The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - Still impressed with Brock Purdy

Episode Date: October 16, 2023

Colin looks at Brock Purdy's worst performance as the starting QB for the 49ers and why he's still impressed with the second-year player He gives the Jets credit for their impressive win over the Eagles but keeps it real about their ability to sustain it The Bills are relying too much on QB Josh AllenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day in the IHeart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, it is a Monday, and there is a lot to discuss. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day, lots of choices. One hour from now where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong. Plenty of both. Jamak, a lot of surprising outcomes yesterday.

A lot of surprise winners. The question in the NFL, though, is always, is it a game? or is it sustainable? What does it mean big picture? But the Niners have not lost. Week 7 last year, it was the last time they lost a regular season game. So that one kind of shocked everybody, right? It kind of sort of.

I mean, if the kicker, man, I was able to hit a 41-yarder, you draft the guy in the third round. Niners would be okay today, right? Well, I thought the San Francisco loss, for a lot of reasons, was about as good a loss as the NFL has. So you come off a wildly emotional. emotional, dominating win, you know, right over the Cowboys. And then you go on the road, bad weather, two horrible calls go against you.

You've got a seventh round quarterback against the defense that is not only good. Cleveland's defense has given up the fewest yards through five games since 1971 when you could grab people and injure them and jam them into the astro turf. This was a good loss. Debo, Christian McCaffrey were not available when you needed them late. Your O-line couldn't block Cleveland. And here is Brock Purdy, ugly weather, best defense in decades statistically, bad calls. Hey, they were bad.

And yet lined up the potential game-winning field goal. If Brady would have, on the final drive, without Gronkin Edelman, driven it down the field in cruddy weather, and his field goal kicker missed a 41-yarder. You'd blame the kicker, but so many people want to be right on Brock Purdy. He's no good. He's great. He's bad. That now this morning, it's like, well, where's the W?

41-yard kicks the last decade, 81% go through. I watch quarterbacks, especially young quarterbacks, unravel every Sunday. And they unravel for the same reasons. Their O line can't block. San Francisco's couldn't. They're missing. They're stars. McCaffrey-Dibaud gone.

They're on the road. The defense they're facing is better than average. They get a call or two, go against them. That game had unravel written all over it for Brock Purdy. And he didn't. He wasn't great because he's not great. He's good. And that's what I keep saying.

He's not even very good. We don't know that. He's good. And that is what Kirk Cousins is and has won playoff games and the division. So again, everybody wants to be right on Brock Purdy. So the Brock Purdy critics, I told you, you tell me, outside of a Mahomes or an Allen or a Burrell or a Lamar, who's going on the road against the best statistical defense since 71, don't have two of your top three stars, off an emotional win, two calls, bad ones go against you,

and your O-line cannot block Cleveland, and you had three drop passes, a couple from Brandon Ayuk really disappointing. So, I mean, my wife says this all the time. It's not about being right or wrong. In life, you're right or you're learning. And I thought yesterday, I learned a lot about Brock Purdy. There were a lot of reasons to unravel.

Same reason I've been impressed with C.J. Stroud, but you're talking about calls won't go your way. You don't have McCaffrey and Debo, your two chest pieces? This defense, Niners couldn't block them. Drop passes, bad calls. And instead, you got a 41-yarder to win it on the road in bad weather, which in the NFL, 81% of the time, last decade, goes through. So, you know, nobody likes to lose. Nobody goes undefeated since the 72 dolphins. But I thought overall, that's about as good a loss as you could have in the NFL. Kyle after. We went in thinking it was going to be a grinding game like it was,

but it's, you know, we would have felt really good initially like coming in if we've made that on the last play. But my message to them was regardless of whether we hit that or not, there's a lot of stuff from this game that we got to improve on. I thought we made way too many mistakes on offense. It's our first time having to come in after a loss in a long time, and it's time to get back in, go to work, and make sure we come back next week stronger. All right, the Philadelphia. Philadelphia Eagles lost yesterday, although, let's be honest, last four or five weeks, as Jay Mack often says, they've been playing with their food. Niners have been rolling people. Best roster we've seen in a long time.

All right. Philadelphia, this thing was going to happen, so it happened against the Jets. So it should be noted the Jets are 3 and 0 when they force three takeaways or more. They're 0 and 3 when they don't. So what you saw yesterday is not terribly sustainable. Zach Wilson beat Philadelphia with a 73 passer rating. Reality, eventually, in an offensive-driven league, you'll have to be better on third down than 18 of 72. The Jets are easily the worst third-down team in the league.

But passion, defense, takeaway, as good coach can win games. The Jets are staying alive without Aaron Rogers. It is a great story. He's out there, eyeball emojis. Look at Aaron doing his stuff. thing, it's fun. But you can't win in this league just with defense. I see this all the time with diets.

People will do a juice cleanse and they'll lose eight pounds in 26 hours. But eventually, you'll need a piece of toast. Eventually, you've got to pick up third downs. Eventually, you'll face a really good coach and a quarterback and it won't be a home game like it is against Philly or against Kansas City. and if they made the playoffs, they wouldn't be at home. This is a great story and it's great drama, and I think it's a really well-coached team.

But defensive players, as you know, statistically, get hurt more than offensive players. Jets yesterday missing all their corners. I like the story of the Jets, and I've had a juice cleanse once too. But eventually I went back to pizza, a beer, and carbs. Not all wins are sustainable. The Jets make life very, very difficult for quarterbacks.

We've seen teams like this. And the fact that they're missing corners and still good is a testament to somebody who I have defended on this show over and over. I always say when it comes to coaches, even if you're not winning, is your side of the ball tight? Is your side of the ball dynamic? Yes, it is with the Jets. And Robert Solid deserves a ton of credit.

And Philadelphia, unlike the Niners, they've been screwing around for weeks. I don't think Philadelphia can find their identity. I just think they're really talented. But I still believe they are missing Shane Stike and the offensive coordinator. They're just off. Now, last year, we talked about this in the summer. Philadelphia last year got a lot of big leads. They had a great coordinator.

Playing from ahead by two touchdowns is different than last night. So Jalen Hertz has predictably pulled back a little. Philadelphia is still loaded, probably second in the league to San Francisco in roster architecture, top to bottom. But I don't think this is terribly sustainable. It's just a great Sunday. It's just a great Sunday. It's a lot of fun.

And Robert Sala talked about it after. I thought defense, per the usual, outstanding. You know, through these first six weeks, we've played a gauntlet of quarterbacks. and I know we haven't gotten all wins, but we've embarrassed all of them. And just really, really proud of the defense and its resolve. I don't know if they embarrassed Patrick Mahomes. Patrick Mahomes eventually took the ball for seven minutes, toyed with your defense, and won the game.

So I don't know if you embarrassed Patrick Mahomes. But the point is a lot of pride, a lot of passion, a lot of takeaways, a lot of defense. You're not going to win a lot of games. When it matters in December and January, with a 73 passer rating from your quarterback. I don't think it's terribly sustainable. And that in this league is what it's all about. We saw USC this weekend.

Flashy, flashy, flashy, flashy, not sustainable. At some point, you have to run the football. Colorado football. Flashy, flashy, flashy, not sustainable. You've got to get a pass rush. So Zach Wilson this season is 31st or 32nd or 33rd in completion, touchdown interception, passer rating. Also, again, defensive players, on average in the NFL, get hurt more than offensive players.

So relying on a relentless defense week after week is just not something we've seen happen in this league a lot. Think how good the Niners defense has been year after year after year. Like Hall of Fame good, and they have struggled to close out seasons, losing at the end, winning in the early in the middle. All right, Colin right, Colin wrong. of our number two. Great college football stories this weekend. What to make the Buffalo Bills,

which I think I've probably just overvalued Buffalo's talent. You know how sometimes you get into these cycles where you're convincing yourself, you're right? And I watch, I watch Buffalo too many Sundays about one out of three,

and I'm like, I'm just not sure outside of Josh Allen and maybe Stefan Diggs and an edge rusher. How good is their talent? Am I overvaluing it? Yeah, AFC is a muddled mess. Did you see 13 of the 16 teams in the AFC or 500 or better? And like, I don't know if the bills are that much better than anybody.

I don't think the Bengals, Bengals got outplayed yesterday. I know you had them. Congrats. They got outplayed by Seattle. I will say this. A lot of people did not watch the London game. I thought Lamar Jackson's first half in London was the most impressive first half. all things told, running, passing of any quarterback I've seen.

People are not watching Baltimore. It's a London game. They lost to the Steelers. They've had drop passes more than any team in the league. At Baltimore first half on the road in London, it was jaw dropping. I mean, Vrable and his defense, which is good, had no idea what to do. They were completely over their head. Keep your eye on Lamar Jackson.

He has become a really. good pocket passer. He was doing sidearm stuff, running, throwing deep underneath. I was blown away by him. So can I ask why the OC kept calling runs in the red zone? Did you see the stat that they got to the red zone? And I think ran 16 of 19 plays that were running plays. I know.

What are you doing? I know. Red zone's tough. It's a congested area. Tough for a lot of team. You ever notice how often we criticize the coach because of the red zone decisions? It's congested. Half of your playbook, three quarters of your playbook is out.

Can't use it. It's hard. You're to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble. stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care 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 a here, unpack what we're. down and try to make sense of how we survived it.

Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so. Then you're finishing that sentence. Yes.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people who really. 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. So everybody's complaining about the officiating this weekend. Listen, it's hard. You know, Niners yesterday. Can't blame the officials. Your O line could not block the D line. Giant fans want to blame the officials. Did you watch your Red Zone offense at the end of the first half? and you want to blame a call at the end of the game that goes either way. That was the worst end of a half clock management situation I've ever seen.

It got Mike McCarthy off the hook for that DAC slide with no time left at the end a few years ago. So Josh Allen was really bad early. The offense was. Then he had a better second half. But I feel like Jim Kelly, there's a little Josh Allen there, Jim Kelly, 11 years in Buffalo, big, strong armed. 11 years, 6 division titles, dominated his division, four Super Bowls, Real Hollow, zero trophies.

Buffalo could never get the brilliance of Montana and Walsh in San Francisco, or the dynamic Troy Aitman and Jimmy Johnson, or the toughness of Parcells and the New York Giants. No trophies. 11 great years in Buffalo with Jim Kelly, and I feel like I'm seeing the same thing. Great quarterback, really good roster, I feel like they're wasting his prime.

How many years are we going to give Sean McDermott to figure out the offensive line? It's like six years now. It's still inconsistent. How about the run game, middle of the pack in the NFL? Once again, nights, days, Sundays it disappears. Weapons, defensive coach, has developed once. Stefan Diggs and they had to go trade for him. I feel like I'm seeing Jim Kelly again.

This transcendent all-time talent, big getting shot. hit hit pounded away never forget how quickly big ben and cam aged in this league and how gracefully tom brady did tom didn't get hit cam big ben josh allen reminds me the same player run over linebackers leap over safeties that stuff those windows are very short listen russell wilson avoided hits and we've seen him age and he's not to 35 yet. So I think Josh Allen's prime is a much shorter prime than a quarterback who's more pocket driven. This guy is a mobile guy. Oh, lines not great, run game not great. It really comes down to how well did Josh Allen play for us. First half didn't play well. Team was bad. Second half, he put on a cape, played better, and the bills win. So I look around

the AFC, just the AFC. Tua's got a better offensive coach and weapons. Burroughs got better weapons. Mahomes has the better coach. Lamar Jackson, I think, has the better staff. And Buffalo's got this superstar insanely, insanely

gifted quarterback. But these windows for these big guys that run around, first seven, eight years in the league, you're like, it's going to last forever. Cam, Big Ben, they age fast. And it's coming for Josh Allen. They have got to give him a better consistent run game. Right now it's 13th.

They've got to get him more than one great wide receiving weapon. Bengals have three receivers that always get open. The Rams found another one outside of Cooper Cup in the fourth or fifth round this year. Either they can't find them in the draft or they can't develop them. But I look at this and I see a lot of Jim Kelly. And Jim Kelly had great players around him too. But they're as good as Josh Allen is. And you have to be able to have Sundays. Tommy Brady won a Super Bowl and wasn't slinging it all over the field. In fact, he won a couple of them. Mahomes has had so far this season multiple games when Patrick Mahomes has been off. And that young defense wins games for. Jalen hurts. That offense can't figure out its identity.

Philadelphia lost yesterday, but was 5 and 0 before that and not playing particularly well offensively, couldn't find their identity. For Buffalo, either Josh Allen's great or they don't win. It's not going to let it. It feels very Cam in Carolina. It feels very big Ben in Pittsburgh, although he usually had a very reliable defense. Here's Josh after. We've been an extremely efficient offense.

We've scored a lot of points. Actually, the last two games, we haven't gotten off to a hot start. We've got to figure out why that is and how to get ourselves in a funk or get ourselves out of a funk early on and get ourselves into a good rhythm early on. So, you know, just we'll take it one game at a time, one week at a time, and just try to continue to get better. He is all-time stuff. In terms of Mahalms, bigger, stronger, faster. He really is.

Mel Khyper at him is the 10th best quarterback prospect in the history of the league. They didn't have Mahomes there. He is unbelievable. But you're like, well, why, what was wrong with their offense in the first half? He wasn't great. No quarterback is great 17. weeks. Bad weather on the road. You're missing weapons. That's why I allotted Brock Purdy for being pretty unflappable on the road. McCaffrey out. Debo out. Bad calls. O-line can't block him. And Brock

Pretty got you in field goal position. But I just, I feel like this with USC football and Caleb Williams and Buffalo and Josh Allen. You could have a great quarterback. You can't be reliant on him to be Superman to dominate games. Sometimes Josh Allen's got to go 13 for 30 and you win by touchdowns. You gotta help him out. That was way too close last night considering the rosters. Jay Mack with a news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I don't know, Colin, think you're taking a little easy on Josh Allen, six games. He was bad against the Jets. He was bad against the Jags. He was bad against the Giants.

Half his games. Okay, well, let's be fair. Take the Jets out. Jets, you're not going to have great Sundays against the Cleveland defense or the Jets defense. Or probably the Niners, so let's just take those out. I thought the London game, in London games and Thursday games, there's always a team off. I thought yesterday you could blame him, but it would be nice, six years in. I see this with Pittsburgh. Can we get the O line right? You can only do so much if you're running for your life. I don't know, I just the run game. Sounds. All right. Maybe it's going closely. Sounds a lot of excuse making for Johnson. Well, it's the Jets and it was in London. And what's the She was for the Giants.

Maybe you're right. I don't know. I don't know. It's just that Super Bowl window. I think you're on to something. Super Bowl windows closed for the Buffalo bill. Remember how dominant the Seahawks were? Two, then they're over.

It's like they beat the Miami Dolphins. Everybody's like, crown them. Buffalo. We're set. No, no, you're not. A lot of problems on that team. All right, let's start with another problem-ridden team. Holy hell, the New England Patriots.

Colin, this team is so rotten right now. Mack Jones threw for a whopping 200 yards, took terrible sack after terrible sack. and he took a safety at the end of the game that cost me money. So, um... Look at that's wrong. What do you mean? Ten yards over his receiver.

Somehow, Mac Jones took the podium after the game. And, you know, he's still confident. Okay. Yeah, I'm confident. I think that comes from years of experience and earning respect from people. And I think I've done that. But once again, I'm trying to win every game that I play on, playing, and I'm not doing it.

So I just really want to focus on how can I bring these guys with me? How can we clean up the little things? and it takes all 11, and that's important. And to be the leader of that 11 is a lot of stress, but that's why I play this game. And I really want to win. I'm doing a lot of things to do that during the week, but for whatever reason, it's just not happening on Sunday.

So let's be fair. You're as good as draft day, right? Eventually you have to accumulate players. So you and I and everybody watching in New England or Boston knew it was a slow team last year. They drafted two kickers and three guards. Don't play Mac Jones for that. Or the Devante Parker drop up the left sideline. I don't love Mac Jones either.

But he threw a ball to Devante Parker. That's caught. You have a different outcome potentially. Maybe. And this offense, GMs go into drafts looking to fill holes. This team has no number one receiver. They re-signed Devonte Parker. They signed Juju Smith-Schuster.

Neither one separates. Three guards, two kickers. I'm not giving Mac a pass. It's not working. It's not good. There is nobody open on most plays. There is nobody who's a number one wide receiver. I don't even know if they have a two.

They don't have a one tight end. They don't have a, they have backs. Okay. We can blame the roster all we want, Belichick, you know, here are the numbers of the Patriots offense on the screen. Find me they're great players. Raiders have Max Crosby.

Okay. Great player. I don't know why they tried to block him With Gaseki there in a key moment, I digress. So Matt Jones, the last three weeks, five interceptions, and he's doing the same damn thing over and over. I'm going to roll right and then throw across my body because I'm Mack Jones and I was great at Alabama.

And like, he's throwing pick sixes, interceptions. He's costing his team the game. His podium game there, if I'm the teammates watching that, I'm like, bro, you lost us the game, Matt. Listen, we weren't great. Devanti Parker's up. Mac Jones lost them that game. If you were the quarterback and nobody could separate,

what is the way to create separation? Move, extend the play, and receivers can break off their routes and get open. I think Mac Jones is moving because nobody is open on the basic routes. And I don't think people are saying he's trying to be this and that. No, I think he knows he's not. But I think what he's seeing when he goes back to pass, and I've talked to people in the league about this,

he's trying to create separation and his receivers and tight ends can't. So if you move a little, and he's going to roll right, not left, because it's his throwing side. He's trying to have guys break off routes and create some open receivers. Again, C.J. Stroud doesn't have great weapons,

but he's got better weapons than New England. So when you're both accurate throwers, and I think C.J's proved he's better than Mack. But I think Mac Jones has been, basically trying to create openings and none of their set plays, three step, five step drop, nobody's open. I don't disagree with that, but you know what? Don't try to make things happen in the red zone.

Run out of bounds. Throw it in the ground. Take the three points. Colin, I'll say this. Last thing. And I'm not piling on. But last year, it was the offensive coordinator who was a mess. Now, nobody's getting open.

At some point, we got to blame, Matt Jones. I know we don't want to crush the kid. He deserves heat. I agree with that. we need to get Julian Edelman back in here. All right, next up, the Detroit Lions. Let's get positive here. How about that performance?

Whooped up on the Tampa Bay bucks. Look at this throw by golf. Jameson Williams. All he does is catch bombs. I got to say, one of the more impressive showings. They lose Montgomery. They're running back. This team can win in so many ways, Colin.

Their defense held Tampa to 250 yards. And it was like 200 before the final drive. They have the talent people think the Cowboys do. Yes. Outside of head. having so-so corners. Weapons, quarterback, O-line, pass-rush, coordinator greatness. People think the Cowboys have this talent.

Detroit does. And I think it's Brad Holmes, the guy upstairs, the vice president, the executive. Three straight drafts. They have slowly built this thing. Take out the Niners and maybe Philadelphia. Can they argue, now it's a younger roster, but can they argue they're in the discussion for third to fourth best roster in the league? Yeah.

I think they can. I had thought that far ahead, but they're certainly up there. Niners Philadelphia. Like Kansas City's roster has, it's not that good. Cincinnati's isn't. Buffalo's, I think, is overstated.

The Jets is almost all on defense. So I was thinking this. If the 49ers play the Lions in the NFC title game, we'll be having a quarterback on his rookie deal and Jared Goff, who's a middle paid salary quarterback, Why are they there?

Because their rosters are stacked. They can absorb injuries. The Detroit Lions, they lose Montgomery. They won games without Amaraw St. Brown. James and Williams suspended. Like, they're just putting guys out there because they have depth. Colin, I looked at the schedule. They got the inside track on the number one scene.

They're going to be in the running for it. Well, the Eagles have a brutal schedule. It gets way tough. And the Niners, these injuries, man. Let's see what Christian McCaffrey comes back. Also, Seattle's pretty good. that's a that's a you know Seattle Seattle did beat Detroit

that was a fluky a bit of a fluky game right that off the KC game well yes it was off the KC game and good teams lose home games it's okay I just when I watch Detroit play they outside a corner having an elite shutdown corner they check every Super Bowl box

and how do they do that by not paying their quarterback I think we're gonna see remember how it was like you gotta pay the quarterback I think we're gonna have some of the other way stuff is going to happen now and Dak and Dallas could be the test case, Colin. Final story is college football. You were at a barber. Saturday. Oh, it was so much fun. Washington. Oregon. Just a tremendous football game. Michael Pettix Jr. did put on a show, 302 yards, four tuddies, including the go-ahead score with less than two minutes

left. Oregon Chet had a chance to send it to OT kicker shanks it and Washington survives. 3633. Great game, huh? I'd say it's second or third best college football game I've ever been to. Two great programs, first round quarterbacks. I think Bo Nix reminds me a little of Derek Carr. Feels more like a second round quarterback. Panix is a first rounder. Saw him after the game. Big kid.

You know what? Somebody told me he's basically a bigger version of Tua. Beautiful thrower of the football. Sit in a pocket, not a runaround guy. Really quality leadership skills. Really good kid. I think Oregon's got more depth of talent than Washington. I just think Washington has the better quarterback.

and Washington was missing their number two receiver, and Oregon still could not cover their one and their three receiver. Polks, their number three, arguably. So I think, I don't know, I think they're going to play again. I think Oklahoma and Texas are going to play again. Texas will be favored, I think. I think Oregon, Washington will play again, and Oregon will be favored. But in that environment, with that quarterback and those receivers,

Washington now number five, I'm glad the pollsters didn't punish Oregon too much because Oregon is a really, really good. They had the second best receiving group and the second best quarterback and winning at Husky Stadium. It's like winning at Opson. It's really hard. North Carolina there at 10, did you see their receiver that became eligible this week?

The kid Walker? I didn't. Bro, he is like a monster. Six-three. I can't believe I didn't have him in the first round of my mock draft. He is unbelievable. Drake May has a real weapon. I'll tell you something.

You look at the top 10 right now. How great is this? Midwest, South, West Coast. ACC territory. This is when college football is at its best. We have teams from every reach. I'm watching Oregon, Washington, and my takeaway was these are two really well-coached teams. There is no reason they couldn't compete. I think Michigan would beat up on both a little, but they can compete with virtually anybody in the country. Can I ask about the coaching decision? Oregon's coach.

Okay. So I have a quick theory, and it's like, you know how we're going to? in the NBA when you make trade, you want to win the trade online, you need to get pick swaps and get future first and all this stuff so you can win the crowd. I feel like coaches are playing to the analytics community. Well, we got to go on fourth down. We got to go. This is what the numbers say. Kick the damn field goal before the half. I would have too, but Dan Lanning, Oregon's coach, his brand is like Southern hyper-aggressive. That's his brand. His pre-game speeches. Do you see after the game, he wouldn't shake the coach's hand? it was kind of a little, I thought it was a little, a little too much for me.

It's like, dude, take two seconds, look the coach and the eye, be a grown-up. But Lanning's brand is hyper-aggressive, and I think he sells that to his team. And so he is, and so I would have kicked the field goal too. But I understand when these coaches sell aggressive, go for it, on the road, Washington. I mean, he went into that environment knowing this was going to be the hardest game of the year. And so I don't think all of a sudden, we'll settle for a field goal before. I would have kicked it too. In the end of the first half, I think it was like fourth in, was it fourth in three or six?

Something manageable. You know, fourth and three you should be able to get. Yeah. But again, like, you kick the fuel goal there and it's basically free points inside the third. I know the analytics communities, their heads are exploding. What are these guys talking about? Sometimes you just got to keep it. You've heard kiss it, right?

Keep it simple, stupid. Like, kick the fuel goal. I would have too. I try not to beat coaches up too. much on that because I think you go into games with an identity. And Oregon went in with the identity is we're not coming up to Husky Stadium and beating these guys kicking field goals. I guarantee Oregon coaches new, panics and those receivers were going to give them huge problems.

I get that, but it was a close game throughout. Did anybody go up by two touchdowns? It was none of that. Like it was a close game. Listen, Jets Eagles at the end, Jalen Hertz third and eight throwing off your back foot. Like some of the decisions. I know it's sports are tough. It's bang, bang, but I don't know.

It was fun. That was fun. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Some thoughts on USC and Colorado had bad weekends in the Miami Dolphins. Every dolphin game turns into a big 12 track meet.

Every dolphin game is nuts. We'll talk about that. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. This is Jay Glazer, and you may know me for the world of football or fighting or even shows like HBO's ballers. What you don't know is for my entire life, I have lived in something I refer to as the gray, depression, anxiety. So now I'm coming out with a new podcast, Unbreakable, a mental health podcast with Jay Glazer, where each week, while we talk about mental health, I hope to describe it. Give it words. Listen to Unbreakable with Jay Glazer on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

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

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

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack 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 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 Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. Later today, it's game two of the ALCS as Corey Seeger and the Rangers battle Jose Albuve and the Astros. Coverage begins at 3.30 Eastern 1230 Pacific on Fox and FS1. Colin Wright.

Colin Wrong. Top of next hour. So the Miami Dolphins offense this season is not only good, but it's all-time good. points per game, third best all time, 37 a game, yards per play, total yards per game, best ever. So they've humiliated a lot of really bad defenses. Buffalo, they scored 20. New England struggled in the second half. They play Philadelphia, by the way, next week.

Jalen Carter's coming back, they won't look like they've looked against a bad team. So Miami's wins are against teams that are four and 22. They're a bit of a big 12 team. It feels like some empty calories. Those big 12 teams score 60 a game. Go play an SEC team and get their head bashed in. But Miami looks like a team from Miami should look like. Fun, flair, flashy, fast.

They're the speedboat of the NFL. If you put Miami Vice theme music under their highlights, it would be perfect. Speedboats in January. windy cold weather are silly and useless. But 70 against Denver, 42 against Carolina, almost 40 against the Chargers. As I watch the Dolphins, it's like if Bitcoin NFTs and infomercial and TikTok had a baby, it would be Miami's offense. It's just a lot of stuff.

I don't know how sustainable it is. I don't necessarily buy it in December and January. I think it's fun. But when I watch the way this league turns out year after year, there's September, early October football, a lot of points, then injuries pile up, past protection, and past rushes become really important, and those kind of teams sort of tail off. I kind of feel that's Miami, but they are a blast of watch,

and if you're not buttoned up, they will humiliate you. So Lincoln Riley had never won fewer than 11 games when he got to USC. So, but there's just something very interesting going on with USC and Colorado. So let's start with this. Caleb Williams is going to go number one. Patrick Mahomes had a losing record in college. Nobody cared. Josh Allen completed 56% of his throws against Wyoming.

schedule. Nobody cared. When it comes to quarterbacks in college to pro football, everybody knows kids don't have the same talent around them. Not everybody's Bama or Ohio State. Not everybody's Clemson or Texas or Oklahoma. So the bottom line is Caleb

Williams has talent coming out his ears and really good traits. He's going to go number one. He's going to go number one. It's like when LeBron and Carmelo were both coming out, Mello people said was a Hall of Fame talent. You had to draft LeBron.

Drake May could end up in the Hall of Fame. You're going to draft Caleb. Scouts are lined up. This is Andrew Luck with more talent. This is John Elway potentially with more talent. So that's the first thing. He's going to get drafted, number one, unless there's an injury. Number two is there's a lot of Lincoln Riley haters out there because of the way he left Oklahoma.

People didn't like that, although people leave places all the time and that he went to USC. And a lot of those people today said he's too soft, he's flashy, there's no substance, and they feel at least somewhat right today. Now, the defense was not what lost the game for USC. It held Notre Dame to 250 yards. What it was is the O line's terrible. They can't run. And so the entire offense is, hey, Caleb Williams, go make an amazing play.

So Colorado on Friday gave up a 29. nothing lead and embarrassed itself, and USC on Saturday embarrassed itself. They are the two most penalized teams in Power 5 football, Colorado and USC, and the two most transfer reliant. USC and Colorado have a lot of sizzle and not a lot of steak, a lot of headlines and hype and not a lot of substance. Both are fun. Both feel like frauds today.

Startup companies, everybody talking about them. And then they got to go up against IBM. and get humiliated. Last week, and I am for NIL, I am for Shadur Sanders and Caleb Williams, staying in school and making money. But last week, Colorado and USC were in headlines because of the NIL. Washington and Oregon were in the headlines because they're well-coached and have substance. Colorado and USC feel like they don't have their priorities in order.

Nick Saban may be grumpy. Maybe Alabama's not as dominant as Alabama was, but I always feel like with Alabama, it's about winning games. They pay players through NIL. They want to reward them. I'm not anti-NAL. I am not anti-transfer portal. I'm not an old head.

Pay the players. Star quarterbacks make every penny you can. But USC's priority feels like, hey, let's get Caleb Heism and some cash. That's not what I see with Oklahoma football. It's not what I see with Georgia football. It's not what I watched with Oregon or Washington football. I don't know.

How about a little less flash and a little more fortitude? I like Dion Sanders and Shadur. I like Lincoln, Riley, and Caleb. But it feels like that's all we talk about is the coach and the star quarterback and the star coach on the star quarterback. That's not what football is all about. I love the NFL and I love college. I don't want them to be the exact same.

And again, I'm not anti-NIL. But these two teams, Colorado and USC, are the most penalized in the country, the flashiest and most talked about. And today they look like frauds with not a lot of substance and a lot of sizzle. So eventually, sports is cruel and a reminder that Flash doesn't win.

I love the speedboat of the NFL Miami. I don't think they're going to win two playoff games. I fell for USC. I thought, boy, that Caleb Williams, the kid's not Superman. O-line's a mess. They can't run the football. They're completely relying on him. If you looked at the box score, you'd think USC won, but they didn't.

They didn't win. And this has been coming for weeks and weeks and weeks. I told you last week, USC is the third best team in the conference. They may be four depends on how Utah plays. Lincoln Riley, after the ugly loss to arch rival Notre Dame. I thought our defense played good enough to win the football game. I thought we stepped up and did a lot of great things there, but we just put our defense in some terrible positions.

And so, yeah, obviously, we're really disappointed. I know that we've obviously got a lot in front of us. But this game means a lot. We know it means a lot to our fan base. It means a lot to college football and certainly disappointed that we weren't able to play nearly good enough football. Listen, I remember when NIL came out and all the traditionalists hated it. And my takeaway, it's here to stay. You might as well embrace it.

But I do think two things can be true. You can want to reward your players. And NIL is good eventually for college football. The transfer portal makes bad teams much better quickly. And I also, you can also, I think, feel it goes overboard. And I'm getting a little too much star power with Colorado and USC. And I think in the end, Bama and Georgia have balanced all the transfer portal stuff, have balanced the NIL, have balanced the community, the locker room,

the roster as a whole. Oklahoma's paying players to the NIL. Nothing wrong with that. But there feels like there's more foundation, more substance to. it. So, you know, the media loves players getting paid. It's all about that. But the history of football is. Line play. Team. Flash

doesn't win championships, pro or college. Hour two, Colin Wright, Colin wrong. On a Monday next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel,

help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the 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 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 is 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.

It 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.