The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 – Geoff Schwartz, Tomorrow’s Headlines Today

Episode Date: December 22, 2023

In this hour of The Herd, FOX Sports NFL analyst Geoff Schwartz joins The Herd to share his observations on the Kansas City Chiefs' offensive frustrations, the San Francisco 49ers' playoff hopes with MVP candidate Brock Purdy leading the offense, and his college football playoff predictions. Finally, "Tomorrow's Headlines Today."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered 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 IHeard 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio

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 on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's our three, our last hour, until Tuesday, because Monday we're doing Christmas stuff.

Live in L.A., it's the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thanks for making us part of your day. Michael Urban stopped by. Albert Breer had unbelievable stuff on Mike Tomlin. How about that? Holy molly. J. Mack.

All right, this is our final hour. You got your picks at the end of the show. You did not like my picks this week at all. I did not love them. Okay. Well, you don't have to love all of them. You loved them last week, so I don't feel great about my picks. I felt great about them last week, went forward.

Don't worry about them at the top of the show. Well, it's weird. We're getting to a point now where a lot of people are hurt, banged up. Like, I took Arizona over Chicago, initially loved Chicago. Then I deep dived it, and I thought, four and a half. I'm giving Matt Eberflus four and a half for a team that even when they outplay you can't close. So the last time I faded Kyler Murray on the road was Pittsburgh. I'm like, oh, outdoors and Clement Weather, and Pittsburgh no showed at home.

Are the Bears going to do that? I don't know. I like Chicago. We'll see. Here's one thing we know. Matthew Stafford and the Rams, they held on to beat the Saints last night. Fifth win, six games, watch out. One thing's for sure.

Nobody. Vegas didn't thought the Rams would be this good now. Their special teams, poor. Their defense kids. the secondary is prone to getting beat over the top all the time. What you're watching is one of the great coaches in American Pro Sports in a remarkable talented quarterback. Dennis Allen, Ron Rivera, back-to-back weeks, just got worked.

You know when you go to the airport during the holidays, if you have TSA pre-check and you get there two hours early, it gives you the best chance to succeed, doesn't mean it won't be hell on earth. When you have McVey and Stafford, Stafford's healthy, McVeigh's cooking, they hide a lot of flaws. And the Rams have them. Special teams are scary.

Secondary, watch out. But they make a lot of stuff work. I love Puka Nakua. Everybody does. But 96 catches? This impactful? You think he's doing this with the commanders or the bears? Give me a break.

DeMarcus Robinson. Guy was a bounce around the league-wide receiver. Three teams, four years. He's had touchdowns in four straight games. Fifth round running back. Kyrn Williams. Fifth rounder, Notre Dame, he was good. He's a better pro than he was in college.

He's second in the NFL in rushing. He's ahead of Christian McCaffrey in rushing. Cooper Cups even a third round pick. I mean, it is, I'm not saying it's smoking mirrors. These guys are talented. But McVeigh is getting the most out of everybody. Stafford's an elite all-time talent. There's no question.

He throws as pretty a ball as we've had in a decade. And when he's upright and has time, eyeed arm, side arm, arm angles, deep balls. The guy's a wizard. But I mean, Derek Carr has Chris Lave, who's tremendous. He's got 15 fewer catches, I believe, than Puka, and he's not nearly as impactful. Alvin Camaro with Sean Payton was unbelievable, five-time pro bowler. He was irrelevant last night.

They rarely do the Saints even use motion in offense. They're near the bottom of the league. They line up and here's the play. The Rams offense, second in the league in motion. Jumbo sets, they're constantly putting your defense. Saints have a good defense. Defensive coach, constantly in conflict. And what was Dennis Allen doing before half?

Pin the Rams deep. You'd had a good half. Don't hand the Rams to ball because you fail on a fourth down. Give them full timeouts to march down the field and lay by 10 at half at SoFi. Game over. What are you doing? Pin the Rams deep. You'd played a great half.

You're on the road. Come out. Give yourself a shot. coach buried it. But I mean, ask yourself this. How many teams, and I'm going to use the word love, how many teams in pro football love their head coach and love their quarterback?

Three. Rams, Chiefs, Ravens, that is it. Cincinnati, you guys wanted to fire Zach Taylor before Joe Burrow arrived. Buffalo, three weeks ago you wanted Sean McDermott out. Dallas, nobody trusts McCarthy. Philadelphia, Nick Seriani's not the same. without Shane Steichen.

I look at these teams all around the league. Jaguars, you have some misgivings about Trevor Lawrence. Rams, Chiefs, Ravens. This Ram team should not be this good. They don't have a single elite defensive player in their prime. Aaron Donald's still excellent, but he's out of his prime. Even their wide receivers. Fifth round, Puka, third round Cooper,

tight end, fourth round Tyler Higby, running back fifth round left tackle undrafted who has a left tackle that's undrafted the great ones are all first round second round guys so this is this is really remarkable coaching mcvay and stafford it is a master class and i'm not saying the rams don't have talent i like their i like their offensive pieces but you could put gyrin williams with a lot of teams and puka nukua with a lot of team he wouldn't be 96 catch guy puka's going to go over 100 catches. And last night he was a centerpiece in the second half. And then bounce around the league guy to Marcus Robinson at receiver was a centerpiece in the first half. What's going on here? What's going on is unbelievable culture

and energy mixed with a shrewd GM who works very well and collaborates with his coach. And Matt Stafford is something else. Here's Sean after. We sure make it interesting, don't we? God. Dang. But I love the

I love the resilience of this group. They just continue to show up. I thought there was a lot of really good stuff throughout the course of this game. Matthew Stafford was outstanding. Kiron Williams did a great job. I thought the Marcus Robinson and Puka were big time from the very beginning.

Then we gave up some stuff at the end that we got to clean up, and there's a lot of things that we can certainly improve upon special teams. But love this group, really proud of them, and it's going to make for a good Christmas. So, Merry Christmas to you guys. I'm out of here. There's a reason they make it close. They're flawed.

They got holes. This is a rebuild year. There's a reason they dominate teams. And at the end, you're like, why is this Commander game close? Why is this Saints game close? It's close because they've got holes on the roster. Fixable with one more free agency.

They've got some cap space and another strong draft. But it is fun to watch football when it's brilliantly coached and smartly quarterbacked. And that's what the Rams are. I don't know if you heard the news last night. Yoshinobu Yamamoto signed with the Dodgers. Twelve years, 25-year-old star from Japan, 300 million plus. When I worked at ESPN, the other place,

the Red Sox and Yankees controlled what they called the Hot Stove League. It was hot for two teams. It was celebrated. It was never a problem. Kristol for everyone. Now suddenly the Dodgers have the two top prizes. Bad for baseball. Nonsense.

What's bad for baseball is the raise in the World Series, or Otani going to Canada or staying in Anaheim. It's not bad for tennis that Serena dominated it like nobody else for 17 years. It got its biggest ratings. Or the Tiger dominated golf for 15. He left, so did the ratings. The Dodgers are now must-see TV, and the sports never been even.

How many World Series titles do the Rockies Mariners have? How many do the Yankees have? The Braves are always well-run. Detroit never is, in recent memory. The sport's not even. There's no salary cap. This is now Oceans 11. Pitt and Andy Garcia and Bernie Mac and Julia Roberts and Matt Damon and Don Chedell

and Julia Roberts. It's one of my favorite movies. How unfair, though, it's got all the stars. Yes, all playing roles. There's no guarantee the Dodgers even when a single world series. Baseball's quirky. The season lasts forever. Arm angles, pitchers, all of a sudden,

Walker Bueller just disappeared this year. It happens. You're always on pins and needles at the end of the season and in spring trading. Will the arms stay healthy? The Dodgers last year moved off some stars in 100 games. Even with these two additive superstars, it's 104. That's their over-under. There's no guarantees this is going to win and dominate baseball.

If you could get a couple World Series over seven, eight years, the Dodgers probably be pretty happy. It's a different sport. It's not quarterback led or NBA superstar led. It's a collaborative vehicle that needs the right manager, the right analytics. You've got to have three, four, and five guys with some power and pop, but not be owned and burdened and literally only able to score with home runs like the Yankees. You need athletes, old and young, a bullpen and a setup guy. But this idea that it's bad for baseball is absolute nonsense. It was celebrated when the Yankees and Red Sox because of the Yes Network and Nesson were way ahead of the sport.

They just bought whoever they wanted to. Listen, I know you can watch conservative news outlets and think nobody likes California, but our economy is number one by a mile. The Dodgers outdraw even the second best drawing baseball by 10,000 fans, and trust me, I've had a few beers there. Those are more expensive, too. But it's worth it. Our weather's Mediterranean. It's a great organization, and they reward the fans and defer the payments.

It's not bad for baseball. Tampa and the World Series is. Otani and Canada is. It's must-see television. It's MJ's Bulls potentially, but not assuredly, because baseball's never really. work that way, and it's why it's quirky and weird and fun and different, and the season's too long, and the games can be plotting and too slow. But this is great for baseball, a villain for everybody outside of Los Angeles County. Sports needs them. The Dodgers are feeding them,

and I can't wait. All right, Cowboys Dolphins, headlines a very interesting weekend. We'll talk about it Next. Live in L.A. It's the herd. I have a great parlay for you this weekend, thanks to Draft King Sportsbook. New users, use the code heard. That's me, H-E-R-D, when you download the app, and that takes under two minutes. Here's my parlay pick of the week via Draft King Sportsbook, and we had a very good week last week. I'm going to take the Jaguars plus one, getting points at the bucks. Tampa Bay has been a good story. Jacksonville's a better team. I get a quarterback edge off an ugly loss. Cowboys plus one and a half at the Dolphins.

Miami struggled with physical teams. Dallas didn't look like it against Buffalo. They'll be ready to be physical. And I'll take the Broncos at home minus six and a half again off an ugly, disappointing loss. They'll circle the wagons and beat a Patriots team that is pretty lifeless. If you want to take the herd parlay, check out Draft King's sportsbook. Sign up, quick, new users. Use the code herd when you download the app, H-E-R-D.

One plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem, call 1-800 gambler. In New York. Call 8778-8 Hope-N-Y or text Hope NY 4667-369. See show notes for full details. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but 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 for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, welcome back. Eight years in the NFL. Knows Andy Reid very well. Was there with the Chiefs. Jeff Schwartz is joining us live. Fox Sports NFL analyst.

There's a lot of things to talk about lost in all this because we're talking so much Dallas and Buffalo and the Rams. Lost in all this is the Chiefs who have been really the dynasty has been formed over the last four to five years. So Andy Reid has been incredibly positive, Jeff. Every time we bang on Cadarius Tony or some lapses or a drop by Travis Kelsey, he's very positive. And I've said that it wouldn't shock me if they got to a Super Bowl, but the margins are time. tiny now. They're just not very good at receiver. You've been there. Do you think he's barking behind the scenes

and playing, you know, nice? What do you think's going on with Kansas City as they evolve and have limitations we haven't seen in years? I don't think he's upset or barking behind the scene about the drop passes. I think the irritate him, obviously, the irritate Patrick Mahomes. I think he's more upset

about the penalties and mistakes, right? Like the penalties, the fumbles, those things, I think you can sort of control as a player. Hey, line up on sides. Don't hold. Hold on the football. It drops happen, and it's very clear this is what the offense is going to be this season. And look, you can yell and scream at Cadaris Tonal all you want to line up on sides. And look, they have a valid point.

They maybe not were warned, but he was off sides. They're going to call that. He was very off sides, right? It was kind of funny that the NFL just made up for it by calling like seven of them last weekend as well. But the real issue is they don't have anyone else calling. If they yell at Eras Tony, if they make his confidence and lower it down by being on him all the time, by yelling at him, by getting angry at him. They don't have anyone else.

I mean, Travis Kelsey said it. When he gets the ball in his hands, he is electric. And that's the problem right now. They have Travis Kelsey. Rishi Rice is turning into a good wide receiver. He's going to be really good. And then what? MVS can't catch the ball.

It doesn't get open. Backup tight ends. Okay. Watson's good down the field. But they need Tony, right? Because Skymore can't do it. Not going to be James. Not going to be Hardman.

So they need Tony to play well. So you can't yell and scream at the kid. He knows he messed up. He knows he keeps messing up. So you have to try to get him to play confidently, catch the football and not make mistakes. I think the offsides, the holdings, the fumbles are kind of bothers some more than maybe Tony lining up off sides or not catching the football.

Former Chief Tyreek Hill talks a lot but backs it up. They host Dallas. I think Dallas humiliated, pushed around will be hyper-physical. If Tyron Smith plays, DAC will be comfortable. And I think two is going to be under three and a half hours of duress. I think Dallas can hammer them. What say you on that matchout, which is the Fox game of the week, and it's frankly before Ravens Niners the most interesting game over the weekend?

Well, the Cowboys' Offens' Lunt situation is not great, right? If Smey doesn't play left tackle, that's a problem. And Zach Martin had that thigh bruise, and those thigh bruises can be painful and hard to come back from quickly. So if they're healthy, I agree with you. Look, there's just typically two ways you lose, right? The team's better than you. You play. That happens.

Like, you can accept that long. loss, things to lose, accept it. But if you get, if you lose because you're physically pumped, right, you're pushed around the field. And Dallas surprised himself on having an offensive line that pushes the defense around and then a defense line, right, that hits the quarterback that's great from playing from ahead. And they didn't do that against Buffalo. And so the next week, especially in a prideful team, and Dallas is good.

Are they great? No, but they're good. They typically come back to next week and push the other team around. And the dolphins this year have been susceptible against. teams that do that, against teams that push them around. I think you look at Dallas and say, look, man, we can't play like we did last week. We've got to be more physical.

Let's push the dolphins around. And I agree with you on Dallas just being more physical in this game because guess what? They have to be. They couldn't play any worse from that perspective. But again, those offensive line injuries those are really concerning. If they don't have those guys in the lineup, I think Martin's more likely to play than not. That's a

big problem for Dallas. The biggest game of the weekend, if not Miami, Dallas is Ravens Niners. I would argue the last roster that was as stacked as San Francisco was that Seattle team when Russell was on a rookie contract and they could bring in guys like Cliff Averill and Percy Harvin to a young group of just super talented guys. I haven't seen a roster like this in a decade. Now they add Hargrave to it, Chase Young to it.

It's almost unfair. It's like Alabama during the dynasty about six years ago. They just had pros everywhere. The other teams didn't. Do you think they wreck Baltimore or the Ravens as a dog, as they're prone to do, get cornered and play well? I think the Ravens at times just need sort of the special moments from Lamar Jackson to play to their best capability, which you're certainly capable of doing. But it's the Niners. Is that what you want to rely on is like Lamar Jackson having to make those special plays? Obviously, he can do it, but it feels like a tough task.

I mean, you have to sort of win the line of scrimmage and try to force party into mistakes. The biggest down in this game is first down. If the Ravens defense can get Brock Purdy into longer situations, that's where, look, Brock Perry's outstanding. He's played great this season. It's like the one thing I think you can try to get him on is, let's get him third and long, let's pressure him, and let's try to get him into mistakes.

If you get him second and short, third and short, you're just not stopping this offense. There's too many parts. There's too many options. And so the Ravens have to win first down to make this happen. The flip side, just got to protect Lamar and hope he doesn't have to be the hero in this game because hero ball against Niners just gets you in a bad shape, right?

defense alignment, you can't run away from those guys like, like you can, other teams, and they're physical and they're big. And so I do look, five, I think the line is five right now. I'm not wager in this game, but either the Niners can win this game by a touchdown. It wouldn't surprise me. They're really good, man. Like they, look, the Brock Purdy thing, it is what it is. He's the MVP.

He's playing outstanding. The traditional stats show that, the advanced stats show that. The film shows that. I mean, you can make any argument you want. He's got a great coach, yes. Great wide receivers, yes. Great left tackle. great running back. But most MVP's

have some of that on their teams, and we don't question that. It's all because of his draft slot. He's played outstanding, Matt. And he deserves the MVP, and this game will show that again. All right. Finally, you do a Best Betts podcast with Bear, Chris Felica. There's two big games, Washington and Texas.

There's Michigan and Bama. Is there an upset in the offing? What do you make of Washington's high-powered offense and the Longhorns, inept at times, overmatched secondary? Is that the upset to you? Yeah, I don't know. Isn't an upset if a 13-0 team wins again?

I mean, look, I am no Washington fan, as you know. And I thought after they beat Oregon the first time, they would go 12-1-0. That was my prediction. I thought they sort of had the mojo. Look, their defense is not, there's no metric that's like, man, great defense, fourth-down defense. They're really good at that. But they just make plays, calling.

Like, they make plays when it matters most. And offensively, when you add in the run game and that offensive line that just won the Joe more award. Like they just have a more balanced offense now. It's not reliance on Michael Pennock's having to do everything and they're going to have to be good up front because of Texas defense aligned. If they can hold up, I think they can score a bunch of points in this

game. I have the over in this game. I think there's a lot of points on both sides. And they're going to score, I think, a lot of points in both directions. And Washington keeps showing, man. And I keep saying like this is not going to continue. They can't keep winning these close games. But Colin, they keep doing it. Like at some point you have to just say, you know what? They're really good in those moments.

in this game, it'll come down to a moment. And we've seen now for two years in a row, not just one year, two years in a row now in those big moments, they get a sack, they force a turnover. Roma Junete is the most unguarnable player in all of college football. He's open all the time. And so I think that those things are the reason why Washington wins that game. I think Bama wins the other game. I think Bama wins the championship and the committee will get credit for putting them in there

at four. So I have Washington, I have Alabama, and I think Alabama wins that game. By the way, so you're not a buyer on Michigan? No, I think in college football, Colin, you have to be really good explosive plays, right? It's hard to just go down the field against really good teams and sort of just go four yards, five yards, three yards, seven yards, eight yards, because eventually you make a mistake. These are college kids. And can Michigan create enough explosive plays offensively in the passing game against Alabama? I don't think they're going to just walk down the field 10, 14, 18 play.

drives against them. So that's my concern is I don't think they can do that at a high enough right now. I think the other side of the ball, they have to hope to obviously shut down Alabama. And Milrose is really, he's good short, he's good deep. If they can sort of shut down one of those, they'll be able to play better on defense against Alabama.

But I just don't think Michigan's offense, calling, has that explosive play capability against Alabama defense. Jeff Schwartz, as always. Have a great weekend. A lot of good football. Next couple of weeks are magic. Good seeing you, bud. Same here. Take care. Yeah, the Washington, Texas game feels like a wild fireworks show.

Secondary issues for Texas. Great coaching receiver quarterback playing O-line for Washington. Everybody likes Bama now. So I like Michigan. Everybody likes Bama. The whole world likes Bama. I think Texas is the most talented team left, but there's a lot of different things.

Quarterback play, situational football. I think Washington's the best situational team. I think Texas has the best talent. I think Michigan's the most forceful, and Alabama feels like, feels like they're the most disrespected, and that matters. Which coach with a month off do you think has the biggest edge of those four? Kalen DeVores. I think he's the most under-

Over Harbaugh and Sabin? Yep. Wow. Okay. All right. I like him a lot, but I did not expect that answer. You consistently surprise me here, Calhurt. Well, ever since you dropped the tight-end revenge game is the game of the weekend, I've been

off center. You're obsessed with that. Yeah, yeah. A little shook. as they say. Yeah. J-MAC with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Let's go into those chiefs receivers a little bit. Listen, they've had some issues. Raiders play the Chiefs this weekend. And Raiders' corner Jack Jones through some bulletin board material when asked about Casey facing Casey's receiving group.

I've been a lot of talk about Mahomes' weapons and receiving court, people thinking it's not what it was at other times. How do you assess, you know, the receiving core and his weapons? We're not worried about him. It's Patrick Mahomes, we got to stop. You know, the magician. You stop the magician, then the act is over.

I mean, you say that's bolted board material. Like, he's not wrong. Are you worried about Cadarius, Tony? Like, you got to scheme up Travis Kelsey. Sometimes in life, you need imperfect situations, because it's all that you have. And Tony is the best. He delivers enough of what they need

that I can deal with his drops. They just don't have enough twitchy athletes now that Tyree Hill's gone. So they just need Tony's explosiveness. I can live with drops. There are very few perfect players. That's just a very few of them. Is this line a little weird to you?

I know it sounds like I bet every single game this week. I have not, but I have bet the Chiefs. So Casey went to Vegas when they were struggling. They fall behind 14-0, and then they win by like 17. And now they're only favor by 10 at home against the Raiders? What am I missing you? This feels light, does it not?

It does. I like the Chiefs and the Eagles as huge favorites. I didn't put either in the Blazing 5 because historic numbers tell you don't. But I'm with you. I could absolutely see the Eagles winning 3313 and the Chiefs winning 39. What was the Raiders Bacchanal like after beating down the Chargers, getting their coach fired? you know they were living it up for days.

That was a big party. Reality will set in this weekend in Casey. I totally agree. Next up, speaking of wide receivers, George Pickens, who's been up and down for my fantasy team. He's gotten a lot of criticism after not blocking on this play last week. You could see him there at the top of the screen kind of, it's like he's glitching in a video game.

He's just standing there. Just embarrassing. We heard from Tomlin yesterday, and now former Steelers coach, Bill Cowher. He has chimed in on Pickens. It is disappointing to see and hear what George Pickens talks about, because culture really is about, it's about commitment and sacrifice. And, you know, you're not just playing with one another.

You're playing for one another. Because to me, it's all about effort. We're going to make mistakes. I get it, you know, and sometimes we don't make the right call. But the one thing you should never be questioned is your effort and your ability to be there for your teammate, picking somebody up. So that is very bothersome. I think there's got the consequences to that.

Yeah, I mean, I see continuing. continually. A.B. Lavian Bell, George Pickens, Deontay Johnson. I see a looseness to the culture, a permissive, especially with offensive stars. Tomlin looks the other way, and I don't think that's, I think that's become a trend in the organization. He sort of lets offense do their own thing. He would not permit it as much with defensive players. Is he tone deaf to offense? They certainly draft and develop offensive players, but we have a trend now, several. year seven, eight of it getting very loose on the offensive side. Very

me over weed. Does it go back to go back to Breers point about Tomlin maybe in Washington or Carolina? Does Tomlin look around the locker and say, damn, I don't have a quarterback. I got these punk receivers. We spent all our money from the salary cap on defense.

Like, maybe I do just tap out of this and then move on. I think I don't know if Mike thinks like that. I just know taking jumping, I have a friend in this situation. Sometimes just getting off the treadmill for six months to a year.

Sean Payton and I talked about this, just the perspective of watching the entire NFL, going out to dinner, sleeping in, living a real life, sort of watching from 33,000 feet is a real advantage. You can see some stuff that on a weekly basis

you don't have time to deep dive into. So Mike Tomlin certainly has been a credit to the league. How about Take a few months off, watch the league, watch some college football, see what you see. Take a deep breath and then jump back on it in a year or two. Should we consider that this summer? Just take a step away from football? We don't have those options.

We have to grind every day. America's honesty brokers and treadmill runners. Final story. Now, this is a story that's kind of popping today. There's a lot of moving parts. But in college football, apparently Florida State is going to start the process of leaving the ACC. This move comes less than a month after FSU became the first undefeated major conference champ

to be left out of the college football playoff. Now, I'm trying to follow this story as we're doing the show. It's difficult. There's a lot of reporters and people claiming to be insiders chiming in. But bottom line is FSU's ticked off. They say, ACC doesn't get the respect it deserves. We're out. So yeah, a month ago they were defending the ACC,

and now they're asking for a divorce. So a month ago, they were outraged that we all didn't respect the ACC, and now they won out. So, you know, the whole grass is greener thing? You think the grass is going to be greener for FSU and the SEC? Nope. That's going to be a rude awakening. So where do they go? They don't go anywhere.

They're not strong enough to be independent. They're throwing a tizzy. They're having a tantrum. you had a chance to blow out your last opponent. There's never been anything stated legally that you go undefeated and get into the playoff. Grow up. There's four spots in five conferences plus Notre Dame. There was always the possibility that all five Power Five champs went undefeated.

We knew that from the beginning. Grownups knew that. Don't throw a hissy fit. Alabama went 8 and 0 or 9-0 in the 8. SEC. They're getting in. You're undefeated in the SEC. You beat Georgia. You're getting in. I don't care what happened in September. So, uh, 12-team playoff coming up. Yeah. FSU stays in the ACC, they're fine. They're probably getting in every year, right? Immature people overreact. They're going to go crazy. You go to the SEC. They're only taking four teams to the 12.

You're not going to be one of them. Four may be pushing it, but you know Georgia and Alabama are locked in. And at LSU at Brian Kelly. LSU's product. Oh, here comes Texas, Oklahoma. So you're not getting it. So you go ahead and overreact. Take a deep breath, grow up. Things happen.

There were no guarantees. You look like crap the last couple of games. Move on. It's one thing to go to Boston College in October and Duke. You know, it's another, that SEC gauntlet. Judge people in life when they don't get their own way. Don't judge a dad when his kid hits the game-winning home run. What if he strikes out on a bad umpire call?

Get him next time. Get him next time, champ. That's what that is. So when people don't get their own way, true colors come out. Uh-oh. It was unfortunate. It was unfortunate for Florida State.

There was nothing in writing that said undefeated in ever. And I got news for you. You're giving me Alabama undefeated in the SEC or the weakest Power 5 conference, arguably. It ain't close. I'm taking Bama. Just be ready for the 12th place.

And Bama would beat them by four touchdowns tomorrow. By the way, if Jordan Travis stays, I haven't looked at his L. but like they're going to be really good next year. I know there loads a lot of guys on defense, but they're going to be stacked again. We're fine. I love to see him overreact and go to the SEC.

Just put another W every year for LSU, Georgia, and Bama. Well, we beat LSU just give Brian Kelly a couple years. What conference is Texas going to? Where's Oklahoma going? SEC. Yeah, Texas. Like it's not good enough now.

Good luck, FSU. Yeah, good luck. ACC will never be the Pac-12 and disappear, but It's, you know, because basketball is so powerful. Right, right. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Heard Lye News. This is the best playoff we've ever had, like four grown-up teams. All could win the national championship. We've never said that before. There's always a team that deserve to get in and they get boat raced in the first weekend. The Cincinnati's or the, we've been doing that for years. And every year, it's a boat race. I've seen the history, the precedent of it.

We put a team in that deserves to be in. The deserved team gets smoked like a narcot of bikers rally. Every time, every year, smoked. No thanks. Dennis Miller's line. J-Max picks next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app.

Hey, I'm Doug Gowler. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches, we talk to players, we tell you stories.

You download it, you listen to it, I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Ghalib on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where Do you don't Hoping 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. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

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

mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-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 Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big time, 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, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Make sure you play this week's. Fox Super 6, free-to-play game. Download the Fox Sports app and enter for free for a chance to win your share of $10,000 in weekly cash prizes.

Well, this is our last 10 minutes together. And then, after your picks, we head into a Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. We have Christmas off as a tip of the cap to our art department at Fox. It's a beautiful set matching my gray hair. And so it's beautiful. And then we're going to watch. And then we're back Tuesday.

There's a Ravens Niners to talk about. There's a lot of NBA on Christmas Day. There's multiple NFL games. So Monday is our Sunday. And then Tuesday's our Monday. I know that's very confusing. But there's a lot of pressure on you. We've both been on a little bit of a heater.

And you told me earlier in the week you did not like the lines. I did not. But to quote the immortal Stephen Jackson, I make love to pressure. Okay, I love some. All right, here we go. We call it tomorrow's headlines today. Another awful watch. Steelers Bingles pinch me.

Listen, money's greed, whether you're watching a great game or a crap game, but Steelers Bengles should be fun, Colin, right? The headline will be Rudolph the Red Zone reindeer, had some really shiny throws. Yes, I'm going with Mason Rudolph. It is the side here. I think so. So, listen, Cincinnati, no Jamar Chase, obviously big.

DJ Reader, their run stopper, he's out. And then this is, you know, we talk about pitchers second time through the lineup. Steelers have already seen Jake Browning. He didn't do anything the first time around. And I just wonder if, despite not having two safeties, the Steelers are able to cook something up. Perfect Mike Tomlin spot, right? Underdog at home. We're now talking about Tomlin maybe leaving the Steelers.

first non-winning record or under 500 record in his career. Like everything's against Pittsburgh. I think this is the time you jump in. Listen, I don't know that I'm jumping in with both feet. Well, Mason Rudolph's been there for years. He knows the system. He knows the personnel. I'm not a huge fan.

I think he can get it done. We saw Nick Mullins carve these guys up last week in Cincinnati. Like, come on. Pittsburgh. I think Pittsburgh wins us. All right. Tomorrow's headlines today. Another dumpster dive.

Good God. against the Falcons. This is just massive playoff implications in this one. No? I mean, both teams fighting for their lives. The headline will be Bijan Gerbredman. Robinson decorates home with touchdowns. Listen, that's a tough one.

I liked it, though. Bejohn Robinson, listen, Atlanta's in a tough spot. We heard the owner this week say, well, we'll reevaluate Arthur Smith at season's end. This is one of those games. Arthur Smith fading downward. Everybody loves Shane Steichen. I just wonder if this is the game. Atlanta in a dome.

After an awful loss last week to Carolina, nobody's touching Atlanta this week. You've liked this since Monday. Did you see the money's coming in on Atlanta? Everybody picking the game, like, you know, the public, the TV people, everybody's on the Colts. The money's on Atlanta. I think Taylor Heineke, you know, the plucky backup quarterback,

all those adjectives for like, you know, white guys who run around in the pocket. I think Heineke gets it done. I like the Falcons to get the dope. Finally a watchable game. Tomorrow's headline today, the big Fox game, the one I really want to watch. Cowboys down in Gucci Road down there in Fake Miami and Sun and Fun and Flashy. I think we'll probably be texting during this game.

I try not to text on Christmas Day, you know, a lot of excitement. I texted him two nights ago and he sent me an office, a radiologist office. Yeah, I had an MRI. No big deal. Anyways, let's go to the game, Dolphins Cowboys. The headline will be. Dolphins don't die hard. McDaniel goes McLean on McClead.

Look at that. Hey, come on. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? Just kidding. Listen, the Miami Dolphins are the side here. We saw San Francisco with the Shanahan offense just destroyed Dallas. McDaniel runs the same damn thing. And he's got Mostert, who's tied with the league lead in touchdowns.

We got A. Chan, who's a burner. You get Tyreek Hill back. Colin, even Michael Lurvin was here during the commercial. I said, dude, is McCarthy and Dan Quinn really going to play man-to-man on Tyreek Hill and Waddle? Because Blan is going to get destroyed. We saw D.K. Metcalfeat eat him up. What's Tyree Kill going to do to him? I just, I don't like this matchup for the Cowboys X's and O's Wyshe.

Yeah, maybe the trenches favors Dallas with the O-line injuries to Miami. I'm just, I'm taking Miami here. Wow. Different side. If Tyron Smith doesn't play for Dallas at left tackle, then Chubb gets pressure. If Tyron plays, there'll be no pressure on deck. Yeah, you saw what happened when Buffalo's running the football in Dallas. Play keep away from that offense.

We're down the defense. Michael Parsons just look frustrated. You do know that 75-25, 70-30 cowboy fans. This is not Buffalo. It's fair. Buffalo fans will not sell their tickets. Like they have campaigns. Miami fans are selling.

They're selling anything. You know what I mean? Miami's transient. Buffalo's not. People in Buffalo are offended. If they find out you sold your tickets and they sit next to a cowboy fan, the next time you go to a game and you're sitting there? You get a beer dumped on you or something?

That's right. Buffalo's living real. Those games matter. Tomorrow's headlines today. I wanted this one. Eagles Giants, I think Philly's going to roll. If you watch the first hour, you know where we are on this one. This should be a blowout.

The headline will be DeVito Ho Hopeless. Tommy gets on New Year's naughty list. Listen, the DeVito charade is over. This guy's not an NFL quarterback. The Saints showed him last week. Come on, dude. We got six games to tape on you now. Two games last year, Philly against the Giants.

absolute destructions. Like they won't by 20-20-plus. I like the Eagles bouncing back here. So do I. I mean, it's just, Philadelphia has a lot of problems, and there's nothing better than a get-right spot. Philadelphia has got champagne problems.

They do, yeah. Two-star receivers, two good tackles. They got a lot of dudes. If you looked at their last six games, I mean, Seattle's a good team. They're an average team. The other teams are all, like, in the top 12 in the league. They're facing a brutal schedule.

They outplayed Seattle. And now you just stepped down. in class against the inferior giants. And I think this is a 30 to 10 pick your score of Eagles. All right. Finally, everybody wants that big present on Christmas. Tomorrow's headlines today. Monday night football, MVP bowl, Ravens against the Ninus.

Great game. I mean, just a phenomenal matchup. The two Super Bowl favorites, best teams in each conference. The headline will be Brockin' around. The Christmas tree. Have the Happy Monday night. Look at my guy, Brock Purdy. I think the Niners win this.

I do think it's close. I'm with you. I think Ravens are probably the side at five and a half. But man, the matchups in this one, I just, I don't see Baltimore stopping San Francisco. This offense, Colin, they score 30 points every game. Just put it up, 30 points. And then can the Ravens keep up without Keaton Mitchell? I think that's a huge loss for them.

I know people say he's undrafted, but where are you getting the pop from in the backfield? Like Gus the bus is in between the tackles guy. Justice Hill is. So, listen, I like San Francisco. We both agree that the best team in the league. I think Brock Purdy shows everybody here. He's the MVP. Now, if you do think Lamar and the Ravens are going to win this,

you need to bet Lamar to win the MVP, right? Because whoever wins this is going to come out as a favor. Brock slash McCaffrey. By the way, Ravens linebackers, you like Roquan Smith, the safety, Kyle Hamilton, very good defending running backs out of the backfield. This could be a tough game for McCaffrey. I would look at Brandon Iyuk as possibly starring in Debo Samuel here.

Kittle, they've done a great job against tight ends, the Ravens have. I think Iyuk and Samuel go off. Purdy has a big game. Niners 3027. All right. Earlier today, both kind of surprised us, if not shocked us. Albert Breer came on. And, you know, Mike Tomlin, defensive guy, that's the culture.

They look inept offensively. And there's been a lot of talk about Tomlin to the Chargers. and I asked, I asked Albert, he's not going to get fired, right? Steelers don't do this. Thoughts on Mike Tomlin, Steelers coach, going forward. I don't think he's getting fired. I do see a path, though, to a place where he's not the coach next year. And here's how it happens.

There are going to be two owners out there, presumably, with ties to the Steelers organization that are relatively new owners that are going to have openings in a couple weeks that they're looking to fill. One, the job is already open in Carolina, David Tepper, a former minority owner in Pittsburgh. And two, Josh Harris, the new owner in Washington. If he moves on from Ron Rivera in two weeks, so both Harris and Tepper have relationships with Art Rooney. They've both seen Mike Tomlin from the inside. And they both could very easily pick up the phone and say to Art Rooney, what would it take for us to get Mike Tomlin out of there? Yeah.

I'd have a hard time hiring a defensive coach going forward. Now, D'emico Ryan's can be an exception. Maybe Tomlin is an exception. But going forward, 12 of the 14 current playoff teams have offensive coaches. And by the way, some of the most disappointing teams, New Orleans, New England. Like, we think they have real talent, you know, like New Orleans, disappointing. Buffalo, hot now, defensive coach, been disappointing. Belichick just feels tone deaf.

So Ben Rothesberger and Tomlin worked, right? Well, they were thriving. 12 years ago, 13 years ago, it felt like a different league. It's fair. I'm saying like when you get the quarterback, Tomlin doesn't have an issue trying to rein him in or anything. They were throwing high-octane offense. They had dudes. The offense was fine with Rossisberger.

It's not good without him. I mean, what are they, five years now? Can't find a quarterback? Yeah. Finally, Dolphins Cowboys' biggest game of the weekend, I think Michael Irvin, the superstar earlier, his thoughts on that game. This is very, very, very careful waters that they have to tread because you absolutely need to make sure you're proving to yourself that you can win games on the road. And this is your last great opportunity and you have to prove it to yourself because you're going to be playing playoff games on the road. They have to get their mindset ready to go on the road.

And this is a great opportunity to put all of this stuff shoulders up behind them and say, we beat a good team on the road and beating Miami. That's why this is a huge game for them. Listen, as Michael pointed out, if Dallas wins, they're four and four on the road, that's fine. If you can go 500 on the road, Super Bowl teams have done that. It's how Dallas is performing. Embarrass themselves against San Francisco. Embarrass themselves against Buffalo.

You can lose on the road. Brady and the Patriots and the dynasty struggled at Denver. Like, it happens. It's hard. It's hard to go on the road and beat really good quarterbacks. It's hard to go on the road and beat Josh Allen and go on the road and beat the Niners machine. It's when you get humiliated. It looks like you're physically not ready to play or prepared.

So, I mean, if Dallas lost 31-27 and played well and Tyreek beats him over the top at the end, that's almost a win. That feels fine. But Dallas can't go down there and just lay an egg. You can't do that. It's okay to lose on the road. You got to show up. And there have been a couple times. They did not show up.

Ugly stuff. I like him. I think they're going to be real physical. But again, it's the NFL. It's like Jacksonville. I like Tampa over Jacksonville. What if Trevor Lawrence plays? Well, then I don't like it as much.

I think C.J. Bethard is going to play. So a lot of this stuff is Sunday morning who plays? If Hargrave and Armstead don't play for the Niners on Monday, that's not the same run defense. They're going to have success running the ball on them. We didn't talk about Jordan Love against Carolina. I stayed away. I like Green Bay, but it's four and a half.

I think Green Bay wins. It's probably close. Jordan Love, his contract talk is going to be interesting this offseason. I don't know what you do with them. I think they're going to keep him. He's going to want to get paid. They see the growth. Chicago wishes they had with Justin Fields, my guess.

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

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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. 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. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey,

or my career in sports media. Now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.