The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - The Giants have a lot of problems

Episode Date: October 3, 2023

Colin looks at the Giants falling to 1-3 after their loss to the Seahawks and why they might need to make a big change at the end of the season Looking at Pete Carroll and the Seahawks since QB Russell Wilson being traded to the Broncos The big issue the Broncos are having with Russell WilsonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRedio.com

or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go, live in Los Angeles. On a Tuesday, jam-packed great show. Heard hierarchy in an hour. It's the hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening.

Thanks for making us part of your day. J-MAC, one-hour herd hierarchy. A lot of good NFC teams. The NFC, which we thought coming into the season, maybe Philly, maybe San Francisco. We may have more NFC teams than AFC teams. I think the AFC at the top has been a little shaky. Boy, coming in hot on a Tuesday. What?

NFC? So last night was bad TV, right? That's what you suspect. And it's hard. The Giants are terrible. So I thought a lot about, instead of just banging on people, we're here to solve issues. So let's solve this giant's mess. They're bad.

The O-line's bad. Sequin's hurt again. Daniel Jones is overpaid and pretty mediocre. All right. We know that. I can spend the next 15 minutes banging on everybody. We know that. What do you do?

Well, here's the silver lining. Bad means a better draft pick, and it's the best college quarterback draft class I've ever seen. I would draft another quarterback. I'll get to what you do with Daniel Jones in a minute. Now, you could also move down in the draft. You know, quarterbacks or gold bars. If you end up with a six worst record and if you look at your schedule, that's where you could be, you could absolutely move back, get seconds, thirds, force, what-eves. A lot of teams may do that at the top.

But this roster, receiving group, offensive line, quarterback, this ain't it. Okay. So, and here's why I would draft another quarterback. And it sounds radical. And again, I'll get into the Daniel Jones component later. There's at least eight teams. I count eight teams in the NFC. Now, the AFC is a much better quarterback conference. And the New York Giants have Super Bowls. The goal here, you're not the Mets. You're the Yankees. Right? You don't put up wild card pennants. You're the Giants. You want to win a Super Bowl. So the AFC is a much better quarterback conference than the NFC. And I counted this morning eight NFC teams that have a better quarterback. Philly, Dallas, Arizona, Rams, Minnesota, Detroit, San Francisco, Seattle Saints.

That's nine. So Brock Purdy, I don't know if you include him. It's a small sample size, but to this point, he's absolutely better than Daniel Jones. So that's nine. We'll put in San Francisco. You know, you say, what about Gino Smith? I don't know. Last two years, I look at the numbers.

He's better than Daniel. Jones. And then you also have three other teams just in the NFC that are likely to draft quarterbacks in the first round, and they're all better prospects than Daniel Jones, bears Atlanta, Tampa. And they'll have a four-year runway minimum to load up on free agents. So nine plus three is 12. There's 16 teams in the NFC. They either have more cap space and a more talented quarterback prospect or about the same cap space and a better quarterback. That's in the weaker conference. This ain't it.

You've got to take a radical swing and I don't think it's radical. Folks, Brian Daibel can't solve this. Like in Buffalo, he went there and every year Josh Allen got better because Josh Allen had an enormous ceiling. He made Daniel Jones better. Didn't it make him great? He didn't make him very good. he made him better.

Better is probably what he is. So if Dayball can't solve this, and he's considered a top six or seven offensive guy in this league, an offensive guy can't solve it. So there's always, now we get to the Daniel Jones part. Listen, there's always desperate NFL teams. Remember, Daniel Jones is big. They say he's smart and he's athletic. And you can get out of the contract in 2025.

You can absolutely move Daniel Jones. You may not get what you want. You reached for him at a number six pick in the first round. Maybe you only get a third or fourth rounder. But the Niners move Trey Lance. You don't think the Giants can move a guy that made the playoffs last year? He made the playoffs last year. You can move Daniel Jones.

And all the top five prospects this year are considered better prospects than Daniel Jones was. So if you're in a league and you have the 20 to 23rd best quarterback, and now he's expensive, the good news is the quarterback draft class is really strong. You can move him, get out of that contract, but this isn't working. I could spend all the day banging on the O line and banging on the receivers and banging on Daniel Jones. I like some of the defense. It's not working. And your standard for the New York Giants isn't putting up wild card banners.

Parcells, Coughlin, Eli, Phil Sims, Strayhand, Lawrence Taylor, way, way, way up there. A better history than all about five teams in the NFL. You're not the Jags here. You're not the Falcons here. You're not the Bears here. Bears are still celebrating one championship team

30-plus years ago. It's not who you are. Here was Daniel Jones after. I mean, obviously I didn't play well enough. It was unacceptable and I let the team down. So I've got to fix it. I've got to work hard to get it right and I'm going to do that. My play wasn't good enough.

I know that and that's what I'm focused on. Listen, I feel kind of bad for him. He didn't draft himself at 6. He didn't give himself the bag. He didn't build this offensive line. He didn't hire Gettleman. You know, I can feel sympathy for what Justin Fields is going through. I can feel sympathy for what Daniel Jones is going through.

But this isn't working. So let's take a swing that may be viewed as radical. No, it's not. Arizona moved off the quarterback got Kyler Murray. It's not that radical. It's not that radical at all. People do it all the time. All right.

So what do we make of the Seahawks? I'm not sure how great Gino Smith is. I mean, they got 13 first downs and average six yards a pass. Barely had the football 24 minutes. How good is Gino Smith? I don't know. But Seattle has smartly built a roster that is not Gino Smith dependent. I mean, they already had a good young running back.

And yet in the second round this year, they went and got another running back. They already had lock at DK Metcalf at receiver. And yet in the first round, they went and got another receiver. Pete Carroll's been in Seattle, what, 14 years? this is the fourth version of his Seahawks. Most coaches, good coaches, struggle to pivoted once or twice. He's pivoted four times.

There was the 7 and 9, 7 and 9 pre-Russell Wilson Seahawks. For the record, one of those teams got into the playoffs and won a playoff game. That was the weakest version. Then there was, uh-oh, Legion of Boom, Russell and his prime, two Super Bowl appearances. Then there was the defense is aging. Guys get banged up. Let's let Russ cook.

This is still a pretty consistent playoff team. And then there's this version. We don't have a star quarterback, but we got away from the big paycheck. We got draft capital for Gino Smith. Let's get young, hit on some draft picks, rebuild the defense. And oh, by the way, this version, all four have made the playoffs with Pete. The pre-Russ. Russ in his prime, let Russ cook and see you, Russ.

They've all made the playoffs. Pete Carroll knows how to coach. I was very hard on him during the last few years of Russ and Pete Carroll. I was clearly wrong. He saw things with Russ declining that worried him. But in all four versions of Pete Carroll Seahawks, they've all made the playoffs. That is remarkable. I mean, literally, Belichick can't pivot off Brady.

The greatest coach ever. Can't make a second pivot. Can't make a second one. Pete's on his fourth. And Pete, interesting. Because Pete's always been viewed. I've had GMs and coaches say this. He's quirky.

He's West Coast. He's unique. Whatever it is, here's what I know is true. Pete is great with young players. He and Jimmy Johnson were great with young players and great understanding personnel and the strengths and the weaknesses of those players. Now, Pete can struggle sometimes with. older players who you don't get entitled.

They've heard the stories before from Pete. But Pete and Jimmy Johnson are in a very short list all time. We're the best college coach when they were in it and a top one or two coach in the NFL when they were in it. That is rarefied air. And so I thought Pete was too tough on Russ, should have let Russ cook. And the truth is, Russ simmering was probably better than Russ cooking. In the end, four different versions of Pete C. Hawks. All four have made the playoffs. And this team, they're just kids. This isn't even the best

version of this version, Pete after. Oh, we had so much fun tonight. Golly, that was fun playing football. It just reminds us that we're just getting started. We're just getting going. We're just putting it together. And a night like this for our defense to be able to play that explosively in three turnovers and whatever double-digit sacks. So we're not a finished product. We're just getting rolling. And it's really exciting to be able to tell you that because it feels like it. How about this? Husky Seahawks win the national championship Super Bowl. When you're from the Northwest, we've had very few years when everything clicks. They took our sonics. You know what I mean? The Mariners are mostly down. The Huskies are the best offense

in the country. And Seattle is something. I don't know exactly what. But they're young. They're getting better every weekend. They already won in Detroit. They won in the East Coast. Just saying, four pivots. Each one has been a playoff team. Each one has won playoff games, right? Isn't that hard?

No, they didn't. Did we win a playoff game last year? I don't think they didn't know. They didn't. So this version hasn't won a playoff game yet. Pretty good. Is this about the Seattle Seahawks, Colin? or the ineptitude of the New York Giants who look like, arguably the worst team in football

because they can't protect their quarterback, they have no offensive players that scare you, and Daniel Jones, Colin, oh my gosh. Are you sure Seattle looked that good last night? Well, yeah, I think there's, I think, first of all, Devon Witherspoon, that first pick in the first round, they have a star. They have done a really good job in the last two drafts to just, I mean, it's really hard to go four for four in a draft. Two years ago, they went five for five. This draft looks like another home run draft. It is amazing in the NFL. It's the league of hope. And we both love the NBA.

But, you know, if you, let's face it, Denver's going to be good for four or five years, but you can get the wrong stars. You can get tied to contracts. You have to spend money on somebody. There's injuries. Baseball, half the league can't compete financially. But in football, it's amazing what a five-for-five draft can do. Like hitting on five guys. Seattle is now back to back. If you look at their top eight, nine picks, they've hit on virtually all of them. Some of them stars, most of them competent, all starters.

Like, it's amazing. You know, it reminds me of the early Seattle days when Pete came out of college and they started hitting home runs in the fourth, fifth, sixth round. Like, this team has got dudes, and they're not paying 90% of these guys that are their best player. D.K. Metcalf's getting paid. Lockett is.

But most of their best players, they're like in year one, two, and three. It's an interesting roster. Hey, humor me for a second. and rank the quarterbacks in the NFC East. Just humor me for a second. Well, Jalen Hertz 1. Yeah. Dack 2.

Okay. I'd like my lawyer to take over from here. I do think Daniel Jones is third. Above Sam Howell. Well, Sam Hal has a little better, well, I shouldn't say better protection. I would say you're, Sam Hal's inexpensive and that has value, but Daniel Jones is more talented. You see what Sam Halwell just did to this? the Eagles? Well, I know. That was an

impressive performance. The week before against Buffalo, he got sack nine times. Buffalo's elite. Daniel's bigger, faster. He's a bigger kid faster. I think Daniel's more talented. He's not in a great situation. But I will say, Sam Hill's got something. I don't know if you build around him. It's like I say about Josh Dobbs, Arizona. There's something there. You can win

games with him. I mean, Sam Howell's a gamer? Josh Dobbs can make plays. By the way, Josh Jobs should have been the Cleveland backup starting this past weekend, not DTR. I know. How's Cleveland let go of Josh Dobbs? There's a lot of quarterbacks that I think are capable of winning a game. I just don't want to build the franchise around. Or give them $160 million.

Well, yeah, that wasn't great. I would not have done that. I didn't like the pick and I didn't like the bag. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the IHeart Radio app. 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. 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. 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 two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple

podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All right, J-Mack, there was a lot of debate. I thought Denver would double their win total. I did not pick them to make the playoffs, but I thought they were the most improved team going in. That's not the case. So stat muse came out yesterday. Russell Wilson this season actually has more passing touchdowns than Mahomes, Burrow, and Herbert. He does. He has more passing yards than Dak, Jalen Hertz, and Joe Burrow. He does. He's got less interceptions than Tua, Jared Goff, and Josh Allen. Facts. Now, what does it prove? It proves two things. He's not washed.

That was stupid. He didn't go from 104 pass rating to terrible without a major injury. Dumb people thought that. He's not washed. And it also proves Nathaniel Hackett was the issue with the offense. It proves those two things. Every reasonable person I talked to in the NFL knew that. But Russ is also part of an issue going forward.

forward. He's 34 years old. He is not a top 6-7 quarterback in this league. He's not. And he's going to be paid like it for the next five years starting next year. So that is the Russell issue. He is aged. He is not washed. But that five-year deal is a major cap hit, and it begins next year, and he's 34. He does not have the juice that he had previous seasons. So the expectations, and that's a key word here, when you brought Russell to Denver, the expectations were Russ is moving to Denver, let the magic begin. To-to-toe with Mahomes.

Herbert, Lamar, Josh Allen, toe-to-to-to. That was the expectation. Let the magic begin. You were hoping for like David Blaine magic, like people are levitating. This is more of like rabbit out of a hat magic. I mean, it's magic, but you wouldn't give it a TV special. But it is magic. And so that's the issue.

Expectations. Yes, Nathaniel Hackett is not a head coach. That's been proven. We can put the stat muse up again. That's been proven. It was a Nathaniel Hackett issue. It doesn't look like the Jets offense brings much to the table now, does it? Oh, by the way, Aaron got hurt on a place.

that he did not want called by his buddy Nathaniel Hackett. Hackett's not a head coach. I'm not sure he's a good offensive coordinator. Won't make that call yet. But it was a Hackett issue. Everybody knew that. And Russell's not washed. Everybody knew that.

That's reasonable. Russell Wilson is a more than capable quarterback in this league who's smart, moves better than average, not a great pocket quarterback but can make throws. He's capable and then some. But John Payton didn't come here for capable. You can't be capable in a shadow of what you were about four years ago and make $58 million a year. And so if you look at the Broncos schedule, this was the easy part.

Vegas, Washington, Chicago. The jets now come to town. And the jets went toe to toe with the chiefs, Kansas City twice. Green Bay, at Buffalo, Cleveland. So I think a lot of people in Denver are like, we've got the offense solved. Well, you've got the offense right, whether it's solved or not based on expectations two years ago, not really, but it's not your biggest issue. But this was the easy part of the schedule. And if you look going forward, let's say they beat the Jets, lose to Kansas City, beat Green Bay, lose to Kansas City, Buffalo.

You think Russell and Sean aren't having hard conversations? So expectations are really the key to happiness and relationships. What's reasonable? You pay $58 million, $48 million, $55 million. You've got to get a guy that can go toe-to-toe with Mahomes and Herbert and Lawrence and Lamar and Josh and Burrow. And that's what they paid for. He's not washed. That's silly.

And it was Hackett. That's obvious. But that's where we are right now. We can point fingers, but this was the easy part of the schedule, right? Sam Howell, Justin Fields. Now, this week, you don't have to face Aaron Rogers. You get Zach Wilson. Go look at the line on that thing.

It's a coin flip game. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I agree with a lot of what you said about Russ. The only thing, like when StatMuse pulls those. numbers. It's a little Fugazi. You know this. Well, this is why I try to contextualize those numbers,

which make him feel like a top five quarterback. He's not right now. He's not. Right, right, right. But of all the issues they had to solve, they at least have him being capable of leading you to wins. Well, okay, but the reason he's stacking touchdown passes is because they're trailing against Washington. They're trailing in the second half against the bears. Like, he's got to be putting up number. They're trailing by 40 against the dolphins. You know, like, I like Russ. I'm largely with you, not washed, but I don't know. I kind of like the Jets this week. Oh, no, I think the Jets is one of the better plays. No, I actually, I'm not, I bet against the Jets a lot. I think the Jets are one of the better plays on the board.

Look at the defense they face, the Broncos. I mean, Miami's defense stinks. No, it's. I think the Jets is my second favorite pick on the board. This is going to be a big wake-up call for Russ and stuff. Well, it's just, it's the difference between AAA baseball and Major League pitching. It's like, oh, all of a sudden the guy's got a third pitch and he hits the corners and he can manipulate you and it's like, no, it's a whole different ballgame with the Jets defense to the bearers. It's like not the same sport. Oh, great. All right. First up, Cowboys and Niners is the big matchup of week five.

Very excited about this. I think it's going to make your blazing five, given what you said to me during the commercial break. Dallas, obviously last year had the brutal ending. Yeah. Again, San Francisco. Ahead of the matchup, a reporter asked Dak to describe his feelings following last season's loss of the Niners. What was the feeling leaving that locker in last January against those guys? I mean, it's obvious.

I mean, we're so far past that, to be honest with you, but that's obvious. I mean, you just want to piss me off going on this week, and I appreciate that. I do, actually. I do. Yeah, appreciate that. Appreciate that.

It's that lost drive of you guys. I mean, every day. Every day. Every day, time, every day. I will say, I love DAC at the microphone. And I love that there. Because he has proven to me for seven years. He always says the right thing.

And that was an authentic moment where he's like, yeah, it pissed me off. It ruined my off season. He smiled. Did you notice he stopped talking? Like, this is a Baker Mayfield learn from this. You don't have to have a funny quip for every moment. He was angry with a question and he just looked at the guy and didn't talk. it is amazing how often scarcity or a pause get you out of trouble.

I love that because it shows me how much he cares, how much his off-season was sleepless night. I got to tell you, Dak's an all-time quarterback at the microphone. Oh, he is good at the microphone. That was a great moment, yes, and I like Dak as like an interview subject. That's one of my favorite moments of the year by a quarterback. Settled down. Really?

Really? Come on. So this morning, I knew we were going to talk about this. I went and watched a condensed version of that 49ers Cowboys game. So Dak threw two pretty bad interceptions in the first half. One in his own end, handed San Fran three points, and another in the red zone. San Francisco came down and scored again. Like, Dak can be upset and it ticked off his offseason, but he's largely to blame for that loss.

Well, it was well. And they then blamed Kellyn Moore and kicked him out of town. Colin, I got a fun number for you. Right. Dallas is three and one. They look good this year, right? You're puffing out their chest. There are three opponents.

Their wins are jets, one win. Giants, one win. Arizona, one win. New England, one win. Their opponent's record is four and 12th. They've beaten nobody this year. Nobody. Let me give you a number.

And oh, by the way, they got smoked by Arizona. Stat boy. How about this? Stat boy. Opposing quarterbacks against the Cowboys' defense this year have a passer rating of 55. Okay. Brock Purdy.

So you can say what you want. Nobody has played well against this defense. Because they haven't faced a good quarterback. Zach Wilson, Daniel Jones, Josh Dobbs, and Mack Jones. That's a dregs of the league. Okay. I like Brock Purdy. Oh, yeah.

But mostly what I like is he doesn't make mistakes. I don't like that he has a huge arm or he's Lamar Jackson. He's coachable and doesn't make mistakes. This defense forces you into, it made Mac Jones. I mean, that's the only time I've looked at Mac and thought, is he a backup quarterback? I always thought Mac was a capable quarterback. They made Daniel Jones and Mac Jones look like backups. What led you to believe Mac was capable?

His rookie year. Two years ago, he was two years ago. Yeah, but I mean, when you come into the league, well, C.J. Stroud. When you come into the league, CJ's got something. The only thing that scares me, I did bet the Niners already at three and a half, is if Michael Parsons goes up against that right tackle because if you remember in the season opener, he will. That guy got destroyed by T.J. Watt. The right tackle filling in from McGlinchie who left. I'll tell you, I've already bet Dallas. So we're head to head in this. If this number goes to

four, Dallas plus four, it's the bet of the weekend. At three and a half, I still like it. Okay. So this is a low scoring football. This game's got 2017 all over it, and I'm not giving up three and a half. I think Brock Purdy's gotten to 30 points in like his last eight straight games. They've covered like eight straight at home. All streaks. Wow. Okay. So we're head to head in this one, huh? You want to watch this together Sunday afternoon? No, because you'll taunt me if I do lose. I can be an adult. I would never do that kind of out there. You're not a good winner. You're a bad winner. Ouch. All right, let's move on to the Chiefs. They took care of the Jets Sunday night. Mahomes was average pedestrian. I mean, two interceptions. Could have gotten picked a third time, but C.J. Mosley's got stone hands. Despite the uncharacteristic game from Mahomes, he had this. to say about his performance.

Obviously, I have to be better with the football. Can't turn it over and put that pressure on our defense, but they stepped up for me. And so it's football, it's NFL, and everything's going to be easy to find a way to win different ways. I've learned in my six or seven years, you can win pretty, but you have to win ugly, too,

in order to win Super Bowls. And so for me, it's always, even though I hate it while it's happening, I feel like it makes you better in the end if you win games like this, where everything's going perfect. And so we did that last year, and we're going to try to do that again this year, and then try to keep getting better. And so we're planning our best football at the end of the season.

Very, very right. That's the – you can't always – I mean, you got it – I got news for you. No quarterbacks playing well for 17 weeks. No quarterbacks mostly playing well for 14. You got – it's Tua. We thought Tua's MVP. Had a stinker last week. It's the way it works.

Jalen Hertz is yet to have a great game. I really hope people think like, oh, Mahomes, maybe he's struggling after that Jets game. I'm looking at some numbers here on who blitzes the most in the league. Oh, wouldn't you know that? It's a Minnesota Vikings blitzing 58% under, I think it's Flores. So they face Kansas City this week. Okay? Is Flores going to blitz Patrick Mahomes?

You can't blitz Patrick Mahomes. He will roast you. I know. How are the Chief's only five-point favorites on the road? Well, one of the concerns with them, go look at all those Kansas City numbers, is how many points did they score against the Jags and the Jets? They're not scoring points because their receiving core is like bottom third of the league. So the truth is they're winning ugly a lot.

It was an ugly win against the Jets and the Jags. Take the Bears out. Triple A football. Take the Bears out. They're scoring like 20. They had, what, 12 points or something like they? They were like 16.9 or something. Low score.

So that was Kelsey's first game back, right? Off the injury. And Chris Jones is, I think, first. game back. So do we give them a little bit of a pass? They did have 200 yards on the first quarter against the Jets. The Jets' mighty defense. They slowed down after that. I don't know if they lost focus. They were staring at Taylor Swift and Blakely. Their receiving core, to me, is a problem.

Well, you know who looks good against bad? I mean, the Minnesota Vikings make receiving cores look good. That's how terrible this secondary is, Colin. I'm just saying, Kansas City, I know you're not supposed to lay a big number on the road. But if you just look strategically at what they want to do. Well, I very rarely bet the Chiefs because they're not a great big favor. Correct. They win games, but they're a terrible team when they get big points.

Did not show up against the Jets in the end. I'm just saying the tendencies of Flores line up perfectly from a home to have a monster game here. Final story, Aaron Rogers has been rehabbing as Achilles injury over five hours a day. I don't know how you do that with one goal in mind. He doesn't have kids. That's what his job is. He's going to rehab all day. Gets up in the morning, takes a nap, little lunch, rehab.

That's what he should. And by the way, but he's not 28. Your body heals much quicker in early 20s than late 30s. Yeah, you remember when you would go on like three-day weekend benders and then you'd be able to wake up Monday and work? Like, you can't do that. I can remember in college ripping my ankle up, like popping. Two days later, I'm limping around playing basketball.

I'd be out for a month. Nothing. Now, yeah. I mean, I can't even drink back-to-back nights anymore. Plus, play basketball. No, no shot. I find a way to do that. At any rate, Rogers claims he's going to be ready in mid-January for a playoff run.

I'm here for it. This internal brace called a speed bridge. Okay. Apparently does not guarantee a speedy recovery but strengthens the repair itself. Oh, I love that. Should we get a doctor on here to talk about this? Well, they're not going to be in the playoffs. So, I mean, it's a great story.

You know what I think Aaron's doing? You know what I think Aaron's doing? Did you just say they're not going to be in the playoffs? Yeah, the Jets are. are not going to be in the playoffs. Clip it off, people. Internet watchers. I know they watch everything. Clip it off. Bills, Dolphins are better teams.

Memo to any fan. That doesn't mean the Jets can't get it. We know the Bills and Dolphins are better right now against Zach Wilson. You know why he's doing this? Go ahead. This is Aaron Rogers keeping some optimism and positivity in. He's trying to send a message. Guys, don't give up.

Keep winning games. That's all he's doing. Aaron's showing what leadership is. He keeps telling everybody, I'm coming back. Five hours rehits. It's not coming back. But what he's doing is they keep losing is guys don't give up. Stay afloat.

He's being a great teammate to Robert Sala. He and Sala are trying to keep this puppy afloat through optimism and hope. Good vibes, right? Yeah, that always works. Well, no, I mean, Sala's passion, right now you're trying to salvage the season. If they could get to seven wins and you lose a couple of close ones down the stretch, I think you feel like, okay, Zach's a backup, Aaron's back, we don't have to draft the quarterback, we're good.

So you're saying that Aaron's doing this solely as a leadership moment in his career. How much of this is, we don't, hey, guys, don't go get Tanna Hill or Kirk Cousins. We got this, I'm coming back. Is there part of that? And how much of it is, hey, we know Sala's in trouble. Guys, I'm coming back. I'm close, I'm close. Woody Johnson, don't fire Sala.

No, I don't think Sala should be fired. I don't think he should be fired. I always tell you this. When you get hired as a coach, can you at least get your side of the ball right? So like D'Amico Ryan's has four games in for Houston, their defense is noticeably better. Joe Judge couldn't figure out either side.

Iber flew to defensive coach. The defense gotten worse. Brandon Staley, defense gets worse. When I look at Robert Sala, immediately the defense was better. So I know he knows football. Now it's just, can my quarterback play? All these coaches.

I mean, McVeigh can only do so much when he had Baker playing instead of Stafford. You can only do so much. So to me, when I watch a coach come in, Lincoln Riley solved USC's offense in a week. He can't get the defense right. But I know he knows football. So like if Oklahoma loses, but their defense is great. Well, Venables has to get the right quarterback and the coordinator. So it always comes.

But when you can't get your side of the ball right, Chicago, Chargers. It's like, bro, Chargers, you're spending. fortune on defense. You can't be that bad. I guess I took umbrage with the Jets won't be in the playoffs because we've seen a lot of craziness here early. The Bengals are not a playoff team, right? They're not. They look terrible. Well, they look terrible. But they have Joe Burrow. So what? Joe Burroughs been awful so far this season. We don't even know if his calf's going to hold a Pittsburgh Steelers are trash. I'm sorry, guys. I love the Steelers here.

They have Kenny Pickett. He's hurt. We don't even know if Pickett's back. I'm going to say Joe Burrow will find a way by Thanksgiving. Cincinnati will be, I don't think they'll be a playoff team, they'll be viable. I don't know. Because of Joe Burroughs. You see that line movement against the Arizona Cardinals? The market is saying sell your Bengal stock. They're in trouble.

I don't know if you're saying that. AFC, you even said the herd hierarchy, not a lot of AFC teams in there. Heard hierarchy in 20 minutes. A lot of teams you can see on Fox in the NFC. J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News.

You know, we beat up on the Buffalo Bills a little in the offseason the way the season ended, the drama. Buffalo's getting a little bit of a break. We'll talk about that coming up. Heard hierarchy as well. What do you do with C.J. Stroud? Holy moly. We've got a producer on the staff.

Greg just loves his Houston teams. We never talk about them. This could be the day. We give them four minutes. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, this is Tom Verduci from Fox Sports. MLB Network and Sports Illustrated.

And I'm Joe Madden, and we're going to be around to talk a little bit about managerial decisions and what may have occurred into the dugout, maybe in the 1980s. It's the Book of Joe podcast. I can't wait for this, Joe. We're going to dive into what goes on in the dugout and behind the scenes in Major League Baseball. Cars, whined, whatever else we want to talk about. Yeah, well, there are no boundaries, right? Listen to the Book of Joe podcast on the IHeart Radio app on 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. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators,

and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream,

this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes.

Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to Stuff to Blow Your Mind on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. podcast. Fox and FS1 are your home for the American League Divisional Series as the league's biggest stars takes center stage on the road to the fall classic. It all starts Saturday on Fox and FS1. Heard hierarchy in 15 minutes, top 10 teams according to us. So the Buffalo Bills had a

very interesting end of the season, embarrassing loss to Cincinnati at home, struggled with Skyler Thompson and the Dolphins. And then had the Stefan Diggs, Josh Allen drama. And so they had the course correct. So to win a Super Bowl, it takes production and talent. We know that. But it also takes some timing and breaks. Buffalo's getting breaks in the NFC.

So Joe Burroughs hurt again. Cincinnati's a bit of a mess. Kansas City's offense has scored 20 against Detroit, 23 against the Jets, and 17 against the Jags. They don't have receivers that separate. The Jets, Aaron Rogers, got hurt. Denver, what happened to the defense? No idea.

Regress badly. Chargers, they teeter on near disaster. Fourth quarter of every game they play. The Jags, I don't know what it is exactly, but they don't feel right. Pittsburgh, Kenny Pickett's hurt. He's regressed. And the Ravens, they've got injuries. Always dangerous with Lamar, but once again, they've got injuries.

So, oh, by the way, there's Miami, but Miami has a problem. It's called Josh Allen. They just don't have the players to stop him. He literally owns the franchise. He's like a 25, 30% owner of the franchise now. Josh Allen doesn't know he owns it, but he actually does. So they've gotten a bit of a break here. They either match up really well with teams or the surging chargers and the surging

jags don't feel right. The powerhouse Titans don't have quite enough speed and power. Cincinnati, they do have power, not enough speed. And Cincinnati's come down. and now we're starting to see the issue with trading Tyreek Hill did not show itself last year because they had Juju Smith-Schuster and others. Now they look pretty below average at wide receiver. So they have either in Buffalo solved or mitigated their problems. Vaughn Miller's coming back.

The Stefan Diggs-Josh-Allen drama has evaporated. Leslie Frazier left. We thought that was weird because it was weird. Hasn't been a problem. And the run game and the tight end production is clearly better. Kincaid's a stud. The kid they got out of Utah, he's a stud. So windows in the NFL close very quickly,

but it looks like Buffalo's was closing and it is quickly reopened due to their evolution, them coming to terms with what they weren't, them solving some Stefan Diggs, Leslie Fraser issues, and frankly, others declining. So it does feel like it was kind of closing. It's reopened. It's not just your talent. You know, planes go head to head.

They go faster when they're both headed to each other. So it's the decline of the AFC quickly and the emergence and solving of problems. And suddenly Buffalo looks dominant again. And to JMAX point, the matchup this week could be another blowout. So I think this is interesting. So I was sitting and looking at the NFL standings this morning. The staff makes fun of me. I know they do.

They don't tell me they do because I always want the standings because it jogging. because it jars topics. So I looked at the standings this morning. We're a month in. We don't know everything, but you can tell who's really good and who's really bad. There's a lot of stuff in the middle, probably 24, 23 teams in the middle. But there are six to me bad teams in the league. They just have too many issues.

They're not very good teams. Bears, giants, Falcons, Panthers, Arizona Raiders. Could be a coach, could be an online, could be a quarterback. They're just not very good teams. That's the bottom of the league. There's another like four or five teams. teams, whatever, I'm going to wait a few weeks because they got something. Cincinnati's got Burrell. Russell Wilson and Peyton have kind of figured it out. The Jets' defense is great.

Belichick's Belichick. In Tampa, Baker's playing his butt off and they have good personnel. So those teams could be bad. They could dovetail. But right now, I'm not going to say they're bad teams. They're competitive. But I would tell you, outside of Arizona, outside of Arizona and Cincinnati, all those teams would draft Caleb Williams if they had the number one pick. Arizona probably doesn't with college. and the Cincinnati Bengals don't. They're not going to get rid of the Ohio kid, even if he's hurt. And Caleb Williams and his dad know that.

Now, I've been told he'd play for the Raiders, but do not be surprised if he pushbacks on Chicago, the Jets are the Giants, and Arizona. Don't be surprised if he pushes back. College football players are empowered now. First stage, they skip bowl games. Second stage, transfer portal explosion. Third stage, NIL money avalanche.

There is a fourth stage. And that is dominant transformational quarterbacks pushing back. You were outraged when they skip bulls. I'll never watch college football again. Shut up. Ratings are an all-time high. This transfer portal is ruining everything. I'm not watching with the NIL.

If players are making millions, it might as well be pro football. I'm not watching. Shut up. Ratings are an all-time, 10-year high. You'll watch if your team's good. I don't want to hear you whine about it.

We've had three stages of player empowerment. Skipping bowl games, transfer portal explosion, NIL money avalanche. Bruh, that's not the final stage. The final stage, and it's about time where a transformational Caleb Williams, Trevor Lawrence, Andrew Luck, like John Elway, Eli Manning says, I'm not playing for Chicago.

You got no plan, defensive coach, defensive culture, you've never had a great quarterback. I'm not playing for you. Trade me. And by the way, Chicago may say, okay, we'll take Drake May and get like a billion picks. That's not bad either. But I'm saying we've seen three stages of player empowerment in college football. and many of you, because the fan base for college football is older than the NBA, older than soccer, older than NBA, older than the NFL, and all you do is grumble about

it and you'll never watch college football again. I don't want to hear it. College football players, stars have leverage. Caleb and his dad know it. I got no problem. I defend Elway. I defend Eli. Chicago hasn't earned the right to a transformation quarterback. You've never had one great quarterback. How many years you've been hanging out and playing in the NFL? Not one ever. So it's coming. Get ready to threaten and never watch college football again.

Please. Hour two hurt hierarchy 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. guests, S&L's Mikey Day and headwriter 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. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have. have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

How many men carry a suit are armored. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast. Guaranteed Human.