The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 - Jets QB Quandary, Eric Mangini

Episode Date: December 4, 2023

Colin talks more on the Jets disarray at quarterback. And he doubles down on FSU being excluded from the CFB playoff.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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD 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 SportsRedio.com

Or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. All right, welcome back. Eric Mangini is rarely gives us an opportunity to get him in studios. But we had a big town meeting here today with a bunch of important people upstairs. And so you were part of that. We had our show going on. So I want to start with this because years ago you were in the Niners building.

Yep. And there's a certain culture that has been built up through the years. They've had, you know, Singletary, Harbaugh, Chip maybe not as much, but the current coach, physicality, toughness, it's in the building. It kind of breeds itself.

And Jay Mack and I had said this. Extra Day's Rest against an Eagles team that went to overtime. Defense was on the field for 90 plus snaps. I kind of felt like he was one of these games. Philadelphia was going to have

no gas in the second half. And I think San Francisco is better, but some of this feels like situationally, Eric, you went into games on a short week and you're like, we got to do stuff early because we'll have nothing left late. Well, it's not just the last game, it's the two games before that.

They had Kansas City, they had doubt. Every week for Philadelphia, it's been these heavyweight fights, and then they get to San Francisco, and there's not that much left. Right. Where for San Francisco, their last three games haven't been nearly as challenging as what Phillies had to go through. Their tackling was bad. I thought that I thought Philly's tackling was bad.

I thought that, you know, after they got held of the two field goals early in the first quarter, if they could have scored on either one of those, that could have changed momentum. And then once San Francisco got rolling, then the score is a lot more lopsided than really the game was. And it just felt like Philly was tired. It's like San Francisco was up for the big game.

San Francisco was up for the NFC championship rematch. San Francisco was motivated. And Philly is like, okay, we got another, we got another one of these games. And then they got one next week too, right? It goes to Dallas. Right. It's like week after,

weak, Philly's getting challenged, where San Francisco rolls in there, and it's just a different equation, and it felt like it. Listen, they've blown out Dallas, and they've blown out Philadelphia. Is there, you know, it just, they got better players than a lot of people. When you have to face Shanahan, if you watch their film and you were facing them, you know, a lot of times you can say, take away their first look, take away their weakness, make them left-handed. I'm not sure they have a left hand. Like, is there something you could do to attack the Niners?

Because Dallas and Philly couldn't do it, where you do think it would weaken them. Yeah, well, when he was in Atlanta and I was in San Francisco calling the defense, it's too hard to match what he does. So it's shifting, it's motioning, it's multiple personnel groups, it's a lot of different formation. So if you're trying to match everything he does, then it becomes multiples of multiples. so the approach was more spin the Rolodex. So, okay, they're going to surprise us, let's surprise them. So if you bring blitzes that are unexpected, if you're bringing things that are not on the timetable

that he's anticipating, then you've got a chance to make some big negative plays with him, and it throws them off the rhythm. Also, you do have to go disrupt the receivers. There's a timing element to this offense. Yeah. So if you cut them free and they're running in zone, now that's catch and run, it's big spaces, and it's hard. to match that. It's too

fast and they're too good at it. So you've got to try to get them off balance and you also got to disrupt the timing. Now that Iyuk has become such a weapon, is there one of their players, McCaffrey, Debo, Iyuk, Kittle, if you said, okay, we're going to try to eliminate blank.

I would think instead of doing that, because it doesn't matter, look at yesterday, Kittle catches a check down and goes for 20. Iyuk, he catches a little shell across. She goes for 30. I mean, it doesn't matter.

It's these little checkdowns. I go for 20, 30, 40 touchdowns right across the board. I would think a better plan would be, okay, this play we're taking away, this play, this play, this play. So again, they can't predict who you're taking away. So when they think you're doubling one, you go and double a different one. So, again, you're putting the pressure back on them to try to figure it out. And especially with a young quarterback, what it looks like, isn't what it is, and it can't be the same thing over and over again, because he is a smart

player, and he can't process that. So you just got to keep giving him different looks to try to confuse him. So Dallas and San Francisco, I don't think, have an overbearing flaw. So they're correctable. The lion's back end and the Phillie and the Eagles back end, I don't think are correctable at this point. The trade deadline's gone. I do think there are some limitations to Philadelphia when they lost their linebackers. You can't replace Steichen with Steichen. The kid is brilliant, right? And I do think there are some situations.

As I watched Philadelphia, I thought they're a very good team. But they're not a great team with personnel. Is that fair? Well, what you're banking on in Philadelphia is that, okay, your back end isn't very good, but your front is so good. And you've got depth on your front. So there's a lot of times where you can survive with DBs that maybe struggle as long as you're getting the pass rush, as long as you're getting,

the pressure on the quarterback. And when teams are able to slow that down by either running the ball or a lot of quick plays or catching, you know, putting those guys on their heels, that's where a secondary really gets exposed. They're banking on the front seven winning the game for them and then being able to survive on the back end. And when that doesn't happen, they got a lot of, they got a lot of issues. So I want to talk Kansas City, Green Bay. There's an egregious miss on a deep ball for Kansas. city. Now, I thought Green Bay was the better team.

But it's a, it's not even PI, it's tackling. But you have a theory on this. Yeah, so we would go into games, coaching the secondary for as many years as I did, you're going to do business as business is being done. So you research the officials going

into the game, you know what they like to call, what they don't like to call. So if guys are, if it's a crew that doesn't really call a lot of past interference penalties or a lot of illegal contacts, you're going to be more aggressive. If you go into that game and suddenly they're calling it tight, then you've got to pull off. But as the game unfolds, they're not calling it.

You get that much more aggressive knowing that you can take chances because that's not how they're going to do it that week. So as long as you do business, as business is being done, then you're okay. It's when you don't adjust, you've got real problems. I kind of feel like with Kansas City, they're kind of learning on the fly. So is Green Bay, but our expectations for Green Bay are lower. City has got the same Green Bay stuff, which is a young talented receivers. They're not quite all there yet, but we're not fair with Kansas City because they're a dynasty.

At this point in the season, if you don't have a buy to correct stuff, you are what you are, right? Can you get much better? A buy you can because I saw the Cowboys. McCarthy went to a buy. They've been a different team. Yep. But you're on a treadmill now. Well, here's the thing with Green Bay that I think is happening, and this happens a lot.

when you've got a young team, you get to about the middle of the season, and those guys should take a dramatic jump. Because an older team, that's where injuries start happening. That's where fatigue starts happening. And the older players tend to either steady off or decline. With a team like Green Bay, who's as young as they are, the reps are building up. They're not getting the injuries.

They're used to how the NFL season works. So now they take this dramatic leap. So they're all growing together and they're getting better together. And the other thing is a little bit like you don't know what you don't know when you're young. You don't know that you need to be intimidated by Mahomes. You don't know that. So there's that competitive ignorance that's actually a great thing for a young team. Because you believe you can play with anybody and you can beat anybody.

And you've got that youthful arrogance that can really help you as you get into these games that other teams don't necessarily have. You know this with Brady. You dealt with a young Brady. But I thought one of the problems last year with Aaron. Aaron is a Hall of Famer. He has a standard. And he just didn't have the patience to deal with you running the wrong route. It was like he was Bruce Springsteen and the band was all hipsters.

He's like, guys, hit the notes. Jordan Love is like, yeah, I'm going to throw some wild erratic crap here. We'll grow together. So like Jordan Love will go to the sideline be like, bro, I'm bad. I do think generationally, I like that Green Bay, 25-year-old guys growing together. I think it does matter. Yeah, it's huge because Aaron is also that very strict parent with such a limited patience for any type of mistake.

And he holds himself to a high standard, but he's going to hold you to it. And he also doesn't forget. So you're not going to get a chance after you make mistake necessarily. Christian Watson dropped the first play in his career. And that was it for. Where would Jordan Love? Yeah, he's been there for a long time, but he hasn't played.

So he's going to make a ton of mistakes. These guys are going to make mistakes. They're going to laugh about it. They're going to work together to try to get it fixed. They're going to appreciate each other's flaws and try to help each other get better as opposed to feeling like you're getting scolded by the teacher for making mistake in the class.

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, it's Ben. host of the fifth hour with Ben Mallor. It 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 Mather show,

a cult hit overnights on FSR. Why should you listen? Picture if you will a world when 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 Mather 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, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

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

and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The 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 Tickford. Talk 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 a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all 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. 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. Okay, let's pivot to Aaron right now. There's a story that Jets want Zach Wilson to play and he didn't want to play. Yeah, I kind of don't blame him.

So I will say this is that, and this happens in all life and all business, is that, you know, the grass is always greener. And the one thing I said when Aaron left, I'm like, dude, you've never had a bad O-Line. Green Bay develops and drafts old lines great. This Jetso line, outside of Elijah Vera Tucker, you could get four new. I mean, it's a struggle. I'm not saying that Aaron didn't appreciate for long, extended periods, what Green Bay offered. But it's like anything else.

If you get something, you know, if your parents were rich and you drove a Mercedes or a BMW to school at 16, if you got a new BMW at 35, you'd be like, been there, done that. I think sometimes, Farb at the end and Aaron at the end didn't quite understand how well-run the Packers were, and then you go to the Jets, both of them, you know you were there and you've got impulsive owner guy, media's got fames, everybody's impatient. You know this. New York is hard. The Jets are hard.

Yeah, the New York media is radically different than the Green Bay media. And I know everybody's exposed to the national media now at a different level than it was, but it's a different criteria and it's a different level of scrutiny. and things are dramatically different organization to organization. And sometimes you think, oh, my God, you hear stories about how great this place is run or how great that place is run. And then you get there and you're like, this isn't what I signed up for. This isn't what I expected.

I do think if Aaron was playing, it would have a dramatic impact on everybody. The old line would be better because it would be different types of schemes that they would face. my main frustration with the Jets is the Browns run the ball all the time, regardless of how effective they've been. They lead the league in rushing attempts, where the Jets are almost last, and they've had three good running backs. They got rid of Michael Carter,

but with a good defense, even if you run the ball and you're not getting what you want to get, you're giving that defense a chance to rest. You're giving that defense a chance to come out and play strong. They never do, you don't have that in New York. There's nothing that they rely on, and there's no way to take the pressure off the O line right now. So every week, it's kind of the same movie playing out over and over again.

Yeah. All right, you were with the Patriots. You've got ring after ring after ring, three Super Bowls there. There's been a cultural shift in the NFL. It has pivoted to offense. New England is inept, and it has got, for three straight years, significantly worse. Are you shocked how bad it is? Yeah, I'm shocked.

that they have given up 10 points or less than three games and lost all three of those games. And when you look at the coaching staff, so Bill is obviously talented, Bill O'Brien has been a very successful offense coordinator in the NFL. Even Joe Judge, you can say what you want to say about him, but he's been a good special teams coach. They've got really good coaching in place, and it's shocking to see some of the mistakes they make, some of the self-inflicted errors that they have, which is, which is, which is, so off brand for what it's been for year and year out, regardless of who the quarterback is.

It's amazing that they are where they are right now. I just, I don't know if you're going to go and find a better coaching staff if you do move on from Bill. And you might want to think seriously about giving them another opportunity to get this right before you just think, okay, we're going to scrap all of these, all of these, all of these, guys. Green Bay has drafted more twitchy talented receivers in two years than New England and 10. Just take him out of personnel.

Yeah, that to me is the challenging part because he's had so much influence for so long. But he's only drafted two wide receivers in the first round over the life of his... Both were busts. Chad Jackson and Nikiel Harry. Yeah, there's those two guys and then there's Derek

Alexander back with the bronze, the Michigan wide receiver. He was not bad. But that's not really his forte. I think a real weakness has been their tight end position. It's always relied so heavily on tight ends. Neither one of those guys are blockers. So you've lost that component of the offense.

It's always been such a big part of it. And it is pretty amazing to see where they are at this point with the quality of coaches they do have on that staff. When you watch these games at this time of the year, do you ever miss coaching? when when somebody wins a big game and and or a tight game and you you remember that feeling and that emotion and what the locker room is like and the camaraderie and and how special that is you missed that component of it but then when somebody loses on the west coast and they know they've got to go back to the east coast and they're going to get in at six in the morning and then you've got to gray the tape then you've got to meet with the I mean there's just it layers upon the coast. layers of work to do week in a week out, you think, ah, that's, I don't really miss that aspect of it. You know, I would, being on the back end of a 70 point loss, like the Denver staff had to deal with at one point, that would have been pretty rough to you know.

So there's, there's moments where you think of all the great things, but unfortunately, Colin, the special moments you kind of appreciate for this amount of time, this little amount of time and the losses tend to linger longer than anything else. I used to cover the late Jerry Tarkhanian and he said, I can, I remember every loss. He goes, he goes,

the winds are not nearly as satisfying as the losses are painful. Yeah, the winds are, it's like this brief euphoria and the losses are like a bad hangover. He's just hard to shake. It's that fourth gen. Yeah, it's the fourth gen. You don't feel,

you don't feel good for three days. Yeah, there's nothing you wake up when you're happy about. Eric Mangini's on a plane getting back to New York. Great seeing you again. As always. J-Max's around the corner with tomorrow's headlines,

no, her herd line news, excuse me. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 beings.

potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'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 what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kine has, They 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 camp? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. 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. Good lively show today, some college football, pro football, a security government. named Dom pushing people around. J-Mack with a news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Dom characters, apparently well-known throughout the league.

I don't know them. I've never heard of them. Teams have security personnel to protect coaches, not necessarily players as much. Yeah, not to put their hands on players. Yeah, I don't think he should have put his hand on a player. Good, good. Glad we're in agreement. Speaking of coach and player, Lakers beat the Rockets over the weekend. Look at this.

If you're watching on FS1, LeBron getting into it with email. Udoka, the coach of the Rockets, both got technicals. It was Udoca's second tech, and he got ejected. But what's funnier is if you watch the fans behind the bench, watch their reaction when one word is said, it's like, oh, wow, they got ejected. Now, I've been reading and researching this heavily. Have you seen what allegedly was said between you? Yes, I saw that.

Okay. I wouldn't use that word, especially to describe a six-nine man. A hulking LeBron. Yeah, I don't like, I don't like Adoka needs to grow up. Like, I mean, stop being a tough guy. You're a coach. You're a grown up now. A lot of people coming at LeBron this year.

Did you notice that? He's old. I mean, he's turning 39 this month. But, I mean, you're a coach. You're in management. This guy already screwed up a great job in Boston by not being a grown-up. Well, you know what he's trying to do? It's toughing up his Rockets team.

Young kids, hey, you know what? We've got that attitude. We're not backing down. We're going to call LeBron out on his. I get that. And I thought he did a great job in. I thought Boston took a step back because I think he's a good coach. I really do.

I think he's an intense coach and he's an intense guy. But you are a coach. I mean, I don't know. I hold like general manager, coach. Like a general manager's got to be above all of it. A coach has to be above most of it. And like, LeBron, by the way, was classy. LeBron's like, why don't you stop using that word so loosely?

I totally respect how LeBron handled it. You don't? I thought it's fine. I like this stuff. This is fun. A little subplot. Is that how you run your organization, your soccer? I've been known to yap it up.

little bit, a little jaw jacky. And you're an owner. Listen, I also, yes. I saw Mosgov, you know, we play him in the playoffs. I saw him at the gym. Oh, you're trash talked. A little bit, a little bit. He's that former NBA player, but, you know, we got a squad. I thought LeBron handled this with class. He said, why didn't you stop using that word so loosely? I'm sure that's exactly what LeBron said. Like a school teacher. Yeah, please stop using that language. I don't think that word should be used.

You've never said that word? No, I haven't. Ever? not at directed at somebody. I haven't said it today. I mean, I've said, hey, the B word, I've said like, oh, I get tired of people being about, you know, blankty blank about life. Complaining.

I would never say it directly to a human. That's, yeah. By the way, Lakers, huge game tomorrow against the Phoenix Suns in the elimination game. The tournament, you know, the end-season tournament? It's not a huge game. It's a elimination game. Laker, it's going to, I'll be there in the building. You're going to disband the organization if they lose?

No, no, I'm telling you, this is a massive... Lakers' Sons? This is for... I mean, there's $500,000, I think, right? At stake for each of the players if you win the tournament? That's not huge. It's noteworthy, but you're making it sound like the sons have to disband the franchise if they lose.

Stop. It's not going to change anything other than a couple of bench guys are going to go buy a nice car. You watch. This game will be super intense. Next up, ah, this stinks. Kenny Pickett. Ankle injury, surgery, out two to four weeks. They hope he's back for Week 18. Colin, I was invested

in the Steelers here. I watch this game. It's 3-3. They're on the goal line. Pickett gets hurt. Next play, they bring in Trubisky, dumb handoff, turnover on downs. Kyler Marie goes down the field, 99 yards, touchdown, and that felt like the ball game. And then it was like all these

weather delays. The Steelers. Let me ask you. Do you know this was the staff jokes? Is it 7 out of 8 weeks the game I don't bet? My blazing 6, my 6 pick, Because I always tell the audience what it is, one. This was my pick.

I liked Arizona plus the points. Now, are you going to acknowledge now? You've been a hater on Murray. He was good yet. He's a very good player. You know what? I just looked at the draft order. This win cost Arizona dearly.

They are now down to third. So, they are third at 3 in 10. Washington, Chicago, the Jets, the Giants, Tennessee, all right on their heels. Go ahead, Arizona. Play your way out of Marvin Harrison, Jr. Go for it. Congratulations. Well done, guys. You also played your way out of the number two pick.

You could have traded it for Drake May, draft capital. That loss hurts Arizona big time. Well, Kyler Murray doesn't want. He wants to win games. This is a rookie coach. They want to win games. They want to win him. At number three, they will get Marvin Harrison. That's not the way they played yesterday.

They don't look like the third worst team in the league. Well, they're not. I told you. When Kyler Marie plays, they are tough out. He is gifted. Yeah. you guys all bang on Kyler Murray go find me seven guys in the league that are consistently better and he's doing it with

nobody now. Tray McBride is emerging as a stud tight end. And they had that running back back. Connor looks like played right in tough. Just a quick thought so the Steelers are not making the playoffs down. We would agree. Time out. Yes they are. Their schedule is horrible. They have Mitch Trebisky. He'll be back in, uh, pickets back in two weeks.

No, two to four ankle surgery and he's back in two weeks? I don't think so. And anyway, it's not like he's great. I mean, come on. So the door is ajar. I think the Indianapolis Colts and Shane Stuyck, dude, they might go to the playoffs. It's insane.

You know, you and I agree on this. I would have no problem giving Shane Stuyken coach of the year. I think he's been great. Offensive guy emerging as a stunt. He's been brilliant. I think he's been brilliant. Plucked from the... That game yesterday was a circus.

It was a mess. Multiple block punts and wacky interceptions. Over time. Yeah, there was a two-point conversion interception, run back for the score. That's cool. You don't see that a lot. Final story, week 13 wraps up tonight.

Bengals, Jags, kind of a snoozer on Monday night football. This could be like a night where you hang out with the wife, actually, instead of watch football, maybe? Yeah, yeah, I'm going to... This is not a great game. The lines up to 10. Well, I'll watch it because I like Trevor Lawrence.

You can have it on your phone while you're at dinner or something. It's not like a must see. This feels 31. You think the Bengals are getting... 3220. How are the Bengals getting 20 points? I mean, they... Now, I've seen some numbers on Trevor Lawrence as a favorite in his career

over six points, not good. Not that many teams are good as a six point favorite. It's hard to win in the NFL by a touchdown. So we have it on the screen as nine and a half, but if you want to go online, it's 10, a bunch of places as well. Bottom line is, I think it's Jags or nothing here. Now, they're your final blazing five for a four and one.

It's not bad if they deliver. Well, I said Friday, I didn't know what I was getting. I've kind of moved into, at this point in the season, defenses are beat up. I'll just take the best quarterbacks. Have you looked at the lines already this week? I've already bet several games to speak. All right.

Jay Mack for the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. So, you know, it was something we talked about in the first hour, about Florida State not getting in. I can have sympathy for Florida State, but I'll go back to something I said for everybody that's worked up and thrown a tantrum in Tallahassee, is there are

four slots available in the playoffs and five Power 5 conferences plus Notre Dame. So there's never been a guarantee that undefeated gets you in. That's never been part of it. And I made the joke earlier. When you go to a wedding, is it open bar or not? If it's open bar, you drink your wedding. You bring your drinking shoes. If it's not, you bring your wallet.

But you know going in what the wedding is. That's the first thing guys ask is an open bar. When you go into a college football season, you know undefeated does not guarantee anything. It's important, but liberty is undefeated. So when people say, well, undefeated doesn't mean anything. No, it doesn't mean everything. It means some things. It gets a Florida State team that's putrid offensively in the discussion.

It got you close. And people say, well, what about Ohio State years ago? They had a backup quarterback. Uh-huh. And I watched the game against Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship. And they won 59 to nothing. And in Florida State won 42 to 10, they would be in. We all know that college football, style matters.

the aesthetic, the optics. It's always mattered. And how do we know it matters? Because you have four slots in five conferences. So plus Notre Dame. So you could have all of them go undefeated. And you'd have to make a decision based on who looked better, who you think's better, who's got. So you're arguing about stuff when you knew going into a season.

And it's outrageous to argue that when you go to a third string quarterback and your offense suddenly becomes absolutely inept, you're the same team. That is intellectually dishonest. You are not the same team. Louisville's not good. They lost the Kentucky. You struggled against Florida and Louisville to end the season. That's not the same team you were when you beat LSU.

You're not the same team. Years ago, Kenyon Martin and Cincinnati, remember when they had a great program, they were number one in the country, and Kenyon Martin broke his leg before the tournament. The tournament said, well, you're not the same team. Because they weren't, and they got. bounced. So Florida State now gets to play Georgia and go ahead and complain and yell

and Georgia's a two touchdown favorite. They would not be if Jordan Travis was playing. Georgia would probably be a five and a half point favorite. So your touchdown less and inches not feet, nuance, context, it all matters. The idea though, that aesthetics don't

matter, this is not the NFL NBA, it's not the World Cup. That's not, this is not what it is. four spots, five conferences plus Notre Dame. It's always been there's optic to it. There's optics that matter. And the other thing is,

what are we going to tell the kids? They're your kids. You make $9 million a year as a coach. You figured out. I hear that all the time in life. What do we tell the kids? Well, they're yours. I don't know. That's why you get paid a lot. And have 28 people on the staff. Tell them that effort doesn't always translate to

results. That's a very good message. You can work very, very hard. I compare the college playoff a little bit to college admissions. You can have a 4.3 GPA. You took AP courses. You have perfect attendance.

You have great references. And you apply to UCLA. And they're like, you don't get in. But I was perfect. Yeah, so were 27,000 other kids. Tough choices, many options. Not everybody gets what they want. That's a wonderful

message to your kid that if you work hard, you usually get what you want. But not always. Not always. UCLA gets 100,000 people trying to get into their school annually. It's a global university. About 15 get in. No C students apply. You don't get everything you want.

But what you don't want to tell your kids is don't throw a tantrum. realize that life's full of these dark, difficult moments. So when administrators for Florida State and coaches and it's outrageous and what do we do with the kids, I don't know. What do you do with your kids? My messaging to kids is always the same. Life's not fair. Do not use the word deserve in the house.

Work your butt off. And you'll usually work your way into success. But not always. and when you don't, be grateful for the opportunity. We'll see you tomorrow. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends.

Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving. for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple

podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you not to be played with.

And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human.