The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - The 49ers lose two in a row

Episode Date: October 24, 2023

Colin examines the 49ers losing their second game in a row and what we have learned about QB Brock Purdy during this recent slide He pumps up Kirk Cousins for delivering a big win for the Vikings and why it might be the perfect time for Minnesota to look at a potential tradeSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go. On a Tuesday, loaded, ready to roll. In L.A., it's the herd, wherever you may be, and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. One hour from now, the herd hierarchy, top ten teams getting tougher and tougher to do that. What do you do with Detroit now? What do you do with Dallas now?

One hour from now, the herd hierarchy. So tonight, the NBA champs, JMAX, hosting the Lakers, Houston on the Lakers, Suns Warriors, game seven, Tuesday night. I am ordering in. I'm going to be lazy guys, sit on the couch, and watch sports tonight. That's what we get paid to do. I can't wait. And we're coming off a great Monday where the Houston Astros lost.

Everybody's excited. Cheaters are vanquished. How much do the Lakers win by tonight, Colin? I'm just curious. 10 or 20? Well, it's nice to dream. So this is interesting. So the Niners, who hadn't lost a regular season game in seemingly forever,

are now on a two-game skid. They fall behind. They're on the road. Those are tough games to win, blah, blah, blah. So the Niners are now 0.36 under Kyle Shanahan. 0-and-36 when they trail by eight plus points in the fourth quarter in the regular season or playoffs. They don't have the big ability to come from behind. First of all, A, it's hard to come from behind when you're down by over a touchdown in the fourth quarter for anybody.

And B, there's a reason for it. because the coach and the system are the star, not the quarterback, who does come from behind to win down 8 plus, Marino, Elway, Brady, Peyton Manning, Patrick Mahomes, all-time greats. But in San Francisco, the system and the roster, because you don't pay the quarterback anything, is the star. And we now see the limitations to this. It's why Kyle's the best coach in the league, arguably, without a trophy.

One mediocre quarterback, two good quarterback, has won a Super Bowl in 20 years, Nick Foles. And it was a shootout to the very end. So last night, Brock Pertie made some good throws. I've said before, he's good. I won't go to very good or exceptional. He's not big, doesn't have a big arm. He's not a big-time athlete.

He's good. He makes more good throws than Jordan Love. But I think Jordan loves a miss. He's good. But in the last two weeks, missing a couple of pieces, on the road and trailing, it doesn't feel the same. Remember how Mahomes struggled all night? Remember against the Jets, struggle, struggle, struggle? Then there's seven minutes left and against the Jets' defense and Robert Sala on the road.

It's like, all right, boys, jump on my shoulders. I'm going to carry you down, slide by the goal line, walk out of here with a win. It's what Jalen Hertz in Kansas City do with Mahomes. Mahomes and Hertz are 12 and 2 this year. And until this weekend, I didn't think either offense had an identity. But when you have a stark quarterback, Jalen Hurts, in Philly. Mahomes in Kansas City. You can trail in the fourth. You can play poorly. You can not have an identity and keep stacking wins. There is a way Brock Purdy has to play, and it's leading in the

fourth, getting good protection. He's good. He's just not very good. No, he's better than Tray Lance, C.J. Betherd, Nick Mullins, got better numbers than them because he's a better player than those. But if you look around the NFL, you know how this thing's going to end. It's going to end like it ended for Jimmy Garapolo. And I think Brock Purdy is a healthier more mobile, cheaper version of Jimmy Garoppolo. I don't think he has a significantly better arm or a significantly better athlete, but he's healthier, moves a little better. You can move the pocket, no doubt about that, and he's cheap.

But last night told us what we know, that Brock Purdy is good. He can make good throws. There's a lot of guys in this league. They're good. But great and special wins that game. Go back to the Mahalms Jets game, and that Jets defense is significantly better than Minnesota's defense. And when San Francisco got the ball back with a minute 11 left, you know it, I know it.

We were all thinking the same thing. They got no shot. Jalen Hertz, Trevor Lawrence, Joe Burrow, Patrick Mahomes. You'd be like, we got ball game here. When they got that ball with a minute 11 left, you were sitting there even as a nineer fan thinking, man, can't believe we lost this game. You knew it. And so again, if you'd have had Hertz,

you'd have had Mahalms, Burrough, and those are the ones, those are the ones that are going to end up hoisting trophies. And so I think I know how this thing's going to end for San Francisco. They're going to be in the NFC championship or the Super Bowl, and you're going to be discouraged. And it's not going to end the exact way you want, even though you're absolutely sure you have the better coach and the better roster. Again, Purdy was good, but not special. Here's Kyle after. I thought he played really well. as the one miss throw to Juan was the one tough play that he didn't make.

It's freshman only gets 17 points, but, you know, the guys, you know, when it's a game like that, we got a score on all those. And when you turn it over three times, that's three drives without points. And then we had that miss field goal, too. So can't do that when the game goes the way it did. All right, speaking of good, not great, I want to talk about Kirk Cousins here. And I think it's really interesting who Kirk Cousins. played his greatest Monday Night Football game

ever, San Francisco. And I'll get to that in a second. But it's very interesting that it was Cousins over San Francisco. So the Vikings are three and four. They're not a Super Bowl team. They may wedge and sneak their way into the wild card and the weaker NFC.

But if I could, I would trade Kirk Cousins today. If I was Minnesota, I would trade him today. Got a week left to the trade deadline. It's the best he's ever played. It was a standalone game, and it was against the Niners' great defense. His stock is at an all-time high today. But he has a no-trade clause.

Now, you can trade everybody eventually, but he's going to want to go to certain places. You could get a first-round pick, in my opinion, today for Kirk Cousins after last night, or maybe a couple seconds. That's a high point. He dominated the Niners, toyed with them after that first interception. He was great with a rookie receiver. No Justin Jefferson. Toied with the Niners. Buy low, sell high.

And the Vikings next six weeks are nonsense. Look at the quarterbacks they play. Jordan Love, Desmond Ritter, Justin Fields, maybe Jimmy Garoppolo, Russell Wilson struggling, Derek Carr. You could see them going five and one with Justin Jefferson coming back. Jordan Addison emerging as a star wide receiver, a very clever offensive coach, T.J. Hawkinson, one of the best tie-ends in the league. You could absolutely see Minnesota going on a run,

and it would be the same tease you've had in Minnesota for six years. He'd then go on the road against Philadelphia and get boxed. He'd go on the road and face the Niners again and get worked. He'd go on the road and have to face Detroit and get smoked. You know how it's going to end. I would trade him today. But he has that no trade clause, right? So Kirk reportedly wants to stay put and everybody loves him and he is lovable and he played

great last night. But it is interesting because I believe when Justin Jefferson comes back, I believe this team is going to go on a little bit of the heater now, mostly due to facing bad quarterbacks or second-tier quarterbacks. And you're going to get nothing for them at the end of the year because you're going to double down again and do this? You're really going to bring this thing back again for three or four years? I mean, seriously, what's the standard? In your division, the standard is the Packers, Super Bulls. Bart Starr, Brett Farv, Aaron Rogers, Super Bowls. I mean, you know, the Vikings aren't

winning them, the Twins aren't winning them. That market is wide open. Go get a star quarterback. and you know we even said this in the offseason, it kind of felt like they were ready to move on. So you've got to take your emotion out of it. Today would be the day, get on the phone, and move Kirk Cousins. But what's going to happen? And it's ironic because one of the teams, and I do think he'll have a market. It may not be a huge market. It'll be a four-team market.

Derek Carr was a two-team market. Garoppolo was a one-team market. This will be a four- or five-team market. Maybe a six-team market. Maybe a four-team market. But you know who's going to be in that market? Ironically, San Francisco, who will end up potentially being very disappointed that Brock Purdy can't beat a Philadelphia and Jalen Hertz. Or even a Detroit and Jared Goff.

Don't sell your lions because of the Ravens. Don't do that. Nobody beats Baltimore from the NFC. If you've never faced Lamar Jackson before, the first time you do, you get smoked. 16 and 1 is Lamar Jackson against the NFC. Don't sell your lion stock. They're going to win 11, 12 games. Make the playoffs host a playoff game.

Detroit's good. Maybe not great. They're good. But it was interesting watching this. Brock Purdy, oh, he's good. He's very, very, very good. I kind of feel like I know how it's going to eventually end. Kirk Cousins is great, and I feel like I know how that's going to end.

But hear me out. Even though he has a no trade clause, everything's tradable. If I could, I'd get on the phone and move him today. And then I'd lose some games. It's a great college quarterback draft class, at least very good. And I'd take my chances. Now, here's Kevin O'Connell after the game. We could go for the next third.

35, 40 minutes about the way he played, individual plays, where he was overcoming some circumstances, moving within the pocket, trusting the protection, and seeing the whole field. And against that team, that's big-time quarterback playing in my mind. Yes, Kirk Cousins has big-time quarterback games. Usually not on Sunday night football and Monday night football and almost never against great teams. Right? He's got a really bad record against playoff teams, standalone games. that's why when he has his best standalone

Monday night game against the Niners, I'd get on the phone today. And I know they call it Minnesota nice. People in Minnesota are nice. He's the best. He was on Netflix. Everybody loves him. This is the high point.

Now, what's the market for him? I don't know. You'd need somebody to get an injured quarterback that's pretty good in the next week. But it is interesting. Everybody today is like, look at Kirk. And I'm like, I've seen it for years. I know what he is.

He's good. He's somewhere between 10 and 13 in a league. We know he's good. If you love Dak, you got to love him. If you love him, you got to love Dak. But I'd get on the phone, see what I could do. J. Mack? Am I nuts?

No, you're smart. 100% that's what you've got to do. The problem is, Colin, where is this market? The 49ers aren't doing it. Brock Purdy's fine. No, they're not doing it now. It's seasons and, though, because you think Minnesota's going to go back in and do another three-year extension?

Well, there is a lot of love between Shanahan and Kirk Cousins. You can go read about it. Remember that coaching staff in Washington? and I just looked at him. I mean, it was like McVeigh, Mike McDaniel, a lot of guys, and they all love Kirk Cousins because of the play action and they like what he can do. You basically have a week to trade him.

That's right. The only team I tried to come up with last night. Atlanta Falcons. That has some nice offensive pieces. They have great pieces, but the problem is Kirk has the no trade clause. So he can say, I don't want to go to Atlanta. I don't know Arthur Smith. I'm going to damage my all season value.

Kirk could say I've got this beautiful. Hallman family. My kids love it. I got Jordan Addison, Justin's coming back, T.J. Hawkins. I mean, because you could look at him and say, who's got a rookie receiver, tight end and a star receiver better than me in the league? And the answer is maybe nobody. So Minnesota would respond to that. Yeah, Kirk, we get that, but we're going to, what, nine or ten games and then losing the first round? We would rather see what we got with our young guy, the kid from BYU Hall. Well, if Minnesota's not going to go in on him, wouldn't you rather sit down with the organization and see if there's a path that you like? By the way,

I get Bejohn Robinson, Kyle Pitts, Drake London. By the way, a fairly decent O-line and a team that will give you if you go get them a three-four-year contract. It's something to that. I mean, to bring you in, we're going to make a commitment to you for the next three to four years. We talked about the Jets prior. Atlanta may win their division, folks. The division's so bad, they're not going to have the ability to get a top 10, quarterback. Atlanta's going to win nine games. And that's what Minnesota is going to do if they keep cousins. And they're going to look at the quarterback draft and be like, we can't get Michael Pennock. They're not getting Drake May, Caleb, or Michael Pennock. Forget it. They're not getting

those guys. So my point is, now's the time. You're three and four. You're not going to go anywhere end of the season. But I think Atlanta is actually a great call by you because if I was Kirk, I'd be like, what I want to another four-year deal. Okay, I've lived in Washington. I went to college in Michigan State, right? Michigan State. Then I lived in D.C. that I lived in Minnesota. I can end my career in Atlanta. Those are beautiful cities. And I got all these young, inexpensive star offensive pieces.

I mean, when you have Jefferson, Addison, and T.J. Hawkinson, you don't want to go to the desert. You don't want to go to the barren wasteland. Minnesota doesn't have back that good. You know, they've got a wide receiver. They'll probably draft another. So my takeaway is Atlanta may win their division. And by the way, it's a weak division. Yeah, if you're Atlanta, you go to Kirk and say, hey, Kirk, remember Tom Brady left New England to come to our weak division, our sorry division. We won a lot of games. We got to the Super Bowl. We got to the playoffs. Baker Mayfield led the division last week. Think you can come down here? I mean, I'm just saying you got a week to move him. I would think about it. Okay. We got a lot of stuff today. NBA season starts tonight. And, oh, the Michigan controversy. Somebody with a shaky iPhone taped signals on the side. You know, I do that every week. Maybe I'm an end.

NCAA violation too. I take my iPhone to USC games and it bounces around and I have it on Lincoln Riley. I'm probably breaking rules for the NCAA. They hate you and they ain't you. I'll tell you that. If it was Purdue, nobody would care. It's Harbaugh, the world's ending. It's unbelievable. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential.

Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'll say. 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 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 Jett.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because. of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

All right. So NBA season starts tonight. Warriors and Sons, two star-studded teams. Lakers travel to Denver to take on the Nuggets, the defending champ, so I think should be favored this year as well. So Janus got Dame not long ago, right? He demanded a star if he was going to sign an extension. Yonis hinted for about a year, boy, I'd be interested in Golden State. What a club that is, and they made a deal to get Dame from the Blazers. So now he has an extension. He and Dame are going to run it for four years. The Bucks are in a really good spot. Why? Because they're one of five teams, in my opinion, that can win a championship. And that's about the number every year in the NFL, maybe it's six, college football, four to five. I think the Nuggets, Phoenix, Boston, Milwaukee and the

Lakers should be the favorites to win it. I think the Lakers are a drop-off from the Celtic Sun's Nuggets. Closer to the Bucks, I do worry about Milwaukee's age. But this sets up now, this contract with Janus coupled with Dame, this sets up the next four years. It's going to be about legacy. Do you belong, Janus, in a list of the all-time great players? Bird, Magic, Kobe, MJ, Steph, Duncan, LeBron, D. Wade. Because today, what you are is a really unique talent. talented player, you got some MVP cachet, and a title. A title in Milwaukee. You have four years to change that legacy.

KD. got Steph, changed his legacy. D. Wade was a one title guy. Got LeBron changed his legacy. Shack got Kobe. Magic Kareem. Right now is Janice just Dirk Novitsky, but a better defender. One title, beloved in a city. We kind of wonder if he should leave, decides not to. For years, we wait for him to get the second guy, got some MVP cachet.

But if you want to be in the Duncan, Shaq, Russell, MJ, Kobe, staff, LeBron class, one title and a unique game and being beloved in one city and some MVP's will not do. So I think this is the time to build the legacy. I worry about Milwaukee's age. I think the Boston Celtics in the East have Tatum and Jalen Brown both in their prime. Dames out of it, so is Brooke Lopez, so is Chris Middleton, who's increasingly fragile. It is Janus. I certainly think they'll get to the Eastern Conference finals.

Cleveland's still too young. Don't trust Philadelphia. But I think Boston now is the best team in the East. And Janus right now is great. One title, MVP stuff, beloved in the city, unique. You want to get in the next group, this is your four-year run. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, I don't want to worry Eagles fans with this report, but this Jalen Hertz thing bears watching. Eagles are now 6'1, and they had a nice win over Miami, but Jalen Hertz came away a little banged up. He was wearing a knee brace in the second half. There were some visible limps. You know, the online detectives are breaking down any film, seeing some limp. Here's Nick Siriani with the latest on Jalen Hertz.

He seemed like he was in good spirits and good today. You know, we'll see later in the week of how he's feeling and everything. I know that he was, you know, battled through, you know, being uncomfortable yesterday. he can answer some of those questions as far as how he felt and all those different things. I just know that this guy is tough as nails and is going to do everything he can do to help our football team win. This totally could reshape the entire NFC if there's a real injury. Come on. He limped around during the game and was highly effective. I don't think all this, honestly, I bet if you went to every game he's played in the NFL, take out his rookie,

year. I don't think he's been healthy 50% of the time, and yet he's winning 90% of the time. So I think he's a kid that has battled some stuff. I think he has great resilience. I think Jalen is really tough. I think he plays with pain. But I swear to you, last year he wasn't healthy. This year he's been limping around. Some guys, he may be just not like injury prone, but banged up prone. I feel like he's always banged up. And it doesn't affect his play. Didn't affect his play in the Super Bowl. In the Super Bowl, he was a lot. incredible. He had two weeks off for that one. But I just looked at the

running number, the numbers from last year in this year. The number of carries is similar. The only thing different is he's averaging about a yard less per carry, not as many explosive runs. So either he's slowing down a little, or the defenses are more prepared, maybe there's more brotherly shoves happening to reduce the yardage. But Colin,

last three weeks, he has one carry for double-digit yards. That's it. It's really being bottled up. Listen, I don't care if he can squat an SUV. Eventually, the NFL will break quarterbacks. You cannot have your guy running. You've said this about Josh Allen.

Who's 6-6-2-60. Yeah, Jalen Hertz ain't that big. He's thick. Yeah. But I, you know, we had Mike Vick on here yesterday. You saw him. By the way, what did the Eagles do yesterday? They went and got a pro-bowl level safety.

They want to secure that defense. Maybe their feeling is we're not going to be as high-powered as everybody thinks. Okay. By the way, Kirk Cousins. Philadelphia? Let's settle down. They got Marcus Marriota back at the Tidt. Remember what he was awesome at Oregon?

I'm just saying. That's a team that would be. If Jalen Hurts, they came out, he's got a strain out six weeks. Vikings don't want to help the Eagles, okay? Well, the Vikings aren't in the same class with the Eagles. Who cares? They're in the same conference. If you can get a first-round pick, you'd do it.

I don't know that they're getting at first. But, yeah, this Jalen, I don't want him to be hurt, man. Come on. Oh, he's so much. We need Jailen-Hertz. Yeah, yeah. Philadelphia and those old school unies, they're such a a great TV product.

They're so much fun to watch. Between the Phillies and the Eagles, that city has got juice. Yeah. From one injured quarterback to another, Deshaun Watson, man, reagravated the shoulder injury, had to leave after, I believe,

five offensive plays or five passes. Listen, he was eventually cleared for a concussion, and they said he could go back and return. Kevin Stefanski said, yeah, we're just going to ride out PJ Walker. And I know PJ Walker gets credited with the win here, Colin, but come on. Here's Daphansky on Dishon Watson and the decision.

I would just tell you, Deshawn's a captain of this football team. He's a leader of this football team. It's hard. I know he wants to be out there, but he continues to support his teammates. He leads his football team. So that will never change. Again, I'm always going to be protective of our players, especially at the quarterback position. Just felt like the right thing in that moment was to hold him out of that.

I know you're out on Deshaun Watson. I think they have a already good defense, but I thought that Colts game, and I think that it's a weird, weird situation. Yeah, the vibes just seem off. Something's going on. Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh vibes aren't off. Baltimore's vibes aren't off. Cincinnati's searching. Division's tough.

Let me. Do you remember Watson in Houston? He was electric. I mean, they had nobody on that team. It's funny. His stats were, his stats were. His stats were way better. He was very dynamic.

He was just mobile and he could make stuff happen. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I never loved him, but he was a playmaker. I don't want this to come off the wrong way. You know how Russell Wilson was awesome and electric in Seattle, making plays illusion? And then all of a sudden. And now in Denver, he's not the same guy or even close. I'm not crushing Watson because he's a lot younger.

Well, he just does not look like the same football player from Houston. So again, he took two years off. This is, again. He's like 28. I know, but Russell Wilson's only 34, and you watch him, and you don't see the fastball. I mean, like Kyler Murray comes back. What if there's no fastball? Like Lamar, the fastball is still evident.

He's like 25, yeah. Right, younger player. I mean, Lamar's really young. You run around as a quarterback, 28 is 32, 29 is 34. I mean, Russell looks. Tom Brady played at 45 and was posting big numbers, and you couldn't really tell a noticeable difference with Tom at 43 from 33. I couldn't. They even measured his velocity.

They measured his, I mean, Tom was the pliometrics, the strength. Russell Wilson looks like 60% to 70% of Seattle. And what happens if, you know, smaller mobile quarterbacks get dinged up. Deshawn Watson took a lot of hits. He had injuries. He was out two years. What if he's just 75% of what he was? I mean, you just compare the tape.

He's not doing the things he didn't. No. And I don't want to say he's like gained weight. maybe he heavy but Colin like how does someone in two years go from electric and balancing because because the world's best athletes are training around the clock and if you go two years of just practice and why isn't he training around the clock you got guaranteed you don't have those professional trainers you're out of the room you're doing he was obviously distracted had weird personal stuff that leads me to this question and it's tough but do you think the burden of the

guaranteed contract it's something Is there something there? Maybe he, oh, I got the guarantee contract. Or just the pressure of all the talk and in the locker room, this guy, I guarantee, you know, I don't, something's going. Remember when LeBron James, at the time, easily the best basketball player in the world, easily said, I don't like being a villain. He did not like that Miami year.

He choked in the finals. LeBron's like, I don't, it got into his head. And LeBron didn't do anything creepy. It was just he was the villain, not one, not two, not three. Right, right, right. Deshawn Watson is the NFL villain. A lot of people, myself included, grossed out, not into it, don't want to talk about it. You don't think that stuff weighs on people?

LeBron simply is the world's greatest player left as he was capable of to a city most people would choose over Cleveland. Miami would D.W. It was like a business decision that almost any of us would have made. 90% of us would have made not from Ohio. Deshawn Watson got out of town. Like I think some of the, I think all of it, my dad used to say this all the time. Stress is the issue. It's not about this, this, this, this.

Stress changes you. Changes everything about you. You get sick more. You're in your head. I think it's a rough year for Deshawn. And I also think the bigger picture beyond him is Pittsburgh's playing well. Baltimore's on fire. Cincinnati's surging.

Right now, if I had to pick going down the stretch, I'd pick Cleveland fourth. Despite their historic defense, I'd pick them fourth. I already bet the Seahawks this week. It's two and a half. Seahawks at home against Cleveland. Final story, NBA tips off tonight. Lakers Nuggets, the early game. They put LeBron in the 430 window in the Westlow.

The disrespect Suns Warriors is the late game. I saw a report Bradley Beale may not play tonight. Well, okay, I'm going to throw your right. Time out. Time out. You know what they're going to do in Phoenix, and it's the smart thing to do. With Booker, Beal, and Durant, there's some duplication. They're all shot makers.

They're going to give one of those. guys the night off, 80% of the season. And that's what they should do. Well, fine. When they get to the playoffs, if they do that, they get to the playoffs, they don't have a lot of game in minutes together, it's going to look ugly. It's not going to work. We've seen the Pelicans, Zion, Ingram, C.J. McCollum, they play like 50 minutes, some an insanely low number together. And it's like, we don't even know what they look like. You can't just flip a switch. Well, I would say it's a long season. I think all of, I think Booker will play 70 games. Beah will play 58. Durant will play 50.

97, Nurkich can give you points. Their bench is better with Grace and Allen. Keep your eye on the suns. Oh, I like the sons. Let's get to it here, then. The Celtics and the Bucks are tied with the best title odds at plus 380. The disrespect there is to Denver. Well, you know what it is.

They know that the public is going to see, oh, Boston got Drew Holiday and Porzingis, and the Bucks got, Dane, everybody's going to bet them. That's what they're doing. So they juice them up to have the best odds. I don't see the Warriors as a championship team, although I think they're fascinating, but I don't see... Championship or playoffs? I think they're going to be like Sacramento, an older version of Sacramento, fun, but I don't see them as a championship team.

So give me your best bet in that group? Phoenix. I love Phoenix. I think Phoenix is really good. Just the whole thing about, well, they got rid of DeAndre Aiton. Oh, you mean so the chemistry got better? Norwich can give you 20 points in the 90. What about if you had to pick a second from that group?

Boston. Yeah. I think Boston's the best. I think Boston has, if the chemistry works with Porzingas, and he's not known as a great chemistry guy in the room, but if it works, I think Boston's, I think Boston and Phoenix have the most talent. I think Denver has the best player and the best chemistry. But Denver's big thing last year was disrespect.

You know, Denver's whole thing was nobody respects us. Malone screaming at people. Yeah, guys, you got paid. You just won the ring. So the disrespect thing is done. And now your center's over there. He's drinking craft beer. having the time of his life, are you going to come back with that chip on your shoulder?

We know you'll be good, but Phoenix, a lot of doubters. Golden State, you're too old. Who you got in the finals? Celtic Sons. That's what I got. Who you got winning? Can I wait until to get there? What are you talking about?

By the way, just for the record, I know you're out on him. I went and bet Jason Tatum to win the MVP yesterday just for you, pal. I know you're out on Tatum. He's going to get fewer looks now. Oh, really? What, Drew Holiday's stealing shots? Drew Holliday is an excellent player. He is very good.

J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. By the way, let me just, I just want to take a stand on this Michigan story. Sources, Michigan staffer, staffer on Harbaugh's staff had tickets at 11 Big Ten schools.

Okay, you do get this as deflategate. If Kirk Cousins was found, to have a slightly overinflated ball for a couple of games. It would not get a suffix. It would not be called gait. It would not be a story. It'd be a Saturday night live skit. Kirk Cousins was cheating.

It would literally be on Saturday night. But with Brady, it's major controversy. New York Times expose Russian espionage because you couldn't beat them. And right now, nobody can touch Michigan. They humiliate Ohio State. who humiliates generally the rest of the conference. If Purdue was doing this, nobody would care. It would be the eighth story on foxports.com.

Nobody would care. So let me get this straight. A staffer who bought tickets on Seatgeek and used his iPhone in the third deck, that's changing everything. When they created this rule in the mid-90s, they didn't do it because they thought it was a big competitive advantage. They did it because they thought it was unfair to the have-nots. They couldn't afford a staffer.

Before that, you could do it. And they created it trying to eliminate like camcorders and film crews. Have you gone to a football game in 2023? Everybody's got a phone. Everybody's taping. Steve Sarkish in a Texas said, there's a reason we're doing stuff on the sidelines that looks like we're hiding play calls. Signal stealing is real. It is a definite factor in college football. I think some teams rely on it much more than others. And so you do have to devise it. That's why we got boards and signlers and different colored shirts on the sidelines and every which way of how we try to get the play to our players.

Everybody's doing it. buying tickets on seat geek, third deck, iPhone, shaky. This is not Russian espionage. And by the way, college fanboys, new rule. If you didn't know a rule existed before this story, you can't be outraged by it. Did you also know you're not even allowed to go to other teams games? That's outdated. This stuff was created for film crews and camcorders in 1994 because they felt bad because

Michigan and Ohio State had money, and the other schools really didn't. And so they thought, well, that's not entirely fair. It's 2023. Everybody's got an iPhone and you can go buy Purdue's best players. That's a bigger issue. And that is now legal. I'm supposed to be bummed out about an iPhone, a shake. Oh, look.

As Steve Sarkesian said, everybody's doing it. It's not changing the games, the scores, and the outcomes. You know who's good this year? The same teams that were good in the same. 70s. Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, Alabama, Oklahoma. It's the same teams that were good 40 and 50 years ago. So, you know, when you go from zero to 60, from I didn't know a rule exists to, I'm totally outraged by it. What's really outraged with DeflateGate, it was Tom. And nobody could beat Tom. In fact, if you went back and looked at the numbers with Tom,

they were better post-deflategate. They were better after he was. nabbed. It was total nonsense and a total non-story, but it was Tom. And this is about Harbaugh, who has completely distanced himself from even Ohio State. And that's not easy to do. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Two NBA insiders podcasting twice a week to plug you right into the NBA great fight. All happening in only one place. This league uncut. The new NBA podcast with me, Chris Haines. And me, Mark Stein.

Join us as we team up to expound on everything we're covering, hearing, and chasing. Listen to this league uncut with Chris Haines and Mark Stein. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast 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. Yep, that's me, Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball. 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 a little count? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at It podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 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 cracks. I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah.

For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Friday, it's Game One of the World Series. As the newly crowned AL Champion Rangers, await the way. winner between the Diamondbacks and Phillies. Coverage begins at 7 Eastern 4 Pacific Friday on Fox. Diamondback, shocking the world, finished, what, 16 games back of the Dodgers? Well, baseball is so random because if you get guys get hot, are you healthy, are you

hot, are you getting good bullpen relief, are you protecting leads? Baseball's hard to figure. So Philadelphia, I thought, was just going to walk through Arizona, and I'm a baseball casual, but they have not. So I thought this was interesting yesterday. the Eagles traded for one of the Tennessee Titans better players. Kevin Byard, he's a safety, a couple-time Pro Bowl, or a very good player. And Howie Roseman is the general manager of the Philadelphia Eagles, and the stories about him are legendary.

He was in college. This is all he ever wanted to do. And, you know, you see it in life. The people who want it more win more. It's been SEC football my entire life. They just want it more in the South and they win more. And I see it in sports all the time. Do you really care?

Howie Roseman lives, breathe, eat, sleep, being a GM. So he's kind of at a different level. Constantly making moves. He's got the okay from his owner to be aggressive. They are, think of, and he's just a really unique executive in this league. Here's a list just to show you how much talent they have, and this is how we make and deals. I put a list today together of the Eagles top 10 players. Look at how good this roster is.

So Jason Kelsey at center, now he's near the end, but he's the best center, I think, in over a decade. Jalen Hertz is obviously MVP talk last year. Lane Johnson, first or second best right tackle, going to be a Hall of Famer. A.J. Brown, really having a good year. Sometimes wants the ball, makes it known, but he's great. Hassan Reddick, that guy is just a big play specialist. Darius Slay at Corner, Jalen Carter's already becoming unblockable. Kevin Byard at 8th, a safety, and they've been kind of weak and beat up at safety so they could use one.

Dallas Goddard is a very good tight end. Philadelphia couldn't tell you the last time they didn't have good tight ends. Jordan Malata is a tackle for them, very, very good. So I did this list. I did not include Josh Sweat, who would be top five for many teams in the league. I didn't include Devonthe Smith, Fletcher Cox, James Bradbury, or Jordan Davis. They have 15 elite players. Like really, now Bradbury, I'm a little cool on, but that is a,

That is a totally stacked roster, and they're hyper-aggressive. And I think sometimes that's the difference between the Cincinnati's and the Philadelphia's, is that Cincinnati's history is they go in with seven draft picks and they draft seven guys, and they're not willing to take big swings. Philadelphia is, and they've been totally rewarded by it. Top of the hour, heard hierarchy. Here's the other one. So Matt LaFleur was genuinely disappointed after George.

after Jordan loves performance. Okay, so now, now take a deep breath, watch the film. Here's Matt LaFleure today or yesterday on Jordan Love. It all works in unison. And so the better everybody is around him, the better he's going to look. Our confidence in him is not wavering, one bit.

So certainly I think that's the play caller. You put a lot of onus on yourself when things aren't going well and we'll continue to do that. But we've got to find a way to generate more points because when you're generating points, it's just a totally different narrative. Okay, this is real transparent and you know what the Packers did. Their natural reaction was, Jordan, that's it? extra prep time they flew home had a meeting as a staff and they decided we can't bury this kid he's already struggling with confidence so let's blame ourselves here to not tank the season so this is

again sort of the protective measures we saw it with the play calling we've seen it all year they were deeply disappointed i went and looked at the different highlights in this game yesterday it was worse than I thought. They're averaging 4.3 points in the first half, dead last in the league. Jordan's completing 53% of his throws. And that's with a very smart head coach against two bad defenses the last two weeks with extra prep time. And you could say, well, Colin, that's not fair. Aaron Rogers, he struggled.

Let's go back to Aaron Rogers rookie season. Let's go back to Aaron Rogers rookie season. When it wasn't as easy for quarterbacks, Right. Back then, the rule changes have all moved to the offense. What was Aaron Rogers? Passer rating rookie year, 91.5. What is Jordan Love's passer rating so far? 64. 53% completion percentage. 64. These are scripted plays in the first half. So, errands, by the way, I'll give you two others.

First halves, Aaron, oh, excuse me, my bad. Aaron as a first year starter in the first half. Passer rating was 100. So let's go. You could say, well, this is not fair. He's young. He's a rookie. He's a kid. A lot of people struggle in the first half. C.J. Stroud, rookie, first halves. No run game. Instability in the organization, defensive coach. His passer rating in the first half, 94. Anthony Richardson, who we worried hadn't played enough college football, injected into an average team. Passer rating 87. The worst lie you can tell is to yourself.

So this is basically, they were disappointed, they came back, they knew as a staff, we can't bury this kiddie struggling with confidence. Right now, first half, extra prep time, bad defenses, Jordan Love, scripted plays, 53% completion percentage, 63.9 passerating. That's bad. That's against the Raiders Broncos grouped in there. That's with extra time, by week. So, you know, it's, I'm not trying to pick an anybody. But it's interesting, Matt LaFleur's instant reaction, visceral, utter disappointment. We got to be better.

Take a deep breath, come home, regroup, talk to coaches. You know, all of us have to call a better game. There is no, Andy Reid doesn't call a perfect game. That's nonsense. Nobody calls a perfect game. Kyle Shanahan last night got out-coached. Gotta make plays, especially in the first half. You take a lead, you win the games.

Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter.

Listen to Humor Me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 taun tons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of. too. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.