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

Episode Date: January 10, 2022

Where Colin was right and wrongBlack Monday in the NFLWhy the Cowboys do well against NFC East teamsGuest: Greg Olsen Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go, hour two. Great to talk to you live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio FS1. Folks, all you had to do is watch the last two really big games yesterday. Chargers, Raiders, Rams, Niners,

and you wonder why football is pulling away from baseball. Well, they have no more base runners because of analytics. Those games were edge of your seat. for four hours. No huddle. Play, play, physicality, play, hit, play.

I know all you jeepseem heads out there just love the sophistication of baseball. There's no action. The quality of action for that eight-hour box of Rams Niners, that's why it's pulling away from all our sports. There was a hundred highest rated TV shows last year.

In America, 100 high. 94 were sports, 75 were NFL and seven were college football. I think it was 11 was college football. Maybe it was Olympics had 10. Yeah. It's like America's voting with the remote. They like the action of football. And it's only getting bigger because now with legal gambling, it's the one sport in America that's great on television. We watch it and we bet it because it's got the massive fantasy appeal. So a lot of fantasy players

pivot into gambling and play fantasy. But yesterday there was eight hours of this is why you are irrelevant as a network without the NFL. And you can't miss a second of it. I love the Jimmy G situation. I love when sports give us an opportunity to see if our predictions will come true. Like, you know, we have all these theories and stuff, and sometimes they never get to play out. But like, Jimmy G is so frustrating to Niners fans.

And then has these great moments where you're like, you love him, but he throws these interceptions, and then he wins the game, and, like, you get in the playoffs. And then he's going to be gone next year, and you're going to get to see Trey Lance. Right. It's just amazing. My takeaway on Jimmy G, I'm the Denver Broncos.

That's my guy. Because I know I can pull him to the AFC. There's going to be a lot of teams that need a Jimmy G. No, I'm sorry. But when I watch Denver and I see those receivers and that tight end and those backs, like Denver is Tampa before Brady. There are players everywhere in Denver. Well, the argument that everyone always gives me with Jimmy G is like he only wins because

of the people around him. Like, okay, well, if he leaves the Niners, there's others good teams that don't have quarterbacks. What happens if he goes to Denver? Or Pittsburgh. Or Pittsburgh. I mean, he's probably going to get hurt at some point, so you got to have a good backup. Right. All right. Here we go. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, brought to you by Jersey Mike. Subs, be a sub above. Here we go. Where Colin was right. Let's start with Jimmy G. I have been a backer of Jimmy G forever. Okay. 88 yards, five plays. That drive summed it up. He's a big play quarterback. It's the quarterback face. The good looking, the confidence. He never shrinks in a

big spot. Now, is he limited arm-wise? Is he limited in terms of, I don't think his judgment always great. I don't love his arm strength. I don't think he's a great athlete in terms of, you know, NFL quarterbacks. But two minutes to go in a game and you give me Debo Samuel and Jimmy G. Oh, I always trust him. I did yesterday. I'm like, oh, the Rams are in big trouble. This is what he does. I've been saying this for years. 88 yards, five plays against the good defense on the road. And he has ice in his veins. where Colin was wrong. Well, I have to admit, I was surprised Brian Flores got fired.

I mean, he went 25 and 25 with Tua and Ryan Fitzpatrick. I think he's a really good coach. And I think the division's good. You have the best coach ever in Belichick, and you have Josh Allen and the bills are well-run. So it's not like a lay-up division. So it surprises me. And here's what's remarkable about it. He won eight of his last nine.

It'd be one thing if he started the year eight and nine and then went one in seven or whatever they did. Like, I'd get that. You've lost the team. No, he's the hottest coach in the league. I think he's going to get a job. I think he's very good. But I would say it. When I saw it this morning, I was like, what?

Squeeze me? Hello, I beg your jargon. I don't understand this. It caught me off guard. Where Colin was right. Back-to-back winning weeks. Blazing five went three and two. We said, take the Cowboys.

They're going to win in cover. Take the dolphins in the points. It's a rivalry game. And the Raiders are going to beat the Chargers. Also some playoff lines I like. So we finished our regular season back. to back winning weeks on our blazing five. Where Colin was wrong.

The Colts missed the playoffs, only 9 and 8. Listen, the Carson Wentz situation is this. What was the alternative? Like Philip Rivers was old and they wanted to get more athletic because they looked around the league and the best quarterbacks were athletic. And Carson Wentz is big and strong and athletic and reckless. But in those last two games, let's be honest about it, I got to take this. Carson Went stunk.

In his last two games, two TDs, two teams, two TDs, two, turnovers, 58% completion percentage and a passer rating of 80. So I like the Carson Wentz move. I don't know what the other alternative was, but they lost to Tennessee twice. They choked at the end of the season. And I got to blame that on Carson Wentz because in those games, he wasn't good. It's one thing if you're beating the dregs of society, but you have to win yesterday. You have to go in and win that game, and he didn't.

Where Colin was right? I've been such a Derek Carr fan for years. I love that it keeps proving me right, and people still argue with me on social media. Guys, nobody's saying he's Aaron Rogers, but in the last two weeks, he has made the best two throws, arguably, for the entire weekend. A couple of weeks ago against the Colts.

Remember that throw to Hunter Renfro? That's as good a throw as you're going to make in that spot. A huge throw. And then last night, a huge throw, this is the Hunter Rent throw. Last night, maybe the best throw of the weekend right here, huge spot perfectly. Chris Collins were said literally there was not another place. The coverage was perfect. Judge your quarterbacks, what they do when the heat is on and they have to make a play.

He finished the year with a 94 passer rating, 69% completion percentage, and that's in chaos. He lost Henry Ruggs. He didn't have Darren Waller. The receivers all got hurt. They had an interim head coach. Derek Carr. where Colin was wrong. But I'm wrong on the Raiders. I picked them for fourth. Once John Gruden got fired, they went back-to-back games,

and I was shocked, and I said, ah, it's just an interim coach. Teams always play well with an interim coach, but they won their last four. I kept doubting them the entire time, but when I watch them play, all I know is they're unified, they play hard,

they play smart in key situations. They're winning these close situational games. They beat the Colts close. They beat Denver close. They beat the Chargers close. These aren't blowouts. They need good coaching. They're situationally, very strong.

And I just looked at this. First of all, even in years, they didn't have total chaos. They always went sideways. Now they've got massive chaos. And they shock me. I've been saying this for weeks. I can't explain it. This guy must be Vince Lombardi, because I can't explain it.

Where Colin was right? Well, Pete Carroll finished in fourth place. Ron Rivera third. Zimmer Fangio Flores fired. Six of eight divisions. One by offensive coaches. This is something joy as my witness I've been on all year.

Defensive coaches in this day and age can struggle, even if they're legends like Pete Carroll, why? They don't draft offenses as well. They don't develop it as well. They don't sense the urgency at quarterback. They still believe they can win. Defense and low scoring. and you can't in 2022.

You got to have a dude at quarterback. You got to score points. I mean, the Raiders are a great example. The Chargers, Raiders game last night. It's just Derek Carr making plays and running the football. You got to have offense. And these defensive coaches, they don't draft it as well,

develop it as well, and even guys that may get a gold jacket. Mike Tomlin, you can't win a Super Bowl of that offense. Pete Carroll. Can you imagine if they were average at quarterback and didn't have Russell Wilson? where Colin was right? Once again, the Cowboys dust off an NFC East team, Philadelphia, and everybody's going crazy for the Cowboys. Yes, once again, they beat an NFC East team.

They were 6 and 0 against the NFC East and 6 and 5 against everybody else. I keep saying this. At some moment, are we going to judge them outside of their division? because we know judging them on their division ends with the same result. This is what Dallas does. They beat backups in division. They beat average quarterbacks. When Gardner Minshu, 6-8-9 starters out, this morning, everybody's falling for them.

And it's like, it's just such a sucker bet. They're going to lose to the Niners. I got nothing against them. But, I mean, it's kind of funny. They're at home with this glossy record, and they're a three-point favorite over San Francisco. You do get home field is worth three points. So Vegas is telling you, Dallas and San Francisco are even teams. But yet they come out and score 51 and they crush everybody.

It has become the most predictable thing in the NFL. Dallas is going to be pretty good, dominate the NFC East, and be average against everybody else. And it happened again this weekend and this year. Where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. I got Greg Olson. He is so good. he's around the corner.

These playoff matchups, there's some good ones. A couple years ago, the NFL said, okay, only one team gets a buy. And mostly because they've always understood it's a TV product. So we're not going to put all of our good teams getting buys. Green Bay gets a buy. Tennessee, that's it.

And we're going to add another team at the bottom of the playoffs. Now, you end up with teams sometimes that don't feel like playoff teams. but I'll tell you, I went into this weekend. I told Joy this Friday, I'm like, I don't like week 17. COVID injuries. Yesterday was Looney Tunes. It was absolutely loony tunes yesterday. I sat there.

I made my mind up that I wasn't going to get emotionally involved. I'm going to watch the Rams Niners. I'm going to watch Rams Niners. And I'm going to definitely watch the Chargers Raiders. And all of a sudden the one o'clock window I got the. Texans given the Titans fits, the Jags beating the Colts. I'm like, this league is nuts. Yeah, it ended up being a great weekend.

An unbelievable weekend of football. Greg Olson around the corner. 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.

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All right, Greg Olson, 14 years in the NFL, a multiple-time pro bowler. Greg Olson is now joining me live. So we were talking during the break. Not a huge fan of the analytic decisions. last night. I'll give Brandon's daily benefit of the doubt on the timeout and overtime because he wanted to get his best personnel in and it just didn't work. Okay, his best personnel all year defensively hasn't been good enough. But you tell me, and I think you're a guy, you're a thinking man's football player. Analytics can work in poker, blackjack football, but man,

there's got to be some context. I mean, you know, playing at home and playing on the road, it could be a difference in going forward on fourth and one and four and two. Field position, whether, what do you make of that you saw it, that the Chargers going forward on there, fourth and two at the 18? Yeah, I think we're kind of in like a really interesting period in football right now where there's one side of the argument is we are going to play by the numbers. We are going to do every strategy, every person, every decision we make is going to be about chipping away to try to get win probability on our side.

And if it's only a few percentages here or there, over the course of the game, over the course of the season, you add it all up. The theory is you're going to give yourself a better chance to win the game. And I personally am a big fan of factoring in the analytics. I love fourth down tries. I love the two-point strategies. Last time I was on, we talked about Baltimore, should have gone for two on the first one when down 14. So I buy into all that. Last night, watching it in real time, on the 18-yard line, only down three, I'm punting that ball.

because even if you get it, me and you talked about this before the segment, even if you get it, so you have the ball up the 19 or the 20, you've still got to get four or five first downs, barring some sort of chunk play to even put yourself in field goal range, let alone score a touchdown. So I get it. Staley has been that way the entire year. And part of the theory behind this approach in analytics is if you're going to do it, you have to always do it or else you throw off the numbers, you throw off the odds. So I get it in big picture, but to your point, being on the road, crowd noise, how is my interior of my offensive line, how is the interior of the defensive line, what's my play? How have I been running the ball? There's a million factors, and that's up to the coaches to settle out. And obviously, in that case, the outcome wasn't ideal. So you did the Rams a couple weeks ago with the Ravens, where they made a lot of mistakes and still won. We saw yesterday they made a lot of mistakes and lost. And, I mean, I just want you to size it up because I look at them.

And I think to myself, they could beat anybody. But man, when you get into these playoffs, it is inches not feet. And I just think, and I like Matt Stafford, but I'm like, you're not going to be able to get away with some of this stuff. Like you've seen enough of them. What is your takeaway right now in the Rams over the next couple of weeks? Well, I think you nailed it. I think sometimes in the playoff, you know, you don't always need the highest ceiling. But sometimes I think you're bad days.

You want to have the highest floor, right? Like what is your margin for difference in when you play at your best and when you don't? And the teams that make runs, that's a really narrow margin, right? They don't make a ton of mistakes. They might not blow your doors off on any given weekend, but they're never going to just self-destruct. And as you said, I had that Rams Baltimore game. And they ended up winning. They ended up going to Baltimore and winning the game there at the end.

Stafford took them on a great drive. But throughout the course of the game, it was just mistake after mistake, specifically on offense, turnovers, pick six, you know, penalties and whatnot. So the thing that scares me in the playoffs, the Rams can beat anybody. They are talented enough. They have arguably one of the best coaches in the entire league. They have players everywhere. They are talented enough.

They are good enough to beat anyone, AFC or NFC. My concern is they are also capable of having a bad day at any one of these given weekends and their season being over. That's what scares me. I think their ceiling is through the roof. But I also think they're really capable, as we've seen these last couple weeks, of not playing good ball. And when you don't play good ball in the playoffs,

you're probably going to be done. Brian Flores gets fired. Listen, we know guys get second chances in this league. Andy Reid got fired. Belichick got fired. We know good coaches get second chances. You know, you went to college down in Miami. The dolphins are an interesting, oftentimes,

meddling dysfunctional franchise. What was your takeaway when you heard the news? I was shocked. I was actually on a flight back. We stayed last night in Detroit as a crew to just kind of finish up the season. And I got an alert on my phone that said he was let go. And I was really surprised. I think so much of what owners take into consideration is how teams that maybe don't make the playoffs or don't make a run, how do they finish? And usually it's just the last few games in the season. You're looking for a positive. In this case, it was eight, nine weeks. They played really good ball, ended the year by beating, you know, New England. And, you know, so I just, I was a little shocked. I think when more and more of the reports are coming out, you see the amount of offensive coordinators they've gone through, the amount of assistant coaches. It seems to me that this was less of Flores issue and more of like a background dysfunction within the organization. But I expect Brian Flores to get another opportunity. There's a lot of good open jobs that, you know, I think he did a good job down there, considering what they went through with the quarterback and the dilemma, were they going to get

Sean Watson, then was two of the guy, was two of not the guy. You know, so I think the fact that they won so many games, eight, you know, eight games to finish the year at a nine, I, I, I I think he's going to get another opportunity to lead a team, and I think he'll do a good job. So you did the Packers Lions, and Detroit twice pushed back against them. This has been my question about Green Bay. They struggled to finish off Chicago. They've been in close games. I mean, San Francisco had them beat.

Cincinnati had them beat. I look at their point differential, and it's not great. And I know it's not everything, but, you know, there is something to be. said about if you go to the last 20 Super Bowl winners, they knock people out. I mean, eight or nine games, they knock people out. Kansas City can knock people out. I, you look at Green Bay. Now, Aaron didn't play the second half, but I watched Detroit give them, you go toe to toe with them. What do you, I know they're a one seed in a buy, but what do you make of Green Bay in the trenches? Can they dominate? What do you see? I really like Green Bay. I think they're the

favorite in the NFC. And again, the Rams are capable of beating anybody. Tampa Bay, as long as you have Brady, you always have a chance. I mean, there's other contenders. I don't think they're far and away, you know, in a league of their own. But I do think they're sitting there at the top, not only as the one seed, but I do think they're top to bottom, the best roster. Again, potential coach of the year. If I had a vote, I'm probably picking the floor. Obviously, you know, Rogers is the MVP. But I really think their defense has gotten significantly better than the last couple years when their ride ended before the Super Bowl. I think their role players, especially on offense with A.J. Dillon to compliment Aaron Jones.

Obviously, Devante Adams is all world. So I think they have the roster. They have the ability to run the ball. They have the ability to play improved defense. They can play in bad weather. They can play in good weather. They can win a lot of scoring game. They really, they can win games in a lot of different ways.

And that's exactly what you need to do to make a run to the Super Bowl. You can't just be a one-trick pony. And I don't think Green Bay is. I think what we saw yesterday was a Detroit team that was wildly exciting. I mean, that was the best two, you know, week 18 number one seed versus two win team game I've ever seen. We were fortunate to be there and Paul. They were running flea flickers and reverses. And it was just a, it was a wild game to watch. And as you said, Rogers didn't play the second half. They got Bakhtiari back. He played the first

half at left tackle just to get his feet back under. Myers, the rookie center was back. So they're getting some pieces back. Jayae Alexander will be back in the secondary by the time they played the divisional round. So it's a healthy team. It's a balanced team. It's a talented team. and it's well coached. Could they lose in the divisional round? Of course. But if I had to put my money on one team out of the NFC, I'd pick the Packers.

Okay, finally, you know, it does matter how you're playing. I think there is something to be said about how you're playing as you go into the playoffs. Like Buffalo's offense right now doesn't feel quite buttoned up. Arizona, I love. And the last month, I'm like, something's not right. Go to your career. can you go from struggling like an Arizona in the last two or three weeks and then just flip it because it's playoff, it's urgency, maybe you get a player or two back? What's your takeaway there?

Yeah, I think, I don't know. Again, there's always exceptions, but traditionally speaking, you want to be playing your best ball. You want to be the healthiest. You want to be playing your best. You want to be the most confident, the most in rhythm the last few weeks leading into the playoffs. That's everybody's goal. That's every single team's goal. Of course you want to play well for, you know, nowadays 18 weeks. But traditionally speaking, if you're a playoff contender, you want to hit your stride, get guys healthy, get your legs back under you to make a run

last few weeks of the regular season and beyond. That's why I think what happened yesterday with San Francisco is huge. I think for them to come back, show that they can come down from a deficit. Jimmy G. takes them down on an unbelievable two-minute drive to tie it up there and the regulation. They eventually, obviously, win it. I think those games have the ability to really

kind of catapult you forward into the playoffs. So if I'm not loving playing San Francisco in the first round, they're rolling right now. They got their confidence. You know, on the other end, I know Philadelphia sat a lot of guys and whatnot, but I don't love the idea of getting blown out the final week of the season against Dallas, against Dallas either. You know, again, we make a lot about these games being more than they are. But for certain teams, you can't just flip a switch, right?

Aaron Rogers can sit the back half and he's going to come out in two weeks and he's going to be fine. But if I'm Jalen Hertz, I'm a young guy, I don't know about flipping a switch on and off. Hey, this game matters. This game doesn't matter. I think when you're young, I think they all matter. Yeah. Great seeing you, Greg. Always love you. Nice job. And by the way, I did watch that goofy lions team, the most entertaining bad team in league.

Had they like four trick plays? I gave them, they faked a punt. They went for numerous fourth downs. They ran multiple reverse flea flickers. Two of them scored on touchdowns. I give Dan Campbell a lot of credit. I know they got a rebuild there, but I'll tell you, his guys play hard for him. they gave it everything they had.

I've been on teams like that. You got to win, it creates winning. We said it on the broadcast yesterday. You want to create a winning culture. Win at everything. It doesn't matter what the stakes are. And that was their approach yesterday.

Yeah. Great seeing you, man. Appreciate it. Thanks, Colin. Yeah. Like some bad teams aren't likable or watchable. I mean, Pittsburgh's in the playoffs, unwatchable.

Detroit's bad, totally watchable. They're offensive pieces. They're fine. They got to go heavy in the draft on defense. But like offensively, Amarron St. Brown's been great. Swift is outstanding. Tight ends great. Jared Goff is fine. They found a left tackle.

They've got stuff on the O line. But I'll give Dan Campbell credit. There was a coach years ago at UCLA named Bob Toledo. He got fired, but he was the best trick-play coach in the history of college football. He'd bring a couple doosies out every weekend. Dan Campbell is the best trick-play coach in the league. And that's worth something.

Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, in a shocking move this morning, the Dolphins fired head coach Brian Flores. We expected some coaches to be let go this morning, obviously. This was not on the list of ones we were predicting. I didn't even think it was rumored.

There was not even a story on it. Nope, which should probably tell you this might not have been the right decision if you're the Dolphins. He was with the team for three seasons and led them to a 24 and 25 record with no playoff appearances, but two winning seasons. And even though they started 1 in 7 this year, did turn it around to win 7 straight. Yeah. In a statement released by the team,

owner Stephen Ross thanked Flores for his time in Miami, but he also said he thought the team was not functioning at the level. He wanted them to and felt his decision was in the team's best interest. Oh, so one of eight of nine. They weren't functioning at the level. What level did he want? Nine of nine? I'm not quite sure what level he's ever experienced a dolphins functioning highly at

because they're 96 and 113 since he's purchased the team. They've also had six head coaches since he's purchased the team. So maybe it's not just the coaches. Well, Stephen Ross, you know, I've had my theory on owners. Where did you make your money? So Stephen Ross is a real estate guy. Real estate people buy and sell and buy and sell and flip. I'd be very careful about real estate owners in sports because they're in a world of flipping.

Like, by the way, Dan Gilbert for Cleveland, he is mortgage business, housing business. You're flipping mortgages all the time. Doesn't mean they're bad guys or not smart guys. I'm always concerned. I've said there are certain industries that are better for owners. Like, by the way, well, it's too long of a story. Genius is not necessarily transferable between businesses. Right.

Like, you can be wildly successful at something and not great at something else. The question with this firing, well, there's many. questions with his firing. He's very transactional is my point. Stephen Ross is way too transactional for my taste. Except for Chris Greer, who retained his job inexplicably. So if you're going to fire Brian Flores, how, explain to me like I'm five, does Chris Greer survive that? Because he missed on a lot of picks. He's been missing. He's been with the team since 2000, which was also the last time that they won a playoff game under Dave Wanstatt. That was 20, years ago?

Yeah. Okay, 22 years ago. That's when Chris Greer started with the team. He's been the director of scouting. This isn't director of scouting. And he's been the GM since 2016. They're not winning under Chris Greer either. So if you're going to move on from Brian Flores, why would you not clean house?

Chris Greer is the one responsible for hiring Brian Flores. He's responsible for the offensive line. He's responsible for Tua. He's hired a lot of coaches and they're all missing. You've had six coaches since you've owned the team. And if the issue is a cultural thing, if the issue is, internal issues, I don't want to hear that it's internal issues. Pitched to me that he wasn't good enough on the field because after six coaches, if it's internal issues, it ain't the coaches.

Right, right. That's not the problem here. Nobody thought Brian Flores was going to be fired. I never watched Miami. I've said this. I never watched Miami and go, who, poorly coached. Special teams are good. Defense is good. Situationally, they're fine. they're just limited at the power position at quarterback. I've had issues about their drafting. Their old line, they've been trying to fix it for seven years. It's still bad. Who's responsible for that?

I know. I never look at them and go, that's why I defend Mike Zimmer. I never look at Minnesota and go terribly coached. I'm like, oh, it's on television. It's a prime time game. My guy shrinks. And by the way, I understand that Mike Zimmer's lost. The trend is bad.

So I get getting rid of Mike Zimmer. Like, I get it. And he's a defensive coach. But the trend for Flores was fantastic. They're red hot. And they crushed New England and Belichick yesterday. I just, if you're going to move on from Flores, who wasn't perfect, but I certainly did not think deserve to be fired and needed much more of a runway

when you're dealing with Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jacoby Bressett, and Tua. How do you not move on from the guy that assembled this team? Very good points. If you're going to move on, move on. But it's the dolphins. And, you know, I really thought there's nothing more that the dolphins could do to surprise. me and I'm wrong. So I guess that's a fun learn for me today.

I can still be surprised. I'm not completely enough of feelings. So the road to the Super Bowl and the AFC will run through Nashville. Titans clinched the top seat in the conference and first round by with the 2825 win over the Texans. Those spicy Texans, huh? Not giving up easy. You know, a lot of people say David Cully was in trouble.

But like Dan Campbell, my takeaway is, no, the Texans and the lions have, they got blown out some. Texans play their butt off. They just beat the Chargers and they gave, I watched a lot of this game. I'm not sure why, but I did. And it was like, it was very competitive.

Davis Mills is interesting. That's my takeaway. So the stories are joy. They're not going to draft a quarterback because their takeaway is, it's not a good class. Right. And we think this guy's as good as all of them. Let's just go get more good players.

I agree with them. He is, he makes, he throws kind of a nice, catchable ball. I mean, when I watch Davis Mills, I'm like, I'm not sure he's great, but he's capable. He's kind of like Taylor Heineke to me. Feels like there's some limitations, but there's something there. And there's no value in being desperate. What were we just talking about with the dolphins?

That was a desperate move to fire by the floors. It didn't make you better. There's nobody that can come in and make Tua that much better. You messed up as development anyway. So if you're the Texans, like there's something there. There's no need to panic and make unnecessary decisions. Like stay steady. It's easier to rebuild when you're not in a complete and utter tear down.

Like incrementally get better. Everything is not a microwave situation. Well, anyway, the Titans are now riding a three-game winning streak into the postseason, and they are expected to get Derek Henry back. And they'll have a nice buy. So it's another week for him to bounce back. Ryan Tanyhill, by the way, who was in Miami? 23 of 32, 287 yards and four touchdowns.

Tannihill is just good enough to burn you. And that's what's scary. just good enough. Look, I didn't think the Titans were going to make the postseason this year. I didn't think they were going to be terrible. They're always Yeah, I think I had them at eight and nine. Yeah. You know, I thought they would be a I thought they'd pull back and be, I never think

with Brable they're going to be bad. Is Rable coach of the year? He would be mine. Yes, he would be mine. So the Cowboys decided not to rest their starters on Saturday and finished the season on a high note. Dak was 21 of 27 for 295 yards and a career high, five touchdowns and the 51-26 win. over the Eagles. Eagles weren't at full strength. Philly did wrestle out of their starters,

including Jalen Hertz ahead of their playoff game next week. Dak also broke Tony Romo's record for touchdown passes in a season with 37. But that's another game. The record thing is like, I don't, I don't know that. I mean, Jimmy Johnson was talking earlier about how the records aren't really important. It's, you know, it's about team wins. But records, I really don't feel will really be that important moving forward because it's an extra game now. Yes, I've never ever. So we have to qualify every single record? Like, I just don't, I'm, one of the reasons I like football, it's about, you know how they always say it's healthy to live in the moment? Yeah. You know, like as human beings, live in the

moment. Enjoy the good days. Be present. Be present. That's what baseball doesn't do. Baseball lives yesterday. What football's always done, they live in the moment. You watch the game, you enjoy the game, you're emotional in the moment. They don't worry like baseball about the 50s and Babe Ruth. Baseball can't live in the moment. Football's lives beautifully in the moment. I'm sorry, I look at these records and I'm like, they don't mean anything to me because you, when I grew up as a kid, there were 14

games. Then there were 16 for 30 years. Now they're 17. I don't care about NFL records at all. Well, Zeke had a good day. 18 carries for 87 yards and they rushed for 171 yards against the Eagles. That's the fourth most this season. That's the big question when it comes to the Cowboys.

All the conversation about can they beat good teams, not beat good teams, beat up on their division. can they run the ball? If they can run the ball, they're likely going to win. Their whole entire offense, the balance of their team is determined by if they are able to run the ball. They are three-point favorites against the 49ers this Sunday at 430 Eastern, according to Foxbat. Good stuff, Joy, with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd-Lie News. Should I just pick who's going to win these playoff games? You know, I'm kind of in a role. I feel like I should. Maybe I'll do that next. I will explain why Dallas dominates the NFC East and nobody else. And it's not just because the NFC East isn't very good. There's a reason why they are so dominant against that division.

I'll talk about that next. 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, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straightfire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 podcast. fourth. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because.

of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, 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.

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Search learn the hard way and listen now. Real credit card questions deserves real people. Somebody who understands your issues. Discover offers helpful U.S. base reps 24-7. Discover exceptionally common sense. Good to have you in. So listen, Dallas is 6 and 0 against the NFC East and 6 and 5 against everybody else.

And we know the NFC East is the worst division in football and it's not really close. But why is Dallas so? so amazing against the NFC East and so average against everybody else. And I have, my belief is that Dallas has a hyper athletic, aggressive front and a very athletic top corner. They're very risk-taking. Micah Parsons kind of plays wherever Trayvon Diggs is a pressing in your face, go for

the pick interception. In the division with Daniel Jones, Jalen Hertz, who doesn't, throw the ball deep, you're not going to get burned in Taylor Heineke, you don't get burned with that kind of defense. And if you look at who the Cowboys have beaten, it's really guys that don't throw the ball down the field, one exception, Justin Herbert. That's their only win over a throw it down the field quarterback. They faced Brady lost. Derek Carr lost. Patrick Mahomes lost. Their losses are to guys that'll sling it. Murray, Derek Carr, Mahomes, Tom Brady. And by the way, Teddy Bridgewater for the first time of his career,

threw the ball down the field this year. But their win is mostly guys. Matt Ryan doesn't have a big arm. Tason Hill's a gadget guy. Heineke doesn't have a big arm. Either is Gardner. Either's Kirk. Either Mac doesn't throw the ball down the field because they don't have the weapons.

Daniel Jones, Jalen Hertz. Herbert's the one guy. It's a big play. Throw it down the field. I'm going to burn your guys. And my theory is this. If you go into a fight, you and I are UFC fighters or boxers.

You are a big puncher. I'm not. I'm not a big puncher. You've got it. You're going to be more aggressive against me. When I know I can't get burned as a boxer or a UFC fighter, I'm going to swing for the fences because you're not going to knock me out. You may win technicality.

You may win on points. But when you find two fighters fighting, the bigger puncher tends to be more aggressive knowing it's not as punitive if he leaves himself open. going to knock me out. And so the Cowboys have this big knockout punch and they're super athletic and they're hyper risk taking. And against the quarterbacks, they may get a first down, but they're not going to burn them with that. It just feeds into their Tyson quality. They just play heavy. That's why they've got so many interceptions and so many takeaways is they play this aggressive style of defense. It does, it gets burned by Brady. It gets burned. It gets burned.

by Kyler Murray. It gets burned by Patrick Mahomes. It got burned a few times by Justin Herbert. It doesn't get burned with Taylor Heineckee and Jalen Hertz and Daniel Jones. So there's a reason in a division with bad quarterback play. And guys that just don't burn you down the field, you swing for the fences. And their hyper-athletic defense just goes for it in these games. And again, this weekend, it's Gardner Minshue. Well, he's not going to beat you down the field. So that's my takeaway. Dallas was 1 in 4 this year against elite quarterbacks. That's what they were.

And that's, by the way, that's all the playoffs are. Stafford. It's also quarterbacks that can sling it. Stafford, Aaron Rogers, Kyler Murray. That's who you're going to see in the playoffs. And another thing, Dallas scored. Let me see this stat here.

I saw this this morning. And where was this? has scored 40 or more points five times this year. Four of them were against the NFC East. So these offensive, wild offensive games take a deep breath. But I do think they're kind of defensive culture now with Dan and Quinn and their personnel is why you see it. So here, I'm going to look at the playoffs right now. Let's put up the playoff games this weekend.

Two things jump out to me. So here's the playoff matchup Saturday. It's going to be Las Vegas at Cincinnati and New England at Buffalo. is Saturday. So I just want you to notice this. Raiders had an offensive coach. That's their culture against the Bengals who have an offensive coach. The second game is defensive coach Patriots and defensive coach McDermott. Sunday, Eagles, Bucks, two offensive coaches, Niners Cowboys, two offensive coaches, Cardinal Steelers, Chiefs, one offensive coach, one defensive coach, and Cardinals Rams, two offensive coaches. So nine of the 12, playoff game,

this weekend, offensive coaches. That's why Vicfangio, that may be why Brian Flores, although I wouldn't have fired him. Mike Zimmer, this is what's happening around the league, is that every single NFC playoff team has an offensive coach. And there's only one division now that has all NFs, all defensive coaches. That's the AFC East. And the two teams that finished at the top have the two best offensive coordinators, Buffalo, Brian Dable, New England, Josh McDaniel.

So I'm a broken record, talked about this ad nauseum. But what you're seeing now is this is the future of the league. That is why when Brandon Staley can't make the playoffs with Justin Herbert, some criticism is due. You've got to make the playoffs with Justin Herbert playing 17 games. You've got to make the playoffs. He's just too good. So my takeaway, as I look at those games, my initial feeling about all these playoff games,

Las Vegas at Cincinnati. I would take Cincinnati, but I think it's going to be really, really close. I think Cincinnati has one of the weaker rosters in the playoffs. I think Las Vegas has been in so many close, close, close, close, close wins. They're clearly capable of winning on the road. But I think over time, you can't just keep winning all these close games. I'm going to take Cincinnati narrowly over the Raiders. New England and Buffalo.

Listen, Buffalo makes a lot of mistakes, but New England is getting worse offensively. The book is out. They can't throw down field. I'll take Tampa at home against Philadelphia. Jalen Hertz may not be 100%. I'm going to take San Francisco at Dallas. They played better against better teams.

Kansas City, I think, beats Pittsburgh. The Steelers offense is just, I have no idea why they're asking Ben to throw it 44 times a game. For all the receiver talent, they don't throw the ball down the field enough, and the Rams at home will beat Arizona right now. The Cardinals are not playing well. So that is my opening feeling. As far as the lines, I think the Raiders, Cincinnati's are very intriguing matchup.

That one I could go either way because the Raiders have shown we can win on the road. We're good against good teams. And Derek Carr, there's a magic going on right now. They're getting healthier. They're running the ball. They could play keep away from Joe Burrow. That one I got to let bake for a couple days. Hour three next.

Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to humor me with. Robert Smygel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Keer Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to.

Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 tauntons and wampas on the ice planet, 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.