The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - The Top 6 NFL QBs

Episode Date: August 29, 2024

JMac - Six Pack ranking the top 6 QBs in the NFL right with a surprise playmaker in the NFC making the top 5 Caitlin Clak sets another rookie record   Guest: Ben VolinSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for The Herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day in the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. What is up? Hour number two here on the herd. As we head into a holiday weekend, what are supposed to be good out here? I don't have big plans.

It's one of those, hey, before football season, got to hang with the family a little bit. You know, because you guys know how stuff works once football starts. Sundays, I'm a colossal waste of space. I basically say, don't bother me from 10 a.m. West Coast time until the 4 p.m. Eastern time games are done. It's just so exciting. So we'll do a lot of NFL here on the show. Some college football, big game tonight with Colorado. All the Deion Sanders games are big.

And then this weekend, a bunch of games. Also, I just saw Snoo's new Steph Curry. You know, I love floating these scenarios and trying to beat people to stories and, you know, kind of get in early with some interesting stuff. And I've been floating this idea that, you know, Steph Curry after the season, if they stink, does he say, hey, guys, we had a good run. It's falling apart.

Get me out of here. Not really in his character, but, you know, weird things happen in the NBA. So it turns out Steph Curry just signed an interesting one-year extension. The number is staggering. $62.6 million for one year. That NBA money hits very different. Oh my gosh.

So Curry now is signed for the next three seasons. Now, that obviously doesn't lock in anything. I think it maybe keeps the buzzards away for a minute. But I will continue to root for a Curry-Lebron union somewhere for the two legends as they wind down their career. All right. I want to go here. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady got together. New teammate, Tom Brady.

Yes, he's a teammate of mine. By the way, I don't know if you guys saw this. Tom Brady posted a video about how he just said. at a new max benchmark for himself. He benched 285 pounds. And I'm like, holy cow, that is impressive. I mean, that's big weights. You know, listen, I didn't know Tom Brady was that he was built like that.

I thought, you know, we would have a good career together flag football teammates at Fox now. But Brady's on a different plane if he's benching 285 once. Anyway, so Brady talks with Peyton Manning and they line up their best quarterbacks in the NFL. And listen, not many hot takes. in their predictions? Because let's be real. Everybody has Patrick Mahomes as the best quarterback. If you don't, just stop talking about football.

Number two, there is some debate. Peyton went with Joe Burrow. I can't hate that. Brady went with Josh Allen. I would lean Allen slightly over Burrow, but not by much. And I think those three, for sure, are the top three. Here's the rest of Mahomes. Mahomes had Brady won.

I'm sorry, Tom Brady had Patrick Mahomes 1, Josh Allen, 2, Lamar 3, Joe Burrow 4. Okay? Peyton Manning had Mahomes 1, Joe Burrow 2, and then interestingly, he, let's see, who was his other? Oh, he had Justin Herbert at 3, followed by Lamar and Josh Allen at 5. Josh Allen at five, Peyton? I'm a little surprised.

But then again, Peyton Manning was the one who sold me on Adam Gaze and sold the Jets on Adam Gaze. That's a real thing. Go look it up. Peyton Manning was caping up for Adam Gaze. The Jets hired him and it was so bad.

So here are my, here's my six-pack, my top six quarterbacks in the NFL. One, Patrick Mahomes, no-brainer. That's obvious. Don't argue. Number two, I'll narrowly go Josh Allen. Number three, I'm going to go Joe Burrow.

And if you guys look at the athletic, they had their quarterback tiers piece out this week. They noted, by the way, that there was only those three in the top tier. After that, there was like 11 quarterbacks in the next tier. I don't, I know Lamar's coming off the MVP guy. I get that. He didn't even have a great season. I'm being real here. I didn't think Lamar Jackson was incredible.

What it was was in that high leverage game against the Niners, Brock Purdy vomits all over himself with five interceptions. Lamar's good. Ravens' role. Raven's best record in the NFL. Raven's number one seed in the AFC. It was like Lamar's the MVP. But Dak was the runner up.

I don't have Lamar. I know it's going to found painful. I don't have Lamar as four. I'm kind of going to sort of go off the board. And listen, don't drive off the road here. Don't send me angry tweets about it. I'm sorry. I think I've got to go.

I do. I'm going to go Jalen Hertz. I know he didn't have an amazing year last year. I get it. I know there's a lot of questions. Two years ago, he was the MVP of the league. Now, he got injured late and Mahomes stole it from him. He gets a good offensive coordinator.

I'm going to go Jalen Hertz 4? Is that too hot of a take? Ryan's moving around in his chair and he's got this big grin on his face. I'll go Jailen Hertz 4. I'll go Lamar 5. and apologies to everyone who doesn't like this. But right now, I'm going to go Brock Purdy, six. Six best quarterback in the above.

And listen, I got a year and a half of data that backs it up. Okay, for your Jordan Love, Love, Love, you get that. He has like eight or nine games of really good football. Cousins is coming off the Achilles. I can't go there. Gough, I like it with the Ben Johnson system and I can see that. Dak, I don't love how it sets up for this year, although he's been really strong. CJ Stroud is on the come up, but I don't have as much data.

Aaron Rogers, I can't have sniffing. Justin Herbert's injuries, no, sorry. And Matt Stafford's had an injury history. I'm optimistic, but he's had a hamstring injury. And the offensive line is in shambles. So some of this is projection. Some of this is what we've seen. I don't know, Ryan.

I saw you all worked up. Well, I don't know about worked up. But you're shifting. I'd say worked out. Worked up is pretty close. Here we go. So, look, here's the problem with someone like Jalen Hertz. you keep pointing to what he was a couple of years ago,

as if there was some sort of extended body of work to back up that that's exactly who he is as a quarterback. That is about the only time we've seen something out of Jalen Hertz that goes to show that he is worthy of even being a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. So you're banking on him being what has only been one very good season, as that's what he's going to be for the rest of his career. I have my doubts. I have my doubts.

That's understandable. I just, I can't get past. Especially to put him as high as four. Like, you didn't even structure the list to be like, and he snuck in there at six. Again,

I would say his Super Bowl performance against the Chiefs was better than any game Lamar Jackson's had in the playoffs. Lamar's been spotty. Hertz carried them on his back. Do you remember that two-point conversion run? I think it was to the bottom of the screen. There was like nothing, nowhere to go with like three yards left and Hertz somehow found away. I just, I'm a big fan.

I like how he shows up with briefcases, you know, like to the building. Like, hey, man, I'm serious about this. So I don't know. Maybe I'm irrationally high on Hertz. So, yeah, I would say Hertz is incredibly high. And then. I know. Yeah.

Come on. Party. Look, however you want to argue the minutia of it, I think there's certainly a case to be made that Purdy is in this conversation in terms of like statistical achievements kind of thing but I think when it comes to the idea of like actual skill sets and if teams were able to just draft these quarterbacks and build around them like Brock Purdy's not even close to coming in and six

yeah yeah that part I agree with you know and and faithful listeners of Cowher to be like well Brock Purdy doesn't throw a great deep ball okay he doesn't have the biggest he doesn't have Josh Allen's arm sure right but I think like even stuff like that is because like I'm a Joe Burrow fan like Joe Burrow and it was part of what was criticism now he ended up going number one overall and it didn't matter

but like one of the big criticisms of Joe Burrow was always like well I don't know if he's got a great arm and his hands are kind of small and it's like the fact that his arm isn't great has never held him back from making big plays when it's needed to be done in the offense whether it's you know some like we were talking

earlier with Jamar Chase and their connection on deep balls. Like, and it's the same thing I feel like Brock Purdy. Like, yeah, sure, Brock Purdy doesn't have a great arm. But I've never felt like, it's not like a Mitch Tribesky type of thing. No. Where you're like, that part of the offense is just pull that out of the playbook. And that's not even considered a factor. I just see Brock Purdy as more of like a Tua type of situation to where you're like,

hey, if everything's great, he's going to execute the offense exactly how you need it to be. He's not going to be your offensive driver. Okay, the pushback would be, I'm looking at his game log from last year. He had to come back to beat the Packers with a great second half. He had to come back to beat the Lions. And he had an overtime drive right down the field for points against the Chiefs. Now, they had to settle for three instead of getting the touchdown. but I mean those are high leverage spots and he's always delivering.

Yes. And look, I'll say this. Purdy's getting pretty close. I mean... Top 10 or top 6? I would say more of like top 10. I mean, you know, we'll see what ends up happening. Obviously, we've spent a lot of time talking about Trent Williams and Brandon Ayyuk. But it's going to be pretty hard to deny if they make another serious run and he's like a

leader and passer rating again and has somewhere like close to 30 touchdowns and very few interceptions and plays incredibly efficiently, that at some point you're reluctantly going to have to say that this guy is great at what he's doing in this system and we need to accept it until proven otherwise. I like the Tom Brady comparison where Tom Brady filled in for Blood So and they're like, all right, he's okay, game manager, but he had a couple pivotal game winning drives in the Super Bowls and it was like, okay, maybe he's the guy. You know who didn't make my top six is Russell Wilson, who is now the official starter in Pittsburgh.

I'm sure you guys saw this. Mike Tomlin has named Russell Wilson the starting quarterback. I don't know if Steelers fans are excited about this. I don't know if they're disappointed. I think they're kind of just like, meh. This is kind of where we are. And there is not a lot to get excited about in Pittsburgh. You got Arthur Smith is your offensive coordinator.

and I had a fantasy guy on my podcast this week and I was like, how does Arthur Smith and Russell Wilson, how does that line up for Pickens on the outside? And they're like, not great. Not great. Now, Pickens did shine last year. I had him and I advocated drafting him everywhere. But like I saw, I think ESPN had a write up for, like,

here's a potential surprise. And for the Steelers, it was like, Najee Harris, 1500 yards from Scrivitz. And my Najee Harris line that I always use is, he looks like he's running with a piano on a scene. back in the middle of the line of scrimmage. Like every down, they just die, they're running back dives.

But I'm just going to go back to a Steelers take I had last week. I don't know if you guys had heard it, but there's just tiny company in the Silicon Valley named Intel. You may have heard of them. They're kind of on the Mount Rushmore of Silicon Valley. So Intel was the leader in designing and manufacturing computer chips for decades, right? They dominated personal computers. Intel was the jam.

Okay? But you guys know technology movies? fast and Intel was so focused on computer chips that they missed, they completely missed the pivot to smartphones. That's a huge whiff. I mean, you can't even put a price on it. Then they also, they were like, hey, we miss smartphones. We got personal computers. We're good, we're good. They missed the pivot to AI and artificial intelligence. And now they're trying to play catch up. And recently Intel had like 15,000 layoffs and their stock prices hemorrhaging. And Intel's like, they just missed the boat.

And this is what some bad companies do. When the industry's pivoting, you kind of need to pivot with them. It's ideal if you can pivot before them. The Pittsburgh Steelers have missed the pivot to offense in the NFL. They have spent so much on defense. This year, I believe they have the oldest defense. Last year, I believe they had the most expensive defense.

That's not a winning formula. And yes, you guys can say, hey, come on, they've made the playoffs every year. They're never under 500. a lot of that is luck. I mean, really, they went nine and two in one score games. You guys, anybody who's gambled or followed the NFL knows, you go nine and two one year in one score games the next year,

you're more than likely going to go like three and seven. Here's the kicker. Pittsburgh, for the last three years, is 29, 10, and one in one score games. 29, 10, and one, that is unbelievably unsustainable. As such, I believe they're falling off a cliff, and I don't think there's a damn thing Russell could do to save them. Arthur Smith ain't the guy

our great producer here Greg Tooie, you know Houston Texans fan he's floating I think Mike Tomlin could be done after this year I was like well let's let's

I'm not willing to go there I thought Tomlin would walk away after the season but he's not an extension weird there's nothing great right now about the Pittsburgh Steelers I don't see any positives and folks I kind of weep for Tomlin

they're going to win five or six games this year I'll tell you that straight up I bet the alt win total under on the Steelers Folks, it's not going to go well. I promise you that. And I like Russell Wilson, but some people say he looks like me. I'll leave that up to you.

I root for him. I think he's a borderline Hall of Fame guy. Yes, I do. But it ain't working. It's not happening. Coming up next here on the herd, we got the Patriots. Did they make the right move naming Jacoby Brissette, the starter? We'll head to Boston, Boston, to find out next.

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Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encourage. 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, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because, of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history.

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Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. I told you guys. Yesterday I flew to Vegas to make some wagers on the season. Patriots win total under. Sorry. I discovered J-Lab headphones and now I'm hooked. I use J-Buds, Lux, over-ear noise-canceling headphones. Find them at the Blue Box at Walmart, Target, Best Buy and More,

or visit J-Lab.com. So we opened the show talking about the New England Patriots and Gerard Mayo kind of clunkily. going through the week. So we're going to bring in Ben Volan, Boston Globe NFL reporter to talk about this. Ben, I've got to say, the talking points from Mayo have been all over the place. Yeah, we know who the quarterback is. I'm just not telling anyone.

And Drake May has outplayed Jacoby Percied, but he's the second best quarterback on the roster. I don't know what to make of this. Are you surprised by how Mayo is handling this? I think you just nailed it on the head there, Jason. I said the same thing about a week ago. I was like, can we just get a straight answer out of these guys. You know, it's like they were really talking out of both sides of their mouth about how, you know,

Jacobi is the starter, but Drake's out playing him. And, you know, it really has been a lack of consistent messaging from the Patriots. And, you know, I think the overall takeaway is, you know, we've all talked about that Drake May is a little bit of a project. And Gerard Mayo, too, is a little bit of a project. He's brand new as a head coach, and he's only been in the coaching industry for five years.

So it's not like he has a ton of experience giving daily press conferences and being the face of the franchise. You know, he really has been kind of talking out of both sides. And just my hypothesis is that, you know, I believe that the coaching staff has always wanted Jacoby Versette from day one, and that's who they want to roll with. But I think Mveo was keeping the possibility open that maybe the people above him, you know, Elliot Wolfe or the craft, would want the kid to play. And so Gerard was just trying to not box himself in, and in the process, just kind of talked himself in circles. And there's just a lot of drama by the Patriots, a lot of confusion to end up where everyone knew where they were going to end up pretty much, which was Jacoby Versette as the week one starter.

And it is the right move. It is the prudent move. You know, starting Drake May in week one has way more downside than upside, I feel. So absolutely they made the right move. But the way they got there was really clunky, as you said. and it does not inspire a ton of confidence in Gerard Mayo's leadership. I'm curious, can you contrast this with how Belichick handled his, I don't know, he's had controversies, but I think, wasn't it like a Cam versus Mac thing?

And then he just like was like we're going with Mac. But just the contrast with Belichick, and I know he's a veteran coach, whereas Mayo is like a young guy, but Mayo worked under Belichick for like 40 years. Yeah, and played for him for 10 years. There you go, yeah. So, one thing Belichick would not have done is say, well, Drake May has outplayed Jacoby. He would not have said that because that, I think, puts Jacoby Berset in a really bad spot. How does anyone have belief in Jacoby being the starter anymore?

How does anyone in the locker room look at him and say, oh, this is the guy that the organization wants? How do the fans look at it that way when the coach has already told you that the kid outplayed him during training camp? the second that Jacoby Brissette makes a mistake or throws a pick. Everyone's going to be howling, you know, to make a change and let's see what the kid can do. So, to me, they really put Jacoby Berset in a bad spot by saying, wow, Drake, you know, Drake may really outplayed him during camp. So that's one way that Belichick would have handled that differently. He would have just said nothing, you know.

He would have maintained the entire time that Jacoby Berset was QB1 until he was ready. You know, if Drake May had won, then all of a sudden, boom. he'd rip the band-aid off, and that's who the starting quarterback would be. And all along the way, Belichick would just say, you know, we're doing what's best for the team. You know, you don't want to come down too hard. He's new on the job. You know, God forbid anyone, you know, reviewed me. So scrutinized me publicly when I first started a new job.

But, like, you're the head coach. You're getting paid a lot of money to handle this stuff. The Mayo and the Patriots really need to do a better job of just kind of sticking. to consistent messaging and not saying things that are going to put, you know, people like Jacoby Verset in a really bad spot. Let me ask you, how's this offensive line looking?

The injuries seem to be mounting. We know the receivers stink, that's obvious. But it seems like the offensive line is not looking good heading into week one against the Bengals. I mean, there are questions about the talent, first of all. I mean, the left tackle position, arguably the second most important

position on the roster, they have guys over there that have never played the left side. Their big plan was they signed a guy from Pittsburgh who'd only been a right tackle, and they drafted a kid in the third round who'd only been a right tackle, and their rationale was, well, we don't think it's that hard to switch

from the right to the left side, and maybe that's true, but so far, it's been a disaster at left tackle. And I think the whole nation saw it on Sunday night when they played the preseason game against Washington. I mean, the unit itself is just a mess, and

it's not talent. It's like, They just need to practice more. You had guys running into each other. The left guard was trying to pull, and he ran into a teammate. No. No. He sat wide open for a kill shot and let him get a little shoulder injury on Saturday night. Drake May had his foot stepped on and lost his shoe.

There were dropped snaps. Like, just the operation was a mess, and that's not talent. That's just practice. And look, it's a completely new team. on that side of the ball. New coaches, new scheme. You know, they're transitioning away from power football to the zone blocking, you know, wide stretch run. So it's totally new on that side of the ball. And so, of course, I mean, it's not going to, you know, you're not going to look like the 49ers on day one there. I don't think anyone expects that. So again, the prudent move to sit,

Drake May while they figure out all this stuff on the offensive line. But they certainly didn't do Jacoby percent any favors with the way that they've handled all this. You can see I'm building a narrative here. Quarterback offensive line. I look at the defense. No bar more, right? We don't know. He might miss the whole damn season.

They trade Judon. I can't find any reasons to get excited about the defense. Ben, this is starting to have the whiff, and the schedule is brutal. This has the whiff of a three-ish win team. Is it crazy? And we've seen this around the league. A couple guys getting dusted after one year. Is it insane to say Gerard Mayo could be one and done if they go, say, three and 14?

No, well, look, I don't think it's insane because, as you said, we've seen it happen all the time. And, you know, people like to cite the Houston Texans now is the model if you want to follow, you know, collect talent and then add the quarterback to it. Boom, you've got a Super Bowl contender. I mean, the Houston Texans way also cost two coaches their jobs after one season. David Culley and Lovey Smith. So I don't know how much they love the Houston Texans plan. Let's not forget, the Patriots also, you know, they lost. Barmore in Judon, they also lost Bill Belichick.

I mean, there's no one better at diagnosing problems in the middle of the game and fixing problems than Bill Belichick was. So we have no idea what the defense is going to look like. I don't expect the Patriots to be one and done with Gerard Mayo. I know Robert Kraft likes him a lot, and the last thing an owner wants to do is kind of admit that he got it wrong like that. But, you know, as I've been saying, like, you go one in 16, all bets are off. Yeah.

Two and 15, all bets are off. I mean, if this team is just a disaster and not showing improvement throughout the season, then, yeah, one and done is definitely on the table. That said, I don't think Kraft wants to do that. As long as Mayo can get to four or five wins, you know, drink May, start some games, show some positive traits. They keep them healthy through the season. The Patriots, you know, maybe identify one or two other players, building blocks for the future.

Then I think Gerard Mayo is on safe ground. But like I said, two in 15, one and 16, all bets are off. All right, Ben, we'll get you out of here with this. Give me a landing spot next year for a guy you covered forever. Bill Belichick. I think we all agree he's going to return to the league. There was a lukewarm market for him outside of the Falcons, and I should just say the Falcons owner.

Front offices seem to be like get him away from here. I don't want to work with that guy because he wants my job, too. Any guesses? Give me a team or two where you think Belichick could land next year. Now, first of all, I think it might be a little lukewarm for him, too, next year. Oh. I mean, he's going to be 72. three years old, and it's a young man's game.

And let's not forget, too. I mean, Belichick, I think he might enjoy having his Sundays off, and he's still obviously very involved with the game and watching film and being on TV and everything, but it's all in his terms now. So I'm not, like, entirely convinced that he's going to be a coach next year, but the team I'm looking at is the

Philadelphia Eagles. I think that is a ready situation for him. He's got a good relationship with Howie Roseman. That's like a GM-centric organization where if they remove the head coach, Like, they're not starting over from scratch. Howie is safe in that job, and that's still a very strong team.

If Nick Seriani, you know, kind of succumbs to the pressure this year and the Eagles, if they don't produce, I could definitely see Belichick taking that job and being the guy that can kind of get the Eagles across the goal line. Damn. I just remember Chip Kelly going into Philadelphia seeing Howie Roseman's not a football guy. Didn't play. I don't want to be anywhere near him. And then a couple years later, he ends up getting dusted.

Anyways, I forgot. I got to ask about the Jets. The Athletic had one of these. We spoke to NFL agents anonymously stories, and they said, my Jets are in complete disarray. Your thoughts? Sounds like business as usual for the Jets. If the day ends in a Y, then Jets are being dysfunctional. And look, we saw it last year with Aaron Rogers.

We're on the one hand, he's chastising his teammates. You know, you better be all in and all about football and no more distraction. And then he goes on the Pat McAfee show every week, and all he does is create distractions. I have no idea what it's like with Aaron Rogers in New York. This year, I'm not there. I'm just throwing off of the reports that you just read me,

but dysfunction is a way of life with the Jets, and bringing in Aaron Rogers isn't going to quell that dysfunction. It's only going to add to it. Ben, Volan, Boston Globe NFL NFL reporter. Ben, great stuff as usual, Ben. Thanks a lot. All right, thank you. All right, Ben Boland.

I like these takes, man. Three and 14 for the Patriots is right in my wheelhouse, bro. I will be loving life. I'm sorry to take Glee and the misfortune of others, but they had a good run. Let's go to Ryan Music with the News. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the Heard Line News. Do not even for a second lie to this great audience that you aren't taking Glee in the downfall of the Patriots. I am. Yeah. Okay. Let's get that straight. Let's actually quickly turn our attention to a little bit of NBA breaking news as we get ready for the full swing of college football season. That's right. Steph Curry and the Warriors have agreed to a one-year contract extension. A little technical note to pass along here pointed out by former GM Bobby Marks. The one-year extension was the maximum allowed according to the NBA's over 38 rule.

So this is a rule that they've actually had in place for quite some time. they've collectively negotiated to push that age limit up over the years. So it's gone from like 35 to 36 up to now 38. And so essentially what it does is it puts a cap on the number of years a player can be under contract once they get over the age of 38. So that's why when you start to look at it, you're like, why is it only a one-year extension? It's all they were allowed to do. With all that being said, does not change my opinion whatsoever that if the warrior struggles, Steph Curry will absolutely be the next NBA superstar to force

his way to a contender. Yeah, you know, we look at, you know, the guys like Patrick Ewing, Olajean, they all end their team and their career with different teams. And I know Curry's different. Well, Elijah won two titles in Houston. Like, come on. Clyde Drexel was Mr. Portland. It ended up

bouncing to Houston. We just got done talking about the Patriots and Tom Brady. Tom Brady. Not NBA, but I mean. Aaron Rogers. There are way more examples. I mean, we just named six or seven. Joe Montana, add another one there. And about the only two that jump off the page to me is like Derek Cheater and Kobe Bryant.

Those are like, I mean, when you talk about like modern athletes, it's hard to think of other all-time greats that Elway. Okay, Elway. That's a good one. So on that other side, Peyton Manning. So yes, Peyton Manning did leave, ended up with Denver. I'm looking up Jeter. Were the Yankees good? The final years of Jeter?

Because I know the Lakers. The Lakers have basically always been competitive. They haven't really had a full, like, bottom out season. So, I mean, for the most part, yeah, they were still relatively competitive. I mean, it's always hard with a team like the Yankees, right? Because they have such a standard of basically every year, it's almost World Series or bust.

So, yeah, I mean, they clearly... You're right. They were still good, though. I just, I think we're in a different era where the nostalgia being forever with your tea, I just think that that doesn't matter as much as it used to.

Would you agree? Oh, yeah, 100%. Yeah. No, I don't think it carries nearly the same amount of emotional attachment. And to your point, like, I think for a lot of it is because, like, the younger generations,

and there's plenty of research out there that'll show you this, is that they are fans of players more so than they are of franchises and institutions, if you will. Michael Jordan with the wizard. Sure, yeah. I mean, you can still build a statue of Curry. Oh, yeah, they're going to.

But, like, I don't want to see him on a 35-win team. Yeah. He's too good. I mean, again, Steph Curry, it's not the same. Steph Curry is always been way more valuable, but, like, we just saw the first departure in Clay Thompson. Yeah. So, yeah, would not be surprised whatsoever if that's where we end up in a season or two.

All right. Back to football, of course. You've mentioned sort of the survey from the athletic. Well, here's another one that is similar, but Josh Allen responding to the haters, if you will, after being voted most overrated in a survey of over 100 current NFL players. So here's what he told Mad Dog Sports Radio about the results. My reaction is I'm not mad that 11 players not on my team don't like me, right? So that's number one. I actually think that's a term of endearment.

When other players don't like me, that means I'm doing something the right way. I am mad at, however, I'm never ever invited to participate in these anonymous service. So that's where I find this frustrating. I want to be a part of these surveys too and give my input as well. So there you go. Josh Allen. Not upset about being voted, most overrated, is upset about not

being able to cast a vote. Josh Allen. Now dating a celebrity. He got rid of Stefan Diggs. I said he, you guys, look into that. We'll see. I think the Super Bowl window is close. I like Josh Allen. He's a beast.

I don't know if his model is sustainable. I saw he wants to continue to play. what's been working like these guys want to run like it's just so whiskey. And he takes hits. He does. He's not like Lamar. No, no. I mean, and he's been, he's had injuries like early in his

career. He got banged up a little bit. But he's been mostly durable. I mean, even at one point, I think it was a couple seasons ago, he got kind of hit from behind as he was pulling back to throw and kind of had a little bit of a shoulder issue. But I mean, he's been pretty durable. So we'll see.

I mean, obviously, as we know, the whole old story is Cam Newton was literally built like a defensive end and was still banged up and had to deal with injuries. So we'll see what ends up happening with Josh Allen, but up to this point has been relatively durable. So

we'll see. I mean, as we said with losing Stefan Diggs, that offense could look very different than it once did when the arrival of Stefan Diggs is what sort of sent Josh Allen to that next level of elite quarterback.

back play. All right, we'll wrap up with this. So far, the glimpses we've seen from Caleb Williams in the preseason while he's living up to the hype, shown some of that special athleticism, while his head coach Matt Iberfluse, he loves the playmaking ability, but also wants Williams to play point guard and let some of the special plays come at the right time. So trying to emphasize that he doesn't want everything to be off-schedual backyard football, if you will. So Caleb Williams, he's great. We like the playmaking. ability, but let's make sure we stick to the game plan according to your side coach. I totally

I think that's the biggest thing for him. Can he be patient in the pocket? Processed like Purdy. Ooh. It just coins of alliteration. Look at you. I'm not saying he can't. I just know his tendency is let me just run around and make a splash play and like go look at the Notre Dame tape from last. I'm just, it was a disaster and he tried

really hard. I don't know the offensive line wasn't great, but I don't know, we'll see. I'm excited for Caleb Williams. That opener against the Titans. That'll be fun. I think our guy Mark Sanchez is called that game? He is. Yeah. Bears, four and a half point favorites. Big number. That does feel like a big number for a rookie quarterback.

For a rookie making his first start. Can't sleep on Will Levis, Cowherd's Guy. Gun show. What is it? Mirror selfies. Is that what it was? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yeah. You know, when we look at Caleb Williams, the interesting thing is, like, you sort of have two ends of the spectrum and the NFL.

On the high end, of course, you have Patrick Mahomes, which is essentially finding that perfect balance between playing within the offensive scheme as it's intended to and then in almost the perfect moments knowing when to turn on that special playmaking ability. I mean, we've seen plenty of times in big moments and big playoff games where he sort of tucks and runs and scrambles

and gets a first down when he needs to. On the opposite end of that spectrum is sort of someone like a Justin Fields where you're like, dude, we understand how athletic and how great you are. But every play can't be, I'm going to roll out and try and make something happen. Like at some point, we do kind of need you to drop back in the pocket and play within the offense. So obviously for the Bears, you're hoping that Caleb Williams, as they already went through with the Justin Fields,

is closer to the Mahomes end at knowing when the right decision in the right time is and not the fields end, where it's basically trying to make that happen on almost every single play. One of like the top 10 things I'm watching this season is Caleb. Caleb Blues for sure. Ryan with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News.

All right, coming up here next on the herd. Caitlin Clark last night set another WNBA record. I mean, that's what she continues to do. Folks, there's only one superstar who we should be comparing her to. And it's not Taylor Swift. It's an athlete. I think he'll be surprised. That's next.

Be sure to catch live edition. of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I Heart Radio app. Polly Fusco here with Tony Fusco. Yo, as everybody knows, we're the host of the award-winning Polly and Tony Fusco show.

Yeah. But instead of us telling you how great we are, here's how Dan Patrick described us when he came on our show. Quick, knowledgeable, and funny, opinionated. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing? You're interrupting our promo. Yeah.

He wasn't talking about you. You took those clips totally out of context. Oh yeah, well, after this promo, I'm going to take you out and beat you. Let me put this into context. Shut up! Yeah, anyway, just listen to the Folly and Tony Fusco show on I-Hart Radio, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Yeah. 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'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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-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 you 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 yeah, yeah, yeah. 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 IHeartRadio 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

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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, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the

iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. For hot water that never runs out, go tankless with Navian. Right now save hundreds on a new high-efficiently tankless water heater with local rebates. Find the name. of your Navian contractor at tankless, made simple.com. Tankless made simple.com. All right, got a few minutes here, wrapping up hour number two.

It's funny how fast this goes by. I know some of you are like, Jason, you've got to stop talking about Caitlin Clark. And then the problem is I talk about her on my podcast and the numbers go up. And then Cowhert puts her, talks about her on the show, and he sees a bump in numbers. I'm sorry if you are not in on it,

But what she's doing right now is massive. So, for instance, last night I had, gosh, this is in the weeds, nerdy stuff. I'm coaching my kid in soccer, my daughter in soccer. We had an amazing run last year. I'm just good. Okay. I'm the assistant coach. The head coach is a younger guy who knows soccer.

He's awesome. So we have this, like, all the coaches meeting. And on the way to the meeting, I'm, I just opened my phone and I'm like, oh, that's right. Caitlin Clark plays tonight. And I see they're playing the sun. And this is where I am on WMBA. I'm like, the sun. What team is that?

It took me like a second. Oh, that's right, Connecticut. And then I'm like, are they good? I check out their record. Oh, they're really good. And then Caitlin Clark's having a good game and they beat the sun, blah, blah, blah. I don't know. I readily admit up front, I don't follow the WNBA closely.

I follow Caitlin Clark. And then based on that, I follow what's going on around the league and some of the head wins. And it's undeniable. Caitlin Clark is the rookie of the year. The story's over, guys. I don't care of what Angel Reese does. the rest of the left. It's done. I don't think it was ever a debate. Some people tried to make it one.

Caitlin Clark, rookie deal, we got that. Here's where it gets real interesting. She continues to set records. She now has the rookie, the most assists by a rookie, the most threes by a rookie. Like, she is been remarkable. She's now third

in some of these MVP straw polls you're seeing on the WMBA. Third. And they're just starting to get their act together. Remember, they had that rough schedule. Clark is bringing in casual fans. People are watching games. I told you, I voted for the WNBA All-Stars this year.

I didn't even know you could do that. I didn't know the process before. She is changing a lot of things about women's basketball. And me and the other guys here were talking about athletes and comparisons. And if you remove Taylor Swift, which, you know, she's on a planet on her own. what athletes have had this kind of impact? And you could say magic and bird in the 80s in the NBA

ushered in a totally new era. The NBA wasn't on tape delay anymore, so we've kind of done that. But Ryan, who's really smart, so is Greg. Ryan said, well, what about Tiger Woods? And we started to drill down on Tiger Woods and we're like, holy cow.

Well, yeah. When he joined the tour in 96, look at how all the ratings just shot through the roof. They started to televise the sport basically differently based on Tiger. The crowds were massive. And he changed the purse numbers. Like everything went up.

Basically, he rose all the boats by simply emerging as a golf star. Everybody gravitated toward him. And we're starting to see that in the WNBA. We've already seen the chartered planes, right? We've already seen ticket prices and venues change. We're seeing record number of viewers, all-star game number, everything. Okay? And I don't know that we've seen anything like this since Tiger Woods, and that was 30 years ago, folks.

And I know some people will say, well, what about women's soccer? And yeah, that's on the uptick, the Women's World Cup. They've had some awesome runs. And then now they have the league here in America. The problem is the stars of the Olympic women's soccer team are like, kind of sort of famous on like social media. Sophia Smith, you know, she's married to a receiver on the Arizona Cardinals. Mallory Swanson's married to a guy on the Cubs.

Like these people, these girls have large following, these women, sorry, large followings on social media. Dennis Rodman's daughter, Trinity Rodman is like an up-and-coming star. People know who she is. But none of these have yet achieved Caitlin Clark levels as to where Caitlin Clark was in college at Iowa and doing unbelievable. things. And at that point, going to the final four, back-to-back years, taking down amazing franchises and teams, like, college basketball really helped her. And these, you know, women's soccer

players who are kind of popping now, they didn't, they were good college players, obviously, but women's college soccer didn't have a moment to wait, Caitlin Clark rose women's college basketball. And guys, I know some of you out there. Listen, I'm starting to get an idea of who heard followers and listeners are. The more I go out, the more people come up, and they have interesting things to say. 99.9% of people have been positive. There was one prick I think I told you guys about,

I think I could say that word on there. Actually, at a WNBA game afterward, came up and said something to me in front of my family. And listen, I was ready to scrap if need be. It didn't get to that, obviously, and I don't want to go there as I see Greg laughing. I've said too much, but what Clark is doing, You have to go back 30 years to how Tiger Woods had that immediate impact on the sport.

You basically saw young kids want to play golf because of Tiger Woods. Now, basketball on the women's side has not, it's not been like a cool sport where we live out here in L.A. The cool sports are like volleyball, soccer, flag football is really emerging as a popular sport among young women. And basketball just isn't a massive sport. and, you know, as a dad who coaches his daughter and my son in hoops, like I want it to be, and Clark is really doing that. You've got now kids who are like, wishy-washy on hoops are like, oh, yeah, Caitlin Clark,

I want to play basketball. I want to shoot. And that's the impact we saw from Steph Curry, although, you know, NBA was fine. They had LeBron and Curry just took it to like a different level. Clark, man, it's fun. I don't even know what our next game is, but I'll, you know, get alerts on my phone and be like,

okay, I'm going to check it out and turn it on. Very exciting stuff. All right, final hour is right around the corner. Patriots have a new starting quarterback. Dion Sanders is getting mouthy again. Is this his final year in Boulder? That's 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, 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 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 here, 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. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

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

This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.