy. Eric Dickerson, the Hall of Famer, six-time Pro Boulder, second overall picked out of SMU. It's great, seeing you. Congratulations to you and the Ram family. Thanks. Good seeing you, Colin. Yeah, it's, it's, it is a lot of fun. You know,

it's, you go over this season. I was thinking about this driving in this morning. I thought, okay, how do I want to kind of encompass the Rams Super Bowl win? And I just thought about the whole season. And it's probably the best football season, I remember. The Super Bowl had a Cinder. Even my wife, who's not a sports fan, is like, you have a Cinderella team, you have a favorite team. Neither is a number one seed.

So they got a little underdog quality. You had stars. Most of our great players stayed healthy most of the year. I mean, all the star players for these two teams, I got my quarterbacks, my wide receivers, my pass rushers. The NFL's done something that's really important. And I say this, I'm always impressed when I, I see somebody that's 65, 70 years old, and they've aged well, they've eaten right, they've

exercised, they've taken care of their finances. The NFL's really, really good at constantly kind of trying to adapt. It's hard. This is the most popular sport in America. And a few years ago, there was that CTE thing. They wrote a billion dollar check. And the NFL had to figure out, hey, listen, man, we've got to be attractive to moms and dads with their kids.

We've got to make this game safer. we've reduced the preseason. They've reduced the hitting. When you look at that Super Bowl, we were missing a couple people. We were missing a tight end for the Rams and Robert Woods. But overwhelmingly, all the stars were healthy. Now, OBJ had a non-contact injury. Can't blame football.

That's just life. But overwhelmingly, if you go back to these playoffs, the Mahomes-Josh-Allen game, that crazy bingles win over Tennessee when they got sacked seven times, this is as good a football season that I remember and a lot of it has been grooved by a league

willing to move, willing to adapt, willing to evolve, willing to look itself in the mirror. It's not perfect that most people in the media have never run a business. This stuff is hard. It is really, really hard. You look at baseball right now, they may not have a season. They're negotiating.

The NBA had to go to a bubble. Hockey fans never like Gary Bettman. And this stuff's hard, but congratulations to the league, because I thought it was a fantastic Super Bowl, an unbelievable playoff run. I'm trying to think of the last time I watched a bad football game. Wild card round. By the way, should. You got bubble teams coming in against big dogs. You're going to get some blowouts.

I mean, the last month of football, it's been unbelievable. It's been absolutely unbelievable. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. There's just a lot of parody this year. It just felt like it felt like everybody had a chance

and the teams that didn't have a chance in Jacksonville and Detroit and Houston had some great wins and played hard. Like Jacksonville is probably an outlier. That was a disaster. But they still made it interesting at the end. Houston at the end of the year hammered the Chargers.

The Jets beat the Titans. We said this. I don't think the Rams were a great team. I think the Rams are situationally, really, really good. We saw them in like three playoff games. Seven minutes left. They're the best team on the field. Playmakers everywhere. Well, also matchups make fights, and this was a good matchup for them. A really bad offensive line. If Cincinnati was... Competent. Oh, I don't want to say a really bad offensive line. Not a great offensive line. Like, they made it to the Super Bowl. So they're not a bad offensive line. They're just not good enough for this team. And they're not a Super Bowl offensive line. But if they were extremely physical, like that's what gives the Rams trouble. So it was a good matchup for the Rams. They have more. experience all around.

Like that's, that matters. They took advantage of that. Well, somebody that has lots of experience in Super Bowls is Tom Brady, the most experience, actually. He played in five of the last seven Super Bowls prior to announcing his retirement from the NFL.

And he clearly had aspirations of playing in one yesterday as well. He posted a screenshot to Twitter of the calendar reminder. He said on his phone for Super Bowl 56. You know, well, listen, that's, that's usually where he is. this time of year. So, you know, I'm a big calendar person. If I don't put it into my calendar right away, I'm probably going to forget to do it. The bucks are reportedly leaving the door open for Brady in case he changes his mind on retirement. Sources say they would do whatever it's necessary for him to return. It feels kind of weird that we're already talking about Tom Brady coming back.

I don't think he's coming back. I just don't. Look, again, what I feel about the Tom Brady story doesn't matter. But I do think many people would share my sentiments about it, which is why I've seen it all. Like at this point, you're just playing because you just want to play. Obviously, he had an incredible last season. It's not like he was an MVP level season. But what are you trying to prove, you know? Like, and I feel like we've already grieved him.

Right. Like we've had our moments of like Tom Brady and the era ending. It just feels like it's weird because he has such a great season that it wouldn't feel like hanging on. Right. But if you're going to say you're retiring, I wouldn't imagine that Tom Brady just decided that when he rolled out of bed in the morning. Like, he's a very intentional person. So I'm sure he put a lot of thought into it.

But apparently there is some sentiment that he might come back. So we'll see. Someone they're trying to get rid of is Carson Wentz. Seems that they are out on him in Indianapolis, which he kind of felt like that at the end of the season. Like they were a little upset with his play at the end of there. But my question is, oh, what's the plan? If you get rid of him, what's the plan?

Well, that's my question with a lot of these quarterbacks that are sort of in that middle space where they're like you can win with them, which I feel like is the sentence of doom for the quarterback in this NFL. Like, yeah, you can win with them. Means, okay, maybe you're a wildcard team. Maybe you get to the next rounds, but you're not winning a championship with that guy.

Like the quarterback play has separated from the have-to-have-knots, and there is a big gap between the halves and have-nots and the worst at the bottom of the league. He's in the middle, I think, but the cults are reportedly out on him, he is likely to trade or release him before March 18th when his salary for 2022 becomes fully guaranteed. He's entering the second year of a four-year, $128 million contract that he signed with the Eagles in 2019. He's a free agent in 2025.

So his base salary is $22 million. It becomes fully guaranteed on March 18th. He's also owed a $6.3 million roster bonus on March 18th if he's still on the roster. So if they are going to move off of him, it's going to be soon because they could save $13.3 million against the cap if they do it before that. they're still going to have to pay him $15 million. I get into your question, what are you going to do? What's the answer if you don't have Carson Wentz? Yeah, this feels like an owner who's still ticked off.

They lost at the end of the season because I, this is a very prudent organization. They don't make rash decisions. Like, take a deep breath. It's still a division you can win. I, unless you have an answer. Unless. What? Aaron Rogers.

This is a show game for Aaron Rogers. I don't think Aaron would go there. I think it's the best situation. I think it's a way better. situation than Denver. I know everyone thinks Denver is plug and play, but I mean, I guess we just saw Matthew Stafford in a great division, get it done. But Aaron Rogers isn't used to playing in a good division.

This division is completely winnable. He's much better than Miami and Tanna Hill. Yes, he is. And the Colts are, they should have been a playoff team this year. I think it's interesting. I don't, putting Wentz's name back into the market, which I kind of felt like he was going to possibly move on. from indie because of the way things ended.

But putting him in the market makes that interesting as well. Because you have Jimmy Garapola, who you know is going to get traded. Now Carson Wentz appears to be on the move. It's not a really strong draft. And everything has to kind of be contingent on what Aaron Rogers does. So until Aaron Rogers was the first domino to fall in this free agency trade market for quarterbacks, I don't think anything else, any other kind of movement is going to happen. Because Denver's not going to make a move for someone if they don't know 100% what Aaron Rogers is doing.

So it's all kind of contingent on that. And speaking of that, after winning his fourth MVP, he said his decision will be coming soon, and the Packers are looking to do whatever they can to get him to stay. According to Adam Schaeft, the Packers are prepared to go all in for Rogers spending up to the salary cap and spreading it into future years as much as possible to build the best roster around him. They currently are projected to be $51 million over the cap next season. They have the second-leased amount of cap space only behind the Saints. Devante Adams, Marcus Valdos, Scantling, St. Brown, Tanya, and Kevin King will all be free

agents this offseason. They're going to let Al-Lazar will be a restricted free agent. They'll let all those receivers go except Devante. They're going to go with Devonte Adams, Amari Rogers, maybe a Randall Cobb. The rest of them are, they're starting over. They'll absolutely, don't you think it's interesting, though?

So if you look, Aaron's always been very public with his emotions. Right. So that he's saying how much he loves him. So I'm not going to read too much into that. That's, you know, Aaron tells you if he's happy or sad. Green Bay does not do anything publicly. They're like New England. They keep things quiet. They keep their

moves quiet. They have professed their love for the last like 7, 8, 9, 10, 12 days to Aaron publicly. Is that desperation? Are they here's my takeaway. Is Green Bay going public? Their front office, which they never do.

They are like the Patriots, well run, smart, and they don't give away their hand. In the last two weeks, Green Bay's organization is going public with their love for Aaron. And I'll just tell you my, I don't even think it's cynical. Here's my take. If he leaves, you can't say, you didn't show him enough love.

Because if he leaves, people are going to be upset. Oh, no, there's a PR aspect to this. They're protecting themselves. If Aaron leaves, the Green Bay Packers can say, wait, wait, wait, we've said 10 times how much we love it. Also, you're not going to do better than Aaron Rogers. But they're leaking it to Schefter. So somebody in Green Bay is going to Sheffter.

Making it known that they want him. Yeah. Stuff leaks when somebody wants it leaked. So the Packers want it out there how much they love Aaron and how hard they're trying. What they're doing is they're buying insurance. So if he leaves, you can't say, you guys sat on your hands, didn't show him love. Well, also I think they probably, they probably want Aaron to see and hear this as well. Like they don't, it doesn't serve the Packers in any way to be a cool guy here.

Like, it's just sometimes in life where you got to, you got to swallow it and be humble and buy the extra flowers and do the extra things. It's Valentine's Day. It's Valentine's Day. Don't be that guy. And this is, this is one of those days. Like,

they actually need to show him some love publicly. Not that they did anything wrong this year. But if you want to get him to stay, like, probably put a little extra sauce on it. You need to. But you're not going to be better than him. Is that what they call it sauce? You call it sauce?

I mean, I'm just saying, if, you know, like, when you want to add a little extra to the dish today, Okay, guys, today put a little sauce on it. So I got lit. I got lit already in my vocabulary.

I use lit six, seven times a week now every time it works. I thought we talked to you about this. What, huh? We talked to you about this. I also use Get the Bag a dozen times a week. You also hit everyone with you don't want the smoke last week. You don't want Uncle Colin smoke. So the funny thing is I use these a lot in my everyday life.

Oh, they go over well? Every time. I go up to people on the street. You don't want this smoke? I am lit. I just got the bag. You walk around Los Angeles selling you believe they don't let smoke. All day long saying that to people. And they just love me for it. It's never obnoxious. I feel responsible for this. I apologize.

Joy on a Valentine's Day with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, it's Ben, host to The Fifth Hour with Ben Maller, along with my trusty sidekick, David Gascone. Would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is The Fifth Hour?

I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mather show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world when we chat with captains of industry, in media, sports, and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather 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 podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clivert Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so... 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. from black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me,

your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing

and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Not running your business on NetSuite, like trying to sink a punt. With a cap over your eyes, NetSuite by Oracle, number one cloud financial system. Give it a try, netsuite.com slash heard.

So, you know, sometimes journalism isn't printing a rumor. journalism is printing a why to the rumor. So this week, Sean McVeigh's name came out. I saw multiple media reports. Sean McVeigh could consider retiring. No, he's not. No, he's not. Sean McVeigh, Stan Cronkey's a great owner,

but he can be kind of tight sometimes, not with stadiums, not with real estate. He's a real estate magnet. So Sean McVeigh's last contract negotiation was very intense. and many believe Cronky won it. So Sean wants to be paid relative to a success. Right now, Sean McVey is underpaid in the NFL, significantly underpaid relative to how great he is.

There's an argument to be made. The three best coaches in the NFL are Belichick, Reed, and McVeigh, and the game now is built for McVeigh. Fast, the game's getting younger. Young people love him. They relate to him. Belichick could retire. This is the future of the NFL.

look at how many coaches have left McVeigh's tree and become rock stars. Zach Taylor was in the Super Bowl. So by the way, their GM less need relative to his success, he's underpaid. So he's not retiring. What happens is basically, this is how the game works. You can have your agent called networks, networks talk. All of a sudden it gets out and everybody just prints stuff. Now, now, if McVeigh does go into broadcasting, it would be short and it would be

becomes Stan Cronkey went cheap, which again, sometimes in terms of salaries, Cronkey doesn't pay the best. Real estate, he doesn't go cheap. He goes and buys the best stuff, builds the best stadiums. And I like Stan. No Stan likes Stan. But Sean McVeigh needs a raise. Les Need deserves a raise.

These guys are elite. They are game changers. I mean, Les Need is doing stuff running this franchise. Nobody else is doing. He's the first guy to say, what's the point on first round picks? Get Stafford, get Jalen Ramsey, get Von M. What's the point? And he's right. By the way, Malcolm Gladwell talked about this years ago in that the value in the NFL is second, third, fourth, fifth round picks.

Those guys can play. They can start. They can play early. And you're not paying him anything for years. So that story is a bunch of nonsense. Also, this has to be considered. One of the reasons I was surprised that Tom Brady retired, I said, good God, his division is terrible. He's guaranteed to win his division next year. Guaranteed. Now, Tom's won his division, you know, so many times he doesn't. doesn't care. His standard is above that. But, I mean, think about the NFC right now. So in the AFC, you got Lamar coming back, you got Herbert, you got Derek Carr, you got Joe Burrow, you got Josh Allen, you got Baker Mayfield, you got Patrick Mahomes. You have a lot of good quarterbacks. They have a lot of good quarterbacks and a lot of good coaches. In the NFC,

none of us would be shocked if Aaron Rogers tomorrow went to Denver over to the AFC. Russell Wilson, we don't know what his future is. Brady retired. Bree's retired last year. The NFC is wide open. The biggest challenge for the Rams is in their own division, Kyle Shanahan, and we don't know if Trey Lance can play. If Trey Lance is just average, then McVeigh is going to own the division. I don't think he is. I think Trey has a chance to be really, really good. And Shanahan's a really good coach. He's going to get the most out of him. And so that's going to be a real challenge. They'll have some wild card years coming up in the next 10, even with Stafford. I mean, this is a really good.

real challenge. Chan An is the real deal. It's a real roster. But you're not retiring at 36. And if he does, it's quick. Somebody got cheap. He'll be right back. So there's my takeaway there. The second thing is, terms of the Cincinnati Bengals, is that like Bingal fans this morning, one of the reasons I don't watch games,

I don't watch games with fans, even friends who are fans, because it's always the refs' fault. It's not the ref's fault, Cincinnati. You couldn't block Aaron Donald. You were sacked 70 times this year. You're the most sacked team ever in the playoffs. You were sacked seven times in the Super Bowl.

I don't think anybody's ever won a Super Bowl sack seven times. You settled for field goals all day long, and Cincinnati, you got a total 75-yard gift touchdown from the officials. Stop. You were beat eight times this year. There's nothing against Cincinnati.

I thought when I watched, the game, I would have made Aaron Donald the MVP. Now, Cooper Cup had a couple of touchdowns, eight catches, despite being double-teamed. I got no problem with it. It was either going to be Cooper Cup or Aaron Donald, although I thought Vaughn Miller was really good. But I think if you watch that game plan, it was basically honoring Aaron Donald. This go-over-the-top big strike offense admitted, obviously looking at film, we can't, we can't, we can't throw the ball. We cannot throw the ball down the field. I mean, that's pretty impressive. I'm in the Super Bowl as a team. I'm building a game plan,

and I can't go to my strength. I am acknowledging we will not be able to do the best thing we do. Seven-step drop, crank it up downfield. Sean McVeigh after the game on Aaron Donald's impact. I think the epitome of greatness is making everybody that you're around in every situation you're a part of better. It's exactly what Aaron does. And that still doesn't do justice to what an impact that he's made in terms of elevating our whole organization. When it was a fort down and you could see they got into the shotgun and they were probably not going to run the football, I said Aaron's going to close the game out right here. And he is the effing man. He really is.

He was rookie the year. Pro Bowl since. Think about this. If I said who's the best quarterback, we can argue. Who's the best running back? We can argue. who's the best safety we can argue who's the best edge rusher

Miles Garrett one of the boasas we can argue if I say who's the best interior defensive lineman after Aaron Donald there isn't one he is Chris Jones Chris Jones a good player

the Bengals played Chris Jones and we're just fine the Bengals were telling you in their week of preparation they're two weeks we will not be able to block him even with doubles. And so to me, he was the MVP based on that. I have no problem with Cooper Cup.

You know, Cooper is just different. It's very Jerry Rice to me. Not the fastest guy. Always open. Always figures out a way. I mean, Jerry Rice was double team forever too. And he was still set in records. Wolf and Shepherd, my favorite shoe brand, go to Wolf and Shepherd.com.

Wolf and Shepherd.com for shoes that feel like tennis shoes, agile as tennis shoes, yet are dress shoes. Wolf and Shepard.com. Hour three, show Flying By Next. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel. and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 tontons 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. 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 podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.