The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Hour 3 - Sean McVay

Episode Date: November 6, 2024

Super Bowl champion and Rams head coach Sean McVay joins the show to discuss their young defensive starsSee 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, 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 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok.

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 put on 10. 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 to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio and noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day in the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Tom Brady was on earlier today, and I asked him, I said, I don't know how much you've watched of Bo Nix and Jaden Daniels and Caleb Williams because you're doing the games. I said, but, you know, how long does it take for a young quarterback,

for, they call it the light goes on, or the game speeds up? And here was Tom's response. Patrick, let me get this out of the way. He's a phenomenal player. To me is, you know, he, Lamar, Josh Allen, you're talking about the upper echelon, as we all know. And Patrick is going to go down as one of the greats ever for a number of reasons. But if I look at him, he went to college at Texas Tech.

He had Cliff Kingsbury there with him for three years. An NFL caliber coach running a lot of NFL caliber type calls and methodologies on what he's doing. So he had three years of that. Then he goes to the Chiefs and he's got Alex Smith as the guy that's ahead of him, who's a phenomenal player, great leader, does everything the right way. And then he's got Andy Reed as his play caller. So it's like there's a reason why it all works and there's this development that happens

and why Patrick has been able to ascend so quickly. And he would have found a way to ascend at some point anyway. I'm just saying I could never have reached the, the, the, the, this area of growth that I needed to, whether that was your one or three or five, it was accelerated because of all the things that I had in place. And that's what we've said. That's why Cliff Kingsbury, we predicted, I predicted, I said, that's going to work with Jaden Daniels.

First, he's talented. Second, Kingsbury is perfect. He's worked with guys that are mobile that have a lot of reps. Like, it's Kyler-Murray. It's a taller of Kyler Murray. It's going to work. And that's what I worry about in Chicago. It's a defensive coach.

The offensive line's gotten worse. Do you have the right coordinator? Do you have the right coach? Here's more of Brady on young quarterbacks in the developmental process. When you're a young quarterback, ultimately that's what you're trying to do. Be in a situation where you can learn, grow, develop. It's all about mentorship. It's all about the people that come in your life.

We always have to look at, I think, the physical makeup of these young players. What are they capable of? Do they have good arms? Do they have great arms? Are they athletic? Can they get out of the pocket? Can they, and then to me, there's a mental element that always comes into quarterback play. There's no way for me to really see sustained success in the NFL at the quarterback position

if you don't have total control of what's being done out on the field. If you're expecting your coach to call a play from the sideline, and that play's going to come into your helmet, you're going to call it, you're going to walk to the line of scrimmage, and that play is going to be successful regardless of the defensive look, you're out of your mind. That's not the way it works. The defense calls plays to stop you, and they have their own tendency.

So it's up to the quarterback ultimately to decide, okay, I got a play called. I see what the defense is doing. Is this play going to work or not? If it's going to work, you run it. If it's not, what do I need to do to survive the down, or what do I need to put us in a position to be really successful? That to me is the operational control the quarterbacks need. And most of these guys aren't quite ready to do. to play and they need a great coordinator

or a great offensive line and I feel Jaden Daniels and Bo Nix have more assistance, more help right now in their process than Caleb Williams. J-Mack with the news. Turn on the news. This is

the herd line news. All right, you just mentioned Bo Nix. Let's talk about him. He's been great for the last month but Sunday was a rough one. They got smoked by the Ravens and despite the loss, Sean Payton knows the game. gave his staff and players a lot of things to learn from. Each week there are these learning experiences we have,

not only as coaches, but as players, teams, and there's some games where you're going to play more aggressively because you feel like that's what's necessary to win, and that gets back to that margin for air that we have to at least be aware of and understand. I think they're going to get to eight wins, which is three more than Vegas predicted,

I don't think they'll make the playoffs, but I think you will feel like they're one more draft away. If you start looking at, as you've noted before, this schedule is rough. They're probably through the easiest part of it. But they get Atlanta at home. They've got the Raiders. They get the Colts at home.

They got their by. They get Cleveland at home. There are wins there. They're not six wins, but I think there's three more Ws. So my issue here this week with the Knicks, against the Chiefs. Look at the defenses he's faced recently. Baltimore last week. Baltimore's not a great defense is here. He struggled. Carolina's defense stinks. Saints defense is awful.

And oh, there was that Chargers game where they were down like 20 to zero and he put up garbage time stats. Spagnolo, I respect him as the best defensive coordinator in the league. I think there's a brutal spot for him at Bo Nix. I know he was the offensive rookie of the month or whatever you want to call it in October. Put up great numbers, but Colin, this is a big come down to earth. that. Bo Nix was the rookie of the month, whatever, or whatever you want to call it. I think it's called rookie of the month. Kind of a shot.

Kind of a shot at Moe Nguer. I mean, just give it to Jaden Daniels every month. He's been amazing. But listen, we'll give Nick's credit. And Peyton, I would agree with you. Next, this draft in this offseason is pivotal for them. They got the chance to bump up into like the middle class. They got their, yeah. I mean,

it's, I think they're yeah, just below middle class right now. I think, but I do think I even like the GM. I think they drafted pretty well. I think they've hit on a couple of their drafts. You mean GM, Sean Payton? Yeah, I like him too.

Well, he's a co-GM. Yeah, sure. Next story is Tampa. Rough loss to the Chiefs on Monday night. You know, listen, Rahe Morris went for the extra point, and then they never touched the ball again. At any rate, it was Tampa's third loss in four games. The team's injuries are starting to mount.

Baker Mayfield says the team cannot take solace in the fact they took the defending chance to overtime. right now it's about us it doesn't matter who we play we have to focus on just doing our job and find a ways to win and that's that's all that matters so um just got to stop it that's stop the skid look at the things that of why we lost when we look at the tape and go from there i thought he actually played really well yeah Todd bulls obviously uh the head coach not Rahe morris i mixed up Falcons in the bad division I think Baker you know how we talk about sometimes it's a good loss I thought that was a good loss for Baker I thought he looked apart I mean he's carrying a team that doesn't have their two stars in the perimeter and I thought he played really, really well. That game-tying drive in the rain on the road, two-minute drill? Multiple times got out running. I feel like he's gotten

thinner. I mean, he just feels quicker this year. I guess we got to give a shout out to the OC there, Cohen. He's done a really nice job. I just, I don't think they're going to be able to make the playoffs, Colin. Godwin done for the season. Evans looks like he's out for a couple more weeks. They just don't have the offense. And in the NFC,

it's loaded. You can't have these major droughts. Well, Atlanta was pick, I think. Atlanta had the easiest schedule. Atlanta had the best offensive line. And I felt like Atlanta wasn't going to be a great defensive team, but if you could get them

like a B plus A minus quarterback, and I think that's what Baker is, and I think it is what Kirk Cousins is. Atlanta might be the two-seed, which could set them up against the Minnesota or a Green Bay or San Francisco. Not great for your falcons.

They're yours. They're not mine. Well, they don't get any pass rush. So any time they face a good quarterback, Atlanta can get into trouble fast. Final story is Arizona. Yeah, your guy, Kyler Murray. Listen, they've won three in a row, Colin, four of their last five.

Now shockingly leading the NFC West. Just absolute stunning turn of events. This is the first time Arizona had sole position of first in the West since November or later since 2021, which is when they made the playoffs with Cliff Kingsbury at the helm. After the game, defensive linemen, L.J. Collier spoke to the wind streak saying,

we are for real. Stay tuned. Come on. No, they are. They're for real. You know, it's interesting. Perceptions reality. So right now, Arizona, I don't think they're going to remain in first, but it is an offensive league.

Most people watching the show, most people in Arizona couldn't name three defensive players, but their talent is on the offensive side. So there are talents on the right side of the ball. There's limitations on, you know, how much you can do defensive players. I will tell you, I'm not shocked that Arizona, I mean, I'm telling you, between Connor, McBride, Marvin Harrison, they have a number two receiver. I think Arizona's a tough out. And you get them down there in the desert, I think they're a tough out. So they got outplayed by the Chargers, won on the last second field goal, outplayed by the Dolphins, down nine in the fourth quarter.

Of course, I had mine win on the last second field goal, beat the Niners in some fluky nonsense. Oh, Lord. Their only good win is the smashing McVeigh's Rams in week two when the Rams are exhausted after the Lions game. So I'm just keeping it real over here. Okay, I think they're real good. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Hurd. Well, he's been an NFL coach of the year and a Super Bowl winning coach. His coaching tree is already magnificent. Sean McVeigh. Rams head coaches. There he is. There's Sean McVe. Hey.

How you doing? How we doing? I'm doing great. I'm doing good. Can't complain. We're just getting ready for Monday night now. Yep. So I have to ask you a question. This is my big question. And I don't know the answer to this, and I'm fascinated by this question. And I want you to take my audience a little behind the scenes.

You play Seattle. It's a rough first half. You're struggling to run the ball. It's just, it's road. It's loud. It's tough. And nothing's quite. You don't get your footing under you. So it takes you about two minutes to get into the locker room. Helmet off, guys get something. and you have about seven, eight minutes to get it right. And then you come out in the second half. You're inspired. You make defensive plays. You're getting your footing.

You're running the ball. What did you say or what did you adjust because you look like a different team? Sean, how much can you do it? Whatever you did work, what can you do and what did you do against Seattle? Yeah, I think, you know, when you look at it, Colin, it's a tremendous credit to our players. obviously we put ourselves in that situation by a lot of uncharacteristic errors, jumping off sides, giving them opportunities for free plays, losing our poise where we lose one of our best players.

And there were some things structurally that they were doing defensively that we weren't really putting our players in favorable spots. So you just address the truth. You say, here's what's going on. We're not going to beat ourselves. We get the possession coming out of the half. Let's continue to do the things that are in alignment with playing quality football. And our offense goes right down the field, makes it a 1310 game.

Defense gets a stop. We would have loved to have punched it in for a touchdown, but three series later, it's 1313 with two offensive possessions and one defensive possession. And, you know, we did some things that were uncharacteristic, but I do think this is a resilient group. They're mentally tough. They stay in the fight.

And in eight weeks, we've had a lot of different experiences that are reflective of that. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. 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 sense, 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 tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the

Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 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's big two, 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, 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, learn the hard way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking,

Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely.

And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app.

Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Listen, everybody misses on draft picks, but you guys have done, I mean, I'm watching your safeties. Your third round pick has a pick six, a couple pick. The kid from Tennessee's undrafted. You guys have hit on a lot of Puka Nakua fifth round. We all know Stafford's good. There's certain guys you can see.

Like, how long does it take you? I mean, Jared Verse. I watched them at college. I watched them the first game. I'm like, that guy's going to be a problem. guy. I can figure that one out. But like Pooka Nakuwa or McCullough, the safety. How many practices Sean do you need to turn to less need and go, oh boy, we got baller here. We may have found a gem here. Yeah. You know what? I think it's the way these guys carry themselves and then obviously

there's the evaluation on the field, but it's also having a vision. You know, less than his group and working in collaboration with our coaching staff. I think there's a vision when you onboard these guys, whether it be draft picks or even some of these undrafted free agents. But, you know, you talk about a guy like Jalen McCullough that has four interceptions as an undrafted free agent out of Tennessee. He just had a demeanor about himself where he was a man. There was a prototype in some of these guys that we wanted to onboard. We had a real vision for Puka. Now, if you said that I know he would be that good, we would have used a lot earlier pick on him. But there was a vision, and then there's a mental and there's a physical toughness. And there's just a competitiveness

that these guys have in the most important moments. And that's what we want to continue to do. I think when you look at just what a cyclical league this is, tough people last in this league, tough players, and just tough people in general, and those are the kinds of guys we want to onboard. Now, you're a very young defense. It's obvious you and Les sat down a couple years.

You knew Aaron Donald. It was getting close to the end, so you started using a lot of your top picks defense. You haven't missed on any. They're all good. They're just levels of very good. When you have a young defense, they're going to make more mistakes. They're kids.

They're 23, 24 years old. As a coach, do you bake that in? Are there things you won't ask a young defense to do? Do you coach 24-year-old defensive players different than you coach in Aaron Donald? Or when you go get a Vaughn Miller. How does it affect your coach? Because your defense, it leads the league in sacks by all, you know, rookies and young players. But they're all kids.

They're getting better every week. how do you coach them differently? Yeah, I think you want to understand what can they handle. And really, regardless of whether that's pros that have been playing for a while, whether that's these rookies, second year players, you know, what's their capacity? What can they handle? And then in a lot of instances, it's a race to maturity. And I think a lot of these guys are meeting that.

And you continue to learn. Sometimes trial by error, I do think that we've done a great job. You know, Chris Schuilla deserves a ton of credit, Colin, for the identity that I think we're starting to play with. We're not perfect by any stretch, but I think there's a confidence, and these guys just keep swinging. You know, in a lot of instances, what I've been really impressed with when we've been on a three-game win streak, there's been some instances where the defense has had to get stops, and offensively, we're trying to get things going, but I never sense any sort of frustration from those guys. They just go out. They make sudden change stops.

They just continue to play. They make the offense snap it one more time, and I love working with this group. You know, I had Pete Carol on once, and I said, he totally disagreed. I said, Pete, I want aggressive quarterbacks. If a guy's throwing 32 times and I get a pick every week, if he's taking shots down the field, I'm okay with it. Now, Pete's a defensive coach. He seals the world differently. But one of the things I like about Stafford, and Matt's brilliant.

But Matt, I don't think it's reckless. I just think Matt takes risks and he's comfortable with them. But you have to be comfortable with them. Matt is very unique in that he forgets his interceptions. He has a short memory. doesn't seem to care much. It's very Andrew Luck had that. Are there ever any times with Matt?

You have a lead, you have something, and you say, hey, we may bring it back down, or you just trust him implicitly at any point in the game? Oh, there's total trust. But there's a great rapport that exists. I think one of the best things you mention is if the mistake occurs, which is inevitable playing the quarterback position, he's got a no-flinch mindset, and he's ready to come back and be aggressive but smart. but there's opportunities, and I think he understands based on the intent of the play calls.

You know, when we got that ball back in overtime, you know, we go play action, we go keeper, run, keeper, and he could feel the aggressiveness, and really it's like, hey, man, go win this game, let's go win this, let's have that mindset of mentality, and this guy is, that's one of his best traits. But there is a flow to the feel of games. You know, you look at the Raiders a couple weeks ago, our defense had control, their offense was turning it over. we were a little bit more conservative. And so I thought he had a good feel for that. But that's what you love.

If you have to be able to rein it back based on how we want to be able to play the game and ultimately come away with the win. But that aggressive nature, that fearlessness, that ability to be able to move on from one play of the next, that's one of the things I think that separates the greats, and he certainly is one of them. You know, we had an election yesterday, and I always think about this, you have so much diversity in your locker room. There may not be bosses in America that have a more.

diverse workforce than NFL coaches. Young, old, black, white. It doesn't matter. Simone, you have so many different people. Sean, we've gone through things culturally. We see stuff. After a night like last night, do you address it? Not, I mean, you have grownups in your locker room.

Some of these guys have never lived in California. They're from Florida stuff's happening. You've navigated crisis, injuries, cultural changes. Do you address it? Do you address it privately, publicly? How does a guy like you who is, really the face of the franchise in these big moments with all these unique personalities. Do you address it or do you just let it play out?

I think you want to have a pulse of what the reactions are. And if there's guys that want to be able to talk about it, you want to give guys a voice, I think being able to listen and then be able to react accordingly. You know, you don't want to be unequipped to handling different situations, but I know that it's about listening, learning, and then you're able to lead. And so I think you always want to be able to understand. understand whatever it is that you're navigating through, try to really see it through an empathetic lens. And if it is something that guys want to be able to discuss, I'd like to think there's an open forum.

But having a temperature and a pulse for the vibe of your building, whether that be players, coaches, staff, whatever it might be, if there is something, I think you've got to be able to meet the truth head on. You can't be afraid of some of those conversations where you need to be able to have honesty, but also the ability for guys to be able to get things off their chest. and that'll never change regardless of whatever that is that we're navigating or whatever's going on in the real world that's outside of the framework of just focusing on football. You have really unique relationships. Sean McVeigh for our radio audience. You have very unique relationships with coaches. Your coaching tree, I'm looking at it today. It's like half of these guys are my favorite guys in the league.

I think Kevin O'Connell's brilliant. LeFleur is terrific. They're all different personalities, but I like all. Rahim Morris, I thought, was a great pick by Atlanta. I think he's a defensive coach who has an office. offensive sensibility. It's weird. You kind of got to, people know the Sean McVeigh secrets when they coach under you.

Is it weird to coach against guys that know your playbook, they know your personality, they know your risk tolerance? Do you like facing former assistance? Or do you just think all week, this is the worst? Yeah, I think it's a blessing. I think we've had a lot of guys that have come through here that have influenced me. are building in a positive way and then gone on to do great things, whether that says coordinators or head coaches.

And so it's a challenge, you know, being able to kind of onboard as many different people, but you attract quality people. I don't know that you really think about it that way as much as when you're in the right mindset, you're saying what a cool thing this is to be able to see people you love and care about that have positively influenced you, go do their thing elsewhere. And all those guys you mentioned really happy for them, you know, we've happened to play a couple of those guys. we don't play the Falcons this year, but

it is strange, but once the game's kicked off, it's about focusing on our team versus their team and trying to see if we can come away with the result we're hunting up. Finally, you have a great energy and it's a long season. I mean, it is all, it's just, it is

so long. Do you ever get up, this will be the final question, is there ever a moment with your new family? Do you ever want to call Les up and say, Les, I just need to take Wednesday off? Or do you guys, or do you ever do this do you ever go guys you go to stafford you go to cooper cup do you ever just go guys i feel it this team's tired how do you measure that and the nfl adds another week uh i mean

that it just it just feels like it's a lot how do you address that when you sense a fatigue i think being able to ask questions you know reggie scott are are uh you know i lean on him heavily who you know oversees our sports performance department you ask the players questions shoot i know i'm feeling it a lot these these games but but you do you know the important thing is i think i have gotten better and we've gotten better collectively as the staff is saying okay you know working all these hours if you're not sharp if you're not fresh if you don't have the right vibe and energy for the players then you're wasting your time and so paying more attention to getting your rest and understanding the things when you're like all right man i'm irritable i'm not the most fun guy to be

around let's go get a workout in or let's make sure you get some rest tonight and get out of the office a little bit earlier i think i've improved by no means have i arrived in that arena but it is a long grind um but you always want to remember like my man andrew whitworth said it's always a blessing never a burden yeah well i love him uh rams hosted dolphins um just loved having you on the show haven't had you on yet i just you know i'm such an admirer i really appreciate you taking 10 20 minutes for us today coach well feelings are mutual i appreciate you having me on All right. Sean McVeigh. Really, really brilliant young coach of the L.A. Rams.

It is, I felt it, you know what's funny, J. Mack is we did this for a living. But during the football season, I mean, nobody has sympathy for us. But we work seven days. I mean, you just, I'm watching Saturday. I'm watching four games Sunday. I felt it was interesting. Could I ask that question? Because this Sunday, I was talking to a buddy last night who was in New Orleans.

I said, I felt this Sunday. Maybe it was the election coming up, the fatigue, the intensity. Sunday, I was like, okay, I. I've hit a wall. And I was struggling, I was struggling to stay awake watching the games. I was just tired. I went to bed really early last night. I went to bed.

And it's just interesting. You think about this all the time. Like, this, I mean, you just add a game. This is really a 26 week, 28 week of non-stop intensity. It is hard. Are you sure it's not the cigars just getting to you? No, that's a good point. Maybe you've got to dial those back, big guy.

One less cigar, a little more of the gum that gives you energy and pep? You know what? I've been doing more cigars and less neurogum. Maybe I should pivot. Do a little more gum, a little fewer cigars. I think I'm kind of right there with you, you know, like not with the cigars, but just kind of worn down a little bit. Yeah, my son had a chess tournament over the weekend.

I brought literally my computer and my phone. I'm on listening to Red Zone and watching and fantasy. that stuff just kind of wears you down. I know it's... Nobody's got sympathy for us. Right, right. But it's like, you got to constantly be on this stuff. Are you doing in-game betting?

Yeah, no. I'm doing in-game notes. You got to add that to the repertoire. I'm very boring on Sundays. Back in a second, live in L.A., it's The Herd. 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, 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. Clever Taylor the 4. 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.

are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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 with a 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, Yeah, yeah.

Literally. But just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct. So I'm starting to see 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 IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the hard way. with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so

many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing, and we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough.

Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and loss. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Make sure you play this week's Fox Super 6, sponsored by Draft Kings. There's a special contest this week for Giants, Panthers, and Munich, which you can see on NFL Network Sunday at 9.30 a.m. Go to the Fox Sports app and enter for a free chance to win cash prizes. We got lucky today.

We had Tom Brady stop by for 20 minutes, and Sean McVeigh stopped by for 15 minutes. I always feel a little ill-equipped on days after elections every four years to sort of address what happens. everybody's got strong feelings. I tend to try to stay in the middle on this stuff. You know, I know a lot of people agree with me, disagree. It is what it is. But I would, you know, it's funny.

I was texting my kids this morning who both have like different views of the world. And I said, you know, this is one of these days. I'd probably stay off the internet and reach out to people who make you smile. And that's a life is not going to give you a OWs. You're going to have really bad days. Somebody's going to break your heart. Somebody's going to drive you nuts. Someday you'll get fired.

how do you react to it? You're not going to get your way, and if you think you are, you're living in la-la land. That's just not the way it works. So work with people, whether you agree with them or not, and, you know, I'm for America. I don't have to win the elections every time, nor do I expect to. I was a little surprised with a landslide, but, you know, this is America. The blue team turned a lot of people off, and America voted yesterday, and America told you what they think, and what they told you is they were kind of across the board, tired of the blue team.

And you move on. It's the next day. So Tom Brady earlier today, he just did the Lions game. And the Lions just mauled the Packers. It was really, it wasn't as close as the score would tell you. It was not a competitive game, and it was Green Bay and the bad weather. Looked like they were unprepared. Detroit, a dome team in the outdoor lousy weather, look great, very comfortable.

And I said when you watch Detroit, they're so equipped. Like, it's an All-Star team. They had like six Pro Bowl level players, Goff, their tackles, their center, Amaran St. Brown, Laporta, like they got everything. They don't really have a weakness. They have a deep threat when he's healthy Williams. And I said, if there was a team in his playing day,

similar to the Lions that you had a kind of sense when you played them, they didn't have any weaknesses, and you were going to have to outscore them to win. I would say the early Colts offenses we faced, they were so good. And I'm lucky I didn't have to go against them. I mean, to me, it was great. Belichick would say, guys, listen, this would be a Wednesday meeting. Understand this.

They are going to move the ball on us. They're too good. They got so many guys. They're going to go up and down. We need to play good red area defense. And we're going to work on red area defense on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, because that's going to decide the game. They're going to get the ball down there, which is a great humility from a coach.

who's a defensive coach, who's essentially the coordinator to say, these guys are so good, we're not going to just pull the wool over eyes and thinks that we're going to keep these guys to 240 yards offense. They're going to have yards. What we need to do is keep the points down. If we can keep the points down and offensively, we can control the game. We can run the ball and then we can score points. We're going to give ourselves a best chance to win.

That to me is complimentary football. So when you play the Lions, the only way to beat them is to play a style where the offense complements the defense and then the kicking game does their job. Yeah, I think Baltimore had a team, a couple of teams, the Ed Reed, Ray Lewis defensive teams where you're like, they kind of did everything well. They had an elite corner. They had arguably the greatest safety. They had a pass rush. They had the best Mike linebacker. They were nasty and physical.

And you don't get this a lot with a salary cap where you almost. feel like Detroit, the tackles, the center, the quarterback, the coordinator, the coach, the slot guy, the deep guy, the excellent tight end. It's kind of when healthy, it's a perfect offense. And you could say, well, what about Goff? Gough actually complements them because this is the one team in the league that could win a Super Bowl with strictly a pocket quarterback. They don't need to extend the pocket. Their running back is going to extend the pocket. They can do so many things. don't get this much in the salary cap era where you feel like you kind of new england when they had

randy mons offensibly underneath guys slot guys moss brady good old line good run game backs could catch you don't you just don't get it much seattle's defense years ago when they had richard sherman and then you've got earl thomas on the back end and cam chancellor at linebacker and good interior defenders i thought the seahawks defense for a couple years they could do everything they could punch you physically. They could pass rush it. They could cover. They could bring multiple people.

And about every five or six years you look up and there's just somebody like Kansas City right now is a long way from perfect. Even Travis Kelsey passed his prime. Their run game is okay. It's more methodical than home run. They have a really good deep, threatened Xavier Worthy,

but he doesn't know what he's doing. He's stepping out of bounds. He's trying to learn the game. They're moving people in, out, D-Hop now will become their volume receiver. Eight to ten looks a game, seven to eight catches. So even the teams that are really good, like San Francisco defensively doesn't feel as good.

They got Bose on the edge, but they don't get the interior push. They're missing one of their linebackers. They're good, not great at corner. Their safety, Hufunga's been, you know, there's injuries. So what you think of San Francisco is being an elite defensive unit, but they've got elite defensive players, but they're not an elite unit. There have been times teams have controlled the clock against San Francisco. field Detroit's in this very unique space.

And I do think it's fairly inevitable that Detroit plays Kansas City and the Super Bowl. I think Detroit's going to have an easier time getting there than Kansas City is. I think Baltimore and Buffalo, I do think the chargers really match up with Kansas City. I look at Detroit and the NFC. I guess they're San Francisco, but they play San Francisco in Week 17, so they're going to get a taste of them. They know what they're like. They have a sense of what they are. and yeah, I don't see a lot of weaknesses.

I really don't. I don't even remember that game. Tampa beat him earlier. They were bad in the red zone. Well, that was the game where golf. There were some injuries to the Buck secondary, and they decided we're going to have Goff throw 55 passes. And it was like Ben Johnson was trying to outthink himself.

Since then, has it thrown more than 25 passes in the game. They've gotten smart. They got back to the basics. We're going to run the football down your throat. You can't do a damn thing about it. When you crowd the line of scrimmage, we're going to beat you at Leporta, Amara, Oh, by the way, Jameson Williams comes back from his suspension this week. Like, lines are stacked, man.

I mean, he feels like your fourth option. I think they're going to the Super Bowl. So do I. I do, too. I think they're a younger version of the Niners and better at quarterback. Believe it or not. 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 headwriter, 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 Clifford 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. 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 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 Heart 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 to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

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 Bo Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.