The Herd with Colin Cowherd - HOUR 3 - NFL, OBJ

Episode Date: January 18, 2022

The NFL seems to have Covid under controlOBJ playing well looks really bad for Baker MayfieldGuest: Peter Schrager Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a 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. I mean, 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. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Sports Radio. Thursday night on FS1, it's a huge night of college hoops featuring some of the top teams in the country. Purdue takes on Indiana at 7 Eastern. Then at 11, UCLA battles Utah. It all tips off Thursday on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Purdue, UCLA, are they good enough to win it all? They're certainly good enough to be Final 4 or Elite 8 teams, that's for sure. Peter Schrager, Fox Sports NFL reporters, got his cheat sheet in the Fox Sports app.

What's your big takeaway last night from Matt Stafford? finally got a playoff W. What was your takeaway, Shregs? Yeah, I got the monkey off his back and did not force the issue. Just got it. The numbers were great. I mean, look at it. 13 to 17, 202, 3 touchdowns. And personally, I think they called off the dogs in the second half. So it was actually really good. It got this giant storyline out of the way that he has had follow him for 13 years. But it also wasn't that he had to be the guy. So it was the best of both worlds for Stafford. I think you hit it in the last hour. But I'll tell you this, I've gotten to know Stafford really well.

over his career. Like, I don't think he lives in the same circles that maybe you and I talk in where it's, can he win the big one? I don't think it affects him. He's been the number one guy since high school. He was the number one overall pick at a college and multiple teams have paid him $100 million contracts and have given up picks for him. So I don't think he lives in this. Can I get it done? He's never doubted it. But ultimately, an ultimately, a really important win for them to get to the next round. But I think personally, he doesn't lose sleep on the fact that he didn't give away anything as far as I needed this one for my own psyche. I don't think Stafford rolls in that kind of way.

All right, there's a lot of coaching openings. Are the Texans they interviewed Heinz Ward? Are the Houston Texans getting close? Yeah, look, I think this is a fascinating thing. And Colin, I know you're a big thinker. They're thinking asymmetrically than the rest of the league, whereas every other team's teams say, hey, let's bring in the top coordinators

and the top former head coach. The Texans want to bring it a culture builder, and that can come from any walk of life and with any resume. So Heinz Ward gets asked to interview. He interviews Saturday, and a lot of people are like, Heinz Ward, what the... Heinz Ward was an assistant coach with the Jets for just a little bit.

It was with Willie Taggart at FAU this year. But Heinz Ward knows what that Steelers organization is all about. Culture Builder. Another name that I've heard mentioned for the Texas job is Josh McCown. He's currently a high school head coach. Yeah. Coaches his son in high school. No coaching experience in the NFL.

This model, this is the Steve Nash, Steve Kerr, NBA model where it's, okay, we'll find great coordinators, we'll find great position coaches. Who's going to be the CEO of this coaching staff? And it doesn't necessarily have to be the best guy with X's and O's. It's got to be someone that the players respond to. Texans organization, they know they're not winning tomorrow. They know they're probably not winning next year. They want to build a culture. I think it's kind of refreshing. I know a lot people roll their eyes in the NFL at this type of thing, but Heinz Ward, I mean, we've interviewed a lot worse coaching candidates over the years. Why not bring him in and at least get to pick

his brain? Kind of like what Houston's doing. All right, the Giants are going to go GM before they go coach. They got a lot of issues. Is there a leader in the clubhouse right now for the Giants? Yeah, so they interviewed eight different GM candidates, all from winning organizations. And one of them that is already been being asked back for a second interview per Mike Garifolo at the NFL Network, a former Fox colleague of ours, is Joe Shane. Joe Shane is the Buffalo number two. So Joe Shane comes in here.

He was with Miami for years. and then left to go up to Buffalo when Brandon Bean took over. And what they've built there in Buffalo might be something that's really appealing for the Giants' brass in that they had a first round pick, they nailed it with Josh Allen, they went and they were aggressive and got Stefan Diggs, and they have built through the draft in free agency steadily

to now their roster is second to none. Another name to look for is a guy who interviewed yesterday for the Giants' job, and that's Adam Peters, who is now currently John Lynch's number two in San Francisco, but spent time in Denver under John Elway and New England under Belly, a check, Giants organization is taking this slowly. They have not interviewed any head coaching

candidates yet. They have not asked to interview any kind of coaching candidates. They're doing what a lot of people probably should be doing. Interview the GM first, pick your GM, and then have the GM be the one to ask for interviews from these head coaches. If you miss out in a head coach because of it, that's okay. I think that's process. And I think a lot of teams right now are haphazardly saying, let's interview a bunch of coaches. Let's interview a bunch of GMs. Let's see if we can mix and match. In this case, GM first. And then the head coach. Sort of refreshing to see some order out of the Giants and when they're doing this. You know, it's interesting. If you think about it holistically, the teams on the buy should win

like 85% of their games. Number one, they're at home. Number two, they're better teams. That's why they have the buy. Number three, they get to get healthy. Number four, they face, you know, a team that just won probably a very fierce playoff battle, probably had some injuries. But they don't win 90% of the time. These number one, these buy teams, it's like a little better than 50%. And that's scary because now Green Bay is healthier, but they haven't taken meaningful snaps really meaningful in a month. What's San Francisco think about going up there fresh off that confidence building win over Dallas? You know, the old debate back when like Peyton Manning would be benched for weeks 13 to 16 by Dungey or Caldwell was rest versus rust. Like,

do we want Peyton Manning to be out there or do we want Peyton Manning to be in the them that he was in. And I think teams have more gone into the fact of let's finish the season with our starters at quarterback. As you saw Aaron Rogers get significant snaps in that week 17 game. But if there's one team, I think the Packers did not want to face, it's the 49ers. The 49ers

are on a role right now. And though we don't know the status of Nick Bosa or Fred Warner, who are their two top defensive players, we do know that they've had a lot of success against the Packers and not just the Packers, the Matt LaFleur coached Packers. You went back two years ago, they absolutely waxed them on

Sunday night and then the NFC championship game ran all over the Packers. Now this one here, this is interesting because Shanahan very famously had LaFleur under him in Washington and then had him under him in Atlanta and under his thumb in those 2019 matchups. I don't think they wanted to face a physical team like this. And the way that Debo Samuel was playing and the way that those players on that San Francisco roster know that they have owned the Packers in playoff runs before, I think that could have a factor. There's not going to be any fearful or any scared players on that 49ers team, and I can assure you the coaching staff is not shaking at the thought of coaching against Matt LaFleur, Nathaniel Hackett, and Joe Barry. They've had success

against these guys, and I know that Kyle Shen is dialing it up right now for Debo Samuel, and they'll get it done. Quick note, George Kittle had one catch on Sunday, one catch. No one's talking about it. You know why? Because he blocked his butt off. He blocked his butt off. They all buy in, and that is what the Niners have going on right now. Hey, by the way, I'm, I think Cliff Kingsbury, he built a culture, he won games in the toughest division, he got into the playoffs, sometimes your first playoff game is ugly. I got no problem bringing Cliff back. And Kyler, obviously, I'm going to pay.

He's just too special. There's not a lot of, is Kingbury, is Cliff Kingberry safe, in your opinion? I hope so. I really do because I think in Cliff's case yesterday was maybe his worst game ever, it was Kyler's worst game ever. I would hate to think that's the end of it. we'll see what happens. Bidwill here, I don't think he wants to go through a whole other coaching search here.

As you said earlier on the show, the Cardinals, no one expected them to get to the playoffs. They got to the playoffs here. Now, how it ended, not ideal. But I would like to think instead of just doing a knee-jerk decision here, and from what I gather, from the Cardinals, as of now, on Tuesday morning, I don't think that'll be the case. Remember, they did all this a couple years ago when they fired Steve Wilkes after one year, and they had to replace Ariens just a year before that. So I believe Cliff is going to be given another shot, but NFL has taught me one thing. Never be so sure with these NFL owners.

Yeah, I mean, it's, I don't know. I thought Arizona, I had him for fourth place. Like to me, they completely overachie. I think a lot of people did. Yeah. Shregg is great seeing you, buddy. Cheat, cheat, she. Love seeing you, Con.

You're the best. Fox Sports app. He was also on the Sunday NFL kickoff show. I was too as a Thespian. I was acting a lot on those. I was doing period pieces. Very, people didn't know I could act in America. Well, I can't.

You were on a show. Oh, yeah, I did little pieces every week. But didn't you do that show once? I used to be on that show. Yeah. No, I'm not that show. I'm saying you actually acted in a television show once. I think one time in my life, yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. I can't. It's hard for me. I saw it. They were like, they were pitching you hot sauce or something? Yeah. I don't understand.

I can't fake it. Like, I can do these little pieces, but like actors, can you imagine being Abe Lincoln for a year. Like, you would have to, like, I couldn't go home and be like, Yo, let's cut it up. There's different types of acting. Like, there's acting where you become fully immersed in the character that you're playing. That's what I would have to do.

And then there's one that you just get into character when you, you know, go onto the set. That's tough. You can't be Abe Lincoln at work for a year and then go home and let's make it rain. Like, I have to be Abe Lincoln. I would have to be Abe Lincoln. It would take it like six months for it to wear off? I think it would wear off quickly. but you can't just, I don't know how these people play these, like, Margaret Thatcher.

Merrill Street plays Margaret Thatcher. You're going to tell me on the drive home you lose the British accent? Yeah, Matthew McConaughey's kind of been Russ Cole ever since a true detective. I mean, it's hard. I don't know. I don't know how you do it. I don't know how you get the energy up to do take after take after take. Like, say something goes wrong.

Like, I would snap. Could you imagine doing like this really intense scene and you're like crying and screaming? and then they're like cut the lighting's off. I couldn't do that. I would lose my mind. 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 potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast.

Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS. on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. NetSuite by Oracle's, the number one cloud financial system,

visibility control over your financials, make the upgrade now. NetSuite.com slash her Joy Taylor with the news. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Well, we are in Hollywood, and the pressure's always on out here in Los Angeles. Matthew Stafford, had a nice night down at SoFi. He talked about the experience of getting his first playoff win.

I think it means a lot more to, I mean, you guys and all that. I mean, I just want to be a part of this team and help us win. So I trust in myself, trusting my abilities, trusting my teammates. Go out there and play and let the chips fall where they may. I'm just excited for our team to get the win. Obviously, what a team effort. I mean, our defense played outstanding tonight. Special teams basically set up a score with Johnny pinning them down there.

Did a great job on field goals. And, you know, we were good enough on offense to score some points and come away with the win. Just happy to be moving on. They ran the ball with conviction. It was very obvious what, very obvious what the film told McVeigh. We're just going to run the football, take Kyler out of it. It was interesting.

Arizona's whole game plan was double Cooper Cup. It did not work. Well, I mean, the Rams are a loaded team. If you're going to do that, you're going to have to make sure that the rest of the team steps up. I mean, everything went wrong for Arizona last night. It just was one of those games you could see very early. It was a mismatch. Well, it's like Mac Jones, Jalen Hertz, and Kyler.

You get down a couple of touchdowns early. Now I know you have to throw. Right. Good luck. It changes the game plan entirely. Totally changes it. And especially when you have a defense. like the Rams do with the pieces that they have and the veterans that they have.

Like that's just that's that's a almost impossible hill to climb. Matthew Stafford didn't have to do a lot, but one thing he didn't do is make mistakes, which was the big question about how he was going to perform in the playoffs. He's going to continue to do these interceptions. And he was, he was good. 13 to 17, 2002 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, 154.5 passer rating.

He actually had a rushing touchdown in 22 rushing yards as well. So showed his legs off a little bit. he, they watched for 140 yards as a team, to your point. So they really just dominated this entire game. I think this, I know he's going to, you know, he doesn't say the right thing, quarterback speak, team win, and it was. But this is important. Sure.

Because this was the story on him. Yeah. And he got that first win. Obviously, they have Super Bowl expectations, but it would have been as bad as it is for Dallas this week and how this offseason is going to go for them. that's what we would be talking about with the Rams and Matthew Stafford because of what they they gave up. They're going to need a lot more of Matt against Tampa because Vita Via is going to end your run game.

So Matt's going to not throw it 17 times. He's going to throw it 34 times. Yeah, you're going to have to throw it more against the bucks on Sunday. There are three and a half point underdogs according to Fox Bet. So Raiders interim coach Rich Basaccia said he has had some preliminary talks with owner Mark Davis about potentially keeping the job full time. He was promoted from special teams coach on October 11. following John Gruden's exit from the organizations.

They were three and two at the time of his promotion. They went seven and six under him, won their last four regular season, games to finish 10 and seven, and claimed the AFC's number five seed. Derek Carr and Max Crosby have both said they would love for Basatia to be the next head coach. He did a tremendous job in a situation that was really, really bad and really toxic. They had other issues throughout the season. He did do a tremendous job as the interim head coach.

I don't think you make the decision based off of what Derek Carr wants to do. Yeah, you got to be careful. You've got to be careful about that. I think that that's a very, there's a very, very, very small list of guys that you have to pay attention when they say something like that. It's Tom Brady. Yeah. It's Aaron Rogers. Mahomes, maybe. Mahomes, yeah.

I don't think that's his personality, though. It's not his personality. But, I mean, who knows, you know, down the road. But, I mean, even Russell Wilson, he hasn't said what he necessarily wants. But they're not listening to him. They're not listening to him. Yeah. So there's a very small list of people that can make those kind of demands.

Now, according to the Rooney rule, Davis has to interview at least two minority candidates from outside of the organization for the head coaching job. They've reportedly requested to interview Gerard Mayo, Patriots defensive assistant, and they let go of Mike Mayock and have reportedly requested an interview with the Patriots director of player personnel, Dave Ziegler. All these hiring is going to start to come down over the next couple weeks and through the off-season. But to me, I wouldn't be surprised that they stuck with Basatia.

But I do think that they need, the Raiders are an organization that really needs somebody, similar to we were talking about the Cowboys earlier. I would go with someone who has one who I know can build a culture. We get so caught up in the Raiders brand. We don't pay attention to how dysfunctional they have been year after year after year after year. Like they don't have a culture. They have a great brand, but they don't have a culture.

And John Gruden was supposed to be that. And like clearly he didn't do that either. So, I mean, the Raiders have a massive fan base, multiple cities, huge brands. They need to just settle some things down and start building. So NFL divisional round games are this weekend. And just like last weekend, all the home teams are favored. According to Fox Bet, Tanna Hill and the Titans are favored by three and a half over the Bengals. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are favored by six.

over the Niners. Brady and the Bucks are favored by three over the Rams, and Mahomes and the Chiefs are favored by two over the bills. I would bet every favorite. Only one road team won in the Wild Card round, and that was the Niners over the Cowboys. And they almost blew it. And they outplayed them totally.

Yeah, Jimmy G. insisted on giving the Cowboys a chance in that game, which from the viewer's standpoint was a wonderful watch. The interception didn't drive me as crazy is that fourth and inches. Yeah, you're more irritated about the penalty. Because that's like people throw picks. Like I get Dak had one. I don't crush guys for picks.

You get one a game. If you throw 38 times, you get won a game. You got to figure out if my right tackle set. I mean, that's like high school. That was the game. That would have been over. That would have been over. That would have been over.

Dallas does not get them all back. Yeah. I mean, I think also the favorites will probably be leaned on more this weekend because there were so many blowouts last weekend. I like every. There were two competitive games. Bengals, Raiders was competitive and Cowboys Niners. Every other game was a massive blowout.

So I could see everyone going. I mean, San Francisco is interesting. I have to see how healthy they are. That's, I mean, obviously the biggest line. If Bosa plays and Warner plays and Jimmy's fine, it'll be a good football game. Yeah. Yeah, joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Good stuff. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. FS1 and the IHard Radio app. Mike check. Mike check. Do you want exclusive insight from the biggest names in the sports game?

What's good? This is national champion and former pro baller Chris Johnson. Let me tell you a little bit about my new series, KJ Live. KJ Live is the only show featuring me going one-on-one with the brightest basketball minds on the planet to get the real. And when I say real, I mean that real. I got legendary Hall of Famers, elite coaches, and the top basketball insight to the real. bringing you a unique perspective on all things, Hoops culture

that you will not find anywhere else. To make your next move, your best move, and tap in with me on KJ Live, wherever you get your podcast from. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

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

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 a little kill. Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Fairdi was founded by twin brothers. Want 20% off?

Go to Fairdi brand.com slash herd code herd 20. By the way, the smartest people I've never met. met in my life have never been politicians. I've been very fortunate. I've worked with brilliant people. I've been doing this 25, 30 years. I've met so many smart people. I work with a Rupert, Murdoch family, very successful people. Politicians aren't in the top 10%, 20% of the smartest people I've met. California is a great example. 80,000 people are at the Rams game last night. This city has a high vaccination rate, a high booster rate. And if you are vaxed and boosted, go to the game. You're going to be asymptomatic or get a two-day cold with Omicron.

UCLA on a college campus leans wacky left. They won't let anybody go to watch any of their sports. So all those UCLA basketball players are playing like in a gym that's empty. In the NFL, like big boy sports, the COVID has disappeared. Why? Because they have the world's best athletes. They're all vaxed, overwhelmingly boosted. Nobody's going to die if you're a professional athlete. They live in their little athletic tunnels, especially in the playoffs. You're around players and your family. You don't have time to hang out.

We're past the holiday season, which is obviously that's when families are gathered around the country. But these players aren't vacationing now. Like they're in a tunnel, facility, home, family. If everybody's vaxed, the NFL suddenly COVID disappears, 80,000 people. And these college campuses now won't let, let. like 3,000 people go to a wrestling match or something. It's like, this is why a lot of people, I'm vaxed and boosted. This is why a lot of people are frustrated.

Politicians are sending a million mixed messages. And then you have pictures of politicians all over in America lecturing you and then don't have masks out to dinner with other politicians. You send those messages, you're going to get cynicism from a lot of Americans. And it's like, folks, if you're vaxed, if you're boosted, you want to go out to to a game, go to a game, put a mask on if it concerns you. And by the way, if you have physical things you're scared about, don't go out. All the games are on TV. It's not like when I grew up, there were no games on TV. All the games are on television now. Stay home if you have physical issues

or you're over 75 or you're concerned. Totally get it. And also if you're in that situation, then don't hang out with people who may be, you know, going to games and going out and socializing. If I was 75 and I had concerns or I was obese, then I wouldn't be hanging out with my cousins who were at games and hanging out and going to parties and going to work, I wouldn't hang out with them. You know, I just have to do it. I would meet him outside. I would go for a walk with him.

I wouldn't be indoors with them, all right? But it's just, it's comical to watch some of this stuff. Sofi stadiums jammed around the corner. You can't have 3,000 people go to a tennis match or something or a basketball game. It's absurd. So speaking of Los Angeles is that fit matters. So the number one graded wide receiver in the playoffs is not Tyree Kill or something. Stefan Diggs or Jamar Chase or Cooper Cup or Mike Evans or Debo Samuel, it's O'Dell Beckel.

It's number one rated receiver. And let's be honest about this. I'm not going to be a good guy, nor am I going to be petty. It's a terrible look for Baker Mayfield. Last night, Jarvis Landry, a lot of the Brown's players are going on social media. I don't think Brown players buy into Baker. I don't think the skill players do it all. Jarvis Landry, very, very little chance he'll return.

He's super talented. OBJ didn't work. Jarvis just had his worst year. They have excellent tight ends. They disappear for long stretches. It's a bad look when the Cleveland receivers, when OBJ left, had three touchdowns, and OBJ's got six. You can blame Stefansky, but he was coach of the year.

Ten months ago, he was coach of the year. Don't blame him. Can't blame the offensive line. Can't blame the running backs. Can't blame. It's a good roster. Cleveland's got a good roster. It's still a top five roster in the NFL. If they're healthy on the line, it's the best offensive line in the league, hands down, in my opinion. So, but the bottom line here is, you know, if your wife leaves you and she upgrades, it's a bad look for you. Sorry. And this is a bad look for Baker. And Cleveland players are telling you. Nobody was upset when OBJ's dad called out Baker. Not a single Cleveland Brown player was upset. And it's, I'm sorry.

But now, I mean, I thought OBJ looked almost done to me. He got into the drops. He always had good hands. Have you noticed in L.A.? He got his hands back, got his confidence back. Got his, he's wide open. So, I mean, there's just, it's one of the great things about being a sportscaster is that I talked to a golf coach years ago.

He goes, he goes, if you love golf, you shouldn't be a golf coach because you no longer can just go out and play and have fun. You know, you're always thinking about correcting people. And some people worry about when you're a sportscaster, you can't root. But you can. You can have favorite teams. I tend to root for people I know. I don't care about the teams as much, but I like Chris Ballard. You know, I want to see the Colts do well because I like the GM, right?

Or Frank Reich. I like him. But the downside to being emotional as a fan is the good side is you get really high and really low. and it's a lot of emotion. It's so much fun. You hang out with your buddies or whatever. The downside is you can't see straight. Like if you're still buying Baker, folks, how many examples do you need?

I mean, OBJ is reborn. I mean, Jarvis Landry worst year. Tide ends disappear. And this is the downside to fandom. No reasonable person. I talk to general managers and scouts. They're all done with Baker. Like he's not mature enough.

He's not physically gifted. He's now beat up. He makes bad decisions. but this old BJ thing, it looks bad. It was a terrible look for Baker last night. And the biggest stage with all the pressure on Matthew Stafford, he's never won a playoff game, and O'Dell is thriving. And nobody's living in anybody's head.

Baker's living in your head. Because if you're still buying that, he owns you. I don't. Like, it's over. The O'Dell exit to me was the sign that there was no more buy-in on Baker in Cleveland. What quarterback would get disresist. like that in the league. Like there's a very small list of

of guys where that would happen and you would think that the entire locker room wouldn't turn on the person that did that. Like who would disrespect someone like that? Outside of a, you know, Antonio Brown calling out Tom Brady, which is in like an outlier situation.

Yeah. So I mean, here's Brock Heward six years in the NFL on why OBJ is such a perfect fit. The Rams really wanted him when the Giants moved on from him. And Odell, I think, would be the first to tell you that he wasn't ready for LA, that he needed the Cleveland crash and burn. He needed that experience. He needed the callusine and the scarring that came with that to realize, man, you know, I got a pretty good here in

L.A. I got a remarkable QB that could put the ball anywhere down the field. I got a great supporting cast. I got an organization that grows its players. You know what? And for the first time, there's just, I think, a level of maturity, the entitlement got cut off. You're seeing his explosiveness that is still there, his dynamic playmaking. And Robert Woods is awesome. Cooper Cups, phenomenal. The other younger players, you mentioned, they may grow and develop. But as far as a dynamic, just body control, throw it up to him, just change the game kind of player.

OBJ is different. And to that point, to your point, I think he's a ram next year. Yeah. They are loaded at wide receipts. But, you know, and it's one of the things that in the history of America, there has never been in the history of America more stars athletically in one city. It's insane. I mean, Joey Bosa is like 23rd most famous football player, athlete in L.A., and he's great. I mean, Justin Herbert, 17.

Like, it's just incredible how many stars in L.A. And I think a huge component to this. I know a lot of you, you know, people bang on the tag. tax rate. These guys, when you're making 13, 15, 18 million a year, you pay a lot of taxes, but the quality of life matters. And I think OBJ is a great example. And I've heard this from LeBron's people. And I've heard this from, I mean, like Stafford's people around, yeah, you can hide in L.A. It's just there's no, you got to get it to this guy. And he's carrying the team. I remember when Shaq was in Orlando. And I was in Tampa at the same time. And Orlando has this

beautiful chain of lakes. I think it's called the Butler chain of lakes. I mean, Shack couldn't go to the store. Shack couldn't go anywhere in Orlando and he loved his team. But in L.A., even Shaq, to some degree, you kind of hang with pro athletes, you hang with actors, you hang with agents, there's like a safe place. In this town, you got the Hollywood Hills, you got the Malibu retreats. There's so many canyons and hills and beaches and the topography you can hide in Los Angeles. And I think it's really attractive in the state of California that there's so many stars. And the country has never been more star-driven, entertainment-driven. Tech is that now we have tech stars in America.

California is a really safe place. Like you can hang out. You're going to have people that understand your life. The pressure is not going to be intense. You can hang out with your friends, your agents, other athletes. But tax rates, if you're a tax accountant and you live in that tunnel, yeah, I get. Go move to Florida. Like I get it.

I totally get it. But OBJ in Los Angeles, it's just so easy here. Even New York, Manhattan's an island, a football-shaped island. You can't grow out. There's no space. You build up. It's an island. You know, you're on that island, and people kind of know what part of the island you're on.

L.A. is just, you know, I think it's the second biggest county in America to Duval County in Florida. And so, like, OBJ comes out here, and it's just a very, easy life. And the Rams do a really good job of making stars comfortable. Like they really do. They just, they got their quiet facilities up in Thousand Oaks. It's a very quiet part of town. You know, it's mostly easy to get to. They've got a lot of space. The media isn't as angry as other cities. It's kind, not that it's a supportive media. It's a big market media. But it's a, this is a, like OBJ is going to get more money elsewhere. The Jets won them, the Patriots. A lot of the Jack Jacksonville, Chicago.

There's got me a lot of places where he can make more money. A lot of them don't have the coach, the culture, or they have a young quarterback, and he did that in Cleveland, and it wore him out. Like this is just, this is one of those rare. If I was a pro athlete, it would be like, boy, L.A. is easy. I mean, you just watch him.

He's had games with two targets. It's a non-story. Nobody here cares. Jalen Ramsey's the best pure corner in the league. You forget he's on the field. And there's games. Like when they play Tampa, Jalen's on Mike Evans, he'll be the story. Last night, no D-Hop, he's a guy.

And it's just an easy place for stars to live and play. It's the hurt. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which 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. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast. The Cliford Show. This is a place for raw unfilled of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to The Clifford Show on the 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. On the Look Back at a podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a 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. It was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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.

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