The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Baker Mayfield had a great night

Episode Date: December 9, 2022

Last night was the best game of Baker Mayfield's pro career Raiders HC Josh McDaniels has a lot to answer for after another brutal loss Is Baker Mayfield the right fit for LA?   Guest: Brock HuardSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on a Friday live in Los Angeles. Now the home of Baker Mayfield. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. One hour from now, back-to-back winning weeks. My Blazing Five, good picks this week's and favorites too. Jay Mack joining us.

Well, you went to watch Dave Chappelle and Chris Rock in Anaheim. We got what we thought was going to be a comedy show last night, ended up being serious football in a remarkable evening of drama. Baker Mayfield turned into Tom Brady right before our eyes, Colin. I can't wait for the show today. I know you're fired up. I am. Two things I've always felt about Baker Mayfield,

and I still feel them this morning. I wouldn't build my franchise around him. long-term deal. A little too much cowboy for me, a little bit too much ego, lack of discipline. But I've also said from the beginning, he is one of the 32 best people on the planet. If you give him decent protection, put him in the pocket and throw a football. Absolutely one of the best people on the planet to do that. In a strange way, last night was perfect for Baker Mayfield. It felt ad-libbed, plays in the dirt. Baker has struggled with structure and rules and hierarchy and being told what he has to do.

That wasn't last night. There was a little chaos. You needed an edge. You needed adrenaline. Big emotion. Hell with those rules. I kind of want to do it my way with a limited number of plays. That is Baker Mayfield.

Manning, Brady, and most not all great quarterbacks. Manning and Brady are intense and they're specific and its prep and its film day and night. Baker is far of light. He's a gunslinger. Hell with those rules. Last night would have crushed Kirk Cousins, who's a man of structure. Kirk Cousins would have been absolutely awful last night. But I'd build my franchise more around Kirk Cousins.

last night was built for Baker Mayfield I needed confidence little ego little cowboy little edge little adrenaline that's always been Baker at his best he even struggled with the structure of the weekly podium chat with the media

too many rules I want to say what I want to say sometimes you have to fall on the sword Eli Manning Russell Wilson say what people want to hear Two things from last night, I felt it was Baker-Mayfield's greatest moment as a pro. I know, I know he won a playoff game with Cleveland. That team was loaded. That offensive line was unbelievable.

Tight ends, Nick Chubb, wide receivers, just don't crash the Mercedes. Last night, the Rams are a mess. Folks, they're a mess. I'm not blaming anybody, but Ben Scoronic was his. go-to guy. On the other side of the field, it was Devante Adams. Derek Carr, team on a winning streak. This team was a mess. I thought that was Baker Mayfield's greatest moment as a pro. And the second thing I feel, and this is pretty cool, I thought last night got him one more shot to be a starting quarterback in this league. Absolutely. This league replaces a quarter of its

coaches every year and a quarter of its quarterbacks. They're looking for teams. Teams are looking for players. Baker Mayfield has often been his own worst enemy. Nobody can deny that. Even Baker's fans. And let's not go crazy here. Backups, and that's what he is now in the league. He went on waivers and nobody claimed him but the Rams. He's viewed as a backup. Backups went all the time. Cooper Rush won four straight games. Taylor Heinekees won five or six. but last night was wonderful drama. If you didn't root for Baker Mayfield last night, you don't have a soul. Come on.

Come on. Look at the locker who after. So many guys that I'm going to be able to recognize. All right, Taylor, Raff closing it out. So many big time stops defensively. Van Jefferson, Vince Carrone, making plays. All right. But to be able to come in here 10 minutes ago and help leave this through a victory,

see you guys on Monday. Baker, Banker. That is fantastic. Baker has always been more of a craps player than a professor counting cards. And last night, felt like Vegas. Way to go, Baker. Okay, let's talk. I'm going to get back to Baker several times.

I do want to talk about the Raiders. So I have been very pro-Raters this season. I see a team playing with Hart. passion. But last night, Baker Mayfield, who'd been in town 48 hours behind a bad old line with no number one or two or three receiver threw the ball 35 times. Sean McVeigh had the confidence in Baker Mayfield to throw the ball 35 times. Josh McDaniel only allowed Derek Carr to throw the ball 20 times. It was a bizarrely conservative game. game plan. I mean, last night proved how great Sean McVey is. God, Matt Ruhl had Baker Mayfield

for 14 weeks, didn't do squat. Sean McVeigh had him for 48 hours, and that's as good as Baker can play. But Josh, I understand a formula. So Josh McDaniels comes from New England, and New England had this sort of formula. It's why, like, Alabama at their peak with Sabin was the most boring dynasty ever. Get a lead, eat the clock, run the ball, don't turn it over, 2317, bye-bye, off to the next W is boring. But the Raiders can't use that formula because outside of Max Krosmi, they don't really have elite defensive players, nor do they have Bill Belichick on staff. So when you take a 13 to 3 lead, even with Baker Mayfield just flying into town a couple of days earlier, you got to adjust.

And the formula for the Raiders during this winning streak, three-game winning streak, has been pretty clear. I looked it up this morning. Josh Jacobs, 24 carries, win. Josh Jacobs, 33 carries, win. Josh Jacobs, 26 carries, all wins. But last night, he started struggling, getting only three and a half yards. And Devante Adams was on fire early, yet didn't have a catch in the second half.

Look at the series last night in the second half of the Raiders. It was the classic, you've got to adjust. Punt, punt, punt, punt, interception. What are we doing here? You had to veer off your formula. You know, my wife, her family was in the culinary business. Bakers follow directions. If you're making cookies and don't put it enough butter, it ruins the cookies.

Chefs are different. Chefs are a little salt. little butter, little bacon grease, little tweak. Taste the soup as you go. I mean, there's a recipe to make the soup, but you're constantly tweaking. That's really what an NFL head coach is. You want a recipe, but you are watching the game. You're watching it live.

Sometimes you get conservative. Sometimes the run game is working. You don't need to pass. Last night was a classic. Josh McDaniels was a baker, and they needed a chef. dude, get the ball to Devante Adams. The Raiders are 5 and 0 when Devante Adams has a big night. It's not complicated.

We went and looked it up this morning. It's real clear. When Devante Adams has five or more catches, the Raiders win. And when he doesn't, they don't. So you should get him the ball in the second half. Get him the ball and get him a ball a lot. And by the way, he burned Jalen Ramsey on the first big pass of the game.

Jalen Ramsey's good. Devante Adams, in my opinion, probably the best wide receiver in football, has his college quarterback. That was a classic example of the Raiders needed a chef as a coach, and Josh McDaniel followed the formula, a baker, and they lost.

Two Baker. Just made that up in the fly right there. Afterwards, the coach talked about it. This is an offensive defense or a special teams thing. It's a team thing. We've got to be able to, extend the lead if we have one and keep competing, not let her foot off the gas, no relaxing and try to play the same way we were playing when we had the, you know, when the game starts,

you know, and so just obviously I haven't done a good enough job of being able to get us to do that. The Raiders average seven yards a pass play. Rams only averaged about five, and yet the Raiders only had six passing first. downs, half of what Baker Mayfield had. The Rams played with energy, took risks, took swings, played to win. The Raiders played not to lose, and that's what happens in 2022. You can't use that formula. Belichick's trying to use that formula. It's a different game. It's a different league. That one's on the coach. All right. Something else, a bunch of different angles on Baker Mayfield, blazing five top of next hour.

really, really was a fun night. You know, Brady and Baker Mayfield, bad games, unwatchable, last two drives, the defenses on the field, play a little bit of prevent, three and a half hours on the field, and suddenly Brady and Baker Mayfield are facing a little more vulnerable defense. They've been on the field. It's that two-minute drill. Watch back-to-back.

This play-not-to-lose stuff, Josh McDaniels and Dennis Allen, Had the games won? Had the games won. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds, I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations

with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations,

stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam 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 to me Not just because of crack I'm down to talk about crack on day

But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack So I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you for finishing that.

sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So it is something that sounds crazy, but as the NFL has become a bigger business, global wealth has increased, you know, all these owners now are billionaires. So they get more impulsive. They get more demanding. And it's easier to fire a coach now. You're seeing coaches run out after a year. Team owns them $30 million. That's what the owner owes them. That's a rounding error. 40 million dollars for a billionaire. It's a rounding air. Didn't used to be that way. You got two years, three years. Owners hated when their net worth

with $600 million to write that $40 million check. Now they're worth $2.9 billion, $7.8 billion. They just fire people. That means there's more pressure. And so some of these standalone games have been really bad, and I've thought about why are there so many bad football games this year. There's been some great ones, but there's a lot of bad ones. And I think a lot of it is coaches get fired faster, coordinators get fired faster. We rush quarterbacks to plan. They're not ready. There's some bad football out there. And that was a bad football game last night. The only reason it was watchable was Baker Mayfield. So as I was watching Baker come in, I'm thinking to myself, listen, it's really impressive because this team's a mess.

And he obviously throws a beautiful football with time to throw. He throws a much better ball than Taylor Heineckee or Davis Mills or Daniel Jones or Matt Ryan or Marcus Mariota or Andy Dalton. Absolutely. Here's something important to remember. Baker's going to get four more starts, I would imagine. What do the Rams need? They desperately need draft capital and draft picks. I think they're going to trade Jalen Ramsey to get a one.

If Baker leaves, they get a compensatory pick. Many of the games remaining, if you look at the schedule for the Rams, are standalone prime time games. So the league is going to get a look at Baker Mayfield. Now, Denver's defense will not be a good day for Baker of the Rams offense. But Green Bay's defense, the Chargers defense, the Seahawks defense, bad defenses. You can move the ball and score points on those. So I think the Rams are going to use Baker to sell some tickets, have some fun, and make their games interesting. And I think

Baker is going to use the Rams to get a starting job in this league. Life is all about opportunities. And you've got to take advantage when you get opportunities. And Baker got one last night and absolutely hit it out of the park. He did have an advantage as that sort of the offensive line language last night that he used was the same he used with Bill Callahan in Cleveland. So Baker said after the game, that eased up the onslaught of homework and learning I had to do. But nonetheless, you could not wipe the smile off Baker Mayfield's face after the game. I don't know if you can write it any better than that. Obviously, we'd like to be a little bit more stress-free, but it's a pretty damn good story.

I'll be honest with this. Sean's protection scheme is similar to Bill Callahan's, who I had in Cleveland. So the terminology with that, that knocks out a big chunk of the learning curve. There was still definitely some, it looked like some rookie errors with formations and motions. Obviously, it hurt us late, but, you know, it worked out. You could tell on some of the timing patterns on the outside, Baker's timing was off. He'd never worked with these receivers more than a practice, but on the stuff where he could stand in the pocket, plant his feet, throw it downfield.

I think he's always on a beautiful ball. He can be a little scatter shot, a little impulsive, lack discipline, give him a little interior protection, throw the ball down the field. Guys got a nice arm.

It's not Josh Allen, but it's a nice arm. He throws it a lot better than 65% of the guys in this league when he just wants to let it rip. And by the way, I think somebody's going to offer him a franchise job.

And it doesn't necessarily have to be a bad team. The Pittsburgh Steelers offered Mitch Tribisky a starting job. Mitch Trubisky is not as good as Baker Mayfield. He doesn't throw a bowl nearly as good as Baker Mayfield. So I think Baker's going to get another shot. I think it'll be mostly desperate teams.

But again, Steelers went and got Trubisky. You could do worse than getting picked up by Mike Tomlin, T.J. Watt, that structure, that ownership. Just a really, really fun story last night. And if you have any heart at all, I didn't know if he was throwing up there on the bench. I'm watching this for TV. I thought he was throwing up because of all the nerves. I mean, you know, I mean, that was a lot last night.

That was a lot. And I thought, oh, that kid's going over to the bench to throw up. And I think he was saying a prayer, doing something, kind of gathering himself. But we were all winners last night. Baker wasn't the only winners. Everybody that watched that game, you came away from that thinking, that was fun. That's why we watched this sport. J. Mack with a news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Baker Mayfield to a broken offense, Colin, in New England. Matt Patricia has been calling the plays, obviously, for the Patriots. It's not working well. He has a defensive background. New England, big game against Arizona on Monday night.

Cardinals defensive coordinator, Vance Joseph. Boy, he gave his assessment of what he's seen from the Patriots' offensive system so far this year. I see an offense that's running a football well. You know, it's a very conservative past game. You know, lots of screens, all kinds of screens. It's like a defensive guy's calling offense. It's how a defense guy will call offensive plays, right? You know, let's not turn the ball over.

Let's get four yards of play and try to burn clock, and that's what they're doing. You know, and that's what he's going to do on Monday night. He's going to be patient. You know, maybe take a shot here, you know, from time to time. But for the most part, it's running game. It's a quick game and its screens. I like Arizona in that game. They get Hollywood Brown and D. Hop will play together for only, I believe,

the second time this year. Kyler Murray's getting healthier. Patriots have struggled with running quarterbacks, I believe 0-3 this year. Yeah, no, I think Arizona is going to win that game. I think it's, I, Arizona is a little bit like the Detroit Lions. When they're healthy, they're not a great team. They're a great watch. I like watching the Lions in Arizona play football.

They've got star players and speed and catch radius guys and everything. Before you put your hard-earned money on Arizona, I just want to remind you it is Cliff Kingsbury against Bill Belich. Just follow that away, Colin. All right, next up, let's get your team that matters. The New York Jets and Mike White, Collins' new favorite quarterback in the league, big one against Buffalo, revenge game for the bills after Zach Wilson slapped them around a few weeks back. Now, last season, White had a tough one against Buffalo. Four picks, they get smoked 4417.

He says he's trying to move past that bad performance as he prepares for Buffalo. It's always going to be a part of my development as a quarterback. And like I said, before, I just don't want it to. to beat me twice. You can't play hero ball. And you can't go in there thinking that, all right, I want revenge from what happened last year. What happened last year is over with. It's done with.

It's got to move on from it. It's a different scenario, different team. And yeah, I mean, I think you can easily fall into that. And me personally, I'm going to do my best to make sure that doesn't happen. I'm really interested. Everybody likes Buffalo to win. But I will say this. Everybody likes the 10-point favor, right?

Well, when you have a great corner and can shut down their star receiver, it changes games. Buffalo's not going to get any free touchdowns. They're not getting any freebies over the top. They're going to have to earn those on long drives, and this is not a defense, that it's easy to get long drives on. So I don't worry about Mike White. I think Soss Gardner shuts down Stefan a little bit, and I think it's a very, I think, I don't think it's a blowout. I think it's a competitive game.

Weather looks like it's not going to be a factor. Yeah. You know, divisional matchup, December. This could be a low-scoring game, Colin. I think the under has taken some money. I'm not going to count the Jets out. I know people think that, you know, Jets are a joke. But they –

Defense is an elite unit. Listen, they ugly the game up a little bit. And, you know, Buffalo sometimes can bail on the run game. Buffalo makes mistakes in the Red Zone. Buffalo gives you opportunities. Josh Allen has not been particularly sharp. You're right. Are they going to make an appearance in the Blazing Five?

Could. I'm not going to say. say. All right. Finally, Brock Purdy gets his first NFL start Sunday against the Bucks. Niners are favored. Mild surprise to some people in the market, but quarterbacks making their first career start against Tom Brady historically, it has not gone well. As a matter of fact, quarterback's going against Brady in their first start, Colin. Oh and six, all time. He's only had six guys that have had their first start again? First career start, yeah. Oh, okay. Well, usually, I'm assuming you don't want to go up against, most of this is against Belichick.

Right, right, right, right. You don't want to go a newbie against Belichick. But this is all. Also the second time Brady has been an underdog to a rookie quarterback. Now, someone was telling me this is the first time Tampa Bay has been an underdog this season. They've been favored in every game and now they're dogs going back. This is a home game for Brady, right, in the Bay Area. I said before the season, you were here as my witness. I said, I think San Francisco is going to be the most interesting team all year. Even losing Garoppolo, which usually makes you not nearly as interesting.

I mean, if Mahomes got hurt tomorrow, the Chiefs aren't as interesting. the Brock Purdy story, I'm still fascinated by what they do. I think this roster and defense is so good. Even better than Buffaloes. I think they can win multiple games and playoff games with a backup quarterback. Taylor Heineke gave Tom Brady in the Super Bowl year fits. Remember that game? Yeah.

Colin, I just wondered, just thinking back to last night's game, right? Raiders said look good coming in. Rams are like, ah, Baker Mayfield's coming off a plane. he's going to play. And the Rams were able to not only cover the big spread, but win. Now it's like everybody's saying, well, Brock Purdy, he looked good against the dolphins. Tampa Bay has looked terrible. Everybody like San Francisco here, Colin, is there any consternation at all that maybe? Who's the real Brock Purdy? The guy who was drafted Mr. irrelevant? I did not include this in Blazing Five. I want to watch this game, but like you,

I have some, I'm interested. I'm interested what happens. My guess is Brady going back to the Bay off that awful performance despite a win. I think Tampa plays really well. Short week against the best defense in the league? I think they'll play well. Tristan Werf's out, Nick Bosa in. I mean, Brady is a sitting duck.

At least two a could move last week. He didn't do much. But it's a great game. 13-6. There's some really good TV games this week. I think this could be a weekend for unders. A lot of low-scoring games. Weather gets cold, a little windy. J-Mac with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. You know, Baker deserves a ton of credit last night. Obviously, he's the trigger man, but it shows you how good Sean McVeigh is. I said this earlier. Matt Ruhl had 14 weeks of Baker Mayfield. He looked lost.

Sean McVeigh had him for 48 hours. He looked fantastic. Circumstantially, I thought he looked fantastic. Now, Baker missed on a lot of timing stuff. obvious, but what you saw on display last night was also coaching. And we've seen it. This is something I've been on a lot. And I know it's obnoxious.

Mike McDaniel with Tua. Kyle Shanahan with Brock Purdy last week. McVeigh with Baker Mayfield. Three super smart offensive guys in the moment. Not only have to give these young quarterbacks confidence and jet fuel, they play a precision position. So what you watched last night was world-class coaching. But what you also saw is something that we're not seeing from defensive coaches.

Do you believe last night that Baker Mayfield could have shown up in that game with a defensive head coach and pulled that off? Hell no. Sean McVeigh called a friend of his and some offensive coordinator. There was something that he handed the reins and said, Get Baker up to speed on the terminology. Why? Because McVeigh's friends in the game, McVeigh's associates, the people McVe trusts. They're offensive guys.

Like that was a display last night. Look at Mike McDaniel overnight for Tua. Brian Flores didn't even like Tua. Saw him as a liability. This is a great example. Put your arms around young people. Tua finally got somebody to put their arms around him. Sean McVeigh, a lot of confidence.

puts his arms around Baker Mayfield. Brock Purdy, Kyle Shanan, puts his arms around. I think Mike Zimmer's a really good coach. He literally could not get along with Kirk Cousins. What did Kirk Cousins do last year in one-score football games? Look it up. Had a losing record. Do you know what Kirk Cousins is in one-score games this year?

Nine and O with an offensive coach. You've got to find the good in young kids. people and young talent and pull it out of them. That was a remarkable display of coaching last night, and I'm not taking anything away from Baker. He's the trigger man. He has to make those throws. The Baker's always been able to make some big throws.

But that is to be able to do that on the fly, I guarantee you McVeigh is leaning on friends, leaning on his offensive buddies. He's making calls to guys. Anybody know Baker, they sat next to each other on a plane years ago. Guess what they talked? Terminology, offensive philosophy. I mean, that is why guys are hiring offensive coaches. That's why they're doing it.

Look at what Nick Seriani has done for Jalen Hertz. Look what Brian Daybold did as a coordinator for not only Josh Allen, but the first six or seven weeks with Daniel Jones. So I just, I watched that game last night. And Baker gets all the credit. I get it. But boy, Sean McVeigh, that is what the, that's why I would hire offensive guys. That is why I would hire him.

I thought that thing last night was it's very difficult. You're trying to build two his confidence up. Build Baker up. Baker walks into town. I got 48 hours. He's like, brother, we're going to win this game. I'm going to give you this guy. I'm going to give you this sheet.

Get the terminology. I'm running the team. Like, that's what you need. You're not winning that game of the defensive coach last night. You are not winning that game. All right. We got a lot of stuff. I got Brock Heured.

I got my blazing five picks. Here was Baker, by the way, praising Sean McVeigh after the game. That guy loves football. I mean, it just, he's ball, ball, ball all the time and just, you can tell he's so much of a relationship guy too. We just got to know each other a little bit, just philosophy-wise, and on a personal level as well. Yeah, that was, you know, it is interesting to, if I look at Baker-Mayfield's career, there are, you know, it's the old saying date and marry. Some people are just fun to go out and a date with.

Marriage is a long-time commitment. Do you get loyalty? Do you get an adult? sometimes there's party friends. We all have a party friend. It's the going to Vegas friend. And then you have friends you call when you get a divorce or you have a medical emergency. You know, we've all got different layers of friends and bosses. You know, Baker, Bakers, let's go to Vegas for the weekend. Let's go golf, play craps. Let's go to Vegas for the weekend. Doesn't necessarily mean in other situations I would call Baker. But it's the same thing

in the NFL, what makes Brady and Manning is precision and maturity and falling on the sword at the press conference. Long term, that's what you'll want, that's stability. But in a moment, with a lot of energy, I need an edge. I need a guy that's like almost more confident than he should be.

Baker Mayfield's pretty good. Pretty good. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. This is Steve Kavino. And Rich Davis. And together we are Covino and Rich.

Covino and Rich. Thanks, buddy. That's right. Cavino & Rich, Fox Sports Radio's newest hit show. Heard weekdays from 5 to 7 Eastern 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and the I Heart Radio app. Every Covino and Rich show is available as a podcast. Just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast and subscribe. I'm such a rockin dude.

The show features our unique take on sports, injected with some fun, humor, and relatability. Listen to Covino and Rich five days a week on the IHeart Radio app. Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Covino and Rich, give me your hell, yeah. 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 you're saying.

Yep, that's me, CliverTaylor 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 conversation. 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. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English.

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

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes, I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important. and years from black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A great story last night.

So, you know, Brock Hewer played in the NFL for six years. Great college football player, now Fox Sports Football Analyst. So, you know, it's just basically, I'm just, we're all reading stuff here on the fly about the OC for the Rams last night, who was in college, came to the Rams. going back to Kentucky, somebody just told me in my ear. And basically, it was a crash course for Baker Mayfield. Like, okay, here's the terminology. We're going to ramp you up.

As I watched it, I was like, this is a remarkable athletic achievement. If he would have completed 12 passes, you tell me in a crash course, was that a fairly remarkable achievement? Well, I'll tell you this, Colin. When I went to the Indianapolis Colts from the Seattle Seahawks, I got traded there. after my third year. And my first day at minicam with the Colts. That night I called my wife.

I said, this is bad. This is really bad. I thought I knew football. I thought I knew the West Coast. And if I knew the West Coast offense, I knew everything there was to know, right? Bill Walsh, you know, Mike Holmgren. I know the system.

I get there to Indy and I ate the biggest slice of humble pie. I couldn't communicate a thing. There was no language carryover. It was a foreign language. I was learning German. And then everything Peyton did, right, PhD in it, because he's been in it for years and years and years. I literally call Molly and I said, I can't, I'm not going to make it here.

There is no way my mind can do what Peyton is capable of doing. Fast forward to your question about Baker last night as I watched that. He is helped by terminology. He knows some of the language, obviously, to do what he did. Otherwise, there's no way. If he had gone into a system that he had no background, no familiarity, you couldn't have done what he did last night. But he goes into a system where there is at least a baseline language.

And then I was thinking about this, Colin. Who do you think are the best QB whispers in the game, college and pro? Who are the guys that if you were to be thrown in that situation? Yeah. You had 48 hours to say, hey, who would Colin Cowherd if you could pick three? I've got three. Lincoln Riley, Sean McVeigh. Boom.

Shanahan. I mean, I don't know. Who's the third? Andy Reid. Andy Reid. Because those three guys, whoever they have touched. to turn to gold. For Andy Reed, it was McNabb, it was Alex Smith, it's Patrick Mahomes, it's Michael Vick coming out of prison. No matter who Andy Reid has worked with, it has been

golden. Lincoln Riley, time and again, he's going to win the Heisman likely tomorrow, and Caleb Williams, he's going to join Tyler Murray, he's going to join Jalen Hertz, he's going to join Baker Mayfield. Yeah, and I think Sean McVey and what Sean did with Jared Gough, getting him to a Super Bowl. What he did with John Wolford last week against the Seahawks and has even a playoff game with that guy and that skill set. And so I think Baker, it's why he bought that plane ticket before he even knew he was going to L.A. Smart. Could QBs anticipate?

He anticipated. He bought his plane ticket, landed in L.A., and he went to work with one of the three best on the planet to accelerate him to get to the point he could play last night. Yeah, let me, the guy's name is Leon Cohen because I read it quickly. So Liam Cohen was with the Rams, 2018, 2020, then he went to Kentucky for a year. Then he's back to the Rams. He's reportedly going back to Kentucky. And the story I read this morning right before I walked on the set, McVeigh said, Liam, crash course, go. And it's like, you know, here's this guy that's been

with the Rams, Kentucky, back to the Rams, going back to Kentucky. So it's just a, it's a wonderful story. And, you know, speaking of stories, so Gino Smith, there's no precedent for it. I said yesterday on your show, your very popular show in Seattle, I said, very rarely does an average player have a great year? Then they come back down to Earth. I look at Gino and I think, okay, I've seen this occasionally. He's not great. He's playing great. I mean, I think Seattle has to probably go get a quarterback in the draft,

but he has the second best passer rating in the league. And that sounds ridiculous. Like, we need to get a new quarterback. What would you do if you were Seattle with Gino? Is this going to be a three or four or five? Is this the new Gino? Well, there's a bunch to unpack here. Number one, you've got five great data points.

You've got five games left. And there's some doozies. You got to take care of Carolina this week, which will be a tough, hard-fought game. San Francisco on national television on a Thursday night against Brock Purdy, what, one week or six days from right now, you're going to go to Arrowhead and play Mahomes. You're going to have a Jets team in the playoff hunt, and then you'll end with Baker in the Rams. So five great data points that are going to allow you, I think, more knowledge in making that decision. I would never have imagined in September that we would be having this conversation today, not in our wildest dreams. Nobody on this planet believed that Gino Smith would be a $33 million

franchise take kind of quarterback, but his numbers are. You did say on the old Brock and Salk show yesterday that you had met Gino before, that you had watched him when he was drafted and, you know, you've seen him in person. He's a big guy. He's got Pringle's fingers. Right. He can stick his hand into the bottom of a Pringle's cup and he can clip that football and he can rip it as Ryan Fitzmajic said a couple weeks ago. So those skills have been there. Now the culture's there. Now the confidence is there. Now the belief is there. And say what you will about Coach Carroll.

I think the track record for now, two decades in two different spots, is abundantly clear. He gets the best and believes the best in his people. And that culture is back to what it was back in the day in 12 and 13 where they built it up, Colin. So if he goes around and goes three and two and they make it to the playoffs, he is going to be asking and wanting the franchise tag. And I think every number of metrics going to say he's worth it. by the way, you get the Broncos pick. So you get more than likely two picks in the top 35 on top of your first and second round pick wherever they end up.

So if you do like a QB and you do want somebody and you do think like John Schneider thought Patrick Mahomes was the real deal, John Schneider thought Josh Allen was the real deal. Had they been on the board in the first round, even with Russell there, he would have taken them. So if he feels that way about Bryce Young or one of these guys, it wouldn't shock me at all. If you would get strength in numbers like they did in Green Bay, like Andy Reid is done in Kansas City and other places, that wouldn't shock me at all, Colin. You know, I want to go back to the Baker thing. So I've always said he is one of the 32 best players on the planet throwing a football from the pocket with time to throw.

But he's too cowboy for me. He wouldn't be my franchise quarterback. But as you well know, life's about opportunities. He crushed it, standalone game. Everybody's watching it. And there's like eight teams that are desperate. I wouldn't give him a five-year deal. But this morning, if you said Daniel Jones or Baker-Mayfield, two years,

because I think Baker's moved himself into another chance to be a franchise guy potentially, but it's a two-year deal with team options. The team has the power. Let me ask you, Daniel Jones Baker, Marcus Marriota. I would take Baker, too. I would take Baker-Baker. Oh, let me give you another one. Let me think, sir.

Andy Dalton and New Orleans are Baker. Baker. I would take Baker too. You say life's about opportunities. I would add a little asterisk to that. And I would say the NFL life is about fit. It's about fit. Look at Tuatung of Iloa. And again, something you referenced on our show yesterday morning. The year before that staff was done. Like move on. Mike McDaniel says, nope, you need speed around you. You need what you had at Alabama. You need speed and space. And we need to create those windows so you can do what you can do with your dynamic release and arm. Yeah. Look at fit, Russell Wilson for 10 years in Seattle, right? Perfect. fit, run, play action, defense, be smart with the football, be a difference maker when it matters. Now go play in the shotgun every down, not a fit. Gino Smith, right, for four different organizations, you couldn't play, but you find this fit in this culture with this good old line and some pieces around you and an excellent coordinator in Shane Waldron, who will be more than likely, mark my words here, Colin, on some short lists of that next offensive-minded head coach with what he has done in Seattle this

year. So fit. Where is a fit? Baker could not have landed as you see him on his knees right there praying saying, thank you, Lord, for the fit here in L.A. And that guy he just hug, Matthew Stafford, like, oh, crud. I love you, Baker, but don't like this place on fire and don't win four in a row and don't do that, right? Because I kind of like my life here in L.A. It is about fit, and Baker's in the right spot right now. Two minutes left. Russell, Wilson, you currently live in Denver. I suggested Frank Reich yesterday. No more taking a chance. I thought he did a great job in the one year with luck.

I thought Philip Rivers had a fantastic year. Even Wentz had the right side of touchdown passes and picks. Is Frank Reich? I mean, I think you have to go with a proven guy. That's my take on this mess in Denver. Totally great. Somebody with a spine, somebody with a backbone, somebody with a strong conviction about how they do it. You could probably put Frank Reich to your point on that.

that little QB whisperer list because I think he was also the coordinator with Nick Foles, was he not? And he knows how to hire a staff and put people around him. And yeah, everybody in Bronco country is thinking, Sean Payton, trade for Sean Payton. Oh, you got a first round pick. You have to trade for Sean Payton. I don't think Sean Payton is coming to this situation. Right. I think if Sean Peyton has a pick of places, he's going to go to where you believe right there in that city that you make home and reside with a Justin Herbert who probably fits from a scheme standpoint, between the tackle standpoint of what Sean Payton wants to do. But it's a new owner.

I mean, you've got a billion. You've got the wealthiest ownership group that has come into the NFL. And they have said, Colin, on the record, we want to be a global brand. Yeah. The Walmart brand, pretty significant brand. They know how to build it. They want Broncos to be a global brand. So that tells me they will do whatever it takes, spend whatever it takes to get it right.

And I'm with you, a Frank Reich, I think from a personality state, standpoint would fit with Russ. They've got an ideology background together, and he has been creative with the different guys that he's had to work with to get the most out of them. But inevitably, there's going to be change, and those owners are going to spend and spend big to do it. Brock, Heward, it's great seeing you. Fox Sports is always one of our smarter people here at the network, my man, and now his Huskies are winning, his Seahawks are winning. You moved to Denver, and the team got bad. You left Seattle. The Mariners are winning. Mariner's were in the playoffs. Never been better in Seattle sports, Colin.

Good seeing you, man. See you, pal. All right. Super smart guy. Love leading on him all the time. So what do we got here? What happened there, J-Mack? Unfortunately, Brazil has been eliminated from the World Cup.

Croatia wins in penalties. They did not miss any of their penalties. And Brazil hit the post, and it's over, Colin. The favorites are done. We will not get Brazil, Argentina, which is what everybody wanted in the semifinals. I'm a little too great. now. I'm just, I'm stunned. I cannot believe Brazil lost that. Well,

we talked about this. The United States men's national team had opportunities against Netherlands. They had better finishers. This sport, you don't get, I mean, if you get six great shots on goal, that can often be it. When you play these top

international teams, they usually have elite defenders in the box. You don't get a lot of great opportunities. You know, if Messi scores one goal a game, that is phenomenal. That is Rinaldo. So it's like Croatia took advantage of its opportunities. So Croatia threw 120 minutes, Colin, had one shot on goal. And it was kind of deflected by a defender. It went in. And then in penalties, they just won.

I mean, it was unbelievable stuff. This has been a great, I'll be a little sad. I'm a little sad. Brazil's out. Namor, you know, I like watching their style. Of course. They have style. Cost me some money today as well. I bet on Brazil. That was foolish. Simply Safe, number one home security system offering 40. percent off this holiday season. How to get it. Go to Simply SaveCollin.com. Blazing 5 next.

Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

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