The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - Right/Wrong & Kansas City Finally Turns a Corner

Episode Date: December 27, 2021

In this hour of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, it's another edition of Where Colin Was Right, Where Colin Was Wrong. Also, former NFL offensive lineman and current FOX Sports NFL analyst/radio host Geoff Schwartz joins Colin to explain how the Kansas City Chiefs have gone on an impressive winning streak utilizing their defense, why the Packers are more impressive than Colin thinks, the dynamic Cowboys, and more! Finally, Colin dissects how the Kansas City Chiefs turned their season around after a slow start. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app,

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Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. It is our number two. We are in Los Angeles. Great to have you here during the holidays. It's called The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening.

IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1, Omicron is playing havoc with our bowl games and our sports leagues and our families. And we hope you are healthy wherever you are. and I got my booster shot last weekend. And for a day, I was very warm. But feel great. Cross my fingers on staying healthy throughout the holidays. So I know a lot of people are around with their families right now. There's a lot of choices.

We appreciate you stopping by. Joy Taylor, who rocked it last week on this show. So you stayed around here for the whole weekend. Yes, I worked. Okay. Like you worked nonstop the whole weekend. Well, not nonstop. I had a little bit of a break.

But I went to the Lakers game Saturday night. How was that? It was fun. Who did they play? They play the Nets. Oh, that was the Brooklyn game. Yeah. Yeah.

They lost that one too. They did, yes. But it was a good time. It was fun. We call it where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. We do it every Monday at this time. We look back at the last week where I whiffed, where I nailed it, and here we go. Where Colin was right?

Well, I've been saying this. Baker Mayfield, I'm sorry, he's not the guy. He has the most picks in the NFL since he was drafted. 54. He is literally hurting this franchise. It's one thing not to elevate your talent. It's another to hurt it. His judgment is terrible.

His accuracy, that was his strength coming out of college. It's now a major liability. He throws behind everybody. His entire career, we're on four coaches now. His completion percentage is 62. His passer rating's 88, and he's 29 and 29. And don't kid yourself. This roster is excellent.

that was the better roster at Lambeau Field. I'm not asking you to always elevated, but you can't get in the way of a roster this good, and Andrew Barry, the GM, don't kid yourself. It's over. He's not getting the bag. They've made a decision. Where Colin was wrong.

Maybe I just got too high on the Arizona Cardinals and Kyler Murray because they were so much fun to watch. But in the last two weeks, they've scored 12 points against Detroit and 16 against. the Colts. And here's the thing, is the offense with Kingsbury, it feels one-dimensional. The Rams, when Matt Stafford struggled yesterday, they still run the ball. If Carson Wentz is struggling, the Colts can run the ball. If Jimmy Garoppolo is struggling, Niners can run the ball. If Kyler's not right, this offense isn't right. It's very dependent on him. A little bit

like Seattle, by the way, in Russell Wilson, very dependent on one guy. And right now, Uh, they're not as good as the Rams right now. I don't think they're right now this morning as good as San Francisco if they played. Where Colin was right? When the Colts were one in three, one and four earlier this year, we said, don't panic. They historically start slow. This team has too many good players, too good of a head coach. Their offensive lines right.

Their defensive lines right. They've got cap space. They're going to be fine. And yes, they are. By the way, since they went 0 and 3, remember that, they've only lost one game in regulation. They are a playoff team. The culture is perfect. Hard knocks has illustrated what they're all about.

You would run through a wall for this coaching staff. And several of their players are also really good leaders. Carson Wentz is actually a little awkward. He doesn't have a ton of presence. It's one of those teams where they've got a talented quarterback, but they're certainly not led by him. He's not their emotional leader or their physical leader. And a lot of people sold their Colt stock. We did not.

Where Colin was wrong. But I had the Washington football team being an ugly 10 and 7 in winning their division. And I was very much an advocate of Ron Rivera. But now their defense is terrible. And it's been terrible most of the year. Their 30th in total defense. Last night you had teammates, one teammate swinging at another teammate. That was the most lob-sided loss.

This used to be the best rivalry in the NFL. It absolutely was. Washington and Dallas, when I was a kid for about 20 years, well, I wasn't a kid for 20 years, but it was the best rivalry in the NFL. That was the most lobsided score in the history of the franchise. The owner's obviously an F. But right now, Ron Rivera is struggling.

The culture's bad, and they're getting worse over time. And a lot of that's got to be on the coach. Where Colin was right? We said this a couple years ago, you got to get a succession plan for Pittsburgh. okay he's not aging well we know his offseason workouts he doesn't commit at the line of scrimmage during the offseason and we called it for years they have no succession plan and what you're seeing with the pittsburgh steelers offense is when somebody clings to the past listen we're not saying it's easy it generally don't go from far to aaron rogers you don't go from Peyton manning to Andrew luck like that's not the way it works we get the bumpy years but they have no succession plan and even in the win. Did you notice this? The one thing you could always rely on with Ben was his arm. It wasn't his accuracy or his pre-snap decisions. It was the arm. Even in that Kansas City

wind, he doesn't have it. Like, it's the end of a season and he doesn't have the canon. Where Colin was wrong. Well, I have been a supporter of Vic Fangio in Denver. I keep saying, yeah, I don't look like they're poorly coached, but this offense, I mean, they have tremendous running back talent, and they can't run the ball. And they can't stop the run. I mean, good God. They were out rushed by the Raiders. And the Raiders are, you know, they are going in a million directions, a splintered team.

They had 18 yards rushing. Raiders had 180 yards rushing. And when I watched Denver and Vic Fangio, I said watching yesterday, I felt like, okay, it's time. Like they did not go big at quarterback. They're not creative. It feels stale. And frankly, it feels like the culture of football is moving away from an older defensive coach, Vic Fangio. And I've been a supporter, but I'm wrong.

Where Colin was right? Giants and Jets do not have a pro ball player. The two teams in L.A. have, what, 12? I've been on this for several years. New York has the worst professional sports footprint in the country. Everybody underachieves. Everybody is overhyped. The Jets and the Giants are poorly run.

And I think some of this is it's hard to live in New York and they don't attract the best front office executives. They don't. It's easier to live in L.A. People want to live on the beach. New York is harder. It's harsher. We also told you they would not fire Joe Judge.

We said that's not the Mara family. They are patient and stubborn to a fault. But these organizations, and we had the Jets in fourth place, that's where they're going to end up. And we told you we'd give Daniel Jones until Thanksgiving, but everybody in the room by there will know what he is. And we all know what he is. But this is very predictable.

Stubborn to a fault, poorly run, New York sports teams remain the nation's embarrassment. Where Colin was right? I told you two games in, this Laker team couldn't shoot a three and could not hit a three. And they've lost five straight. And do not blame LeBron James. He's been fantastic. It's unbelievable.

LeBron's given you 32, 10, and 5 during this streak, this five-game losing streak. But they don't shoot the three particularly well unless LeBron's hot. And they are 21st in defending the three. And Frank Vogel loves his bigs and loves his defense. And he has him 27th in defense. So this coaching staff, this is their strength. It's not offensive creativity. Vogel's a defensive guy.

He did an indie. He did it with the Lakers in the bubble and they won the title. The offense is essentially, watch it. Joy did, give it to LeBron and cross your fingers. That is just not the NBA today. It is spacing, it is shooting, and they don't have it. They're really an old, boring NBA roster. In a vibrant city of spectacularly entertaining professional franchises,

the Lakers are the dud. Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, brought to you by Jersey Mike's subs. be a sub above. So it's, you know, we always, we always say that people make decisions before they're public. Like your boss will make a decision, your wife will make a decision,

NFL GMs make a decision. I was texting with a few GMs over the weekend. They're like, Andrew Barry in Cleveland is really smart. Kevin Stefansky, they're really smart guys. Baker ain't it. like this isn't this isn't it there's a huge gap between not elevating your team enough like like Kirk cousins like you kind of feel like he doesn't get him to another level all right but i don't feel like Kirk cousins is getting in the way of them they're not going to beat green bay they don't

they shouldn't beat green bay and Aaron Rogers but like this Cleveland roster is good this is a really good roster with it's very similar you could make this argument it's very similar to dallas where you have a playmaker in every unit. I mean, star running back, capable tight ends, dependable veteran receiver, all pros on the interior of the offensive line. I just described Dallas and Cleveland. Shut down corner, Denzel Ward, Trayvon Diggs, very good edge rusher, a great player in the defensive line, a young rookie linebacker.

Now, Micah Parsons is better than Cleveland's, but a young star rookie linebacker. What's the difference? Dack doesn't get in the way of wins. He just doesn't make mistakes. He's rarely spectacular, but Dack doesn't get in the way of his team. Baker just got in the way of his team. He leads the NFL in picks since he entered the league. He can't do that.

There's a big difference between not being able to go to the next level. You're limited. A lot of people are. There's another thing getting in the way of your family, getting in the way of your franchise, getting in the way of your roster. You know, when OBJ's dad came out and released that video, you do that when you know you'll get support in the room.

Like, you do that when you know, guys in the room know this. Like, you just don't do that as a dad because that means son's telling him, man, this thing ain't right. And then you watch O'Dell go to the Rams, and he's open all the time, and he's getting a touchdown every game.

Like, I'm not trying to pick on people here, but it's like you cannot fool players. You can fool me. You can fool media. You can fool. You can't fool players. Like, those Cleveland players know. They were in that game. We got as good a players as Green Bay.

We are running the ball at will. We are stronger than I'm from. You're not fooling that Cleveland locker room. Those guys all know. They're in that game. So you cannot get in the way of a franchise. You can't get the bag. You've got to move on. You've got to go get a Derek car. You've got to make a move, Jimmy G. Whatever it is, you've got to move off it.

All right, good stuff. Live in Los Angeles, on a Monday, it's the herd. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. 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 a 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 Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games.

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WWE's top 10 moments of 2021. Friday 8 Eastern only on FS1. Fairdi founded by twin brothers, casual clothes, totally comfortable, 20% off if you go to Ferryrddebrand.com slash herd code, heard 20 Smackdown Friday. So, you know, we, Joey and I talk about this. if in this business of radio TV,

I've always had a theory that I'll hire smart and I'll teach you stuff, you can figure it out. I don't necessarily need to hire a radio person. I'll hire a smart person. I'll teach you radio. I just want smart people making smart decisions. So as Kansas City struggled all year, my takeaway was always, well, Andy Reid smart,

Spags is smart, and Patrick Mahalms is smart. They'll figure it out. Like smart people figured out. If you think about decisions, how many decisions we make a day, think about this. So we all know if you count like picking up that spoon or pen. We make hundreds. But let's say you make 10 decisions a day, semi-crucial. Okay, that's 70 a week. That's 280 a month. Now think about that. If you make, if you're

smart person, 280 decisions, 260 you get right. If you're less smart, 280 decisions, you get 140 right. That's a big gap. And so with Kansas City, it was never about they're doomed. it was just give them more time, their daily decisions, they'll comprehend it, they'll see it, they'll figure it out, and they have. And Kansas City looks like the best team in the league. And with that, Jeff Schwartz, former NFL offensive linemen, eight years in the NFL, his brother was a great tackle for the chiefs. Was there ever a point with Kansas City, though, Jeff, that, because it was not a one or a two-week blip.

It was about six weeks of, this isn't right at all. Were you ever concerned? I was a little bit concerned. I started losing. I said, hey, guys, so slow down everyone. To your point, right? Quality coaches, Super Bowl winning coaches, players have won Super Bowl, they're not going to panic, but got to a point where the turnovers just didn't stop.

I figured at some point that luck would turn around, and I lost a little bit of faith after that Titans lost. I will say that, right? It was 27 to 3. Everything fell apart. And then slowly they started to rebuild it, right? Let's start with the offense. Mahalms has looked more comfortable as the offensive line has continued to get better. they might have the best center of the NFL,

you Creed Humphrey as a rookie. They're just continuing to feel more comfortable. They're finding ways to beat cover two, but more defensively called. I never believed they'd be the worst defense ever. They're too talented and too well coach for that to happen. They made changes, right? The Ingram trade was huge.

He's been a huge addition. They put Chris Jones back inside who leads the NFL in pressures since week eight. They got Sorensen out of the lineup. They played more zone coverage. They look like the 2019 team that won the Super Bowl more than team last year. Remember the team last year at the end of the season. season didn't cover games, right? They struggled to finish games. This team looks like the team in

2019. He's playing great defense, forcing turnovers, and being very methodical in offense. So, you know, it's, I was watching Green Bay in Cleveland, and I've been on Green Bay for Joy as my witness for two months. I mean, they're overcoming stuff. But now point differential matters. You've got to be able to knock teams out. Their point differential is middle of the pack in the NFL, it's plus 59. 43 of that is two wins over the Bears and one over Detroit, bad teams. And I'm like,

they're in games. Cleveland threw four picks and had a chance to win the game. I look at this Green Bay team and I'm like, they're the boxer who doesn't knock anybody out and you get to the 10th round and they're leading, but they're

holding on. What do you make as an offensive lineman? They're defensive front. Aaron can be spotty. What do you make of them right now? Well, there really is the nitpick, right? They're just not finishing games, especially last two weeks. It's a beat up Raven team.

And again, a Brown team, as you mentioned, it was minus four in the turnover margin. So if that's the only nitpick, you have to feel that they can get, oh, you know, overcome that in the playoffs, especially as the one scene. But getting healthy would be great, right? Adding David Bokhtiari back to lineup. I didn't Jerry Alexander back to line. When he left the lineup, the defense has been much worse. That's been a problem there. We saw last year.

They kind of had the same way of playing last season. and then cut up to them in the answer to championship game. So they have to find a way to make sure it doesn't happen. But their offense calling tends to be very slow, methodical prodig. So I think that's part of the reason why it's harder for them to put away teams. And on the flip side, again, their past event has not been as good because Alexander has been. They have to decide this week, I believe, to activate him or not. So if they get him back, I would look differently in Green Bay.

But if they have the one seat again, it's just one win to host the NFC championship game, again, at Lambeau Field. and you have to feel good in the third straight year of being this game, they finally break through and win one. So listen, the Cowboys are, I guess you could argue, they're always over-discussed, but they are dynamic. And for all the misgivings of Mike McCarthy, he kind of gets out of the way,

and Dak doesn't throw it down the field, but he never turns it over. And you start looking at all these units and all their playmakers, and I'm like, yeah, I think they're a Super Bowl-Bubble team. That's what I feel like this morning. What say you? 100% agreement here. If I told you that a team heading the playoffs had a ferocious pass rush, which they do,

forced a bunch of turnovers on defense and had a good pass defense, when Tarant Smith comes back and left tackle, a top-in-tier offensive line, all the weapons they have and a quarterback to your point who doesn't turn over, you'd be like, sign me up. That's a team that can win the NFC. Now if you add in deck, Prescott, possibly getting, let's say, week 18 off to rest his calf, he comes back into the playoffs more renewed, more refreshed, running the ball a little bit more and taking those chances down the field. And now you have a much different playoff team, right?

You have a team that's even better. So to me, it's all about Dak Prescott. Can DAC the next couple of weeks get healthier, move a little bit more in the pocket, kind of get back to making some of those plays. And if Toronto Smith comes back at left tackle, that's huge addition for them as well. So I'm with you. They're the only team in the NFC I can see taking down either Tampa Bay or Green Bay, preventing that rematch from happening. So I said it's hard for me not to fall in love with Buffalo. We've all got a favorite movie or a favorite relationship where they just kind of suck you back in for whatever reasons.

And Buffalo's this team, they lost to the Jags. They can't run the football. But then I watch him against New England and I'm like, you just can't Josh Allen just stuff. You can't stop. And it's like, I'm sorry. But I mean, that fourth and one, New England's got to defend it perfectly. And he still gains eight yards. what do you make of Buffalo, no run game to speak of, although they did commit a little more against the Patriots.

What do you make of them? So if Buffalo gets that Josh Allen, the one we're watching right now, they can win the AFC. The problem calling has been they haven't gone that Josh Allen every game, right? So that's been the concern is that we haven't seen the Josh Allen from 2020 in every game. We saw it Sunday. And if he's making plays like that, they can be anyone in the NFL. Defensively, they were playing really well to what got hurt their best. corner. It's been a little suspect since then, but they still do enough defensively,

but I would be concerned against Kansas City to rush the passers. Same problem they had last season against the Chiefs. And if Josh Allen kind of had some of those yolo plays against the Chief's defense, they have to connect on those. But that guy yesterday, he made some fabulous throws, some great throws, off platform, hitting guys in stride. They're the team in the AFC I would watch out for, but they need that Josh Allen from yesterday. Yeah. So finally, if I say today, you have some misgivings about Green Bay. I get asked this all the time, who do you like in the Super Bowl? And I said, one of the stories that's not getting a ton of play, but Cam Acres is coming back for the Rams. And I'm like, that's huge.

So now they have two quality running backs. And OBJ has clearly seamlessly fit into the offense. I know they're Big City, L.A., and we talk about them a lot. But I sat there and I watched them yesterday. I'm like, they're not even playing well. And they're not playing Cam Acres yet. I'm like, and they had a major offensive line COVID issue. But I'm thinking we're paying attention. It's always who we're not paying attention to. Mahomes and Rogers and the Cowboys and Brady. Give me your thoughts on the Rams right now.

Well, do we get three turnover staffer? Do we get staffer that throws arm punts in the middle of the game? I mean, like that's what it comes down to in these big moments. He has yet to win a playoff game. It's not his fault. He's playing a bad football team. But he has yet to be in these moments. And you could argue they should have won.

that game six years ago in Dallas. I get that Lions fans. You should have won the game, but you didn't. So he's never been these moments before, Colin, he has said when he came over to Los Angeles, he wants to play in these moments. So let's see Stafford. If he throws an arm punt like he did in the second quarter of that game, Minnesota's not good enough to take advantage of that.

Well, guess what Dallas is and Tampa Bay is and Green Bay is? So it comes down to Matt Stafford. If Matt Stafford can limit mistakes in the post, he said, yes, they are a dangerous football team. They play good defense. They rush, you know, Aaron Don, obviously, to your point, offensive line, good, run game good. Odell, Cooper Cup. All great. All great. But can Matt Stafford avoid the bad turnover?

If he does, they can win. If he doesn't, they're going to lose. It's that simple for the Rams. It's up to Stafford. Happy holidays, Jeff, to you and your family. And good talking to you, buddy. Same here. Take care. Thank you. Yeah. It is interesting. It's not a shot necessarily on anybody, but the Odell thing just never worked. And it was a talking point from day one. Like he was a big deal, right, in Cleveland. it's not that he's like wildly productive in Los Angeles. It's just how easily he's fit into the culture. Like he's open.

By the way, you know, everybody, well, he's shot. No, no. Odell's open all the time and they get it to him some of the time. But they've got Sony Michelle. They got Cooper Cup. They got Van Jefferson. They've got capable tight ends. So the Rams are a very interesting team in that you've got to be able to win more ways than one.

And if bad Matt Stafford shows up, now I get Cam Acres back and Sony Michelle. Like, that's what good teams do. When Tommy's off, it's Leonard Fernette. Like, Arizona has become very one-dimensional. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

There's a lot going on in Tampa. Tom Brady and the Bucks did secure their spot in the postseason this weekend. Dominated the Panthers, who are a disaster. a disaster So Urban Meyer and Matt Ruhle We know they're very good College coaches Right

But what Matt Ruhl is doing with quarterback You want to say Matt This is not college football It's nonsense It's nonsense Can we say it's nonsense It's not college It's just insane

I can see if you have a situation Where a quarterback has thrown Five interceptions Or something egregious Like it's just Okay Like throw the towel All right

Right. But they're both okay. Sometimes bad. Sometimes they'll complete a pass. Cam and Darnold. Like, what are you doing? The quarterback is the quarterback. There's no consistency whatsoever.

This is not college. You're not trying to see who the future is. It's crazy. It's unexplainable. Yeah. No, it's, and I really do. I really think Matt Rule, it's one thing to lose in this league.

But the optics, the aesthetics for the the Panthers right now are so bad. They look disord. They fired an O.C. They can't figure out the quarterback position. If you don't have an identity, you can be limited. You've got to have an identity. I mean, Cleveland, for all of their problems, has an identity.

It's like run the ball. You've got to do something offensively well. When you're an offensive coach, he's an offensive guy, and they're lost offensively. I mean, look, there's some dysfunctional teams in this league. We're going to talk about the Texans in a moment. But at the point in which you're able to win with Davis Mills, okay? I mean, I just, I don't understand it. It's really chaotic.

But the Bucks are in the playoffs, and this is the franchise's first time winning the division since 2007. Remember, they didn't win the division last year. But they have an unbelievable amount of players out. So Antonio Brown and Ted catches for 101 yards. Tom out of OK Day, 18, 30, 18 of 30, 232 yards of touchdown. But they are missing Leonard-Fernett with a lot. hamstring, Mike Evans with the hamstring. Chris Goblin's obviously out for the year with a torn ACL. Frasat Perryman's on the COVID list. Levante David's out with foot injury.

Jason Pierre-Paul's shoulder injury. Anton Winfield Jr. with a foot injury. And Bruce Ariens said that Shaq Barrett sprained his MCL and ACL and is out for two games. So hopefully he'll be back for the playoffs. This is kind of where everyone is at this point. Yeah, I don't want to hear excuses. Like the Colts were down nine starters at Arizona and one. It's, I don't want to get like hyperbolic because I feel like we kind of are in the moment. when it comes to injuries. But every year I'm like, I feel like there's a lot of injuries this year,

but maybe it's just like there's just a lot of injuries. The COVID thing is obviously a major issue for a lot of teams. And everyone's trying to figure out their way with all of it. But yeah, that's, it feels like there's more bad news for the Bucks every single week. But they're figuring it out. The Rams are also headed to the postseason. They clinched a playoff berth in their 30, 23 win over the Vikings

and also moved into first place in the NFC. West. We were just talking about Matthew Stafford, not his best outing. three interceptions, a season high, but after the game said it was good to get a team win despite a less than spectacular passing game. He was 21 of 37 for 197 yards, one touchdown, and three interceptions. But Sony Michelle had 27 carries for 131 yards. He was great. Sony was great. Cooper Capp had 10 catches for 109 yards. And Odell had four catches for 37 yards and a touchdown. You don't, you're not, this is not going to work in the postseason,

though. And this is like, this is my question with Matthew Stafford since he's come to Totally fair question. Big moments. He's a lot closer to Carson Wentz some days than you want to admit. His thing is lack of consistency. He can be absolutely great and awful. That's my Carson Wentz, where I think I feel with Matt Stafford, you've got to manage him more than anybody wants to admit. Now, I'm not saying, for most quarterbacks, that's true. But I think Matt's at his best throwing 32 times.

I think when they feel like they've got to throw it more. is we have to be honest with Matt. There's a number here. You get him to a certain number of throws, and he makes, he has such great arm trust. He trusts his arm so much. He makes bad throws. He takes too many big risks.

Well, I think in most situations, and we were just talking about this earlier, like the word manage sounds bad. Right. But you really do want to manage the offense. You want to have a balanced offense. You want to be able to run the ball. It's not like you're obviously,

so you can have spectacular games like Joe Burrow did this week, and that's great. But that's not sustainable. You're not going to do that. You're not going to throw the ball that much every single game against every single opponent and have that kind of success. You have to be able to adjust as well. And as time goes on, you're playing on road games. Like you want to be able to have a balanced offense.

You don't want to have to rely on your quarterback in any of these situations. You want a guy who can make the big play, Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rogers, Stafford, Tom Brady. In the big moment. We've seen those guys do it in the big moment. That's my question with Matthew Stafford. You can't fall apart like this in the postseason. It's not going to work. Well, you also have to kind of shift your brain.

In Detroit, he had to carry his team. Right. He's now moving into a situation where he doesn't have to carry his team. And so the part of this is him just being like, live for another day. Throw the ball away. And he doesn't. Just survive. So the Chargers are on the outside of the playoff picture,

thanks to a surprising loss to the Texans. Houston played their best game of the year, season high, 41 points, and took advantage of the Chargers three turnovers. Justin Herbert had two of them, including a pick six at the end of the fourth quarter, to seal their seventh loss of the season. So now there are three teams in the AFC tied at eight and seven. The Ravens on the tiebreaker over the Chargers, and the Chargers on the tiebreaker over the Raiders. So even if the Chargers win their remaining two divisional games against the Broncos and at the

Raiders, they'll still need the Ravens to lose at least one of their remaining games. The Ravens play the Rams, and then they play the Steelers. So not entirely up to them if they make the playoffs at this point. That was a really bad performance, though. I mean, child to the Texans. Listen, dolphins tonight, dolphins beat. Yes. The Saints tonight, they're eight and seven, and remember, they host New England in the final weekend.

And if you watch the way the dolphins play, they're a little New England light, and the Patriots have always struggled down in Miami. I remember a couple years ago, they lost their last game. New England did. So this Dolphins team, again, like the Colts, we all buried them through October. I think the Dolphins win tonight. It's a very big game tonight.

It's a huge game for Miami. Two is on display. They're very New England, lower ceiling, defense special teams, run the ball. But keep your eye on the dolphins here. Like, when I look at all those teams in the hunt, To me, the Chargers and the Dolphins have an identity. Chargers are big risk, throw it over the top.

I like their coach. Dolphins are conservative. When would defense field position? I like their coach. So if I had to guess today, who feels like a playoff team, who has an identity of the In the Hunt teams, the Chargers Dolphins, like right now, Baltimore does not feel like a playoff team. Well, also, I mean, they don't have Lamar Jackson healthy.

So despite all the talent that they have and what they were looking like at the beginning of the season, And if Lamar's not out there, you know, they're just treading water. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. Well, you've heard me talk about my favorite shoe brand, Wolf and Shepherd.

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Amazingly comfortable shoes. S-H-E-P-H-E-R-D, Wolf and Shepard.com. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like.

I'm George Reister, host of the Reister or Rister. podcast. This is the intersection where sports, business, society, and pop culture meet the truth. Absolute fire on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Facts only. Make sure you check your feelings at the door because no BS is allowed. We keep it 100. This is where real conversations happen. Listen to the Rights or Wrong podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

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

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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 all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple, podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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, Tript 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.

don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me care gains is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast learn the hard way open your free Heart Radio app search learn the hard way and listen now so as I was watching the green bay game you have to be you have to be careful as a coach you build up certain equity with players and there's an old saying in football that you can lose a game you can't lose the locker room and Kevin Stefansky I think's a very good play caller and a very bright guy but he I think he's in danger of trying of losing the locker room as he keeps selling him on baker and I mean if you looked at that game, I'm looking at the box score.

If you reverse quarterbacks in this game and gave Aaron to Cleveland, they win 42 to 7. Cleveland had better players. Cleveland has five pro bowlers and four pro bowl alternates. They have nine guys that are pro bowl level players. I mean, Wyatt

Teller and Joel Botonio on the offensive line are as good as anybody in the league. Nick Chubb is as good as anybody in the league. Miles Garrett, Denzel Ward, Jarvis Landry. are really, and they draft well. And there's John Johnson in the

secondary who during the game is literally tweeting, run the ball. Like, there's a reason when Odell's dad called out Baker, he didn't get any pushback from the players. You cannot lose this locker. This roster is stacked.

I mean, when I would say during the preseason, I said, this is a top three roster. I didn't get any pushback. I wasn't calling you know, Houston in a top three roster. This roster is absolutely stacked. And Baker is

not an accurate quarterback in the NFL. He's had four coaches. He completes about 62 percent of his throws. He leaves the NFL in picks. So I've always said I don't like his judgment. His brand is bigger than his game. But I mean, if you looked at that game by just handing the ball

off and throwing screen passes, Cleveland had 260 yards. The throwing part, 138 and 4 picks. So you've got to be careful about this. You can start losing players fast because you can't fool them. Everybody in that Cleveland locker room knows he's our least talented guy. I mean, every, you start looking at this team and it's very much the Cowboys. If I said, team's got to shut down great corner, Dallas Cleveland, great edge rusher, Dallas Cleveland. tremendous young rookie linebacker from a big, you know, Power 5 conference, Penn State, Notre Dame.

That's both. A dependable veteran receiver, Amari Jarvis Landry, better than average tight ends. Star running back. Multiple pro bowlers in the offensive line. They're best running overpassing. Like check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check, check. It's a lot of the same team. Look at that Dallas roster, and the difference is the Dallas quarterback's not getting

in the way of it. And to Baker's credit, he acknowledged it after the game. But that's a bad look. That's the kind of thing. And I've said this for the last several weeks. There was a stretch that was going to happen for Baker when he was facing contemporaries. Well, what does Joe Burrow look like now in that division? Like, that's what Andrew Barry is thinking. I got to face Joe Burrow. Well, I've got to have somebody close to Joe Burrow. You can't keep overcoming a deficiency at quarterback. I mean, Burroughs got Zach Taylor. We don't know if Zach Taylor's a great coach. Every three weeks, you look out

with Joe Burrell. Smarter, better decisions, gets out of the way, gets the ball to the right people. Here's Baker after the loss. It was just misthrows, uncharacteristic, and I hurt this team. So that's the most frustrating thing for me, because I thought

our defense played tremendous against a really, really good offense. But when you turn the ball over on your own territory in the red zone and around midfield and give them extra opportunities, they're going to take advantage of it. Meanwhile, Kansas City, we all know in America, nobody would deny this.

We have income inequality. We have an income gap. I don't think there's any question about that. But there's a lot of gaps in America. We have a decision-making gap. You can see with COVID how people have handled it. Some of the income gap is unfair treatment. Some of the income gap could be decision-making gap.

People get in their own way. I look at Kansas City. And this is, I say this all the time. Little becomes big in America. If you look, let's say you want yourself, the next year, I want to lose weight. You don't really have to change your diet. If you stopped eating at four in the afternoon like I do every day, I can't stop. I have to have a cookie at four.

That cookie becomes, over the course of year, three pints of bacon grease. One cookie at four every day. I've done this before on the air. becomes three pints of bacon grease is that little becomes big and that those daily decisions you make that seem you know what i think i'm going to take this exit i'm going to interview this person just little daily things we all do you make so many of them they become hugely influential to a company or a team that's why judgment is wildly underrated decision making gap some organizations make bad decisions daily, and they're all drafting top 10.

So Kansas City is a great example. They were lost offensively six weeks ago. I mean, they were lost. And we kept saying, okay, Andy Reid really smart, and the GM smart, and the quarterback smart, and Spags is smart. And they've got like really functional players. And you look up and you're like, oh, okay.

Oh, they're really good again. And, I mean, the Patriots have not had a number one pick in a draft since 1993. and yet down for a year and what does New England do? One year they reboot and they're good again. Now I don't think New England's a Super Bowl team. But the big difference between a lot of these sports teams is just these daily decisions and these little cookie there and a little cookie there and a little chips and salsa here

and all of a sudden you look up and you're like, the hell, what's happening? It's like little becomes big. And this is a great example of Kansas City. just every week gotten like 6% better on offense, 6% better and better decisions, and you look up and you're like, yeah, it's the best team in the league.

And so, you know, I had Jimmy Johnson on this show it could have been three weeks ago, two or three weeks ago. And I was surprised by the answer because Jimmy was known as a great constructor of rosters. And I've asked Jimmy Johnson

this before and I say, like, if I said to you, what's the most important thing you look for in a player. And Jimmy always says the same thing. Smart guys. Like I don't want to have to keep teaching you the obvious stuff. Like daily decisions by players and executives and coaches. Just little

stuff, little stuff. You forget how many decisions you make. Watch Kansas City in six weeks solve their, and their offense was bad. Like they didn't run the ball. They couldn't come. It was bad. New England. Down for a year. Right back up. Smart people. It's not linear.

Trees don't grow to the sky. You're going to have bad weeks, you're going to have bad stretches, but they rebound really quickly. They solve their issues really quickly by simply solving the decision-making gap. There's a lot of gaps in America. Some of it is on each one of us to make better decisions. Just the daily grind every day in Kansas City has done it over six weeks. You know, Joy and I talked about this earlier. Denver's going to fire their coach probably and have to hire a new one and Chicago's going to probably fire it, is that you're going to see organizations now, a lot of decisions being made by organizations. And I would go back to, I, I respect Mike Tomlin. I respect Pete Carroll. I respect

Big Fangio. I respect Mike Zimmer. Like, these are really good, I really believe they're good coaches. But you start looking around this league right now and take Cincinnati in Pittsburgh. Cincinnati chose a young offensive guy. Some thought myself included, a little little too young. Look at how they've developed all their offensive players. Their receivers, their backs, their offensive line, their quarterback. If you look at the Steelers who have a defensive coach, they have great young receivers. They have a great young back.

They're rebuilding their offense. They're a mess. Now, you could just say it's Burrow, Big Ben. But Big Ben's had some good weeks this year. It's not all been bad Ben like yesterday. I mean, he's falling apart now, but he's had some very good weeks. but it goes back to all these teams now, you start looking around this league, it is dominated by offensive coaches.

So the good news is I don't remember a year with this many great offensive candidates. But you, I mean, it's, it's, look at the current AFC playoff teams. The Chiefs, Tennessee is the outlier and so is Buffalo. But Buffalo is in a division where all the coaches. coaches are defensive. And you go over to the NFC playoff teams. It's all offense. So big decisions for the Bears and big decisions for all these teams and Denver and I think

Minnesota. But it's very clear what's happening. It's all in your hands. And I think Pete Carroll and Mike Tomlin are Hall of Famers and really good. But some of this, this Pittsburgh situation, it's on Tomlin. And a lot of the Seattle mess, it's. on Pete. I mean, this is now back to back to back, bad coordinator hires offensively by Pittsburgh. And maybe it's Russell Wilson, maybe it's the O-Line, but they keep making all these

moves in Seattle. The offense is still overwhelmingly dependent on Russell Wilson. It's time. I'm not sure in Pittsburgh. I'd stay with Tomlin, but I do think in Denver, I think in Minnesota, I think in Seattle, it's right in front of you, decision-making. Go offense. 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, S&L'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. 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. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam Jay.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfields 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.