The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 2 - These rankings might surprise you

Episode Date: January 25, 2024

He ranks his top 10 players in the NFC Championship and you'll be shocked which QB didn't make the list Thoughts on the Panthers hiring Dave Canales as their HC   Guest: Greg CosellSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We rank in order 1 through 10 the top 10 players in this game. We use PFF. We use our We go to production, we go to stats, the 10 most gifted players in this game. You have a smirk on your face. It's the only face I got, buddy. Okay. Are you ready to go? I'm nervous for you. Proceed.

All right. Number one, third best running back I've ever seen Christian McCaffrey. I'd say Walter Payton, Barry Sanders, Christian McCaffrey, led the NFL in. Yards, scrimmage touchdowns, 100-yard rushing games. He's tied for the most total touchdowns by a nineer in a season with Jerry Rice. He is, to me, top three to four running back of all-time Christian McCaffrey. Number two is Trent Williams. To me, a first ballot top five left tackle of all time.

Bizarrely athletic for his size. Second highest-redit tackle this year, and he missed some games with an injury. he's allowed two sacks in three years. And I mean, there's no position in football that's more improved than receiver and edge rusher over the last decade. He is a wall. Number three, Nick Bosa. Second highest-guided edge rusher in the league,

highest-grated Niners defender, a complete game wrecker. A lot of big names on that defensive front. Many underachieve. He is one of the four or five defensive edge guys in the league. that is virtually unblockable. I don't think he has body fat. He is just one of those guys that is a nightmare to face. Number four, Penae Sewell.

He is arguably the next Trent Williams. He is an unbelievable highest-granted offensive tackle in the league this year. The kid out of Oregon is a monster. 674 pass-blocking snaps allowed one sack, and he's just now going into his prime. Number five, I think one of the more unique players in league history, Debo Samuel. He's the second player in league history with 4,000 receiving yards and 1,000 rushing yards over their first five seasons. His only issue is health.

I think he is, if you look at the data and the offensive production, there is an argument to be made. He is worth three points a game that is unheard of for a non-quarterback. Number six, Aidan Hutchison. One plus sack and four straight games led the NFL with 62 pressures this year. That was 12 more than any other player. Okay, highest-graded Lions Defender. Now, they don't got a lot of great players on that side, but he's the one number six. Number seven, the best center in football, Frank Ragnow, he's a best center.

He's great. There's a reason they dominate the run game. Number two offensive line, according to PFF. He's the highest-guided center. the rush offense. I've always thought this is a wildly underrated position. You've got to have a high IQ to call the audibles. Ragnow's a beast.

He's another Hall of Famer. Number eight, George Kittle, 81 receiving yards, and 32 receiving yard touchdown, divisional went over the Packers. Highest graded, not Travis Kelsey, highest graded tight end this year in the league. He had a bad drop last week, but I will say this. And tight ends, not historically that valuable. But there's a couple of guys, Kittle is one of them,

Gronks's another, Travis Kelsey's another. They should be paid like wide receivers. They're that good. Number nine, and I feel an embarrassed to say that he's this low as Jared Goff. Let me read you a stat on Jared Goff. Over the last two seasons, who leads the NFL in passing yards? Mahomes, who's second, Goff. led all quarterbacks in completion percentage in the playoffs.

74% in the playoffs. Jared Goff, I apologize to Jared. You should probably be higher, but there's like nine Hall of Famers in this game. Number 10, Amaran St. Brown. Second highest-guided Lions player this year after Penae Soule, the best tackle in the league. Most receptions in a season, including the playoffs ever, over Calvin Johnson. And I think we'd both admit maybe the most underrated player in the league. I mean, seriously, maybe because he didn't go in the first round, there you go.

It's my top 10. Do you have a problem with any of this? No, no, no, not at all. I mean, there's an impeccable list, just spectacular all around. I mean, I don't see Warner or Greenlaw. By the way, brutal. It's brutal. So, number, I mean, I...

Where was Purdy? Was he top 12, 15, 20? Number 11? I mean, it's just, I just, I can't. There's so many. Number 11 was Sam Leporta. The most touchdown catches by any rookie this year, 11, arguably the third best tied in in the league.

Yeah. Number 12 was Brandon Iyuk. Only Tyreek Hill graded higher on PFF for wide receivers. Taylor Decker, Detroit, highest graded tackle this postseason. He's a great, great tackle. Number 14, Jamir Gibbs. Most scrimmage touchdowns by any rinked. rookie this year 13.

And then it's Fred Warner, Chavarius Ward. Be honest with you, it should be probably... I tend to put corners ahead of linebackers. It really came down to I love Fred Warner and Chavarius Ward, but I think a corner in this game with Detroit's offense is more valuable than a linebacker.

And I think Fred's unbelievable. Just hypothetical. Purdy checks in in 19, maybe? Around drinking age. I have him somewhere about 17-18. Are you bothered by that? I'm not bothered at all. I would have him top five for sure. Top five.

Okay. He's top five. I mean, it's funny. Cowher mentioned stats for every single guy, right? Yards per game, passing, touchdowns, etc. I mean, Brock Purdy, when you want to mention stats, is a top five quarterback in every statistical measure this season, every single one. But, hey, go off, King, as they like to say on the internet.

All right. Greg CoSells watching this nonsense. Listen, did anything offend you on that list? You know, the Fred Warner thing just had me a little taken aback. By the way, Fred Warner is the best linebacker in football. I know. He's a very impactful player.

Yeah. Roquan Smith's better, in my opinion, but Fred, you know film, so you're probably right. I didn't know what to do with them because I think linebackers, it's just the position. A lot of these good teams are moving off linebackers. I don't know. All right, whatever. Although it's interesting, Colin, and with the four remaining teams,

you have some linebackers that are pretty important players. They may not be top 10, but they're important players. Yeah, that's fair. So let's talk Justin Herbert. Where do you think he can improve under Jim Harbaugh's system, which you know well? Well, first of all, I think Justin Herbert's incredibly talented. I don't think anybody would disagree with that.

If you talk to coaches, they'll tell you he's a top five quarterback in the league. Fans might not think that because he hasn't had, quote, unquote, playoff success and all those things that people look at. But I think what you're going to see with Harbaugh is a lot more under center play action. I think that helps most quarterbacks. Look at what Goff has done in Detroit being under center with play action, the most under center play action dropbacks by a wide margin in the league. It defines the reads more cleanly. It defines the throws more cleanly.

It helps dictate how defense react. I think that's one thing you will absolutely see Jim Harbaugh do with Justin Herbert, and that will make him a much better player, you know, in terms of numbers. Sure. Josh Allen loses to Kansas City. What did the film say about his performance, Greg? Well, you know, that was fascinating to me. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall of Colin during their whole preparation

for that game because they made a decision offensively and it could have been a function of their defense too because maybe they felt that if they played a certain way on offense that their defense would give up 40 with all the injuries they had but they clearly chose Joe Brady clearly chose not to attack with the past game at all now that was a choice that was made you could argue it was successful because the game was very very close and they kept it very close with the defense quite frankly that just did not have people so I think they made a choice to play a certain way, Alan executed that pretty much perfectly. You know, I know there's been a lot of conversation about him. I quite frankly don't get that conversation, Colin, because I don't know

what people are saying. What is, what do you think the ultimate point is when people talk about Josh Allen? Do they think he should be cut and they should be playing with another quarterback? What is the point? He's got to be honest. What is the ultimate point? You know, we know he's not as good as Mahomes. We know Mahomes is the best quarterback in the league. We know Mahomes. We know Mahomes is on a path to be an all-timer. We know that. So I just didn't understand the two-day conversation about Josh Allen. What was the point?

Yeah, he's gotten four years. The last four years, he's got 74 more touchdowns than a player I love, Lamar Jackson. And think how... You know, they're not a very good team when you get right down to it. We've talked about this. They have a number of weaknesses, and, you know, they ask him to win every week, and you know what? They've won a lot of games.

His winning percentage in this league's pretty good. And I know people are going to respond with, well, he hasn't been great in the playoffs. No, he actually has been individually really good in the playoffs. Jordan Love, I got to tell you, I defended his interception. He's a young kid trying to make a play. He's got a little bit more far than Aaron Rogers to him. He's going to be erratic. He's not a precision player.

He's a playmaker. Overall, what did you think? Yeah, and I think we had talked about this, and you know that I really like Love, and I think he'll be really good. But I had talked with you over this season about the fact that his lower body mechanics need work. He tends to throw too many balls off balance when it's not necessary. It's one thing to throw off platform when the defense demands that you throw off platform. But if the defense doesn't demand that, you should never be doing that.

So there are times he does that and gets away with it. And then we talk about how skilled he is and his high-level traits, which are high-level. But if you don't need to throw the ball off balance and hurry your mechanics, You should never do that. That's what he needs to work on. Yeah, I think it's true. He's more far than Rogers, but there's an argument that some of the best players in our league are off-script guys regularly. Mahomes, Alan, Lamar Jack.

Now, Herbert's not, but, you know, I think he's got a great future. So let's go Chiefs, Raven. Let's start with the AFC. There's an argument, and I think it's a pretty solid one. that we're overvaluing the Chief's offense because both Miami and Buffalo were ravaged with defensive injuries. Right. And that they look a little more elevated than they are. What does the film say about Mahomes and the offense?

Well, I think Mahomes has played extremely well on these two playoff games. And I think that we know that Mahomes is a quarterback that can be really efficient from the pocket, and he can be really efficient moving out of the pocket, and he's the best in the league at doing that, and he has such a great feel. He is so good in sort of navigating the chaos. Sometimes he creates his own chaos and then gets out of it and does an unbelievable job. But I think their offense has been a little different this year, a little more run-game-based. Pacheco has been a significant factor over the last month or so.

I guess Joe Tuni might be out, and that's a major factor. He's a really good player. but their Gapskim run game is really, really good. So I don't know if we're overvaluing it. I mean, I'd hate to bet against Mahomes in these kinds of games. You know, I think he's obviously a very special player. They don't have a ton of weapons, but I think Mahomes is the kind of quarterback that can change the way games are played.

Yeah, Isaiah Pacheco, hard, hard. How valuable is he to the KC offense? I think he's incredibly valuable. urgent, competitive downhill runner who, when it's blocked for three, he gets eight. And it doesn't seem like much, Colin, when you're watching the game, because it doesn't seem like, oh, wow, that's special. But, you know, that is so impactful in keeping your offense on schedule and making it more difficult for the defense to have to defend you. I think he's become a really critical piece. As I said, they run gap scheme. They also get on the perimeter with the pin pull concept.

he's a really important piece to what they do. What do you think we'll see from Lamar Jackson? Clearly this team trusts its defense. You don't have to take big wild swings. They're at home. The defense will keep you in the game. They're getting, by the way, Humphrey back, maybe the corner, Marlon, Humphrey could come back.

That certainly helps in this spot. What do you think we'll see from the Ravens and Lamar this week? You know what I think we'll see, and they did it in the second half, last week to sort of calm down the blitz by the Texans because the Texans went high percentage blitz, which was totally unexpected. I think you're going to see more Lamar designed run this week's, this week. I think you're going to see them try to calm down that Chiefs defense because Spags does so many good things with his players, the movement of his players, the pressure schemes he puts together, and I think you're going to see Lamar. We're at the point in the season where you're not thinking

about injury and saving him for his sense. season. I think you'll see the designed run game with Lamar be a big factor in their game plan this week. Let's move to the NFC championship, Niners Lions. Let's start with JMAX favorite. A little drizzle appeared to be problematic for Brock Purdy. What did the tape say? Yeah, he certainly, Colin, we all know he did not have one of his better games. For some reason, he played a little fast. He was a little uncomfortable in the pocket. He didn't seem to play with the same normal sense of timing and rhythm and anticipation that we've seen essentially since he became a starting quarterback. So, you know, he just had one of those games that wasn't a high-level game for him.

I will tell you one thing, and I think it could be a factor in this game. I think they're all-line, particularly on the right side with right tackle McKivitz and the right guard Feliciano. They're a little bit of an issue in one-on-one pass protection. It showed up this past week against the Packers, who have a very good defensive front, by the way, and it could well show up this week. You could very well see just an amount of bouquet lined up over Feliciano. That would be, you know, a potential issue.

Not about a bouquet. I'm sorry, for the Lions. You can see Hutchinson move inside and match up over Feliciano because Hutchinson does do that in passing situations, and I think that that could be an issue. So we'll see because their old line did not help him last week, but he played a little fast. Yeah, I know I think that's fair.

Debo Samuel to me is so unique He's the ultimate get out of jail card Get out of trouble card You're sitting there and all of a sudden what do I do? Oh, there's Debo And I mean there's nobody else quite like him He's a tight end but faster He's a receiver but much stronger

If you're ever in trouble as a quarterback And you just need seven yards Bubble screened Debo let it go I don't think there's much like him in the league What does the film say? There isn't. And I think the other point that's really important when it comes to how defenses have to react and the stress it puts on them mentally and physically is that he and McCaffrey are essentially

interchangeable players in the context of that offense. So, you know, Debo lines up in the backfield a lot. And the other factor with him, we know how strong he is in the run game, not only carrying the football, but as an outside blocker, he's phenomenal, but in the past game, If you feel like you're struggling or you want to get your offense sort of going early in the game and they did that last week against the Packers, you can throw those tunnel screens to him and all of a sudden he gets eight or nine yards and then it's second in one. And that's a really good way to start a game. You feel very comfortable.

Then you feel like you're getting your offense in rhythm right off the bat. There's probably no better run-after catch receiver in this league. And the Niners led the NFL and run after catch yardage. And I think Debo is a major part of that. So let's hope he can go because we want to see the best players play because he is so critical to what they do. How impressed are you? I feel like I'm always defending Jared Goff. But the last two years...

No need to. He's a good player. He's a good player. How impressed have you been in the postseason where his accuracy, with very few exceptions, has been razor sharp? Yeah, see, it's interesting. You know, you talked about the guys that play off script, and obviously he's not that player. and it seems as if we don't treat those quarterbacks the same way. We act as if they're just not good enough. And again, no one's arguing about our script not being valuable.

Sure it is. And there's no question that if Gough is under heavy pressure on a game, he's not going to be as effective. But within the context of this offense, the way it's put together by Ben Johnson, he is really efficient. And as you know, Colin, you love quarterbacks. You've been studying him.

He's a West Coast guy. I mean, when he's comfortable in the pocket, He is a beautiful throw over the football, and he understands the NFL game. He understands you have to make tight window throws. They work the middle of the field more than any pass game in the league. And under center play action, far and away, the most under center play action snaps in the league, and he's a master at that. How important is their run game to their offense? I think it's really important.

Two different kinds of backs. Montgomery is kind of the inside grinder. They run a lot of gap scheme. Gibbs you can run anything with. Gibbs is just a dynamic special back. I actually loved what Brad Holmes said when they drafted him because obviously people said, hey, you're drafting a running back in the first round.

You just don't do that. And his point was, no, no, he's a weapon. And I think that's the key fact here. This guy's a weapon. They're not using him as a foundational piece in the sense that give him 20 carries a game and everything we do runs through him. They're using him as an explosive weapon.

And that's what you're trying to build on your offense, explosive weapons that stress and challenge defenses. So let's talk about your Greg CoSell's big play of the week. It includes the Lions. Yeah, you know what? I figured we'd go with a running play this week, Colin.

We always seem to do past plays. Let's take a look at a running play. And this was a big play in the game last week in the divisional round. This was Gibbs' 31-yard touchdown run. So let's take a look at it. Because this really speaks to what Gibbs is. And a couple of things,

things were very interesting about this play. I mean, we obviously see the dynamic trades, but they lined up in what we call 21 personnel. They had a fullback on the field, okay? He's offset to the strong side, the tight end side, and there's eight in the box. So we're going to dispel that myth that you can't run against eight in the box, which is a total myth, by the way. And what they did here, they're going to run a lead play. They're going to have the fullback lead up to the strong safety who's in the box. And then they're going to have a double team on the play side up to the linebacker. That's the design of the play.

That's where they want the play to go. But if you look at these two defensive tackles, they prevent the play from really going there, and Gibbs, with great vision, sees that. Look at his path. He's starting to follow the fullback. But he sees those two defensive tackles. All of a sudden they appear,

and he doesn't feel comfortable going that way. So he cuts back, and then he cuts back, gets to the third level. He's one-on-one with one of the best safeties in the league. Antoine Winfield, and then you just see the dynamic burst and acceleration to score. That's what we talk about when you talk about a weapon. He can score from anywhere on the field, and he's dynamic in the past game as well. They don't split him out a ton, but as you probably recall at Alabama, he split out a lot,

and he was very, very effective doing that. Yeah, he and Tony Dorset get to full speed half a step. I mean, he is immediately at full speed, and there's a lot of different backs. Adrian Peterson had that ability to get full speed, half a step. By the way, you mentioned that Wingfield's a great player in the back end. He's a great player. Couldn't get close to him. Greg Kosell.

Yep, didn't touch him. Greg is always great seeing you. Thanks, Colin. Appreciate it. Yep. So he said, one of the things he said with Harbaugh and Herbert. He'll be under center. So he takes that snap, more of a run game, more play action.

He can see the field. because when you take the shotgun snap, a lot of times you're looking down, you don't see the safety, you don't see late movement in the snap. Herbert, early season MVP consideration. Yeah, by the way, that highlight that he just showed of Gibbs

on the touchdown run, spectacular run. This is outdoors, grass, not the indoor turf. I mean, Detroit hasn't played an outdoor game since December 10th. No, no, no. I know they're super fast and they run hot indoors and they can put up points. No, Miami feels this way too,

but Detroit especially. They are built for that turf. Right. Are they built for the outdoors? It's not going to be inclement weather or anything in San Fran. I think I saw 40s. San Francisco would be better served, not mow the grass this week. I remember years ago when USC had Reggie Bush.

Yeah. And they were a track team and they played, I think it was, I don't forget, it was Charlie Weiss and Notre Dame. And literally it looked like the British Open Rough. The Notre Dame just decided not to mow. and it was like, I had talked to a coach that year, and it's like it, you don't want to get in a fast track with Reggie Bush and USC. Like that's just, you're going to be in big trouble. Very observant of you, J-Mack, noticing that track. Detroit is?

I pulled some numbers of golf outdoors, and the offense and everything is depressed significantly. Now, the sample size is tiny, but I digress. I have a great parlay for you this weekend, thanks to Draft King's Sportsbook. New users, just use the code heard, H-E-R-D, when you download the app. All right, here's my parlay picks of the week via Draft King's Sportsbook. I like the Ravens at home minus three and a half to win in cover. Feels like 2720 to me.

They've blown out 7-8-9 teams. Chiefs look better than they are due to Buffalo's defensive injuries. I think the over 44.5 in that game feels right. And I'm going to take Jared Goff over one and a half passing touchdowns in San Francisco. You got to score to beat San Francisco. They're not getting a great pass rush, and I love Detroit's weapons. I think it's a good game. You want to take the herd parlay.

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Call 877-8-8-Hope-N-Y or text Hope N-N-Y 4-6-7-369. See show notes for full details. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only least. 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. A win is a win.

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.

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And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 problem. Podcast. Busy, busy day. Greg Kossel hit it out of the park. No, Brock Purdy does not make my top 15 players in this game, although he could be very productive against the Lions defense, which is susceptible to the big play.

J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line. Hard to argue with my picks. It should be. Oh, yeah. So, very, so difficult.

Let's start with Jim Harbaugh. Next coach of the Chargers. It's officially official. He did play for them for two seasons. Here's what he is. Here he is talking about what it feels like to be back with his former team. When I played for the Chargers, the Spano's family could not have been more gracious or more welcoming. Being back here feels like home, and it's great to see that those things haven't changed.

This organization is putting in the work, investing capital, building infrastructure, and doing everything within its power to win. Great effort equals great results. We're just getting started. It almost sounds like a politician, huh? infrastructure, building things? Building a new facility. So-Fi is one of the best stadiums in the world.

I think it's magnificent. I think the new facility for the Chargers is beautiful. They've spent money on a quarterback, a pass-rusher, a star weapon. We've got draft picks. I mean, it's a really good job. You have the number five-pick. We've got a guest coming on Final Hour. You've got to make sure to ask him.

He knows a little about the Chargers. he said on my podcast he thinks Roe Madunizay goes five to the Chargers. That's that awesome receiver on Washington. I know you're not a huge fan of taking a wide receiver there. You like Bowers. Everybody likes Bowers. But

given the injuries to Williams and Keenan Allen getting up there, he's always dinged up. You need another receiver. They just drafted a receiver in the first round last year. I'm not doing that back-to-back years. You might not. Why can't I? Winston, who was awesome against Harbaugh in the two years of the time? If you're going to do that,

why can't you move down four to five spots and get him? Because he'll be available in four to five spots. That's possible. And then I can get another third round pick. Someone's got to want to come up to go five. By the way, it's a good thing that Chargers don't need a quarterback because Justin Herbert's locked in for like the next 15 years because first three picks are going to be quarterbacks. And they also don't need a left tackle and three of the top 12 pick.

It's a loaded quarterback and left tackle and edge rush or draft. And they've got those three covered. So many things work out here They need a tight end Another receiver Everett's a free agent Who Everett's pretty good I thought he had a solid year

He's a two or a low one Both they're running back They're free agents Kelly and So I think they're going to take The tight end Brock Bowers I like Bowers a lot I think you could move down

One spot and get like a third round pick Extra and still get him Because I don't think he's going to go top five I think he's going to go top eight So if somebody wants to move up And get a quarterback like Atlanta and you say, okay, we'll move back a couple of spots, but you have to give us. You're trading up for the fourth best quarterback in the draft?

Try winning without one. Let's see what happens with the Falcons. Do you see they interviewed 14 different guys for head coach so far? That's a disaster. All right, let's move on to the Eagles, and Nick Siriani. He survived. He's going to be coaching next season. Now he'll have a new OC and a new defensive coordinator.

Siriani met with the media for the first time since the playoff L to 10. and he said he's focused on proving he's still the right guy for the job. In my mind, you better believe I'm thinking, how do I reprove myself, right? I was a young coach that Mr. Lorry and Howie and this organization trusted to give the job to. I had to prove myself that, you know, this guy can lead, you know, the organization like they asked me to. And I had to prove myself from then. And I think that, you know, you asked me that question, like, did I, like, have to sell my vision? No, because, again, it was business as usual.

But you better believe that I'm thinking after that one and six finish, after starting way we started and doing the things that we've done in the past, that I'm thinking I'm going to prove them right again. Yeah. I don't have terribly high hopes right there. I don't. Some of the theatrics. Was it his first impression kind of like, ooh? No, no, no. No, it was, not only the first impression, his first press conference, I've never seen anything like it.

And then they get to the Super Bowl, and you're like, oh, well. Well, no. And I was like, when he wouldn't give up the play calling initially, it was ugly. So first press conference bad, I made two calls. Both people were like, not quite sure he's ready to be a head coach. And then his first year was bumpy. So I was out completely. And then, you know, Shane Steichen is sort of a Kyle Shanahan level, McVeigh level kind of a,

assistant and then you're like oh okay and then when his super and by the way the guy at Arizona canon people really like him now they do but the other thing I can't get over Siriani actually thinking Matt Patricia was the guy on defense like well you gotta remember at the time that he appointed in in the season they were reeling but still Matt Patricia oh my gosh I'm not even gonna do it

let's go to the final story two of the best quarterbacks in the game are set to face off Sunday. Lamar versus Patrick Mahomes. This is the first time they will meet in the playoffs. Lamar said he's expecting a tough battle. I don't like competing against him at all. But yeah, I mean, he's a great quarterback. Definitely Hall of Fame.

It's not even a no-braining. I believe it's just two, two greats, up and coming grades, just going toe to two, you know, like a heavyweight fight. Those guys are the former Super Bowl champions. And to be a champion, you got to go through a champion, you know, so that's pretty much the mindset. It's amazing. This has been a good year for the obvious to be confirmed. Like, every reasonable person thought, yeah, Jim Harbaugh's a great coach.

And then there's these strange people that keep pushing back. And it's like he's never lost. Right, who? Oh, God. The criticism of Harbaal was insane. I mean, the first year... I think it was about the cheating, not whether he's a good coach. No, God, no.

He got clobbered. clobbered by the other network, clobbered by him. And Buckeye fans. Well, there are SEC homers over there. Come on. Well, and so the point is, now nobody can deny it. Lamar, all the data tells you in 77% of his games, and it's like, oh, this is that. And now he's favored to beat Mahomes, and if he does, by the way, Jared Goff, I was saying this this morning.

If Jared Goff, this is such a big weekend for Jared Goff. I can argue it's a bigger weekend for golf than anybody. else. What? Lamar got to a conference championship game. If you lose him, a home. Jared Goff is a seven-point dog. What do you know? No. No, I'm saying what quarterback can be elevated. If Purdy wins, it's because he got better players. Oh, of course. If he wins, it's because of the better players. If he loses, he stinks. No, no, no. No. If he wins, he's not going to get the credit. Shanahan and the roster's going to. They've been getting it all year. So when does he ever get credit?

Well, we'll see, but not... Oh, okay. So it's impossible for him. If Mahalms wins, he's already a made man. Got it. If Lamar wins, well, he's going to be a two-time MVP. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no.

But everybody... He's had two-playoff wins. He's a big spot. He's going to be a two-time MVP. Okay. If Goff wins, there are still large factions that think it's all McVeigh. All McVeigh. He will then get Dan Campbell and the losing...

lion something Stafford could never do to the Super Bowl. It's so weird. He is a made man if he makes the Super Bowl. Just hearing you say this, it's, it's, I'm struggling to understand. If Jared Goff gets Dan Campbell to the Super Bowl, Jared Goff's a made man. But then you just said if Brock Purdy does the same thing. No, it's the play callers and the, and the style. Because Kyle Shanahan is considered a top five coach.

We made fun. Ben Johnson's getting a head coaching job. He's called all the place. We made fun of Dan Call him. Campbell two years ago. We were making fun of his biting kneecap jokes. I mean, you had Amaraz St. Brown, top ten among players as a receiver, right? And Jemir Gibbs

was in the top 15. Very good players. Best offensive line in the league? Nobody's disputing it. It just feels weird. Like we're going out of our way to really not credit Brock Furti. If, it's like, you know, it's heads I win, tails you lose. That's what you're doing

with Brock Purdy. It's like, if they win it's stacked deck. If they lose, well, Purdy is terrible. that again. Heads I win, tails you lose. Let's flip a coin. I can't lose.

I don't love that formula. I like heads, I win, tails you lose. That formula feels foolproof. No, it just, it feels unfair to purdy, and I get it. He's a dead last pick in the draft,

a lot of disrespect and, nobody's disrespecting, and we're just appropriately respecting it. It's not disrespect to say, it's pretty good. Okay, fine. Tomorrow, do you want to do for fun? The blind quarterback test?

I'll just put some stats on the screen. No, I don't. Because, again, no contextualization with that. Oh. How about we put the quarterback's Kyle Shanahan is all made great? How about we play that game? Okay. It's the, not the blind resume.

It's the X-ray vision, so we can actually see the truth. No blindness to it. I can't wait to see the Trey Lancers and Nick Mullen stats up there. J-Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The HARD line. Be sure to catch live editions of The HARD, Weekdays, and New News.

Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's Ben, host of the fifth hour with Ben Mallor, and would mean a lot to have you join us on our weekly auditory journey. You're asking what in God's name is the fifth hour? I'll tell you, it's a spinoff of the Ben Mallor show, a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture, if you will, a world where we chat with captains of industry,

in media, sports, and more every week. Explore some amazing facts about human nature and more. Listen to the fifth hour with Ben Mallor on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

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

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. 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 taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of too. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On Fox, Jared Goff aims to lead the Lions to their first ever Super Bowl while Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, and the top-seeded Niners await. The NFC championship game Sunday at 6 Eastern on Fox. You know, Goff has a sense of humor. There's a soundbite, Jared Goff. A reporter was talking to Jared. He's got a sense of humor about all this stuff. He gets beat up all the time and everything. Here's Jared Goss has. Here's Jared Goss.

off talking to the Detroit media. Got a lot of really good players, obviously, but maybe now... Oh, thank you. What's that? I said, thank you. You're welcome. Maybe that viewed, though, as the superstars, like, maybe the 49ers. All right, never mind.

It's funny. So, I was thinking about this. You never know. The reason Harbaal works is, you know he's a great coach. You know Vrable got Ryan Tannahill to a number one seat. You know he's a great coach. coach. Belichick was, I think he's just kind of tone deaf to offense, but you have no idea. Whenever a coordinator gets hired, he's obviously been a really good coordinator.

They're not taking average coordinators and making them head coaches. So the numbers you look at are always like astounding. So Dave Canales gets hired by Carolina as the head coach. And these are the last three quarterbacks and his guidance and what it's produced. reduced. Russell Wilson for three years, had three unbelievable years. Gino Smith completed 70% of his throws. He was a bust with the Jets. And Baker, Baker's numbers are, I think Baker's reasonably close to those sort of numbers as a player. They're a little higher than his career average.

But I mean, the Gino numbers are like, wow. So Russell, Gino and Baker. But the question is, is he a head coach? It's a totally different skill. president is one job, chief of staff is another, right? They're just different jobs. So I don't, he could work, but none of these coordinators that get jobs, none of them stink as coordinators. D'emico Ryan's when he got the Texans job.

So I made one call to the Niners, and the quote I got back was, complete, utter rock star. A player, two or three years with the Niners, boom. out. Really impressive guy, I was told, in person, owns the room, big alpha, good listener, conveys his message,

really smart. And then you see him at the podium and you're like, yeah, that guy's a head coach. You watch him on it. He reminds me a little of McVeigh. He's appropriately energetic. He's not like Siriani can be sometimes it feels like a fanboy coaching. D'emico and Sean

are pro player guys that get appropriately enthusiastic. Pete Carroll, gets appropriately enthusiastic. Remember this. Brandon Staley was an unbelievable coordinator briefly with the L.A. Rams. Rahim Morris is an excellent coordinator. Didn't do well as a head coach. Now, he may get another shot, and some of this stuff is just circumstantial.

I mean, inheriting, you know, a second-tier quarterback, Belichick is floundering. So, but this guy's numbers are very, very impressive. but being a head coach, a lot of these young guys, it's a psychology test that they don't delegate very well because they figure like they go from making $400,000, $500,000 to $6 million. They got a couple of kids, their wife,

and it's like, oh, I like this lifestyle. This is a big time job. I'm not letting anybody touch stuff. Lane Kiffin really struggled with this early in his career. Delegate stuff. Let coach is coach. The veterans are usually very good about that. The Jimmy Johnson's who do it at college,

a lot of games, they're more delegators. A lot of coaches like to call plays. Lincoln Riley's had a little bit of this problem at USC. Young guy, Oklahoma to USC, a lot of pressure. He's on that headset. I can do better. You know, delegation, culture building. Like a lot of these guys just call plays.

Can they build a culture? That's really the secret to Harbaugh. When you watch Harbaugh during the game, he's not barking on the headset. He's not barking on the headset. It's not what he does. same with Urban Meyer. He's not barking on the headset. Jimmy Johnson wasn't.

So I hope he works because I think Bryce Young is really talented. Really, really talented, but Bryce Young didn't get a rock star as a head coach, and C.J. Stroud did. And again, it's circumstance. So we'll see. Their ownership situation, none of the top candidates, we're going to interview it here in Carolina. So this is the guy you're going to hire. I hope it works. But, I mean, he has hit.

Boom, boom, boom. Resirected Gino and Baker and did very well. Russell's numbers were good pre that, but he really elevated him. So we'll see. I think everybody would agree he's getting his most talented quarterback to work with in Bryce Young. Bryce Young is more talented than Gino and Baker. I'm sorry. People may not want to hear that.

But coming out, Bryce Young was like, this guy is a superstar. He's going to be really good. He was the number one high school quarterback and the number one college quarterback. There's talent there. Now, he may just be too small for the pro game. He looked overwhelmed. I will say in fairness, they have nothing to work with. That's the worst receiving core in the league.

There's nothing there. You can say all with jets. Jets have a number one. The jets have a star. And they don't. So the fully electric EQS sedan for Mercedes-Benz innovation on a magnificent scale, available with the epic 56-inch touch-sensitive hyper-screen. The vehicle's all electric.

The feeling's all Mercedes. Learn more at MBUSA.com. slash EQS, the very latest. Albert Breer is going to talk to us. A member of the Chargers Broadcast Team Harbaugh in tow now for the Chargers. How good is that? Who has it better than them?

Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 acapella band with their between songs banter.

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

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

Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.