The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Bad news for the Bills

Episode Date: June 14, 2023

This is bad news for the Bills and the direction they are headed after reported issues between star WR Stefon Diggs and the front office Why Nikola Jokic clearly proved he's the best player in the league right now The landscape of college football and why these conferences are clearly set up to dominate the sport for the foreseeable futureSee 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, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast.

Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go.

On a Wednesday? Yeah, it's Wednesday. Live in Los Angeles, it's the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, thank you for making us party your day. Radio, TV, social media, whatever it is. J-Mack. I drove into work this morning.

Last night, it was cool this morning. Last night it was perfect. It made me feel like I was back in the Pacific Northwest or the Northeast. Love that cool weather at night. Lit a cigar. Sat back there. Not lonely. I was alone.

Very pensive. Thought about sports and where we're going. It felt like the beginning of football. Now, I know it's going to get warmer in Southern California, July and August. But the weather's making me feel like it's, football season. Look at you drop an SAT vocabulary word. Pensive on a Wednesday morning early. And talking about a cigar. Jeez, what a night that was. It was. So, interesting story. Star receiver, Stefan DeViggs, Buffalo Bills, very, very unhappy. Why? Something I've been on for a long time.

So three years ago, all of us sort of believed the AFC was going to be Mahomes and Josh Allen. It was going to be Brady and Manning. We found our guys. They're unbelievable. And then two years ago, we added another Joe Burrell. Like, well, this kid's good. So we found our Brady, Manning, and Big Ben. The AFC is going to go through three guys, three star quarterbacks.

Like it did, Brady, Manning, Big Ben. It's going to be Mahomes, Josh Allen, and this emerging stud Joe Burrell. And where are we today? Well, last time we checked on Patrick, Mahomes, three Super Bowl appearances, one, two, rebuilt the wide receiver group and the offensive line did his offensive head coach. He's happy he's winning. He's got that offensive coach and support system.

Mahomes is everything we thought he would be. Let's check in with Joe Burrell also has an offensive coach. He's been to a Super Bowl. They rebuilt their offensive line. And lots of weapons. He's winning, not beating Mahomes in the big one, but winning and very happy. And where is Josh Allen with a rigid defensive coach? Fifth year, can't get the offensive line right.

Last year, if you took out Josh Allen rushing yards, still a crappy run game, 24th. Josh Allen's running too much, getting hit too much. Now the star receiver is unhappy and they can't develop a second receiver. Gosh, I wonder what it could be the defensive, rigid, conservative head coach Sean McDermott. These guys are tone deaf. Belichick puts a defensive coordinator at OC with Mac Jones. Mike Tomlin, five years. O-line still stinks.

Sean McDermott is the issue. Pro football focus did a preseason offensive line ranking. That's sort of an important position. Protect your star quarterback. Seven of the eight top O' lines, offensive head coaches. Seven of eight. By the way, pro football focus has the most. most improved offensive line in the offseason.

One of two, Sean Payton, offensive coach. Fixed it in three months. Sean McDermott can't fix it in five years. What did he do this off season? Went and signed another defensive lineman and gave Ed Oliver a very expensive extension. I watched Sean McDermott get out-coached by Mike Bain Daniel of Miami three times last year. One time he beat him, another time to a loss to walk off field goal, and Skyler Thompson in Buffalo, cold chilly weather, took Josh Allen to the wire. That's embarrassing.

There's another defensive coach. He's young. He's got promise to meet Go Ryan's Houston Texans. You see the story today? He's going to have an open quarterback competition. What? You just drafted C.J. Stroud out of Ohio State. Davis Mills tied for the NFL lead in interceptions.

he's 519 and 1. He's not the guy. Give C.J. Stroud every snap today until the season starts. That's what offensive coach, Frank Reich, announced last week. Yeah, Bryce Young's the guy. Remove controversy. Remove media questions. All D'Amico Ryan's is doing is begging for the Houston media.

Ask. Point, questions. out who's the guy? The offensive coach gets it. The defensive coach is tone deaf. Davis Mills, really? That's the future. So when I see that Stefan Diggs is unhappy, Andy Reed doesn't have these problems, Zach Taylor doesn't have these problems, Sean McVeigh doesn't have these problems. And by the way, Kyle Shanahan offensive coach, when Debo got unhappy for about an hour and a half, fixed it immediately done, paid him happy. Sean McDermott, last chance. He's the issue. Watched him get out-coached by Mike McDaniel. Three times. You can't lose to Miami if you have

Josh Allen. Can't. Not against Gailor Thompson. Got a win going away. Not against Tua. Got a win going away. It's a quarterback mismatch. Size, strength, mobility, arm strength, got a win going away. All right, so I saw this was interesting. So Bill Simmons podcast had Doc Rivers on it. And I had said during the season that the MVP vote was more of an anti-yokic vote. He'd won two straight. Nobody wanted to give him a third. Then it was a pro-M-Bid vote.

There was no reason, no reason you could say Embeded was more valuable. His team had a winning record when he didn't play. the net rating was like plus seven when he didn't play Denver's net rating when Yokic doesn't play is minus five to double-digit swing isn't that the definition of valuable Doc Rivers talking to Bill Simmons now he's no longer the Sixers coach he loves Joel Embed but listen to these comments number one he has to be healthy in the playoffs you know and this is the healthiest but he still wasn't 100 percent then number two for Joe is he's got to make all his players better in the player.

And he has the ability. Now, I stayed on him daily. He's just got to do that on a consistent basis, not just on the court, but also off the court. And so fighting that early on when I first got there was huge. Joe, you need to play tonight. Joe, you can play tonight. Now he's up in games.

And so he's crossed that barrier. The next one will be making his teammates better. So Doc Rivers had to talk Embed into playing on certain nights. And he says he's hopeful, even though he's gone, that he can eventually consistently make his teammates better. And that's your MVP. It was an anti-Yokage vote.

He's not nearly as valuable as Yokic. And I said this before the Long Denver playoff run. The MVP vote has become the M-I-P vote, most interesting person. M-B is more interesting. Maybe the NBA season is so long that writers need to be entertained. They're looking for stories and narratives they can put their arms around. But Russell Westbrook's never been the most valuable anything.

He's just talented. But Katie bailed on him so he was the most interesting player. James Hardens, quirky, fashionable, had the step back. It's never made anybody significantly better, but he was the most interesting player in the league. And Embede is interesting. He's funny. He's very social. He's hard not to like.

But he's not more valuable. I know, I know, I know, I know, Colin, can't count the playoffs. This is a regular season award. I know. I looked it up. The Sixers without Embed were 11 and 5. They were better when he was off the floor. The net rating was plus 7.

The nuggets were a disaster when Yokic didn't play well. And here's the thing. pivoting to the playoffs, Yokic always plays well. He's always available. He had 20 playoff games. They went 16 and 4. He didn't have a clunker. I mean, there was one game he got into foul trouble. He didn't have a clunker. He's more durable. He's more analytically superior. He makes players better. Doc Rivers acknowledging, you know, I had to tell Embed, you got to play tonight. You think anybody has that discussion with Yokic? He has to consistently make a lot of. He has to consistently make everybody better.

Yokic does. Like, I understand that M. Bede is more interesting. And I also understand it's a regular season award. But let's be honest right now. Yokic is the best basketball player in the world. Ambide, when he's playing, we watch this during the playoffs.

A lot of times, his team stands around and watches him dribble. Like, I like M.B. But there was an argument that really the MVP, if not Yokic, was Yonis. He was the number one seat. He, for a player that played at least 50 games, had the highest win-loss percentage record. You could argue it was Yokic Yonis Mbid or Yonis Yonis Yonkich Mbid. But the MVP has become the M-I-P.

And M-Bid, I'll say this, is very interesting and very likable and very funny and very talented. But I thought those comments by Doc Rivers to Bill Simmons, kind of eye-opening. I know, I know. It's a regular season award. I know. Look at the net rating. Look at the win-loss record when he didn't play. Look at elevation of others.

It felt like it was an anti-yokic vote. And by the way, nobody hates Yokic. That's a silly narrative. Nobody hates Yokic. He's not the most fascinating player. But nobody hate David Robinson wasn't fascinating. Duncan wasn't fascinating. Nobody hated Tim.

Duncan. When I hear that, Americans, they don't embrace. No, no, no, I saw the ratings for the NBA playoffs. They were the highest in five years. I saw the ratings for the finals, a tick below the dynastic warriors and the Celtics, huge brand. So people like watching Yokage. His game's got a little garbage element to it, a lot of putbacks and long and not dynamic. Nobody hates Yokage. That's just outright. You don't win the MVP twice if people hate you. His game is not the most flamboyant, he looked weird at the All-Star game. Like, he literally didn't fit at the All-Star game. That's okay. Not every great player does. I grew up with Jack Sykma. Very good player. Many of you in the Northwest still lives up. A great basketball player. All-Star qualities would have been,

would never have fit to an All-Star game. Dr. Jay, they built it for him. Magic, LeBron, Michael Jordan, Embed. There are certain guys they built the All-Star game for. Nobody hates Yokage, but he is unquestionably the most valuable player in the league. Regular season, postseason, it's not necessarily close. Nobody has to talk him into playing. Nobody has to hope he elevates others. J. Mack, starting strong here on Wednesday. Yeah, the person pushing this hate Yokic agenda, former teammate of years, is really out of bounds here.

You know what it is, is that people really like Joe L. Embed, why? Because of the personality. to talk to social media. They like Embed. They don't hate Yokic. He's just, he's not on social media. He's not in the discussion. He doesn't have juice, you know?

I don't, there are people in this league that have been, I mean, LeBron is polarizing. Of course. Yokic isn't polarizing. He can be uninteresting if you like a dynamic, a vertical. I mean, there's no question. Of all the bigs in the league right now, for the record, Kareem was stoic. Kareem wasn't, he was a brilliant guy. academic, but Kareem was kind of a stoic, prickly personality. Shack was a riot. Shack is funny.

Shack's on TV. Shack was in movies. But it didn't mean people hated Kareem. He didn't draw you. Duncan was the same thing. So, but this idea, like the MVP, it's like, take the votes away. Let me, let's be honest about this. When Doc Rivers knows, M.B., he's giving you a little behind the curtain. Hey, Joel, you got to play tonight. That's not a discussion they're having in Denver. This guy wants to literally so much about team when they asked him about the MVP. He's like, I want to buy another horse. I want to go to my homeland. It's like he's just into family and team and winning and that's all it is. By the way, this is not an anti-M-Beed rant. It's a pro-yokish rant. I think Ambide's a riot. I think he's really good. I think I would have voted him second or third.

I wasn't outraged when Embeded won. He had a good year. He had to deal with the Ben Simmons nonsense. the James Harden stuff. It's not been an easy road for him, and I understand people who like MB. A quick word on the bills, Colin? So they underwhelmed at the end of last year losing in the playoffs, and now they've got the Stefan Diggs drama.

There's some speculation that the head coach is on the hot seat. I want to see how this team deals with some adversity. We haven't seen this. This team's been up, up, up, and away the last three years. First real adversity here. Let's see what happens to Buffalo. Out of the gate with my Jets on Monday night football. Where's that game at?

Jets are at home. The line has come down. It was three. Now it's one and a half. Buffalo favorite on the road. They can't get their own line right. That's why the Jets played him tough. The Stefan Diggs situation is very real.

He showed up at the facility, was there, and then said, I'm not going. I'm not going to practice. I'm like, what? Let's not my team. 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. 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, 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.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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, Tript 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 or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person join me Kear gains 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 hard way and listen now. It is great to have you in. College basketball has expanded their March madness. More teams in now than never for years. And people still grumble about seating and one or two teams not getting in.

College football is going to a 12-team playoff here in a couple of years. I can't wait for it. But it's not going to eliminate the grumbling. Somebody's going to, and I can already tell you where the grumbling is going to happen. So the story yesterday that came out, the SEC, college football powerhouse conference in the South, and the Big Ten smack dab in the middle of the country, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio State, each top 2 billion in athletic department revenue, blew away the ACC, the PAC 12,

the Big 12, blew themoy. And I have no problem in any part of life. It could be law, it could be entertainment. If you want it more and you work harder, you should make more. You may have to pay more in taxes, but I believe in rewarding people who are more committed, sacrifice more, and work harder. You do deserve more money. Again, tax system, argue it all you want.

But the Big Ten was already a big breadwinner. One or two back and forth, big money. And yet they were actively recruiting USC and UCLA. They already had Michigan, Penn State, big money programs, Ohio State, Wisconsin. actively recruiting them. The SEC was king, and they actively recruited Texas and Oklahoma. The Big 12 ACC and PAC 12, asleep at the wheel, have nobody to blame but themselves. The biggest best companies don't rest on their laurels. Apple did not create the iPhone and say, we're done here. Same with Amazon. The PAC 12 hired a commissioner years ago with no college football

resume. It was littered with tennis. Larry Scott, shocker. He didn't understand the value of college football. At least our tennis programs out here got good. Give me a break. When we go to a 12-team playoff, you know, you know the media is going to ask for small schools to get in and get Cincinnati and Boise State and TCU. I got no problem with six of the 12 coming from the Big Ten and the SEC, some years seven. they're more committed, they're more aggressive, they've got better facilities, they recruit better, why would I have a problem with it? Why should there be equal representation when there isn't equal commitment, equal vision, equal players, equal talent? I watch Michigan's recruiting class.

Have you seen USC's in the last year? Ohio State, USC get another commitment this morning. I see Alabama's, Georgia's, LSUs, Texas. They should have half the teams in. Go look at their revenue. So you can see the argument coming and the complaining come. And I can tell you right now, the media is going to want like, okay, two Big Ten teams and maybe two, no, half the field should be SEC and Big Ten. There's a reason they have the best recruiting classes.

There is a reason. They're more committed. They got better vision, better facilitated. turn out more NFL players. And by the way, the Big Ten and the SEC were already making the most money. And they were actively recruiting football powers. Texas here, Oklahoma, USC. I've heard this argument for years.

Well, you know, the SEC has those 100,000 seat stadiums. So does the Big Ten. Pac-12 struggles to fill 58,000 seat stadiums. You give them 100,000. They look like a Cleveland Indians baseball game in April. Nobody'd be there. J-Mac with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. The Cleveland Guardians, my bad. Guardians, yeah, yeah. A lot of happening in the sports world, Colin. This one, listen, we hinted at this last week. I tried to talk about Zion Williamson, but it was kind of an o-fly zone. I'm just telling you something's going on in New Orleans.

I think so. So Shams Sharania is reporting that the New Orleans Pelicans are considering trading Zion Williamson, perhaps, in an effort to move up and maybe get Scoot Henderson, who they're enamored with in the draft. Scoot Henderson is kind of a Derek Rose-ish player. Yeah. Who some people had as two, and now they're saying three. I've had him two all along.

I always thought he was the second best player. So then Brian Winhorst said on the other network today that the Pelicans are getting aggressive in moving up for Scoot Henderson. Now, he didn't say Zion, but the scuttle butt is you're not going to move up to Brandon Ingram is not going to get Portland all or Charlotte. They're not going to get excited by Brandon Ingram. It's got to be Zion Williams.

I'll tell you something. I would do that if I was Portland in a second. First of all, young dynamic Derek Rose comps don't win championships. Well, outside of staff. Rose did win an MVP and they were in the, they made a run to the conference finals, I think, early. I know LeBron shut him down.

Yeah, who cares? In the end, you want to win championships? Duncan, Yokic, Shaq, or Wings, Michael, Kobe. You're not winning them with dynamic point guards. We've gone over this with John Morant, Rose, Wall. You're not winning championships. So I can still get the 14th pick if I'm Portland.

I still get a good pick because I think New Orleans has the 14th pick. And I get Zion Williamson. So I'm going to get an NBA player, probably a fifth starter at 14. And I get Zion. I do it in a second. So is this the Pelican sending a message to Zion? Hey, dude, we love you. But this off-court nonsense embarrassed our team last week?

I know people will say, hey, a lot of players have done this. off the court with, you know, dancers and stuff. How about this? This is real. Like, Zion is screwing up in New Orleans badly. It's much harder to get in trouble in Portland. Louisiana, New Orleans is a party town, a port city. It's wild. It's fun. It is hard for a young guy not to be lured in. Go to New Orleans for a weekend. I have before. It's a good time. Now, what about Charlotte, who is drafting two, and Zion is from South Carolina, so its proximity. Is it good to be home, if you will? I would. I would. John Morant, I believe. is from, isn't he from somewhere on the East Coast?

And like Memphis, all his crew came to lay hand with him and it ain't great. I don't know if Zion should be going to Charlotte. No, I think if I was Zion, send Zion out to damp, sleepy, gray sky Portland, hard to get in trouble, restart, get away from his guys. How was the cuisine in Portland? I think it's one of the great underrated food cities ever. But it's not New Orleans. Yeah, okay. Right.

So New Orleans. Yeah, it's just different. Years ago, I had an NFL GM tell me this. You have to be careful when you're in a port city. Miami, New Orleans, New York. They're more active. They have more of a nightlife, port cities. Be very careful about taking kids with immaturity issues.

You know, it's harder to get in trouble in Kansas City or Indianapolis or, you know what I mean? So there's some argument there that the port cities, L.A. It's wilder. It's a late night city. It's more active. There's all that commerce. And so I think New Orleans, for a young player, can be hard. And these NBA guys come in at 19 years old.

Move Zion West. The Blazers get a forward finally. They've been looking for one for about eight years. Well, I mean, he's played 29 games in two years. So you're getting him at the bottom. Yeah. Right? Like, you're getting him now.

You don't have to give up nearly as much. And I'm giving up Scoot Henderson, who could be a dynamic player. It's not a championship player. He's going to be fun to walk. I'm curious. If you're Charlotte, Michael Jordan is reportedly selling the franchise. If you're Charlotte, you can't get free agents there, right? You can't do that.

Zion now has his long-term deal. Do you? I mean, like, listen, this is a high-risk, high-reward move. We don't know this is Greg Oden or like. Well, I would say. I don't know how much Zion's going to play. But if he's on the court. Charlotte is a NASCAR college basketball hotbed.

It's not been a great NBA city. Lamello and Zion sells a lot of tickets. Well, that would be shades of Larry Johnson and Alonzo Morning. Remember back in the day when they were, they had a lot of potential. Then they feuded. But La Mello. Hello and Zion is like the new Instagram team in the NBA. Like they are on League Pass and people are talking about it.

Yeah, no, I mean, that would be a fun team to watch. You would, I would get on my treadmill, and if they were on. You're checking them out. You're absolutely. There's value in that if you're not a championship team. I just think New Orleans and Zion feels like, it's like Memphis and Jha. If you move him somewhere else, Jah may just get his act together. I mean, we've seen more mature players, Wiggins, Aaron,

Gordon, go to a new environment and flourish. Let's talk about these young players. John Zion are great talents. But they feel like young, face of the franchise, too much pressure, and they both went a little sideways. Let's give them a new beginning. If I was Charlotte or Portland, I'd be very interested in that. Put yourself real quick in Zion Williamson's shoes.

You see these reports coming from credible reporters. Do you just let it slide? Do you go to manage it and be like, guys, guys, what's going on? How are you going to do me like this? It's like, I want to be here. Do you fight for it or do you say, you know what? I'm done with these guys. Because Zion is in that really tricky zone right now where he's not playing.

He's screwing around off the court. And you just start to wonder, man, this is a guy who, when he plays, he puts up shack-like numbers in the paint. He is utterly dominant historically. But he doesn't play. I'm Portland. I'm Charlotte. Now, I'm not giving up Victor Wambayama. Right.

But I don't think the gap between the third or fourth best player and the third. is that gigantic this year. I think it's viewed as a very good draft. Maybe I'd ask my buddy Ryan Rosillo, he follows this stuff. But I mean, like the difference between the fourth best player and the 13th, I think is pretty slender. I think Victor's on his own island. Now, I've seen the Scoot Henderson guy.

I've seen the video. I saw him play a game. He's wildly dynamic. But again, I've seen that over and over. It's fun. It's not a championship. That's not a championship recipe. So to me, if you're in pro sports, it's about winning championship.

It's like the running quarterback. You got to throw stuff from the pocket. Again, not to knock it down, but like when people drafted Steph Curry, nobody's saying, oh, yeah, that's a good thing. He's the exception. He's going to win championship. And also, he stayed in college multiple years. His dad played in the league.

He was uniquely mature. He got a great coach. A lot of things went in Steph's favor. Jamal Murray. When they drafted him, Louisian. Jamal's a two guard. He got hurt. He got humbled.

It was slow growth. When John Mulmorey came out of college, we weren't talking. He wasn't getting the Instagram love of Jha or Derek Rose or Wall. Those guys were like, I mean, John Wall was the fastest player I'd ever seen in the league. Can you get these dynamic athletes to shoot the basketball? We know you can dunk. We know you can jump over everybody. Practice 500-3s a day.

Get in with the shot close. Shot doctor or whatever. I'm not saying young dynamic guards don't have value, but they feel sometimes a little frivolous and irrelevant when you put them out. I mean, Trey Young's a really good player. You know, that's another my guy. No, I like, I like Trey Young. A lot, and I think Quinn Snyder will get the most out of Trey Young.

But I don't seem as a championship player. Okay. In the NFL, Field Yates is reporting the Rams are restructuring the contract of Cooper Cup, converting some of his base salary into a signing bonus, creating a $10 million cap space for the team. Obviously, Cup played in just nine games last year, had the ankle injury. Now remember, I had talked about how they tried to get Matt Stafford. Remember that?

Yeah. Caused a little kerfuffle out here in L.A. They tried to get Stafford to do it. Tafford said, uh-uh, uh-uh. I'm not doing it. So Cooper Cup did it. I wonder, I like them more than you, but I think they need to go out and get a number two corner over the course. So keep your eye on this.

Wait, number two, what? A corner. Well, they don't have a one. Ramsey's gone. No, I know. But they've got a bunch of young kids. kids. You don't have to be great at corner to be a very good football team. Was Kansas City great at corner last year? No, but they were good at pass rush. That's the key. And so Aaron Donald

provides that. They went heavy in the draft on edge rushers. I text less need on this. I think they need to go get a veteran pass rush or a guy that can get you eight or nine sacks for a number two corner. Did they just let go of, what's his name? Floyd. We got very expensive. So what they're doing is they have several needs. They think they've cleaned up O line a little bit. Oh my gosh. I'm just, I'm looking at their draft. They drafted like 15 dudes.

No, no, they went all edge rusher, outside linebacker. They went heavy into that this draft. Next year's draft, I believe we'll be running back, receiver. It'll be a speed draft. So has Sneed said anything about, I know they like Stetson Bennett, but Nick Hampton, fifth round pick? No, he'll play. Byron Young, linebacker.

No, they got to play. They don't have any dudes. This is going to be a team we're divided on it. No, this is one of our, I believe. in a sport that you and I agree on something. Quarterback coach is about 75% of it. Fair. I mean, if you got the quarterback and the coach,

you're going to win a lot of games. And they have that. Matt Stafford, before he got injured last year, the previous year threw for 5,000 yards. Cooper Cup at 150 catches. Stafford threw for 5,000 yards because the offensive line barely missed a game all season. Whitworth came in here talking about it.

So we also know the O-line's not going to have that kind of injury bug. So I get McVeigh, Elite, Stafford, absolutely top six or seven. Aaron Donald is still a top, he was the highest ranked defensive lineman when he played last year, and I get a star weapon in Cooper Cup in the weaker NFC. You can't tell me they're going to struggle again this year. The way you just broke down their stars, it reminded me of like the Miami Heat with LeBron at the end. Like, hey, we're top heavy. After that, I don't know, and they got blasted by the Spurs.

Well, but they did get to the finals. They won't a wreck. That's fair. And then LeBron peased out. So that's why this year the Rams went heavy youth and edge. So what they wanted to do this year is get faster on the outside of their defense. They rebuilt it. They had a ton of picks this year.

I don't know the defensive coordinator. For a few years they had out, what's his name, Wade Phillips? He was very good. Both the chargers and Rams mow through coaches. Yeah, they just cycle through. And like, we'll see. All right, final story. Hey, how about this, Colin?

The NHL finals, not only did they happen, but the Vegas Golden Knights won. And there's six years. Oh, my gosh, they scored nine goals last night. I somehow missed that. So they were an expansion team, and the way it works in the NHL, these expansion teams are pretty good. They went and got a great goalie their first year. So you can only protect so many players in the expansion draft. So they cherry picked really good players.

They went and got like the Penguins goalie. They went and cherry picked them. bunch of players. So the NHL does a very good job in their expansion teams. They're very good, very quickly. So this team has been excellent since its inception. And this wasn't even a close. I watched three different parts of three different games, and it wasn't competitive. Who did they beat, by the way? Florida Panthers. And I mean, it was not a competitive. It was less competitive than the NBA finals. So let me get this right. And I don't know that I could name 10 NHL players, but a Vegas team and a Florida team were in the NHL finals.

Yeah. What's going on with Canada and hockey? Well, you know, that's a great question and a great topic. The Athletic had a story about this about two months ago. It was fascinating. We don't talk a ton of hockey. But the question is, why isn't Canada winning Stanley Cups? And there's a lot of different reasons for it. And the writer said, here's like six different reasons.

I do think it's a bunch of different things. One of the things I believe it is, first of all, there's not that many Canadian teams. They've also gotten to the Stanley Cup finals and lost, so it's not like they've all been bad. They've had good teams. I do believe America does one thing better than Canada, and it's not disputable. Business.

Oh, I thought you would say maple syrup. No, no, no, business. And the reality is we do a better job of attracting free agents. We do a better job. The aid to star agents, they move players into bigger markets and, you know, more dynamic markets here below, you know, in these.

States. So there's a lot of reasons for it. Canada's still got good teams, and they've gotten to the Stanley Cup final. They can't win. But there's a lot of different arguments for it. But I think a lot of it is so much of sports now is money and attracting free agents. And I think America's good at that part of the sport. I played a lot of the Sega hockey game in my youth. And I love the Quebec Nordiques. Do you remember them? Great jerseys. Oh, that was so cool about them. Like you're a young kid, you see this? I think they had a guy named Joe Sackick. Was that his name? Joe Sackett was a hockey player. Yeah, I don't know. Anyways, that's the last one. So the Golden Knights were big. My interpretation of it when you watch them, they were, they were,

that's a big team. That was a lot of big dudes that could skate. Okay. They scored nine goals last night. Nine? For the, for the non-hockey fan, that is a week worth of goals. That's a, they, it wasn't a very competitive series. Tough, tough week for Florida, huh? Losing the Stanley Cup finals. Worse things in life than getting to the finals and losing. Well, they just go to South Beach and enjoy the weekend. There you go. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. Oh, so exciting. See, Sean Payton showed up last year during the NFL season. And it was, in my opinion, as good a guest as I've ever had in the history of my career doing this show. The best weekly guest I've ever had. And we have a lot of them that are very good. but Sean's knowledge because he had just stepped out of the league.

And I, you know, I would talk to Sean off the air, went to dinner with Sean. He was just too smart not to get back into the league. We kind of knew it Fox. We were going to get him for a year. He was just too connected. A fascinating guy, great storyteller, amazing storyteller. Some good signs for the Denver Broncos. We'll talk about that.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, this is Tom Verducci from Fox Sports. MLB Network and Sports Illustrated. And I'm Joe Madden, and we're going to be around to talk a little bit about managerial decisions and what may have occurred into the dugout, maybe in the 1980s. It's the Book of Joe podcast. I can't wait for this, Joe. We're going to dive into what goes on in the dugout and behind the scenes in Major League Baseball.

Cars, whined, whatever else we want to talk about. Yeah, well, there are no boundaries, right? Listen to the Book of Joe podcast on the IHeart Radio app, on 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. 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 at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway 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, 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, 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. This weekend, it's the final push for the U.S.FL playoffs. First Saturday at 4 Eastern on Fox.

Birmingham takes on Memphis. Then Sunday at 4, New Orleans battles Houston on FS1. Followed by Philly taking on Michigan at 7 on Fox. Catch all the action this weekend on Fox and FS1. So the gap in competency in any business is usually greater than people think. You know, I mean, there's a reason why for years and years and years, pro athletes were all going to one doctor in Alabama, James Andrews, for a knee, elbow, and shoulder surgeries.

It's like 75% of the athletes were going to one surgeon in the country. There's a reason that when you see a plane crash, 98% of the time it's pilot air, and yet Sully Sullenberger can land on the Hudson. I've had 20 dentists in my life. It took me until I found my 20th to find a great. dentist. There is a gap in competency and excellence in the country. And so that's why the easiest team this year, if not double their win total, that will look completely different from last year, is the Denver Broncos. They were so poorly coached. They were worst in the league under Nathaniel Hackett

in third down conversions. Worst. And they have good offensive players. They were terrible in situational football, couldn't manage the clock. They had three overtime losses. They played in more close one-score games. Do you know this than all but one other NFL team? 13. They were close. And they had a coach that was completely over his skis.

So now they go from that. I mean, the gap between Sean Payton and most coaches is big. The gap between Sean Payton and Andy Reed and Kyle Shanahan and a guy that's really a coordinator and not a coach is the great. Grand Canyon. And so, I mean, just look at what Brian Dable in six months did to Daniel Jones. He got him a $40 million contract. We entered the season not thinking he was a starter. Look what Sean McVeigh did years ago to Jared Gough, a complete bust to beats Patrick Mahomes, Monday night, toe to toe, gets to a Super Bowl. Look what Kyle Shanahan did to Brock Purdy.

Last player drafted, 7 and 0. The gap in competency between a pilot. a dentist, a surgeon, again, coaching pro football is enormous. We just saw it in the NBA playoffs, where Eric Spolstra and Joe Missoula, Spolster won three of those games. And that's the coach of the Boston Celtics. So Peyton's as smart as any football coach I've ever sat down with. Again, his understanding of detail, Cortland Sutton's a talented receiver for the Broncos. he talked about his first OTA with Sean Payton.

Everything to him is very intricate. You know, there's a reason, a rhyme and a reason to everything that he's doing. And for us to be working on situational football, as in depth as we are in OTAs, it's amazing. You know, it shows us that, you know, he understands and knows, you know, what to expect when we get into these games. There's going to be no waiver. There's going to be no question marks. Everyone understands that, you know, he knows what he knows what he's doing. So they would be, they won five games last year, they'd be the easiest bet in the NFL to double your win total.

So every year there's a team that, if not double their win total, they had about 70%, you know, they get close. Last year my pick was the Minnesota Vikings. It was an easy one. They went from a defensive coach to an offensive coach that would elevate Kirk Cousins. And they had lost so many one-score games the year before. I said if they win half, they're going to be a 12-win team. And they ended up, Vikings were a team that nearly doubled their win total. So Denver's the easiest bet in the league to double their win total, although 10 wins in that division.

Mahomes twice, Justin Herbert twice, is asking a lot. I think they're a nine-win team, then closer to an 11-win team. But if you really go, they're the Minnesota Vikings of last year. If you go look at Denver, three overtime losses, that's hard to do with even with a bad coach. Worst third-down conversion team in the league. That's hard to do with Russell Wilson. They were so bad with the clock from the first week in Seattle on. Terrible with it.

And here's the other thing. What was the first thing Sean Payton did? He just fixed the offensive line. So where you're going to see the improvement, the offensive line will be significantly better. They will be much better in situational football. And I think what you'll see. And Sean and I had talked about this before. he took the job, watch Russell Wilson get back to plan some football on grass, basketball

on grass, running around, being instinctive, leaning into what he truly is. So the Broncos off-season, they went and got a star receiver, an offensive tackle, a guard, and a couple of pass rushers. So I think J-Mack and I have disagreements. This is one we're aligned, which is Denver is going to make a significant double-your-win total improvement. The only thing getting in their way is the Chiefs and Herbert for the Chargers. We agree on that. We both think they'll be significantly better. Yeah, yeah, they'll be better. Now, now, we should have a second improved team. Mine is Houston. You don't buy it, but I think

Houston's going to improve dramatically. I was just on social media and I saw CJ Stroud through a pick six at practice today, Calhurt. I was going to bring it up to you, but I was just one pass. First of all, the coverage was excellent. Here's my thought. If you're really, raising the Broncos by five wins. Who is falling down a peg or two in the AFC? Somebody has to. That's the challenge, right? It's not, we don't think the Chargers.

Buffalo. Miami? No, I like my name. No, I would say, who is falling down? I would say, there are teams there that I like. Bengals, Ravens? I wouldn't say, Ravens is, to your point, If somebody's doubling their wins, where do the winds come from?

I don't think Buffalo will be as dynamic. I think they have a Sean McDermott issue. Maybe an 11 win team instead of 13? How many? 11 instead of 13? 10? Yeah. Because the Jets are coming up too.

Got the Jets into the first hour, baby. Hey, if Garoppolo gets hurt, Raiders are going to be bad. 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, S&L'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. 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. 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 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human