The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - The NFL standings

Episode Date: January 4, 2024

Thoughts on Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts and CJ Stroud What's next for Bears QB Justin Fields? Looking at some of the worst NFL teams   Guest: Greg CosellSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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84 was 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. It was a wild year.

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It's the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. And your day is important, not just ours. And we appreciate you. Happy New Year to everybody. What is it, the fourth now? It's my birthday Saturday.

Oh, Saturday. You turn to the Big 50? Sure. Okay. Exciting, man. Whatever you want. You know what, when you turn 50, I hear you've got to do like 50 push-ups, 50 sit-ups, and then you've got to run like five miles or something like that.

Well, you know what? I'm just trying to live my best life, full of fun. So, J-Man, this is noteworthy. Zero New England Patriot players were selected for the Pro Bowl. That's almost hard to do for the first time in 23 years. years. Zero. Bill Belichick controls personnel. Monday, reportedly, Robert Kraft is going to have a big meeting with Bill. So if you keep him, or he gets another head job, you cannot give Belichick any personnel power.

Period. This New England roster, this New England staff, this New England current culture, there's more leaks than a bad White House. It's not very good. So what we know with more data, and I argue this all the time. I don't understand people. I take great pride in my ability, and JMAX's ability, is one of the reasons we get along, to just evolve, new data, new opinion. I don't stay with any opinion if I have new data.

There is new data on Belichick. He is a great defensive coach who has the ability to win big with one great quarterback, the best ever Tom Brady. That's all his resume says. He could not win in Cleveland. and he doesn't win in New England without Brady. He is just a great defensive coach in an offensive pivoting league that has an absolute ceiling at his garbage and personnel mostly.

Last year's draft, I thought, was the strangest I'd ever seen. Three guards and two kickers for a team that's slow. I like their first pick and not much else. So I think you have to get him out of personnel. If he would not comply with that, I'd move on and go hire Ben Johnson, somebody. but I think they need to control, delete the franchise, in my opinion, reboot it, go young, progressive, offensive.

I don't think the personnel department's nearly as good as other places in the league like the Rams and the Packers. Look at what Green Bay has done the last two years, drafting skill players. It's remarkable. Look at what Pittsburgh's done for 10 years drafting tight ends and wide receivers and back.

Remarkable, and Pittsburgh's a defensive culture. The Steelers, Tight ends, running backs, receivers, the Packers. Last two years for the Packers, they have four receivers I like. Two tight ends, I love them both. New England, no pro-Boulders. So that is a big Monday meeting. You know where I stand on that.

I do not fall in love. I'm not a sports romantic. I'm not a traditionalist. I don't give a rip what you did four years ago. I don't care. I'm not interested. New data, new opinions. And with that, Greg Kosel.

44 years. So one player that I like, and I really like him, but I think I like to poke J. Mack in the ribs, is Kyler Murray. I do worry that his size is suboptimal. And I do worry that he kind of has to save that. He feels like a smaller Josh Allen. Like sometimes I feel like he's just Superman playing trying to save the Cardinals. But when you looked at Kyler, so I have argued this, Greg,

Arizona should not, unless it was Caleb Williams, should not draft a quarterback. I think he's special. But what is the film say on him post-ACL injury? I mean, I don't think he's a whole lot different. I mean, he's a very talented kid, Colin. I mean, this guy has a really good arm. He's a dynamic playmaker with his legs. He's kind of mastered something that he's had to master because of his size,

and that's the ability to make really good throws kind of, falling away from throws. He's needed to do that because he obviously can't stand tall in the pocket. I think he needs to be a little more consistent with his ball location. I think he misses some throws, some routine throws, the layup throws that you have to make. But he's a really gifted player. Now, you and I are not there every day. Obviously, I don't get into what happened a year or so ago with the contract. I don't know any of that. And therefore, I won't comment on it. But if you're just looking at talent, I think he's got it. The question is, is he a true lead dog?

Or as what happened this past week against the Eagles, does he need the run game to be a factor for him to be a better factor? He was really good on first down throwing the ball this past week against the Eagles, but they also ran the ball with conviction, with volume, and with production. So my guess is, I don't believe they will draft a quarterback, but that's just, you know, as Billy Joel once said, my pointless point of view. So I'm going to throw this out. It's not a hot take, and I'm not saying I believe it. But if you take Shane Steichen out of Jalen Hertz's career,

Shane Steichen may get Gardner Minchew to the playoffs. If you take Shane Steichen out of Jalen Hertz career, he doesn't look like a first round quarterback. When you watch him now, what does the film say, lost 405? He hasn't had a consistent game this year. We've seen this before. Kyle Shanahan got Matt Shandu Pro Bowl.

He got Matt Ryan and MVP. We know coordinators our entire lives have taken personnel and elevated it. What are you seeing from Jalen Hurst? Is he seeing the field? What do you see? Well, you know, one thing

that I think that's lost, and it's fascinating that you brought this up, is I think a good coach and a good coordinator can manipulate the performance of the quarterback. And I think you have to understand what the quarterback brings to the table. The reality is when you watch tape, and this was thought of Jalen Hertz when he came out, by the way, is that Jalen Hertz at this point in his career is not one of the higher level processors

from the pocket. So ultimately what you do is you have to really define it for him. That's one reason this is a team that plays predominantly out of what we call two by two sets with two receivers on each side. you get a lot of mirrored route concepts and those are easier cleaner reads for the quarterback. So you really need to define it for Jalen. And don't forget, teams spent this all off season after last year when in many ways the Eagles offense took the league by storm studying that offense, studying all the things that they did,

how they went about it. Because even though they have a new coordinator, it's the same personnel and the concepts are relatively the same. So now the Eagles have to adjust. And now it's on Jalen Hertz and the coaching staff to sort of manipulate his performance to get him to play at a higher level. So I am rooting for the Texans to win this week. It is no shot at the Colts. I just love this kid.

Right, right. I just, I want to see him in the playoffs. I think he's a great story. Yeah. And, and my- I do too, actually. I'm with you on that one. Yeah, I just, I think you, I like, D'Amico Ryan's.

I have friends with the Niners. They were like, D'Amico's going to be unbelievable. Then, you know, it's amazing in this league. Get the coach quarterback right. amazing how good you look overnight. So when you look at, if there was a silhouette of C.J. Stroudon, you didn't know who you were looking at. Is there a comp for him?

Because when I look at him, he is effortlessly accurate. It's just, it's like Burr. It's just any angle. The ballzo was perfect. Does he remind you of anybody? Because we both know he's good. Yeah, no, I don't know if there's an immediate comp that comes to mind. But, you know, it's funny because this.

This past week, okay, they played Tennessee. We know Tennessee is not a really good team this year, but I thought in many ways this was a mature professional game for a young quarterback for this reason. It didn't require him to throw for 350 yards. The game didn't demand that the way it played out. And I thought that he had just an intuitive understanding of what the game was. He didn't force anything. He understood the score and flow of the game.

He was efficient within that context. he made a couple of big-time sideline throws that are not easy throws. But I just thought that it was one of those games. I'm sure fantasy people weren't thrilled because he didn't throw for a lot of yards. But it's just watching that tape. I felt like I was watching a quarterback that played for five or six years, not a quarterback that's a rookie that had just missed the previous two weeks. It was just a very mature, professional game.

So, you know, Pittsburgh's an interesting team. I went on a rant this morning. I set up with Mike Tomlin. Tom Landry, Andy Reed, Belichick, Pete Carroll have been at some point let go. We don't think they are failures, but there are times when you look at a culture and say, you know, the Steelers have enough toughness. They need an offensive guy. But I will say this.

Mason Rudolph is throwing more to pickings. Their run game looks a little different in recent weeks. There's something about the offense that does feel a little different as a viewer watching on TV. Now, what is the tape say on the Steelers' offense? Well, I think you and I would probably both agree that what they want is their offense to have a running identity. They want it to be physical. They want it to be attitude football. That's what they want their offense to look like.

And quite frankly, what Mason Rudolph is, is he is a play-action quarterback that can throw the ball down the field. So that all goes together. And that's what they've done in the last two weeks. They've had a very multiple run game, a lot of different kinds. concepts. Harris is a grinder. He's not, you know, juicy, laterally, vertically. He's not one of those backs, but he's a grinder. And, you know, for him, a 10-yard run is a good run. But they're okay with that because that means they can stay ahead of the sticks. They can stay on schedule, and they don't fall behind the chains where Rudolph has to get into a drop-back passing game

because pressure is not his friend. He's not very good when there's people around him. You know, he tends to be a bit of a locked front-leg thrower. And he can't really drive the ball with people around them. Yeah. So they're playing the way they ultimately want to play, Colin. And the past couple of weeks have really been positive in that regard. I mean, Harris, 46 for 200 in the last two weeks. Yeah.

And as I said, a lot of different run game concepts. Yeah, that game shocked me last week. The way they pushed Seattle around for three hours, Jay Mack and I both were like, wow, I was on the wrong side of that one. They looked really impressive. Okay, I want to kind of deep dive here on Miami and Buffalo. So there's no question. Phillips and Nick Chubber out for the year.

Miami's not going to be the same defense. Their pass rush had been very strong. It won't be as strong. They lost some edge guys. So it's interesting. Let's talk Tua and his performance against Baltimore. Now, early they were very competitive. They were.

I think there's still a team that's going to win a playoff game. What did you make of Tua against Baltimore? Because the final score would tell you it was awful, but I don't think it always was, was it? It wasn't, and you're right about that. You know, in fact, I thought through the first half, and the game was close through most of the first half, I actually thought that their offense, for the most part,

kind of looked like their offense. And I thought they did some really good things to get the tight end, Durham Smyth, involved. And it's going to be interesting going forward if they do that. Obviously, they did not play with Waddle this week. I don't know his status for the upcoming game versus the bills, but they got Durham Smyth involved in a lot of their, their inside passing game between the numbers, which is what they are. I think the X factor for them

is Devin A. Chan, because Devin A. Chan is a player that can line up in the backfield. You can detach him from the formation. He's got tremendous speed. You know, I think that he's a player that is difficult to defend and you need to know where he is. So that, you know, that's, but I agree with you. After watching that tape, I kind of said to myself, I don't really have anything negative to say. I mean, you know, Obviously, two was going to throw into tight windows, and a ball was tipped, and it was picked. And then another great play by Smith when Tua waited just a beat, and therefore the timing was just a beat off, a fraction off, and Smith made a great interception.

But they looked kind of like what they looked like. Yeah. So they play, I think Josh Allen, you know, it's so funny with Josh. There is a part of him that's a little like Mahomes, is that he can go into these three and four game cycles where he kind of, He has mechanics. He goes off into the weeds. And then Andy Reed will pull Mahomes back in and say, come on.

Let's get back to the fairway. Well, there is no Andy Reed in Buffalo. And Josh Allen feels like he's getting loose. By the way, Stafford would do this in Detroit. And then he got the Jim Bob Cooter, the coordinator, and he would get him back. He's done this in L.A. McVeigh gets him back into the fairway. A lot of these gifted guys, they get loose with their mechanics because maybe

Cam's done this, Greg. They're so gifted. It's got a backyard feel to it. And I think is Josh in a little bit of a runway? I saw it with New England. That his mechanics need to be cleaned up? Well, the way I'd answer that is this. I don't think he's a mechanically perfect quarterback most of the time anyway.

But I think one of his issues, and it needs to get resolved, and maybe it'll never get resolved, and maybe this is who he is. And by the way, he obviously makes plays. but he has too many dropbacks, Colin, in which he breaks down and leaves the pocket prematurely. He does not allow the route concepts to develop. He doesn't let the past game work for him. He's trying to force the past game. And that sort of plays off what you're saying.

But he needs to let the past game work. I mean, when you drop back and there's not real pressure on you by NFL standards, and you're right about Mahomes, he falls into that at times as well. You need to let the past game work. Let the route concepts develop. You know, worst case, you throw a check down. Okay, but let it all happen. Don't force it.

Don't leave the pocket prematurely because then you're breaking down the structure and timing of the past game. And there's been a ton of research done that no matter how special a guy can be outside the pocket, and he can be incredibly special, as a Mahomes can be, as other guys have been through the years. The consistency in doing that is way below, way below percentage-wise. what it is when you play from the pocket. Okay, so now we got Packers-Bairs, and let's go both sides here. So I have said that, you know, they always say, the analytic people say, winning is not a quarterback's stat.

But I know Ravens with Lamar and the Ravens without Lamar, and they're really good with him and they're not really good without him. So I'm going to say quarterbacks matter. Justin Fields has missed 11 starts. Problematic. His completion percentage is about as low. as you're allowed to go in this league, about 60. He doesn't win enough games.

The fourth quarter is his worst quarter. I would move off and go Caleb Williams. I think you can get some value out of him. The improvement feels kind of incremental to me. What does the film say? I would say that the improvement is probably more incremental than, you know, dramatic. But the issue with Fields is this. This is what you have to figure out if you're the bears.

You have to figure out a number of things, but his overall field vision and his capacity to process with the needed speed and clarity from the pocket, that's gotten better, but it's still not where it needs to be, okay? But the question is, with quarterbacks like fields, is how much of a sliding scale, Colin, do you feel comfortable with because he's such a high-level playmaker? So, you know, obviously he's not going to be Tom Brady. He's not going to be Joe Burrow. We know that. But the question is, what's the sliding scale? How much can you live with that and how much do you feel he can improve? Because, you know, it's easy to look at quarterbacks in this draft and say, aha.

But, you know, there's no guarantee. And do they want to start over? I don't know the answer to this, but then you're starting over. There's no guarantee that whether it's Caleb Williams or Drake May, that they come in and play well right away. the Bears are five and two in their last seven games and we're leading the other two games in the fourth quarter. What happens if they do that and the rookie quarterback comes in and they start two and six because he's learning? Do they want to do that? I mean, I don't know the answer to that.

Only they know the answer to that. But that's something you have to think about. Okay, so I do a segment every week, Colin Wright, Colin Wrong on Monday. And one of my wrongs, and it's a real wrong, is I went mid-October, mid-to-late October with Jordan Love, and I'm like, yeah, this doesn't work. This is, he didn't see the, he's a rat. I mean, I just thought, come on, stop babysitting him. Like, this is bad. And by the way, Matt LaFleur, a player's coach was criticizing him at the podium after games. Like, they were frustrated. Whatever the switch that was flipped is, he looks confident. He takes risks. The ball flies out of his hand. Now, they got some really good receivers and

tight ends. They're kids, but they are really good. So this is going to be, I mean, he's, their guy clearly does the tape tell you what i see which is a lot of his improvement greg something flip he's just a more confident thrower he doesn't even think about it he's just letting it rip and and because of that he's going to have throws in games where he may not be great so just keep that in mind but you know he clearly has high level traits and i think that was lost in all this he's a high level trades guy and he has an he has easy arm strength you mentioned easy he works outside the numbers as well as any quarterback in the league. He makes tough throws effortlessly. I mean, he's made more throws outside the numbers than any quarterback in the league and

has been really effective with those throws in terms of completion percentages, first downs, touchdowns. I mean, he's in many ways he's fun to watch. Yeah, oh, yeah. There's no question. He looks like a more comfortable quarterback now than he did early in the season. And by the way, we shouldn't be surprised by that. He's a first-year starter. I know he's been in the league, but, you know, he has to play in games. Now, I thought last week was his best game of the season for this reason. He played against a defense that's a very challenging defense to play again with the Vikings because Brian Flores is a master of disguise and late coverage rotation.

And as a young quarterback, you have to see all that. And that's going to lead us right into our play of the week here, Colin, so we can take a look at this touchdown to one of those young receivers that, You love, I love, I did him coming out of Michigan State, and this is Jaden Reed. So this is the first touchdown he threw last week. And let's walk through it because this is special. Now you see, Love, he's in the gun right here, and they're going to be in a two-by-two set. And what they're going to call here, very common, they're going to call what we call four verts.

It's four vertical routes. Now, what is Love looking at right now? He's looking at a single high safety coverage. The middle is closed. That's what a single high safety coverage is. The middle is not open. But there's going to be coverage rotation at the snap, okay? And they're going to go from that look to cover two, where the middle is open.

And Love has to process this instantaneously. Okay, keep in mind, he takes the snap. There was play action involved. He has to see this and then know where am I going with the ball because everything changed. And he's going to go to Jaden Reed on the seam route, which beats cover two. and by the way, this is a big-time seed. This is not an easy throw. But the more important point to make here, as we look at it again,

is the fact that he had to recognize the change in the coverage, the late rotation, and this has to happen in less than a second for him to react like that and make that throw. And that was a big-time play, and he had his best game in the year against a really challenging defense. Yeah, and what the video also shows is because the offensive lineman was getting pushed back. He couldn't step into that. He had to, I mean, that's a, that is a

Mahomes level throw. That is a hard throw. Yes. Good stuff. Boy, I was wrong. He's capable. Yeah. He's capable. Yeah. Greg Coe, so, well, you know what? I still think, I don't like Kenny Pickett, you do. I whipped on, I whipped on Jordan.

You loved him. So we're 50-50. I'll cut back to you next week and see it. All right. We'll see how it goes. We need a little more time. We'll see how it goes. All right. Take care. Yeah, no, Jordan, look, you know, again, it's all contextual. Matt LaFleur helps. They're receiving

that Reed kid from Michigan State he was tiny. I thought in the NFL like he's tiny. They got some receivers. Some. They're all kids, but they're all... I think it's a little hard on yourself with I whiffed on and blah, blah, like things change. Players start out, like Jordan Love was really bad for a stretch. No, I told him he was terrible.

But that doesn't mean he's great or a potential franchise quarterback because he was good and... I know he looks like a franchise quarterback. I mean, it looks better than Kenny Pickett, but that's not saying. Oh, it's not even... Dude, it's not even... I would agree. No. You know what Jordan Love looks like right now?

So I called on Jordan Love. I called my guys in the league. Okay. And they were like... And they all said the same thing. I just don't know which one I'm getting. If I get the junior year or sophomore, he had a really good underclassman year.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And I'm like, if I get that guy, he needs about two years to figure it out. And he's like, that's interesting. All right. So who's his past NFL quarterback comparison? Well, I think there are throws he makes that are a little Mahomes.

And that's what people said. So when Mahomes came out, I made calls. So Andy Reid loved him, but I made calls to people. And they said, boy, he's wild, but good. That's what Sean Payton told us. He is good, but he's a little wild. That's what they said on Jordan Love. They're like he's a little wild, but you see stuff.

He's making throws here that are, that back foot throw. That's like three guys on the planet that make that. I'm going to toss a name out. Okay. Tell me if you love it or hate it. in Jordan Love, I see a slightly more mobile, Eli Manning. Not even the same player. He's never going to be the best quarterback in the league,

but he's going to be good enough that this guy gets hot. He can get hot and make a criticism of him? Is this a criticism of him? I think this is about the most positive thing I've ever said about him. Eli Manning won two Super Bowl for two incredible runs. No, I think. But he was never the best quarterback in the Hall of Fame. So you're saying Jordan loves a Hall of Fame talent.

I think the ceiling for him is. Why not? Okay, yesterday you didn't like him. I don't like him. But I'm saying that's his ceiling. Yeah, I think there's, no, I think Eli couldn't move. I think Jordan Love, I think Jordan Love is the modern quarterback. That he moves, he's a little wild, funny.

You know, you, it's funny. Lefleur was crushing him at the podium. And Matt Lefleur is like a player's coach. Nice guy. Now he's almost in tears. He's like, I can't believe what I'm watching. So you go ahead and bang on me. Lafleur shocked.

Lafleur was crushing him at the podium. Look what they did in the offseason contract-wise. They were like, ooh, we don't know. No, no. Their actions speak louder than anything. Some people are like visual learners. Some people have to get their hands dirty to learn. This kid needed to play in real games.

Because I was told at practice, I was told by people in there that's like, they ain't a lot there. And by the way, his first six stars, ain't a lot there. You remember Eli his start with the Giants? No, and seven. Like, oh, my God, what do we do? No, he was an interception machine. Yeah. But I remember watching Eli Manning early, and one of the things I remember, I'm like, he's

really good in the two-minute drill. Like, if you got huddles, if you just took away the huddle, as the game was sort of changing in his young career, he was, it always felt like to me is like, they shouldn't huddle. Just let Eli smart kid get to the line and go. And that's why he was so good late in Super Bowls. He was always very good at compartmentalizing stuff in crisis. and when you watch Jordan Love, like, off script moving, dude, he throws a great ball.

But he was our afraid, in October, he wouldn't let go of some, and he was erratic. I mean, he would miss guys that were wide open. Like now he's throwing with, he's like a baseball hitter, like in a zone or a basketball, three-point shooter in a zone. Like, he is playing at a confidence level. He just didn't have it in October. He didn't play with that confidence.

It's fun to watch. Hey, listen, man, if Green Bay has, has a legitimate quarterback, and I think they found it. It's good for Fox. It's good for the NFL. We're dying for these guys to hit. Packers Cowboys, first round. If we can speak that into existence.

They're too young to win that game. They're way too young to win. They're the youngest team in the league. You're not going to go to Dallas. Oh, really? You're not going to go to the Mighty Dallas and McCarthy. They're so good. No at home.

It should be 7 and 1. We saw the Lions game. What's the line? What's the line on that? Minus 5.5. Okay. Give me the Packers all day. No, no.

The average age, I think, is 25. You're not going to Dallas and beating that with those kids. Age ain't nothing but a number. You know this. Yeah, but that number matters. Okay. If age isn't nothing but a number, why can't nine-year-olds drive? It can't be president.

Let's just go to break on that. What are we doing? All right, great parlay for you this weekend. Thanks to Draft King Sportsbook, new users. The Code is Her. That's me, H-E-R-D when you download the app, and that takes two minutes. All right, my parley pick of the week via Drafking Sportsbook. Texans at the Colt, Texans minus one.

I think they're the better team, better quarterback. I'm going to take the Texans like I did last week to win straight out. Bears at the Packers, Green Bay minus three. I know Iber, Fluse, and Justin Fields feel like they're playing for their job, but Green Bay's dominated the series, better coach, better offense. I take the Packers to win about 2720. Bills minus 3 at Miami. I like Buffalo.

Dolphins without Nick Chubb, no pass rush. Buffalo wins by a touchdown. Want to take the Herd Parlay? H-E-R-D Parlay. Check out Draf King's Sportsbook. New users, code is heard when you download the app. 21 plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply.

Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler. In New York. Call 8778 Hope and Wire. text Hope and Y 467-369. See show notes for full details. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert 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 Cliverts 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. 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 a podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here. unpack what went down and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

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

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We got so many things going on today. Don't forget, SimplisaveColon.com. 20 minutes sent off your new system with FastProtect plan this year, resolved to keep your family safer than ever. SimplySaveColin.com. Here's J. Mac with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the... heard line news. I kind of like this story, Colin. So the Antonio Pierce situation with the Raiders,

it's kind of cool, right? You know, you get this guy who comes in, talks a good game, and the Raiders are like looking up, and he's been a pretty damn good interim coach. The players love him. He's being considered for the full-time job, and Devante Adams said his vote is to keep Pierce in Vegas. It's obviously who I wanted.

That's my vote, and I've been vocal about that, and that's basically out of the whole locker room fields and you know with good reason I mean he's coming in and done a great job and you know he's continued to win us over it's not just the comfortable thing I think having AP here will will be you know it'll be good for this organization he's he kind of embodies what it means to be a writer and that mentality that swag and you know all the things that he endorses is the things that I believe in well he's got two years of coaching experience in brim football and brandon staley had four and eventually over time it didn't work

So he didn't have any experience coaching, and he is an interim coach, and we've watched multiple interim coaches get jobs and fail. So I like him. I know him. They're playing their butts off with bad quarterback play. I think you strongly have to consider him. But I will say this is the cautionary tale that we've seen over and over of interim coaches. They bring energy.

But in the end, over the course of 17 games, he's going to have to face Sean Payton twice, maybe a Jim Harbaugh twice, and an Andy Reid twice. Those are six of a 17. game. So this is why usually you just let a coach get to the very end of a season, because if you do the interim thing, it's the classic substitute teacher.

Kids are on their best behavior, or they're fun, everybody's laughing, she's showing movies, and it's like you look up and you're like, yeah, but is anybody getting better? And I don't know if this, does this translate to a great team over the course of a season? I don't know the answer to it. This is a tough one.

Remember, when Gruden got shoved out due to those emails, they had a guy named Rich Basaccia. Yeah. Come in and he was the interim. Okay? And he gets him to the playoffs. Remember that game against the Bengals?

They're at like the nine yard line and they couldn't get in the end zone and they lose the game. Then they decide, yeah, we're not going to go with this guy. We're going to go Josh McDaniels. And that was a spectacular failure. Avi, like, you got to dig into a lot of stuff. Like, I'm sorry, but an interview with Defonte Adams about what he thinks about the future coach doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot to me.

He might have to get traded next week. You know, these guys won out left and right. I will say this. I've watched every Raider game with Antonio Pierce, parts of it. And they play hard, and they play mostly smart. And they're doing it without good quarterback play. So to be this viable, I mean, I'm watching, but I'm watching the Chargers with a linebacker coach with Easton Stick almost beat Buffalo. That's different.

I mean, that was the coach bump. But this Raiders defense was terrible earlier this season. And they've been pretty plucky. Playing their butts off. So is that sustainable? Or is that like you just said? I don't know the answer. So this is really complicated.

And then I think you have to consider, let's keep Pierce as like a CEO. We know he's not like an ex-as-and-o's guy, right? He's like a fiery, excitable coach. And let's pay highly and bring an offensive coordinator. And get a quarterback in the draft. And then you've got to find a quarterback. Okay. But I mean, I'm saying, I might, my off the top of my head, I'm like, defensive coach, no experience, no.

But again, if you went and bought a really sharp coordinator over the course of three years and you get the quarterback right, I mean, go look at Texans. head coach quarterback right, we thought they were a circus for six years. We were making fun of the Texans this time last year as the worst ownership, the worst front office. They had a former pastor. We were like, what a... They got the quarterback right, coach right. And the defensive coach. So if I told you the Raiders where they're picking landed Michael Pennix and got a good young old, would it shock you?

Well, I'd feel bad for Pennix unless I knew who the coach was. No, I like their... They have a left tackle, a back. They have two receivers I like. He had a terrible year after the holdout. Max Crosby, edge rusher. The only place I'm shopping for an offensive coordinator, if Pierce is the guy as the head coach,

is McDaniel staff, Shanahan staff, or McVeigh staff? That's it. I don't really want to see anyone else. Like, I'll take a quarterback's coach from one of those staffs. How about Kellynne Moore? Did you see anything with Kellynne Moore and Herbert that you like? Well, but again,

Brandon Staley ran the show. So, Kellyn Moore would, indivision, knows the personnel. I mean, we like Callenmore a year ago. Now we think he stinks. I need a little more time on that one. Everything that touched Brandon Staley with the Chargers went downhill.

Let's circle back on Kellynmore. That's not a horrible idea. I'm not poo-pooing it, but I need more time on that. All right, let's get to CD Lamb and the Cowboys. CD Lamb set the Cowboys records for receptions and receiving yards in a single season. Named to the Pro Bowl last night. I guess they announced the Pro Bowl. Micah Parsons said on his Bleacher Report podcast,

he believes Lamb is the best receiver in the league. CD, M-H-H-Lam, the best receiver in the NFL, not top five, not top three. He's top two, not two, and I think he's put on the show. He probably should be offensive player of the year. Him and Christian, Tyreek, is having some of the best seasons that, you know, anyone could ever see in the NFL. One of the three best weapons, CD-LAM, congratulations, brother. You are truly shown why you're the number one. Yeah, well, you know, I think CD-Lam is very good.

I don't have any problem. In fact, my biggest concern with the Dallas Cowboys is they're overly reliant on him. Like, if you watch the Rams, Kyron Williams is great. Pook has been amazing. Cooper Cup, Stafford. Tyler Higby, tied in. When I watched Dallas, if you take C.D. Lamb out, what's the offense? They don't run the ball.

I mean, Pollard looks like a three. So Cedy Lamb, to me, I don't think he's the best receiver in the league. But I would say he has popped. It took him a couple of years. has popped. They are very reliant on him. I like Michael Parsons looking out for his guy. I did, you know, you want to find a negative stat. Among all the elite

receivers, C.V. Lamb is the only one who has lost two fumbles. And that one out of the end zone against the lions, brutal. Oh, whoa, whoa. Whoa. He's lost three. He's had three fumbles, which leads, or is tied for the league among receivers. And he's lost two of them. He's very good. I get that.

You don't think he's fumble prone, though? I sure as hell. Hope not. I like Lamb a lot. He's not the best receiver in the league. I would take, I think my favorite receivers are Justin Jefferson, Devante Adams, Jamar Chase, Pooka Nakuah. Tyree kills, okay.

Oh, my bad. Tiree Kills. Amma Rostein-Brown is amazing. Well, he's not that, yeah. Let's do it again. Justin Jefferson, Tyree Kill, Jemar Chase, Devante Adams. I'm not going to put him in order. Those are the four best. I think C.D. Lambs got an

argument for five. We don't have time to debate. A.J. Brown gets a little dramatic. He's a lot of You like Brandon and I yukalot. He's not in that class. But I am putting Debo Samuel in that top five. I have in there.

You don't. I know. Debo Samuel is my number one chess piece in the league. Number two, chess piece is also on the same team, Christian McCaffrey. Debo's my guy. All right, final story. James Hardin and the Clippers. Colin, you took some shots at the Lakers, understandably earlier?

How about the paper clips? They've won 13 of 15, including a big win over the suns last night. And James Harden told Fox's Melissa Rowland that he is done being an NBA villain. Here's James Harden. All that's over with. I don't want to talk about it. Villain Roll or none of that. All of that is over with.

I'm past it. Wow. Hardin. I will say this. There's a big difference in the NBA. When stars are on the court, I don't turn the channel. When the clippers are on and Hardin and Kauai and Paul George are on the floor, it's hard to turn off.

They move the ball. Harden, to his credit, is a pretty good distributor. I mean, he can be a ball-centric guy. He can also pass. He's a pretty clever passer. 13 to 15 wins for the paper clips. I know, I know. I mean, I'm waiting.

I still don't think they're built for men. Yeah, of course you don't. We've got to do, we're 13 steak dinners in. I think I got like an 8 to 5 lead. By the way, I had one last night. Oh, my God. it was good. My new diet is just steaks

and oatmeal in the morning. That's all I'm going to eat from now on. So I know the jackals on the internet love to pull off clips where you and I are wrong. They need to pull our Clippers discussion from after the Hardin' deal. Remember they were like 0 and 5 and you were like, this is a train wreck. I was like, patience, my friend.

Hey, patience. Westbrook, to his credit, was a total adult. And we gave him credit. Westbrook said, I'll go to the bench, I'll step back. A lot of guys wouldn't do that's a big part of this I'm not ready to say they're winning the West I'm just

they're one of the four best teams in the NBA I'm sorry they're one of the four best teams Oh boy You're not going to okay Okay all right Jamack with the news Well that's the news And thanks for stopping by

The Heard Lye News January January 4th Pre January 4th Are the Pacers in the top Because they keep beating the buck Are the Pacers the best team in the league now Okay

The fully electric EQS sedan Mercedes-Benz. Innovation, magnificent scale. Go to MBUSA.com slash EQS. Vehicles all electric, feelings all Mercedes, choice all yours. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays and noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week

to plug you right into the NBA grapevine. All happening in only one place. This league uncut. The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haines. And me, Mark Stein. Join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to This League Uncut with Chris Haynes and Mark Stein.

On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with 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'll say it. 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 IHeard 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're going to be. 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 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all 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 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. A huge college hoop doubleheader on FS1 as fourth ranked Yukon takes on Butler,

followed by a Big Ten class between two of the country's best teams. is number nine Illinois battles top ranked Purdue all on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. I haven't watched any college basketball yet this year. I'm giving quarters and halves of the NBA. I know you follow me on Instagram now, so you've noticed the 5-0 of the last two days in college hoops gambling.

I don't follow you on social. Oh, damn. No, I follow your X account. You're fine. You're very active. I'm fine? Well, I mean, you're active. You're on it a lot. I'm not.

So when I go there and you're like at 12 of them and I'm like, what's this guy doing? You're married with kids. But they're out of town until, like, tomorrow. Don't tell people. Come on. So I will say this. I think this is the show of optimism in America.

So this segment works. Week 18 NFL schedule. Oh, wait. 20 teams can still get into the playoffs. 20 of 32. You can take the bottom third of the NBA in Major League Baseball a month into the season. It's over. Baseball can't compete financially.

Basketball can't compete. compete with talent. The NFL is the number one league of hope. Everybody until the end, 20 of 32, have a chance to get into the playoffs, the League of Hope. Secondly, it's the easiest league to go from bad to good. Houston, a great example. Just get the coach and the quarterback right.

It's all it takes. Interview a few coaches, nail it, and then draft a quarterback. Also, market size is zero factor. In baseball, Atlanta's rich, Houston's rich, Dodgers rich, Yankees rich. They're also good. Cincinnati's not. Pittsburgh's not.

Oakland's not. You're limited. I looked at the NFL standings this morning. Let me name the cities with some of the worst teams. Chicago, Boston, New York twice, Washington, Los Angeles. Market size doesn't matter. Buffalo's great. Green Bay is viable.

Baltimore's fantastic. Jacksonville leads their division. So does Tampa. So in the NBA, there's another thing. You get a generational talent like a Wembe. Seven teams are trying to tank to get him. In the NFL, it's the opposite. Jet fans are still furious.

They could have had Trevor Lawrence. Remember that year they started like 0.13? Then they won week 15, 16, ended up with the number two picked. Houston last year. When at the final week of the year, they go for two, they beat Indy. They dropped the number two. Now, it worked out for him, C.J. Stroud. But I think that's how it worked out.

Arizona this year. Arizona was like, number two pick. Now they're winning too much. Now they're down to four. Nobody tanks. You know Belichick, J. Max Point. He wants to beat the Jets this weekend to screw over the team that may fire him.

You don't get tanking. Easiest to turn around. Market size doesn't matter. Absolute hope. That's why it lapsed the field with ratings. And that's why I've said for years college football is best served. If the Pact 12 is good. It matters.

You want some symmetry. You want different parts of the country being engaged. Small markets NFL. Green Bay, Buffalo, Baltimore. Cincinnati was in a Super Bowl recently. It all works. There's a reason it's not just, well, people gamble on it. They gamble on the NBA and baseball too.

There is a reason in it. Well, it's good on two. Well, there's not that many games. There wasn't that many games. Football's always had the same. scarcity advantage. Baseball used to be king in the 70s. But there's a lot of things they do.

They've figured out free agency. They've figured out the ability to make the game more about offense. Therefore, betting and fantasy has been driving revenue. Now, if they could just get their officiating figured out, I'd really love football. If they could just get that figured out, we'd all be good. But nobody likes NBA officials, and there's major league umpires get crushed in the postseason as well. We just don't like officials, period. We just don't like him.

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

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-heart radio app. 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. A win is a win.

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

This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.