The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - Saleh Has Lost the Locker Room & FS1's Nick Wright

Episode Date: December 5, 2023

Colin introduces his new NFL Herd Hierarchy, and dives into why it's looking like Jets HC Robert Saleh has lost the locker room. Colin believes Brock Purdy can't be the MVP when he's not the best player on his own team, and FS1's Nick Wright joins the show. Guest: Nick WrightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Jacksonville, you deserve all the heat I gave you first hour. It's the last time I ever lead with that operation. Congrats Cincinnati, Jake Brown. You know, Jay Mack? A lot of people are saying,

There's no good teams in the NFL. I don't think that's the worst thing. I don't think, you know, dynasties are great. But like the NBA this year, I feel like Boston and Denver, when healthy are easily the best two teams. It doesn't give a lot of people hope. It's false hope. I think the NFL is much more wide open. But I do think we have six or seven teams.

Six, seven teams, I think, are very good teams. Then you're dealing with teams that have some talent but back up quarterbacks. But you know what? There's injuries. but Trevor Lawrence is coming back and Kenny Pickett will come back and you know this is what, remember last year, Jalen Hertz was banged up at the end

and well, he played and he ended up getting in and San Francisco gets beat up every year and Baltimore gets beat up. You've got to take a deep breath. This is what happens in the NFL. We complain about officiating every year. We get backup quarterbacks all season long. Good teams lose quarterbacks briefly momentarily.

There's a lot of injuries, but trust me, the next January, February are going to be unbelievable. It's just this is what we get. We complain about officiating, and that Green Bay, Kansas City game had some doozies, and we think we bemoan or lament the NFL. There's a lot of good teams here. San Francisco, and then there's everyone else. Well, it's just here we go, the herd hierarchy.

Hierarchy. Time is now, let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Number 10. I think the Green Bay Packers have won first. 4-05. I don't think it was a fluke. I think they're playing well. This is the best their defense has played in

several years. They're 16-0 in December under Matt Lafleur. Three straight games without a turnover. Listen, Jordan Love is going to have some erratic play. He's a little bit of a Josh Allen, you know, he's side-arming it. But he has confidence.

Matt is a great late-season coach. They're getting a real pass rush. Chargers, Lions Chiefs. These are not standings. I don't care how bad he was in October. That's not what we do here. Green Bay is a top 10. Maybe I have them underserved a spot team in the league 10. Number nine. Listen, I'm not going to sell all my stock on Buffalo. They're going to lose to the Chiefs, but it's going to be competitive. Three-point road loss to the Eagles is not the end

of the world. They rank five in point differential. Josh Allen's an insane all-time talent. I still think they have a good, though, not great coach. The best third-down offense in the league. Offense in the red zone. They get touchdowns, not field goals. Now, it's too dependent on Josh Allen. It's a good football operation. I respect a lot of people in the building. They are just, they can't quite get the details right.

Number eight. Houston, they've won four or five, eight consecutive games decided by one possession. They're not a great team. They're a highly functioning, well-coached team with a star rookie quarterback. I like them a lot. This is not a fluke. Denver was on a role. they beat Denver and Denver struggled to move the ball.

Russell Wilson had his first bad game in several weeks. Now, right now they got so many of these good players or kids. Nico Collins and C.J. Stroud, Will Anderson, Tank Dell, Damien Pearce a couple years ago. They're a very young football team, but I like them and I have them an eight. Number seven. Miami, I worry about. They got one way to play.

They're one in three against teams 500 or better, but the number one passing offense, the number two rushing offense, their number one in the red zone offense, so they score touchdowns, and I think Mike McDaniel is basically, he's an Ivy League version of Kyle Shanahan. Their speed, speed matters. I just like them. I like what I see. I have my doubts about them against the elite teams and elite defenses,

but it should be noted their defense is getting better. Miami, maybe a spot low, but I have them at seven. Number six. Detroit. O-line, run game, 14 and 4 over the last 18 regular season games. Yeah, they mailed it in against Green Bay. It got whacked, but maybe Green Bay is better than we think. Their defense, I don't think you can solve their defensive problems.

But I also think because of their ball control style, Gough, the run game, they could also beat virtually anybody in the NFC, including Dallas. If that offensive line was leaning in, they played with a lead, played in good weather so I don't think they're going to win in cold weather in Philly but they can go down to Dallas and win or have a home game and win I have Detroit at 6.

Number 5. I think Kansas City will keep moving up. Right now they're 5. They've got key injuries on defense they're going to get healthier. They've got an offensive line issue. They're going to get healthier. But they've lost three or five games. They don't give you 400 yards of offense. They're still trying to

rework their wide receiving core. Right now they've got a lot things that have converged, untimely injuries, all to the same spot, young wide receivers. They're going to be fine. But I mean, listen, Mahomes, you're watching it in real time. Teachers getting upset with students. You're watching it. They're fine.

They're going to get better. I said this 35 minutes ago. They're going to get to the AFC championship, but the hurt hierarchies today, and right now today, they're beat up, and they're not a great team yet. Number four. Baltimore. I keep putting them at four. I like them a lot. Number one rush offense, number one scoring defense, and Lamar's gone back-to-back

games without a turnover. They can be a little sloppy in the fourth quarter. I don't know if I trust them against the best teams late. They've been very fortunate where they've gotten some of the tougher games at home, Seattle, Detroit, and just hammered them. Once again, they get a Rams team playing well at home, traveling cross-country, so fortuitous a bit in the schedule. I like them a lot. I love the organization. I respect everybody. They've got real speed and Zay Flowers. I have them at four and I'm having there for a while. Number three. Let's not sell the farm on Philadelphia. They had played Dallas, Kansas City, Buffalo, and San Francisco in four straight weeks.

They looked tired. They look exhausted in the second half. You cannot face the Cowboys, the Chiefs, Buffalo and San Francisco. And, you know, it's not college. The margins are tight. I just thought they looked exhausted. I think they're going to bounce back and play a really good game against Dallas, but that's their schedule. Now it's going to go Dallas, Kansas City, Buffalo, San Francisco, Dallas. This team, that's harder than a playoff run.

So, I mean, usually the first round of the playoffs, you get a game at home you should win. They look like a tired, beat-up team that's talented, like Kansas City. They will write the ship. They've got to step off the treadmill for about 30 minutes and take a break, but I still like Philly. Number two. Dallas. Now, they don't have any wins over a winning, you know, no wins over teams currently with a winning record, but they're not giving the ball up.

They only have 10 giveaways. Dax's playing in rhythm. I think they can be at times a bit Seedy Lamb-resiant, but reliant, but Ferguson now playing well. Brandon Cooks matters more now. Tony Pollard's getting into the end zone. Tyron Smith left tackle is healthy. This is a very, very good football team.

Now, you can't put them one, and I don't know if I trust them in January in a big spot, but we have to be fair. Right now, they're healthy. They're playing well. They have an emerging star at corner. We thought Trayvon Diggs gone for the season. It would hurt. Well, they found another guy. Dallas at two. Number one. San Francisco's destroyed Dallas and Philadelphia. I mean, they destroyed Jacksonville. They destroy the Steelers. They're one of those teams that they will go out. If they are humming, it doesn't really matter. Is anybody going to argue about this pick? Right now, this is the best team in the league.

And what do I need to say? They have the most good players. They lost a safety who funger for the year. That's a bummer, but that's a position you can overcome. Left tackle, maybe not. Probably not with Trent Williams. But there we go. There's my, and again, I'll say it again.

I think Philadelphia at 3 and Kansas City at 5, they're not right, right now. But if you told me in three weeks, it will go San Francisco, Kansas City, Philly. But the herd hierarchy is not standing. It's right now, and right now the Chiefs and the Eagles are just not right. Nick right now joining us, my buddy, first things first. All right, take a shot. What didn't you like? No.

Well, no, I liked a lot of it. You say more nice things about the Chiefs, the lower they are. When you have one or two, you spend all the time talking about what's wrong with them. At five, you're like, they'll be fine being the six-straight AFC championship game. I do think the only a mission that I would have, Colin, now that we know it doesn't look like Trevor's done for the year, it's just a high ankle sprained. You and I have been two of the only people supporting the Jags all year. I think you've got to have the Jags on there. But aside from that, I think it's a really good herd hierarchy.

The Niners do deserve right now to be at top, you know, power rankings or any type of, you know, the hierarchies as of this very moment, even if a lot of us still have questions about what they are going to look like at the end of the year. And I, agree with you on Philly. Like, before this stretch of games started, if we, when we talked about Philly, we were saying, man, if they can go three and two, they're in really good shape. Well, if they lose to Dallas, they still went three and two. If they beat Dallas, they went four and one. So I agree you shouldn't sell up Philly short. Can City's got to get some things right. They didn't look right. And I would argue this, Con, I want your take on it. The Chiefs

have not played many big, regular season games in Mahomes' career. I think Sunday in the national window with a chance to basically end the bill's season and recapture probably the positioning for the one seed is about as big of a spot the chiefs and Mahomes have had in the regular season. Because if they lose, then all of a sudden the playoffs are not going to go through Arrowhead and Buffalo has real life to make the postseason. So I think Sunday's a massive spot for the Chiefs. I do. And I think what's happened is the margins have shrunk. So they're not the kind of team that can come down, you know, 24-0 like they did against the Texans and a playoff game. That's not what they are anymore. And that's what happens when you pay the quarterback a lot. You lose some talent

out of the building and the margins shrink. But I would say that, and Drew Brees saw this in his career where he took the money for three years. The margins went, you know, suboptimal. And they couldn't make the playoffs. So this is a, the good news is, great GM, great owner, great coach, great quarterback, excellent young defense. But I also think what's interesting about that game is both of us now, you before me and me now have kind of sold our bill stock. But they are like the old late Mike, Mike Tyson in his last few years. Nobody still wanted to, yeah, nobody still wanted to face them. You wouldn't go to your promoter, get me Tyson. And it's a tough spot. I mean, the bills coming off a by. The Chiefs coming off Sunday night football where they had a bunch of key guys either dinged up or lost for at least the next few weeks. So there are, the bills are full on desperate and the Chiefs seem to be in a bit of a funk. So there are a lot of indicators saying this is a game Buffalo should be able to go to Kansas City and win. And it's also worth noting that the bills have had success.

against the Chiefs in the regular season the last few years, even if they haven't had any postseason success against the Chiefs. That's why I'm so fascinated in this game from a Chief's perspective. If the Kansas City offense does have another gear that it's going to get to come the postseason, if come the postseason, pardon me, the plan is, shorten the receiver rotation, have Rishie Rice and the other couple receivers you somewhat trust, get the vast majority of the snaps rather than rotating five, six, seven different receivers in, then Sunday we're going to see it. If they are not able to do that against a bill's defense that I think is very susceptible,

then their path to winning might simply be great defense and Mahomes make a few plays in tight, low-scoring games, which I still think it's a viable path, but I don't think it's necessarily what they want to be their only path. And I think we'll find out if it is on Sunday. So I used your line earlier and gave you credit that at Fox, we had the San Francisco Niners and the Seahawks game. We're promoting it. And Brock Purdy's not on the photo.

It's Christian McCaffrey. Yeah, second straight week. He couldn't make the photo for Niners, Eagles, I either. MVP favorite, he can't make the promo. But go ahead, yeah. If there's a movie poster and you're not on it, You know, you're not the star of the movie. So, but my takeaway is there's this MVP talk.

And my take is Dax the MVP because he is absolutely more valuable to the ecosystem. I got Kyle Shanahan's career. I got Matt Ryan a Super Bowl, Garoppolo a Super Bowl. The minute he leaves their life, they're not the same quarterback. So my take is I would vote DAC MVP today. I think it's a weird year. Are you okay with that? Amongst the quarterbacks,

DAC has the far and away most compelling case. If we're going to expand it outside of quarterbacks up until the last couple of weeks, I told you I thought Miles Garrett had a strong case, and certainly Tyree Kill is to me, to me, Tua and Purdy are in a similar bucket. And I can acknowledge they actually both in different ways might be a little better than I thought they were originally.

And I would ask everyone else to acknowledge, but they are clearly not even close to the most valuable player on their own offense. In Purdy's case, I think he is the fourth most valuable player on his offense. I think Trent Williams, Christian McCaffrey, and Debo are all more valuable to the Niners than Brock Purdy. That is not an indictment. Saying a guy is not going to get the single most prestigious individual award the league gives out is not saying he's a bum. But it is acknowledging the fact that right now, anyone in America that is not picking the Niners to coast to the Super Bowl, there are only two possible reasons. One is, well, we're afraid of injury, but that applies to every single team.

The other one is you have questions about their quarterback. I would phrase it like this, Colin, right now the biggest question mark about the Niners is what? The only possible answer. It's not the defense, giving up the fewest points in the league. It's not the running game of the best running back in the league. It's not the offensive line with Trent Williams. It's not the scheme with Kyle Shanahan. The only question is if they get down in the game, can purdy make plays?

Yeah. And if the only question surrounding your team is about a certain player, that player can't then also be the MVP of the league. And DAC has been excellent. Yes. I mean, I agree with you on DAC, and at some point with Dak, we have to remove some of what we thought about him going into this year after a down year last year and acknowledge he has done everything all of us have asked him to do coming into the year. He has made big plays. He has thrown for a lot of yards, and he's done it without turning the ball over. Yeah, listen, I wasn't a huge Cam Newton fan, but he had a year where he won the MVP,

and it was like, I don't love him, but he's a huge talent, and he was the MVP. I don't love a Dax a B-plus guy, but you can't deny he's playing unbelievable football, and he's way more valuable. I think the Brock Pretty Point is a great one, that you can't be MVP at the league. If the only question we have about your side of the ball is, will the MVP candidate Chunk or beat me like right right it's legit it's not it can't be and Dac is and Cid Lam is awesome and Micah's awesome and all of that stuff but DAC is on the cover of the poster your movie poster to use your analogy it's no question or to use a more contemporaneous analogy you know I was in

LA this week kind of you know feeling good about myself success of the show I drive on to that Fox lot you know the first thing I see a giant 60 foot Colin coward head I looked at every bathroom in the place, Steve. If there was a single picture of old Nick Wright, can't find one. But Collins just plastered all over the place. It's a good reminder of what the star attraction is, whether it's a team or a television network. These things are just true. That's right.

You know, I was saying this, I have defended Robert Sala, and you can lose games. You can't lose a locker room. Dave Wonstadt always says that. You can lose games. You lose a locker room, you get fired. If Zach Wilson's been asked to be quarterback and said, no, thank you. you and you got Aaron Rogers running things now. The Packers coddled him it didn't work. The Jets that it's a disaster. I feel like I'm starting to feel strongly that this Aaron Rogers thing

isn't just a hiccup, that it's just an unraveling, spiraling mess that's going to get the coach fired. Am I wrong? Well, somebody, I think it's going to get somebody fired. And I mean, you didn't even mention this ongoing multi-week charade that Aaron Rogers was ever going to play professional tackle football this season. That everyone involving the Jets is just engaging in like a little kid's imaginary friend, like just placating him like, oh, it makes him feel better. Yeah, we set a table, a seat at the dinner table for him. It doesn't bother anybody.

Nobody ever thought he was playing. I watched when everyone's like, oh, he's cleared for practice. Go watch that practice video and you'll see a foot, you'll see an interesting moment where all the Jets quarterbacks are just lightly jumping in the air and Aaron is not. And then you'll see a video of everyone jogging and Aaron is by seven steps in last, which is fine. He's a 40-year-old quarterback, but also the idea that he was about to come play football games

in 17 days was a first to begin with. And now we go on with. with the fact that the backup quarterback situation all year was Zach and his buddy Tim Boyle and a disaster. And people, here's the part of it, Colin, where I don't know if it's Joe Douglas. I don't know if it's Robert Sala. But someone needs to be held to account for this. The Indianapolis Colts lost their quarterback early in the year. They're 7 and 5.

The Cleveland Browns lost their quarterback multiple times, lost their backup quarterback multiple times. They're 7 and 5. We just saw the Cincinnati Bengals who didn't have a healthy quarterback at the beginning of the year have Jake Browning. They're six and six and he looks like he can play. How many, the Steelers just lost Kenny Pickett. They have Mitch Trebiskew's not great, but at least is passable. To have no contingency plan for your near, well now 40, but at the time soon to be 40-year-old quarterback, and just trot out a guy who I don't blame him for not wanting to play if that's true, Colin.

would also not want to do something that I can't do in front of millions of people. They were like, hey, Nick, half time of the Super Bowl, you're going to unicycle. I'd be like, I don't know how to unicycle. Like, too bad, we're asking you to do it. I would ask not to. He doesn't know how to play NFL quarterback. It's not fair to ask him to keep doing it, and they've jerked him back and forth. So I don't know if it's Douglas or Sala or if it's just Aaron Rogers pulling all the strings,

but it is an unmitigated disaster that some of us could have seen coming that I think, point Colin I don't think the jets it's like oh if Aaron didn't pop his Achilles everything would have been fine the idea that anybody was gonna be able to be competent behind that offensive line or not get dinged was ludicrous to begin with and so yeah that it was poor planning and it's gone about as poorly as possible Nick Wright first things first shows on fire it was in LA yesterday they flew back probably some swanky private jet thing it's great seeing you buddy oh yeah you're such a smart ass

I'll talk to you later. Come by. I'm sure it was a five-seat private jet, got him back to the East Coast. It's in time for their highly promoted and marketed show. We do appreciate that, no jealousy at all. Oh, J-Mack, I've got to tell you something off the air that's a big deal. Maybe it'll make the air, I'm not sure. I'm just shook from what Nick said.

He made a phenomenal point. He said there's no images of him here around the facility at Fox. I just thought about it. There's none of me, and I'm out here. He's in New York. How am I not? I mean, I joined the show. Go to the moon?

Let's go, hey, is management watching, you think? It's a good point. Management's making it clear. Yeah, yeah. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. Hey, it's Ben, host of The Fifth Hour with Ben Mallor. It would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey.

You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit over and nights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture if you will a world when we chat with captains of industry in media, sports and more every week, explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mather on the Iheart radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's

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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 a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, Nick Wright touched on something. I want everybody to think about this. have you guys noticed a little bit, a little bit how the offensive coaches deal with backup quarterback.

So Zach Taylor last night had a backup quarterback. Kid was unbelievable. Shane Steichen, offensive coach, backup quarterback Gardner Minchu, playoff team. Kevin O'Connell won with Josh Dobbs. Kevin Stefansky. Joe Flacco, first game, like one practice, looked great in the first half this weekend.

Brian Dayball, Tommy Navito's 2-1, with a passer rating of 1. 103. How in the hell is that possible? Mike McCarthy last year, four and one with Cooper Rush. Sean Payton in New Orleans, his entire career, won with everybody, except Trevor Simeon,

winning record with all of them. Arthur Smith, leading the division with Taylor Heineke, Kyle Shanahan last year with Brock Purdy. All the offensive coaches, almost all of them, when given a crisis at quarterback, can take a backup and lead a division, be a playoff team. Go to Jacksonville and produce 500 yards. Now look at defensive coaches that have had to go to a backup.

Sala, disaster, Belichick, disaster, Matt Iberfluse, mess, Mike Tomlin with Trebisky, cross your fingers. I love Mike Vrable. I think Mike Vrable's amazing. Will Levis? It's getting worse every time they go out. So I don't think it's a coincidence. I think you have to think long and hard.

Who are the two quarterbacks we think are being underserved by their coach? Great quarterbacks. Herbert defensive coach. Josh Allen defensive coach. We think those are excellent quarterbacks. They're being underserved. So one of the things, defensive coaches do not have the feel

that offensive coaches do for quarterbacks. And they also, I could argue, are not as good at hiring offensive coordinators. Because in my lifetime, defensive coaches are closer to defensive coaches. And offensive coaches' best friends are other offensive coaches. So they don't have a ton of feel

for the quarterback position and they don't hire great offensive coordinators. Just look at the coaches that can handle going to a backup quarterback effectively. And look at the coaches where it's man overboard. And it gets worse. The fact that Tommy DeVito has a winning record under Brian Dable and a passer rating in the hundreds, Jake Browning goes and throws for 350 yards last night.

It was like 32 and 37 as a backup. Think long and hard. think long and hard about hiring defensive coaches. As the sports become more quarterback-centric, and as the athletes are bigger and stronger on defense, we have more injuries at quarterback, you're going to play a backup. Who can handle that crisis?

It's pretty obvious. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Speaking of backup quarterbacks, Doug Peterson just confirmed that Trevor Lawrence has a right high ankle sprain that he suffered on this plane when his own teammate stepped on his ankle.

It looked way worse than a high ankle, but we know these are tricky. Oh, yeah. Could be two weeks, could be four. He's definitely out this week. Now, there are some people saying the way that he didn't totally rule him out. Other reporters are saying he's not playing this week. Either way, it looks like C.J. Bethard against Joe Flacco in a big game. I will take Flacco.

I'm seeing Brown's minus three. I would take Cleveland. and I think that's one of the better backs of the week. Oh, that's a smash spot. I mean, CJ Bethard going on the road to a Cleveland defense that just got a dump truck two weeks in a row. No. This is Brown's big. This just stinks, man.

The 1 p.m. window has like five backup quarterbacks. Well, you know what? But you know what's good? The Fox late window is amazing. And yes. And the NBC late window. It's good. Listen, wait, the one o'clock window, there'll be a game.

And even though this week it was a bunch of cruddy teams, we thought. Some of the Colts, you mean, some of the early ones. window games were fun. They weren't great artistic masterpieces. Was last night's game good or not? Oh, it was fun, yeah. I thought it was very entertaining. It was like an X-Men. Listen, I lost my bet, so I finished the week three and two, so I was better. But the point being,

it was wildly entertaining. I thought, again, the environment in Jacksonville is what it is, but it was entertaining. Next up, the Rams have turned things around, Colin. They had three wins midway through the season. Looked to be another disappointing year.

prediction I had was they were going to be awful. I look right for half the season, but McVeigh has turned things around, three-game winning streak, and said, this is some of the most fun he's had as an NFL coach. Not exclusive to just loving the wins. It's loving everything that comes with it, responding to the challenges. And, you know, I know this. I am loving it because of the people that I'm around and then some of the perspective that, you know, the experience that you're accumulating, you know, as a young guy has benefited,

both good and bad to keep learning and keep growing. This game is meant to be enjoyed. Yes, we want to go have the production and the results, but let's enjoy everything. I think that's when you get the best out of people. And we're enjoying playing meaningful football in December. I said this two, three weeks ago. When you watch them play,

there is not a team of the national football league that is getting more out of their roster than the Rams. And now their offensive side is healthy. So you get McVeigh, Stafford, Pooka, and Kooa. Now I say healthy. Puka's got banged up ribs. Cooper Cubs been limping all year. They don't have a single great athlete in their prime on the roster.

They do, however, in fairness, have very good offensive talent. Cooper Cup, Puka Nakuwa. I think it's Steve Avella, the left guard's very good. Havenstein, the right tackles, good. Stafford's good. Higby's a good tight end. Williams, the running back. The fifth round pick out of Notre Dame.

It's a terrific young back. So they've got a lot of either really good players past their prime. or B-plus offensive players, and they're all pretty healthy. Now, I think the Baltimore Ravens, that's a bad spot for NFC teams. I take Baltimore. It's a bad spot. They'll come back down to Earth, but I'm telling you, this team, this is what I said all off-season.

If the league is a quarterback coach Weapons League, and it kind of is. You can't tell me McVeigh, Stafford, and Cooper Cup and Pooka and Koonakunal's guys. They're going to be terrible. The injuries have been their story, right? Ripon started at least a game. Kyron Williams was on the IR. Cooper Cup missed a lot. And now that everybody's in there, it's like, holy cow, are these guys good?

But I'm kind of with you. Ravens, that's a tall order this week. Next up, Colin, this is partially shocking to me. So Tyrod Taylor is back at practice, right? Everybody anticipated he would start for the Giants. But Brian Daibald literally 10 minutes ago said that Tommy DeVito will remain the starter. He's earned it according to Daibald. Yeah, he's got a pass already over 100.

one. Six touchdowns and three interceptions. Colin, the second I heard this news, what do you think I did? They play the Packers in the line six and a half. You bet the Packers? Of course. DeVito, really? He's terrible. I don't want to hear, oh, he's two and one. Like, stop. Come on. I don't know. Is this a soft tank move by Daibald? Tyrod Taylor is a more viable quarterback. He doesn't make mistakes and you know you can count. Yeah, I think Tyrod Taylor is one of the top backups in the league.

I like Tyron. You know, he's a little older, but I'm shocked that they're going back with DeVito. There is like a folk hero thing. You know, he's got the celebration. Yeah, I know, I think it's kind of a fun story. I will say this again illustrates Brian Daible. The Jets have Zach Wilson as a backup, a number two pick. They're a disaster.

Dable has Tommy DeVito. And he's competitive. Remember, this is the same guy who petitioned the NCAA for an extra year last year because he knew he wasn't going to be an NFL quarterback. He's like, let me stay in college one more year. They were like, no, sorry. And now he's like starting games for the New York. Well, it's a good. It's a fun story.

It's a fun story. Especially in New York. Yeah, go Packers. All right. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News.

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Heard free. Hello, Fresh. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clever 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 Podcasts, 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 kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but 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. Tomorrow on FS1, we got a great game coming your way as 12th ranked Texas. Takes on number eight Marquette.

It all tips off tomorrow. night at 7.30 Eastern on FS1. Yeah, brought Purdy's not on that graphic either. If he was a real MVP, you'd put him on that graphic. So, you said this yesterday. We don't want to go overboard. Don't want to go overboard on Jordan Love's last few games. But I've always had sort of a say-it-out-loud theory.

Tall, athletic, mobile playmaker. Now, that also describes Justin Fields. The difference is, I trust the organization in Green Bay to get it right. I don't trust the bears. So to me, when it comes to young quarterbacks, there's only two tiers. Okay, forget the guys that like just whiff. There's only two tiers of guys that make it. The first tier is, wow, they knock your socks off immediately.

Cam Newton's first game. C.J. Stroud. Justin Herbert first game against Mahomes. Andrew Luck. There's no big argument. going to work. You may think they're underrated, overrated, but you watch Cam Newton, you're like, yeah, that's what a franchise quarterback

looks like. I wouldn't even a huge fan, but that's what it looks like. Tier one, and you get one of those a year, college football gives you 130 football programs in college, Division 1. You get one a year. Wow. And I think it'll be Caleb Williams. Wow.

He'll be able to overcome some crap. That guy's good. I mean, Justin Herbert walked in behind the 32nd ranked offensive line and set quarterback rookie passing records. It's going to work. You can argue about overrated, underrated, I'm not interested. Wow.

Tier two of the guys that work the young guys is there's something there and they have the organization capable of elevating them. That's Jordan Love. That's also Tua with Mike McDaniel. I saw Tua with a defensive coach. He looked like a bust.

I saw Jared Gough with a defensive coach for a year. bust. Gough is not good enough to overcome a bad O-line and a bad defensive coach and a bad organization. Who is not? How do I know? Because I've seen both do it. Brock Purdy to me, you can say he's an MVP candidate. He's not good enough to go to a defensive coach and a bad organization that can't protect him. He's not. So I think Jordan Love falls into. He didn't wow and knock your socks off. I love all the revisionist history crap. This guy was so bad five weeks ago. Matt Lafleur, one of the nicest guys in the league, was crushing him after games at the podium.

He was terrible. If you go to his first, I think it was, his first eight games, he had 10 completions over 20 yards. Like, won a game. That's Justin Fields. He was bad. But the differences, and I don't think Jordan loves good enough with Chicago's infrastructure. He'd look like Justin Fields. Great plays, not great games.

Good quarters, not great halves. but I do think we undervalue sometimes how well run the Packers are. And I've said this for years and years. Guden Coons knows what he's doing. I mean, I'll make the argument. Nobody has built better offensive lines except the Patriots with Dante Scarnacia without first round draft picks on the O line than Green Bay. Now, Patriots had Nate Solder at one point from Colorado.

So they've gone to the first round for offensive tackles. But Green Bay doesn't do that. And they get them in the third, fourth, fifth round. always have great old lines. And that's a quarterback's best friend. Protection. So I think, you know, it's like a really good movie director.

Consider the Packers, very good movie directors. They can take a C script and make a B movie. They're not going to take a C script and make good fellas. That's not what they're going to do. That's not realistic. I mean, Jordan Love is never going to be, he's never going to be Mahomes. He's not going to be, that's fine.

He's a good prospect, and I think they have a chance to make him into a pretty good quarterback. But I don't think Kirk Cousins is ever going, he didn't have the whip. He's not going to be Josh Allen. He's not his athletic Lamar Jackson. But I think Minnesota, they've given him, you know, now they got an offensive coach, they got good weapons. You know, Dax's got an offensive coach. He's got some weapons. He's got a legitimate franchise. And Dax's looking pretty darn good, right? So, and I think that's the two tears. Knock your socks off. That's not it. Or they're stumped in there, but they need the right structure to get them to a consistent, dependable,

B, B, B, plus franchise quarterback. But don't deny that Love was awful six weeks ago. It's terrible. Matt LaFleur is a great guy. He would go to the podium, postgame, post game, and just roll his eyes and rip his quarterback. Then the next day, he'd be like, you know, we overreact that it's all good, because they didn't want to kill the kid's confidence.

Now you're seeing Jordan Love play with confidence. Here's Jordan after his performance against him, and how tough it was early against Kansas City. I've got more reps. I'm more comfortable. Understanding where I need to go with the ball. I think the O-line is doing a great job, just being able to pick this stuff up. You know, it's not easy when they're bringing the all-outs and these blitzes, things like that. But they've been doing a great job, giving me time.

And then receivers, obviously, just they're having an awareness of when they need to be open and how long I got and just going out there and making plays. It's hard on a week-to-week basis to pick the games, but I was looking this morning, is that most of you got your predictions right. Most of you, we did, had Miami Buffalo would finish the season at the top of the division. They are. Most of you, I had Pittsburgh as a wild card team. Take it out because Joe Burrow got hurt.

But I mean, Baltimore, Pittsburgh, you know, at the top, that's not shocking. Even I considered a Steeler hater, had the Steelers in the playoffs. We had Jacksonville winning the AFC South. They currently lead it. We had Kansas City winning the division. You had that. They currently lead it, and they're going to win it. We had Philadelphia, Dallas, won two in the NFC East.

90% of you did. They're going to win it. We had Detroit on this show winning their division. Minnesota being second, that's where we're currently at, although I do think Green Bay will leap Minnesota and get in as a wildcar team. I had New Orleans in Atlanta at the top. Right now, the NFC South, it's Atlanta, and then New Orleans in Tampa are tied. I think New Orleans will eventually finish first or second.

And, you know, we thought Seattle and San Francisco would be, the top. Rams are a bit of a surprise. Everybody, we all kind of thought Seattle, San Francisco would be good. They play this week. San Francisco leads. And Seattle, by the way, is still a playoff team. Rams are a bit overachieving. Seattle's a bit underachieving. There's not that many surprises in this year, year to year. They're individual players, C.J. Stroud, who surprise. There's injuries to Joe Burrell that ruin a team season. But if you look at your predictions and our macro predictions on the league, week There's an old saying with being a parent.

The days are long and the years fly by as a parent. You know, those days when your kids are four or five years old and you're with them all day and you're back, hurt. The days last forever, the years fly by. In the NFL, the weeks are hard to predict, but the season really isn't. It's mostly what we think. If Joe Burrow was healthy, they would be vying for that conference with Baltimore and Pittsburgh. I never bought into Cleveland at all.

Vegas did. I didn't. I got that right. And the Rams and Seattle, I still think, I don't know. Seattle has a better roster than the Rams. I think that's just McVeigh having one of the great coaching performances of his career. D.K. Metcalf on the Seahawks is going to be joining us next hour. The in-season NBA tournament, it's amazing how much flak that gets.

It's amazing. It's like, folks, it's new, it's fun, it's different. the teams are really into it? I mean, it's not making me, it's not like literally, I don't get up in the morning thinking NBA in-season tournament, but don't you want leagues to take swings on things and try new stuff?

Pacer Celtics last night was thrilling. Yeah. I mean, I know people liked the Bengals game, but I thought Pacer Celtics' second half was way more impressive than the Bengals' jazz. I credit the NBA for saying, listen, we've got a little bit of a load management thing. There's some apathy in the regular season.

We're going to use sort of a model that's been used, I think, in Europe. or something. Let's do some, let's try this thing out. And everybody's like some people are just, they just wake up. They want to poopoo everything. It's a swing. Yeah, Lakers Suns tonight. It's a big game. I guess is you'll lead the show with LeBron tomorrow. No, I'm, that's the game I have to watch tonight. Yeah, I'll be there. Oh, you will. Go Lakers. All right. Well, I'm, I'm a impartial observer of myself. D.K. Matt Caff, Hour 3 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 app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the Enhanced games.

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

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardweight with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Thank you.