The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Derek Carr is better than you think

Episode Date: January 13, 2023

Teams should be more interested in QB Derek Carr Chargers WR Mike Williams will not play this weekend Thoughts on Ravens QB Lamar Jackson's injury   See 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.

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IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. Blazing 5, playoff edition. It gets harder or does it. One hour from now, I'll have my picks. Jason McIntyre, three hours from now. He's had a great year. We'll have his picks. He was at the Lakers Mavs last night.

It was ugly early. Ended up being pretty interesting. Phenomenal game, Colin. Brutal loss for the Lakers. Goodness gracious. Luca Donchich is a killer. I've been saying he's the best player in the league. You saw that.

Luke would just take over when it mattered most. Yeah. Oof. So I understand when super successful people, a partner in a law firm, a Mark Cuban, a tech genius, Patrick Mahalms.

If Janus was arrogant a little bit, things are easier, you're dominant, you're the man, people come up all day, fawning over you. I get some of that arrogance for the truly gifted. It's funny, though, when you meet losers and they have huge, huge confidence and arrogance, like the Miami Dolphins. Yeah, I said it. The Miami Dolphins are the used car lot of the automotive industry. They're AOL of tech.

The chiefs are Netflix, their blockbuster. When I suggested yesterday, you should be interested in Derek Carr, Dolphin, like, no, hard pass. Derek Carr leads the NFL since 2014, the year he entered in fourth quarter comebacks. Not Brady, not Mahomes. Nope, no, not Stafford, not Aaron Rogers. Derek Carr leads the NFL in fourth quarter comebacks. and because he's had horrible, embarrassing defenses, he often has to come back.

He now, according to stories, he wrote a, he wrote a little note yesterday to Raider fans, telling him it broke his heart. It breaks my heart. I didn't get to say goodbye in person. I am so grateful from the bottom of my heart, Raider fans. Dolphin fans are like, no, we got two of us. No, you actually don't. Skyler Thompson is starting and you're going to get boat race this weekend.

But when two is healthy, yeah, it's kind of a thing. Bama, NFL, he's not. I was talking to an agent recently. And he said, the clients I have that gave their heart to a franchise and the franchise turns on him, he says, man, those are the best clients. Those guys are so focused and so determined. They don't get into the money. They just want to win.

They want to prove that team the Raiders wrong. So whoever gets Derek Carr is getting somebody who got burned and dumped and cheated on. He's upset. By the way, he's never had a great defense. I talked to an executive last night in the league and he said, you know, Brock Purdy is a two seed with a great defense. He's like, the Ravens are a playoff team on their fourth quarterback with a great defense. It's amazing what a good defense can do for Dak Prescott, right? The Raiders this year blew more two touchdown leads than anybody in the league.

They were three in five in games in which they led by two touchdowns. In five of those losses, the five losses, four of the five Derek played in, three of the four losses. played really well in. Derek Carr gave everything to the Raiders and they never appreciated it. You don't think he can help the New York Jets? I want him to go to the Jets now so badly to just burn Miami. The Jets won seven games and were last in the league in completion percentage and passer rating. You don't think Derek Carr can win with this team? I heard this too. Well, you know, I don't know if he can handle New York. Aaron Judge from a small town in California. Eli Manning down south.

Chad Pennington, Knoxville, Tennessee, Derek Jeter, Kalamazoo, Michigan, Don Mattingly, rural Indiana. I'd argue many of the biggest stars in New York come from small towns. They're a little intimidated by New York, at least initially. They stay to themselves. They work harder. They don't get distracted. They're simple small town people who love their sport. They're Aaron Judge.

They're Don Mattingly. They're Derek Jeter. They often have great relationships with their family and their parents. They're very focused and pay attention to stuff that matters. You can have the big city guys getting distracted in New York. A lot of the great ones are Derek Carr. Faith, family. Football. That's what he cares about.

And Robert Sala, his job is on the line. And when your job is on the line, urgency really matters. Robert Sala needs to win now. Derek Carr is that solution, not drafting somebody. Not Zach Wilson, not Mike White. But I love the dolphins. Hard pass. Don't need him.

Really, the used car lot of the automotive industry now is telling you what they need. We're above Derek Carr leads the NFL in fourth quarter comebacks since he entered it. Not Aaron Rogers, who's been outplayed three years in a row at Lambo by Goff, Garoppolo, and an old Tom Brady. Cannot wait to see what happens with Derek Carr. Never once. Once had a great defense. The Jets have one. Okay, so we got some, we got a little clarity on Lamar.

Jackson yesterday. So Lamar came out and had a tweet, and we've been talking about this for three weeks. It's like, would somebody create clarity? And he came out and he said, hey, thanks for your support. I'm reading this for our radio audience. Thank for the support regarding my injuries. Here's an update. Suffered a grade two sprain, borderline of a strain three. Inflammation all over my knee remains unstable. I'm in good spirits. I'm recovering. I wish it could be out there with my guys, but I can't give 100%. and I'm still hopeful we'll have a chance. All right. I like that.

So a lot of times if you, let's see you work for a company and you're looking for answers. You've got a dilemma and you're looking for answers. Sometimes the answer is provided outside of your building. Like your rival, your competitor does something and it creates clarity for you. Oh, we have to do something. So I'm going to give you three names that are creating clarity for the Baltimore Ravens. Joe Burrow, Deshawn Watson, and an emerging Kenny Pickett. Kenny Pickett in the last month, I've got to be honest, it's kind of good.

And my guess is, though I don't love Deshaun Watson and think his personal conduct is disgusting and gross, an off season, he'll probably come back a bit more refined. It's hard to take a couple years off, inserted midseason into good division. That's hard. He wasn't very good, but that's hard. So Burroughs arguably after Mahalm's the best quarterback. Deshawn should be at least a B to B plus quarterback. Got a good old line.

And Kenny Pickett looks like, dude can ball. Dude can spin it. I mean, he's pretty good at the end of the year. So you can go ahead and move off Lamar. But here's the Ravens with Lamar starting. And without him starting, and you cannot have the fourth best quarterback in your division. With them starting, they give you 350 yards of offense, 24 points, 8 and 4. Without him, they're honestly a Canadian football league team.

Well, they've got a great defense. They got a great coach. Okay. Interesting. So if they move off Lamar and trade him and decide, let's start over, let's go to the fourth best quarterback in every division in football. because you're not going to bring somebody in. They're not going to be better than Joe Burrow. It's doubtful because Kenny Pickett started for four years in college

that they'll be as good or as refined as Kenny Pickett. And again, I do think Deshaun with an offseason starting the season, Camp OTA, probably going to be a little bit better next year, right? They'll be the fourth best quarterback in the division. So let's go to the fourth best quarterback in every division. Zach Wilson, Davis Mills, Russell Wilson, and, and Kenny Pickett, although he got really good at the end of the year. No playoffs. Oh, by the way, two of those teams have great defenses if Baltimore decides we can just play defense.

Jets and Denver have great defenses. But let's go to the other side. Taylor Heineke, Carson Wentz, Justin Fields, Marcus Marietta, and whoever started for the Rams. In that instance, again, you have a great coach, Sean McVeigh. You have a great, very good roster in Washington. No playoffs. 0 for 8. No playoffs.

With great coaches, Harbaugh, Sean McVeigh, with great defenses, Jets, Denver, Washington's got a very good roster. So you can convince yourself, hey, defense. Win with defense. You know who's got a good defense? Saints, Washington, Denver, Jets, New England. None are in the playoffs. So the clarity for Baltimore,

if they're confused in the building has been provided outside the building. Burrough, Deshawn with an entire offseason in Cleveland, and emerging Kenny Pickett. You better sign him. You got to get on it. All right. J. Mack went to that Lakers game. Interested to hear about that.

You want to hear something else, Colin? What? Chargers just announced Mike Williams is out. will not even travel with the team to Jacksonville. Brandon Staley is a nervous Nelly here on a Friday ahead of his first playoff game. How could he do that? Meaningless game last week, Colin. Not happy with him.

Chargers Nation is very unhappy right now. He should be. He won't play starters in the preseason because they're meaningless. Why are you playing Bosa, Derwin James, Herbert, Eckler, Williams? That job may get back open. It's a huge game Saturday night now, massive. 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, Clever 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-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 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 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 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.

That was funny. Patrick Mahomes is preparing for the playoffs, right? Do you realize he's the AFC's oldest? of playoff quarterback, Patrick Mahomes. Chiefs Patrick Mahomes, 27 years old. We pivoted from the Brady Manning Big Ben AFC quarterback kingdom to the Mahomes-Alems-Aarrow version really quickly.

And a lot of this, I mean, it's really fascinating. This really comes down to AFC general managers hit home runs. These are all first-round quarterbacks. Baltimore, Chargers, Sincere, Buffalo, Kansas City, Jags. There's your playoff quarterbacks. They're all first-round guys. Now, Tua, a smaller version, got hurt.

But, by the way, this is why Denver went all-in on Russell Wilson, maybe overpaid for him. Why? This. It's why the Raiders are moving off Derek Carr, those quarterbacks. If Derek Carr is in the NFC South, you're not moving off him. it's why, by the way, Tua, Tua doesn't stack up with these guys.

Doesn't have the arm, doesn't have the athleticism, doesn't have the availability. What's interesting is, we all love the draft. It's where college football and pro football converge. And, you know, draft weekends are riot. Everybody thinks they just ace the draft. And there'll be four or five teams that'll just whiff on multiple picks. Two or three teams last year, and you could see it. We all knew, I mean, I said it.

I'd been ripping the Seahawks forever. After that weekend, I said, that's the best draft the Seahawks have had in years, and it turned out to be. I thought the Jets had the best draft, and it turned out to be. You can tell when a team aces a draft, usually, and you can tell when it's weird. A few years ago, Mike McAggden had a Jets draft outside of Quinn and Williams. It was just a disaster, and you knew it then, and you know it now. But what is funny is, is that the NFC, their GMs did a good job to find. gems in later rounds, but they're not stars.

Kirk Cousins, fourth round. Dak Prescott, fourth round. Gino Smith, second round. Brock Purdy, seventh round. Jalen Hertz, optimistic. Second round. It's B guys. And so, you know, you can talk about, oh, my GM found this gem in later rounds.

When it comes to quarterbacks, most of your stars are in the first round. I know there's the Brady and there's the Russell Wilson thing. But if you look at the AFC, the five best quarterbacks in this league today, all AFC, all in their prime, all first rounders. Mahomes, Allen, Burrow, Herbert, Trevor Lawrence. GMs in the NFC get credit. Found this guy in the fourth round, this guy in the second round,

this guy in the third round, this guy in that. not as talented. They're big guys. When you give them a run game or a great defense, they can win games. But the AFC quarterbacks are generational talent. The NFCs are overachievers. You're going forward with generational talent. J-MAC with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Let's start with a non-generational talent in Brock Purdy. Mr. Irrelevant, preparing for his first playoff appearance in the postseason. He's gone 5-0 in the regular season as the 49er starter has a chance to lead his team to the Super Bowl. But he's not looking too far into the future and is focusing on winning one game at a time. Right now I'm looking at it like, man, we got the Seahawks.

Yes, it's a playoff. But for myself, it's, I got to do my job. I'm not trying to think about this storybook ending with anything like that. It's, man, I got a great defense. I got to play on Sunday. I got to do my job in terms of getting the guys of the ball. And all that will fall in place. But definitely thankful for everything that has happened.

But, you know, we still have a ways to go. The last nine times a rookie quarterback has started in a playoff game. They've lost eight of nine. The last rookie quarterback to start a playoff game and win, I believe, look it up 10 years ago, Russell Wilson. I think that's it. I think he's the last rookie quarterback to win. a start. And that, and he had a great defense and a great run game. Yeah. Well, Mark Sanchez, I know,

did it obviously with the Jets. What did you say, Alex? Before that. And he played rookie RG3. That's right. So Russell Wilson played rookie RG3. So rookie on rookie. Yeah. I have another staff for you. Not great. Teams coming into the playoffs on a 10-game win streak since 2001, two and 13 against the spread. 49ers coming in on a 10-game win streak. Well, my favorite, listen, I can just say it right now. My favorite line of the week is Seattle plus nine and a half. The only problem is Gino is a first time playoff quarterback as well. He is, but I feel like there's a lot of runway here. He's been in this league.

He's had good games, bad games, a lot of experience. Listen, Gino's a weird story. I mean, it's like historically, like there's two things that happened this year where there's almost no precedent for it. Russell Wilson, four straight years of 100 plus passer rating, too awful. And no major injury. he's 30 what, three? He's like, he's not old.

There's no precedent for that. And Gino Smith's a bust and a bench warmer and leads the league in completion percentage, fifth and passer rating or fourth the passer rating. That's almost, now does that signify, now I could argue what's happening to Russell Wilson, what happened to him is something that's happening in the NFL, I'll throw this at you, is that as global wealth has made all NFL owners billionaires. $40 million, $50 million now is a rounding error. So they're much more willing to take a chance on a coach.

And if it doesn't work, get rid of him. Arizona just signed Kingsbury to a four-year extension. He's out. The owners aren't worth $500 million. They're worth $2.9 billion. So they're much more willing to roll the dice on a coach and get rid of him after a year. All these guys, even the owners that aren't rich, like McNair and Houston's not one of the richer owners. I don't think one year.

He's fired a couple guys. So that what's happening is the Hackett move was a bit of a risk because he wasn't like a coordinator. He wasn't. And guys just say you're done. I mean, they almost fired Hackett, you know, seven games into the season. The rumbling started. So that explains the Russell Wilson thing. You're getting coaches now that are completely over their skis.

They're not ready. And he just rolled the dice on it. The Hackett one's interesting because when he became offensive coordinator in Green Bay, first year, Roger struggled to the point that they then drafted Jordan loved the following year. Yeah. So I wonder. If this was a one-year issue with Russ and Hackett, and maybe he bounces back.

We'll see Harbaugh, Sean Payton. I think a lot of coaches watching this weekend, not just the Denver job, but what's going on in Chargers and Dallas. Three teams that didn't make the playoffs this year that I this morning would say we'll make it next year. Pittsburgh, Detroit, Denver. You know, I thought you were going to finish up with a certain team in New York.

Well, I want to see who the quarterback is. Fair. We've got some time on that. unfortunately. Next up. Cardinals, Arizona Cardinals, you just mentioned them, have requested an interview with Brian Flores for their vacant head coaching job. Flores spent 22 as a senior defensive assistant with the Steelers. He previously was the Dolphins head coached for three seasons that ended poorly. Yeah, he went 24 and 25, the Tua issue. Now, he interviewed for the Cardinals a few years back. They ended up hiring Steve Wilkes. Okay.

A bit of a mistake there by the- Okay. I'm going to have a super. strong opinion on this. I think this is going to be a great hire. Let me, first of all, Brian Flores blew us all away early and he was right on Tua. He kept telling the front office, you can't win with Tua. He's not going to stay healthy. He can't push the ball down the field. So he was anti-Tua. Right. And then they got the lawsuit, so he's gone. Let's not forget how impressive Brian Flores was. The dolphins were a shipwreck. And they got really good by like week seven. Remember that they got blown out in the first week by Baltimore? Like beat, didn't they get crushed? And then they got beat badly, badly. They were like one in seven maybe

and then turned it around? Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's like, whoa. So this guy can build. The second thing is you and I agree on this. Well, we don't agree. We agree that Kyler Murray is concerning. So what is the way to have Kyler Murray be your quarterback, but less dependent on his whims and drama? Defense and run game. Flores comes in. Now you've got an elite top 7-8 defense. Run game. You have Kyler, but you're not as reliant on Kyler.

The Arizona now feels very reliant on Kyler's running and his playmaking. This guy also is Uber Alpha. He'll take no crap from Kyler. That could, I believe Flores was with Belichick for a while in New England. I'm not 100% certain. And those Belichick guys coming off. the Belichick tree, think they can run ships the same way build it in New England. And historically, that has not worked for a lot of them.

Kingsbury's nice guy, college guy. So they're hiring the opposite. And Kyler stampeded him a little bit here, if that's the word. Flores is going to take none of that. He's going to come in with a long contract. He's going to say we're going to build it. What's happening? And this is happening in Denver with Russell Wilson for different reasons.

Denver and Arizona need to become less quarterback-reliven. How do you do that? You hire Harbaugh, fix the O-line run game in Denver, and then Russell is a B quarterback and you can get to the playoffs. Arizona now feels too immersed, too behold into Kyler. Well, you can't get rid of him because of his contract, but you become less quarterback reliant. I think Flores is a home run for them. It could be a great fit. Final story, the Lakers battled back from a 19-point deficit last night against the Mavs. LeBron and Russ combined for 52 points, but it was Luca who came up clutch, tied the game with threes at the end of regulation and the first overtime.

It's like the Lakers didn't learn, learn lesson. Schroeder got cooked, and then Troy Brown was like, dude, foul or get up in his grill? And they both gave up Luca threes, just crushing. LeBron was very angry last night. He was hot. He wanted that win. Afterward, he said the Lakers haven't been able to close out games recently, and here's why. The one consistent thing that we have is a billion-dollar.

different lineups. That's the most consistent. Do you get what I'm saying? Yeah, and I was going to say, and when it's, for whatever reason, one is that way, does that just kind of, in those moments, does that just kind of push everything into a stop when there's no rhythm, trust, continuity? It's not about trust, because we have trust with whoever's on the floor, but at the end of the day, I have teams have closing lineups. And we got so many guys that's in and out of the lineup or we got guys that's, right now we've got a lot of guys that's banged up. So it's almost like who's in a good rhythm that night is going to be probably on the floor alone myself and Russ. By the way,

it's a great point. It's a shot at the front office. That's a very direct shot. There's no question. LeBron's totally right. Ask yourself this. Let's just take Los Angeles because we live here. Think about the teams in this town that right now have momentum. Lincoln Riley, USC have an identity, immediately, identity, offensive identity, top quarterback, transfer portal. Everybody knows a year in, this is what they do. They go transfer portal, offense, star receiver, score points, identity. Dodgers, great identity. Spend big money, but not on everybody.

Machado, Trey Turner, like, they'll move off guys who are great players. their research and development. Minor League system is great. They have identities. The teams that we live in here in Los Angeles. What are the teams that have a star tour or talent that are struggling? The Chargers. Great talent.

What's their identity? What are they? They're not anything. Lakers. A.D. Westbrook, LeBron. Old? Well, and LeBron pointed out, end of games, what are they?

They have no identity other than LeBron's great. The Chargers, well, Herbert's great. That's not an identity. And so I think LeBron really hits on something. Building an identity can't all be on the players. It has to be on the coach. It has to be on the executive level. When the Spurs or the Utah Jazz had Sloan, tough guy,

Malone, tough guy, Stockton, feisty guy. They had an identity. Brian Russell, defensive guy. They were a feisty team. get the ball to Carl Malone. The Lakers, and I don't blame LeBron. End of games in this league. I watched the Bucks the other night.

You watch the Celtics. Warriors end of games. Who's on the floor? It's LeBron and it's ping pong balls bouncing around. This is not a shot at Troy Brown or whoever they had in the closing lineup, which was awful. You know, you look around who LeBron's playing with Colin. This is as weak of a group as he had way back in Cleveland.

When he dragged them to the finals against the spurs, he was like 23 years old. I'm sorry, I'm not disrespecting Wenlin Gabriel, who, you know, I mean, he's hitting big shots last night. He played well, but if you can upgrade a little bit, Patrick Beverly, not even on the bench last night, no Lonnie Walker, no Austin Reeves, no Anthony Davis. And they're still in the game with the Mavs.

And I'll give Laker fans credit. Was the play sold out? Oh, it was crazy. It was bonkers last night. It's amazing last night. The loyalty Laker fans have. This team, nine of the last. 10 years has been a mess.

The Laker brand is so strong in Los Angeles. They're not giving the fans as the ticket prices are probably double what they were 12 years ago. And I was watching the game and I'm like, the place is a circus. Staples is crazy. Crypto or whatever they call it. One quick note on Luca. So I'm watching him all the time. I'm obsessed with this guy.

He's incredible. Anytime he missed a shot or turned the ball over, he instantly went to the referee and was complaining. Up and down. I'm not saying first quarter, second quarter, entire game, Colin. I've never seen anyone ride refs like that every single time. I was like, how have they not teed him up? And then Russ and him got into it.

Yep. They don't like that Lucas is like the next dude. Russ was all of, I mean, it was an awesome game last night. Great stuff. Really enjoyed it. And who'd you go with? Some buddies, the Lakers gave me a shout out for my birthday. I saw that.

Pretty nice. Pretty nice. Yeah. Very nice. No, I mean, it's the crowd's nuts. It's amazing. Los Angeles for years and years, people like, L.A. is not a good sports city. The Dodgers out draw. the second team, number two in attendance in baseball, by over 10,000 a game.

And by the way, Dodger Stadium is hard to get in and out of. It's not convenient at all. Crypto, a good setting? I mean, last night was great. Lakers just need to pull out some of these close wins. Yeah, J-Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The Heard Line News. I saw a story this morning. I can't even get over it. We talk about this all the time. It doesn't matter what business it is. There's very little great. There's very little elite. When you get it, grab it, clutch it, hold on to it.

It's not going to be perfect. It may come with ego. There may be some turbulence. I cannot believe what the University of Michigan is doing with Harbaugh. Wait until you hear about this. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hi, this is Jay Glazer. And you may know me for the world of football.

or fighting, or even shows like HBO's ballers. What you don't know is for my entire life, I have lived in something I refer to as the gray, depression, anxiety. So now I'm coming out with a new podcast, Unbreakable, a mental health podcast with Jay Glazer, where each week, while we talk about mental health, I hope to describe it. Give it words.

Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not a lot. 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. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports. and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 Little Kim? 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 a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day

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

Super Wild Card Weekend on Fox starts tomorrow. With the Seahawks taking on the Niners, pregame coverage starts at 2.30 with kickoff at 4.30. Then on Sunday, Saquan Barkley and the Giants take on Kurt Cousins and the Vikings at 4 Eastern All on Fox and the Fox Sports app. So a long, long time ago, I read a story about how it was a cry. I think it was Wall Street Journal. It may have been. It was one of these kind of business barons or something like that. And they were talking about how a lot of people were great at climbing the corporate ladder. They go to Wharton.

They get good grades. They have a great internship. They go in and they move up quickly. But once they became a CEO, they didn't know how to run a business. They were better at climbing the ladder that actually running a business. And many climbed it very quickly, 34, 35. Now they're a CEO of a company. And they're over their skis, experienced.

matters. And Brandon Staley's really, really smart. And he got into the NFL and moved up the ladder very quickly to become the Chargers head coach. But Brian Daiball had far more experience. And the Chargers interviewed both and chose Staley. Brian Daible wasn't a ladder climber. He's an NFL lifer. This is his life. He wants to be a football coach. And he's been around the league with a lot of coaches and a lot of experience. He's a coach of the year, right? Probably. Staley moved up that ladder very quickly and pressed the right people. But I've said this year, I feel like the last two years, the chargers are sort of making it up and don't have an identity. The giants have an absolute identity. And when you look at teams that have an identity, Pete Carroll, the Steelers late

in the year, Andy Reid's teams, Harbaugh's teams, it's a lot of veterans. It's a lot of veterans. that know how to create an identity, things you can count on daily, weekly, monthly. The Chargers, Brandon Staley, wouldn't play starters in the preseason because the game was, quote, meaningless. Then why play starters for three and a half quarters last week in a game that was meaningless? It's been announced today that Mike Williams won't make the trip. Injury so severe, he won't play. That's the difference in the ball game.

Why are you playing Mike Williams? Why did you play Bosa who got dinged up? Why are you playing Derwin James? These are really great players essential to winning, but they have a history of getting dinged up. It's okay. Some guys just get dinged up. Mike Williams is a huge athlete.

Derwin James is a rangy, talented guy, but he plays with so much velocity and speed. He gets banged up a lot. So does Bosa. So this job, this job is a really attractive job. We've said before. This may be the best one on the market. Because you get Justin Herbert, you get Keenan Allen, you get a Bosa.

There's a lot of things. They need to shore up their D-line the middle of it. But this is very, very close to a Super Bowl winning team. It's a really good, I can't tell you how many years in a row. Guys that I know who bet, you know, for a living, they all love the Chargers every year. This is the year and this is the year. And I just feel like if they go to Jacksonville and lose and maybe. situationally, it's weird.

Sean Payton's sitting out there, living on the beach. I'd make the move. You see this all the time. You could go to law school. You could go to what's a great law school. Virginia, Duke, Cal, wherever. And you get a job at a firm, junior party, you work your way up. And then you get your first big case and you're 32.

I'm going to take the 42-year-old attorney who's been in that big case before. He understands the judge. He understands the nuance. is and the texture of a big case. He's been in eight. I just feel like Brandon Staley, you know, he went to the right law school, right? Like he's got all the brain power. But I don't know.

The team doesn't have an identity. Justin Herbert Superman is not an identity. That I just, I've been, I feel like, remember last year when they're going for it, it like the 30 yard line against the Raiders. And you're like, you know, I asked Jimmy Johnson about that. And Jimmy, I think Jimmy said it on the air. it may have been off the air. I'm like, what did you make of that? He goes, it's risk and reward. He goes, coaches play that game all the time. If you got that first down, so what? You needed

six more first downs just to get in field goal range. You don't take that risk. There's no reward. You're just getting a first down. He just didn't understand. The analytics, the analytics, this year, by the way, they don't do that as much. So his brand last year, analytics, go for it. They pulled way back on it. He's made. making it up. He doesn't have an identity. He's just smart. He's the smart lawyer who went to Duke and gets, but he's not good in the room, right? He's not good in the court. He's kind of arrogant. The judge doesn't like him. The jury's turned off by him. You know, it, there's experience matters. Andy Reid has been in so many of these moments. You know, there's a reason. Harbaugh in the playoffs.

Tomlin is an underdog. Andy Reid in big spots, man, you cannot replay. It doesn't matter where you went to law school and how smart you are, how are you in the room, in the moment. And I think Staley playing Mike Williams, and it's not like we're backseat in this thing. Like we were like, what are you doing? Fans, media are not backseat in this thing. Colin, what do you think about the players on the Chargers? Listen, all these guys are in their 20s. They have social media.

They're hearing from the fans. Every single player in that locker room knows what are we doing? This game's meaningless. Now you've got to travel across the country without your game-breaking receiver on the outside. I wonder if this kind of, this is a young team that hasn't been to the playoffs. A lot of these guys, this is not great for the Chargers this weekend.

No. And now you've got to wonder about, is this guy going to survive this? Is our coach going to be back next? I just, this is Staley really literally changes my bet. It literally changes my bet. Okay, so this story is unbelievable. Report. Jim Harbaugh facing key obstacle in Michigan

contract talks. There is a growing Pete Tamill, ESPN, New York Times guy. Very smart knows his stuff. There's a growing chance Harbaugh could leave Michigan. It reads here. According to Tamil, the complicating factor is the NCAA's current allegation of recruiting violation made against the Wolverines. He could face a level one violation. It's severe.

It could result in a suspension for the coach. Michigan's unwilling to move on to a new contract with Harbaugh until the situation is resolved, which could take weeks. Okay, time out. Let me ask Georgia fans. Let me ask Georgia fans. If I told you Kirby Smart will be suspended for six games next year, would you still want him as your coach? Yeah.

Let's say Jim Harbaugh missed six or seven games next year due to health concerns or a family crisis. Would you still want him? There's very little Harbaugh on the market. I've never seen a university. treat a coach who saved their brand. They were five and seven. Half the stadium was empty.

They had like two NFL players on the entire roster. They had no momentum. He saved the program. Ten wins nine months later. A perfect example of how to navigate this, we have it by a great college basketball program, Kansas. So Kansas was under investigation like Michigan football by the NCAA. Bill Self.

violation. What did Kansas do? Kansas was like, well, regardless of what happens, Bill Self, we can't replace him. They gave Bill Self a lifetime extension telling the NCAA and do whatever you want, you're not going to force our hand. We're going to beat your arse when this guy can coach. We're not going anywhere. We like Bill Self because there's no Bill Self on the market. Bill Self's a great coach. All my guys, my NBA guys who rolled their eyes at college basketball, go all love Bill Self. What happened? Like a year later, Kansas won a natty.

So Kansas provided the blueprint on this. Do you think your coach is great? Yeah. Then sign him. Let's say Harbaugh. Oh, Harbaugh. He can do a Bobby Valentine. He can wear a mustache, be in the sidelines, you know,

Colin plays from the first row. Do you think you can get anybody on the market better than Harbaugh? In fact, I'll ask this, close to Harbaugh. The answer is, of course, no. I saw the list of who Harbaugh could be replaced by if he left. I mean, embarrassingly bad. It was brutal. It's guys, Michigan, central Michigan may not hire.

So Kansas showed you how to do it. Do you like the coach? All right. When you deal with a great coach at the college level, they can be a little authoritarian. There's a little bit of ego. You know, you got to, you can be a little turbulent. flight gets a little choppy every once in a while real choppy if you're john calipari in kentucky but do you think you can replace them are they on the market i'll just say it again if usc found

out today oh lincoln riley's going to miss five games next year you think it's going to move off him we'd be like yeah let's just go back to what we had what bill self jim harbaugh those guys you look around you think You just think Michigan football. It's not that hard. It's Michigan football. Do you watch the Rich Rod years? The Brady Hookstaff?

How that worked for it? You do get pre-Nick Sabin what a tire-fire Alabama was. Do you watch Oklahoma last year with Brett Venables? 11 wins. 11 wins. 11 wins. 11 wins. 11 wins. Lincoln, Riley leaves.

Honestly, bad. Unwatchable, blown out half a dozen times. Michigan. You know who they should put on suspension is the athletic director for poor judgment. He's sitting there talking himself out of her ball. You know, we can do a lot better here. Really?

Mm-hmm. Good luck. Blazing five is around the corner. I saw, um, when you went to the Laker game last night, J-Mack, question. So, Luke is the best player on the floor or was LeBron? And I'm talking at their peak last night. Give me the five, six minutes. Who was the best player on the floor?

Luca Donchage, it's not close. Okay, so you think you're there. Luca is significantly better than LeBron. Right now, oh, without question. That is not diminishing LeBron. I mean, I think he was 0 for 7 from 3. Yeah. He doesn't have that quick first step that he used to, which is understandable.

He's old. Luca makes everything look easy. He must have had like five behind the back passes for threes that the Mavs hit. Like, he's just unbelievable right now, Colin. Janus, you know, Durant's hurt again. LeBron's not winning games. It's a yonest. Again, LeBron is playing with some guys who probably are not NBA,

like a 10-day contract guys, but like 20 minutes a night. That's not the case with the maths, you know. Listen, they got to, Lakers got to figure it out. Simplysafecollan.com, free indoor security cam. You sign up today. Property crimes, burglaries rise in the winter.

Go to simply safecollan.com. No safe like Simpliceave. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite unhumor me, with Robert Smygel and Friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L's Mikey Day and 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 encourage. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to learn the hard weight with your favorite therapist, host, Kier Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional

who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed human