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

Episode Date: November 21, 2022

Colin discusses the week 11 NFL games Thoughts on USC beating UCLA on Saturday   Guest: Trent DilferSee 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. 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. 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 the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's 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. 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. 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 Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio.

Saturday on Fox, it doesn't get any bigger than this. The greatest rivalry in college football explodes as unbeaten number three Michigan goes into Columbus to take on undefeated number two Ohio State. We'll have it here for you on Fox, starting with a special three-hour big noon kickoff live from the horseshoe all leading into the game at noon eastern only on Fox. Yeah, Michigan's top running back, not 100% now. So I like Ohio State. Before that, I've been a Michigan fan all year.

But if they can't, if they don't have their number one back at full strength, it worries me. Line seven and a half. Feels right. It's a big number. Feels right. Yeah, I'd probably take Michigan plus the seven and a half, but I would. But I think they can run on them, but that's a big deal. Like Michigan needs, they don't trust their passing game down the field much.

Blake Corum is a special running back. Absolutely. Speaking of special Lipscomb Academy head football coach, Trent Dilford, they're in the state final December 1st. Another resounding win. So I was watching that game last night. Here's what I thought was interesting. So last year, Brandon and Staley very much the goal for it on fourth down guy, sometimes putting his team in peril. Last night, he had a fourth and two against Mahomes and went for a field goal. And I thought, well, what's going on here? So the messaging last year was, we're going for it. They have really pulled back. And I think, is that guys upstairs talking?

Did he lose guys in the locker room? Because when you play Mahomes, it's almost understood, Trent. If you're fourth and two red zone, you've got to get touchdowns here. So that thing kind of jumped out to me is, is there a political change upstairs? Have you noticed that? I mean, what do you make of that? it's interesting you say that yeah you make enough bad decisions hopefully you learn from him and i think he has he's some you know bad decisions i know the analytics have told him to go for but

they've cost them games trusting those analytics i also think he he thought his team was better last night i think that chargers were playing with a great deal of confidence at a very good game plan they played great football what they didn't account for was they didn't have the ball last i know they had a last for 31 seconds, but they didn't have it last last, like Mahomes had it. Yeah. And I think when you're playing the Chiefs right now, I think you have to have a two-scored lead late in the game before you give it back to this guy. He is straight magical, and he's done it now way too much.

He's made a habit of ripping your heart out in the last two minutes of a game. Yeah, I'm glad you said that, though. I thought the Chargers, I said this to our staff this morning. They had a drive in the first half. About seven minutes to go. I think they took the ball in the first half. I thought it was one of their best offensive drive, different. sets, different motions, different looks. It was clever. They did everything. So I really thought

the Chargers had an A-plus game plan, but I did notice that tweak. You know, in the NFL, it's funny. You talked about this when you first got to the NFL. You spent a lot of money on clothes, and you know, you have all that confidence. And it's funny about the NFL. Like week to week, you can be down, you can be up. The Cowboys go to Minnesota, and the game's over to about nine minutes. And I thought to myself, sometimes there's a downside to having a young team that wins by 40 on the road and sometimes it's good to win ugly so you can coach and teach. Go back to your career. Young players, blowout win on the road.

Is it a harder week to coach? Yeah, and the league's younger too. I don't know if I can speak with expertise here because I played in the era when you had a lot of veterans, right? You weren't a majority first contract team like the NFL is now. You had, you know, it wasn't uncommon to have 15, 20 guys that were 30 plus years old that had three kids on your team. They know how to handle the Evan Flows a little bit differently than a young player.

I really believe, and I talk to my team about this all the time, it is way harder to handle success than failure. I think intuitively when we get kicked in the groin, we know how to get back up and gather our breath if you're a competitor. The one that you're not taught as a young kid is how to handle success. And these kids get success. They win 40 to 3. Everybody's pouring perfume all over them.

and there's that natural human instinct to exhale. And I bet you the Cowboys exhale. I would put money on an exhale here because they're not mature enough to know how to compartmentalize this is, hey, they played really well, and the other team didn't play very well, but we had a lot to correct. I think Pete Carroll does the best job of this as anybody in NFL.

I've heard Belichick does a great job with it as well. I don't know this for a fact. But that truth telling Monday, the day after the game, the score didn't matter, winter loss doesn't matter. you go play by play, technique by technique, and you critique at the hardest level everybody's job. And it's just truth-telling. And the scoreboard doesn't matter.

If I'm the head coach of the Cowboys, that's what I'm doing right now. Because there's still going to be a lot of warts on that game. Just because you win that resoundingly doesn't mean there weren't a lot of errors. And you've got to create this edge on your football team when you win big games, that they're not close to playing to the standard. And you're always reaching for something better than what you just did the day before. So tonight, the Niners face Arizona, and it's a San Francisco team that, when healthy, I mean, now they've got Hufunga, the safety.

He has now become a great player. Fred Warner, I mean, every unit's got a great player. They just weren't healthy. So for somebody that coaches, when you watch their offense, teams know they want to run the ball and have very little success stopping it. Andy Reid can do this in the red zone, where you just feel. like defenses are backpedaling and guessing and they're apprehensive. What does San Francisco do with this offense that is so hard for smart defensive

coordinators and players to stop? Yeah, the term I use is LRE, low-risk explosives. When you're this kind of offense, and I like Jimmy G, so don't take this as a negative Jimmy G thing, but he has turned the ball over too much at times. I don't think you look at becoming more explosive by pushing the ball down the field. I think you look at low-risk explosives. You look at how the defense is going to over-commit to this run game, over-commit to McCaffrey,

over-commit to Trent Williams' side in the run game, over-commit to Debo-Samuels' alignments and motions and ships, over-commit to Kittle and the things that he does best. And you create misdirections that can become low-risk explosives. Really, you're looking at the best minds in football right now, if you want to do a fun study, if you're a football geek, that's really where the game is going. It's not how far the ball's in the air.

It's how can you mitigate risk and still create explosives in your offense? And that to me, I think Kyle's chant. Let's not talk to Kyle, but my guess is that's what they're doing. They're in the lab all week saying, hey, teams are going to overcomit to these certain areas that we do very well. How can we just pitch the ball, double hand off, throw a little this, you know, the balls in the air, eight yards. How can we do these things and take advantage of alignment issues and a side? issues that the defense is going to have to commit to because they're going to load up, so to speak, on stopping what we do best.

They're loading up on the 97 mile per hour heater, right, that's on the outside corner. They know that's the fastball. They got to prepare for that. How do we throw on the breaking pitch that can get the strikeout in football context? That's a 40-yard play. Every great golfer or quarterback can sometimes mechanically go a little into the weeds. a good golf coach. Andy Reid pulls you back in. The mechanics get down. You stop leading with your feet. You get loose. Or somebody's not broken. They're just flawed. And I look at Zach Wilson, and I think he's a little small. He's a little undisciplined. This is not going off into the weeds. When I saw him out of college, I said, I think fundamentally, this is who he is. This is kind of how he plays. And I never loved it. I didn't love it when he lost Utah twice in college or Chris Peterson or Coastal Carolina. He gets undisciplinar. He gets undisciplinar.

discipline. It's who he is. And I don't know, you tell me, there are certain things as a coach, and you're a successful coach now, that you can coach out of. I think reckless is hard to coach out of. Wence, Darnold, they're tough kids, they're physical. It's who they are. They probably had brothers. They're tough. They're physical. That's hard to coach out of that personality trait. What do you do with Zach Wilson? Listen, I can't add anything to that. I hate with a passion agreeing with you this much. But you nailed it. Reckless and loose. Very hard to coach that out of guys. I'll never forget watching studying the Coastal Carolina film. I watched every play Zach played, and that was the game that was alarming to me. He did some great things in it. There were some

unbelievable plays he made in that Coastal Carolina game. There were so many open receivers that he just looked at and then passed up for something better. Almost like, I don't know if this is the right he's almost air-headed in how he plays the position. There's nothing structured. There's nothing disciplined. It's not life or death. It's not about this play is the most important play of my life. And I got a job to do because I have people depending on me. It's kind of like laissez-faire. You know, I might look over here. He throws a post yesterday on time with an in-cut footwork and in-cut timing. That nobody does that. Like that stuff in high, if my quarterback did that in high school, he'd come sit with me for a series and let the other guy play.

Like, he just makes these, like, random decisions. He is very loose with his technique. And then he's loose with his laissez-faire approach in the post game. That bothered me. I think it bothered all of us quarterbacks that have had stinkers that have had an entire locker room look at us and disgust because we lost him the game. But we've actually taken ownership of it. And we've actually walked in there and said, that's on me.

That will never happen again. and said this, nah, you know, it really wasn't on us type attitude. Listen, I was not a fan of him being drafted this early when he came out. I did see the talent. I saw the horsepower. I saw the flash and sizzle that went with him. But I cannot tell you how much I agree with you. I do not think you can coach this out of him.

I see Jamarcus Russell in this. I see Ryan Leaf in this. I see an immaturity, a lack of professionalism, and a lack of structure in his game that's going to get you beat. He might throw for 400 yards a couple times. He might get hot for a little portion of the season, but the end of the day, he's going to lose games for you. Okay, we're going into the Thanksgiving week.

So it's short, it's holidays. Do you remember, do you have holiday memories of, is it distracting, is it hard? As we look to Monday night and going forward, I feel like we're 65% through the season. And it feels like you're starting to see Philadelphia pull back. And Brian Daibald can only do so much with Daniel Jones. You're starting to see reality check.

This point forward is there a team I should watch, a team I should be concerned with. What do you see? I can't think of a team. I would speak more generally. This is the season of the year where pros elevate. You find out who the real pros are on your team. There's a lot of distractions. There's a lot of narratives.

You've got teams that will fight to make a hot run at the end and play their best. ball now. You got teams that are on the mountain top. Do they push harder? But you're going to find out internally and the fan never really gets to know this except the result on Sunday and Monday and Thursday. But what happens internally is you find out the character of your team, the professionalism

of your team, the grit of your team, because it's hard. Your body hurts. That's the other thing people won't talk enough about is this is the time of the year where that tendonitis feels like a knife in your knee. That back injury you've been pushing through, you know, you can't go to the bathroom comfortably. You've got spasms all over your body. You're rehab and a wrist, a broken finger,

an ankle, whatever it is, and it's hard. It's not glamorous. And it's the guys that embrace the suck this time of year and the teams that embrace the suck that really elevate themselves and play their best ball when they get into the playoffs. Podcast is called Beyond the X's and O's with Trent Dilfer, Lipscomb Academy head coach in Nashville in the state final against their rival December 1st. Enjoy Thanksgiving with. your fam, great seeing you. Thanks, brother. All right. Trent Dill for decade and a half, a Super Bowl, a Pro Bowl

as well. Embrace the suck. I like that. It's hard. When he was saying that, that certain teams are built for it, you know, the first time I thought of, the Titans. They are just built for ugly, injured football.

Tennessee is hard to watch. Like, there are certain teams struggling like the Raiders. I like watching the Raiders play. The Chargers. I like watching the Chargers. I like watching the Chargers play. I do not enjoy watching the Titans play, but that team is built. They just overcome. Tanna Hill's been hurt. Half their defense has been hurt. They lose a star receiver in the off season. They just figure out ways to sort of embrace what they are that you can tell a well-coached

team when they, they're never quite healthy. This is the Niners. They're never quite right. But week to week, they go into a game and say, okay, this is what we can do and will do. This is what We're missing our star tight end. We can't go there. The Niners and the Titans coach week to week very well based on the available players. And I think that's great coach. So you said you like watching the Raiders. I do.

This season you found like... I just feel every game's close. They're flawed, but I like their players. I like their fight. Even though that game was ugly yesterday, I felt the Raiders were the better team. I just felt like they're going to win this thing. Remember I told you Friday, the better team was getting the points. I felt that against the Seahawks, Arizona twice. Seattle got points twice. They're the better team.

The Raiders aren't pretty, but there's a reason they want it. So you like watching the Raiders and that's a no-on Tennessee, right? Yeah, but I respect them. I don't have to, you know what I mean? So what do the Jets fall on the spectrum? Not watchable Drek. But the defense is, I mean, they get after the quarterback. Yeah, that's not the issue. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app.

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 podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

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

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

And for more behind the scenes, follow Act. Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam 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 cracking in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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 I-Heart Ready

app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 tontans 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 Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. J-MAC with the news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Starting Buffalo, or should I say Detroit, Buffalo had to play in Detroit. They barely got out of the blizzard. Did not look good early. Got dominated for most of the first half until a late touchdown drive was key, and then they scored in the second half just pulled away from Cleveland.

Buffalo wins 31 to 23. I'm not so sure I like what I saw from Buffalo, but they did run the ball. I think 160 yards on the ground. Yes. No, my takeaway was they gave Singletary some touches. They didn't bail on the run game. They went back to it. It's almost like, you know, they didn't get a practice last week, and they kind of went

on the road and said, guys, defense, run game, we're going to keep it fairly simple. We're going to pound it out. We're a better team physically. I actually came away from that game and felt pretty good about Buffalo, and they established a run game, and they didn't bail on it, and they went right after it, and I liked it. I think Singletary is a little better than he gets credit for. Yeah, Cleveland played the too high shell, no big plays at all for Buffalo down the field. Nothing for Gabe Davis.

Defon Diggs was upset on the sideline. Like, dude, get me the ball. But did you see anything in Josh Allen? Not really running and not throwing the ball a lot, Colin. Just something to look for going forward. No, I thought. I thought we complained about it last week. We said he's got to rein it in.

Just pull back a little. I thought he did. I thought their game plan was more conservative. as if they were saying, the boxer who says, okay, I'm going to jab and move. It can't just be knockout. They got very knockout punch dependent, and I don't think you win Super Bowls that way.

Kansas City has that, Cincinnati has that, but yesterday you're watching the Bengals run the football in the second half, too. You've got to give me more than just over-the-top knockout. I just wonder about tightening the reins on Allen because they're going to need him in the playoffs. At what point do you say, okay, Josh, go back to being Josh, because he wasn't Josh Allen that we know the MVP candidate yesterday. No.

No. All right, next up, Detroit Lions, how about it? Three straight. Three straight victories. They can score. Take down the Giants. They have offense. Listen, Jamal Williams.

I guess he's past DeAndre Swift in the rotation, three touchdowns. They have two backs. Yeah, I mean, basically a two-back offense. Colin, the first three-game win streak since 2017, I would go in on the Giants a little bit. Did you see the injuries mounting for the Giants? Oh, my gosh, secondary, offensive line, wide receiver goes down. They did not look like a playoff team. Well, no. I mean, even if they made the playoffs, did anybody think they would go on the road and win a playoff game?

Like Philadelphia last year made the playoffs, but you didn't really feel a lot of optimism that they could rattle off wins. There is a team every year that makes the playoffs. Remember the Raiders got in last year? They had last second wins. You didn't think they're going to go on a run. The Giants, if the Giants could get to the playoffs, that is the win. Now, Miami, even though I think they'll wild card it, I would be surprised if Miami doesn't, threaten somebody or win. Like, this team is low wattage. There is absolutely a way they can win. And if injuries pile up and you get pressure on Daniel Jones,

they're not going to win the game. So 35 carries for Sequin last week. He followed that up with like 15 carries for 22 yards. I thought they overdid it against the Texans. Sequin looked very slow. The guy they call Vanilla Vic, Daniel Jones, a couple interceptions turned into who we thought he was. Arrow not pointing upward for the Giants.

But a quick note for Detroit, James, the great receiver from Alabama, cleared to practice, could be coming back. Listen, Detroit may pull off some wins here to end the season. No, Detroit could be really a pain in the butt for like a Green Bay. If you go look at the Lions schedule, they could end up being a playoff enabler or a spoiler. They could sweep Green Bay.

And by the way, the Lions are a great watch, not a great team. They're the opposite of the Titans who may be a great team, lousy watch. The Lions games are fun to watch. Indeed. All right, we'll wrap up with tonight's game. Final international game in the NFL season. Niners and Cardinals in Mexico City, I was digging around on the internet. This could

be like a home game for San Fran. Apparently, they have a huge audience in Mexico. They do. I mean, if the internet's correct. Kyler Marie still dealing with the hamstring injury. They're saying he's not expected to play. So it's Colt McCoy. So it's going to be Colt McCoy against the Niners front.

Colt McCoy, not as mobile as he once was at Texas could be a problem for him. It looks like Foxbet has pushed this up to 10, Colin. You like the Niners' double-digit favorites? Well, no. I'm just, you know, I don't do that. I don't like double-digit favorites. Every week I take three or four dogs.

This is the, this game, I would take a favorite. And the Dolphins hosting Houston next week, it's 12. Those are the rare double-digit favorites. I would say this yesterday, I thought, I regretted not taking the bills yesterday. As I started watching that game, I'm like, clean field. Depending on what you got, that was a push, though. I think it was eight, and then the

Browns got the late back door score. But you mentioned something about Houston. They are abysmal. Like, they can't do anything. Davis Mills, remember people were trying to talk themselves? He throws kind of a nice ball. What, the pick six on the second pass of the game? Like, he's terrible.

Davis Mills is awful. But, yeah, I think you've got to take the Niners tonight, Colin. I I can't make a case for Arizona without the offensive linemen. Boy, I'll tell you, they've hit on some draft picks. They have hit on some draft picks. We have an update. The USA has taken a 1-0 lead over Wales and the World Cup.

Woo! Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie New. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. He's by Carmen. I'm Dan Byrd.

We have a brand new fantasy football podcast called I Want Your Flex. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, we come up with new episodes to not only look back at what happened, what you need to do at that minute, and also look ahead of what's coming up in the fantasy football world. That's right, Dan. Every week we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickups to turbo boost your fantasy lineup sits, starts, fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready to dominate the competition. Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, me Dan Beyer, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, and work. wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, 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 Cliverts 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 Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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, 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, so. They're 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. 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 Tontons 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. So I want to talk about two teams. One I love, one Jason loves.

Let's start with USC. So they won this weekend. It's very interesting. If you look at the college football landscape and it, it's so crazy how much college football is left. So USC now has to host Notre Dame off this wildly emotional game, trap game against Notre Dame. And then they have to potentially play like an or.

in the Pack 12 championship and Oregon's got a lot of talent. So there's a long way to go for USC. This game really ended up looking exactly like most of us thought. High scoring, close. Caleb Williams, the better quarterback, makes a play. I will say this about USC. I find them incredibly resourceful. I mean, they have virtually no turnovers all year.

I mean, it's like three fumbles and one, two, three picks and a fumble. Like, they just don't turn it over. They're incredibly resourceful and resilient and well. coached. They don't have a ton of NFL players. You know, they were a little bit the opposite of Pete Carroll teams, which were penalties, enthusiasm, kind of rolled you over, bulldozed you with their talent. This team's not as talented. This team, this is year one. They were four and eight last year. They brought in a lot of guys out of the transfer portal. Now, Caleb Williams is a great player out of the transfer portal, but a lot of guys transferring, entering the portal

are disgruntled players at other places who couldn't get on the field. So they've got a lot of non-NFL guys who were just kind of playing situational football. The story of USC is the coaching and Caleb Williams and Jordan Addison. This is, I mean, if they get to the play right now, because Michigan, if Michigan loses to Ohio State, they'll be behind USC. And so it looks like today, if I had to wager, it would be Georgia in the playoff, Ohio State in the playoff, TCU in the playoff. And my guess is, because I think LSU is going to lose, Tennessee just lost. Michigan's going to lose. I think USC is a touchdown favorite beats Notre Dame,

and then they have to win that, you know, that Pac-12 championship game. But that's not a, that's not, it's hard for me to believe USC is here. I predicted nine and three. I said I thought they would lose to Utah. I thought they would stumble. I thought Fresno State could be trouble. I thought they'd lose to Notre Dame. Notre Dame's quarterback got hurt early.

Notre Dame was bad early. They've been much better over the last month. So you get kind of an energized Notre Dame coming. is a big dog to L.A., that is a trap game. Sean Payton was on earlier talking about Caleb Williams and what he sees. I see all the things that you look for. You know, in other words, there's a presence. There's, I see athleticism and accuracy.

And in a big spot, he's fun to watch. He's fun to watch. I like what I see from him more on TV than what I'm supposed to be liking a lot from some of these others without talking about who the others are. I agree with what you were discussing earlier when it was said he might be the first pick if he were coming out this year. And just off of the TV stuff, I wouldn't disagree. Yeah, Will Levis at Kentucky is mistake prone, big kid, big arm, but mistake prone. Bryce Young is small and noticeably small. Caleb is big enough.

Big arm. Moves incredibly well. 33 TDs, three picks. With really one NFL-wide receiver who has missed multiple games. So they just, I mean, it's really a well-coached team. And they have been fundamentally poorly coached for seven, eight years, really getting the most out of their players. Now the key is, guys, Notre Dame's next.

So this is three straight, very emotional games. I know. UCLA, Notre Dame, this is not going to be a walkover. No. Notre Dame has gotten a lot better since they lost a few weeks back to, I think, Stanford. And then, of course, you said the Pac-12 title game in Vegas. Oregon travels very well. Oregon's, they're not bad.

I don't think they're great, but remember, this is a USC defense that just gave up, what, 500 yards to DTR and company. And they're not in yet, but I would, I'm rooting for U.S. see. I'm on board with your team since you have become a Jets fan now. So let's pivot to the Jets where Sean Payton, you know, I said, I kind of give a guy till Thanksgiving of his second year as a quarterback or a coach. I've got to see your footprint. I got to see growth. I do not see it with Zach Wilson. I just don't, you know, he's not completing enough passes. He completed 55% his first year and he's 55% of second year. That's not close. That's my concern about Trey Lance. You can't be complete in 55% of your throat.

You've got to be minimum in the 61, 62%. So Zach's not close to completing. Again, this league does not allow you a lot of spectacular plays. And that's for Mahomes and Josh Allen. It just doesn't get. I mean, you watch Cleveland this weekend. They just played that shell defense. They're not giving Josh any big plays.

Can you do the little stuff? Are you disciplined? Can you keep? That's the stuff Zach struggled with in college. He's struggling with it here. And Sean Payton talked about that early. earlier. They probably sitting in a staff meeting today have a better feeling of where they feel like they're at with him than we do. The mistake oftentimes in our league, though, is admitting

when it comes to something like that, you know, a first round pick a quarterback that we made a mistake. And so then it can be compounded, though, and that costs everyone their job. And so I think they'll have a good idea when this season ends. Is this guy going to be a part of our Super Bowl? We always talk about the roster this way. Is this guy going to be here when we win the next Super Bowl? Or is there going to be someone else in his spot? So I would keep playing him.

I just keep playing him. I'm not going to bench him. I want to see all the warts. I want to see all the issues. But I do think history in the NFL shows you, it's very hard for GMs to acknowledge I missed. I will say this, though. Joe Douglas is a great GM.

He had such an outstanding draft this year, showed how capable he was this year. It does allow him to say, hey, I missed on one. Because he just literally hit home runs this year, so we know he's more than capable. He's not his predecessor. When you start having success, it's easier to own. You know, Josh Allen says, I stunk.

Well, he usually doesn't, so it's easier to own. It's harder to be average and admit you stink when you stink a lot. So I would not bench Jack. I would play him every minute. You got to play him. You got to play him. But Colin, to go back, remember Tyreek Hill, when the chiefs determined they were not going to pay Tyree Kill. And he's on the market. And it became down to the dolphins and the Jets.

Yes. So all of a sudden, Tua, who was, you know, Brian Flores didn't want him. They were talking about bringing in other guys. Tua gets Tyree Kill and Tua is now elevated as to, wow, this guy's an MVP candidate. But that's different. Tua has always been incredibly accurate. That's never been Tua's issues. It's arm strength.

Zach Wilson's problem is he's got great arm strength. He's not accurate. But what would Zach Wilson look like right now with Garrett Wilson and Tyree Kill? He would look better. Yeah. But it wouldn't be a showcase because he can't even get stuff out in the flat there. Well, it also is offensive line decimated. I mean, we're talking about them losing a rookie running back and that's hurting Zach Wilson.

A rookie running back. Down to the backup left tackle. The offensive lineman from USC goes down. I'm not saying if you give Tyree Kill. I mean, Tom Brady's lost a lot of people this year. winning. Joe Burrow doesn't have Jamar Chase keeps winning.

Joe Burrow is a fantastic quarterback. He's top five, six quarterback in the league. No, I'm saying if you start making excuses for my guy he doesn't have this. Tell me the healthy team in the league. Name one. Well, that's the thing. Minnesota. So you're not going to get Tyree Kill. But you are going to go after a quarterback now in the offseason, for

sure. Whether it's Derek Carr or someone in the draft. I would take Derek Carr over Jimmy Garabola. That's interesting. Who would you take with the Jets? Jimmy G's. Big City. Jimmy. Is that a good thing? One guy's never won a playoff game. One guy's been to the Super Bowl. Big City, Jimmy. Jimmy looks like New York. He'll be cool. He'll be big. He can handle pressure. He can handle criticism. Familiar with that offense. Jimmy G is Big City, Jimmy.

Not going to be crying at the podium. No, there's nothing wrong with that. I apologize. Derek Carr. These shots. By the way, Dilfer took criticism of Zach Wilson to an even further level. He is very loose with his technique. And then he's loose with his laissez-faire approach in the post game. That bothered me. I think it bothered all of us quarterbacks that have had stinkers, that have had an entire locker room look at us and disgust because we lost him the game. Listen, I was not a fan of him being drafted this early when he came out.

I did see the talent. I saw the horsepower. I saw the flash and sizzle that went with him. But I cannot tell you how much I agree with you. I do not think you can coach this out of him. I see Jamarcus Russell in this. I see Ryan Leif in this. I see an immaturity, a lack of professionalism, and a lack of structure.

I see Drew Locke. Drew Locke's got this, this casualness, this, that Drew Lock drives me nuts, and he's very talented. But he's sort of like, you got to forget, most turnovers lose it. Taylor Heinecke, sometimes, this is what, you know, Heineke's just got just enough interceptions. He'll lose himself the job. problem is Heineke, I think undrafted, Drew Locke's second round guy. Zach Wilson was the top five pick.

Well, shouldn't have been. Daniel Jones, top six pick. Shouldn't have been. Oh my gosh. Not good. Car Shield. Don't have to worry about the cost when your car breaks down. Go to car shield.com slash herder.

Call 800 391-88-88 to save 10% in your plan today. All right. USA leads Wales 1-0. Dominant first half, Colin. Well, I will say this. USA's been hyper-aggressive. Oh, yeah. attacking. That tells you they like the matchups in this against Wales. They've gone all in.

They're chatty. They're cocky. They're talking. They've got a yellow card. Youthful exuberance. And they're attacking and they're, I mean, they've taken a couple of whales guys down. So it's a very different look. Yeah. It is very young, very aggressive, very chatty, very pushing forward, one nothing. And they've had opportunities here. They're dominating this game so far. Dominating. You can say that. It's a dominant first half for the US. I am not pushing back. I am.

I am going to go watch. We saw England score six goals this morning against Iran. Let me tell you something. England, U.S. Friday. If they're both one and no. Let's just, if we could, one more goal, two nothing, two nil. That would be nice.

Totally satisfied. I won't ask for anything else the rest of the week. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite, on Humor Me with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Cliford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 Podcast, 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 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 where wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human.