The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Rookie QBs

Episode Date: August 8, 2023

Colin looks at the rookie quarterbacks as the NFL preseason is nearly underway and explains which one he expects to struggle the most Michigan football finishes second in the coaches poll and Colin believes Jim Harbaugh doesn't get the respect he deserves for being one of the elite head coaches in the sport   Guest: Michael VickSee 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go.

On a Tuesday, we are jammed. Full Urban Meyer, Nick Wright, Mike Vick, stop by live in Los Angeles. It's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. A lot of choices out there. Thanks for making us part of your day. Ryan in today and all week, as usual. J. Mack is back next week. Good to be here.

Thursday, we are getting preseason NFL football. And one of the games is the New England Patriots, Bill Belichick, defensive coach, he'll play some starters, and the Houston Texans and rookie quarterback C.J. Strout. And it's interesting. I went back this morning and looked in the last decade. That's 10 years. That's a lot of football. Big sample size. We met back and looked at every single.

single first round quarterback pick. There have been exactly 30, and they fall in my opinion into three categories. Six of them are stars. Mahomes, Burrow, Herbert, Lawrence, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson. Can't deny it. Absolutely special. Six of them of 30. Six of 30 are stars. Four others are what I would call high-end starters. There is some star quality, but missing. something. Deshawn Watson, Kyler Murray, Jared Goff, Tua. I'm not a huge Tua fan, but he's got some Drew Brees similarities in terms of

competency and leadership, good guy, super accurate. And then the third category is 20 guys who are not getting to a Super Bowl and certainly not winning it. And that's everybody else. From Baker Mayfield,

Teddy Bridgewater, so six stars, four high-end starters and 20 guys that can't win a Super Bowl. That's where we're at. So this class has three first round quarterbacks. Bryce Young, Anthony Richardson, and C.J. Stroud. And I can see all three of them having some success. And I can see all three failing.

Bryce Young is really small. Anthony Richardson is insanely raw. And C.J. Stroud is just not talented enough to overcome the Houston Texans nonsense. And what really is the most interesting one is probably C.J. Stroud. I mean, it's so random. It's one of the weirdest things in the history of the NFL draft. Ohio State football, top five program all time, maybe top two or three, has never had a legitimate star franchise quarterback for any long-term distance in the NFL.

That is so weird to me. I mean, of all the great programs in America, one, Ohio State never had a star quarterback in the NFL. Joe Burrow was there, but transferred. And I have no real idea why. They've had great coaches, offensive coaches. They get past protection. They have star receivers. My only guess is that being a quarterback at Ohio State doesn't necessarily prepare you for the NFL.

You have such staggering talent around you compared to the rest of your conference, not called Michigan, that it just doesn't prepare you to get hit, to throw into small windows, to have to run for cover. at Ohio State, it's four and five-star linemen, five-star receivers, great coaching staffs, and a conference mostly outside of Michigan, you can walk over. That's my guess. But if you told me today on August 8th, Tuesday, Tuesday, August 8th, I had to pick one that would miss, I would probably pick C.J. Stroud from all the things I've heard in camp. I think Anthony Richardson is so talented that was Shane Steichen, a brilliant offensive coach.

I just think he's going to be productive. I don't know if he's going to win a lot, but he's going to be so absurdly productive. It's like six, four and a half, two 55. He's going to be like tackling a defensive end. Cam Newton, Big Ben, first couple of years. They just ran over people. Josh Allen was completing 55% of his throws for a year, year and a half. He just ran over people.

I can see Anthony Richardson with Shane. Stuyken, a brilliant coach, a star running back, and a good offensive line. I can just see him being productive. Maybe win in five games, but you look up and you're like, yep, nobody plays like that. He could be special. Bryce Young, I think, has a really good head coach in Frank Reich, really good quarterback room, an offensive line that's better than people think, and they ran the football last year, and an owner willing to roll the dice.

I could see him succeeding, not lasting for 15 years, not all play. players are. But he's a smart kid, high school, college, walked into the room and just figured it out very quickly. The reports are very positive so far. And then there's C.J. Stroud, rookie defensive head coach, rookie offensive coordinator, weird owner, below average roster. Like, he's not talented enough to overcome that. But Jared Goff, when he had Jeff Fisher and that staff, was not talented enough to overcome the mess. Then he got an offensive coach, Andrew Whitworth at left tackle. Then it worked.

But if you said today, I've got to pick one today after what I've heard in camp, what I've seen, the video highlights, all the stories. I've been following all of them. If I had to pick one that just won't work, I don't know if C.J. Stroud is good enough to overcome rookie coach, rookie coordinator. impulsive, odd owner and a roster right now that today rebuild. Demico Ryan's the head coach, the rookie head coach, talked about C.J. Stroud as he pre-season opener against the Patriots. What's all, you know, what I've seen is improvement as I talk about each day. That's what we ask for out of all our players is seeking improvement.

And that's what you've seen from him. And he continues to improve. We'll see when games come. I think that's where you really, you know, can judge on where a guy is. based on game situations, practices, one thing, but guys have to get out and get the real competition in the game. Excited to watch, can see all three rookie quarterbacks working, but in a decade,

31st round quarterback, six stars, four high-end starters, and 20 guys who can't win a Super Bowl and probably can't get there. Somebody's not going to make it in this class. You could argue all three could miss. So the USA Today College Football Coach's poll came out yesterday, And speaking of coaches, there's not a bad one in the top 10. No sport in America is more driven by coaching than college football. The coaches in the top 10, Georgia Kirby Smart, Jim Harbaugh, Nick Saban, Ryan Day, Brian Kelly,

Lincoln Riley, number seven's Penn State, James Franklin, Mike Norvell at Florida State. You don't know much about him, but he's a really good coach and they get better every year. Dabo, Sweeney, and Josh Hypoet, Tennessee, who people like a lot. Jim Harbaugh, though, may get more criticism than all of them. And it's weird. Nick Saban whiffed in the NFL, could not make it in professional football. Harbaugh won two division titles, got to three NFC championships and a Super Bowl. And that's inheriting a complete tire fire.

Turn it around immediately. In seven years, if you take out the COVID season, which was a mess, Seven years, five at Michigan, 10 plus wins. 77% wins. He's clearly right now today this morning, led Michigan to a better overall program football-wise today than Ohio State, a top five program. But sports fans tend to be addicted and cling to championships.

So despite the fact that he has never failed and turned around everywhere virtually overnight, including the Niners, he doesn't have natties, so people think less of him. And he's not cool, and he's kind of quirky, and his offense isn't necessarily fun. It's old school. And we all like in the media and fans, we like people we can put into boxes and they're simple. And Harbaugh is complex. No sport is more coach-driven. In the NBA, it's star-driven.

Soccer star-driven. Baseball, payroll, and front-office-driven. NFL, we found that out when Brady and Belichick divorced. It's quarterback-driven. I love Andy Reid, but it's more. Holmes and Andy. College football's top 10, there are no B coaches. They're all A's. But Harbaugh's the one that gets criticism, despite the fact that many college coaches have gone to the NFL Lou Holt, Steve Spurrier, Saban, legendary coaches. Urban Myers on our show today. And the NFL thing

didn't work. Pro football just didn't work for him. For whatever reason. Harbaugh was a star. But there's something about him that rubs people the wrong way. Well, it's Michigan. Everybody wins. Rich Rod didn't. Brady Hoke didn't. That stuff didn't work at all. And Michigan, by the way, doesn't win big as much as you think. One national title in 75 years. They're not LSU, where Ed Orgeron can win a title.

They're not Bama. They're not Georgia. They're not USC. They're not Oklahoma. They're not Ohio State historically. One title in 1997 in 75 years. Two recent coaches, flamed out. Rich Rod and Brady Hoke.

And here's Harbaugh. Not necessarily likable, unorthodox, not cool. Offense isn't that fun to watch. And here he is number two in the country. And clearly, the program of current note, inertia, and momentum in the Big Ten. When you look at their schedule, it becomes pretty clear. Lots and lots of Ws, it will come down to two games. November 11th at Penn State, they may be an underdog, it'll be close. And then hosting Ohio State two weeks later. That's their season. My guess is they're on the table. I think they're that good. At Michigan State will be thorny and prickly. It's a rival. But Michigan this year is the deepest and best they've ever been. And they have a young quarterback who may, may or may not, be a mid to late first round pick. So they've got it all. The coach, the quarterback, the best offensive line

returning in college football, momentum, a star running back, couple of high-end receivers, pass rushers. they've got it all. But yet nobody is embraced less often than Harbaugh as a great coach. Because he's not easy to fit into a box and he doesn't have that title. And fans are uncompromising. You're no good without a title. Charles Barkley doesn't have one. Dan Marino doesn't have one.

But we punish coaches who can't hold up a trophy. Can't wait for the season to start. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd, Weekdays at noon Easter, 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, CliverTaylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok.

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84'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.

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 back. So on this show, and I think on a lot of debate shows or talk shows, there are four or five NFL franchises that get a lot of heat. We bang on the Cowboys a lot.

All of it earned. just not a franchise that finishes season well. Seasons well. We bang on the Packers, you know, Farrvin Rogers, a couple of Super Bowls, but for 30 years they were great Hall of Fame level at quarterback, and they got to, you know, two, three Super Bowls, won a couple of Super Bowls. You feel like they should be more criticized or more successful, right?

Like, but we don't really criticize the Steelers much. We like them, the history of the franchise, good ownership, we like the coach. very redeemable franchise. Once again this year, excellent roster. We consider Mike Tomlin a very good coach. They draft and develop exceedingly well, especially on defense. Excellent ownership. Pack the stadium, huge brand.

But we bang on the Packers and the Cowboys for not winning enough at the end of seasons. You know who's worse than both? The Steelers. They don't win big games anymore. We went back 12 seasons this morning. And we said, who's won the most playoff games in 12 seasons? Now, you can figure out with Tom Brady. New England's the clear winner.

Okay, 16. Mahomes has the Chiefs at 12. Well, Niners have had a great defense seemingly for 10 years, 11. Well, Legion of Boom. Seahawks 9, Raven 7. All right. Rams, a couple of Super Bowl runs there. Seven. Green Bay with Aaron Rogers. Seven. Eagles have some down years, but they're six along with Denver. So you're thinking, okay.

So those are the most playoff wins. They're not first, second, third, fourth, fifth, or sixth. So let's go to the next group. Steeders probably in that group. No, there's four teams in the last 12 years that have won five playoff games. Bengals? Saints, Giants, Box? used to call them the aints Buccaneers Really that wobbly pirate ship Burroughs that good that fast Okay they got to be in the next group Four playoff win No

The Texans are in that group So are the Falcons The Colts and the Bills Are the Steelers in the next group? I mean they had Big Ben Oh there they are Panthers, Titans, Jags, Cowboys Steelers But what's interesting about the Steelers, their playoff wins of that group are the least impressive.

They beat Matt Moore a backup for Miami and A.J. McCarron, a backup for Cincinnati due to injuries. And they didn't score a touchdown with Big Ben to beat Alex Smith and the Chief, six field goals. So 12 years, one playoff win that did not include a touchdown. It was six field goals to beat Kansas City, and that was with Big Ben. and they had embarrassing losses. Remember the one to Tebow, to Blake Bortles, to Baker Mayfield?

It's embarrassing. You know, we bang on the Cowboys and the Packers, and once again, I look at Pittsburgh. I love their roster. I think Kenny Pickett was a good pick. Excellent ownership. Good coach. Draft and develop well.

Very few draft wiffs. And here we are with an over and under of eight and a half wins. I'll go over because Mike, Tom hasn't had a losing season ever. And it's not like it was all facing Tom Brady in that 12 years. They faced him once, 1-0-1-1. It was Baker and Tebow and Bortles.

So once again, it's not exactly screaming elite. Do we like the Steelers more? Is it because we look at the Steelers as highly functional? They don't have the drama that Aaron Rogers and Farr provided. They don't have the ego that the Cowboys provide. They're strong, they're strident. they draft, they develop, and they just don't win big games anymore. Twelve years, Big Ben, absolute first ballot Hall of Famer, one playoff win over a top

quarterback, and they couldn't score a touchdown. Six field goals to beat Alex Smith. Over under again, eight and a half. And for the record, the AFCs never been better. The divisions never had more excellent quarterbacks. I don't know what the near future is, but it doesn't feel like there's a lot of big wins, wins, but not a lot of big wins in their future. Ryan with the news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, Colin, we'll start here in the NFL. Justin Herbert is heading into his fourth NFL season with his five-year, $262 million contract extension, already done. Expectations are high for Herbert to start bringing some post-season success to the Chargers. And Austin Echler spoke about the growth he's seen from his quarterback during this year's training camp. This is, in my opinion, been his biggest step as far as understanding the game.

Me hearing him out there, you know, he understands the protections now. He's seeing it. He's switching, he's switching calls. Not that he has in the past, but now he's really on it right away. Like just that communication in the backfield that we used to have with Philip, you know, he was like 17 years in that I'm starting to see with Herbert right now. I can start to see him really, really maturing into a veteran quarterback, which is amazing. This is the first year I've pushed back on the Chargers. It's the first year I really think this is a multiple playoff win team. I don't, if they can get something out of their cornerback, they went and bought from New England a couple years ago.

J.C. Jackson, I think it has a chance to be a great football. ball team. Yeah, they certainly have tons of talent not only on the offensive side, but on the defensive side. I mean, it's been years, perhaps not you, as you just said, but people have talked about their depth of talent on both sides of the ball. They did have a couple of injuries last year, so they'll have Rishon Slater back. Their great young left tackle, but this is certainly shaping up to be the most promising charger team we've had in a long time. I think so, yeah. We'll stay in the NFL and on the West Coast with the 49ers offense. Got a huge boost last year. with the addition of Christian McCaffrey.

This year he'll enter the season with a full training camp under his belt, and McCaffrey explained why it's been crucial for him to get prepared in the offseason with his team. It's much better. You know, OTOAs were great just to really understand the concepts and really not just learn the running back position, but the whole offense, and understand timing with what the quarterback sees

and what Kyle sees and getting timing right with the O line and juice and the tight-in. So coming into camp, you know, you're not playing catch up. So it's been great to be able to kind of not just learn the offense, but master. Brock Purdy's the guy. Yeah? Yeah. Brock Purdy's the guy. I saw another story this morning that that's, it's nothing against Sam Darnold,

but he's mistake prone or Trey Lance but accuracy issues. This is going to look like last year's team. Absolutely. And, you know, some impressive numbers we saw from the 49ers last season after week eight. Once they had added Christian McCaffrey, they had the best record in the league. Over 28 points per game, which was third, yards per play, second. Wow. Yeah, so Christian McCaffrey really just completely jumpstarted that offense.

You could argue Debo and McCaffrey are the two most versatile players in the NFC. I mean, literally, and that is really the offense. It's the opposite of most NFL offenses where they'll spend money on toys on the perimeter, but not necessarily at quarterback, which is the opposite of what teams do. So they just have, when you have a smart coach and he's got multiple chess pieces, any Reid, Kyle Shanahan, it's just hard to stop. You know what, if you go as great as the Niners defense was last year, they couldn't stop Philadelphia and they couldn't stop Kansas City.

So, I mean, the question's going to become, if Purdy's upright and throwing with these toys, they're going to be a 30-point-a-game team. I don't think there's any doubt. Absolutely. Tons of questions about whether or not Purdy is the guy based off of what we saw last year, but he only really needs to be exactly what we've already seen him do, which is protection and get the ball to the playmakers. We'll wrap it up here with the top 10 from the NFL's top 100 players

that has been released. For the second time in his career, Patrick Mahomes took the spot in poll, voted on by his players. He came in at number one, Justin Jefferson, number two, Jalen Hertz, number three, Nick Bosa, Travis Kelsey, Joe Burrow, Tyree Kill at 7, Josh Allen 8, Micah Parsons, and Chris Jones rounding out the top 10. Hertz feels high to me. I got a lot more wins with Lamar Jackson and Joe Burrow. I like Hertz, but it feels a tad high.

Although he was spectacular. I mean, I think some of the, considering he's a more dynamic, provides more running than Joe Burrow. Maybe that's where they went with that one. The thing that I found interesting is with Patrick Mahomes at one, Travis Kelsey at five, Tyree Kill at seven. So that means the chiefs had three of the top. seven players, but then got better and won the Super Bowl last year despite losing one of them. Just remarkable what they've been able to do. Ryan with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. So this next story, if it was just by itself, left alone, just this story would not be

that big of a deal. But this story isn't just left alone. it's part of an issue in Dallas with their offense. So Zach Martin and the Cowboys were in a stalemate. He's the best guard arguably in football and he's not showing up and Jerry's not giving him a raise. And it's a weird holdout. Cowboys have always compensated him well. He likes them.

They like him. He's making $13.5 million a year as a guard. And he's got two years left on his contract. Guards don't get deals two years early. It's weird. but he's not budging. So again, if just that was a cowboy erosion or regression, you wouldn't worry too much about it.

But great quarterbacks can lose a star, Mahomes and Tyreek Hill. Good quarterbacks can't have the drip, drip, drip of their offensive faucet prevail. So let's think about what Dallas has had since last year. They lost Kellan Moore, the offensive coordinator. I'm sorry, he's better than that. than Brian Schottnheimer, and he's better than Mike McCarthy as a play caller. When he had DAC, they were six first and fourth in points. So losing Kellynne Moore is something.

And then they lost Zeke. And though he doesn't have the burst he once did, Zeke is arguably the best blocking running back in the league. He's gone. Tony Pollard broke his leg. We don't know if he's going to return to full form. Dalton Schultz gave you about 65 to 66 catches a year. He left.

And now your best offensive lineman is gone, Zach Martin. Like, that's a lot of regression for a B to a B plus quarterback. Even if it was Joe Burrow, if I said, yeah, he lost his brilliant offensive coordinator, his best offensive lineman, his best blocking running back, his star running back broke his leg, we're not sure what he's going to be. And oh, by the way, his top producing tight-end. is gone. With Joe Burrow, you'd be like, I don't know. Mahomes, he'd overcome it. Even Joe Burrow, Lamar, Josh Allen Herbert, he'd be like, that's a lot. There's no built in equity. Why would

I trust the Cowboys? They haven't proven they can overcome over the last 20 years. Brady did it every year. Mahalms has proven he's different. But B2B plus quarterbacks, just say it out loud. Best offensive lineman easily gone. Offensive coordinator, young, smart, progressive, gone. Best blocking running back, gone. Top producing tight end, gone. This team's starting to feel very DAC dependent. And though I like him, there's a clear, clear history with

Dax career. When the team becomes more DAC dependent and they throw the ball just 34 times or more, Dallas is a bad football team, when he throws 33 times or fewer, Cowboys are excellent. We don't know what Tony Pollard is. He broke his damn leg. Zeke is gone.

Schultz is gone. Coordinators different. We hear how they want to run the ball, which would be way better if Zach Martin was in camp. There is clearly two DACs. DAC reliant, bad team. Dack dependent, bad team.

DAC with one or more turnovers, bad team. DAC complimentary, throwing 29 times. Dallas with a run game, road grading, very good. And so if you look at Dallas's schedule, what's also a bit alarming here, you cross your fingers that Tony Pollard will be ready to go. Their first two opponents are two of the best defenses they'll face all year. Giants and the Jets. and then they faced New England and San Francisco after Arizona.

So in their first five games, they're going to face four elite defenses. Maybe no Zach Martin, no Kellan Moore, no Dalton Schultz. We're not sure about Tony Pollard, and Zeke doesn't have Dax back as he drops to throw. It's not everything, but it's something. And it's a weird stalemate. Zach Martin's been the classic cowboy, paid well, delivered, fairly compensated, two years left, and is not coming back. Maybe he knows he has them.

Maybe he knows this is his last chance for leverage. The top guard right now, Quentin Nelson, makes about $20 million. There's no way Jerry's going to give him $20 million a year for a guard with two years left. Because Jerry got burned the last time he gave a star running back a contract early. Zeke, he got burned by that. So as the Cowboys turn, interesting stuff. Michael Vic around the corner, Nick Wright, Urban Meyer, stops by two. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific.

Listen to comeback stories. I'm Darren Waller. You may know me best as a tied-in for the New York Giants. You may also know me for my story of overcoming addiction and alcoholism. You may have heard a few of my tracks as an artist or a producer. You may have seen the work that I've done through my foundation. And you may know my friend and co-hosts, Donnie She said. Starkins as well. He's a mindfulness teacher, a yoga instructor, a life coach, a man fully invested

in seeing people reach their fullest potential. And we've come to form this platform of comeback stories to really highlight not only our own adversity, but adversity in the lives of well-known guests with amazing stories. Catch us every week on comeback stories on the 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, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement

to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam 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. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thursday, it's a pivotal quarterfinal matchup at the FIFA Women's World Cup as Spain takes on the Netherlands in prime time. Coverage begins at 8 p.m. Eastern on Fox and the Fox Sports Sports. app. This show is sponsored by BetterHelp. Therapy can bring out a whole new you and BetterHelp makes it easy with a licensed therapist. Go to B-E-T-T-E-R-H-E-L-P-L-P.com 10% off your first month. He was a four-time pro bowler in 13 NFL seasons. When he signed that

10-year $130 million deal, he was at the time the highest paid quarterback. Now many of the young quarterbacks, Justin Herbert, Jalen Hertz. They've gotten, as they call it, the bag. Mike Vic is now joining us, Fox Sports NFL analyst. So go back to when you signed that big contract, Michael. Listen, if I was 25 years old and somebody gave me a couple hundred million dollars, I don't know what I would do. Did it get into your head a little bit for the next few months?

Yeah, it certainly set in, like instantly. You know, I went house hunting and I started looking for a bigger house, and I started looking for more cars and I was just, and even still, once I did all that, Colin, I had so much money left. I was like, you know what? I got bored at a certain point. You know, when it all set in and then,

I started to mature a little bit and then I started to talk about investing and what was important and, you know, finding ways to spend the money as opposed to spending it on splendor. So once I realized what was most important, I started channeling the money in the right directions, but it was certainly cool to have that bag. you said. So Jalen Hertz is going to be interesting. He lost a really, really good offensive coordinator and Shane Steichen who took the Colts job. So Shane Steichen was Justin Herbert's rookie

coordinator, excellent. He goes to Jalen Hertz, two years, excellent, and now you lose him. So go back to your career. You put a lot of trust in your coordinators. They know you better than your teammates do take me through what it's like to love a coordinator and he walks out the door how hard is it it's extremely difficult i mean i think back to the times when i had dan reves who who was pretty much my offensive coordinator um played he's called to play spent a lot of time with them and in two years after injury uh he was gone and now it's a it's a new system it's a new offensive coordinator, new personality, new concepts, everything is all new. And so while as players, we try to feel like it's not uncomfortable, it's really uncomfortable in the back of your mind.

Sure. And in your heart. You know, so, you know, you have to approach it the same way you approach it with, you know, your first coordinator. I'm going to do everything right. I'm going to meet him halfway and meet him in the middle so we can be efficient and make this thing work. Okay, so let's talk young quarterbacks, Justin Fields. So I've said he's a little bit so far of a YouTube quarterback. If you went to YouTube and watched his highlights, he would blow you away. Amazing. Yep.

But as you know, so much of this league is just doing the layups. It's doing the easy stuff. That's 90% of this sport. So when you watch Justin Fields, can he ever be? How long did it take you? Light goes on. You felt totally comfortable in the pocket. Because when I watch him, Michael, I see a young man that the minute it gets a tad uncomfortable,

he is so clearly athletic enough to just run past people. I get it. I saw it with you. I get it. Do you think he, when did you decide? You know what? The pocket is my friend. I'm going to stay here an extra beat.

Well, it wasn't into year two where I got comfortable within the offense where I really felt like I can hang in the pocket. I can go through all my reads and then let my running ability happen instinctually. I think that's the most important thing. When you try to predetermine when to run, I'm going to take off. I'm going to drop back, look left, and then take off and run left. You usually end up running into somebody.

And when it's done naturally, you know, that's when you find a passing lane. You might be able to slide up, push up into a certain area, and then break and contain and get outside of the pass. pocket. But that comes with the comfort level of knowing the offense, understanding, when to pass it, when to run it, and then also I anticipate. And so to Justin's credit, this is year two in this system. Right. I always felt like last year was still going to be a learning curve. You still fairly young. So let's give them credit for that. But now I expect to see what we've seen out of Jaylor Hertz and these young quarterback who progressed in year two and year three,

but being in the same system. Yeah. By the way, they've upgraded. at Tide-end with Robert Tanya from the Packers. They have upgraded with DJ Moore. Darnel Mooney's already really good. The O-line appears to have found their left tackle. So I think most of us feel like this is the year he's going to pop. I want to talk about Anthony Richardson, because C.J. Stroud's a pocket guy, and I think Bryce Young is too. Anthony is unique. One year of starting in college, but he is 65, 255. He's like big, big, Ben or Cam. Like, he's as big as a rush end. I kind of like the idea, Michael, of just kind of letting him go for a year. And when he's figuring out the sport, just go be productive.

What do you expect to see from a kid with only 13 college starts? Honestly, I expect to see at least eight wins this season because he has that type of ability. And, you know, he's going to be in the same offense that Jalen Hurts was in. He's going to get the same teaching, the same tutelage, and he's going to be surrounded with some really good football players on the offensive side of the ball. And I think in today's game, these young quarterbacks, they go through so much from the time they leave Pop Warner, get to high school, and in their collegiate careers. They pretty much learning the game of football year-round. So these guys come in a little bit more advanced. They can handle being a rookie and playing in the National Football League.

The only thing that can be a distraction is what goes on outside of the game. And once they learn to handle that and compartmentalize everything, you know, it all comes together. So I expect eight wins. I expect him to look similar to what we've seen out of Jaylen Hertz's first year and then progressing from there. Yeah, Josh Allen a little bit too. Little Wild his first year running around making plays, getting into the end zone. So last year, Russell Wilson, it didn't work. He put on weight to absorb some hits.

and he was not as elusive. But I still think Russell Wilson can play. But go to your career. So your first three or four years, nobody looked like Michael Vick. And let's be honest, Russell Wilson in his prime, I mean, he was like a kid running through a mall. Nobody ever got a shot at him. Nobody ever hit him. And then all of a sudden, a few shots, you slow down.

It's not the same, Michael. And I think that's where Russell is. He can still move, but it's not quite the same. when did you realize? Was there a linebacker that you couldn't make miss? Was there a moment for you? You're like, time out. I can't outrun all these linebackers.

Yeah. It might have been a little later in my career when I started to feel like I couldn't get away from guys. But I know when Carolina drafted Thomas Davis in 2006 and what they did, they made him the wheel linebacker. We used to run like a bootleg. And sometimes, you know, I used to just keep the bootleg. off a play action pass. And it's just a simple concept, but I would break outside the back door

and just break in Tain and just eat Carolina up for like 10 yards apart. Yeah. At least three times a game, Colin and gained at least 30 to 35 yards on that play. And then they went and drafted Thomas Davis, and all of a sudden that play became obsolete. I couldn't get out the back door no more.

And I'm like, I can't outrun a linebacker who I know it's fast, but he shouldn't be fast enough to walk me down to run me down. And so once I started to realize that it was more so I got to become more of a pocket guy. I got to take a different approach in terms of moving and changing and conduct and controlling the offense. But it's definitely going to happen that you're going to slow down. I think the best thing for Russell right now was Sean Payton coming into the building. Sean is a guy who understands football, understands the game so much. I pour so much from him just in doing TV and us in certain points just breaking down.

what we've seen on this film or what we're watching. And just knowing this is the best thing for Russell in a lot of years of his career, that allowed him to just go out and get back to making plays with his arm and then moving when he has to and being efficient in the offense. So Drew had a lot of success with Sean later in his career, and I expect to see the same thing out of Rush. By the way, I don't know, have you watched the Netflix quarterback docu series at all? Have you watched any of it?

I have. It's really good. Yeah, what do you make? of it. What do you make of it? I like it. I like the day-to-day, you know, just, you know, following guys in their routines and, you know, you get to know a lot about them personally and what they like, what they don't like, you know, the character of the man, the individual. And I think that's very personal for, you know, the fans that watch the game and glorify some of these guys and appreciate what they've done for the game. But it can also be a little bit of a little. disturbing too.

Depends on how much time that you got to put into it and, you know, how your coaches feel about, you know, you on a daily basis being followed and is it a distraction or not. And that's why you probably see a couple of guys turning it down. But I think the veteran guys can handle it and obviously it's up to the coaches to make sure that, you know, it's not a distraction. But I love the concept of showing what these guys do or what we go through or what I went through on a daily basis and how stressful it can be and also how much fun it can be. Yeah, no.

I mean, you went through several stages of your career. There's the young, exciting, Michael. There was some controversy. There was the rebirth. There was the Andy Reed. And it is a long road. Marcus Mariotta has gone from college star to promising Tennessee guy to backup. It is, you know what, man, maturity matters.

All you guys were the best player in your state in high school, the best player in your conference in college. And when I watch that, when I watch that series, even with Mahomes, pro football's humbling. You know? Yeah. Yeah, I think, and at the end of the day, it kind of puts it in perspective. And hopefully for all the fans and the viewers watching, they can appreciate what these guys go through on a weekly basis in order to perform on a Thursday or Sunday or Monday and put

on a good performance. And, you know, sometimes we, the media, you know, we can scrutinize and we can point the fingers of this person and that person. But professor in sports, as you know, Colin, is really, really hard. And I'm glad that the fans get to see that perspective from that standpoint. Michael Vick, Fox NFL kickoff Sundays 11 AM Eastern.

Great to be a teammate, Michael. Nice seeing you. Thanks for stopping by today. Good saying you, Kyle. Good seeing you. Yeah, the Netflix series is really interesting. You see that it's really home as escape. But with Mahomes, there is.

no escape because he's such a big star, a young wife, the brother, the family with Mahalms, his ability to compartmentalize all that stuff is, I couldn't have done it at that age. Just couldn't have done it. I mean, the kids really, really special. We're really lucky. We are, you know, top of next hour as the preseason. I don't even count the Hall of Fame game as a preseason. I mean, they can't get the lights and the showers to work in Canton.

Thursday night, the preseason starts. And so camp's been going on for two or three weeks here. you know, we're all crossing our fingers on injuries. Teams don't hit nearly as much. They do more inner squad games than ever before. So Thursday night is the beginning. Then Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, there is a full slate of game. So I'll give you my pre-season final herd hierarchy, who I believe right now are the 10 best teams in the league. We're going to have a couple of them before the season starts. There's going to be injuries. Stars are going to get hurt. Cross your fingers. But I will have that coming up.

Say hello to endless hot water at home with Navian tankless water. Heaters right now save hundreds, local utility company rebates, and federal tax credits. Find your local Navian contractor. Very simple. Go to tankless made simple.com. 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. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. 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.

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.