The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR 1-Wentz, Raiders, Giants

Episode Date: October 23, 2020

People still don't give Carson Wentz the respect he deservesIt might be time to take the Raiders seriouslyThe Giants are improving, the Cowboys are notGuest: Doug Flutie Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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.

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I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, the Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversation. with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for The Heard at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go, and a loaded Friday.

Terry Bradshaw is going to stop by today, Blazing 5 live in Los Angeles. This is The Hurd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening, Fox Sports Radio right here at FS1, one hour from now, Blazing 5 picks, like them, like them a lot. It is great to have you in on a Friday, Terry Bradshaw, Doug Flutie stops by today. Can't wait for that.

That's in 30 minutes. Joy Taylor's joining me. How are you, Joy? Debate last night at all? No, no debate. I'm grateful for that. I was working, so I enjoyed watching the Thursday night football game. So did I.

Actually, it's a weaker division, but that's life. We've got a lot of, some divisions are great. It was a scrappy fun game, though. It was. Here's what's interesting. So Carson Wentz once again pulled out the game. You know I love Carson Wentz. and he pulled out the game and this is all I hear.

Well, he wasn't good until the end. That's actually how Tom Brady won three of his Super Bowls, you know, being good at the end stuff. Russell Wilson a couple weeks ago played poorly. He was good on one drive of the game, the very last drive. And he beat Minnesota and he was dubbed amazing. And I love Russell Wilson. Unbelievable.

Carson Wentz struggled somewhat early with far less talent, does the same last night in the fourth quarter, He didn't play. He just doesn't play well until the end. The last drive by the Eagles totally encapsulates what the franchise in Philly is and what Wentz is. Let's look at it. First of all, punt return. Deshawn Jackson gets hurt.

Well, of course Deshawn Jackson gets hurt. He's a Philadelphia Eagle wide receiver. So Carson Wentz will not have his most skilled wide receiver for the final drive. All right, he's gone. Later in the drive, Carson Wentz hits Richard Rogers two times. Oh, the great Richard Rogers, a third string tight end. Cut by Washington in September. That's his go-to guy.

This is go-to guy. This encapsulates what they are. Then, after this, they get down first in goal. And one of his teammates gets caught face masking. hurting Carson Wentz. And now he's got a first and goal at the 18 yard line. Like the percentage to score there, almost none, except he throws a perfect ball to a five, six running back, Boston Scott.

And you're telling me he's not amazing? Why is every other quarterback in the league a hero when they win a game late? The leading three receivers last night for Philadelphia are Richard Rogers, cut by Washington in September. Travis Fulgum, released by the Lions last year. Not a good team. The Lions are like, you're not good enough for us. Six-round pick from Old Dominion.

John Hightower, a rookie, a fifth-round rookie from Boise State. And Boston Scott, who was signed off the Saints practice squad two years ago. Now, Carson Wentz is not perfect. Holds on the ball too long, trying to make the big play. and he does throw a lot of jump balls. He throws the ball up for grab sometimes. A lot of them are caught. But it's amazing.

I have watched this kid four to five to six times in the last 10 Eagle games carry a mash unit. But I always hear that, well, he's not good into the end of the game. He, you know, he holds the ball too long. It's interesting, Greg Kosell, 41 years NFL films, compared him to a former NFL player on our show. And Wynce is an interesting player, and I like Carson Wence, as I know you do. But Carson Wence, even at his best, he's a certain kind of quarterback. He's not a true precision player. He's a playmaker-type quarterback who can make big plays.

He will always miss a few. That's the way he plays. I'm not going to compare him to Brett Farr, who's a Hall of Famer, but stylistically, that's what Carson Wins really is. He's a big play-type quarterback. We loved Brett Farrf. We loved Brett Farr. We brag about what Josh Allen could be as a big play. We loved Bradshaw.

We love Big Ben. None are precision players. Even Patrick Mahomes is a big play quarterback. We love all of them. Except Wence, who is playing with guys from Old Dominion. He's not perfect, but he's a playmaker. And you've made up your mind. I see this with people in politics.

You just make up your mind and you're not budging. You did this with Andrew Luck and you've done it with Carson Wentz. Just once, I'd like to see him win a game late and people go like Russell Wilson. That's amazing. But like politics, we've all made up our mind, right? Here's Carson after. The same thing that I echo every game when we're down. Just keep believing.

Just one play at a time and the big play is going to hit. It's going to happen. And John had the big one on that first drive. obviously Boston the second drive, and guys just keep believing and keep rallying together. And that's what it's going to take to win a lot of these ballgames. So let's talk about a game this weekend that has the potential to completely change our minds about a team. Now, most of us, we either like teams or don't. And then there's the Raiders.

I mean, let's be honest about the Raiders. They've had one winning season in 18 years. outside of people who love the Raiders, they've been a joke for 18 years. They had one year where Derek Carr won nine last possession games. They got to the playoffs. He got hurt and they got rolled. They had been a joke for 18 years. They had the worst stadium deal.

They had an old owner that was out of touch. They drafted poorly. I mean, around NFL circles, I knew people, like, reporters, respected reporters, didn't want to go public with it, but they would tell me, like, I don't even cover the Raiders. Like, they just don't know what they're doing. and they didn't say that about Detroit or Cincinnati or Cleveland. They would say like the Raiders are not even, they don't even count as an NFL team.

They were a mess. We haven't taken seriously for 18 years. But this weekend and this year, they beat Breeze and the Saints already. They beat Mahomes and the Chiefs already. If they beat Brady and the Bucks already, we're going to have to take them seriously. They've got a cool new stadium,

an iconic coach, a ton of offensive weapons, and a GM that appears, the former TV guy, to know what he's doing. It really comes down to this with the Raiders. Do you like Derek Carr? I do always have. Pro football focus came out yesterday. It rated every single NFL quarterback. All things, all stats, all plays.

He was 12th. What have I said on this show, Joy is my witness? Derek Carr, to me, is the 12th best quarterback in the NFL. I do these lists from time to time. and that's what he is. For the record, I went and looked it up this morning. Derek Carr, since the start of last season. That's with John Gruden.

32 touchdowns, 9 picks, 71% completion percentage, and 105 quarterback rating. I'm in. I don't think he's Rogers or Russell. I don't think he's Mahomes or Lamar. I don't think he's quite Big Ben. But he's a top 12 quarterback. And we're going to have to, for the first time,

in 18 years, take the goofy Raiders. I grew up, you had to take the Raiders seriously. They were a top three NFL franchise. They actually remind me a little of the Warriors. When I was a kid growing up, the Warriors Row was great. And then they went into a 20, 25-year abyss. Now they're a great franchise. New owner, new people running it.

The Raiders, if they win this weekend, will have beaten Breeze and Peyton. Andy Reed and Mahomes, Bruce Ariens and Tom Brady, and here's John Gruden. Well, he was going to be here, but he's busy preparing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. So Raider Nation gets very feisty because Raider Nation believes everybody's out to bury them. Sort of like Cleveland Brown Nation, everybody's a nation. The media is not picking on anybody. Either you're competent or you're not. And there's been about seven teams that haven't been very competent for the last.

20 years. The Raiders are won, and I think there's a chance. Remember, Raiders off a buy, Buccaneers, just came off a huge win over Green Bay, natural letdown, keep your eye on the Las Vegas Raiders. A lot of things. So I made predictions. You know, Labor Day was the last chance I could change them on playoff teams, AFC, NFC. We'll check in. I've got a one massive miss, two potential misses. That's coming up. But first, I think it's official. I think the New York Giants are out of the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes despite losing last night. That's coming up. Terry Bradshaw later, Doug Flutie this hour. 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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 Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

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

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, learn the hard way with me,

your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing,

we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person

while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing,

growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, Search learn the hard way and listen now. RECTEC, built by grillers, four grillers, stainless steel. Buy that grill, you'll never buy another one. Smart grill technology, R-C-T-E-Q.com, R-C-T-E-Q-C-W-A-Q-C-W-E-C-T-E-C-W-E-T-E-C-W. I actually thought the Giants, many will say, blew an 11-point lead last night late.

My takeaway is, that was a pretty good loss. I'll give you four or five reasons. I thought Daniel Jones, I know he tripped and fell, but I thought he played pretty good. They have no running game, so it's kind of relying on him to make plays. did. I think the team totally buys into Joe Judge. How do I know that? Unlike the Cowboys, they get a little bit better every week. They should have won that game last night. They have no running game. They were built around Saquan Barclay. He's out. They had no training camp. So really September was their training camp. And I look at them and I think they remind me

the Miami Dolphins last year. They're not a great football team. But they're getting better every week. So they clearly buy into the coach. When you're the Cowboys and you don't buy into the coach, you get worse every week. That's what's happening there. The real question is, with this team, after watching him now for a month and a half, is Daniel Jones the guy. And after watching him last night in a loss, my takeaway is whether he is or not, and I would lean yes, they're too competent not to win two or three more games. They play Dallas again at home. They play the Bengals. They play Washington.

They pay Philadelphia at home. They're going to win a couple of those games. They've already got one win, should have two. They outplayed the Rams for most of that three and a half hours. They're a one-win team that's going to finish as a three-win team, maybe more. They're just simply too competent to be in the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes. So that's my takeaway from last night. You may not like to hear that.

But we've got teams right now. The Jets are not going to win more than a game if that. Darnold's back. He maybe wins one or two. The Giants are a better football team getting better. The Jets are worse, not good anywhere, and playing poor football. The Jags, Washington, and Atlanta, Atlanta just fired everybody. Those teams are really eyeing Trevor Lawrence.

It's not like the Giants have a history of bailing on quarterbacks. Eli Manning for years and years through lots of interceptions. Daniel Jones has lots of fumbles. But he played in a major conference. He's had good quarterback coaches in college and the pros. He's got Jason Garrett who played the game. He had David Cutcliffe. He appears to be getting better.

I thought he was very competent last night to above average. Joe Judge afterwards, I think the Giants are actually for a losing team in pretty good shape going forward. You know, we're putting together a foundation for a team that we hope that lasts and we play the right type of football for a long time. So we've got a culture being built right now that's moving in the right direction. We've got a lot of good football being played. Obviously, we've got to clean up a lot of things. We've eliminated some mistakes and maximize our opportunities, like I've said earlier. But in terms of to the fans, I'm not going to ask me patient. That's not your job to be patient. Your job is to go ahead and be entertained by us and

what we put on the field. They've lost three games by 12 points. Going forward, they've got three three or four games that are absolute losses, three or four go-either-way games, and three or four games, Dallas at home, Philadelphia at home, Washington and the Bengals, I think they can win all four of those. They're competent and getting better. Dallas right now is not competent and getting worse. They'll beat Dallas next time they play them. So I think they're officially out of the Trevor Lawrence sweepstakes.

You won't have to make that decision. That's now on the Jets, real tough decision, Jags, easy decision if you get him. in Atlanta, go either way decision. Do you keep Matt Ryan or not? Here's Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news.

They also had a ton of penalties at the end of the game. Like, it unraveled for the Giants there. Listen, this is what happens to young teams that lose their star player with no training camp and a new head coach. It is, they're going to have these unravel moments. I feel a lot like the Giants that I did with the Dolphins last year, or I do with the Bengals this year. Like you can lose and be like, no, they're going in the right direction. You don't have to win games to impress me.

The Dolphins this year, you know, they took last year's momentum. Dolphins were five and four last nine games. You're watching this year and you're like, oh, this is a potential playoff team. Today they'd be a playoff team. We're not incredibly patient anymore. No. And obviously the Giants should have won that game last night. but that's what happens when you're not completely put together to all of your points there.

I think also the penalties just killed them. A couple of those penalties, Evan Ingram catches that ball, and it's a different conversation this morning. By the way, Daniel Jones, through the game-winning touchdown, his guy didn't catch it. So again, Daniel Jones was more than competent last night. So the Patriots fell to two and three after a poor performance from Cam Newton against the Broncos last week. He was barely able to practice in the two weeks leading up to the game, but he's not making excuses and is taking blame for the team. recent struggles.

Just haven't been good. And I haven't matched enough good plays together for my liking. And that's what it comes down to. And I know what I'm capable of. And my standard is extremely high and I haven't been meeting it, my personal standard. So that's how I feel. It feels like a big game for the paycheck. Oh, it feels like, I think it feels huge for Cam.

Cam's great game when we all bought in with Seattle. But now you look at Seattle and it's like, okay, Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 300 yards against Seattle. Matt Ryan threw for 450 yards. Kirk Cousins had a 93 pass. Dack threw for 427 yards. Everybody's kind of been good against Seattle. So now it's like, okay, I need a second game.

And San Francisco, I know they lost Bosa. And I know their defensive front's not as good. But Joy, I just looked this morning. They're still a top five defense. Like, let's not pretend San Francisco. Francisco doesn't have most of their Super Bowl roster from last year. When Garoppolo's healthy, I think they're going to beat New England this week. I think San Francisco is a real team.

Well, they just beat the Rams, 2416, which obviously that's what they do, to beat the Rams. But this does, this feels like a really big game for the Patriots for the season. Obviously, it's the 49ers, and they could still, obviously, win the division, depending on how things go with the bills. But after losing Cam for that week and then the performance with the Broncos, it just feels like they need this game to get back on the momentum that they were on at the beginning of the season. Obviously, they already have a losing record. I'm with you. I think the 49ers win this game, but it is at the Patriots, so there's some travel involved. I just

think this is a must-win situation for the Patriots. So Antonio Brown's eight-game suspension is coming to an end soon. And if he gets another chance in the NFL, Russell thinks Seattle would be a great fit. From the conversations I've had with him, he's really been remorseful and just, he's been humbled, you know, along the way. I think that, you know, with our culture, I can speak those on us, you know, and how our culture is. I think, you know, with Coach Carroll, I think with the teammates that we have, the men that we have and the growth, I think it's, if he does play football, I think this is a great place if he does play again, you know. You know, I think this is a place that he'll grow a lot as a man, too, as well. I do think that Seattle has a good culture, which I think would be

necessary to bring in someone like Antonio Brown. Yeah, I mean, it's a good locker. Yes, I just don't, I don't trust it at this point. Like, is he going to end up somewhere? Yes, he is, because he's that kind of talent and this is a competitive industry. Here's what worries me. So Pittsburgh's a really well-run operation. It unraveled. Then he eventually went to New England, really good operation.

It unraveled. So it's not like he's been like with the lions. Now, it did unravel with the Raiders, and I can be more cynical of that. Yeah, but I also felt like the Raiders did everything they could to support him. It wasn't like it was a situation where I was really picking sides there. Like he was traded and then you remember he had the blisters on his feet because of the chiro therapy and couldn't practice. And then there was the helmet situation. And then there was the altercation with Mike Mayock.

And then the recording of the private conversation with John Gruden. And then he demanded his release after the team voided his guaranteed money. So there was just like thing after thing after thing. I'm with you. The Raiders is kind of an isolated situation where things could be considered dysfunctional. but there's no excuse for the Steelers and there's no excuse for the Patriots. Like those are two of the best run organizations

in the league. And even though I do think Seattle is very well run, it's like what is the cost benefit of this situation? If he comes in and he does what he's supposed to do and does his job and doesn't cause any drama, then that's a great situation, right? But we've seen that that's not what tends to happen. Now, I understand Russell Wilson has spoken with him

and he said he's humbled and I just, I need to see it. But if I was a general manager, it's not worth it to me. One of the things with Antonio Brown that did him no good was his social media accounts. I almost think if I signed him, I'd say, okay, you're off those. Oh, yeah. No, whoever signs him, if I was to sign him, it's a zero tolerance policy for everything. Like, there's no social media during the season.

I don't want to hear about, like, advertisements and all that. Like, you cannot use your social media during the season at all. Like, one tweet and you're like, that's it. I'm not dealing with any kind of drama whatsoever if you're going to come in because why? I'm the one taking all the risk in the situation. So yeah, that to me is non-negotiable. Levian Bell is trying to make a good impression on his new chiefs teammates. And he started with his fellow running back, Clyde Edwards-Halear, offensive coordinator,

Eric B.N. and me revealed that Levion made an effort to connect with Edwards-Halear before he even signed with the team. Leveon reached out to Clyde and had a conversation with him and asked him, you know, and totally, basically, I don't want to step on your toes, you know, which I want to know if you're okay with me coming in here. And he's a classy individual. It says a lot about the person who does not want to come up and disrupt the chemistry that we have. I think it does say a lot about Levion. I've never, I've never, I didn't like when he went on Facebook in a locker room. That was Antonio Brown.

Was that Antonio Brown? Yeah. Okay. I didn't love the way I thought he made a poor decision leaving Pittsburgh but if you go back and look at every single comment

and tweet Lavian Bell did with the Jets he always said it's a businessman I'm here to help this some guys are most guys that are trouble are fairly called trouble

they're labeled trouble Levian Bell to me has always been almost aloof where it's like It's a business. He doesn't love football, perhaps, as much as we want our players to love it. But he's never been disruptive to me. Adam Gase, another star he just didn't like.

I think he's going to have a lot of success with Kansas City, which is going to be another bad mark on Adam Gase. But the Steelers situation, I can't really fault him, even though I think that that was the best place for him. I can't fault anybody who wants to bet on themselves and wants to maximize their money. And if that's how you want to handle it, like it's your career. No one's going to tell us how to run our careers. do what you want. I just think that the Steelers was the best situation for him.

But similarly, I think Kansas City is a great situation for him at this point in his career. And him coming into what's obviously a good culture, he knows this moving going in. Like he had options, obviously, and wanted to come into a situation where he feels comfortable. He's not disrupting anything. And he has self-awareness, which is what I appreciate the most about Levin and Bell. He didn't have to do this. He didn't have to call Clyde Albert Teller and ask him what the situation is. And he doesn't want to disrupt anything.

So I really interested to see how this works with Levyon and the Chiefs. Good stuff, Joy. Taylor with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Okay, we are a third through the NFL season, actually slightly above a third through the NFL season. And so I'm going to go in 10 minutes and we're going to check in on my predictions. But first, I'm so excited because I'm not sure if I've ever talked to Doug Flutie before.

but I got into this thing. I started talking about this earlier this week. And I said, everybody in life, it doesn't matter if it's football or not, needs a kingmaker. Somebody to believe in you. I had a couple executives early in my career. They believed in me or I wouldn't be here. I'd be bouncing around in local radio. And I said, Kyler Murray doesn't fit the prototypical NFL quarterback.

Runs too much, a little shorter. But somebody, Cliff Kingsbury, bought into him. I trust him. I'm here for his growth and development. and everybody tries to compare Kyler Murray to a lot of different people. And I'm like, he's not Russell Wilson. He's Doug Flutie. The difference is nobody ever put their arms around Doug in the NFL.

He was a great high school player. Like Kyler, he won the Heisman. He was a finalist two years. Then he goes to the CFL. He's their greatest player ever. Then he goes to the NFL. I think he's 21 and 9 in Buffalo. They're just trying to replace him.

But remember, we didn't have Russell Wilson then. Russell Wilson, I believe, got Kyler drafted high and got Baker Mayfield. drafted high. And I think if Baker, I think if Doug Flutie came out today with his credentials and his talent, I think Doug Flutie would be a first round pick. I absolutely do. He was an 11th round pick. And I just think it just goes to show sometimes you need an example in a big business where everybody goes, oh, Russell Wilson, run around guy show. Oh, that works. And I think Russell's gotten a lot of guys drafted. Doug, I mean, maybe Fran Tarkinson. Like there wasn't somebody out there champing, championing in.

And he's going to join. Yeah, there you go. He's going to join. He played, by the way, 12 years in the NFL. It's not like he didn't play. And he was winning. Wherever he went, he could win games. And Doug Flutie is now joining us 21 years as a professional football player, 12 in the NFL. He was the NFL comeback player of the year. He made a pro bowl. And, you know, it's interesting, Doug, because we were talking this week. And I started talking about you. And some people on my staff are like 25 years old. And I'm like, oh, you didn't see Doug Flutie play. I'm like Doug Flutty was a pain in the butt.

But I did say this, Doug. I said, I never felt that you had a franchise that said, this is our guy five years ago. Is that fair? Did you feel a little bit like that? No doubt about it. I felt that way. I bounced around so much. I was learning new offenses and always trying to.

You had, and I always said this about the smaller quarterback and Kyler and everybody else, you have to prove you can do it from the pocket and prove that you. you can do it their way. Then they start to let go of the reins, and you open up and you just start playing. And for me, it was, you know, what we did in Canada, I ran spread offenses, used to quarterback as a runner. We did all the things that the NFL is doing today, which allows some of the athletic, smaller quarterbacks to have success.

Yeah. You know, it is Russell Wilson's a fascinating player because he got drafted in the third round. Think about this, Doug. Russell Wilson was great at North Carolina State. His coach told him, we're not going to start a year last year. He has to try. It's insane. He has to transfer to Wisconsin.

Now, I do believe, in my mind, the greatest under six-foot quarterback of my lifetime, and you're in a class of it, is Russell Wilson. When you first saw Russell Wilson play, what was your initial reaction even in college? I actually talked to Dana Bible, who was his offensive coordinator at NC State when he was leaving and looking for Wisconsin. and all I got in touch with Russell and talked a little bit. My first reaction was, here's a small guy with a big time arm. And that's what separates the guys that are successful at the NFL level. There are a lot of athletic college quarterbacks that don't make it in the NFL because they didn't have the arm.

Russell has the – he throws the deep ball better than anybody right now. Yeah. He puts – you know, he drops it in the bucket. To be accurate, 40 yards down the field, usually to put it where you want, you put a little zip on it and it's just got that little arm. He lays it up over the top and lays it in there like nobody I've ever seen and gives this guy the chance. So his deep ball and then his athleticism, he's so athletic and people don't really. He's not Kyler Murray and he's not Lamar Jackson's shifting, but he's still making people miss him running.

It doesn't like jump out at you like it does them, but he still does all that. And he throws the ball down the field, which I love. You know, it's interesting. And this is just always the case that we pick. people that we like and we defend them to the core. And then we decide on certain people we don't like. And I look at Carson Wentz. And there's a little Farrv. He's a playmaker. He's playing with third string people. But we've made our mind up as a nation. Well, you know, Wentz is hot and cold. Well, God, Brett Farrv was totally in. Joe Namath was a hot and cold quarterback. I love

Wence, but I feel like, because Nick Foles won a Super Bowl in Philly, the country's decided, ah, Foles is better. I watch Wendton, I'm amazed at his talent. What do you see? I see the same thing.

I see the talent. The last touchdown pass and a play during that drive where he drifted to the rider. But watch him step up through the pocket on this touchdown pass. He steps up through on the moves. This is the one I really liked

that made a big, big difference in that drive. But for the touchdown pass, he steps up through. He's not even set. And he throws a laser on the move. move right over the shoulder, perfect ball position.

And as, you know, the talent level, the arm talent, I hate that phrase arm talent, but he's got a tremendous arm. He runs into trouble making mistakes, trying to make a play when it's not there forcing the issue, has some bad turnovers. But we all, shoot, I have more than my share of those. Yeah, yeah. No, and I think that's a fair criticism. He does, there's a little hero ball from time to time.

by the way, that was the knock on Fav it was a completely fair criticism of Brett Farr. And for the record, Wentz has a big arm, Farrv had a big arm, Namath had a big arm. When you have a huge arm, psychologically you feel like maybe Doug, you can squeeze a ball in. Oh, you're trying to do things. You know,

I remember that about Elway. Elway throwing like deep in routes. He would just wait, wait, pitch and say screw it, it's common and just drill that laser in that time. You know, they decide I can make this throw and the problem is they make it often enough that they try it a little too often. I never had that arm, so I didn't run into that problem.

I ran into the problem just trying to avoid all the time and making throws from whatever arm angle and all that. But when you have that big arm, sometimes most of the time it's a blessing. You know, it is, you played 21 years of professional football and 12 in the NFL, and you didn't always have great offensive lines. When you look at Brady, and he's still very good, obviously, When you look at Brady in the longevity, how much of it is luck? Staying healthy is lucky. I mean, but I go back to the year that Tom did get hurt, both his backups got hurt in a week or two.

Part of time, it was like both of them got banged up. Tom, by being so smart and cerebral and knowing how to get rid of the ball, knowing his read, knowing his hot, moving protection. has kept himself healthy because of his head. He's quickly released. He makes his decisions. The ball's out. The guys who get hurt are indecisive hanging in the pocket. All of a sudden they get lit up and driven to the ground and all that.

So while my longevity was because I was athletic enough to make people miss, Tom's is because he has the ability to recover so quickly, know when he's protected, when he isn't, make those quick decisions and the ball out. and that's so much a part of it. He makes his offensive lines better because he's always putting him in the right protection, always sliding the line to the blitz, sliding it to the premier pass rusher, doing those things that the line of scrimmage that a quarterback needs to do to make sure he's protected. I've always had this theory.

I wrote about it once in a book that I believe there's a reason, it should be linear. You should go and see a five-star high school quarterback. He goes to Alabama, USC, and then he goes to the NFL, but it doesn't work that way. is that what happens is most of the star quarterbacks in this league. At one point, North Carolina State had three or four. You went to Boston College. Tom Brady is one of the only remaining national football powers that's a quarterback. Now, Joe Burroughs from LSU, but it is remarkable.

There's not a single NFL quarterback starting that's an elite player from Ohio State. Sam Darnold struggling USC, and my theory was this. My theory is if when you go to a Boston college or an individual, NC State or a cow, you do not play with NFL players. And you learn toughness. You get hit more. You learn how you have a resolve about you because you go to USC. Matt Leinert got hit 11 times as last year there.

And that's my theory on this league is that one of the things that's key to this league, you get the you know what kicked out of you a little bit in college. That Big Ben, Miami of Ohio. What do you think about my crazy theory? I like it. I like it. I think part of it is you have, being from a smaller school, you have a chip on your shoulder, and it keeps you driven on a daily basis to be better. And like you said, you've got to do more with less at the early levels. So you're being creative. You're carrying a team on your shoulders. You know what that's about. You know that they're looking to you to make the difference in a game. And then all of a sudden, when I played with Eric Molds in Buffalo, it was like I'd never had a receiver with that kind of ability. Never. I'd never seen it. anything like that. And, you know, all of a sudden you're playing with guys that all you got to do is

get the ball in their hands and they're making plays and your role gets pulled back a little, which is, you know, I mean, you don't have to do the run all over the field, Kyler Murray thing, and Lamar Jackson think to win. Right. You've got guys, you've got those guys out here. It's my job now to strip the ball, get it in their hands. Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't ask Doug Flutie this, is the happiest I've ever seen Bill Belichick was not after winning a Super Bowl. It was not. And you've been asked about this before. It was the drop kick play. I'm going to show it. Explain it. I've never seen Bill happier than this play. Take us to it. Originally Chris Berman's idea, Bill came to me and we did this. So the snap comes. We had to pretend we were going for two or I'll say we're going to rush this thing and block it. So we were faking it. When I came over to the sideline and I went to Bill, first of all, I blew off.

Tom Brady on a high five to get the bill and didn't realize it. Then I got the bill, and of course, he's not the most touchy-feely guy in the world, so he gives the awkward hug. But I tell you, it was so much fun. See how the pass rush didn't really push in the middle? Yeah. All the guys up front were having that conversation. Lonnie Paxon, Longstnapper talking, you know, the key trailer, don't blow me up here.

This is good. Watch this. This is going to be fun. Check this out. And I think Jason Taylor was the only guy that actually rushed the kid. off the head. Enjoy Taylor's brother, Jason Taylor. By the way, today is Doug Flutie's birthday. He's got a podcast called The Quarterback Corner, Matt Schaub. Good dude is his co-host. Happy birthday to you. This has been an absolute pleasure for me. You're a good sport doing this because

we saw that play this week and we watched Kyler Murray and I'm like, we got to get Doug Flutie on the show and you were kind enough to do it. Thank you so much. My pleasure. I root for all the undersized quarterbacks. I love Kyler. For them all. Thank you, Doug. Take care. Blazing five, top of the hour coming up next. We check in on my preseason predictions.

We're a third the way through the NFL season. How bad, how close, how right have I been? Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. 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 you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver 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-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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed cracks. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Now you're finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really?

Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness, month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you here on earth? Are you a good person because you're

afraid? Because that's two different intentions bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keir Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. Want to know it's really scary? Seeing how much you could save on car insurance by switching to Geico. It's almost as scary watching your dog growl at the wall and realize he sees something you don't go to geico.com. See that thing I posted the other day on TikTok, that scary little video?

It was so funny. You didn't get that from me? No, I didn't. I thought it was so funny. Oh. Yeah, I retweeted it. I thought that you saw it on my page. I was going to try and get you, but then I saw you tweeted it.

So I was going to like in the break, like have you watch it. It scared me. I wanted to record your reaction. I just scared everyone. It's incredible. It's scary. So, you know, I do blazing five every week. week. Those are individual picks. Not having a great year. That's top of the hour. But what I take

more pride in actually is making my preseason predictions. I make them in like June, July, and then I get a couple times to tweak them after camp. We didn't have training camp. We didn't have it. So here are my official predictions. And where are we right now? So let's start with the AFC. I predicted the Bills, Ravens, Colts, Chiefs would win their division. I predicted wildcard the Browns, Titans, and Steelers would be wildcard teams. So right now, Now, all of those are in play. Oh, I'm seven for seven. Now, it should be noted.

The Titans absolutely look better than the Colts. I'm probably going to be wrong, but I still think the Colts can make the playoffs. And the Steelers, this is still in play, do look like the best team in that division. But so far, I'm seven for seven, you know, on playoff teams. Now, let's go to the NFC. It's a little dicier. I had the Eagles, the Vikings. I was a whiff there.

That's my big whiff. Eagles, Vikings, Saints, 49ers, winning their division, then the Packers, Tampa Bay, and the Seahawks being wildcard team. So where are we right now? All right. Well, Seahawks, Bucks, Eagles, Packers, I'm good. Obviously. Now, the Bears and Rams play this weekend.

One of them's going to be a fraud after the weekend. A little bit. I will say this. This is a big game for the Rams. Because I think Chicago defensively in coaching, Ram is a big one. weekend, Rams Monday night football, get Chicago at home. If they don't win this game, you can kind of bail on them.

They can't beat the good teams. So I also had, right now, I'm okay. Arizona, Rams, Bears, would be teams. I did not predict. So there we are. I will say this, though. Now, I whiffed totally on the Vikings. Total utter whiff.

In fact, they're selling off parts now and getting draft picks. So I just whiffed. The other two that I clearly didn't feel as good about Pittsburgh and Chicago. Chicago's next three are the Rams, the Saints, and the Titans. I think they're going to go 0 for three. That's my gut feeling. So I don't think I'm wrong on the Bears.

I think the truth will come out about the Bears is there really don't have enough juice offensively to keep winning the way they're winning. Now, let's get to the Steelers. Well, you really didn't like the Steelers. Well, let's just say this. My Steeler predictions were based on two things. Number one, Lamar, Jackson, and Baltimore appear to be getting better and Cleveland was going to be way better. They had a good draft and good free agency.

So I thought the division was going to be tougher. Also, big Ben off an injury. I was very much a cynic on that. He's played very well. Also, I had no idea that Chase Claypool would be this good. He's been a shocking talent. But I will say this. Be very careful about the Steelers. Now, the Steelers wins this year are against the Giants, Denver, Texans, Eagles, Browns. That's a bunch of nonsense, mostly. The next two weeks at Tennessee and at Baltimore. Now, I do think they have a real good shot to win both those games. But I will acknowledge here, Pittsburgh and the Bears, I think I'll be proven right on the Bears and probably proven wrong on the Steelers. I was absolutely utterly wrong on the Minnesota Vikings. I can totally take that. But our

but our predictions were not that far off. Colts are not quite as good as I thought, but they're fine. And Tennessee's better than I thought we'll find out this weekend when they play Pittsburgh. So there we are. I feel pretty good about where we're at. What's your biggest shock this year so far?

I miss on the Vikings too. It's not that I thought the Packers were going to be bad. I just thought that everything that was going on in the off season was going to bring them down a little bit. because I love the Packers last year. But yeah, the Vikings have been a disaster. And for the record, what I always love about NFL predictions, if I would have said before the season started,

Vikings will be out of it by week six, you'd get nothing but hate mail. Oh, yeah, yeah. Even though we know every year there is at least one, usually two teams that were playoff teams that implode. And we also know there's a bad team that usually shocks us. Remember, San Francisco before last season was a mess. Yep.

And I called San Francisco last year. I said they'll double their win total. And people were like, whoa, Garapolo's no good. They end up leading the Kansas City Chiefs in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl for a while. Yeah, I also did not predict the Texans falling apart the way that they did as well. The Texans. I don't think they were going to fall apart that. Yeah, that's it.

Brutal schedule injuries, Bill O'Brien, there you go. Blazing Five is right around the corner on a Friday. Terry Bradshaw, Eric. Mangini 2, Bucky Brooks, Jason McIntyre, don't give up, feel more energized, strong, driven, lean. Visit mDrive for Men.com today. I take a supplement every morning. 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 Care Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere,

but you're having him 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 AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam Jay. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down. and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year.

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.