The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR 1-Jets, Kyrie Irving, Cowboys, Eagles

Episode Date: October 2, 2020

The Jets might move on from Sam DarnoldKyrie Irving is absolutely wrong about his views on coachesThe Cowboys throw the ball too muchThe Eagles are riddled with injuriesGuest: Albert Breer Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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 IHeart 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. 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 Heard.

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. It is a Friday. Settle in. Lots to discuss. Blazing 5 in an hour, live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, we're on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Again, one hour from now off a red hot week. The Blazing 5 returns. That cowboy Brown's game will just be one of our five picks.

Great to have you in. Enjoy, Taylor. Are you ready to go on a Friday? Miami Lakers tonight. Lakers heavily favored. Heat got a bunch of hurt players. I'm very nervous, I think, as I should be, but I'm excited. And a big weekend of football, too. Huge weekend at college, pro football, NBA basketball, baseball, playoffs.

Let's start here with the obvious stuff. I like Sam Darnel and know Sam Darnel. I watched him playing college. I met him several times, met his family. I was a fan last night rooting for him. I was kind of a fan, rooting for the kid to survive. I generally try not to root, but there are some athletes I like. They stand for what I believe in.

But the New York Jets are bad. They do not have a best player. It's Darnold. They do not have a best unit, according to pro football focus. Last year, the Ravens had 12 pro bowlers. The Jets will have none. And they also have a head coach that's lost and a defensive coordinator that doesn't like the head coach and has come unglued.

I didn't think Darnal was bad last night. He had an amazing run. He led the Jets in rushing. Of course he had to. He completed 40% of his third down conversions. He was throwing to a wide receiver Jeff Smith, who had one career NFL catch before last night. He was sacked six times, hit 10 to 11 times, and overall didn't throw an interception, throwing to a bunch of deck chairs.

I didn't think he was terrible against the Denver team that actually has some talent. But the question remains for Darnold and the Jets. There's only one question. This is the first or second worst team in the NFL. Do you draft Trevor Lawrence or a Justin Fields or do you stick with Darnold? What do you do? It's two interesting options because if you decide to stick with Darnold, you're going to be able to trade the Lawrence pick and get three first round picks,

three second round picks, and maybe a player. And the Jets already have two first round picks in this draft and two first round picks in next draft because of Jamal, Adams. So you would have Sam Darnold, a new coach, two first rounders, two second rounders, maybe three first rounders, maybe three second rounders. And you're getting rid of Labian Bell, obviously, worst kept secret in New York. So you'd have as much cap space as anybody in the league because you're not paying anybody including Donald yet. Would I stay with Donald? Yes, if I could get Urban Meyer, or Lincoln Riley, or Brian Daiball, the offensive coordinator for Buffalo,

elite candidates. Because then Sam Donald, who I still think is a B plus talent, you can win games with that coach and those draft picks and that salary space. But who are the Jets going to get? They're the Jets. Matt Ruhl was a coach at Baylor who's from New York and he said, no thanks. I'll take Carolina. I don't believe the Jets or the Browns or Detroit or the Jaguars at this stage can get elite

candidates. You get one and you cross your fingers. Often they've never even been a head coach. Atlanta's going to have an opening. Good owner, good GM, Matt Ryan. Hey, some good players. That's a good job. Living the heart of the South, Atlanta's a fun city. There's some pressure, but it's almost a college football market. I'd take that job. But the Jets job is probably going to end up going to somebody who's never been a coach before. And by the way, here's why I liked Arnold. With Daniel Jones. or Duane Haskins. I see glimpses of

competency. With Sam Darnold last night again, I see glimpses of great and dynamic and amazing and oh my God, how was he doing it? Bad O'Line, bad receivers, below average running back tight end. There are glimpses that are really

highly impressive and I think he needs coaching. Josh Allen was bad in college and awfulest first year and a half in the NFL. Brian Dable turned him around. Be careful about bailing on young quarterbacks. What do they have to work with? Baker Mayfield appears to be now better today than a year ago today.

He got the better coach. And I don't think Baker is an A prospect. Never have. So it really comes down not to Sam Darnold, but who can you get to coach Sam Darnold? Because if you can't get an elite coach, then you're probably better off getting an A-plus prospect and Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Lawrence with a C coach can win games. Sam Darnold with a C coach can't. And I don't think the Jets can get an A coach.

So this may be the end for Sam Darnold eventually in New York. All right. I have sort of a rule in life, and I have had this rule for a long time. I don't get into arguments with people who say dumb stuff and with people who want to talk nonsense. You go to a party, you meet somebody, you get invited to a party with your wife, there's 30 people there, you start talking, and you run into crazy conspiracy theory guy.

I just nod, fascinating. I'm going to go find the bean dip. I don't really have a lot of agitation in my life because it's one of my life rules I tell my kids. Don't let somebody with no life ruin yours. Don't get into arguments with silly people. Don't talk nonsense. Keep it serious. Keep it straight. Keep it tight circle. Kyrie Irving once said the world was flat.

I'm out. Now he's saying coaches don't matter. Yes, he was on a podcast with Kevin Durant. And this is what he said. We don't need somebody to come in and put their coaching philosophy on everything that we're doing and change up the wheel. And, yo, you guys need to start doing this. And we start running on the first day of practice. It's just like, no.

I don't really see us. having a head coach. You know what I mean? Like, Katie, it could be a head coach. I could be a head coach. Jacques Vaughn could do it one day. It could be, it can be, it's a collaborative effort, I think, on our part. No, not really.

It's, that's not, that's not what it is. It's coaching matters. That's why Nick Nurse won a championship last year. All those years grinding it out, G-League. Nick Nurse is a terrific coach. Now, that's not to say LeBron James can't take Frank Vogel to the finals. LeBron's the best basketball player I've seen since Jordan. I mean, there are players.

Kyrie is not LeBron. He can't stay healthy. Kevin Durant's good, but he's not LeBron mentally and he can't stay healthy. The coaches matter. Eric Spolstra is taking a really good player, Jimmy Butler, a really nice player and a bunch of kids to the NBA finals over Janus, over a Boston team that I think has more talent, certainly more veteran talent.

Are you going to tell me Eric's son? bolstra's not a great coach, or that Rick Carlisle didn't matter winning with Dirk Novitsky and an old Jason kid, of course coaching matters. Mark Jackson was coach of the Warriors. Then Steve Kerr took it over and they suddenly got better. And I like Mark Jackson, but it was an offensive league more so than ever and Kerr was a better fit. The world is flat, I'm out. Coaches don't matter. I'm kind of out on that. I'm not saying Kyrie's not great. That's never really been the question, but he has now bailed on Brad Stevens. He's bailed on LeBron.

The world is flat and coaches don't matter. I'm just not interested in getting into those discussions. The world is around. Coaches matter. Maybe not as much as LeBron, but coaches do matter. Brad Stevens knows what he's doing. I don't think anybody would dispute that. He got to a national championship game at Butler.

Most of you outside of the state of Indiana could not find Butler's campus on a map, Google map, if I gave you four states to look it up. And yes, coaching is a thing. Now, again, it is the NBA, but even in the NBA, Red Arbach, Phil Jackson. I mean, you can go back, Chuck Daly. You know what you find when you find NBA dynasties? you not only find really good players, you also find really good coaches.

That's what you find with every dynasty of my life. Greg Popovich, Chuck Daly, Phil Jackson twice, Red Arbach years and years ago, coaches matter. And I just, I'm not going to spend a lot of time arguing. I'll defend Kyrie on the other opinion he had on the podcast that he always felt he was the best closer on every team he's had. I'll defend that.

He's a great closer. LeBron does a lot of things. You could certainly make an argument as if there was a last shot in a game, Kyrie is terrific. Maybe he was taking a shot at LeBron, but I can defend that. Kevin Durant may be a better closer than LeBron. He's not a better player than LeBron. Although for years people thought he was or it was real close.

But I could coach, Kevin, you could coach. Jock Vaughn could coach said, no, that's not. I'm not going to get into those arguments. Coming up next, blazing five in 45 minutes. Dat Prescott's talking and what he's saying clearly comes from Mike McCarthy. And if this is the vision of the Cowboys, Mike McCarthy needs an optometrist. That is coming up.

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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me,

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

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment and the next we'll talk about life,

mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and a 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. 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 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. Then you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people.

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking.

Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth,

fatherhood, pressure, purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search learn the hard way and listen now. Rec tech, more than a grill, a lifestyle, built by grillers, four grillers, rectech with a queue.com,

r-c-t-e-k-e-k-com, smart grill technology. So, Dak Prescott is not going to stray from the message. He has always been very much aligned with Jerry and the coach. he's not going to stray from it. He believes coaching matters unlike Kyrie Irving.

We know he's not disruptive. We know he's not subversive. That's not his personality. He is very much, here's what the team wants to do, and I will lead us first through the team, the owner, the GM, the coach's message. That's who he is. So when he says this,

it leads me to believe this is how Mike McCarthy sees the vision of the Cowboys going forward with their offense. We want to play faster. play with tempo. Regardless, if we're out by a few touchdowns, the game's tied or we're down. It just gives us more opportunities on offense, more opportunities to create big plays and score more points. So I'd say the tempo is definitely purposeful. That means the Cowboys defense is on the field longer and it is not remotely close to elite. At this point, the Cowboys

defense is not close to very good or good. Although I do think Alden Smith has been been a great, great surprise. Shootout teams, my friends, do not win Super Bowls. What about Patrick Mahomes? The Chiefs hit their stride last year in week 11 when the defense started playing with Chris Jones and Honey Badger, really good football. Why do you give Zeeke, just financially, $100 million or more if you're not going to give him the ball? We've got data since Zeke entered the league. The Cowboys are 35 and 15, when they give him the rock just 15 times or more. Not even 20, not even 30, just 15 times or more.

Start with the running game. We know that complimentary football wins in this league. That's sort of the Vince Lombardi, Bill Parcells, Bill Belichick, Bill Walsh, complimentary football. The Cowboys throw 66% of the time, That is not complimentary. I'll give you an example how much that is. Kansas City has Patrick Mahomes.

They throw 58% of the time. Green Bay has Aaron Rogers. They throw 54% of the time. Baltimore, Lamar Jackson, and great tight-end play throws 50% of the time. And even Russell Wilson, under 60. The Cowboys throw 66% of the time. And I think DAC is way closer to a Matt Ryan than a Patrick Mahomes, Aaron Rogers, or Russell Williams, in really talking sheer raw talent.

If that's the vision of the Cowboys, to me, Mike McCarthy needs an optometrist. This should be, and we've got data, a 55-45-45 pass-run offense. I have no problem with this receiving core letting Dak sling it. He is more than capable, can take hits, durable. and I also like, frankly, when they design run plays for DAC. He can take the shots. He's very good at it. But throwing 66% of the time is getting in track meets.

That's firework shows. That is shootouts. I do not believe that serves the Dallas Cowboys. Maybe against Cleveland, but I don't think that's the way to beat the Rams or Seattle or the better teams on their schedule. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Well, this happened quickly. Doc Rivers has reportedly agreed to become the next head coach of the 76ers. He was out of work 20 minutes. Right. Five-year deal comes only three days after parting ways with the Clippers. And he also is going to reunite with Tobias Harris, who he coached with the Clippers. Tobias was having his best NBA season under Rivers before he was traded to the 76ers in February of last year.

This is the right move for the Sixers. We were talking about this yesterday. I think this was the right place for Doc Rivers. It's the right move for the 76ers. I did not like Dan Tony for this job. I don't think the personnel fits his style of coaching. He doesn't like Biggs. And Doc Rivers, not only as he worked with Tobias Harris before, as I just mentioned,

he has the ability to come in and turn around to an organization very quickly and get everyone on the same page. He's an alpha. He's respected. And he's won a title. So he can come in there with the authority that if you actually want to win a championship, I know how to do that. Also, players can smell blood, and Brett Brown was in trouble, and the players all knew it.

You give Doc a five-year lucrative deal. The players know he's not leaving. If we can't make it work, that's very powerful to young players who can sometimes not work. And there's already questions about it if it can work or not. That's right. So now it's like, oh, they'll get rid of us before they'll get rid of Doc Rivers because I don't even know what the contract is, but Doc ain't working cheap. No.

I'm sure it's going to be compensated well, but the five-year part is the important part. because he's not only going to be compensated while he's going to have the time to see if this works and then build something, as you said, and make the moves. I'm actually excited for it. This will be really fun to watch. I think this will be interesting. I think Doc's going to make the right moves, put the right pieces in place to see if it works with the players that they have now, and then be able to make the necessary changes if it doesn't go the way they want it to.

So the Lakers were obviously dominant in game one of the finals, but LeBron was not happy with his teammates' attitude during the game. According to Chris Haynes, some of them were joking around and celebrating. on the bench when they had their biggest lead of the night. And LeBron turned to them and said, hey, stop it. Stay locked in. This bleep ain't over. Not that Miami was making any kind of significant run. But they did, they did, you know, make a tiny run there.

Get the lead down a little bit. It's like 20 or 19. It's called leaders. That's what leaders do. You're winning big. You kind of step up. He's right, though. I mean, you have to respect your opponent in the finals.

They're there for a reason. Now, obviously, the heat had major injuries in that game, lost BAM, lost Goron, and Jimmy Butler twisted his ankle twice. But a team can go on a run very quickly when you take your foot off the gas. And it kind of felt like they did. Now, obviously, they had a significant lead, which none of us watching really felt like there was a chance of Miami's going to climb back in. But all it takes is a quick run, a couple three-pointers, and then the lead is down to 10, and all of a sudden the momentum of the game has changed. But I think he's really speaking more towards the attitude of the entire series.

than he was that particular game. We know what happened. I mean, you lose a little bit of heart when you lose Bam and Goron and Jimmy's banged up. Like, it does. It has an effect on the team. And even though the heat are the type of team that's not going to give up, you have to have the players on the court. But I think LeBron is really sending a message of let's not get complacence.

We have a mission where we're expected to win here. Let's not, you know, let's not take for granted why we're here. Finally, the Brown's strong rushing attack has made it harder for their star receivers. to get going this season through three games. Jarvis Landry has only 12 catches. And Odell has 11. And after tight-in Harrison Bryant, caught a touchdown last Sunday. Baker Mayfield went over to Jarvis and Odell, put his arms around them and said, I love you, boys. Be patient. Jarvis told Mary Kay Cabot that he appreciated the gesture and said that Baker understands that they all want the ball. Also, it's a new coach and new system with, I think actually this, Brady's dealing with the same thing.

New coach, new system, a lot of weapons. This is smart by Baker. Well, also, the Browns are leaning heavily into the run. As they should. Which is going to take up downs and take away opportunities to get perceptions. I'm not so sure in Tampa. They won't eventually lean heavier into the run. Tom Brady has shown in December, Drew Brees, they get a little older.

I'm not so sure Tampa won't become very fond of Leonard, Furnett and Ronald Jones. and Shady McCoy by November and December. This idea that Brady is going to be a fireworks show. If I had Leonard Furnett and Ronald Jones and those tight ends, I'm not sure I wouldn't become more run-centric in Tampa. Well, firework shows are fun. Yes. But you need to be a little more consistent as an offense and have a little more balance.

The Browns have 53 completions this season through week three. They were 30th in the league and past yards per game, but they were tied for third and rush yards per game. Obviously, Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt are splitting those carries. but when you have running backs like Nick Hunt, or Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt, you need to take advantage of them as well. I mean, this is what we were talking about before the season start, how the Browns are going to distribute to all these weapons.

But you can have too much of a good thing as far as your personalities and how happy everyone is. But if you're winning at the end of the day, how unhappy can you really be? That kind of tells you who you are as a player. And obviously everyone wants to get their numbers and you have Odell and you have Jarvis Landry. That's why Baker felt the need to go over there and tell them. I know you guys want your receptions, but I think as the season goes on, if they continue to win, it won't be such a problem.

Good stuff. Joy, Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Right now, GEICO is offering 15% credit car RV motorcycle. October 7th, though, is the switch date, or you don't get it, October 7th, Geico.com. I want to give you this update. Having watched Sam Darnold last night, I saw this story on Carson Wentz and the Philadelphia Eagles,

and I want to read this to you. The Eagles Injury Report. I'm not joking here. This is not from the Onion website. Only one wide receiver on the active roster took part in yesterday's practice for the Eagles. They issued an injury report. Eight players didn't practice.

Almost all receivers and offensive linemen. The Eagles were down to just Greg Ward as the only healthy receiver on the first. 53-man roster. Okay. Context matters. Context matters. Carson Wentz had one healthy receiver at practice.

Sam Darnold has one competent healthy receiver now. Jamison Crowder with the Jets. Both have bad offensive lines with multiple injuries. One of the reasons I stopped taking calls to the radio show years ago was nobody ever adds context. It's just yelling at bad coaching, quarterbacks. Folks, you have to understand what Carson Wentz is dealing with. And I think it's messing with his head. Is that Carson Wentz now in three straight years, and I don't know how to

explain it. They are falling apart on the offensive line and primarily the wide receiving court. We saw him play last December. We know he's good. We know he can overcome it. But if you face something, like some of these players in the bubble, a month in the bubble, two months in the the bubble, two and a half months in the bubble. You get bubble fatigue. You get resort fatigue, away from your family fatigue. Wouldn't it be fair to argue that Carson Wentz has injury, offensive injury fatigue, and it's messing with his head? I had Greg Cosell on yesterday, and I asked him. I'm like, he was good last year. What's happened to Carson Wentz this year? I think what you're seeing as a quarterback that is just not seeing it as clearly as he should.

his recognition of what he's looking at is not quite as clean. So his elimination of what's not there and his isolation of what is there is not as quick as it needs to be. He's clearly having some ball placement issues. To me, it's almost like a hitter in baseball. When you're red hot, it doesn't matter who the pitcher is. The ball looks like a beach ball. When you're in a slump, it doesn't matter who the pitcher is. The ball looks like a BB.

Isn't it possible that he's praying this week that Al-Shan, Jeffrey hurt often off a Liz Frank injury with no practice time. He's praying he's healthy so they can have two wide receiver sets. I think it's messing with his head. I think he's a young talented quarterback who lost his favorite coach, Frank Reich, had to overcome that. Now he's dealing with scout team receivers. He's under constant pressure because Philadelphia is an intense northeast sports town that doesn't like losing and his backup one. And I think he's a small town kid and it's messing with his head. and I just think it's fatigue. But once again, and I can't explain it,

this team cannot stay healthy. The timing is off. Let's contextualize this. Darnold and Wentz are talented. Wence is probably more talented, but you've got to add some layers to this stuff. These guys are just getting beat up in intense northeast sports town,

taking a lot of heat. They've lost either have a bad coach, Sam Darnold, or lost their favorite coach in Frank Reich, and they're just struggling upstairs. Albert Breer now joining us, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz the best-or-nothing Monday morning quarterback senior NFL reporter. Let's start with the Jets and Adam Gase. He's obviously in big trouble. What are you hearing Albert this morning with the Jets' current head coach?

Well, clearly things didn't go well last night. Sam Donald doesn't look like he's developing on the other side of the ball. They're not playing very disciplined. But I do think that any wholesale change here may wait. And there's one reason why that I think a lot of people are overlooking. Woody Johnson is still in the United Kingdom. And there's a good chance, based on what happens with the election, that he could wind up being back in November or December.

And if you're Woody Johnson and you're going to make a big decision on where your franchise is going going forward, you're going to make decisions on whether or not you're going to pay guys who you fired, you probably want to be there for that. And so I do know that at least going into the year, the idea was that any sort of broad-stroke's decision would probably wait until Woody got done with his ambassadorship towards the end of the calendar year. We'll see what happens.

You know, it could get to a point here where they look at the situation and say it's so toxic in the organization that we have to make a change. But I do think that the return of Woody Johns is a major factor here. I have been shocked by Cam Newton and it's interesting. Free agency has been a little hit and miss for the Patriots. But when you watch their defense and their running game and their coaching, and you look at the one clear issue, which is a lack of a vertical dimension, I watch this New England team play. I think they're built to beat a Kansas City.

I don't think many teams in the league are, but they match out with Kansas City. Could they be a player in the trading deadline, Albert, to add the one dimension they clearly need? I don't know if Belichick thought they would be this good, but I think they may be the only team built to beat Kansas City. Do you think they're a player for an unhappy receiver somewhere? It would take a little bit of a sea change in their approach. This is always going to be the turn-the-page year, and they're eating a lot of dead money this year. And they really wanted to come out of 2020 and into 2021

with clean books financially and a full complement of draft pick. So they would need to shift a little bit off of that philosophy. They could be a little gun-shy because of what happened with Mohammed Sanoo last year. They gave up a second round pick and got almost nothing in return. That said, I do think that there's a little bit. probably a little bit better than even they expect it internally. And I think what you're seeing now, Colin, it's like what you said. They're built to deal with these high-flying teams.

And I think this is another example of the Patriots zagging when everybody else is zinging. You look at it across the league, 220-pound linebackers, corners playing safety, 250-pound defensive ends all built to deal with the passing game. Well, how do you combat that if you're another team? You build a big bullying offense. You draft a left tackle in the first round. You draft a 230-pound tailback in the first round, and you sign a quarterback who's 270 pounds incapable of running the option.

So I'm with you in that they've sort of looked at this as sort of an inefficiency and attack that with the way that they've built the team. And so in that way, they are kind of built to combat what is defense in the NFL right now, but to sell out for a receiver, I think right now would take a little bit of a change in the way that they've approached this year globally. Monday morning quarterback, former beat writer for the Patriots Boston Globe. You know, the knock on Mike McCarthy in Green Bay, there were two. He does not develop running games.

By the way, the Packers running game under the Flour appears to be better. He didn't develop running games, and he wasn't overly creative offensively. But let's stick to the running games. Dax said yesterday, hey, we want to play up tempo. And to me, that's curious because why pay Zeeke all that money and not use him? and I don't think their defense is built to win track meets. I just don't think it is. Is this an odd combination?

Jerry likes Flash. That's why he drafts CD-Lam. Mike doesn't develop great running games. And the Cowboys' current vision may not work with their personnel. Is that a legitimate concern? I think they are sort of stuck in the middle, Colin, no question about it. I mean, you know, just consider this. Like, their offense is sort of like a mismanagement.

of what they used to be. You know, when Jason Garrett was there, Callan Moore, the offensive coordinator under Garrett, is still in place and is still a primary play caller. And Mike McCarthy bringing in his system, and they've said until they were blue in the face, it's still going to be Callan Moore's system. We're going to do this stuff that we've done the last few years.

But I'm telling you, there are marks of Mike McCarthy's offense all over the Cowboys scheme. And I'll give you one very specific example. The last play of the Cowboys Rams game from week one, right? Go back and look at it. It is the play that Mike McCarthy ran in AT&T Stadium as the Packers coach, that miracle throw from Aaron Rogers to Jared Cook. If you go back and you'll look at it, the exact same play called the exact same concept. And so I think they're sort of stuck in between right now where, you know, I think McCarthy really did commit to saying,

okay, like we're doing a lot of things right on offense to begin with, so I'm not going to mess with it. But you're starting to see some of the influence of McCarthy coming in there. And I think because of that, they're still figuring out who they will. want to be offensively, which, as you said, is probably why there are so many hands in the pot right now. Surprise team in the NFL. I thought Buffalo would win the division. They're a little better offensively than I thought.

And Philadelphia is worse than I thought. I think a lot of this, three years of wide receiver and offensive line injuries, and I think there's some mental fatigue in a very intense sport city for Carson Wentz. He feels like a beaten fighter. that's kind of my, I saw him last year. He was really good. Now he's not. What are you hearing about Wentz?

Are there concerns they paid him a lot of money? Are there concerns they can't reel him back in? Well, let's start here. The amount of coaching infrastructure he's lost over his four years in the league's pretty massive. They lost Frank Reich and John D. Philippo coming off the Super Bowl year. They fired a bunch of offensive coaches coming off of last year. I'm not sure that they've really fixed the offensive staff. underneath Doug Peterson. That's a factor. I think, you know, the fact that the rest of the league

caught up to some of the things that they were doing in 2016 and 2017 is a factor because I think you see a quarterback who hasn't learned a counterpunch, who hasn't evolved quite enough as a player. They were doing things to make them comfortable those first two years, and every quarterback's got to evolve past that. And I'll tell you what, Colin, maybe the most alarming thing. Having talked to a few coaches who've coached against him over the first three weeks of this season, they all believe to a man that this is a guy who's in his own head and that you can mess with him defensively right now. And one specific thing that was pointed out to me, how he's squeezing the ball. And if you watch, there are certain plays where he's putting the ball at the feet of his receivers.

That is a sign of a quarterback who's pressing. And so other teams are seeing that they're going to continue to push those buttons. And, you know, really, this sort of feels like a quarterback who mentally may need a little bit of a break. and he's not going to get it because he's in the middle of the season. So I don't know how you fix this on the fly. One thing that was suggested to me was maybe you go back to some of the things that he was comfortable with in 16 and 17, even if the league has caught up to that stuff a little bit to build his confidence back up. But clearly this is a player who's not playing with a lot of confidence right now.

Boy, you've got good sources and great insight. That's why we bring him on, Albert Breer, Monday morning quarterback. Good talking to you, bud. All right, thanks, Colin. Cam Newton sized up Patrick Mahomes. They play each other. And I thought it was a really insightful comment. What does Cam Newton see when he looks at Patrick Mahomes?

Good stuff. Plus Blazing Five. I love my picks. I absolutely love him. I was red hot last week. Bought some new shoes, by the way. Daddy bought some new shoes. These aren't the ones, but I bought them when I won.

Joy looked down. Really? Let me see. Now, these are scuffy old shoes. This was last year's Blanky. amazing five picks. That's what I got from then. That's coming up. Cam's thoughts on my home around the corner. Be sure to catch live

editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast'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, 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 a good. this is right what you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

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 Jette. And I'm Alex English.

We pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack 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.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan, Ryan, Korn, and I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch.

Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels.

of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Fall is coming. Upgrade to Better Wipers. Last two times longer at Walmart. They're called Michelin Endurance XT silicone wiper blades. So Cam Newton, it's almost like his personality has changed. He's become much more serious. reflective when he talks about football now.

He still has style. He's still fun to watch. But it's almost like he's had a little bit of a personality quirk. He's gotten much more serious. And he was talking about Cam Newton this week. He was talking about Patrick Mahomes. Cam is facing Patrick in what is the most entertaining and should be most compelling game this weekend.

And here's Cam's thoughts. It's not like he's just back there. It's just an arcade game as sometimes it looks like it. but he knows exactly what he's doing and how he's manipulating the defense. And, you know, that's the same thing that the Dan Marinos used to do. Obviously, the Tom Brady's, the Aaron Rogers, you know, those guys really have so much command of the offense that, you know, you dictate to the defense. And, you know, that's what he's doing. He's playing the game at a high level.

Hat forward, by the way. I'd love to see that. Of course, this is right. And this is how the NFL has changed. The transition all young quarterbacks have to make to become legends is not just playing the game, but seeing the game before the snap. Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson are talented enough, so is Aaron Rogers, to get out of trouble. But now all three of them, Aaron Wilson and Mahomes, Mahomes the most recent, can get out of trouble at the line of scrimmage.

Farvin Mahomes, again, you can win. with raw talent. But the knock on Farv, Farv was very old school. And remember Namath and Farv and Marino and Elway? The greatest compliment you used to be able to give a quarterback is gunslinger. That guy's got a big arm. He'll throw it through a battleship. That guy doesn't care about interceptions. He is a man. He is an alpha. He is a branch. I was a gunslinger and he'll just take what. And then Peyton Manning arrived and changed a lot. And Bill Walsh arrived and Peyton Manning arrived and everything kind of changed. We didn't talk about arm as much.

It was about going to the line, Peyton Manning in his system, which he controlled with two run plays and a pass play and deciding at the line which he would use, yelling Omaha, Omaha, and there's Breeze yelling, kill, kill, and Dak doing the wipe across the check. This is

Tom Brady recently at the line of scrimmage. Watch Tom Brady here. The game has changed. It's a totally different game. It's now a Montana game. It's a Breeze. It's a Brady. It's not a gunslinger league. That is a knock on you.

And by the way, I had said this coming into the season. I said this a couple different rants. Patrick Mahomes, either it was his passer rating or completion percentage, was only 11th in the league last year. He acknowledged he left a lot on the table. That's with Andy Reed and Travis Kelsey and a good old line and Sammy Watkins and Cheetah. That's with all that stuff.

He wasn't always that accurate. He left a lot on the table. then he acknowledged, I learned to read a defense. It wasn't that his arm got stronger or he got more mobile. The transition, why he's so lethal now, was all mental that he checks out a bad place. This was always one of the knocks and a fair one on Brett Farr. It's why I've always said I prefer Aaron Rogers slightly over Brett Farr because Aaron will get you out of trouble. Brett just relied on raw talent and often I'll just get through it.

And I think this used to be, the biggest compliment used to be in this league, your gunslinger. And it's just not the biggest. Gunslinger now is like, oh, he's sloppy. Gunslinger now is like, ooh, when's he going to graduate to like Josh Allen was a gunslinger? Josh Allen now is surgical with a great arm. The game has changed. And Mahalms embraced it fully in that. And Cam Newton picked up on it.

It looks like an arcade game. It is not. Somebody once told me this about the late Robin Williams, the comedian. He said, his gift, you thought he was at. living. You thought he was just riffing. He's a funniest guy in the world. And Robin knew exactly where he was going when he was on Carson or Leno or Letterman or on stage. He knew every joke. He knew the order it would come in. He made you think he was just riffing and ad-libbing. It's what the great comics do. And it's what the great quarterbacks do to. They're getting

coaching. They're kill, kill, kill, touching their helmet, wiping their chest, Omaha. They're getting out of bad plays. And Mahomes is good enough to get out of him mostly by himself. But if you can get out of him without having to get out of him, like don't get in quicksand so you have to escape from quicksand, just avoid quicksand. And that's really his graduation and Cam Newton has picked it up. And I may be crazy on this. Cam Newton sounds different. He is so much more serious. He's like talking about the game now at the level, I think, is incredibly encouraging, encouraging. for him because what's interesting about Cam now, even though he had a very small market and he had injuries, is that Cam Newton could very well have four to five great years left. And I'm not

so sure. We all considered Cam Newton. I did, and many did, to be a rental, is when you start looking at this team, even if New England went and acquired a Justin Field or a Trey Lance, they'll be too good, obviously, to get a Trevor Lawrence. I don't see Cam as a rental. Maybe he's a three-year rental, maybe a two-year rental, but I think his willingness to embrace this, I think his sort of power running success. I look at New England, they're going to have cap space next year and lots of draft picks. They can make that defense better. I, this is, Cam Newton is one of the two or three stories this year. I just can't get over. I just cannot believe how he has literally said, I almost think his personality is somewhat changed.

You know, this is the great example. I said this once about OBJ. A lot of guys are dying for structure. How do we know Cam didn't want structure? And when he gets it, he flourishes. Like a lot of guys, we just think they're independent. They've got big personalities. OBJ was at his best when LSU had structure and when the New York Giants had

conflict and structure. And by the way, this year, been good, been a good teammate, got structure. Cam's got it. He's thriving. in it. All right. Blazing five top of the hour. Now last week, you can't hold me to my standards. Last week, we were really cooking on the blazing five. I actually am doing something. I love my picks this week, but I'm taking a gamble I usually don't, but I think, I said this earlier this week. Something is happening in the NFL. You get, got to keep your eye on. Everybody's going over.

The overs and the favorites are covering. And a lot of this is, because there was, no preseason, and it's very easy for quarterbacks in July and August to call up their wide receivers and running backs and tight ends and let's go throw the ball around. We saw videos all July and August. You don't call a middle linebacker and say, you want to go practice dropping into coverages. The offenses are way ahead of the defenses. I think they will be for about one more week. I like a couple of favorites this week in our blazing five hour two, and that in L.A. coming up next. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite.

Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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. Clivert 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills 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 Clippert Show on the I-Heart 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. 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. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.