The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - NFL Mediocrity, Blame Aaron Rodgers

Episode Date: November 22, 2023

Tom Brady's comments on the state of the NFLDeion Sanders says players aren't coming to Colorado to get richAaron Rodgers should be blamed for some of the Jets problems this seasonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Podcast, 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 on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app

by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Wednesday. It's going to be our best show of the week. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Joel Klatt stops by, one hour from now college football. Two hours from now, Greg Koe Self stops by.

We moved him up a day. Very excited. Our last show, J. Mack, for one. while. We have to bring it today. We have to have A plus energy. Yeah. We need, we're going to play 40 minutes tonight. And then, you know, then all of a sudden we get a little bit all-star break for us. I love it. I love it. So I am, you know, Tom Brady yesterday talked about the NFL is becoming mediocre. Did you see those comments? Hey, he's not wrong. A lot of totals this week down. Bad quarterbacks. All right. So I want to address that. So Tom Brady, and yes, scoring is down in the NFL, very, very. You know,

very slightly, fourth consecutive year, like a quarter of a point. Some of it, Tom Brady says, is what college football now gives the NFL. Players are not coached. They're bouncing around to programs and transferring in NIL and blah, blah, blah, everybody's moving. And the quality, you're not coming from foundational programs. It's everybody out for themselves. And I'm sure there's all sorts of truths in that.

But to me, it comes down to something that's very simple. football is better when quarterback play is better. And we've had a lot of quarterbacks hurt. And also, because owners now are not 100 millionaires, they're billionaires. Richer people get less patient, more impulsive, demand their way immediately, and people are bailing on quarterbacks faster. They're bailing on coaches faster. There's more chaos in the league.

Used to be an owner was worth $350 million. you would ride that coach for the fourth year. Now you fire him by Thanksgiving of year two or three. So the money in the league is added pressure and made owners more impulsive, firing left and right, bailing on quarterbacks. Everybody feels the pressure. That's the part of it that I believe is true. I don't know if there's data to prove that, but it feels true.

But the other thing that I can say is beyond anecdotal, because I see the ratings is, college and pro football are now seeking more athletic quarterbacks. And I'm okay with that. But C.J. Stroud is the latest quarterback who appears to be a star, and suddenly the Texans with Davis Mills

went from unwatchable to watchable. Why? Because C.J. Stroud completes a lot of passes quickly to playmakers, and nothing more fun in football than watching playmakers make. plays. Look at the 11 quarterbacks I'm listing on this chart. Tua, Purdy, Josh Allen, Goff, Trevor Lawrence, Lamar, Hertz, Dack, Burrow, Mahomes. What do they have in common?

It's not size. It's not arm strength. The average completion percentage is about 67 to 68%. And these are all my favorite teams to watch. Distribute the ball quick. and accurately to playmakers and there's nothing better in football than seeing a Tyreek Hill or a Justin Jefferson could be a Cooper Cup

could be a Brandon IEuk you go to games take away touchdowns when do you get out of your seat you get the ball to Jalen Waddle you get the ball to Amar on St. Brown you get the ball to DJ more players playing in space

what hurts football now isn't that quarterbacks are worse. No, the opposite is true. They're better, younger than ever. The seven-on-seven camps, quarterback coaching starting in the sixth grade is an industry. It's not that the quarterbacks are worse. It's that they now have to go to a second coordinator and a third head coach and a fourth quarterback coach in seven years.

Justin Herbert's wonderful. He's on his third coordinator, his second coach, and they'll probably get rid of this coach at the end of the season. Maybe I'm too impatient. But when you're asking young people to come into a sport that is increasingly difficult because the athletes on the defensive side are bigger and faster, they need more stability, they need more quality coaching, they need more patience. I could tie all of this to the owners. When somebody ask yourself, let's say you made $60,000 a year, you watch every penny. Now you make $120,000 a year.

I kind of blew $70. Okay, $700. Okay, $1,200 in Vegas. You can still pay your cable bill. Now you make $300,000 a year. You take an extra vacation, have a $1,000. third car you don't need. Golf probably more,

more expensively, more often than you should. Well, think about being an owner where your net worth goes from $500 million to $900 to $7 billion. You want what you want, you want it now, you want the coach to win

now, you want the quarterback to be great now, and it all bleeds down. I've talked to these GMs. They all joke the same thing. We're all flipping burgers under complete control from a billionaire who wants his way now. The quarterbacks who get the best coaches, that's why the landing spot is so essential. I don't think Justin Fields is great.

I think he'd be better in Green Bay with that culture, that offensive coach, that offensive line, than Chicago, an old owner, not connected, defensive culture, young people. need help. Go watch college football this year. I find Oregon and Washington, Michigan, so much fun to watch. Why? Because they have first round quarterbacks.

And they have excellent playmakers. So I don't think football's declining, but I think the wealth has created pressure and we're asking our young quarterbacks to be better now and more quickly, and our coordinators to win now more quickly, and our coaches

to win now and more quickly, And it's more firings, more chaos, more new people in the building. You know how lucky I've been in my life? I've worked at two networks. And mostly had the exact same bosses producers. What if I had a new producer every six months? A new cohort every eight. A new owner every four.

Young people need support. You have to be so gifted to overcome the turnstile, the revolving door of NFL owners and their whims and needs. We're blaming the players. It's not on them. It's the chaos created above them. So Dion Sanders said something. I really like this.

That, you know, the transfer portal in the NIL, it scared a lot of people because college football is one of those sports that is really steeped in tradition. I mean, NFL is a business. College football is about the plaque on the wall. There are people been going to Oklahoma games. They've been going for 70 years. They went to the school. I mean, they met their wife there. They started kicking it in Norman and had six kids by the time they got out.

That's that deeply embedded in your life. Football is a business, right? And so the transfer portal and the NIL, it kind of freak everybody out. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, what are we doing here? And Dion Sanders says, hey, we're not for sale at Colorado. Listen, we're not an ATM. That's not going to happen here. If you come to Colorado to play football for me and the Colorado Buffalo is because you really want to play football and receive a wonderful education.

And all the business stuff is going to be handled on the back end if that's the case. But we are not an ATM. You're not coming here to get rich unless you really come here with a plan to go to the NFL and get your degree. Not to come here and be money bagged yo. Okay. Is that a rapper, right? I love that. The transfer portal and the NIL are not the gold rush.

People seem to think they were. Let's take the transfer portal. You all realize the guys that leave a program are all leaving for the same three to four reasons with very few exceptions. They couldn't beat out somebody at their school. They didn't mesh with the coaching staff. And they have a higher opinion of themselves and their talent than reality. So they leave. that's the overwhelming rule of the transfer portal.

You're getting a used car. And with the NFL, excuse me, and with the NIL, it's become NFL free agency. Unless you have the culture set, waste in your money. Just wasting your money. You've got to have the culture first. That's why NFL free agents tend to work at business. better franchises. So if you go look at the top four to five programs right now in the country, right now

winning Georgia, Bama, Michigan's great this year, Oregon, Washington are great. I couldn't tell you who their NIL star is, but I could tell you who U.S.C. was, right? If I know who's making money on your team from NIL, you're probably not going to make the playoff. The transfer portal and NIL explosion scared a lot of people. But once again, as we get to the end of a college football season, it's about four things. Blocking, tackling, coaching, and culture. You are wasting your money if you don't have those four things rolling. All right. Good stuff today. A lot of things going on upstairs today.

I'm heading into the weekend. I'm going to hang out, eat a lot, football a lot, going to an NHL game. Very excited for that. Aaron Rogers, it's very interesting. Aaron Rogers says now he's got some guilt with Zach Wilson's career and erosion. And I want to talk about that. That guilt next. All right, I got a great parlay for you this weekend.

thanks to Draft King Sportsbook. New users, sign up, use the code, Heard, download the app. A lot of fun. Now for my parlay pick of the week via Draft King Sportsbook. Jake Browning is good enough to run the offense.

I'll take the Bengals at home plus one over the Steelers. Offense for Pittsburgh can't move the chains. I'll take the Colt, offensive coach, off a by, Gardner Minchu, minus two and a half hosting the bucks. I think the Colts are a scrappy team and off a buy, they'll win. And the Cardinals plus one at home to beat the Rams.

Rams were severely outplayed by Seattle, but pulled it out late because Seattle went to a backup quarterback. I'll take the Bengals, Colts and Cards. If you want to take the Hurd Parlay, check out Draft King's Sportsbook. New users, the code is heard, H-E-R-D when you download the app. 21-plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler. In New York. Call 8778 Hope & Wye or text Hope and Y. 467-369-369.3. 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. Hey, what's up everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVore Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you have? along with my fellow pro-bowler, T.J. Hushmanzada and Super Bowl champion.

Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up on Game with me, LaVar Arrington, TJ Hushman Zada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast from. 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, 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 with 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 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. 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 back. So I saw this that Aaron Rogers said yesterday that he has some guilt, some personal guilt over the Zach Wilson benching. Zach's a great kid, said Aaron. He's a great kid. A lot of these situations, certain guys are the scapegoat. And what he's basically saying, it's not on Zach. Wilson. Now, I don't think Zach is a very effective quarterback, although I do think he would probably be better if he had a better offensive coordinator. Oh, wait, they hired Aaron's friend, Nathaniel Hackett. Desperate businesses do desperate things. When you get older, you see it time and time again. The Jets basically said, Aaron, we whiffed on a left tackle, we whiffed on a quarterback. What do you want to get here? So they hired it. hired an offensive coordinator who bombed in Denver as a head coach and did not have much of a market. They paid for Randall Cobb, no market. Overpaid for Alan Lazard.

There was no real market. And they signed an unnecessary star running back, Dalvin Cook. That's 0 for four. Nathaniel Hackett hiring, he had no market, Alan Lazard, Randall Cobb, Dalvin Cook, all to appease Aaron. Now, I do think Aaron's bright, not as bright as he thinks, and he's always had this sense that he's a, his coaching acumen and his personnel acumen are much greater than they are. Remember, he pouted and wouldn't get along with Mike McCarthy. Can I give you some stats on Mike McCarthy who may not be my favorite coach? But Mike McCarthy before Aaron Rogers was 21 and 11.

Mike McCarthy after Aaron Rogers and Dallas is 37 and 23. That's a 63% win percentage for the guy who can't coach. That's higher than Pete Carroll and Chuck Knoll and Tom Landry and Sean Peyton and Bill Parcells and Joe Gibbs. Yes, Mike McCarthy has a better win percentage than virtually everybody not named like Andy Reed, Belichick, and Shoeh. Again, he's not my favorite coach, but he can coach. Dack is having his best year ever. Farves last year with McCarthy was excellent, and Aaron Rogers had some of his best years with McCarthy.

But Aaron didn't want to play for him, bad-mouthed him to multiple people, three of them my sources. Aaron has convinced himself. He is a coaching and personnel guru. He's also convinced himself. the geopoliticists, a shaman, and an epidemiologist. He's none of them.

He throws a pretty football. Really, really pretty football. He's a great quarterback in his prime, although he's not now one of the greatest quarterbacks. He's not. But again, you can feel guilt over Zach Wilson. But Zach, that salary cap sort of clogged up with Alan Lazard and a spot taken by Randall Cobb,

and there were better offensive coordinators on the market. And as I said, more than once, Dalvin Cook was unnecessary. You had Breece Hall, capable backups, spend that money on a center or a right tackle. You can feel all the guilt you want. But Aaron flexed. He didn't have a lot of power in Green Bay. He now has it in New York, and he flexed. And he got things, though he will deny he had anything to do with Lazard.

Okay, dokey. But Zach's not a star, not very efficient, but Aaron certainly hasn't made it easier. Nick Wright and I talked about this yesterday. The Jets off season being the Aaron Rogers Friends and Family Plan was an unmitigated disaster. That's undeniable. Cobb can't get on the field. Alan Lazard is at best at this point a number three receiver, and that might be pushing it. Nat Hackett has never called a great offense in the NFL.

People like, oh, he was the O.C. in Green Bay, yes, but LaFleur was calling the offense. Like, there are so many things that the Jets did seemingly to placate Aaron that I, that seemingly just had no actual, they weren't tethered to winning football at all. Yeah, again, nobody's denying that Aaron's a great quarterback, but he fashions himself as an expert in coaching and personnel and lots of other things. And so do many podcasters and people around this country. I'm fine with it. But you can feel all the guilt you want about Zach Wilson.

He's got some baggage on this team that's not his fault. He didn't whiff on a left tackle. He didn't hire Hackett, Alan Lazard, Randall Cobb, Dalvin Cook. Some of this is just on the culture of the Jets. desperate businesses do desperate things. I wouldn't feel guilt. Zach was never going to be a star in this league. But when you flex and you have the occasional power as an employee,

be careful how you use it. You can puncture your momentum, Zach Wilson's momentum, and the franchise's momentum. J-Mac with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

All right, Colin, let's start with, that Ravens, who are the new number one seed in the AFC after that Chiefs loss on Monday. Ravens 8 and 3. Lamar Jackson said, listen, being number one right now, it doesn't really matter. He's right. Mark Andrews out for the season. We're curious how they will bounce back. There are some rumors that Mark Andrews may sneak back by the playoffs.

I have not seen those. I have. Really? Yes, I was on the interweb this morning. Interweb, always reliable interweb. Yes. Mark Andrews. Maybe he'll get Aaron Rogers' shaman to heal him.

By the way, nice usage of shaman. I've never used that word ever before just. Well, it's cool. Sometimes on this show. Have you ever seen a shaman, by the way? We do. I've seen some. At my age, I've seen everything.

Wow. You've seen it all. Ravens, again, I told you guys yesterday, one of the gambling services that's respected in the desert gave out Chargers plus fours down to three and a half. I don't get that. I don't get that bet. I do not understand anything about that bet.

I think the best bet of the weekend is Arizona plus one hosting the Rams. I think that's the best bet of the weekend. Disagree. And I love the Colts minus two and a half hosting the bucks. Be careful. I like that, but I don't know about two and a half. So I guess part of the logic is Chargers were favored in Green Bay. They're not good as favorites, right?

They're getting points at home here. Chargers 0 and 5 in games decided by three points or less. So you think this can be... It feels like a three-point game, doesn't it? Exactly right. So why would I take the Chargers? Because they're getting three and a half.

I think they'll lose by five, six. There's going to be a close game. They're going to lose the game. The question becomes by how much, right, obviously, I'm taking Baltimore. I have Lamar and fantasy, and this is like kind of positioned by myself in the playoffs. By the way, you don't play fantasy, but the fantasy and the gambling, like, it does mix sometimes late in the season. It's tough. So, I mean, I'm rooting for Lamar.

I need him, but I want the charges here, dude. There's a reason their TV ratings are up and the quality of football. Brady's not the only person saying it's down. It's fantasy football and betting. Fantasy football is a powerful mechanism for ratings. I don't play it, but my friends do, and it's great. My 12-year-old and I have five teams. Everybody loves fans.

I think I don't have to do something to see that it's good. Like Adam Sandler movies don't work for me, but people think they're funny. Go watch them. It's okay. No Adam Sandler movie works. Some of them. Uncut gems was great. I thought that was great.

Oh, I love the gambling movie. But my point is, I don't have to think every comedian's funny. It's not built for me, but I can see why people. would think it would be funny. Like prop comedians. Like prop comedians don't do it for me. I like writing. You know, I don't like, hey, here's a chapstick and here's a toilet bowl. That doesn't work for me.

But like, I get why people laugh. It can be funny. To each his own. To each his own. Next up, and these guys are for nobody. The Chiefs Receiving Group. What an abomination Monday night. Officially five drops, but that's total. That's way under. This is a drop, call it. If the ball hits you in the hands, goes through your hands

and hit you in the helmet, that's a drop. Yes. And then here's MVS who must be hanging his head in shame right now after that disaster. Whenever any fan doesn't have a franchise quarterback, they try to talk themselves into what. They always say a lot of drop passes. Mahomes, the last two years, has the most drop passes. He's in first place and has a Super Bowl. Stop using drop passes for not winning a division.

Now, that may cost you a game, Mahomes, last year, this year. Mahomes has more drop passes than anybody. So that's not the reason they lost. They could have won with another catch, but one of the reasons they lost is they have no identity and haven't scored a field goal in three straight second halves. So those drop passes, you look at, say, that's why we lost. No, it's not.

You can't move the chains. In the last three, they couldn't score against Denver in the second half. They couldn't score this week in the second half. They haven't, the Giants. The New York Giants, I think, scored 17 points in the fourth quarter last week. The Chiefs haven't scored a point in three weeks in the second half. So it's not just drop passes. So the big question coming off all the drops is, did Mahomes lose confidence in his receivers?

I would say yes, undeniably so. Matt Nagy says he has full confidence in this Motley crew. We have a lot of trust in these guys, and we believe in them. And I think that's very, very important. And you hear that and you see that from Pat. And it's something that we just continue to stick together and keep working through. And we know it's not going to be easy. We know we need to be better.

when you lose a game, it gets magnified. When you win a game, sometimes it gets deteriorized. And I think we need to understand that, hey, we have good things ahead of us. And let's just stay positive and work through these and we'll be all right. Yeah, I think that's salesmanship because he knows players are going to hear that. I still contend they can win the Super Bowl, but it's going to look different. But 10 teams can win the Super Bowl. Come on, man.

They just cost themselves the inside track on the number one seat column. So why? And now you go into a situation where, you go into a situation. where anybody can watch what the Eagles did. Hey, man, we need to bracket Kelsey. We need to be all over Kelsey. Because guess what, Colin, every third and eight, third and seven. Who you thrown to Justin Watson?

Yeah, but let me ask you. Come on. Outside of Baltimore, name one of these teams that they would have to go play on the road, and it's a harsh environment. We don't know that it's going to be on the road now because the team's lost that. Miami, I'm just telling you, they're going to be live. They went to Buffalo with Skyler Thompson in January.

40% of the fans. If they played, let's say they won't, but let's say they played the dolphins in a playoff game. 40% of the fans would be chief fans. Buffalo, I've watched them lose numerous games. Just lost one to Russell Wilson at home. Jacksonville at home, you're relevant. Miami is the team you've got to watch. You love them.

I hate them. I'm a Jets fan. But I like them in the spot and I did bet some futures on Miami. Nevertheless, Chiefs Raiders, Chiefs are nine and a half. I stay away. Rivalry game. Raiders are a live dog. I can't believe what they did.

against Miami. And that was not a divisional. I thought that game was going to be 40 to 8, 40 to 9. I did too. Miami did not punt for the first three questions. I know. Up and down the field, just like self-inflicted wounds. Well, the Raiders had something to do with it.

Andy Reid has beaten the Raiders five straight, but some of that is like Josh McDaniel. Some of that was Derek Carr. Short week, division rival. By the way, Antonio Pierce, he's trying to get that head job. So this is a, I don't care what you think about the Raiders. That coaching staff, they are looking at seven-figure contracts if they can win a game or two. I'm just one final point. You guys, you and Nick and all these guys can bash.

Oh, Alan Lazard, he's the number three at best. He is. Okay? What the hell is Justin Watson? He's a four? You're force-feeding him 12 passes? You're not paying him anything, so you're- He ain't catching anything.

He didn't, come on, man. He was bad. I don't have a problem having a young receiver that's struggling to catch if I'm not paying him anything. If I'm paying you and you can't catch, then I got a guy. got an issue. It's called Capspace. Okay, so you can cycle in Skymore. We saw him against the Lions. Train wreck. Well, Cadarius Tony. Let's keep him behind the line of scrimmage and try to make him juke seven dudes. Like, I'm just telling, like, I glossed over those problems.

No, no, I think the Niners. Heading into the Seagulls game. You were like, hey, Jason, these are the problems. I was like, eh, they'll be fine. They're not fine. It's weird. You talked me into it. I refuse to listen because I'm a knucklehead. And now I'm just angry. All right, fine, fine, fine. All right. Final story. Let's go to the college football playoff. They released the new rankings yesterday. Yeah. Washington has moved up.

Congrats to your Huskies. They jumped FSU into the number four spot, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan. Here's the thing with FSU, Colin. Their quarterback, Jordan Travis, awesome talent, had a gruesome broken leg. Yeah, he's out for the year, so you can't have Florida State playing the playoffs. Get out of there. FSU fans are going to get angry. Get over.

You're not going to get in. No. It's not happening. If you lose your best player or your star quarterback, that's who you are now. I'm not interested in watching you in the playoffs. A one loss Ohio State has a better chance than an undefeated FSU. I'm sorry. Absolutely true.

I don't make them. Those are the rules. If Ohio State lost an overtime to Michigan, I'd take Ohio State over Florida State, absolutely. 100%. So here's their top 10 on the screen here. Texas looming at 7. Listen, I tried to dial it back when I forget who the guest was that brought up Alabama. Was it Urban Meyer yesterday?

Urban Meyer mentioned Alabama. I'm glad you shut that down pretty quickly. Just hearing their name is total crap. By the way, when you lose and the way you lost, you got pushed around at home, I don't want to hear about how much better you've got. And I don't want to hear this neutral field. The spread would be. I don't care.

You lost. Georgia finally has a first-round NFL quarterback. Carson Vex's like the real deal. Georgia's going to hammer Alabama. You watch. Carson, George has been doing it on talent but without great quarterback play. I mean, again, Stetson, Bennett, Aaron, Marie. I'm not saying they're not talented, but I'm talking,

non-N NFL guys, Carson Beck's an NFL player. He's going to be a first-round quarterback, and you get George's players. Now, their secondaries okay, but Alabama's not going to punish them on the back end because they're not very good at quarterback. One last note on this Ohio State Michigan stuff. So yesterday I had in the mock draft J.J. McCarthy in the top 10. And it's weird. I'm not into it at all.

I don't see it. You know, Fox pushed it out online. I got a lot of heat for Brock Bowers to the Bears because of your cold commit. And the number two was J.J. McCarthy, get him out of here. Shoot him to the moon. I don't want him near my. I don't get it. Let's watch Saturday against the Buckeyes. Okay? Let's see how McCarthy does in a big spot.

Do you know where I'm going to be next Friday? Not this Friday, next Friday. So wait, you're going to NHL this Friday. No, let me say, you're going to a winter league softball game. Nope, Huskies Ducks, Pack 12 Championship in Vegas, baby. I'm going to be there. I'm going to get my third look at Bo Nix Live, my second look at Michael Pennix.

And then I will quickly, all the GMs want my breakdown, obviously, of the proceeding. Oh, by the way, thanks for the invite to the Pact 12 championship. I'm going with friends. That hurts even more. Well, you've got a family and kids and beach volleyball and gun show. Sometimes I need a Vegas getaway.

A little hall pass. Okay, here we go. If Texas loses a game and Bama beats Georgia in the SEC title game, why wouldn't Bama have a shot at the playoffs? Okay, hold on. Wait, repeat that. So, so this is probably one of our Texas guys on the staff. If Texas loses a game, first of all, if Texas loses a game, they're out.

Yeah, yeah, if they lose it right. Okay. And Bama beats Georgia. Not going to happen. In the SEC title game, why wouldn't Bama have a shot at the playoff? Well, because... We've got to go through 50 permutations to get Alabama. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot.

I don't want to do that. Here's what I think's going to happen. Oregon's going to beat Washington kind of soundly. Really? And so Oregon's going to get in. Oregon's only loss is on the last second at Washington. I hope Washington. I mean, I'm from the Northwest.

I'm from Washington. I think Michigan's going to beat Ohio State comfortably. I think Georgia's going to beat Alabama comfortably. And forget Florida State out of here. Sorry, you don't have your star quarterback. It's done. Non-starter. So I think it's going to end up being Georgia, Michigan, Oregon.

Well, who's Texas playing in the Big 12 title game? You know, Missouri looked pretty good last week. Oh, stop it. Who's your quarterback? Chase Daniel? Just kidding, just kidding. I don't know. I just, you know.

You can probably make an argument for Alabama in, but about four things have to happen, and I'm sure three of them aren't. I'm just pretty sure they're not. You can make an argument for Alabama. Is that Greg, a resident? Of course it's Greg. Of course it is. Texas Homer. George is good.

And they've gotten better because their quarterback has gotten better. He's a young kid. George is really good. Urban Meyer and I, Urban Meyer says, Georgia and Oregon are the best two teams in the country. That's what he said yesterday. I think Georgia, Michigan, Oregon are the three best teams in the country. That's what I believe.

And I think Washington's great, but, God, try and beat Oregon again. It's hard enough to beat a good team once. I mean, if Texas Bama played again, I'd probably take Bama just because Texas beat him the first time. You know, rematches are tough. Ask me, I'm a youth sports coach, and I hate beating a team in the regular season.

That's exactly where my mind went. To youth coaching. Six-year-olds have an orange slices at halftime or hard to beat a second time. Jay Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. I'm sweating today.

Look at me. I'm sweating from laughing and it's just a bit of a circus here. 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 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 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 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 is 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. Thank you 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. Saturday is a huge day of college football on Fox, and we kick things off with the game of the year as number two Ohio State takes on number three Michigan on big noon Saturday. Then it's a battle for the Apple Cup as Washington State faces number four Washington at four Eastern. Then Iowa State and K-state square off at eight. It all kicks off Saturday on Fox. Ohio State Michigan. It's not that Michigan's beaten Ohio State. They've clubbed them back-to-back years with C.J. Stroud. And Marvin Harrison, Jr. So with the best college receiver I can ever remember seeing,

and C.J. Stroud, who's been a phenomenal rookie quarterback, Ohio State has been doused, hammered, dominated. And this is a better Michigan team, and now they have the better quarterback. Can I tell you, I saw a former big-time college football quarterback at the gym yesterday. Matt Lerner. I told him I like Michigan. And this guy said a lot of people like Ohio State, I think Ohio State wins. I was caught off guard.

I started to do some more homework last night. I don't see an edge for the Buckeyes. Either do I. I don't get it. I can't find one. What am I missing? The team that wins, the rushing battle between these two teams has won 21 straight times. Michigan is a significantly better run team.

They're both great defenses. They're both top two, three in the country defense. It's not it. They both have very good coaches. That's not it. One, Michigan is a better run team with a better college quarterback and at home. if harbaugh was on the sideline i take michigan in a in a in a clean win i think the i think the harbaugh component not being there i think you can beat everybody in the big 10 except

ohio state without your coach i think everybody else i mean they went to penn state and they beat him right that's a hard environment you can beat everybody in the big 10 without your coach if you're michigan i don't know if you can beat ohio state without your coach i do think it's worth something i didn't if urban mire was off the field or Now, Harbaugh's not your classic, you know, on a headset, calling the play coach. That's a huge gift here. Some of these coaches, like a, I don't know if Lane Kiffin still calls plays, but some of these coaches calling plays, that's like a 14-point swing.

That's a deal breaker. Harbaugh's not that guy. He's more Jimmy Johnson. He's kind of watching it all happen. He's making the occasional fourth down call. Urban Meyer talked about it yesterday. But Michigan has hammered Ohio State twice with a quarterback deficit of significance. one of the games in Columbus.

C.J. Stroud is not just better, was significantly better than the Michigan quarterback he faced. Significantly. Harrison was significantly better than any DB he faced. And Michigan hammered them twice. Now it's in Ann Arbor, and this is the best oldest Michigan team.

I don't see it. Hey, listen, been wrong before, but I told you, I bet Clemson over Ohio State years ago and put, I don't bet big money. Biggest bet I ever made. If Harbaugh was playing, this would be the biggest bet I've ever made in college football, Michigan. But he's not. So it does change stuff. It does.

I mean, Jim's got an influence. But Urban yesterday talked about that. He said, you know, your fourth down calls, your trick plays. There's some stuff a coach does, even if he's not on headset. And I think that stuff matters a lot when it's a rival. Also, Ohio State's got the advantage of getting their butt kicked the last two years. So they're ticked off. They're like an angry team.

but so is Michigan now because of the controversy. So the advantage Ohio State really had is revenge. But now Michigan's got revenge because half the team thinks Ohio State turned them in. The other half thinks the Big Ten's picking on them. So the one advantage Ohio State had is done. The angrier team is Michigan. Usually in a big rivalry game, if I've kicked your butt back-to-back years, you're the angry team.

Michigan's now the angrier team of the two. I remember last week, Michigan came out against Michigan. Maryland and just smacked them in the face 24-3 and they start thinking, oh, we got Ohio State next. And they kind of took their foot off the gas, Maryland came back and covered. Angry Michigan, I think I'll ride with them. But low-scoring, I took the under. I don't think it's going to be another 42 points in Michigan. Oh, God, no.

No, it's low scoring. 24-20, something like that. So we are in week 12 of the NFL, officially two-thirds of the season are complete. Got one-third to go. So here's who I think is now in my Super Bowl bubble. The teams in the bubble can win. The teams on the outside are missing something. So the teams I have in the bubble are Kansas City, Baltimore, and Jacksonville from the

AFC, San Francisco, Philly, and Detroit, that offensive line, that run game in the NFC. I think Buffalo is close but too erratic. Miami's close but is yet to beat a winning team, and the Cowboys have clobbered awful teams, can't beat the good ones, but they're close. Cincinnati would also be in this bubble inside it if Joe Burrow didn't get hurt. So let's start with that. That would be 10 of the 32 teams if Joe Burrow was healthy,

a third of the league. So there's 130 Division I college football programs. About six are good enough to play for a national title. About six. There's 30, what, 30 NBA teams? three and maybe two, Boston and Denver can win the championship. That's about it. So the fact that a third of the NFL of Joe Burrell singularly one player was healthy,

I think a third of the league can win the Super Bowl. And I think you agree with me on all of that, with one exception, the Dallas Cowboys. You think they should be inside that bubble. And I will say, if you look at data, it would lead you to believe I'm wrong and you would be right. Number one point differential in the NFL, Dallas. Number two scoring offense, Dallas. Number five scoring defense, Dallas.

And Dax's having a career year. He really is. But they don't have a single win over a team over 500. Look at their wins. The Giants twice. The Jets. The Rams, Matt Stafford got hurt. Panthers, Patriots, and arguably the worst coach team in the league, the Chargers. Everybody, including Jordan Love, looks great against the Chargers.

So I have said before and I'll say it again, I need those last six games of the year where it's a bully against a bully. Washington, say what you want. It's a division rival. This is seven games. I'd probably go six. Seattle, Philly, Buffalo, Miami, Detroit, and at Washington. That's the games I got to see.

bully against the bully can get physical. Because I think when those games are played, coaching, situational football, and details matter. And there are two things that if you look at that would deeply concern me if I'm a cowboy fan that don't matter in a blowout. Don't matter when it's a bully over a weaker roster. The cowboys are not good in the red zone, offense or defense. They're not good in the red zone. and they're the second most penalized team in the league. So there's a lot of data that would indicate Dallas is a Super Bowl team,

but they're not going to get to play the Panthers or the Rams or the Giants or the Jets. They're not playing any of those teams in January. They're going to play the Eagles and the Lions and the Niners. Yes, and when you play those teams, details and situational football are crucial. It's a bully on a bully, right? And Dallas is a heavily penalized team and not very good in the red zone. It's why I said I thought Derek Henry made a lot of sense for Dallas at the trade deadline. Derek Henry, they'd be a better red zone offense because Tony Pollard's a two.

He's not a powerback. And you can only get so clever and so tricky in the red zone. If you're at the eight-yard line, 70% of your playbook doesn't. doesn't work, right? Like there's just certain things you need, like a good old line, a power running back. So Detroit and Philadelphia and the Niners to me, Detroit, Philadelphia, and the Niners are much better teams in those tight spaces, right? Detroit's run game and O line, Philadelphia, Jalen Hertz, their offensive lines, San Francisco, Christian

McCaffrey, Kyle Shanahan's coaching, Debo Samuel, George Kittle. So I think Dallas is one of those four teams in the NFC, but it worries me because they're more penalized than the Eagles and the Lions and the Niners. And they're worse offensively in the Red Zone on average than those teams. So that's what it comes down to is Dallas is a bit of a bully. Mike Tyson was great in 98% of his fights. But when he met an equal, when he met an Evander Holyfield, he met a Lennox Lewis. And then you could tell Mike wasn't in good enough shape. He didn't have a good enough corner.

He didn't have. Then all the details matter. And that's not all on McCarthy, by the way. It's not. It's just that's what worries me about Dallas. My Super Bowl bubble, once again, it's big. There are a lot of teams now that have emerged, but I have Buffalo, Miami, and Dallas just, just on the outside.

Buffalo too inconsistent. Dallas worries me with the details, and Miami has not really beaten a quality team yet. Hour 2, Joel Clatt. Greg CoSell, too, coming up. 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 I-heart

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

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app. Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 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.