The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-1-Browns-Bengals, Cowboys, Tom Brady

Episode Date: September 18, 2020

Joe Burrow had less to work with and looked better than Baker MayfieldDak Prescott might be in a tough spot because of the Cowboys injuriesThe Browns play calling was great, but it's probably bad for OBJTom Brady is still getting bashed for losing a game he was supposed to loseGuest: Peter Schrager Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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This is the Hurt, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for joining us. A lot of choices. This is Fox Sports Radio, and it's FS1. One hour from now. And I love my Blazing Five. One hour from now, our Blazing Five on a Pack Friday. I slept in this morning.

That is the easiest show. I got a game to talk about. I got Baker and Burrow. Joy Taylor is joining me. I'm going to have a sip of coffee here before we start. Joy, you're glorious today. How are you? I feel glorious.

That's the way to start a weekends. Amazing Thursday night football game. Plus, Miami Heat won. And the heater ups you, oh, it's no big deal. No, big deal. It's not a big deal. Let me start with this. Let me ask you a question.

Do you understand what you saw last night? No, no, no, no. Don't let that just fly by. Do you understand what you saw last night? No preseason. Rookie quarterback with a battle line and no running game. And his team said, throw it over 60 times.

No picks. Three touchdowns. Passer rating in the 90s. Do you understand what you saw last night? Cincinnati, far less talent, had 30 first downs, Cleveland 23. Joe Burrow, rookie, half the penalties of Cleveland, 4 to 8. Joe Burrow dominates time of possession with a bad offensive line and no running game, virtually impossible. fourth down, five for five.

Do you realize what you asked a rookie quarterback, game two, short week to play from behind every snap? Lamar Jackson struggles to play from behind. Good quarterbacks are never as good playing from behind. Russell Wilson's really good. He's better with a lead. I've never watched a game where a rookie quarterback. quarterback that didn't have half the talent, was asked to throw 60 times, no preseason, and the other quarterback played one of his better games.

And I thought, holy crap, the losing quarterback's way better. And for the record, this is not some referendum against Baker. Baker played one of his best games. He threw with confidence and velocity. He made a beautiful throw in the end zone to OBJ. He ran a little bit. He played with a lot of confidence. He was really firing the ball.

But circumstances are everything. If you told me you were rich at 35 and your dad was a billionaire, I don't care. If you told me you were rich at 35 and had a life of chaos and nine divorces, I'd go, bro, let's have lunch. Tell me your secrets. Baker had a running game. Baker had better protection. Baker was at home.

It was Baker's 30. A star. Baker's got star, star, support, support. They only asked Baker to throw 23 times. He played with a lead. He played with a great running game at second and four. It's third in two, not third and 11. Do we understand what we saw last night?

If you're a general manager, you'd never seen these two quarterbacks play. You land on earth and you watch these two. General managers consider circumstances. You'd be like, that was Andrew Luck. 61 throws. No preseason. overwhelmed, no running game and a bad offensive line. That is Andrew Luck.

It didn't matter that Andrew went 11 and 5, because I'm not saying Joe Burrow is Andrew Luck. I think Joe Burrough's Tony Romo. Maybe he's better. I thought Andrew Luck was John Elway. But do we realize what we saw last night? I mean, listen, I know Cleveland's celebrating this morning. Cleveland's just freaking out.

This is great. A, your defense, your past defense needs work. And B, you officially have the fourth most talented quarterback in your division. I'm sorry you do. I'm sorry you do. By the way, you know I have said what Joe Burrow is to me is Romo. He's a gamer.

He makes some mistakes, but it doesn't bother him. He just naturally runs. He just runs and it's easy and it doesn't feel like he's running for his life. He's just running. He made a throw running yesterday that looked like Aaron Rogers. It was a bolt. So I went back this morning and I went and looked at Tony Romo's second start. in the NFL. Listen to this, Joy.

Second start for Tony Romo in the NFL. They asked him to throw a lot. Remember, this is Tony Romo. This is 15 years ago when people didn't throw like, you know, 40 times. 24 or 36, 300 yards, two TDs, no pick, pass a rating 109. And he lost. That was a lot of Tony Romo. Remember that first year? It wasn't very good.

But he would throw for a lot of yards. They put the playbook on him. He could run around. He was a gamer. He wasn't winning a lot early in that first year. But that's what it looks like. But circumstances matter in life. Where did you come from?

What are you surrounded with? What's your support system? It's much easier for me to do a good show now. I got joy. I got Goulet. I've got nine producers. I was local. And I had one guy who would show up late sometimes.

And you're doing a show with no gas. It's all different. Support systems matter. Baker should be good. Their running backs are insane. Who's got two number one running backs? Cleveland. Kareemont and Nick Chubber.

Great. Chubb is unbelievable. He's one of the top four running backs, three running backs in the NFL. I was blown away. Listen, I know Cleveland thinks the day we won. Congrats. I'm looking at that thinking, you got a Trubisky here. You're not really sure if he's the guy.

You can win some games, but he's not Kirk Cousins, Aaron Rogers, and Matt Stafford as a talent. We don't think that. Joe Burrell's real. This is a real play. I don't understand. Do you understand what we saw? 61 throws on the road. Thursday game, short week, no preseason.

Under duress, no picks. Passer rating in the 90s. He would add a pass rating in the hundreds, but he was running for his life and threw some incompletions. Wow. Here's Joe Burrow. Wow. This might be the only time in my sporting career that I've lost two games in a row.

It doesn't feel very good. I know guys in there are hurting. and we're going to come back to work tomorrow and try to get this thing right. You know, losing is unacceptable to me, to everybody in there, to coach Taylor, to everybody in this organization. So we're just going to have to get a fixed. Says the right thing too.

Always says the right thing. Let's shift to the Cowboys. I've been saying this about Dallas, Joy as my witness for the last week. You know, they're a Tyron Smith last week. tackle injury away from being in big trouble. Oh, this story just came over the old wire. Tyron Smith misses practice with a neck injury.

Uh-oh. Now, let me just say this. He may play. But when you get a late week injury report like that, not good. This is what we saw with Philadelphia last week. This is what we saw with the Rams last year. When you pay six or seven guys, big boy money, you can't afford debt. If Tyrone Smith can't play, the Cowboys start, two undrafted tackles.

And what's really happening now is this. Dak is living the real. That's pretty good. Dak is living the real. When Dak entered the NFL, I mean, come on, folks. They gave him the keys to a Mercedes. Dallas's offensive line was not only healthy. It was the best in the league by far.

Zeke was unbelievable dynamic. Jason Whitten was the NFL's first or second best. security blanket at Tide End. He had a dynamic guy, kind of dynamic, Des on the outside. Jason Garrett was a former NFL quarterback to mentor him along, and there were no expectations.

He was a fourth round quarterback. Now, Dak is living the real. The offensive lines old and falling apart. He may not have his left tackle, the center's gone, and the right tackle could be an undrafted guy, too. Oh, wait, he is. And now Zeeks not quite as dynamic, and tight end, you don't have one.

He's out for the season. And your best linebacker, second best linebacker, he's out in the secondary. He's not very good. This is the real NFL. Dak walked it. It's like when Magic Johnson came into the league, he had Kareem. Now, Magic's great. That's not the way it works.

When Michael Jordan came into the league, he had Orlando Woolridge who wouldn't pass him the ball. That is what Michael Jordan. When LeBron came into the league, he had nothing. He didn't even have Orlando Woolridge. That's how it works when you're drafted in the NFL as a quarterback. It looks like Joe Burrow. All right, kid, throw 50 times.

I don't have a good offensive line. That's a you problem. There's no running game. Yeah, short week road, no preseason. DAC is now, this is the real. This is the way the league works. Offensive lines got some talent, but a bunch of guys are out. You're running backs good, but not as dynamic.

Oh, crap. Tight end out for the year. here got a good receiving core, but the coach now is kind of conservative and oh, by the way, oh, there's expectations now. Dak, you have got to be great. But my offensive line, my running back, my tight, excuse me, not interested. You're making 30 million a year. Go be great.

No excuses. No excuses. Go be great. You've been in the league now plenty of time. Go be great. I like Dallas this weekend. And I think when Dak plays at home, I like him. But this is the real NFL. Not everything is, you know, keys to the Mercedes.

You get a Kia and it's low on gas and the right tire feels a little wobbly. Go win. Coming up next. Anybody noticed something about the Cleveland game plan last night? It's not necessarily good news for one really, really good player. Blazing 5, top of next hour. 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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

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So I thought the Cleveland Brown's game plan was terrific. Now, nobody calls a perfect game. There was one call in the game. I thought it was a really bad call by Kevin Stefansky. It put way too much pressure on Baker Mayfield. It was like third or fourth down at the one-yard line. And they asked Baker to make a deep throwout right, a precision route. It's like, come on, Kevin, that's not the, that's not, you're putting way too much pressure on a quarterback at the,

the one-yard line to make a kind of a little bit of a half-crossfield throw. I didn't like that call at all. Outside of that, I thought Stafansky had a good night. This is what Cleveland should look like. That is not good news for O'Dell Beckham, who had four catches for 70 yards, and people are saying it was a great night for him. He had one big pop for 43. After that, he had three catches for 30 yards.

The question is, are you okay with that? Because I will say, this is what the offense should look like. very run-centric. They got great running backs in Cleveland. They have two number ones. I want to see 45 carries a Sunday. Baker is way better. Little of Baker goes a long way.

26 attempts, 27 attempts or less. And then one or two pops downfield to OBJ. That's what this offense is. In fact, Cleveland late had a chance to really put the game away. It was fourth quarter. And they asked Baker, instead of handing the ball off to Kareem Hunter, Nick Chubb, tremendous. They tried to throw it down field and the corner sweeped in for the Bengals and picked it off. Now, the question becomes, if you look at this game plan, this is it.

This is the blueprint for Cleveland. Little Baker goes a long way, run the hell out of the football, and one or two pops downfield to OBJ. That's it. And Jarvis Landry isn't healthy now. When he comes back, he may get the one or two pops. Odell afterwards. I just feel like we can always be better, even towards the end of the game,

towards the start of the fourth quarter. I feel like we could be more aggressive and let's put the game away and not feel like it's got to come down to the wire. I actually agree with them on the aggressive thing, but I think aggressively run the football more. I thought the big mistake, there were two times last night I didn't like the play call.

I did not like them throwing it at the one, one and a half yard line, way too tough of a throw for Baker Mayfield. And I didn't like them throwing it in the fourth quarter with a chance to go up like 35, 13, right down the middle, throwing it 25 yards. I'm like, turned around and handed off, eat the clock. Do not give sin. We know Baker's history. He throws picks.

This is what he does. We know Joe Burrow. You can ask him to throw 61 times on the road with no offensive line. He's not throwing picks. Baker throws picks. He was asked to throw 23 times and he threw one. So the two times I didn't really like Stephansky's play calling were throws.

They were not runs. Here's Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Guess what, Colin? The heat is on. It is.

Can we now acknowledge that Eric's falstrick and coach? Yeah, I think we're there. It's not just Wade and LeBron and Aunt Riley. Spoh's a great coach. are two wins away from the NBA finals. Now, that's two more wins, guys. There is no lead too big, and there is no series lead too big in this bubble, as we have learned. So I'm not getting crazy just yet.

Two great wins. Just like in game one, they had to overcome a double-digit deficit, which I did not love. But they did win game two, 106-101. They were down by as much as 17 last night, but they rallied in the second half. Miami outscored Boston 37-17 in the third quarter, and they were able to hold off a fourth quarter. surge by the Celtics to get the win. Duncan Robinson hitting threes. Yeah, Duncan was great in the first quarter.

He's not really great under pressure. If someone gets in his face, Tyson was in his face a couple times, blocked a couple shots. Like, he got to move it around and get him a clean shot. But they pick up a defense in the second half, had a great third quarter. This is the 11th time the heat have taken a 2-0 series lead in Spolstra's tenure, and they've won all previous 10 instances. This is his 81st career playoff when tied for eighth all time. So we have a very young Denver team, a very young Miami team,

a Dallas team that was young, Phoenix team. Young Celtics seem to. What do we sing? Only one old team left. That's the opposite of our lives watching basketball. Right. And that old team is led by the best player in the world. It's like it's pretty obvious.

These young players, no crowds. It's got an AAU feel. They feel incredibly comfortable. Have you ever seen in the playoffs in your life? Now I'm older than you. So many young players dominate in the playoffs. No, the bubble's very unique. And also, I think when you look at the structure of the teams that are left,

great cultures, great coaches, teams. Like, it's not really built around stars other than the Lakers, of course. The other three teams, while they have stars, they're not superstars. They're not Anthony Davis and LeBron James. This is not what we expected. But it really makes sense when you look at the pressures that the bubble entails, the demands of being in there for months at a time. Young players don't have wives and kids.

A lot of these old guys. I told you the story yesterday. I heard the Lakers initially, the first two weeks, were really struggling with the bubble. A lot of their older players are like, I want to see my kids. And then they got some time off. Now families have moved in a little bit. The Lakers are in a really good spot psychologically.

The veteran players are happy and motivated. But we saw a bunch of veterans. veteran play. Milwaukee was an old team. Joy, they were awful. Houston's an older team. Clippers or children's fell apart. I'm not putting an asterisk on it, but there is a bubble component to this whole thing. Well, no, I don't think an asterisk really matters. Like everyone is dealing with the same circumstances. It's not like one team came in later than the other. Everyone's dealing with the same thing. We're making it all work. But it's it's almost like bad weather in a football game. If I have the best quarterback and you have a crappy quarterback and we're playing in a

hurricane, it's an advantage to you because now both of us can't score. Right. So like bad weather always hurts the better offense. You have to deal with the circumstances that you're giving. Even though we're both playing in it. Right. Yeah. So Janice has reportedly won his second consecutive NBA MVP award, regular season award.

He is now the 12th player in league history to win back-to-back MVP and he joins Michael Jordan and Akeemelajuan as the only players to win MVP and defensive player of the year in the same season. He averaged 29.5 points per game. That's fifth in the NBA, 13.6 rebounds per game. Second in the NBA, 5.6 assists per game and shot 53.3.3% field goal percentage this year. He should probably include the playoffs when you vote for these big things. Well, yeah, that's the story with the NBA MVP.

It is a regular season award. He did have an incredible regular season. I thought that this year should have gone to LeBron. I think the amount of MVPs that LeBron has won in his career is kind of laughable. Yeah, kind of. Like Phil Jackson won one coach of the year. Talk to the hand. Not interested. I mean, I get it. You don't want to do the same thing every year, even though it's very obvious. But it does, it does kind of, look, the NBA MVP has become a narrative award. It doesn't take away from the greatness of it, but it does matter what the story is, what people are interested in that year.

It's a great thing to have on your resume, your legacy. Okay, how about we call it the, um, M-I-S Award, the most intriguing story award. Russell Wilson was the most intriguing story. Valuable? He's a million things. He's not valuable. Everybody gets better when they leave him. Westbrook. I think, yeah.

I think that it's, I mean, I hate to say it because you have to respect winning an MVP of the league, right? But it's a regular season award and it definitely, over the past couple years, has kind of shown that it is definitely a regular season award. I mean, Yonis

is not in the Eastern Conference Finals. right now. I don't mind the same thing every day. We're awesome every day. I eat the same, exactly. I eat the same thing for breakfast every day. I try to park in the same parking spot. Goulet fails to give me the stuff I need every day. He's totally consistent and I'm okay with it. Consistency matters. So Saints receiver

Emmanuel Sanders got a front row seat to Tom Brady's debut in Tampa, but he felt very weird seeing Brady playing in a Bucke's uniform. Tom Brady and Buccaneer, it didn't feel like Tom Brady was out of there. It just felt like it was versus the Buccaneers. And that's just, that's no distance.

to Tom, that's just how I felt. You know, that's how I felt. It didn't feel like it was Tom Brady out there. Now, as you put Tom Brady in the New England Patriots uniform, that feels more like Tom Brady out there. And I guess it's an adjustment for the entire world, you know? So he is not used to it yet. It was different.

A lot of things look different. Listen, significant amount of society watched that game to see what Tom Brady looked like in that uniform. It's still taking some getting used to. It'll be a good weekend for Tom, my prediction. It's going to be a good weekend for Tom. You can bounce back week. Look, I mean, going into the season, Tom and kind of Dallas,

the Bucks and Dallas are two teams that we're kind of not considering all of the turnover that they've had. Like we're looking more at the younger teams as though they have a new coach or they have a new young quarterback. It's a new coach quarterback for Tom Brady and the Bucks and the same for the Cowboys. And we probably need to give them a little bit more flexibility, but that's just that's not how the world works. Nothing is fair. You guys are big high-profile teams and Brady's a high-profile player that comes with expectations. Yeah, Joy with the News. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. Oh, God. I cannot tell you how much I love football. So last night, my stepson and his buddies came over for steaks and mac and cheese. And we just sat there and stared at the television for three and a half hours. It was so the dogs were staring at the TV. My wife doesn't like sports was staring at the TV.

It's so glorious. It was great. It was a two-screen night for me because I had to watch the heat game. But that was a really, really great game. Like, not exaggerating. We obviously love football. That was a great game last night. Yeah.

Well, Miami and Boston are pretty even, so it's going to be a bunch of good games. No, no, I mean the football game. But yeah, that was a great game, too. Peter Schrager, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. Classy car, classy guy, Peter Schreger, Fox Sports. Okay, I keep telling my audience. Does everybody get what they saw last night? Hey, rookie, with no running game, throw it 61 times, all from behind, on the road, short week.

Shraggs, I was just like, I'm blown away by him. What was your impression of it? He's unbelievable. Colin, Joe Burrow put on our performance last night, a loss that might be the best performance I've ever seen from a rookie quarterback in his first few starts. 61 pass attempts without throwing an interception NFL rookie for a rookie record. How about five for five on fourth downs? And how about every single time it looked like the Cleveland Browns was supposed to put away the bangles? Burrell would leave them on a drive.

And then after the game, beating himself up, which is the best part about it. It says, I've never lost two consecutive games in any sporting event in any sports league I've ever been in my life. And this is tough for me to swallow. Like he said everything the right way. And here's the thing, Colin. I talked to all these coaches and they were all texting me during the game last night. Like, Burrough's the real deal. And it's not a take away from Baker.

Baker played well yesterday. But Burrow was the story last night. And he's had no preseason contest to practice in. So this is the second time he's ever thrown to these guys in a live game. The second time he's been against a defensive line. And last week it was Ingram and Bosa breathing down his neck. Last night it was Sheldon Richardson and Miles Garrett. And the kid was awesome.

So as much as we like to tear down athletes, can really celebrate Joe Burrow. I appreciate your opening comments because we're watching the future star. This guy was the real deal, and he's got Lamar, Baker, and Ben twice this season. We're going to get a lot of Burrow, and I can't wait for it. Now, there were a couple of reports about an OBJ trade, a couple different reports. Just address it. Are you hearing anything on that?

No, but I haven't, honestly. And, you know, usually the trade talk picks up a little bit towards the trade deadline, which is November 3rd. but I could tell you that in week one, Baker Mayfield on six consecutive pass attempts, went to Odell Beckham, and Kevin Safansky afterwards said, we tried to get Odell involved and get his head in the game.

And like, people were rolling their eyes at that. And it's like, well, you've got Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt. Why don't you get them involved when you're playing the Ravens instead of worrying about Odell's psychological,

you know, involved in the game stuff. Last night was the perfect balance. They used more of the run. Chub and Hunt combined for 210 rushing yards, and Odell was open on a deep pass. like you're seeing here. That's how this offense should be built. It shouldn't be concerned about getting Odell and Beck and the ball and making sure he's mentally, you know, in the game to start off.

So it's interesting. I did like the Rams over Dallison Week 1. And my takeaway is Sean McVeigh, Andy Reed, Doug Peterson, highly creative coaches are tough in the first couple of weeks because they sit in the off season with their yellow pads. They draw up play. McCarthy's a little more conservative and I don't see him. I mean, he was 9 and 5 as an opening coach, but that's with Farvin Aaron Rogers in a kind of so-so division. And so, and I thought, I thought late in the game, when he went forward on a fourth instead of kicking, he was overcompensating. Am I right on that?

I don't know if you could, if you could say, but let's just say this, Cowboys fans for a decade have been throwing fits over how conservative Jason Garrett was and how he's always just clapping on the sidelines. Well, the first moment where it's fourth and three, and they're down three points with 12 minutes left and they're on the opposing 11 and McCarthy goes for it, the fans are up in arms saying, how could you not kick the field goal there? They didn't keep the field goal. This is going to be the test of their stomachs all season long because McCarthy was hired based on his analytics that he's apparently been working on for the past year and based

on his aggressiveness now on fourth down and plays like this. Cowboys fans can't happen both ways. Jason Garrett would have to kick that field goal 100 and 100 times. McCarthy went for it. It failed. And all of talk radio in Dallas this week has been, why would he not just kick the field goal there? This is going to be a test for Cowboys fans

because McCarthy is the anti-Jason Garrett when it comes to these kind of decisions, or at least that's how he's positioned himself, and he showed it week one. The analytics, by the way, in that exact scenario, less than 50% you convert on fourth and three is what they say, 46%. So he actually went against the analytics.

But he used his gut. And he was aggressive, and that's what the Cowboys fans wanted. We'll see how they're feeling as the season goes on. I want to talk. We know, Shregs, there's always a team in this league, and it's just the way it is, that they're good, we have high expectations, and they disappoint. And there's a lot of different reasons for it. But I do think there's a couple of things with the 49ers that are just worth discussing. They lost Bruckner on the defensive line.

Kiner Murray chews him up. They've got cluster injuries at wide receiver. It looks like Arizona in the division, the Rams are back. And Garoppolo and Kyle Shanahan, this is not disputable. He is now taking the ball out of his hands a lot. I'm not talking Super Bowl Hangover. I do think their schedule going forward. Jets and Giants, they'll win.

But it doesn't feel like Baltimore. It doesn't feel like the Saints. It doesn't feel like Kansas City today. Is that at least fair to discuss? Yes, it does not feel turnkey. And last week, they were up 10-0. and it looked like it, and they had a blocked pun against them. And then, of course, we saw there was a DeAndre Hopkins dominance against a defensive backfield that, quite frankly, wasn't great

last year. So there are reasons for concern, and I think Garapolo and Kyle are going to figure their stuff out. Here's what's fascinating to me, Colin. You mentioned jets and giants, and if you look at it on the schedule, that's a check, it's a check. They're doing an interesting deal here. Because of the quarantine, they can't travel out until tomorrow to New Jersey. They're going to Jersey, they're going to spend the night at hotel, they're going to play the Jets on Sunday. And then they're getting back on the plane. They're not coming back to San Francisco. They're going to West Virginia for seven days, where they're going to practice in a bubble-like atmosphere in West Virginia, getting back on a plane and going back to New Jersey, no family,

no friends, no contact with the outside world to play the Giants on Sunday. So that's 15 days away from friends and family, 15 days, not allowed to go in a restaurant, not allowed to do anything. They're going to be quarantined or in a bubble-like scenario in West Virginia. So, yes, you look at it and you say, checkmark, check mark, Jets and Giants are not good teams that win those games. This is going to be a test early on, and I'm very curious to see how the 49ers are because the Rams, the Rams play the Eagles.

They're flying back to Los Angeles after the game, and then they're flying back out to Buffalo on next Saturday, because they're like, I want to get my own bed. Very different decisions from two franchises, curious to see how that works out. Very early test for the 49ers against two teams they probably should be, but a road trip 15 days without the comforts of any luxuries going forward. By the way, speaking of this, you can't take too much from week one.

But I actually do feel with like Cleveland, there's a couple of things that have been established. Their defense isn't great and the running game is. And I look at the Rams and they go from Super Bowl and then we bail on them. And I watch them play Dallas and they were smart and they were effective and golf looked great. is that the one team, is that a team last week you looked at and thought they weren't a Super Bowl not much longer than a year ago? Colin, they went 9 and 7 last year. Everyone thinks they went like 3 and 13.

They went 9 and 7 and did you think once week one like, man, they really missed Todd Gurley? No, they had Cam Acres and they had Malcolm Brown and Darryl Henderson was playing. Well, McVeigh spent all offseason working on things. This is what he's been doing. He's been in the lab. And what he did was he hired Kevin O'Connell to be an offensive coordinator, and he hired Brandon Staley, who's 38 and young and energetic and maybe not have the resume as Wade Phillips. But these are two guys who he trusts completely.

So he could step away. He can be the CEO of this team as opposed to micromanaging everyone of Jared Gough snaps, as opposed to worrying about whether they're in the right coverage late in the game on a Saturday night against the 49ers last year. McVeigh is kind of let go of the reins, which I think is. against his usual nature of being so micro, but he's now gone macro. And I think they're going into Philly this week. I know they're on the road and it's a long trip and all this deal. Like, I'd be surprised if they lost.

The Rams looked really good in week one and they are dialed in. Shrague's Peter Schrager. Good seeing you, buddy. Co-host, Good morning football on the NFL Network. Check him out, NFL Sunday. Kickoff on Fox Sunday's 11 Eastern. Good seeing you, bud. You guys are the best.

Thank you, Colin. You bet. Blazing 5 top of the hour. Coming up next. I want to talk some Tom Brady at Carol. Carolina. And I'm going to ask you a question. What will define success this weekend for Brady? What do you want to see? Because I got a question on the whole Tom Brady thing. Because you're all bailing now. I got a question. That's coming up. Blazing Five top of next hour. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes

of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people.

I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with a little camp? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we picket here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you're just so you're not. y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. So, you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. 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're here 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 Hardway and listen now. Good to have you in. LegalZoom.com. Check it out your life.

I'll meet legal. LegalZoom.com. They take care of the things you need. Not a law firm can do it from home and not charged by the hour. LegalZoom.com top of next hour. Of course, it is the Blazing Five. So Tom Brady and the Buccaneers now go on the road to face Carolina. So Tom Brady faced easily the best defense he will face in his division of the three teams last week. He will now face easily the worst defense he will face in his division. Easily. Derek Carr is considered more of a, you know, captain checkdown, checks out a big place.

He averaged eight yards an attempt. And Derek Carr is not a guy that throws the ball down the field. Tom Brady's going to have some success this weekend. But let's ask ourselves, what does Tom Brady need to do for everybody to chill out? because we've never ever graded Tom Brady on anything other than winning. You do not know what his completion percentage is for his career. You don't know what it is. Don't look it up.

You don't know. You don't know what his passerating is. Don't look it up. You don't know. How many times has he led the league in touchdowns? We've never cared with Brady. He's MJ. Rings all I care about.

For all you that care about Michael Jordan being number one all time to go, say LeBron's number two, you know, LeBron's going to crush him in all the stats, and you go to one thing. Rings, brother. Rings. That's all we've cared about for Tom Brady ever. Winning. So if Tom wins this weekend with no preseason, new system, just remember what he's dealing with. Mike Evans is his number one ride receiver.

He's got a sore hamstring. His number two receiver is Chris Godwin. He's in concussion protocol. may not play, doubtful. Donovan Smith is his left tackle. He's not good. His most talented running back is Leonard Fernett. Leonard Fernett got to the team two weeks ago.

And his BFF, Gronk, he's coming out of retirement. If Tom wins. Oh, yeah, no preseason, new coach, new system. If Tom wins, that's it, right? Like, don't expect wow. Don't expect perfect. Evans is not healthy. Godwin may not play.

Left tackle. Key offensive line position is their worst. Leonard Fernett just got there. And Gronk is coming out of retirement. I think Tampa wins this game. Tom's also dealing with, maybe you've noticed, a story that he is answering questions about. Now, one, two, three, four, five days later, he's answering questions about Bruce Arians taking a shot at him. You know, he's a coach, so, you know, I'm a player. Just trying to win a game.

There's that. So again, the audience confuses me. LeBron's going to blow Michael Jordan away with everything, but it always comes down to six for six, which I've always said, Bill Russell's got 11 titles. Does that mean he's better than everybody? He's got almost double of Michaels. But you always go down to, he wins again. It's all cats are winning. Okay. So Brady wins. If you win Sunday, we're good. Okay, he's dealing with a real right now too. Evans hurt. Godwin hurt. Left tackle stinks. Furnette's brand new. Gronk is old. He's dealing with real stuff too and he's on the road. I want to say this about Joe Burrow. Now, I thought Joe Burrow was really good. But I was, here's the bad news for Joe.

Joe Burrow. He got the crap kicked out of him. Two weeks, Joe Burrow has been hit 22 times. And you do get Cleveland's defense isn't good. Baltimore's is. Pittsburgh is. He's got to play them four times. Like last night reminded me a lot, not only of Tony Romo, but of Andrew Luck. We sat there and watched Andrew Luck, who is a much bigger thicker, stronger athlete. We watched him, and for two and three years, got the crap kicked out of him. And by year four, Andrew Luck could no longer play a complete season. And I remember years ago, Andrew Luck said, this was early in his career, he goes, I love getting popped that first time.

I love getting popped. I don't even know him in a game until I get popped. Stop saying that. I'm not interested in that. I don't. Joe Burrow doesn't need to get popped. And he doesn't, did you see Sheldon Richardson on that play? you all talk about how good the SEC is.

SEC is high school football compared to the NFL. Sheldon Richardson grabbed Joe Burrow yesterday, and Joe Burrow is 6-3, 225 pounds. Shelton Richardson grabbed him like his little brother, like his little brother. So all I'm saying on this, we all know what Joe's going through. He hasn't faced his best defenses.

The Chargers have a great secondary. The Cleveland defense isn't very good. He's got Baltimore two times. He's got Pittsburgh's defense two times. This league is not complicated. Get your quarterback, protect your quarterback, and draft guys who get theirs. Cincinnati's got to get this. You've got to protect this guy because I've seen this story with a much bigger, stronger,

thicker kid Andrew Luck. I've seen it. By year four, he couldn't play. By year four, Andrew Luck was missing games. Like, this is 22 times he's gotten hit in two weeks. And this isn't the meat of the schedule. And the other thing is, it's not just physically. We have a history of this, is that quarterbacks, Joe Burrow will handle physically getting beat up all year.

If he gets, let's see, 22 times in two games, extrapolate that 14 more. So if Joe Burrow gets hit 800 times, you could do it, 22, two games, somebody's Matthew, it's not me. It gets hit 700 times. He'll physically survive whatever that is. Hell, I don't know. Okay, he gets hit 180 times. He'll survive it physically. There's a mental component here.

Nobody likes to get smacked in the mouth that many times. They just don't. Nobody likes it. And then all of a sudden, you see guys that their feet start moving. They get a little shy. They don't feel good in the pocket. For the record, you know who did that? Baker Mayfield.

So Baker had a really bad offensive line his first two years in the league. What has been the knock on Baker Mayfield? He leaves the pocket too quick. He didn't in his first year. Why is that? because he's been hit and it's no fun being hit. Watch Sheldon Richards and grab Joe Burrow and just throw him to the ground. This is not the big tent.

This is not the SEC. It's not the Big 12. You are in the crosshairs of the world's best athletes. I mean, and we're not showing. There's a play here we don't have on tape. It's a long story enough to work. I mean, look at that. Look at some of this stuff.

Oh, my God. How many of those can you hit? That is just unbelievable, how brutal that is. Can we talk about your math skills there? You were off by about 620 hits. I don't work at Apple here. I'm not mathy. I've always said the smartest people in the world are mathy.

Whenever I hear, oh, that sportscaster, that newscaster, we're not smart. Smart is 19,000 divided by eight and you have an answer in four seconds. I'm not mathy. I was only off by 588. That's all I was off. I was right. I'm really terrible at math, too, so don't feel bad. We're wordsmiths.

Exactly what I am. I've thought of myself as a word smith. My whole life, I am a word smith. Blazing Five is interesting this week. So it was, I like underdogs. Give me a good quarterback underdog, but that didn't do anything for me last night. I had Matt Ryan. He's a good quarterback at home.

He was an underdog. Got nothing from him. Got nothing from him. Blazing 5 around the corner, boost healthy testosterone, burn fat. It's called MDrive Boost and Burn. I take one every morning. Walgreens has it, right aid two. Check it out.

MDrive for Men.com. Hour 2 and a Friday, Blazing 5 next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel. help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way

with your favorite therapist and host Care Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a license, professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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 Podcasts, 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.

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