The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - College football is changing

Episode Date: August 7, 2023

Colin embraces the changing landscape of major college football and why the sport desperately needed a makeover He poses the 2 biggest questions he has for NFL superstars as we prepare to kick off a new season Broncos HC Sean Payton plans to play his starters in the preseason   Guest: Mark SchlerethSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started.

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go on a Monday. Thank you for joining us, me, the herd. J. Mack off this week. Ryan, back on the board. This is the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day one hour from now,

where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. There is plenty of both. We got a week away from NFL preseason. games, the world of college football is changing, people are mad at Megan Rapido, and Jake Paul's legitimate, or is he great to be in on a Monday? So let's start with this. There are no perfect sports. Every sport has a whole. Baseball's a little slow, seasons too long. UFC and football have a regulated level of violence. Some people don't like that. Basketball, load management, soccer, not enough scoring, hockey, same thing.

Every sport has a whole. College football's hole, too many awful games. There's 32 NFL teams, and each weekend, there's seven or eight great ones. Seven or eight out of 32. The margins are thin. It's close. In college football, there's 130, 132 teams, and you may get five great games. College football has a big, great game shortage.

Labor Day weekend, it's called Gooke. It's a search vehicle. Look it up. 80 games roughly over the Labor Day weekend. Two interest me. And I love college football. LSU and Florida State. I think LSU is going to win the national title.

I'll watch that. And TCU, Colorado, although TCU is going to blow them out by three touchdowns, it's Dion Sanders debut, and I want to watch. 80 games, a couple that get me to a TV. I've seen the attendance in the Pack 12, take away Washington and Husky Stadium consistently and Otson Eugene empty seats, bad games, attendance dwindling, conference feel like it died five years ago. I see the television ratings for the PAC 12.

People freaking out about all the changes. Even stodgy baseball now has a pitch clock, ban the defensive shift, and has bigger bases. I mean, you would have laughed at that even a decade ago. forget 20 years ago. All are happening, and the ratings are up, and so is attendance. Take a deep breath. What are we losing here? The Apple Cup?

No, we're not. Washington's already said they'll play Washington State. Are we losing the Civil War? No, Oregon says they want to play Oregon State, too. By adding Washington, Oregon, USC, UCLA to Wisconsin, Penn State, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, more big games. More big games, big stadiums, big fan bases, big TV crowds. You're going to tell me when Michigan's at Washington and Eugene's in Penn, Oregon's at Penn State and Columbus and the Buckeyes are hosting USC, Iowa's going toe to toe to toe with Washington, you're not going to watch those games?

Yeah, I know. You're going to miss out on that Arizona State, Oregon State battle. Nobody watched. I saw the ratings. Wazoo, Arizona, nobody cared outside of Pullman and Tucson. Since college football pays for virtually everything on every campus, yeah, they lean into the TV networks. And since gas is more expensive and hotels and travel is more expensive, somebody's got to pay the bills. It's college football.

And so the PAC 12 couldn't line up a TV partner. Think about that. networks now are bidding wars for pickleball, bass fishing, hot dog eating contests. They're all over. I watched a pillow fight this weekend. It's sanctioned. It was on ESPN. There's a slap league.

And the PAC 12 couldn't get a TV deal. People are desperate for content. And the PAC 12 couldn't get a deal. Too rigid, too stubborn, too pious, too precious. It was unstable. you tell me, are kids better when they grow up with stability or instability? And adults, the Pact 12 was unstable, a dying conference, couldn't get a TV contract or a streaming deal lined up. So Washington and Oregon and USC and UCLA bolted.

By the way, Utah, Colorado, and the Arizona schools feel like a great fit in the Big 12. They really do. I don't know what happens to Wazoo in Oregon State, Cal and Stanford. I don't know. but I know adding Texas, Oklahoma to the SEC, more big games, huskies, ducks, Trojans, Bruins to the Buckeyes, Badgers, Hawkeyes, Wolverines, Spartans, Nittany Lions, more big games. If I'm paying for everything, darn right, I'm going to look for more stability and a better TV contract. I've said this about March Madness for years.

If CBS and TNT spend a billion dollars a year on March Madness, shouldn't they get a say in the seating chart at the wedding? If you pay for the wedding, can't you say I don't want Marge sitting next to Bill? They fight all the time? You don't write the wedding vows, but you get a say in the seating chart at the wedding. If football's paying for everything and college football is literally paying for every program. Ohio State probably has 38 Division I programs, 33 lose money, four break-even, three-make-money, and college football makes big boy money.

They're going to line up. So was Washington, Oregon, USC, UCLA line up with the networks and make more money. They got to pay all the bills. More big games. I love college football. But it has had a great game shortage forever. Google the Labor Day college football schedule. And you tell me if the sport doesn't need tweaking.

That thing should be filled with USC. and Notre Dame and Ohio State and Texas and Oklahoma and Oregon and LSU and Georgia, it should be filled. Instead, you get something called Mercer and Middle Tennessee State and Panera Bread Tech and Roast Beef University playing major conference powers and getting steamrolled by 40. What are we grabbing onto? What are we losing regional games that nobody showed up and nobody watched? I see the ratings and I see the attendance. more big games.

It's the hole in college football. It needed tweaking. It's here. I can't wait. I can't wait. And by the way, Florida still plays Florida State. Wazoo's going to play Washington. Civil War is a great game.

They'll still play. But it was time. Big Ten is a better conference, better revenue, better stadiums, better tradition. Pac-12 died right in front of us. It's sports, things happen. All right. You know, what they say as you get older, this is what they say. I'm not sure who they is.

But as you get older in life, that you get more conservative, I don't know. It's not happening. I'm not angry enough. Republicans these days are mad at everybody. Bud Light, Disney, wokeness, Joe Biden, and the United States women's national team. Or are they happy? apparently because Megan Rapino missed a penalty kick and didn't collapse into a puddle of tears, they are very upset.

Here, she had a smile after losing and certain people did not like it. I mean, this is like a sick joke. For me personally, I'm just like, this is dark comedy. I missed a penalty. This is the balance to the beautiful side of the game. I think it can be cruel and just not our day. Yeah. it wasn't their day and it wasn't their tournament.

First of all, nobody has ever won back-to-back-to-back World Cups. Pelae didn't, Maradona didn't, Rinaldo didn't, Messi didn't, Brazil didn't, Argentina didn't, and we weren't going to. Nobody ever. This was a young team with a new coach. That's not exactly a recipe for World Cup dominance. 14 new players and a coach, I'm not sure, was the right coach. Rebuilding dynasties is hard.

We saw it with a war. last year. Old guys, same culture, new guys not ready, and they got boxed by the team in the playoffs that eventually didn't even win. They didn't even play the champs. It's hard. The Patriots, post-Tom Brady, it's hard. Spurs without Duncan. Difficult. Older players, older cultures, trying to bridge the gap. Sometimes you fire a coach and move on to a new coach. That's what the United States women did. A dynasty, and they're in the middle of a rebuild. This wasn't their team. By the way, Germany, I think, a very good team lost as well. Now England and Sweden are favored. Good luck. It's hard. Even when the United States women's national team had your Mia

hams and your dominant performers, they were winning by a goal late. The games were close. Think how great England is in men's soccer and Argentina and Messi. How many World Cups do they have? This stuff's tough. It's a global sport. And we see it in the NBA. The best player right now is or is it Embed, or is it Luca, or is it Yokic? Four players not from here. Wonderful players. Uniquely gifted. The last five NBA MVPs have all been four and born.

People are catching up. Ronald O'Kunya Jr. for the Braves from Venezuela. He might win the MVP. If he doesn't, show A. Otani will. It's the first time in a long time, both the MVP favorites, not from here. You watch our men's World Cup team. They're young, feisty, athletic, hella fast. They're going to make noise in the next World Cup. It's almost like we're catching up to the World. Italy didn't even make the World Cup last time. We did. But it's also like Sweden and

England and other countries are catching up to us. Yes, Megan Rapino is a unique athlete. Smiles and you don't like it. But I thought she summed it up when she sailed, this is what the sport is. It is cruel. It is dark. The greatest players in the world put on a pedestal and then brought down because they miss a penalty kick, which looks like you and I could do it. We could not. They weren't built to win. I don't think they looked fluid offensively. I thought Carly Lloyd nailed it. They looked uninspired. Were they in good shape for as much youth? Why weren't they faster? They weren't built to win this thing. No reason to be mad. Rebuilding dynasties is really, really hard. Good luck to everybody else that remains. I always

sort of have a soft spot for England. Mom was from there. Good to have you in today. A lot of stuff going on. Mark Schlarith is at the Seahawks camp. He will join us. 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 I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clipper 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-tapped 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 kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all right. No, we don't have plenty. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. 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.

Good to have you on a Monday. J. Mack off this week. he'll be back next week. Good to have you in. So the camps are opening up. They're full steam ahead. There's two questions in the NFL. I don't know an answer to, but I can't wait to watch it, and I think we'll know very early. Aaron Rogers to the New York Jets, offensive line, very much in question. Eight and nine's on the board. So was 12 and 5. And Russell Wilson, does he still have it? Sean Payton has work wonders with backups, mobile guys, old guys. He's one with everybody. Even James Winston. Can he win with Russell?

Well, he said yesterday, Russell Wilson is going to play in the preseason. Yeah, I haven't shelled it out yet, but they're going to play. We'll figure out how many snaps. So I don't have a pitch count. I don't have an exclusion list as, you know, if someone's got a light injury that we back. But, I mean, we can expect to see our guys play a little bit. That would include Russell, right? Yeah, that would include he's a player.

Yeah, running mobile quarterbacks age very quickly. Cam Newton was really special in 27, 2018. Then suddenly, he was shot. Big Ben at the end of his career fell over and nobody touched him. He got old really fast. And these were much bigger players than Russell Wilson. Russell was the most sacked player in the league last year. He put on some weight to absorb all the hits and he just didn't look as elusive.

I don't know what he's going to be. It happened fast. And due to Russell's contract, which is going to be very weighty for the next three or four years, they're not going to be able to surround him with an elite offensive line. Injuries are going to hurt this team and they've already lost two receivers. He was young and elusive in Seattle and surrounded by young twitchy athletes. He's got a great corner, a couple of good players around him, but I don't know what they are offensively. The good news is, though, Sean Payton had Taysam Hill for nine starts, and believe it or not, went seven and two.

He had the very limited but capable Teddy Bridgewater as a backup. He went five and O in one stretch. And even Drew Breeze, at the end, a pure pocket passer who could not throw the deep ball, won 17 of his last 23 games. So older quarterbacks, mobile quarterbacks, backup quarterbacks. Sean Payton's one with every one of them. My guess is Russell Wilson, we've seen he's brought weight down. I believe he has to play basketball on grass. That's when he's at his best.

I think they have a young star running back off an injury. If he's capable to play with the upgraded O-line, Denver's going to be a handful offensively. They may have the best pure corner in the NFL. Don't know about their pass rush, but I like their secondary a lot, and I love their coach. my guess is if you can make Taysom Hill, old Drew Breeze, James Winston and Teddy Bridgewater win, you're going to be fine with Russell Wilson.

That's my guess. How good? That I don't know. But good to very good, highly probable. Russell Wilson will play in the preseason. Here's Ryan with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

All right, early in training camp, Joe Burrow went down with a stretch. Calf, which is expected to sideline him for a few weeks. And Jemar Chase was asked on Friday if he expects Burrow back for their week one matchup against the Browns. Here's what he had to say. I told him that with all honesty, I don't want him there. Same thing with me last year.

I sat out an extra game just to let my hip all the way heal up. And you don't want to cause no other problems later on in the season. And I told them as long as you're there after week five and on, we're good, brother. just told me we're going to see how he feels when the time comes. You know, he doesn't know when he'll be back, but he'll be back soon. Well, the division's never been better. I mean, that division now has Lamar Jackson, Deshawn Watson, Joe Burrow, and a kid in Kenny Pickett who looked pretty good at the end of last year. This is the golden age of quarterbacks. So it is, there's never been more good ones. The AFC North is a great example. I mean, you can go to the

go to the AFC West and it's Herbert and Mahalms. Garapolo's been to a Super Bowl, Russell Wilson. So, you know, I think this year more than any, it's the opposite of college football. They do not have a close game, big game shortage. The shortage is playoff spots for good teams. Somebody is not going to make the playoffs like a loaded Steeler roster or a very good Seahawk roster. There are almost no teams in the league. If Anthony Richardson can play and be really pretty pretty.

productive for the Colts at quarterback. And Kyler Marie plays by like late October. I don't know if there's a terrible team in the league. I really, if Garoppolo stays upright, the Raiders are going to win games. They have too many star players. So, uh, week five sounds like that's just an easy street. You can't miss four games in that division. You can't with Joe Burrow.

You go one in three. Good luck catching up. Yeah, they have had slow starts to the seasons in the past. So it wouldn't be totally unprecedented for the Bengals to turn it around. Look at that schedule, though. But to your point, the AFC as a whole has never been more stacked, so there could easily be a 10-win team that's on the outside looking in by the end of this year. I mean, look, there's some, those some early games. They get Baltimore, second week, San Francisco, Buffalo. I mean, there's some doubles. They're at Jacksonville,

at Kansas City. Like, this is a, this is a stack schedule. Yeah, you can't afford to just be giving away games at the beginning of the season. Speaking of quarterbacks, Jalen Hertz is coming off a career year, leading the Eagles to the Super Bowl, but coming up short against the Chiefs. As he enters year four, Hertz spoke with Peter King about who inspires his growth on the field. Take a listen. Every time you go into an offseason, for me at least I look at, you know, guys like MJ and Kobe and how they kind of diagnose their game and obviously two different sports. But just trying to turn, trying to kind of push forward my strength. and get better at my strengths and the things that I do well,

and then turn my weaknesses into my strengths. I've always been an unique player, but embracing the rarity of being a true triple threat. Yeah, I think he's a pretty special player. Sure. Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest question is, obviously he burst onto the scene last year after a strong finish the year prior, but all under the offensive coordinator Shane Steichen.

And so without him, it's really going to put us into question Was that going to be just a big pop year? Or is this going to be who we can expect from him going forward? Yeah, it's really hard. Like back-to-back years. Kansas City is the outlier, but to post-13, 14, 15 wins if he count the playoffs. It's really hard to do. Even Brady had years where they had great years in the regular season,

disappoint in the postseason. So you lose a great offensive coordinator for a young quarterback. This isn't Brady going, you know, later in his career. When you take a young quarterback off a great year, and you pull out his star coordinator. If Jaylen Hertz pulls back 10 to 12% and the Cowboys are better than we think, probably not a surprise.

No, not at all. And I think, you know, it's interesting to hear him talk about his mindset. That's actually never really been a question for Jalen Hertz. I mean, he got benched at Alabama, then, you know, came back to be a star at Oklahoma, then wasn't a starter right away and ended up taking that position from Carson Wentz.

So I think the mentality is also already something that he's great at. So it's continuing to try and grow there. And to the NBA, where Anthony Davis has agreed to a three-year, $186 million max contract extension with the Lakers, tying him to the team through the 2028 season. Davis's deal is the richest annual extension in NBA history, averaging $62 million per season. And he's coming off a year in which he averaged just under 26 points per game, 12 and a half rebounds, two blocks per game, a career high, 56.3 field goal percentage. Now this doesn't kick in until he's like 32. Correct. Right. So he'll be 37, 38 by the end of it, and he's injury prone now. Listen, you got to pay somebody. What this is, is the Lakers saying he's the

leader of our franchise. So if you're going to pay that kind of money and make that kind of commitment, there's your guy. I don't think he's Janice or Yokic, but he's when healthy, a top 10 player in the league. So you've got to pay somebody. You know, he's somebody I would have looked to move, but I think the Lakers overachieve last year. I thought he played really, really well. Even, you know, it's funny, even against Yokic, when the feeling was Yokic dominated it, if you went and looked at Anthony Davis's numbers, they were fantastic. It's just Yokic adds the element of the three-point shot in passing, and he had better supporting cast with Jamal Murray, Gordon, and Michael Porter and Brown. So in the end, the Yokic matchup, which looked like a real ding on Anthony Davis,

his numbers were fantastic. He's a top 10 player, maybe top eight when he's healthy. Absolutely. Yeah. And this postseason was an interesting one for AD where you saw the absolute upside and the high end of why you would be wanting to pay him 60 million per year. But it did leave you with some question marks when he would put up 45 one night and then 10 and not look like an offensive threat whatsoever. So I think for the Lakers, obviously they want to keep him around. The question is once LeBron's gone, LeBron's been the one who's sort of pulled the best out of him in his career and what sort of running made are. they're going to be able to find with him four years from now when that contract's $60 million per year? Yeah, get used to big NBA contracts coming up. This is not the last $60 million contract. Ryan with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. So Hall of Fame festivities in Canton this weekend, and Micah Parsons is a great player. And you don't have to overthink the room, much like he was at Penn State. If you turn on a Penn State, game. Micah Parsons looked like the best player on the field, even if they were playing Michigan or Ohio

State. He was just great. Almost like the bosses in college. They just look better than everybody. And with the Dallas Cowboys, same thing. He just looks better than everybody on the field on most Sundays, or Mondays or Mondays or whenever the Cowboys are on. And he's going to have an unbelievable career. He was talking this weekend about the Hall of Fame and how he views that and himself. When you talk about great careers, you talk about the Hall of Fame, but I don't think I'd just want to make the Hall of Fame. I just want to be known as one of the greatest Hall of Famers. You know, there's categories to everything. You know, there's good, there's great, and it's like, perfect. When you talk about me, I don't want to just be

mentioned in the Hall of Fame. Yeah, that's a great accolade, but I want to be one of the greatest in the Hall of Fame. Well, I am one of those where the Hall of Fame would have far fewer members. It doesn't matter if it's the Broadcasting Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Football Hall of Fame, the Baseball Basketball Hall of Fame. I think all watered down. There's a sense that we should include more people. You know, to me, there's a lot of very good. And the minute you water it down and you put them in with all-time greats, it feels lesser then. To me, there are 10 players in the NFL right now that are first ballot Hall of Famers. And most play very key positions. I think at quarterback,

Patrick Mahomes retired today. He's a Hall of Famer. I think Aaron Rogers, I always like better than Favre is a slam dunk hall of famer. Travis Kelsey could retire today. He's in. So is his brother Jason at center. Trent Williams, maybe the best left tackle ever. He is on a short list. Aaron Donald, again, second best interior delinement I've ever seen to Reggie White and it's close. Miles Garrett and Vaughn Miller on the edge, they just play different and look different. Bobby Wagner's been a nine-time all pro. He's a hall of famer. And Justin Tucker, I mean, like every other kicker becomes at some point like unstable, a little bit of a headcase, you're not sure.

He is the automatic in a position with no automatics. It's Justin Tucker. To me, these are the Hall of Famers currently playing. Now, there is a list of about six or seven guys that when you watch the television, they literally jump through the screen. They feel like they're going to be Hall of Famers. and I can go back and forth on all the young players, but the six or seven players, to me, that look like it's the waiting room.

Joe Burrow is just different. He can go toe to toe with Mahomes, and he doesn't feel inferior. Justin Jefferson is Randy Moss, to me, like one of those level players. I think Nick Bosa, the edge for the Niners, Micah Parsons, T.J. Watt is unblockable. Fred Warner's the best linebacker in football,

and has range, I'm not sure I've ever seen from a linebacker. entertain the corner for the Broncos. Have you ever seen a Bronco game live? I have friends who went and watched him last year. He's the best player on the field at corner. He's that dominant. So there's other people there that are close to me. You've got a couple of edges.

I also think the position you play does matter. There's not a lot of punters in the Hall of Fame. Ray Guy's in. There's not a lot of kickers. There's not a lot of coaches in the Hall of Fame. Quarterbacks, left tackle, edge rushers, big time. weapon, big time corner, and a star linebacker are more likely to get in. So to me, if you watch a game, just think of how good you have to be to be a college athlete,

and then one and a half to two percent of college athletes become pro athletes, and then you dominate those pro athletes. If you have to argue about it or think about it, like to me, are you arguably the best player at your position for 10 years. Go back to my Hall of Fame list. Are you the best player arguably at your position for a decade? Don't water it down. Aaron and Mahomes, that's it now.

I like Matt Stafford. He was never considered the best or second or third best. Travis Kelsey. Basically, Gronk may have been better his first couple years in the league. Last six years, he's the best. Trent Williams, Jason Kelsey. Jason Kelsey is arguably the best center in the history of the league. Aaron, Donald, Garrett, Von Miller, Bobby Wagner.

These guys are the best at what they do for anybody doubting. And linebackers are not as important as they used to, but Bobby Wagner, even last year's over 100 tackles. So he's a tackle machine, great instincts. You can water it down. Michael Parsons absolutely feels like when you watch a cowboy game, that's the best athlete, either team on the field. against virtually everybody they play, and that includes the Eagles.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Listen to comeback stories. I'm Darren Waller. You may know me best as a tied-in for the New York Giants. You may also know me for my story of overcoming addiction and alcoholism. You may have heard a few of my tracks as an artist or a producer. You may have seen the work that I've done through my foundation. And you may know my friend and co-hosts Donnie Starkins as well.

He's a mindfulness teacher, a yoga instructor, a life coach, a man fully invested in seeing people reach their fullest potential. And we've come to form this platform of comeback stories to really highlight not only our own adversity, but adversity in the lives of well-known guests with amazing stories. Catch us every week on comeback stories on the I-Harty. Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what 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 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 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 it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. 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. Saturday, it's baseball night in America on Fox as Ronald Acuna Jr. And the NL East Leading Braves take on the Mets or Shohe Otani and the Angels battle division rival Astros or Brewers White Sox. 7 Eastern 4 Pacific on Fox or check for the game in your area.

Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, top of next hour. So the Seahawks are one of those teams. I think they're very talented. They're very young. Mark Schlerath for Fox did a couple of Seahawk games last year. He's going to watch them over the next two days up in Kirkland as he has some of their preseason games to do. So you watched them last year.

And, you know, I think I speak for a lot of people. I'd kind of bury Gino Smith. Like it was over. just didn't work. And then I guess this happened a little to Ryan Tannahill, but Gino went from backup to leading the NFL and I think passer rating. And it got everybody, myself included, totally off guard. You saw him twice.

Can he duplicate it? Were you surprised by it? What does he do that can transfer to this year? Was I surprised by it? Yeah, the answer to that is absolutely I was surprised by it. Basically, after you saw him in his, years in the actual football league. I think one thing that really shocked me, I think shocked even the Seahawks to a degree, is the armed talent that Gino Smith has is next level arm talent.

I mean, he can flat spin it. So there's nothing out of bounds for Gino Smith when it comes to arm strength talent also has that kind of just touch in the throwing game. But one thing that Pete Carroll has always done with the Seattle Seahawks is they've always had a balanced team. They're going to run it. They're going to set up their play action. They're going to get up their play pass. They're going to have opportunities for their quarterback to be successful to get 12 to 15 completions, easy completions during the course of the game.

And then it's everything else you do outside of that. But Gino Smith was tremendous. I think Pete Carroll's one hell of a football coach when it comes to understanding what his team can do. Also, avoiding what they're not good at. I think he does an exceptional job at that. And they're a very talented young team. So you do morning radio, very popular in Denver. Sean Payton lashes out at Nathaniel Hackett.

Now, in fairness to Peyton, they were 29th in the league offense and defense getting in plays. It was chaotic. We saw that in the opener against Seattle in the Pacific Northwest. How did those comments land? I know Sean got pushed back around the league, but how did they land in Denver? Yeah, I think in Denver was that was 100% factual. He's not lying. Now, you know, I think you look at, you know, the way that came out and what you said, and you probably regret some of the things you said.

But it was 100% true. It was, you know, a circus last year. And, you know, some of that is obviously on Nathaniel Hackett and some of that's on his staff. I think one of the things that you learn as a young coach is that you better have veteran coaches on your staff. People that will challenge you, people that will tell you when you're doing something that just is not going to work. people that will hold you accountable. And I think anytime you start looking at a staff and you say, well, it's a first time head coach, a first time offensive coordinator, first time offensive line coach, first time

special teams coach, first time this, first time that, like a first time defense coordinator, everything was the first time, you know, in their current roles. And I think that's a really hard thing to ask because it's a huge learning curve for everybody involved in that organization. So, you know, I think Sean Payton probably regrets the way that came. out. But he certainly wasn't lying and it was an absolute mess last year. I always talked, Micah Parsons talked about the Hall of Fame and I've always felt to be a Hall of Famer you have to jump off the television set. You have to just Reggie White, Dion Sanders,

John Elway, look different than other great athletes. And you should be arguably the best player at your position for a decade. So I said this morning I put up the 10 players currently in the NFL and I may be missing the interior offensive linemen for the Cowboys, but 10 people that look different on my TV set and are dominant, dominant players. So you were a three-time Pro Bowl or two-time Pro Bowl or a three-time Super Bowl champ. You were a very good college player, an excellent NFL player. Did you ever face a Hall of Famer and what was it like? Oh, yeah, I faced a bunch.

I mean, you talk about Cortez Kennedy, Warren Sapp, you know, Reggie White. There was a lot of John Randall. I mean, I'd go on with the Hall Fammers that I faced over the course of my career. Those guys are just different on film. Like, they're just, you know, they're just good. You have to be so dialed into what you're doing. You have to have such a great plan because the difference between, you know,

a regular player or a good NFL player or a really great NFL player and a Hall of Famer is the Hall of Famers do everything well. There's nothing they can't do. And so a lot of times when you're facing a guy, you're facing an appointment opponent, they have one thing that they're exceptional at, right? They're a power guy. They're a speed guy. They're a quick guy.

Whatever the case may be. The Hall of Famers are speed guys to power guys to quick guys. They can beat you a myriad of different ways. And that's what, you know, that's what sets those guys apart. So I faced a lot of those guys over the course of my career. and yeah, they're just different. I think John Lynch once said this to me, and it just resonated with me.

I can't tell you what a Hall of Famer is. I just know him when I see them. And I think everybody kind of has that feel for what Hall of Famers are. Yeah, Aaron Donald, Trent Williams, Travis, Kelsey, they just look different. So I think that... Let me just real quick on Michael Parsons, though. Really quick on Michael Parsons. That dude could be the best outside edge patterns.

rusher in football. He could probably become the best middle linebacker in football. He's a great blitzer. But the play that's set it apart for me, I did a Giants game, and they had their wide receiver, their ex, was Kenny Goladay in a cut split, meaning inside from the slot, right? On the single side. They motion a back out, just to get a tell on the defense,

Michael Parsons goes out with a motion. So he's got man-to-man coverage. Then they motioned the back in, and he's going to pick the cornerback that's, covering Kenny Goladay. And Kenny Gulladay is going to run a wheel. And you could see Michael Parsons in motion going back with the running back, screaming at the cornerback.

You're going to get picked. You're going to get picked. Cornerback is completely oblivious. He gets picked. Michael Parsons leaves his coverage, goes man to man, down the sideline on the wheel route with Kenny Golladay and just tips the ball away like it was nothing. So it's not only athleticism, you know, speed, quickness. But the understanding of the game at just a deeper level, that's what Michael Parsons does,

regardless of you got him outside, inside, covering a back out, you know, I mean, you can play cornerback for crying out loud if you asked him to. Yeah, Dave Wanstatt told me last night, Zach Thomas, the Hall of Famer for the Dolphins, he said he would literally be in the facility at 9 p.m. He'd walk into Dave's office and say, I don't like this coverage. We're going to get burned on it. It was like having a coach on the field. So beyond all of his talent, he would.

was so intuitive, so locked in, the great players have it. So as a former offensive lineman, I think the Jets could be eight and nine if they can't block on the left side. Duane Brown goes down, old left tackle. They could be 12 and 13 if the defense is as good as we think again. Everything to me revolves around the O line. If Mackay Bechton can stabilize right tackle, if Duane Brown stays healthy, it's a really good football team. But I worry about it. Go back your career. Does the quarterback, if the O-line's not great, and you played on some great ones, but you probably had a year where it was a little lean, if the offensive line is okay, does the quarterback, can he help? Could Aaron help an average O-line?

Oh, yeah, especially in today's game with how quickly you get rid of the ball and, you know, how fast the ball comes out, you know, how many short drops there are, how many five steps without a hitch or with that, you know, those type of things. So the quarterback can definitely take some pressure off the offensive line. But it really comes down to play calling. Play calling is when you have a balanced offense and you can call plays and you can give, you know, you can give your offensive line a bunch of different tools within their tool belt. Then they've got an opportunity to be successful.

So you're going to run the run action type of play action, right? The bootkeep game, the stuff that looks like run. Then you're going to run the play action stuff where it's a seven-stage. step drop. You're keeping six, seven guys into protection, running two and three man combinations. Then all of a sudden, we're going to run the three steps game, you know, where you can upkick and you can be aggressive. And then a five step without a hitch so I can still do the same thing. So if you're really good in a great play caller, you can take a ton of pressure off a very average offensive line and make them exceptional. I always say this. If you give up seven

sacks during the course of a game, your offensive line doesn't suck. Your play caller does. because you put them in a just an incredibly tough position. And when you have a play caller that does that to an offensive line, it's like saying to a plumber, hey, I want you to go fix my plumbing. My sink is clogged up and you take it apart. But here's a screwdriver. And that's all you get.

Yeah. You can't fix it with just a screw. You know, you've got to have a monkey wrench. You've got to have some other things to actually take that, you know, take that plumbing apart. So that is how important play callers are. I always say this, not just calling a play, but calling on offense.

There's a difference. And the great ones call on offense. The bad coordinates just called plays. Yeah. Well said. Mark Slareth, Fox Sports in Seattle next couple of days, watching the Seahawks, then doing a preseason game for Seattle and Pete Carroll as always.

Great seeing you, Mark. Good to see you, Colin. Take care, buddy. Yep, he did the Seahawk Niner game last year and the Seahawk Carolina game last year. So he's seen a lot of them. He's at camp. So a lot of our guys at Fox Sports,

they're banging around the camps. They'll do some preseason games. games to get ready. It's their preseason as well. Colin Wright, Colin wrong, top of next hour. The college football change. It's very interesting. I am not a traditionalist. So I didn't grow up, you know, going to the same church and the same camp that a lot of people did. And there are 40% of America never leaves the area code in which they grew up in. I get it. I've moved a lot. I'm mobile. I'm into it. I like new stuff. I'm a windshield guy, not a rearview mirror guy. A lot of people, they grab those traditions and they don't like it and I totally get it.

What's interesting is that it's the pack 12 fans that don't have the tradition and the full stadiums regularly, belly aching about the move. But Big Ten fans, I haven't heard a ton from them. And they have a bigger argument. Like, hey, our stadiums are already full. Why do we need the Huskies? I can see Big Ten fans saying, I like our tradition. Why do I want to play?

Why don't I want to go to Eugene, Oregon and Los Angeles? Those could be two more Ls. Well, I don't like that. I can see Wisconsin not liking that or Iowa. But for PAC 12 fans, and I'm a PAC 12 guy, the conference died five years ago. It's always been led by USC. When USC is great, the perception is the conference is great. The TV contracts were great when Pete Carroll and USC were winning.

When Pete left, they couldn't get the right coach. The conference felt small and irrelevant. And in the end, if you look at the revenue projections for the PAC 12 going forward, they don't have any. They couldn't find a partner. The revenue projections for the Big Ten are like $75 million per university per year. Well, football pays all the bills. That's going to pay for all those other sports. And those are just some of the projections.

It could be more. All right, Colin right, calling wrong, top of next hour. We'll talk to Mark Helfrich, former Oregon duck coach, his thoughts on the dismantling of the Pack 12. It's the hurt. 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 acapella band with their

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

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.