The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 2 - The 49ers Are Alive

Episode Date: December 23, 2021

In this hour of The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Doug Gottlieb--in for Colin--believes the San Francisco 49ers are one of the most dangerous teams in the NFC after finally getting healthy. Also, the Green Bay Packers might have had plans to eventually get rid of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but Doug argues that the Packers' brass must keep Rodgers in Green Bay for the rest of his career. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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

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

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. 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. 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. 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. What up? Welcome in. This is The Herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be taking out part of your day to listen to us. Thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlie. In for Colin Cowherd. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome. Welcome in. You know, it's always fascinating to me on how things work out in the NFL.

There are injuries that decimate a season. There are things that you can't kind of come back from, right? But generally, generally, these cliches we use are used for a reason. A cliche is just an overused phrase or expression, right? And waterfinding its level. He is the expression that I've heard you so many times. That seems to be happening in the national football league. I want you to think about this for a second, okay?

Do your best. It's hard because we're in the moment. And it's hard because the NFL now is covered. It's a lot like what changed, you know, like Vietnam was the first war to show footage of, you know, American soldiers on a daily basis being wrapped into body bags and being brought home. I remember the first Persian Gulf War like I was in eighth grade.

I remember like watching what I thought were like lasers in the middle of the night being fired. It was the first time you could watch a war live on your TV. What then changed after that? Well, it was super interesting because well, once we got kind of the graphic details of what was really going on, not just the laser in the middle night.

Like we're all appalled by it. Why? because we'd never seen it. The only things we'd seen in wars like war movies, which are so many are glamorized. Well, football is covered with the same ferocity. Many of these same stories, players complaining about their contracts,

guys having off-the-field issues, players not buying into coaches, coaching having their own kind of personal issues, etc. These things have taken place in this league for years. The difference is now it's covered on a week-week basis, a day-to-day, a moment-to-moment basis. So because it's covered with such incredible energy and passion, because everything matters, right?

Like you go back 30 years ago, not only do we not have the devices and we didn't have the 24-7 networks, we didn't have multiple radio networks, we didn't have podcasts, we didn't have 24-7 fighting over TV channels, let alone a league-owned TV channel, which covers the league.

You didn't have Twitter and social media and all of that. okay you didn't have any of these these devices so you couldn't be up to the moment now it's up to the very moment guy gets sick guy gets her remember when teddy bridgewater tore up his knee this is like going back i don't know eight years ago or so with the minnesota vikings was the last practice the preseason he dropped back and his knee blew up we knew about it like two minutes later two minutes later. And within five to ten minutes, it was, we knew he's done for the year and it was really, really bad. And that's at a practice in Minnesota. But when we step away from it, okay, we step away from it for a second. And I say, who did you expect to be good this season? You probably

expected the Chiefs to be good. Guess who has the best record in the AFC? You're not going to, you're never going to guess who has the best record in the AFC. That would be the Kansas. Chiefs. Now look, and the day to day, it's been messy. The offense hasn't been great. Mahomes hasn't been as good. You know, they've made them be patient and they're not patient. They obviously had some injuries. The defense has come around. But at the end of the day, they're in first place and maybe the best division in football, top to bottom. You know? And they're on a path to get a home field advantage throughout. They found a way to beat the charges of two games ahead. in their division with three games remaining,

like they're kind of in a good place. If I told you in the NFC, who was going to be good? You're like, you know, the Cowboys have really a good roster. They are. The Packers had home field advantage been the last two NFC championship games. They are. The Buccaneers won the Super Bowl last year. They are.

The Rams, they are. Now, the Cardinals seem to become back down to Earth, but in chase, and you're going to see them tonight against the Tennessee Titans, and they're a team who, despite the fact that they don't have Derek Henry, they've had a litany of injuries and the Julio Jones trade has proven to be a complete bust so

far. The Niners are a team you would have had expectations they would be fighting with the Rams for the Division League, not the Cardinals, but the Cardinals lost two, coming back to Earth. The Niners, on the other hand, if you've watched them since they've been healthy, and it started with the Rams game,

they've won five out of the last six games. and they scored over 30 in four of those six games. And if you want to say, whether they've beaten bad teams, that's not the case. They've beaten the Rams who lead their division. They've beaten the Bengals who lead their division.

They beat the Bengals on the road. Yes, they lost to the Seahawks who are the bottom of team. They always lose in Seattle to the Seahawks. And they beat the Vikings who are a middling team. But a funny thing happened on the way to Jimmy G. being shown the door. and by now, Trey Lance taking over, Jimmy G's kind of having a good year.

Now, look, he's still Jimmy Garoppolo. He's still prone to that one. What are you doing? There's never been a game that you watch Jimmy Gropolo. There's not one pass. Like, what is he doing? And depending upon who the color commentator is calling it, they're basically saying the same thing.

Like, well, there's that Jimmy Garapolo play. So he still has that, what the hell is he doing play? But the rest is of it, It's not bad, right? I mean, look, dude, if you have Elijah Mitchell and Debo Samuel, if you have George Kiddell and Brandon Ayyuk, like if you have these, if they have their dudes, he's good and they're good. Plus, I mean, Nick Bosa coming off the ACL by after the first couple of games,

he's been as dynamic as he was before he got hurt. The Niners are legit good. They are one that their record, 8 and 6 as opposed to 9 and 5 with Tennessee Titans. They don't reflect the status of either of those two teams. Tennessee is just figuring out a way to get to the place where Derek Henry comes back. But right now, they're sinking where San Francisco is rising. Now, do I think that I think the Niners look at Garapolo, much the way they looked at Alex Smith, which is like, man, he's good.

Alex Smith thing was, you know, he just, they didn't feel like he could take him to that next step. And it wasn't his fault that they had two. special teams fumbles in the NFC championship game the year before he was, you know, he got beat out by Kaepernick. And the truth is that he was playing well. Like he wasn't playing poorly. Two games before he got, or a game before he got hurt, he had a perfect passerating on, I think, Monday night football against Arizona Cardinals. He was playing good. But they saw, they saw, look, at some point need a quarterback to win you a game. There's a reason that all the best quarterbacks are always hanging around in the NFC

and AFC championship games are always hanging around the playoffs. I mean, this is, the sign you know something's wrong in Seattle is, this is the first year where Russell Wilson can't save him. And they just don't think Garoppolo's that guy. And they're hoping Trey Lance is that guy. But man, he's making it really hard for him, much the way that Alex Smith made it hard for you in San Francisco. He did. He made it really hard.

Go back and rack your brain. And I know that we look back at Alex Smith now, again, the lens of today, we look back, and the only thing you can think about Alex Smith is playing with the Washington football team, awful knee injury, something like 17 surgeries, Frankenstein-like leg, somehow found a way to start last year with Washington.

Like, miraculous. Go back before Kansas City when he was Captain Checkdown. But it was the same thing. There was just, he was good, there was a ceiling, there was a limitation. And that's probably the feeling they had with Carapolo. When you miss a guy, who was it? Manuel Sanders in the back of the end zone, in the Super Bowl,

you know, the team fell apart in the second half, having a lead. Like, all right, he's not a dude. He's not Mahomes. He's not Rogers. He's not Breeze. He's not Manning. He's not Tom Brady. And he has that one, what the hell is he doing?

Pass. But I'm telling you right now, if you haven't been watching the Niners, this team's good. and what limited them over the past, ever since they went to the Super Bowl, and previous to going to the Super Bowl, everything that's limited to them is Garapolo healthy and then the overall health of the roster.

That roster is pretty healthy. They take on the Titans tonight. Doug Gottlieb in for Colin, this is the hurt. Like, look, franchise QB, sure. Superstar, no. There's 32 of these guys, they're starting quarterbacks. right? Ten of them by this time of the year are just backups that teams are trying to figure out what they're going to do next year.

You know, five of them are rookies or super young guys that are trying to figure out how good they are. Now you're at like half the league. Then there's the group of, hey, they're okay. You know, there's the Kirk Cousins of the world. They're good, they can put up numbers. You know, I don't win in big with them. They're good.

Then there's those guys that are just, just below. You know, you feel like Derek Carr and Garoppolo are that just below. And then there's the Russell Wilson's and the Aaron Rogers and the Tom Brady's and the Pat Mahomes. And they're just better. Speaking of Aaron Rogers, he might win back-to-back MVP's. But he's winning in something else. Maybe something more important. 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the 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 a 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 Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know.

I mean, at this point, 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we, are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro.

Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app, search learn the hard way and listen now. You think it's okay to drive stone? The truth is your reaction time slow way down when you're high. You're not only put yourself in danger,

but everyone around you, stop kidding yourself. You've been using marijuana in any form. Do not get behind the wheel. You feel different, you drive different. Drive high, get a DUI, paid for by NHTSA. I was looking at Bet Rivers and Fox Bett, and I saw

that Aaron Rogers is the favorite to win back-to-back MVP's. Keep in mind that Tom Brady, who had been the favorite, not only didn't play well, last week against the Saints, but now he's lost, what, Mike Evans, got a pulled hammy, Chris Godwin's out for the year. You have other guys that are out for the rest of the regular season like Leonard Fournette, meaning they're going to pack it in until they play in the playoffs. I don't see Brady win the MVP. And, you know, when the Packers played without Aaron Rogers,

and Jordan Love couldn't really move the football inside the red area, except for that one touchdown pass. So, you know, like, Jonathan Taylor's a great running back. He's having an incredible season. You're really going to give him the MVP over Aaron Rogers? Of course not.

Of course not. So he's winning games on the field, but don't you think he's winning more than that? Look, I'll tell you, like, Aaron rubbed me, everybody the wrong way with the idea of just, I'm smarter than everybody. I'm going to use clever words and not tell you that I'm not vaccinated. Instead, I'm going to try and outsmart you.

And shame on you for not asking the right follow-up questions. Like, come on, dude. But despite all the COVID stuff, despite the off-season holdout, he's putting them in a situation where they're going to have to come to terms with the fact that you're either going to trade away, arguably the greatest quarterback to ever play the sport and hand your franchise to Jordan Love or admit you made a mistake. And here's the thing. I don't even think Green Bay's actually made a mistake by drafting Jordan Love.

You're going to get lots of people going to like, say, how could you possibly rattle and not respect Aaron Rogers like, dude, look, if you've been around Aaron Rogers, you've always gotten the sense that that guy doesn't want to play into his mid-40s. Like, he's got a whole other life he wants to live. This playing into your 40s thing, nobody wanted to do it until Brady started doing it. Now, like, you know what, I might do that. If I can go somewhere in Florida, it's like warm, doesn't hurt my joints every time I go out there. So if you're around Rogers, remember, you go back at the end of the season, prior to when they drafted Jordan Love.

So this is 2019. He hadn't played nearly as well. There were people plenty of different publications that in Aaron Rogers' skills diminishing. I did not believe that. I thought it was his first year in a new offense. And remember he was coming off an injury plague final season under Mike McCarthy? But he was a pain in the ass and he didn't like some of the way the coaching change was made. He didn't love that he felt like he couldn't audibleize and.

control the offense the way he used to. His buy-in, he wasn't all in terms of his buy-in into Matt LaFleur or to Brian Gunnickens. He was just one of those guys that was like getting older and getting to be just bigger pain. All right. Well, in Jordan Love in, at the end of two years, Aaron Rogers is going to get progressively worse. We'll move on from Aaron Rogers and we'll put Jordan Love in. It's actually a really smart plan. And George Love, they're never going to draft in the top five as long as they had or top 10 as long as they had Aaron Rogers.

They're just not. So they went and they got value. They got a guy who, you know, could have gone as high as the top 10 in terms of talent and upside, but could have gone in the second round because he wasn't nearly as refined. He'd only played two years of college football. And one wasn't a good one. But Aaron Rogers is sticking it to him, right? I mean, he's making him grovel.

They can't say a word about him not being vaccinated or the fact that he lied about it. And he kind of, he sort of said, hey, you know, those guys that aren't vaccinated. I mean, come on. I mean, you know, Randall Cobb hasn't been perfect, but they went out and got him. They went out and did it. Why?

Because Aaron Rogers wanted it to. Like he kind of, he made him grab a little bit. You know, now Devonte Adams is up for a contract? Oh, he needs to be the highest pay. The highest pay. Aaron Rogers,

he's winning this thing. He's going to win this thing. They're not going to move him. And if they do, I got to tell you, I think they're idiots. He'll get a contract extension. he'd be an idiot to not make him a packer for life.

And if you think it's so easy to find a replacement, like look, it's not for lack of trying. Pittsburgh's been trying to find a guy to replace Ben Rothsburger. And of course it's going to end likely poorly here, where Ben's feelings are going to get hurt. Ben can't play anymore. They're finding a way to win in spite of not because of Ben Rothsberg. I just, Aaron is sticking it to him, and he's playing so well,

and he's under such control and he's got that locker room you know, wrapped around his finger because it was such a dramatic drop off when he wasn't there and Jordan Love was there. I just, at some point

you're going to have to cut bait and go like, you know, the Jordan Love idea, you can even convince yourself the Jordan Love idea was a good idea. But times change, we move on. Yes, uh, Rymiezer. Do you think Roger will try and lean into this control that he has right now and, you know, no off-season workouts again

and just, you know, try and play up a little bit of drama leading right up till training camp again? Or do you think now that he feels like he's established himself, like, hey, there's still no cliff that I'm falling off. I'm still at the top of my game. Clearly, I run this place. I can kind of show up whenever I feel like it. Yeah, I think there's no answer to,

to that because we don't know how the season ends. Okay. Right. If the season ends in disappointment, and disappointment to me is not reaching the Super Bowl. Because they've been to the, and it's not because, and that's a really hard ask. Right.

Remember, they haven't had David Bakhtiari yet, and he practiced a little bit last week, and it seems they have had a setback. Keep mind, I saw Andrew Brandt tweeted this out. They had, was it nine pro bowlers last year and three this year? Or was it seven last year, and they have three this year.

Those other four are still there, they just been hurt. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. And also Jaira Alexander, who some people think is... Just came back. Yeah. Just came back. Block Diori just came back. So they have a chance to get better here. So I think the answer to how Aaron Rogers offseason goes still is going to depend on how it ends. Is it a beautiful mystery, Doug? It probably is. But like, look, like the Pat McAfee thing, which is free-flowing.

and do you think the Packers want him doing that? Of course not. But you know what? He's got FU power. I'm going to do the media I want to do. You want to get Aaron Rogers on the radio? Go through Aaron Rogers. Now going through anybody else.

Controls all of that stuff. And I do think wherever he would go, he'd likely have maintained some of that same control. And that's, I'm sure he looks at Brady and he feels like Brady has control and Brady stepped into a good roster. But it's kind of hard pressed to think they'd have a better roster than they have now.

You know? You got all this discussion about Denver, like Denver's not a refined product in any way. Yeah, they're a quarterback away, but in order to trade for Aaron Rogers, they're going to have to give up many of the players that they have. They're not just taking draft picks back for Aaron Rogers. Not happening. I do think that's been some of what was misguided about, because it seemed like a lot of the offseason was about, you know, Tom Brady, finally leaving New England,

going to Tampa Bay, winning a Super Bowl right away. and guys like Aaron Rogers and Russell Wilson seeing that happen and especially for Aaron losing to him looking at it and going, you know what, maybe I need to do what I can do to take control and go from there. But the situations are different because Brady was an actual true free agent. So all that it took for him was picking the team,

signing a below market deal like he's done for a long time now, and he was able to step right into that ready-made roster. So your point about, you know, where they end up getting traded, well, how the roster looks currently and how it looks after you acquire Aaron Rogers could be two very different things. No, look, we do this all the time. You made a point, and I know you and I work together at that point in time. Doug Gottliebun for Collins to heard.

Ryan Music now, Collins producer, used to be my producer. We talked about at the time, which is there is a difference. Tom Brady was a free agent, free. and clear to go wherever he wanted, sign whoever you want. Aaron Rogers is not. Russell Wilson is not. Not.

They can't do it. So with that in mind, like it completely changed the dynamic of it. But the part about Russell Wilson that it makes sense that he would be moved is in the off season, Seattle looks around and goes like, look, with him we're bad.

Without him, we're going to be bad too. But at least without him, we'll get some cap relief and we'll get a bunch of picks and we'll find a way to rebuild. Whereas the Packers are like, wait, we got the best team in the NFC with him. We have them under contract. Why do we move him? You know?

Why would we move him? And look, it's hard for, and people say it's hard for guys. I don't know about women because I'm not a woman, but maybe women are different. It's hard for anybody to admit a mistake. I don't actually, again, I don't think they made a mistake. I think that they protected themselves over a guy. aging and Mark Potter, Mark Allen Potter tweets the show at Gottlieb show and at the herd. You're not making the best argument on Rogers.

In fact, you're exposing him as even more of a, let's say, a jerk. Only he used another four-letter word. Oh, I don't think there's any, I don't think there's any disputing the fact that he has looked. You've seen the other side of Aaron Rogers. You've seen the cold side of Aaron Rogers, the I'm always right side of Aaron Rogers. And? And it's like, you ever seen the show Billions, right? What's the point of having FU money if once in a while you don't say F you?

If you have the type of equity in the league that Aaron Rogers has, if you're able to perform the way that Aaron Rogers. And oh, yeah, by the way, what you think of him, what I think of him, what any reporter, what Chicago Bear fan thinks him, doesn't matter. Only thing truthfully, only thing that matters is those guys in that room. And they seem to dig them. Or dig them enough where they're playing their ass off for him. They're playing their ass off for them. Let's get to Ryan Music with the news.

No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, Doug, one of those teams that you just mentioned, the Denver Broncos don't really have a quarterback right now. They do, but they don't. You had mentioned earlier, Teddy Bridgewater,

having a solid season, a very Teddy Bridgewater-like season, and now injured once again. So they're forced to turn to some who thought that would have been their answer at quarterback, Drew Locke. Drew Locke is back as the starting quarterback in Denver, saying, quote,

I woke up with a big smile on my face this morning, being able to come out here, be the guy for this team. There's a lot that I've learned in the backup role and what exactly it takes to be able to come out and win a football game. I learned a lot from Teddy. Now it's time to put it all together and show that I am a better quarterback than I was. Drew Locke's time to shine, Doug. Look, I mean, you got to always stay ready,

and you never know when that next opportunity to come around, that next opportunity could be one. Do you need to take it one day at a time? You do. But no, but I mean, like, it's a real thing, though, in that backup, you can, you can sulk and pout and get yourself run out of town, or you can be ready. So we'll see if he's, in fact, ready. And they're taking on the Raiders who, the pass rush has been good. Max Crosby's been good.

The offense is so depleted. That team is just so depleted and beaten down. So I have an opportunity. I just, you know, Drew Locks said many of the right things. He just hasn't done many of the right things. things. Make some bad decisions. Try some things he can't actually do. But there's never been a

armed talent issue with True luck, ever. There's never been an athletic talent issue with Drew Luck. It's been in leadership and in focus and the guys in the locker room know that, right? Dudes love Teddy Bridgewater. Love. They're like,

Drew. Drew likes to have too good a time. Yeah. Yeah, those who have been long listeners of the herd know where Colin has had his criticisms of Drew Locke being those that you just laid out, that he kind of sometimes has the I'm too cool for school type of demeanor. Which it would be interesting. I mean, if we do take his, you know, comments here at face value, if you could take some of the intangible qualities of what Teddy Bridgewater has always been about in his NFL. career. Yeah, with the armed talent of Drew Locke. And mesh that together

with the talent that Drew Locke has. I mean, you really could have a legitimate NFL quarterback on their hands. Yeah, the problem is you cannot mush people together. You cannot combine half and half. You can't go. You cannot combine people's superpowers. Right. Okay. Superman can fly.

Superwoman has this invisible plane. You can't have somebody can fly with an invisible plane. Why would you need the invisible plane if you could fly, though? That's a good point. Didn't think that went through. Okay. All right.

You know what? It's a work in progress. Sometimes we just kind of do these things on the fly. It's all good. From one young quarterback to another, Doug. Sticking in the AFC, though, we'll go to New England. Mack Jones had his first real bad, bad game of his NFL career. He was bad.

He was very, very bad against the Colts last week. And the Colts have no speed at safety at all. And it took them three quarters of the game before they challenged them. And most of that was because he was. he was bad. Yeah. Just very far and away his worst performance as a pro in his short career so far. He talked about it saying, quote, I think every experience is a learning experience. Everyone's different.

Everyone comes from different places. Whether you win or lose, you can still learn. In the NFL, it's hard to win. You have to learn from those errors you make personally, which are the most important because that's how it affects the team. I'm always very hard of myself because if I don't play great, then it's going to affect everyone around me. those guys are playing really well and I can play a lot better.

It all comes back to me. Listen, I wouldn't expect much else. Mack Jones coming from a head coach like Nick Saban, Nick Saban and Bill Belichick have their history together and are still friends to this day. And I'm not surprised whatsoever by Mack Jones just falling on the sword here and being like, hey, I sucked. And now it has an impact on everyone else around me.

So I need to be better. Yeah, I think it's really interesting to me because Here you have Mac Jones Like Ted Johnson You know of course Who covers the team He used to play for the team

He came after him Because Mac said You know we didn't have a good week of practice I didn't have a particularly good week of practice I didn't have great energy And I heard I heard guy after guy say Well Belichick must have told him to say that

Like I kind of think Mac Jones gets it Totally I mean I think this is sort of The book on what we thought Mac Jones would coming out of college, right? Yes. Answer every question perfectly.

100%. You know, do all the, just get rid of the football, get it out, get quickly, easy, manage the game, fine. We still don't know if he has like what Brady had after like year three when it just took off. But again, we're not to year three. So we got to get there first. Yes, he has been, he is one of those like, man, whoever scouted him, scouted him perfectly. and by the way, you can kind of see why Kyle Shanahan was super into it. Right. Yeah, I mean, I think it was one of those perfect fits for what it was. Yeah.

The easy transition from Alabama to New England, a team that is perfectly constructed by having a strong offensive line, run game, good defense, don't ask too much of him. it's been exactly what it is. I mean, if Mac Jones had gone to Jacksonville, he may be every bit as bad or worse than what we've already seen this year from Trevor Lawrence, or same with the Jetson, Zach Wilson. But instead, he goes to the perfect position.

And yeah, I don't know if I'm buying that Bill Belichick was telling him what he needed to say. I mean, if we believe all of the pre-draft reports, Mac Jones is apparently a really sharp guy. He can probably read the room and understand. the role and know what he should and should not be saying. One would hope. And plus, like, at Alabama, it's not like he was ever known for popping off and saying things.

Like, that's the thing with, like, Baker Mayfield in college, like, you knew. He had some things that he said and some gestures during the game. You're like, oh, this guy has a different personality and a different approach to being a leader of the team. We never saw any of that from Mack at Alabama. No. He wasn't there necessarily. It wasn't in the spotlight long enough, maybe, right?

That's fair. but also in college for the most part those guys don't have a microphone shoved in their face as often or that we pay as much attention to especially at Alabama it's all about what Saban says but yeah like I think it's reasonable to believe if you actually listen to what he says he's doing the smart thing it's like it's like when you're cracking a joke

you don't know the room make a self-deprecating joke make fun of yourself there go if you play poorly Sean McVeigh does this by the way as a head coach of the Rams right and he did it from the moment he became a head coach She's like, well, somebody told him to do that. Maybe. But he's a Gruden guy, and Gruden never did that. Right.

But Sean McVeigh, when they play poorly, it's all about, hey, the players are great. It was the coaches. We didn't do a good job. We got to do a better job. Behind closed doors, completely different. Right. But in the open doors, it's all about what I didn't do. I mean, to your point, we saw the whole way things played out with Jared Gough.

It was like, for three years, it was nothing. But Jared's great. I need to do better. And then all of a sudden at the very end, he was like, you know, our quarterback. He says up, turning the ball over. You're like, whoa, what happened to McMay? He reached his limit.

Yeah. Everybody's got a limit. He's like, I've had enough of this. I've had enough of that. All right, we'll wrap this up in the NBA, Doug. The Warriors have quickly found themselves back as one of the best teams in the Western Conference and in the NBA this season. Still not at full strength.

Still waiting for Clay Thompson to make his return. There were reports that, you know, he may be making a comeback at some point in January. Yeah, Steve Kerr talked about. Clay Thompson, he said, he looks great. He's practiced fully. He's coming along really well and nothing to announce, but he does continue to improve. What do you expect from Clay Thompson?

Because I have some hesitancy, and I'm only actually, honestly, trying to be fair to Clay Thompson. The guy hasn't legitimately played an NBA game in like two full seasons. Yeah. I just hear some people talk about the Warriors, like, oh, well, look how good they are

and just wait until they get Clay Thompson back. like, I'm not really sure what we should realistically expect from him after that long of a layoff. Remember, like, it's not just that long of a layoff. It's the fact that he tore his knee and his Achilles. Right. It's not like he had a personal issue, whatever, like he tore his knees, Achilles. Now, the good thing is it wasn't like he's an explosive guy to begin with. And if you look at Kevin Durant, I mean, he took the longest time off after an Achilles, anybody had ever taken off.

and he appears good as ever. So medical science is amazing, and it's been a long time since the ACL, but you'd had to think that within the rehab, that's what led to the Achilles going as well. I have no idea what to expect him, but I know he'll be able to shoot, not just because he was a great shooter before,

but because in rehab, that's the one thing you can probably do first, right? Right. You always be able to shoot the ball with your hands, and that dude can shoot. Will he be able to guard anybody? I don't know. That's just what I was going to get to. He was a very good defense player.

We'll be able to guard anybody. And it's not always addition by addition. Sometimes addition by subtraction. But I think that team, it should be the missing piece because it allows them, now Andrew Wiggins takes a step even further down the pecking door, and that's when he's way more comfortable. Like if Andrew Wiggins is their third best score or fourth best score with Jordan Poole, I mean, like he's incredibly dynamic. It's when he has to be your alpha, that's what he's not comfortable with. So you already have Steph. Poole's really improved. Obviously,

you have Draymond. You throw Clay Thompson. He doesn't have to be prime Clay Thompson. He's 15, 17 a game I can guard and space the floor of Clay Thompson. You're pretty good. Well, that's the news. And thanks for The HARD Lye News. Franchise quarterbacks all get criticized. Except one. Who is it? I'll tell you next to The Hurt. Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

Hey, I'm Doug Gottlie. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches, we talk to players, we tell you stories. You download it, you listen to it, I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Alib on the IHeartRadio 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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform. became bigger than I ever imagined.

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

And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't 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 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 you 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 podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different. intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. It was great. Jeremy Fowler said there are people around the league that wonder if the league is figuring out Lamar Jackson.

So here's where we are in our society. There's an article from Martensi Johnson, who writes for the undefeated, the coded language in figuring out Lamar Jackson. It starts with the NFL's personnel evaluations, continue to devalue black quarterbacks, talents, and intelligence. The coded language. So look, apparently Lamar Jackson is untouchable. unimpeachable.

What was it that Mike Tyson said? Unimpregible defense. Right? And this is why, because the second you say, hey, there's somewhere on the league. The one or the league is figure out Lamar Jackson. Stop!

Hold on. Let me look. Race card. Right? So because anytime and Jeremy Fowler wasn't even being critical, he was simply echoing what people had told them, which, oh, yeah, by the way, running Reed option, running

quarterback power. Like, starting quarterbacks don't do that. They just don't. Baltimore more than leaned in to what Greg Roman did in Buffalo and what he did with, you know, with Tyrod Taylor and what he did with Colin Kaepernick in San Francisco. They went, they went and got personnel to help back it up. right like you kidding me critical of cam newton really all that much right i was i told you three years ago guy guy's arm is shot can't play and again i didn't come up with that i talked to two

nfl personnel guys are like watch him throw a football it's not working it's not just what happens where the ball goes watch his mechanics watch something's wrong with his shoulder his mechanics had never been great but then when you throw in a shoulder that shot and it used to fire just rockets he can't throw anymore Nobody said it. You know, Cam was the guy, oh, you got to sign Camp Newton. He's out there. Why won't Pittsburgh sign it?

Then you watch him play with Carolina like, oh, oh. My guess is either people haven't watched Cam Newton play football. They only watched the Seattle game last year, or they're so scared of being called a name because you point out that he can't play anymore because he took just a beating. Body got beat up. Cam Newton's built like a Greek god. But even Greek gods are. He's a mortal Greek god

because he just took a savage beating the way they play football. So the reason that teams haven't had their quarterbacks run the football this much is if Cam Newton is that big and gets beat up that much, he never tore his knee up. He just took a beating. If he can get hurt and that limits his career, what would happen to Lamar Jackson, who, though he added strength,

he's not the same size as Cam. Cam's like a superhero. But I'll criticize him. Yeah, I think the league is caught up somewhat to him. And I think in all fairness, he hadn't played that well. But the reputation and the lack of ability to just be fair and be honest, having a disappointing year does not mean you're a bad quarterback. The league, having to figure out how to stop you,

does not mean that you lack some sort of grace or intelligence or whatever. It just means you play a different style of the position than has been played traditionally in the last 35, 40 years. of quarterbacking the NFL. Guys that run that much usually stop running and try and throw from the pocket and they're not as good. But you can't run this system

because teams have to figure it out. They have to change their personnel to it. Personnel for the most part in teams is built to stop the pass, not the run. We're all paying attention to the same thing. Okay? And you can tell me that Lamar Jackson is not only the franchise quarterback,

but the future of the Ravens. If that's the decision the franchise makes and they say, hey, Tyler Huntley could save us some money, but he just doesn't have the overall talent of Lamar, and Lamar is the leader. I'd be okay with that. But even the most ardent support of Lamar Jackson, be like, he's a pro bowler.

That means he's one of the... And again, I'm not... I don't care about the pro bowl, but it's saying what enough people think that he's a top three quarterback currently in the AFC. This year, he's had a top three season. And he didn't play last game. He barely played because...

of injury got hurt the game before and he wasn't playing well. He's 23rd in pass-rrating, 23rd in completion percentage. 18 total touchdowns, 16 total turnovers. Nothing leads you to losing games more than turning the football over, and he's turned it over a bunch this year. He was magnificent in the second half comeback against the Indianapolis Colts. He's been magnificent at times, but the best of the best are consistently better than he has been. Lamar, by his own standards, would say this hasn't been a great year.

Why can't we criticize them? Why can't we see the league's trying to figure out how to stop a guy who's been a burgeoning superstar? That's... Criticize Mahomes. Why can't we criticize Lamar? Army pulled off a magnificent win last night over Missouri. They want to play again? I mean, like, look, we need teams.

We'll ask their head coach, Jeff Monk, and he joins us next in The Hurt. I'm Foxport Radio. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at a Podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. 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. 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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliford 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Cliford Show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast. podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.