The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Steelers win over the Browns

Episode Date: September 19, 2023

While most people will tell you the word "loyalty" is typically a good thing, Colin believes it has become a fault for the Steelers as their offense continues to struggle He discusses Deshaun Watson struggling at the start of the season and why this has once again turned into a messy situation for the Browns Who is to blame for Bears QB Justin Field's poor performance?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule. of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind 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. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Tuesday. Jam packed live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.

Thanks for making that part of your day. One hour from now, our top 10 herd hierarchy. A lot of NFC teams now entering the fray. We thought the AFC was so much better than the NFC. We've got some NFC teams near the top, near the middle. middle, near the bottom. J-Mack. I don't know.

I kind of like Sunday games. A couple of stinkers last night. Not great quarterback play. Both games were close. I thought we'd be celebrating this morning, huh? Carolina Panthers come through for Cowherd. Not really. Got one for the Gipper?

Is that what they say? One for the herd. Better than a loss. So the Steelers, here's the headline, score two defensive touchdowns and a win. That would have been such an awesome headline in the 70s and 80s and maybe the 90s. It isn't an awesome headline today.

Loyalty is one of those words that we view almost empirically as positive, always good. Sometimes you have to move off plans. Sometimes you have to move off people like Matt Canada, the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It's holding the franchise back. But loyalty is so integrated into Pittsburgh's DNA. the O-line, three years, not gotten better. Run game, three years, not gotten better. Quarterback Kenny Pickett's regressed.

They're averaging 4.8 yards of play. Second worst in the entire league, and they got dudes. George Pickens and Jalen Warren and Pat Friarmoot to tie them. They got all sorts of talent here. Stop just being loyal to people. Be loyal to, to performance. Cleveland isn't a Super Bowl threat, but they're a terrible organization. Pittsburgh's an excellent organization, but they're starting to become paralyzed,

so into their brand, so into loyalty. This offense stinks, nine completions, barely 21 minutes, time of possession. Do you know the Steelers? This is embarrassing in 2023. What I'm about to tell you is embarrassing. They are the only NFL team that doesn't have a first down in the entire first quarter. They're averaging under 10 points a game. They're the only offense in the league.

It's not talent. Look around the NFL at many of the young quarterback struggling. Kenny Pickett, defensive culture, defensive head coach, Zach Wilson defensive coach, Justin Fields, defensive head coach, 2-0 when he had Brian Flores, Mac Jones, Belichick. You think it's a coincidence? But the Steelers not only have a defensive head coach and a defensive culture,

and it's when they spend their money, right? That's where they spend it. But Tomlin's being ridiculously loyal, loyal to Matt Canada. I'm not here to call people out. Three or four years at your job and you're not good. He was not an elite offensive coordinator in college football. I mean, Kenny Pickett wakes up every morning

and he's got obstacles, a culture. The money's on the defensive side. The offensive lines not improving. Nine completions? You think it's a coincidence that many of these young quarterbacks are flourishing that have a coach that's from the offensive side, an offensive sensibility. And these offensive coaches, McVeigh and Reed, and they can reinvent an offensive line in a single offseason. This is a mess. The Steelers' loyalty to their them as like a credit card with no limit. But deep down, they got nothing but bills.

They have massive debt. And finally, the friendly Pittsburgh media is finally asking Mike Tomlin real questions. Mike, you talked about you get the big play early. You get another big play. Coming off the game that you did, is that an okay recipe for you is get a couple of big plays and kind of hang on in between. We're not going to apologize for winning. In terms of the slow start of Kenny Pickett,

it seems like it's starting to be recurrent. They talk about Matt Canada, but I don't think it's all on Coach Canada. I think the slow start of Kenny has to take its own responsibility. Question. What's the question? The question is, are you going to do anything to spur them or either one of them to kind of maybe up to any a little bit? Certainly.

You don't have to apologize for winning, but how about when's the last big playoff win? The world has changed. Got to move off plans and move off people. It's no fun. You'd rather be loyal. That's always the goal to vet people, hire right, keep them forever. But things change.

The game's changed. Kansas City spends no money on defense. Chris Jones, kids. Rams are doing that. Aaron Donald. Kids. Keep it cheap on the defensive side. Got to make a change.

Loyalty is almost always a great word. Not today in Pittsburgh with their offense. All right. Cleveland lost. Oh, pity. Poorly run businesses, almost always have two or three things in common. First of all, no attention to detail. That's the Browns.

Throw bad money at mistakes. Panic. not a real culture or accountability. Those are all the Cleveland Browns. So here's Deshawn Watson, who's inactive for two years. That's a red flag. So were the 20 plus civil lawsuits. And they give him a fully guaranteed contract.

What do you know? He's not the old Deshaun Watson. He's not. He's slower. When he runs, he's not running to throw. He's not running to buy time. He's running to run. like the really good quarterbacks.

Mahomes moves, eyes down the field. Justin Herbert moves, eyes down the field. Cleveland panicked. It's what they do. Baker Mayfield didn't pan out. So let's take a huge swing on a creepy guy with civil suits that hasn't played in two seasons. And they're now trapped with an ugly contract,

sad injury to Nick Chubb. You know, it wouldn't surprise me if they panicked again. and then went and got Jonathan Taylor from the Colts and gave up great draft picks and paid him a fortune. That's what Cleveland's done almost my entire life. Bad organizations, they find themselves in holes and they grab a shovel and keep on digging. That's what Cleveland does. You know, it's funny about this too. It's that these bad organizations, they'll have these moments where it's like, oh, we finally got it right.

It was a couple years ago. They had cap flexibility, arguably the best edge rusher in football, Miles Garrett, star receiver, OBJ. Tremendous offensive line. Had Baker Mayfield on a rookie contract, a star running back? Think about that. Great old line. Edge rusher, receiver, back, quarterback in a rookie contract. It was there.

They had a new GM who had a good draft. They had a new coach. He won coach of the year. And Cleveland screwed it up. That's two years later, three years later, three years later, three years later, they cleaned up all that debt. And three years later, they're buying lottery tickets to pay down their car. I mean, they just don't have it.

They don't know what they're doing. They panic. Bad money at worst money. It's what they do. They cannot get out of their own way. And so it didn't hurt me at all to watch. Deshawn Watson last night. Guy didn't play for two years, 20 civil suits, and you're like, yeah, let's give him the best

contract in football, fully guaranteed. Of course Cleveland did that. Of course they would do that. Isn't it remarkable, too? You can try to help people. They finally get free of it. They finally have a little light on the horizon. Oh, there we go.

And two years later, bad decisions, poor choices, and here's Cleveland. hard to root for. And really an organization that's hard to root for. Now they want to blame Stefansky. Now they want to blame, you know, it's Minka Fitzpatrick. Now they want, look in the mirror. All starts at the top. This is not a well-run organization, ownership down.

And I think the GM and the coach are actually very smart people. But you can't get out of the way of an impulsive owner, an owner who panics, an owner who gives a fully guarantee. contract to a creepy guy with civil lawsuits who hadn't played in two years. Well, what's a GM supposed to do? What's a coach supposed to do? I mean, I'm lucky. I've had good management in my career.

If I had crazy management, there's only so much you can do to save a network, right? There's only so much a GM and a coach can do. In Indianapolis, they've had this issue last couple of years. Only so much a GM can do if you have an impulsive owner. But I just, like Cleveland's about. organization. Pittsburgh's a good organization. They have different issues. I'd much prefer Pittsburgh situation. Good players, good coach, good culture over the Cleveland situation. They are buried with that contract. If Kenny Pickett doesn't work, draft another guy next year. You got your defense

all figured out, maybe get an offensive line upgrade somewhere. You got your backs, your tied in, your wide receivers, your defense. Pittsburgh's in a pretty good spot. They're just being overly loyal. Cleveland's in a bad spot, and they've earned every inch of it. All right. Chicago, the blame games already started in Chicago. One hour from now, the herd hierarchy, top 10 NFL team. So there's, you know, I was looking at the standings last night when the games are over, trying to draw some big conclusion from the NFL. And I really couldn't.

We're only two weeks in. I do think head coaches are not playing starters in the preseason. So there's some really bad offensive line play. there's some really bad quarterback play because nobody's playing their starters. That's part of it. But the other thing that's happening in the NFL that I've noticed, you've got to lean in to what a player does well. Not all quarterbacks are 6'4.

They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are hyperathletic. Some are Jared Gough. Some are tall. Some are Tyler Murray. Some are big and strong. Josh Allen. Some aren't.

Bryce Young. But doesn't it make sense? sense that if you have a quarterback, just like having any employee, you find what they're good at, and then you lean into what they're good at. Don't create what's not there. Lean in to what they're good at. And I want to talk about that with the Bears coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard 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 you're 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 you know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Then you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, I said this yesterday and I said it last week. Here we go. It's the blame game in Chicago. Major market media, big expectations, another quarterback, potentially a star from Ohio State, and it's not working out. So I saw a story this morning.

Bears offensive coordinator Luke Getsy deserves now some of the blame for Justin Fields. Here's who's going to take the blame, Justin Fields. Here's why. It's the best college quarterback class I've ever seen in my life. There's seven first round quarterback, six or seven. And the Bears potentially have two top seven or eight picks. Their's in Carolina. They're taking a quarterback. Secondly, this GM and coach didn't draft Justin Fields. They can go to ownership and say, we never wanted this guy. We just tried to make the best of it. That's a that's an out. And see, in 2023, there's too much data and there's too much daunting video against him. Too much damning stats, too much damning video against Justin Fields. He holds on the ball too long.

There's open players everywhere. Justin Fields has taken 10 sacks this year, nine after four seconds. From 2021 to today, he's taken 79 of those sacks with over four. seconds to throw. No quarterback in the league is close to that. And they have good weapons now. Their weapons are good enough. So the GM coach didn't want him. It's a great college quarterback class. And there's just, there's too much evidence. There's video, there's data. He just holds onto the ball too long. He's 27 starts in. And they always say, well, winning is not a quarterback stat. Okay.

Knock yourself out, analytic nerds. Seems to me the great quarterbacks figure out ways to win. You are what your record is. So you can blame the offensive coordinator,

but he does not have a single 300-yard passing game. And now it looks like, as of last weekend, and I think this is a mistake, the bears now seem reluctant to run him. No, that's what he does well.

They're having the same problem in Philadelphia with Jalen Hurst. They sign a big contract. Oh, we've got to protect him. No, you don't. Jalen Hertz is a power running quarterback. Let him run. Baltimore's figure this out. Lamar Jackson runs. Let him run. I'm for Josh Allen running. I'm just not for Buffalo's Josh Allen taking nine hits a game.

Slide. Get out of bounds. Don't jump into piles. If you run, Russell Wilson last year in Denver, run. Lean into what you do. And to me, Justin Field is a tremendous athlete. Top two or three running quarterback in the league. You'd prefer he throws from the pocket. But if the first two options aren't open, let him loose. This weekend, clearly against Tampa, they have decided, we're going to make him be great from the pocket. There is, like Zach Wilson, the possibility he's never going to be great from the pocket.

Jimmy Johnson talked about this yesterday in the herd. I think the number one thing is the quarterback's got to be a great decision maker. And if they don't make good decisions, I don't think you ever correct that. The other thing, they've got to be an accurate thrower. And if they're not accurate, I don't know that you ever correct that. You might improve it a little bit by simplifying the offense, etc. As far as his speed and all this stuff, his quickness, his arm strength, you know, hey, that's down the line.

You know, this is a real thing. Some guys are just naturally accurate. When I watch Caleb Williams at USC, it's just easy. underneath deep he's just accurate ball can be loose picks it up on the fly sidearms it accurate Dion Sanders son shouldur Sanders is so naturally accurate it doesn't matter if he's thrown across his body moving left right ball comes out looks easy shadur Sanders is just born to throw football it's just easy Caleb Williams it's just easy Aaron Rogers Mahalms it's just easy Zach Wilson Justin Fields they're at

athletic, they have good arms. It looks so hard. If it's just not naturally easy for you to throw the ball exactly where you want it, then let them go, let them move, let them run, let them make plays. That's his gift. Unleash it. You may not win a ton of games, but forcing him to do something that he's not great at, I don't think is the answer.

I think Philadelphia has got this identity issue. Jalen Hertz is a power runner. He can throw a pretty football, but lean into what he does. Baltimore's really come to terms with it. Lamar's exhilarating. Can't take away his running ability. Same with Josh Allen. He runs too much.

He takes too many shots. But you have to have Josh Allen run some of the times. Justin Herbert, I think, should run a little more. He's 6.5 and a half. He's 240. He can run over linebackers. Not a ton. But I'd put quarterback draws in for Justin Herbert.

Just figure out how to slide. J. Mack with the news. No. No. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So we haven't really done anything on the first game last night. Saints, Panthers, it was a tough watch.

Oh, I watched every second of it. I did too, but it was a tough watch. Bryce Young is, he has nothing to work. I mean, it was a vanilla game plan. They don't have a receiver that separates. They don't have a star back. The O line's okay. He does not have a, he doesn't have much to work with.

So Young threw for a whopping 153 yards and a touchdown, lost a fumble, took four sacks. You know, the two-minute drive at the end of the game was kind of stick on a pig. They did not look good the entire game. So Pittsburgh's got a ton to work with and they're conservative. Carolina's got nothing to work with. Well, part of the Carolina issue today is Frank Reich and his calling of plays is he need to hand over duties.

Bryce Young dropping back in the pocket, like it just doesn't look right. You look at how they're operating with Tua in Miami. He's moving around, quick passes. So Frank Reich is talking about the blame and it should not be all on Bryce Young. Our struggle on offense, it's not one person. Again, we'll look at the film, but, you know, I thought Bryce still did some really positive things. Made some good plays with his feet, made some good decisions, made good throws, showed plenty of things that we want to see. So it was encouraged by that.

I know how hard it is to play that position. I've been around at a long time. And I know how dependent it is on everything. So we all got to get better. Everybody's got to get better, coaches and players. So that's the way we work through it. Hey, listen, I think this is a team at the trading deadline that could go and get a receiver. They're not paying Bryce anything for four years.

They're not paying their running backs anything. Where are they spending their money? This team does not have a safe. They have the kid they drafted in the second round. Mingo, he had their longest play. They have a bunch of twos and threes. One of them was a bruce young scrabble. This could be, this is a bad receiving court.

to help this kid out. Well, the problem is they gave up DJ Moore in that trade to get Bryce Young. That's fine. Then go get another receiver. Well, they also gave up next year's number one pick. I know. That's not great. So I would say that's another reason you have to go out and get a receiver. It's amazing what you can get. If you're willing to pay a lot of the contract, pick up some of the contract, give a fourth round pickup. But this offense, there's potential there. I think Bryce actually throws a pretty ball. I think he sees the field. I think he's accurate. Nobody is open. Nobody's separate. Now, they do have Hayden Hurst, who, who's a usable tight end.

Don't they have the Hearst kid, the tight end kid? Their tight end's mediocre. They have no skill position players who scare anybody. No defensive coordinator's like, ooh, how are we going to scheme to stop this guy? That's just not happening. They're not a good team. Let's move on to a team that is pretty good.

Dallas and Dak Prescott. Last year, Dak tied for most picks in the league with 15. He has none so far this season. And the pro football focus only has him for one turnover-worthy play, which was the drop pick six by Sauce Gardner. Yeah. Oh, sauce, how did you drop that? Anyways, Dax said he expects this trend to continue.

Won't let it stop him from being aggressive. Every one of them has their story. But that's not where my mind is. It's not something I think about. Just being candid. I really don't care about the questions about them at this point. I'm still going to take some shots. I'm still going to, you know what I mean?

Not shy away from the confidence that I have and the work that we've put in on some one-on-ones and give these guys opportunities. But I don't even think about that at this point. Well, I think Mike McCarthy sort of laid out the offense this year. We're going to run the football, be more conservative, and we were very critical of it. But he saw that team's defense in practice, and his takeaway was, why are we taking big risks? Now, I said this yesterday, and I believe it to be true. This is a Mike Tyson football team.

They're going to knock out their defense is so ferocious in place with such speed and hyper-aggressiveness. Dallas is going to knock out average quarterbacks. You're Daniel Jones, you're Zach Wilson, your Dobbs. They don't have a chance. Mac Jones, you're going to get rolled by this defense. But that was the case last year. The question becomes, last year they lost to Aaron Rogers, Trevor Lawrence, Tom Brady, Jalen Hertz, and they should have lost to Joe Burrow, but it was early in the season he wasn't healthy.

So the bottom line is what happens when you play from behind? What happens when you have to be aggressive? Nobody doubts Dallas is going to win 9, 10, 11 games this year just by knocking out bad old lines and bad quarterbacks. But eventually, the game against San Francisco's interesting. because San Francisco's roster is the equal or better, and there's a chance Dallas plays from behind. That's when I want to see this cowboy team. That's what playoff football is all about. Feels like I don't think Dak Prescott's taken a snap this season when trailing. It's either been neutral, like zero, zero, whatever, or they're winning.

And it's easy to play football that way. You know you got your defense, hand it off, short passes. He's not doing a lot down the field. Do they get caught looking ahead to that San Fran matchup this week against Arizona? They're favored by 13. It's come down some money on the Cardinals. I know. But you've got to be honest here.

That's not a good old line. It's a young quarterback. And he's put all his stuff on film. That running stuff that did against the Giants is all on film. I think it's a bad matchup for Arizona. It's a stay away. I tend to stay away because I do think that matters. We saw Colorado be flat against Colorado State with Oregon coming up.

I think it's inevitable. When you have a huge game the following week, players know who's up next. So I wish Dallas is going to win the game. The question is what the score is going to be. The Sharps will be on Arizona, maybe first half. And Gannon was with the Eagles last year. He knows this Dallas offense. Well, just look at the late season game last year.

Dak Prescott hung a lot of points on him when Minshu started for Philly. Final story, Colin, Tua, Tungavalaoa, was in the MVP conversation last year before the injury. Man, he is now the favorite to win the MVP at plus 500. he's completed 65% of his passes, 715 yards, 4 TDs, 2 picks, and a fumble. You see the other names there that Mahomes fella, Josh Allen. Keep your eye on Lamar Jackson. Just keep your eye on him. Who else?

I don't see Brock Purdy there. I got him 25 to 1 after week 1. Yeah, I mean, those are the guys that should be there. Am I wrong? Should Micah Parsons be in there? Michael Parsons? Oh, I'm on a text thread with some guys. Somebody said 65 to 1.

Oh, I bet. Micah Parsons. And now, I don't know if that's draft kings or what, but if he's 65 to 1 and Dallas gets the number one scene in the NFC. And he, and he has 18 sacks, 18 sacks, six force bumbles. He might win the MVP? I would have no problem voting in. And that's why I bet Brock Purdy, but I guess I should have.

I mean, a defensive player hasn't won it since, was it Lawrence Taylor? Probably, yeah. Did Reggie White ever win one? I doubted Interior D-Linman. Probably Lauren Taylor. It's basically a quarterback award. That's why I think there's some value on Purdy. But I think the culture, I think Micah Parsons is the culture setter for Dallas.

I don't think it's Dak Prescott. Of course. I think you had to be an MVP, you have got to be the guy that leads your team. Nothing against the quarterbacks of the New York Giants, but Lawrence Taylor was the soul of that football team. He was the soul. It wasn't Phil Sims or Haas Stettler or Dave Megget or Mark Bavarro or Harry Carson. They had a bunch of great players. The soul of it, the anger, the speed, the intimidation was Parcells and Lawrence Taylor.

Yeah. So what I mean? To me, Micah Parsons is the baseline for everything Dallas thinks about. You're game planning for Micah Parsons. You're not really worried. You're like CD Lambs really good. You're not worried about him. You're worried about Michael Parsons.

I got to tell you. Shirtzak on the first play, it's over. We have so many. Like when Lawrence Taylor was the best edge rusher in football, if I said to you, who was two through eight. Richard Dent, maybe of the Bears? I mean, I need a list of guys. Look at now, though. A lot of the great athletes know where the money is.

It's quarterback, wide receiver, and edge rock. Is there ever been a time we've got more, now maybe it's just the Bosa family, but I feel like there's like eight elite edge rushers in the NFL. Tough to rank them because T.J. Watt last night. Did you see when you scoop that up? He was like a safety. Miles Garrett, the bosses, T.J. Watt. These got Micah Parsons. They're unblockable. They're just unblockable guys. I mean, it's hard to say because I think everybody's better now than years ago. Lawrence Taylor, you know, and again, it was on TV every week. You watched him. I don't think there's ever going to be anything quite like Lawrence Taylor.

I feel like he was bigger than Micah Parsons, although the way the shoulder pads were back. Everybody looked bigger. If you go watch football players when the shoulder pads, everybody looks gigantic. Lawrence was just, he just, a force of nature. Would bowl over left tackle. Sometimes that's what Micah does. J. Mack with. The news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. I've already got a couple of games. I got to tell you something. It is an interesting week of betting. You would think, after a slow start, a sluggish start, little off-kilter, I would be apprehensive. I've already got my four bets of the week.

Four of them, I love. Four of my love. Are the Steelers one of them? Yep. They're underdogs against the Raiders. I don't know how that's right. Green Bay Line. Packers are a really good number.

Don't you want to see the injury report first? Aaron Jones, Christian Watson? Let me tell you something. I watched the Saints last night. They had one big play up the sideline. You say that, and that's accurate. But according to a website here, deep ball passing, guess who leads the league with the most 40-plus-yard passes?

It's Derek Carr. Russell Wilson, second, Ryan Tannahill, third. That's insane. Everybody else is being... It's two games in. I know, but the two high safeties are keeping everything in front, and none of these guys are throwing the ball down. the field. It's crazy how defenses are kind of dominating early in the season. Yeah, well, nobody,

you know, and this is a great point. Nobody's playing their starters in the preseason. Well, offense is about choreography and chemistry. You have to memorize a playbook. And that, not that there aren't plays on defense, but a lot of defense is blowing crap up, just wrecking a play, blowing stuff up. So when you don't play any starters in the preseason or limited snaps, I have, offensive line play is awful, awful. It's. It won't be in six weeks. Quarterback play so far, even the Mahomes, even the higher level guys. Burrow has been bad.

We're not playing anybody in preseason because once the NFL extended to 17 games, coaches are like, okay, this's a marathon. I can't play my starters in the preseason. So you're seeing this. You're really seeing it in real time. Offenses are behind defense. I mean, last night, I watched four quarterbacks. It was ugly for all of them.

Is that a coincidence? So I think it's just one of these things. A little bit of a culture change. McVeigh said, I'm not going to play any starters in preseason. Everybody followed suit. And now, by the way, the Rams played, if I recall, more starters in the preseason because they had a younger team. So McVeigh kind of pivoted to, no, I'm going to play some of my young guys.

My young guys need work. And the Rams defense has been surprisingly good. It's weird. You're mentioning a lot of quarterbacks. And like, you know, Jordan Love, I think has six touchdowns, no interceptions. but if you look at the game script what they're doing, it's nothing impressive. They have not been great.

So like where's Jordan Love in the court? Is he middle of the pack below average? I don't think we know enough. I think we have to wait to Thanksgiving on Jordan Love. The Saints defense, they can get after it. And if Bakhtiari's out again, well, you love the Packers here. I'm going to wait and see. Can I toss one more at you?

Chiefs versus the Bears. Yes. So hold on. I think 13 headed to 14. Is there any appetite for the Chicago Bears down O2? I'll just say this. The story in Kansas City, they're doing something and the Rams are watching them. So what the Chiefs are doing is all their money is on offense, with the exception of one great defensive lineman.

Everybody else is almost free. And the Rams, they got rid of everybody, except Aaron Donald. The rest of the defense is free. They pay their right tackle. They pay their old line. They pay Cooper Cup. They pay Matt Stafford. They're about to pay, they're tied end.

So there's a little bit of a cultural move here. Money needs to be on offense. Pay for a great edge rusher or a dominating defensive lineman. Back end, cheap, young, fast. Rams, defense impressive, chief's defensive, impressive, impressive, cheap, young and fast. Now, you need a good GM. The Rams hit on some nice picks.

The Chiefs hit on about four the year before. But if you start looking, what did Cincinnati do in this off season? Got rid of their safeties. More money left tackle on offense. I think it's something that's happening. I think it's been happening for two to three years. Kansas City on the forefront of it, kind of leading the way. I'm not saying it's to be all end all.

But if you sort of look at what's around the league, what are the teams, Buffalo's paying too much money for defense? Pittsburgh's paying too much money for defense. Their offense, their offensive lines are kind of stuck. I'm just throwing this stuff out there. I'm not saying that of the answers, but it's something I've been noticing. And I think Kansas City is sort of leading the way. Pay your Chris Jones.

By the way, a one-year deal. Chris may be gone in a year. They're not paying anybody on that defense. A lot of the cap guys who I follow on social media seem to think this is it for Chris Jones. Like he's not coming back to KC after this deal. It's not a great deal for him. Yeah, but he's got to market. Chris Jones has a...

I don't know. You just said pay one guy on defense. Well, he would be the guy. You got to pay somebody in your front five. You've got to have a Von Miller in his prime. to have a Chris Jones and Aaron Donald. You've got to have a T.J.1. Quinn and Williams.

Micah Parsons. Yeah, you've got to pay one of those guys. But you know. The Brown's invested heavily in defenses offseason, and their defense looks like, to me, the best in the AFC. I mean, they looked incredible last night. If Deshawn Watson doesn't give up two turnovers,

the pick six wasn't really his fault. Watson lost that game for them. That wasn't the Brown's defense. Pickett could not move the ball. I think they had like 200 yards of offense. And 70 of it came on the pick and touchdown. All right. Okay.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada 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 experience. loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up On Game with me, LaVar Arington, T.J. Hushmanzada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

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

So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to The Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick 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. 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 on Fox, we got a pack 12 triple header as UCLA faces Utah at 3.30 Eastern.

Oregon State takes on Washington State, followed by Caleb Williams leading fifth-reg U.S.C. against Arizona State. So, J. Mack, I think one of my worst qualities, don't have many. I'm a little impatient. And when I would go to dinner with Sean Peyton or talk with Sean Payton, I appreciated his directness. It could be viewed as impatient, but Sean has no passive aggressive. Sean Peyton's going to tell you how he feels. And that's why I've said, if they don't win in Denver, it will get very turbulent, very quick. I would say there's no passive aggressive to him. He's very direct.

I'm impatient, so who am I to judge anybody? But Sean likes results quickly and mostly because he's been very successful in everything he's done very quickly. So I thought it was interesting that not only did Sean Payton call out Russell Wilson, but he called him out on something that was an issue last year with the team, listen closely. There was a number of drives, you know, where we're late with personnel, getting out of the huddle. We took a while. I mean, that's got to change.

We had to burn timeouts in the first half, and I'm not used to doing. We've got to be better. And I've got to be better. Russ has got to be sharper with getting the play out. And then we've got to look at how much we have in. But, you know, if we need to wristband it, we will. That was an issue last year. We couldn't get plays in on time.

He doubled down on it. it. He went public with it. Used his name. Russell's had the playbook for eight months. He's a veteran quarterback. No excuse, right? So I thought it was interesting that he brought up something publicly. He also brought up something in preseason regarding Nathaniel Hackett. So, and you can say, well, who is Sean Payton? Folks, you get it or you don't. I'm not going to explain it by taking too much time. But before Sean Payton got to New Orleans, the Saints were the laughing stock of the league. They were the Donald Sterling Clippers, but worse. People wore bags to games.

His first year in New Orleans, they went 10 and 6 and won a playoff game. In 15 years, he got to three NFC championships. Outside of a bad call, would have been two Super Bowls. He did get to one, and he won. I mean, he had a year in New Orleans where he went nine and eight with four different quarterbacks in 2021. Utter chaos. He went nine and eight.

He wins games. And the reality is he's, impatient. I had a friend that once worked for Microsoft and he said, man, Bill Gates is impatient. Well, smart people, you know, when you get things done quickly and get results quickly, you can be very impatient. Sean can be a little impatient. If you look at the Denver schedule, maybe I'm just being too impatient. There's a lot of wins potentially on this schedule. Chicago, New York, Green Bay, Minnesota, Cleveland, Houston, New England, Vegas. Those are very winnable games. At Miami this weekend, those two games against Kansas City at Buffalo with this offer.

offense looks tough. The one thing I did say, we're asking Sean Payton to do a lot. He had to rebuild the offensive line. But he didn't play him a ton in the preseason, so the cohesion's taking a while. He's got to fix Russell Wilson. It looks like he has in the first half. He had to change the culture. That's still a work in progress.

So did we ask Sean Payton to do too much? You can argue the offensive line was better last week than week one. You can argue that Russell Wilson's been good in the first half, just not the second. You can argue the culture is better, still too many dumb penalties on defense. So I'm very interested to see the Miami game because you could take two tacks on this. You could look at and say, we'll go week one to week two, considering nobody, you know, they played one quarter of starters in the preseason. And if you go weeks one to week two, the offense was better.

The line was better. I mean, Russell got some sacks, but some of that's holding on to the ball and not seeing down the field because of his size. So I think it's very interesting. And again, I can be very impatient. This schedule, we thought they would go 2 and 0. Denver at home historically is very good in September with the altitude. But there's a lot of wins on this schedule if they can get it right. And you've got to be encouraged with the first halves.

Russell's been great in the first half on script. what's happening in the second, anybody's guess, emotion, confidence, I have no idea. So maybe I'm just being impatient. I think that's certainly a possibility. By the way, here's another story that jumped out to me this morning. And I'll talk about this more later. I saw this morning. The Jets need to end Zach Wilson experiment and trade for Kirk Cousins.

Okay. So, okay, here's the arguments for it. Let me just address this quickly before the herd hierarchy top. the next hour. The arguments for it are Zach Wilson's not very good and they got about 10 million bucks in cap space and Kirk Cousins would cost them about 10 million bucks and his contracts then at the end of the year. You can just bring him on for a season, right? You know, you bring him on. My argument would be, be honest, is this a playoff team with Kirk Cousins? So you're going to tell me with a defensive coach and a defensive current culture with a bad old line.

Kirk Cousins learning a playbook in season, in the AFC. In a division with Miami looks like the best offense in the league and Buffalo stack with players and next time you play them, it's in Buffalo. You think it's a playoff team? Learning a playbook, defensive culture, bad O line. You think it's a playoff team? Now, would the Jets do it? I think Woody Johnson would.

He has a history of making moves, not being patient. But the four is, they got cap space, cost you about $10 million of his contract, and then you could just get rid of it. It'd be quick. You could do that. By the way, far over the jets, boom, gone. You could do that. I just don't, my takeaway is you have to give up draft picks.

This team has some things they have to get next year. First round, left tackle. I don't think they have a second round pick. They got to get another weapon or three. They also need to draft another young quarterback. Zach's going to be gone, cousins have to be gone, and Aaron's coming off an injury. They have to draft a quarterback at some point next year. They have to draft a left tackle, and they need more weapons.

They don't need much on the defensive end. That's the good news. So I wouldn't want to give up a lot of draft capital, right? I wouldn't want to do it. But the argument for it is pretty clear. you're renting Kirk Cousins for about 10 million bucks and you're doing it for four months. I just don't think learning a playbook, defensive culture, shaky O line, Miami's clearly a better team. Buffalo, I think at home when they face them next time is as well.

I don't think it's a playoff team. But if they win this, here's the thing. What if they win this weekend over New England? Then you're like, we don't need Kirk. Or do you say to yourself, we got lucky to beat him, we would have beat him worse with Kirk cousins, let's make the move. You're a Jets fan. What would you do? First of all, hold off. There's no rush, right? You want the Vikings to lose to the Chargers this week. And I think you and I both like the Chargers again. So the Vikings go 0 and 3. Even if the Jets lose this and they lose to

the Chiefs, they should be able to beat the Broncos. So they're two and four. Vikings are, you know, one and five. Kirk, a lot of his salary is already paid off. It's two, six games of the season. So why not if you're the Jets? And it's like, I know the hack at offense, will it mesh with Kirk. Yeah, you got to do a deep dive on. Battleline, Nathaniel Hackett, whose work with one quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Oh, by the way, Kirk, play well over the next eight games. Get to the playoffs. You're going to get paid in the offseason. Heard hierarchy next. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel

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'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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away. such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Bole Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.