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

Episode Date: January 24, 2022

Where Colin was right and wrongThe endings to the NFL playoff games over the weekendGuest: Trent Dilfer Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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The show is flying. By what a weekend of football. I can't tell you how many people I saw that just posted players, fans. I love the NFL. What a weekend. Live in L.A., it's the herd. Trent Dilfer is going to join us in 15 minutes. Colin Wright-Rong around the corner.

Joy Taylor, whose brother, of course, was the Hall of Famer Jason Taylor. Poor Jason Taylor today, the rules are all against him. He'd just be chasing around quarterbacks and he couldn't hit him. Well, I was thinking about this. I watched the games on Saturday with him. Oh, you did? Yeah. So he was in here in L.A.?

No, I went to Miami this weekend for my brother's baby shower. You know, I'm good for a good 10-hour flight. So here's something that's really interesting. And Trent Delford can talk about this. So my whole life, the middle of the field, that was the defenses. Yeah. There was a term used. You haven't heard it in seven, eight years.

Alligator Arms. receivers did not want to go over the middle. You were allowed to head hunt and hurt people. So the middle of the field, if you were offense and you wanted to score big points fast, you went up the sidelines. And then the NFL said, quarterbacks can run in the middle and you can't hit them. And receivers can go over the middle and you can't hit them.

Now everybody goes over the middle and the middle of the field is now the offenses. It is, it is, it is Ronnie Lott today. the greatest safety I've ever seen, Ronnie Lott today, would be totally handcuffed. And so what's happened in football, the fact that a quarterback like Mahomes Allen can run through the middle of the defense, knowing you can't hit me. And slide on my terms is so defeating to the defense. And that the receivers, tight ends, can go over the middle of the defense. And you can't hit him. I mean, Eric Waddle, that hit, I'm like, that's a penalty?

What? The middle of the field was defense for my entire life. In about seven years ago, maybe more, seven to ten, the NFL decided to change rules and give that part of the offense, that part of the field to the offense. How many seam routes do we see now? Like, if you did that in the 70s, people were carted off. Like, there'd be one receiver, like Michael Irvin was your middle of the field

receiver. Other guys like, I got no interest going over the middle of the field. What you're seeing right now is the whole field is built for the offense. It used to just be the sideline was the offenses and they would call a lot of pass interference. That was the offensive guys. Not anymore. And I don't know how you do it. Belichick can't stop Josh Allen. Vrable can't stop Burrow. McDermott can't stop McVe. You can't stop these off. If you get a great quarterback who's daring and mobile, can't stop them. You just, there's nothing you can't. can do you just cross your fingers hope we have the ball last and it's good for the league because it forces everybody facing those quarterbacks to be more aggressive like like it was really interesting the chiefs

bill's game what was interesting about that was they said it in the opening comments remember buffalo went forward on fourth down early and i do believe field goals matter but in that game if i'm facing my holmes no i'm doing brandon staley on hg i'm going forward on virtually every fourth down because you have to in In that instance, now if I'm facing Garoppolo or a guy that's, you know, then I'll kick field goals. But Buffalo, Kansas City, both coaches knew we just got to go for it. We're not going to be able to stop the other guy. And the defenses, I thought, did a great job for about two and a half quarters.

And then, as is always the case, defensive guys get tired. You know, that's what always had. The pass rush is always great in the first quarter and a half. And then you're asking 295-pound guys to run around and chase Mahomes and chase Josh Chowland by the fourth quarter. It's a pinball machine. Those guys are just running around. The defensive guys are tired. So, all right, here we go. Colin Wright, Colin wrong on a Monday. Where Colin was right? You guys don't like Jimmy Garoppolo, and I didn't think he played well. But he got San Francisco in field goal range late. He throws it right over the middle of the field.

He was more daring than Aaron Rogers and two healthy seasons, two NFC championship. He gets the ball to the right people. He's not an elite armed talent. He's not super mobile. He got him in field goal range on the road, lousy weather, because he always gets it to the guy he's got to get it to. So Jimmy Garapolo, and he did not play well, the weather was not conducive to great quarterback play.

He wins. He's four and one in the playoffs career. Where Colin was wrong. I told you, I only bet one game this weekend, Kansas City. I liked all the favorites. I said it all week. I didn't like, Joey was here. I said I wouldn't bet these.

I didn't have any feel for any of them. I liked all the favorites. I did put a little money on Kansas City, and by the way, I was lucky to win that. Thank God for Patrick Mahomes. Where Colin was right? I said when Joe Burrow came out, I said he feels like Tony Romo, who I thought was a great quarterback. But you guys were making him in to be an all-timer, so I was wrong initially.

But by the second game, I said, oh, no, he's way better than I thought. He's really, really good. And I have been a devotee of Joe Burrow. The fact that he was sacked nine times and didn't flinch is speaks so well of how he was raised, how he thinks, how he was coached, how he's currently coached. I mean, that kid, you would have understood if he just said, listen, I'm going to check down. I'm going to check down. I'm done getting hit.

Nope. Refused to. In fact, the criticism that was probably the most justice, hey, Joe. Oh, could you get rid of the ball a little sooner? This kid, by game two, you could see it. He is simply different. Where Colin was wrong. I could not envision Green Bay losing.

Aaron Rogers went safe. He started going three and out. I mean, the Packer special teams were a mess. They were bad all year. They were really a mess. But you can't play that poorly as an MVP. I think Aaron Rogers basically said, I'm going to throw it to Devante Adams and Aaron Jones, and that's it.

Well, guess what? That makes you much easier to defend because the Niners knew you wouldn't throw it to anybody else, which is a huge mistake because the weakness of the 49ers is their corners. Listen, Cam Acres fumbled twice. You can't give up on guys in the playoffs. You've got to get out of that stadium with a W. I am this morning still to some degree. I'm never shocked in football.

I mean, the Jags beat the bills. I couldn't envision that happening. I tried Friday. I just can't get over. the Packers defense was good, and Garoppolo wasn't. It's not like Jimmy came out, was on fire. It's not like the Green Bay defense was a sieve and gave up. The defense for Green Bay was great.

Garoppolo struggled. San Francisco still won. Where Colin was right. I predicted three teams would make the playoffs from the NFC West. I got two of them right, and I said all year. It's the SEC of the NFL. It will harden the teams. And if you watch San Francisco and you'll watch San Francisco,

and you'll watch the Rams, both were in massive chaos and crisis this weekend. Sure enough, emotionally put their head down and got through it. There is something to be said. Green Bay's division is so mediocre, how many times a year are the Packers in real crisis? If you play in the NFC West, you're in a crisis six times a year against your own division. I think it creates a toughness and a mental strength that has benefited the Rams. and the Niners. Where Colin was wrong.

I had my doubts on Matt Stafford. I knew he was better than Jared Gough, but Vegas even said he was worth only half a win more. And last week he only threw 17 times, and that led me to believe, are the Rams worried about him throwing? And this weekend, I had my concern. The reason I didn't take the Rams this weekend,

I said he's going to have to throw 40 times. I don't know if I trust him against the great pass rush, and Andrew Whitworth was out. He was really, really good. Do not blame him for the meltdown. If Cam Acres doesn't fumble, they lead 273 at half and they're getting the ball and that puppy is over. Some of that was just his teammates let him down. Cooper Cup fumbled.

Cam Acres fumbled twice. They snap it over his head. Don't ask me how a field goal kicker in 2022 who's going to the Pro Bowl comes up short. But the world melted around him and he didn't. Where Colin was right. Been on this for two years. Four coaches remain. They're all offensive coaches.

You can go ahead and hire Dan Quinn, but there's a ceiling, right? You get it. I mean, Belichick and Sean McDermott can't stop Josh Allen. Nobody can stop Mahalms. There's limitations on what you can do defensively in 2022 in the NFL. So as I see all these organizations interviewing defensive coaches, I like Todd Bowles. I like Dan Quinn. Matt Eberfluse. But I'm going with Brian Daible.

I'm going to probably go with a BNamy. I'm going to probably go with an offensive guy because I'm looking around at the cultural changes. If I got a young quarterback, I want somebody who sandpapers him just takes off the jagged edges like McVeigh's done to Stafford, Zach's done to Joe, and as Andy Reid has done his entire career. Where Colin was right? After Jerry Jones said last week, Mike McCarthy's my guy, I said Jerry has to reconsider. He's being conned here. And Jerry Jones came out a day later and ripped his coaching staff, and there is a story now that Sean Payton is not sure he'll resign. I said, Jerry tends to be loyal sometimes to a fault with certain players and coaches, but

we said there's no way Jerry Jones, he's too smart to get conned, and this isn't working. They're not well-coached. McCarthy doubles down on mistakes. They have to strongly consider moving off Mike McCarthy. And I'm not a fire the coach guy. I don't want people in mayhem losing jobs. Make him a senior advisor for the organization. Make him part of the family.

I'm not saying he's a bad guy. But Jerry Jones was all in on mic after that loss and has clearly wavered since. You know, it's one of the things that's fun about sports is that, you know, analytics have really helped football. Basically, we all used to complain, oh, these coaches won't go for it. for it. In analytics, you sort of get guilted in to going for it. And I still believe if I have a solid quarterback, not a star, I'm going to take point. If I got Mahomes, if I got Josh Allen, if I got, you know, Stafford, if I got Herbert, Burrow, I get to go for it thing. I really do. The rules tell you, go for it. If I have an average quarterback and the other guy's pretty good,

sometimes I kind of feel like I just, just give me the points. I want to come back to the sidelines. We got points. they matter. I mean, in Cincinnati, obviously, they weren't real analytic decisions, but field goals were huge for Cincinnati. But the analytics in football have made it more daring. That's why it is so disturbing that the MVP, the frontrunner Aaron Rogers, went safe. This league has never been more daring. And Mr. I'm smarter than you went curled up and went safe in Green Bay. It was not it wins in this league. Just go look at all the quarterbacks that won this weekend. Burrow and Mahal and Allen, you could almost, you almost count Josh Allen as a winning quarterback

the way he let him down the field. Josh Allen, Mahomes, Stafford, Garapolo set his team up, threw the ball down the field. The quarterback that disappointed us, I'm going to go to this guy and this guy and that's it. You can't do that anymore. That's 1990 football. You've got to be daring. You've got to take chances. That's why I say, I don't get too caught up interceptions anymore. If you get, if you get 69 plays offensively, and I ask my quarterback to throw 37 times, I want you to throw the ball down the field. And if you throw a pick, I think Burl threw one, you throw a pick. I'm okay. I don't want it. I'm not rooting for it. But what I don't want is what I saw in Green Bay, which is checkdowns, Aaron Jones. Come on.

The Niners Corners are the, I mean, anybody in this league that follows it and watches film, and I'm not some guy that's sitting watch his film. The Niners would tell you our weakness is corner. That is our foundational hole. They're going to draft corners. You do not check down on the Niners. You keep challenging them, forcing their corners to make plays. And you've got to throw to somebody beyond Devante Adams.

I love it, but there's got to be somebody else. Burroughs thrown it all over the yard, tight ends, T. Higgins, Jemar Chase. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours. a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search heard to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast'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, 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,

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Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jette. 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 was 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. Then you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for Blank. Black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, We get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough

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And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gang. 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. Sunday, the NFC Championship presented by Intuit TurboTax Live is on Fox with a clash between division rivals.

As Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers take on Matthew Stafford and the Rams for a trip to Super Bowl 56. It all starts at six Eastern, three Pacific, only on Fox in the Fox Sports app. You know, every year rivalry weekend in college football, college football fans are there's nothing better than college football. Yeah, there is. It's called the divisional round in the NFL. That was the greatest weekend of football of all time, the best players in the world, as good of football as I ever remember. Now, some of you, there's a question out there will Tom Brady retire? I doubt it.

He plays well. He's obsessed. It's a tough loss. He could. I have no idea. My concern with Tampa, though, and Joy has been here with this. My number one concern is Tom is intense and demanding and demand structure. It is who he is.

It is his nature. Tampa's not. Tampa's loose. It's Ybor City. It's fun. The football standards aren't very high. Cocktails at four. Everybody piles in.

Levante David noted yesterday, it's quote from Levanti David, we had turmoil all year in the organization. A. B is loose. Bruce Ariens can be loose. Tampa yesterday was not ready to play. And they were out-coached and out-focused. And Tom, he and Belichick, live for structure. It's Tom's DNA. He loves structure.

He loves business. And Tampa's loose. And they weren't ready to play. And it's one thing to win a Super Bowl or be successful in life. It's another to sustain it. That is harder because you're a target. And everybody in Tampa got paid.

And everybody in Tampa got told how great they are. And party guy, he's not in it for the long haul. Party guys back to Ebor City. Hey, we got our money. We got our attention. We got our ring. In New England, you win a Super Bowl.

They hold a parade. And they chant no days off. The victory parade in Tampa, even Tom got drunk. It's a different culture. It doesn't fit Tom. He overcame it last year. But they got to tighten up the screws

because they weren't ready to play yesterday. The drop passes, not a lot of symmetry offensively. They simply weren't ready to play. And that's what drives Tom nuts. You heard him quoted on that about three different times over the last two weeks.

That was the quote. We've all got to be focused. We've all got to be ready to go. Tom kept telling all of us over and over. We're not buttoned up here. We're not focused here. And I watched that first half. And that thing, a camaker's fumble is the only reason it is not over at half.

And Tom has been saying this, by the way. Tom said three times publicly in the last month, we've got to be focused. We've got to do our part. We've got to be ready. Tom gave us signals he was leaving New England. I didn't pay attention to enough of them. He kept telling us over and over, we're not dialed in here, and they weren't yesterday. Now, some of that is the Rams I thought were just spectacular.

I mean, to go on the road and play like that, good for them. Trent Dill for 15 years, a Pro Bowl, a Super Bowl, and a state championship coach. You know, it's interesting, Trent, I was thinking about you yesterday, is that you're a very successful business guy as well, and that cultures change, and you always talk about twitchy athletes. But you also have to be, as a business person, the good ones are twitchy. You got to pivot off stuff. And I like Dan Quinn.

And I think Matt Evers-Lews is great. We got four coaches left. They're all offensive. Belichick and McDermott can't stop Mahomes. You start, Rabel couldn't stop Burrell with a bad offensive line. And I look around at this game, Trent. You're an offensive guy. You walk in.

You see this every week. I would be really reluctant. you would have to so blow me away as a defensive coach because I'm looking at this game, Trent, and it doesn't look like the game you played. Sophistication. I don't want to put in the offensive coach defensive coach bucket yet because there are some defensive guys that are very, very sophisticated.

They've evolved as the games evolved. They've created a network of offensive coaches that they trust, that they'll hand it over to. They almost have an offensive mindset as defensive coaches. But the term I use is sophistication. It's very fluid. There's a lot of moving pieces as a head coach in the National Football League. You're doing with a lot of external factors.

Things are changing every day. You have to be a sophisticated thinker. You can't be a crumagine. The days of the crumaging coach are done. The days of systems are done. What's happened now in football because of how it's evolved, a lot is because the rules, a lot's because the attention, the money, just a lot of factors going on. the leader of the organization has to have a high level sophistication.

He's got to be able to teach football very well, just football in general to his coaches and to his players. He's got to have a lot of things on his plate. And to your point, he has to have an offensive mindset. Now, it doesn't mean you have to be an offensive coach. You have to have an offensive mindset. So as you're going through this interview process, these general managers, you can't just get blown away by what you've done. You've got to get blown away by the vision for where you're going. and where you can take this organization

to people you're going to bring with you to help you lead the organization. And I think, Trent, it's interesting because there was a moment in the Rams game. They got, you know, listen, they got 35, 40 seconds left. And easy to take a knee and just say, let's just get to overtime. It's man overboard. We are leaking water. And they didn't. And they got sacked.

And they still went, and that to me signals McVeigh. Nope. We're not going to overtime. We've outplayed these guys. we're going right at them. I don't think a lot of defensive coaches think that. I mean, my takeaway was that was a moment. That is the league today, that series. I totally agree. And I would put in another bucket, that bucket of never flinching. And typically your offensive guys aren't going to flinch. Typically, your offensive guys are more aggressive mindset.

They're going to be more optimistic. Good things are about to happen. So something bad's about to happen. Most crumudgeon defensive coaches are from the school of something bad is about to happen. Risk management, mitigate damage, let's get to the next play, you know, that kind of mindset. So again, I really don't want to make this mistake because I do think some of the most brilliant coaches in football right now have a defensive background, but they've evolved to have an offensive mentality, an optimistic mentality, something good is about to happen. McVeigh's the poster boy for optimism and Pete Carroll as well, something good's about to happen. So let's, hey, we got 32 seconds.

We only have to go 45 yards. Instead of, oh, we have 32 seconds and we got to go 45 yards. That's impossible. I mean, it really is a mindset. And what you're seeing in this coaches league now is the mindset of the coaches of something great's about to happen. I got great players. They're going to make a play.

We're going to find a way to win instead of just rewind this 10, 15 years ago, to almost every coach was, oh, gosh, what bad is going to happen next to us? I think of you as a relationship, guy, because I've known you a long time and you've got a lot of relationships. You have them with your family, your kids, blah, blah, blah. And I think it's really the strength of Brady that he just sort of makes everything work. He just makes Julian Edelman a Kent State quarterback, three years of practice. He just makes it work.

And I've said this about Aaron is that he can be a cynical person. And if somebody fumbles or makes a drop, he bails on him. And he's not a great relationship guy. I've seen his family call him out. I've seen teammates. And I watched him in that game after that Mercedes-Louis fumble. It's cold. He got hit.

It happens. It is hard to play in zero. And he just threw to two guys the rest of the game. And my takeaway is, brother, we're all in a foxhole. You just got Cam Acres fumbled twice. You got to keep feeding him the ball if you need it. And I watched all these offenses this year, this weekend. Green Bay's got safe.

and got predictable in the second half. And I'm like, some of that, I can't blame Lafleur for everything, Trent. Some of that's the quarterback, right? Some of it? I think he owned it after the game. You know, I've been watching your own morning, and I get your take on Aaron, and I don't necessarily disagree. I'm going to defend him here in a little bit.

He owned that in his press conference afterwards, too. Now, all anybody's shown is the comments he's making about don't want to be part of a rebuild, and I'm going to take some time to reflect and talk to Brian, and we have a lot of players that are free agents. But there's also sound after that game where he says, it's unacceptable to score 10 points and I'm the quarterback. I mean, he owned that that offense was not clicking on all cylinders and he didn't play his best football.

I think that, and I'm going to take every losing quarterback and put them in this bucket, you cannot hold them to whatever they say after the game. Right. It is gut wrenching. It just ripped their soul. out, both Brady and Rogers admitted they were shocked. They didn't see themselves in this position. So I really tend to hold up and not hold any quarterback to what they say right after the game when the wound is fresh. I do think Aaron probably will own that he didn't play his best football,

that I agree with you, kind of locked into a couple guys, Jones and Devante Adams. But you can also make an argument. There's a lot of coaches that will say, hey, when things are going bad, find the guy and let it fly. Like, find your guy and let it fly. Sometimes you can't trust other players. And I think Aaron went into that mode. Not saying it's right, but he definitely went into that mode during the game. You know, it's interesting.

We haven't talked a lot about the Niners this morning. And it is funny. Is that, first of all, that defensive line looks like that one a few years ago that got to a Super Bowl. Like, it is. Bosa is a handful. Listen, they have given McVeigh fits.

And take me behind the scenes a little because my criticism on Shanahan has been, you know, sometimes he gets a little conservative with Jimmy, but Jimmy makes me, I'm a nervous wreck watching Jimmy play. But I did feel like Shanahan loosened it up a couple times and said, listen, we got to throw the ball down the field. And they threw it right into the teeth of that defense. I thought Shanahan, quarterbacks know when a coach doesn't trust him. And I thought he put Jimmy in a position that he trusted him.

Let me stand on the Kyle Shanahan bandwagon here for a little bit or Silfox. You know, he's a legendary aggressive offensive coach, go back to the Super Bowl in Atlanta where it was almost too aggressive calling the game. I don't know if there's a coach in professional football that's evolved as much as Kyle Shanahan in a good way. You know, McAvey takes all the credits and these new young bucks, McDermott, these other coaches, if you don't want to credit, people forget about Kyle. I think he's one of the top five head coaches in the National Football League. And how he's coached this team in particular with the Jimmy G. Trey Lance situation, Jimmy G being banged up, not playing great all the time, a little inconsistent.

I think he's evolved as a coach and coached this team. Remember, he's the head coach. He's not just the offensive coordinator. So when he's calling plays as the head coach, he's calling them with all three phases in mind. And I think he's done a great job of calling the games to fit Jimmy, to fit this team, and to win the game, not just to put up big numbers in the stat column. So I think Powell's done a fantastic job. If this team has anything better than anybody else at Seoul, they just have a soul to them. They have a belief.

I think that's why they have ownership on the Rams right now. They just have this deep belief in themselves. It comes from the top down with John Lynch to Kyle Shanahan to every coach to every player on that team. They know who they are. I think Jimmy G deserves a lot of credit for how he's handled this season. You mentioned earlier in the show. He's become engaging. He's become enduring.

I think he's a really good leader in the locker room. So I think this 49ers team isn't really flashy and sizzly like some of these other teams, but they're very dangerous and they have a soul about them that can take them to the the promised land. Well, I thought that was the most fun weekend I've had it. Oh, I would be so ill-equipped at 25 to handle this pressure. And I'm watching, you deal with these young guys. Our quarterbacks now are not only gifted, they are so capable of handling these moments. I see no meltdowns. I see no meltdowns from any of these kids. It was my biggest takeaway of the weekend. I, like everybody else, I was one of the greatest weekends of football of my lifetime, if not ever. But my big,

takeaway that I wrote down was no flinch. These quarterbacks for as talented as they are, these players for as talented as are these coaches, there was no flinch in these winning teams, regardless of what was going on around them, regardless of circumstance, they were just locked in on doing what they had to do to win the game. Think of Joe Burrow being sacked nine times and being hit countless other times. Yet, he never flinched. Like for most quarterbacks, you get sacked that many times. My wife even since she goes, I remember those games for you. And you didn't have that type of poison. I'm like, well, no kidding. That's why I'm not a Hall of Famer. Joe Burroughs probably going to be. And he just sat in there as if it never happened.

Tom Brady, even though he lost, sat in there as if it never happened with the Von Miller stuff at the end of the game. Matthew Stafford sat in there and just was completely poised despite the craziness it was going on. Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, the two of them, it didn't matter what happened they never flinched. My big takeaway was that we are so lucky as football fans have, these quarterbacks, these coaches, their mindset, their mentality, and their talent. Trent, he's got a podcast beyond the X's and O's with Trent Dilfer. He is at an undisclosed Lation by a beautiful lake, and I'll leave it at that. Trent, it's good to seeing you. Thanks, brother. And the state winning football coach, state champion winning Lipscomb Academy

head coach and beautiful Nashville, Tennessee. And here's Joy Taylor with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So he's the same thing. I'm in awe of what I saw. Not just a play, but the maturity of it. The resilience of these quarterbacks is in. There is no way.

I was completely incapable to think something like that. It's remarkable. But you know what? They have, I think for, you know, every generation is like, all of my day, all of that nonsense. But I do think that kids now, kids now, and I'm 35, so I can call them kids, have a better awareness of the media coverage that they get.

They've grown up with social media. That's right. They've seen the mistakes that other people have made on social media. Like dad's made. Like my kids totally get it way more than me. They understand and are interested in their finances at a younger age and understanding what they should do with their money. Like they're just smarter than we were.

And no, everybody is not in that class, obviously. But they are just really impressive. So there's been a lot of talk about what the Cowboys will do moving forward following their loss in the wild card round. And the biggest question is obviously Mike McCarthy. And Jerry Jones was non-committal about his coach on Friday saying I've got a lot of things to think about regarding these coaches. He also shared his disappointment with Amari Cooper this season saying the receiver should have been taking more attention of opposing defenses and making more catches while covered. The Cooper thing's not terribly surprising.

Well, and I also think he has been a real asset for the organization, but with season, Lambs emergence, Cedric Wilson. It's going to be interesting because Michael Gallup, they're not bringing back. The tight end's leaving. Zeke's probably gone.

So Amari's got real value here. The Cowboys have a roster without a ton of needs. They may need to go after a wide receiver again. Jerry was also not happy with him any missed time for being unvaccinated. That's obviously not an issue at this point of the season anymore.

But it was, it ticked him off. Yeah. Jerry's been very clear how he stands on all of that. And so that's not really surprising that he's saying that he's unhappy with Amari Cooper. Now, I don't think of Mari Cooper was the problem in that game, obviously, and throughout the season. But they have some offensive, they got some decisions to make, Joy, with this offense. Jerry's got a lot of decisions to make, but I feel about Jerry and the Cowboys the way that I feel about the Dolphins. I believe it when I see it.

You guys do the same thing over and over and over and over again. You expect a different result. Jerry Jones and the Cowboys are comfortable with a coach. that they can control. They don't want somebody who makes their own decisions. They don't want somebody who's bigger than them.

And this is what you get. It's evident if you look at the people that they have hired since Jimmy Johnson, other than Bill Parcells, who has been there? Who has a presence? None. No one.

The bills lost the coin toss to go into overtime against the Chiefs last night and never got another chance to get the ball. Josh Allen watched on the sidelines as Patrick Mahomes through the game winning touchdown

to Travis Kelsey. And a lot of people are very upset and screaming about the overtime rules once again. but he is not blaming the overtime rules for the team's loss. They made one more play than we did. That's what it came down to, you know, and obviously it hurts.

You don't like feeling like this, especially back-to-back years at the same place. The rules are what they are, and I can't complain about that because if it was the other way around, you know, we'd be celebrating too. So it is what it is at this point. And we just, we didn't make enough place in it. It says a lot about your personality.

If the first thing you think of when you lose is, we're victims here. Like, folks, you all know the rules. And it's not like Buffalo needed to make 10 stops. One. Yeah. Kansas he drove down the field in 13 seconds. I mean, I see the fans reacting this way.

I understand that. Media, it's kind of like, you guys know what the rules are. You got to make a stop. There is a defensive side of the ball. I understand it. It feels unfair, which I hate using. the term fair, but it feels unfair that it comes down to a coin toss.

But you have all of regulation and then you have a defensive side of the ball. Like, get a stop. This is how it goes. If that wasn't the chiefs, as explosive as they are, you probably would have got the stop gotten on the opportunity. Also, the defense can score points as well. And special teams.

It's not like the defense cannot score points. You can get interception. You can get a stop. You can get a fumble. This is available. So I'm glad that Josh Allen said this because they would be celebrating too. I like your amendment to the rule, which is that the defense automatically, the away team automatically gets the ball, gets a choice of defense or offense in overtime. If a home team can't seal it up in 13 possessions, you get a here, other team can't,

you just get the, you make the call in overtime because the entire league and structure of the NFL is parody. That's why the best teams draft last. That's why they're free agent limitations on playoff teams. The league is built. They want everybody to be, this is not college football, mush together. It's the ultimate in-game fair play. If we go to overtime and there's about 10 overtime games, not even one a week, a year, the road team gets the call. That seems like, and by the way, there's only one Mahalms and one Josh Allen.

So it's not a guaranteed anything ever. Well, yeah. So if you have not as talented of a quarterback, but a great defense, Maybe you want to give the other team's offense the opportunity to go and score and you get to stop. It's to be up to you. They'll make people play more aggressively during regulation. Yes. It'll make you make different decisions at the end of the game.

Maybe you don't kneel down. Maybe you try and go forward and you're more aggressive because you know what's coming. And then there's no question of what's fair or not because you already know what it is. It's not a coin toss. My idea would give us fewer overtimes because teams would be more aggressive at the end of regulation. But the college overtime rules. There's hokey. They have no special teams.

So special teams are a third of the game. You go to college overtime. They take special teams out. Yeah. It just wouldn't work. Plus, you can't have guys playing forever and ever and ever. There's a game next week. Like, you can't do that.

You're going to risk injury. It's going to affect the games at the next level. So the Rams will be hosting the Niners in the NFC championship on Sunday. And they're doing everything they can to ensure that they have home field advantage. So through Ticketmaster, the Rams announced that the public sales for the game will be restricted to the residents of the greater Los Angeles area. Residency will be based on the credit card billing address at checkout and sales to other areas will be canceled without notice and refunded.

So they are taking control of SIFRA fans. Stay home. Now, look, there are a lot of Niners fans in L.A. A ton. I don't think, I think they will still be heavy Rams, but you're going to see a lot of Niners fans at this game. I love it. It's not going to be overwhelmingly Rams fans.

Although I do think that Rams fans have made a really. nice environment this year. Oh, and SoFi is such a SoFi LAMBO fits Green Bay, Wisconsin, and SoFi fits L.A. It is an unbelievable environment. So the Rams are favored by three against the 49ers, according to Fox

Bed. Don't ask me. But I said this to Colin in the break. The Rams have lost six straight to the Niners. I know. We think of the Niners, I think, is this like scrappy underdog team. It's just climbing his way through the playoffs. And now they meet the Rams and like,

They can't, Rams can't beat the Niners. This is going to be a great game. This whole division's quirky. Arizona can't beat L.A. and L.A. can't beat San Francisco. They has a three and seven record against Kyle Shanahan. They have lost six straight to the Niners. With McVeigh.

So we feel, I think both of us feel the Niners or the Rams are the better overall team right now. Also they've got, O. They can't beat the Niners. They're very physical team. And I like the Rams. Three, I like the Rams. Now, Cincinnati getting sevens,

a lot of points. I'd probably take the bingles and the points there. Seven points is a lot to give that offense. It's going to be a great week. By the way, we got to update Honey Badger too. I thought his loss was huge for Kansas City. Buffalo went right to the middle of the field to attack that Chief's defense when Honey Badger is one of the most instinctive players in the league. I thought that was a huge hole in Kansas City's defense mostly could not overcome it. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News.

Oh, the Herd. Back in a second. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. He's by Carmen. I'm Dan Byrd. We have a brand new fantasy football podcast called I Want Your Flex. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, we come up with new episodes to not only look back at what

happened, what you need to do. do at that minute and also look ahead of what's coming up in the fantasy football world. That's right, Dan. Every week we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup. Sit, starts, fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready to dominate the competition. Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, Dan Bayer on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcast, and 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 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 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-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 picket 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 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? 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,

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. Ever wanted to make your home feel safer? No better time than now. Simply Save 20% off visit SimplySafeColin.com.

By the way, Aaron Rogers, Trent Delfare is much nicer doing than I am. After disappointment, after disappointment after disappointment, one quarterback this weekend was not daring. It's Aaron Rogers. At home. Wants to be the MVP. I watched all these young daring quarterbacks getting sacked, getting hit on the road.

All of them played with a spirit. toughness, no victimhood, even Josh Allen. Don't want to complain about overtime. Aaron, I feel I'm being silenced. He said last week. God, just give me a break. Great finishes all weekend. Here are the four final radio calls from the weekend,

starting with the Bengals and the Titans. Clark Harris will snap it back to Kevin Huber for the win. The snap, the put down, the swing of the right leg. It's on its way. It is good. God! Coffin nails! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! That is unbelievable! We'll try to win it here from 45. Pepper Snap.

He's a little high pulled down by Wisnowski. Robbie Gold has it away, and it is... Go! Robbie Gold has kicked the 49ers to victory here in Green Bay. Matt Gay, with four seconds on the clock, will attempt a 30-yard field goal from the left hash. hits it with the right foot kick on its way it is through it is good Matt Gay brings it home

Los Angeles will host the NFC championship game She's first down and goal to go Mahomes looks to throw it Pump faking right side he wants and a comeback cut it has caught by Kelsey touchdown

Kansas City Patrick Mahomes to Travis Kelsey on a push-fade comeback And the Chiefs have won this incredible divisional playoff game in overtime. Oh, just magnificent. There's nothing like the local radio call. You and I, Joy, talked about this a lot during the season. We couldn't understand how the Texans can beat the Chargers and the Jags can beat the bills.

And there were all these upsets. And I stand by what I said earlier. There's no great team in this league. Right. Kansas City and Buffalo are very good. There's no great team in this league. We thought Green Bay was. They're not.

There are very few awful teams. The Texans showed heart and the lions showed heart. And the Jets got better at the end of the year. Giants are awful. Everybody, it depends on your roster, your health, the environment. Like this league is really tight. This is exactly what the NFL wants on any Sunday. You got a couple of dogs at the bottom.

and even those had a puncher's chance and a couple of really gifted teams at the top. But even Kansas City kind of lost its way for six weeks and struggled to beat the Giants, struggled to beat average teams. Wolf and Shepherd favorite shoe brand, amazingly comfortable shoes. Their catalog is amazing as well. Go to Wolf and Shepherd.com. Wolf and Shepherd.com. What a weekend.

So much fun. Hour three is around the corner. It doesn't get much better as a sportscaster, as a fan. That last two days. That's as good as it gets. It's all downhill from here. You cannot top that. Hour three next.

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

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

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve

to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast,

Guaranteed Human.