The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - What the Bears need to do

Episode Date: November 10, 2023

Colin talks about the Bears following their win over the Panthers and what they need in order to return to the playoffs in 2024 He discusses the potential punishment Michigan and Jim Harbaugh face for allegedly breaking rules related to sign stealing  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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Yep, that's me, Clivert 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations 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 I Heart 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. On The Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. I mean, it was a wild year. 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern, 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRedia.com or stream us live every day in the IHeart

Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go. Hour number one. It's Friday live in Los Angeles. It is The Herd, wherever you may be and however you may be listening. One hour from now, the Blazing Five.

I'm not sure what to make of my Blazing Five. It's a weird week. I'm taking a 17-5-point favorite. I don't think I've ever done that. I'll just tell you right now, I like the cowboys. I don't love them, but I like them, and I don't like the Giants at all, and J. Mack is joining us.

J. Mack, so that was pretty unwatchable, but there is a storyline to even bad games. Because we know this to be true. If you get a C.J. Sprout or an Andrew Luck or Trevor Lawrence, you don't have a bad roster. You start winning games real quick, right? You get the right coach, right roster. So last night seems really, really bad, hopeless, and unwatchable, right? Well, we're doing a lot of blaming the roster on this Bryce Young. experience so far. But I don't care about Carolina. What I care about is Chicago.

Congrats on the win, but is Chicago too good right now? The only standings and the only scoreboard that Chicago Bears should care about at all is the top 10 draft picks. They got two picks, but now Chicago's got three wins. So they're out of the Drake-May Caleb Williams sweepstakes. And let's be honest, Chicago has pieces. They have a very good tight end, a very good wide receiver, a very good tackle. In fact, I'd argue two capable tackles. A very top young defensive lineman. An interesting

secondary. They need a quarterback and a head coach. There are a lot of versions of bad in this league. A lot of versions of bad in this league. The Giants, I like their coach. They're quarterback bad. Arizona. I like their quarterback.

Their roster bad. Chicago's leadership bad. the owner, oldest, and one of the poorest in the sport. Head coach, overwhelmed. Quarterback, average, and hurt too much. But if they got Ben Johnson, a Drake May, it'd be kind of interesting. I mean, why is Houston winning? I like Demico Ryans, because C.J. Stroud can play.

And he was a B2B plus. He was a Jared Gough comp. Drake May and Caleb Williams are higher comps. And they'll probably draft, or excuse me, hire an offensive coach. So Chicago's not going to end up with just their three wins. Go look at their schedule this morning. They end the season hosting Arizona, Atlanta, and then they play Green Bay.

Their defense is now playing better. Their defense is healthy. Their secondary is good. I even like their running backs. They're three and seven. They're going to win a game or two to go four and five and seven. The New York Giants are not. What they need is for Carolina to be awful.

The good news, they're one and eight and are awful. but Carolina's in a terrible division. They play Tampa at home, Green Bay at home, Atlanta at home, Tampa Bay again. They beat Houston so they can win a couple of these games. I mean, seriously, they beat Houston. So my takeaway is Chicago last night, they've got pieces. If you would have given them C.J. Stroud last night at quarterback, Chicago wins by 24, 28, 30 points.

They just need a quarterback and a coach. I'd prefer a new front office guy, and I'd prefer a younger, more spry, vibrant owner, but that's not going to happen. So if Carolina wins just two more games in that bad division with bad teams often at home, then Chicago isn't getting Caleb or Drake May. The only way they could get one of them is a bidding war with seven other teams to get to that number two spot. So all that draft capital you got, right, for the Bryce Young pick, you'd have to surrender all of it. So part of what could make Chicago great is a new young offensive coach, a star quarterback with draft picks. So he's not standing around.

You want him to have another receiver, a great center, free agent space. So you say to yourself, well, that game was boring. Maybe, but the Chicago element to that game is fascinating. because I think Chicago's got some pieces. You can argue on that, but they got three wins now. Look at their schedule. If Justin Fields comes back, they're not going three and 14. They're going to win another game, probably two, potentially three.

Then you're out. You have to get into a bidding war. You have to pray Carolina remains awful. And I don't think Carolina is going to win a lot, but go get Carolina's schedule. It's the worst division in football. bad teams at Carolina where they already beat Houston. So this is much more interesting than you think because I don't think Chicago is hopeless. They have a leadership void.

There's all sorts of bads in the NFL. The roster today in Chicago is better than two years ago. The receivers are better. The secondary is better. They've got tackles that can play. They just got Montez Sweat. They've got a legitimate front five player. Just need the quarterback.

All right. So this story, this thing is, we may get news in the next 90 minutes on this. Sources now indicate the Big Ten will give Michigan a response early this afternoon. Now the Wolverines on Fox, best game easily of the weekend at Penn State. Huge, huge game, massive ramifications. The Big Ten we've learned, this is ESPN, has considered a gamut of punishments. We're hearing this morning it could be a three-game suspension for Harbaugh, which would be significant, and it could start this weekend. So when I saw this this morning, listen, generally speaking, if a major controversy, and this is basically, although I think it's silly, a cheating scandal.

If it surrounds a team, it's not good for the team. And Michigan is absolutely engulfed in it. And according to this story, the Big Ten is delivering a mountain of punishment. right before they go on the road. I covered a college coach once with a good program that was going through a divorce. Program went completely sideways. So would it be surprising if Michigan just unraveled? Find me a college basketball, college football coach,

teaching young men going through a personal or professional crisis. Does it ever work out? Now, I think the timing of the Big Ten's punishment, according to this story, feels very personal. This is the Big Ten, the commissioner, feeling tons of pressure from athletic directors in the conference to deliver something at this time. They could easily deliver this Sunday morning after the Penn State game. They could easily deliver this Monday or Tuesday of Maryland Week. For the Big Ten to deliver it now is a message to Jim Harbaugh.

Clearly, the athletic directors have a vendetta. They're angry and the big ten is buying in. I saw a story this morning from Pete Tamill, respected college sports reporter. Jim Harbaugh's attorney, Tom Mars, tells ESPN, he does expect Jim Harbaugh to fly with the team to Penn State. Oh, y, y'all, y'all. So how does this not disrupt them?

The timing of this. So at Penn State, one of the tougher places to play in the country. At Maryland, a team that can certainly score Ohio State. Yeah, they're pretty good. next three weeks. That is just, this thing is becoming a very personal. The Big Ten putting massive pressure on the commissioner, delivering it this afternoon, hopefully this afternoon as Michigan boards of flight, the coach is there.

Joel Clatt talked about the timing of potential punishment on our show Wednesday. I have defended the process and I've been an ardent defender that Tony Petiti and the Big Ten should not circumvent the process. And the process being gather evidence, all of it, deliver the evidence to those accused, and then make a judgment afterwards. If rules were broken, they should be punished. And it looks like rules were broken. The hard part is that if you rush ahead of the process, And you allow mob mentality to force you into action. If you're Tony Petiti, you're setting a very dangerous precedent. The other thing to consider is that this was, what I've been told, more of an inside leak.

This was not Ohio State, Purdue, Iowa. No, somebody inside the circle of Michigan's family could be an administrator, a boost, or a donor. Somebody doesn't like Jim. He's a polarizing figure. Donors can be very needy. Nobody's needier and more precious than billionaires that want to be the man, want attention, want to be treated a certain way. They're really needy, especially college people, often with an alumni history,

a plaque on the wall, their big donors. Sports donors are as needy as it gets. And it's why a lot of college football coaches either leave for the NFL or at least try it. Spurrier, Saban, Urban, they get over that very quickly. So right now, Michigan is strongly behind Harbaugh. But if the punishment's severe, if they lose at Penn State, corporations and companies and big donors could put pressure on Michigan to move off, Jim. I think it'd be a big mistake, but this thing is fluid. The timing of it is undeniable.

And I just, I looked this morning and I'm like, at Penn State, at Maryland, two East Coast trips, then Ohio State with this circus, how do they not unravel? I think they're a great team, but there are limitations on how much, you know, you can put up in a corner box in your brain and hide. You've got to deal with some stuff emotionally. And through my career of covering college programs, when the coach goes through a personal or professional controversy or duress, it always unravels the team. Maybe this week could be next.

How long can you compartmentalize this if you're Jim, I think it's virtually impossible for human beings to do that. It's crazy. Colin, I just don't understand why they're rushing this process. I mean, this has been like three weeks. There's zero chance they've gathered all the evidence necessary, heard Michigan's side of the argument, deposed or whatever you want to call it, all the parties at hand. Like, what are we doing here?

This is just really, as Klatt said, a horrible precedent. Like, you're rushing this to get him, what, suspended for the final three games of this season? Well, I think they, I think, people. people are saying they haven't played anybody inside the conference. Let's throw a little turbulence in this flight at Penn State. I mean, look at the line on this game. Michigan is clearly better. And the odds makers are factoring in, baking in this controversy. If Michigan lost and played poor football for the first time, I mean, they've lost, you know, they lost in the last couple of years, not much, but they play really high-end football. If they were a disrupted

mess, I read this all this morning. Would you? you'd be shocked. I just, my history of covering college coaches, it could be, it could be infidelity, it could be a cheating scandal, it could be controversy with the AD. It always unravels the team. In the NFL, it's basically the owner's mad at you. Unless you're winning Super Bulls, the owner's always mad at you, but you don't see a lot of the personal stuff. In college, you see it all the time. I just can't remember a situation where we hear news and then within like two or three weeks, boom, a verdict is rendered instantly. I was looking this morning. I can't find an example of this kind of rush to judgment.

I know. It feels like ruin a perfect season for Michigan and Harbaugh. I don't know. It just kind of feels bad for college football. Not a great look. Same here. I have a great parlay for you this weekend. Thanks to Draft King Sportsbook, new users.

Please use the code heard, H-E-R-D when you download the app. Takes a couple of minutes. Now for my parlay picks of the week via Draft King Sportsbook. I'll take Lyons minus two and a half at the Chargers. You know the Chargers don't have much of a home field advantage, and I think the Lions' excellent offensive line can hold off the Chargers pass rush. I'll take the Cardinals at home plus one and a half against Atlanta. Kyler Murray returns. He wouldn't return unless he was ready to play. I'll take the Cowboys minus 16. I know weird, right? I hate big favorites. The Giants' offense,

though, currently with this quarterback is the worst I've seen in the NFL in years. If you want to take the Herd, parlay, check out Draft King Sportsbook. New users, please use the code Herd, when you download the app. 21 plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 Gambler. In New York.

Call 8778-8-Hope-N-Y or text Hope & Y 467-369. See show notes for full details. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me.

Clipper 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-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84's big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack on day but just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now

so Thank you finishing that sentence I don't think there's a more important year for black people Really? Yeah for me It's one of the most important years for black people in American history

Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast What's going on, Seattle Seahawks? My name is Corporal Tran. I'm in the United States Army. I am stationed over here in Sembock, Germany, and I would like to give a shout to you guys. I know I'm wearing a pretty old uniform. This is Wilson, but, you know, all love and support. Fox Sports salutes Veterans Day, a special kickoff show. Fox Sunday with Terry, Kirk and all the guys, Howie, Jay, Jimmy Johnson will be joining him. Big special weekend here at Fox. So Brandon Cooks are the Cowboys. This could be worrisome news, has talked about, I'm not getting the ball, wide receiver acquisition, very low production.

It can mess with you if you get into it. Mike McCarthy addressed that yesterday for the Cowboys. I don't play fantasy football. I don't have, you know, we have game plans, and I think it's important. And this is, which is a challenge for guys. because our system's built on making the quarterback successful. That's the way it's past games. It's the way I've learned it.

It's the way it's always been in the last 30 years. So worry not, cowboy fans. You're going to hammer the Giants this weekend, and then you're going to hammer Carolina. You do that, right? You beat the bad teams up, 7 and 3. Then you'll get Washington at home on Turkey Day, 8 and 3, although it will be a little competitive,

and you will be big win, big TV audience. The Cowboys will be 8 and 3. empoised to be a playoff team. The buy-in begins with the Cowboys this weekend. They're still telling you how well they played in a loss to Philly. Three weeks, they're going to be eight and three. But it's been my contention that this was actually going to be one of the more predictable cowboy years ever. Is that they matched up with Philadelphia pretty well, but they're not as

deep, the quarterback's not as good, and they'll be a wild card team. Check. We got that box as of now. that Brandon Cooks will not be a savior. There's a reason he bounces around the league. Check, we've got that box. That you will miss Kellyn Moore. Check, Cowboys not nearly as good in the red zone offensively. And you will miss Dalton Schultz, an underrated tied end.

Check, he was great last week for Houston. Also, that bad teams, you will roll them because you've got a certain mentality. DAC is an amazing home favorite quarterback, but you will lose to good teams like Philadelphia because of situational football, not because you don't have the talent. Check. So as of this morning, we're five for five. Five for five. We're going to be six for six after they hammer the Giants and Carolina.

That feels pretty assured. I always feel with the Cowboys that I'm like the parent on Halloween that warns their kids. don't eat all the candy or you're going to get a stomachache. And they do, and they do. And so the thing with Dallas, the only thing I can't predict, they will be a playoff team, they're going to be eight and three, and they're really going to be in the buy-in as the schedule stiffens. They'll win enough to be a playoff team.

The question is, will they lose as a road playoff team to Philly, Detroit, or Seattle situationally? match up fine with all of them. But they'll butcher it somewhere late in one of these games. We warned you. J. Mack with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. I'm sure hope it's not this weekend. No. Well, winning by 13 does nothing for us this weekend. That's right. Got to lay the lumber. All right, let's get started with Kyler Marie. He's back.

First game in 11 months since at ACL-Tair. Season debut on Sunday against Atlanta, here's what Kyler Marie had to say about his return. Emotion time really hit me. Yeah, not really. You can go? Uh, I'm trying to focus to get a win first, get a win first, you know. I just feel like I gained a new level of resiliency with this. I already felt like, you know, had that chip on my shoulder, you know,

never out of anything, never down. I always feel like I can win anything, but this kind of, you know, you, you, you, when you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you go through something like this, you find out really quick about who you are and what you're about. So if I had a blazing six, this would be my pick Arizona. They were the last game out. By the way, I'm four and oh the last four weeks on my last game out. So I like Arizona in this game against Atlanta. I also think you should keep your eye on the Houston Texans.

The Bengals are beat up. We'll get to that in a second. But I think the Falcons, I'm fascinated with Arizona because I think Kyler Murray, we forget that he took this franchise that is not brilliantly owned, has not been brilliantly coached, and he got them to the playoffs. He was an overcomer, a bad old line, a college coach with a losing record, an owner that's viewed as the cheapest in the league. In a tough division, he got them to the playoffs.

We do this all the time. I'm guilty of it. It's recency bias. This is a really good player. and I think they're going to win some games down the stretch. And I don't think they'll have to make that brutal decision. Kyler Murray or Caleb Williams, I think we forget sometimes when somebody goes away.

Like Joe Burrow in September struggles, and suddenly everybody's like Bengals are terrible. And it's like, folks, four years in a row, Burroughs missed September, he's come back and they tear it up October November. We just forget how great Joe Burrow is. This guy took, he was not, he was C.J. Stroud. He took a franchise that was a mess ownership down and got him to the playoffs in a tough division.

Right, but when Burrow first comes back in September from the appendectomy or the calf, he's not great. Is Kyler Murray going to be great right out of the shoot here? And that's my concern. Like, we saw Josh Dobbs rushed for 66 yards last week against Atlanta, just scrambling and making plays. Should do well. Kyler should do well, right?

But then I wonder, coming off the ACL, is Kyler Marie going to be running at like first, first option taken away, second option. I'm running. This is why it didn't make the Blazing 5 and it was my blazing 6 is, I suspect he'll be really good, but I don't know the answer to that. Too much unknown. I'm with you. But he is, we can say all we want is he's really talented. I mean, they call him the best high school quarterback in the state of Texas history.

Kingsbury, Lincoln Riley, people are like, that's as good a college quarterback prospect I've ever seen. He took just look how fundamentally bad Arizona. is in a division with Seattle, Pete Carroll, Kyle Shannon, and McVeigh, he took him to the playoffs. That dude's got talent. It's too early to get in him back and forth about Kyler. I used to be a believer. You know how you like to say when you get new information, you change your opinion? Yeah, you should.

I'm off, Kyler. I'm off of them. I'm off. But anyways, let's move on. One of the best matchups of the week, Colin, Jags Niners here on Fox. Both teams coming off their by week. Jacksonville's won five straight. But they've had some inconsistency on offense,

and Trevor Lawrence thinks that they're going to fix that. I think we've been a lot more consistent on just moving the ball, not stalling out as much, but then you see two weeks ago we have the dumb turnovers that kind of kept Pittsburgh in the game and gave him a shot and didn't let us really take off and blow the game open. That's the idea is having a game where you can come out of it, not any or many turnovers at all, being great on third down,

scoring in the red zone. It would be nice to put all those together this week. Against a good team like this, this is the week to do it. You've got to play well against great teams, obviously. We forget they go overseas and go 2 and O, one of those hammering Buffalo. I think it's a really good team. I don't know if you did. I did, and I think you did. We predicted we thought the Jags could be the number one seed because their division's weaker. I think they're a really good team, and I think because they're Jacksonville, they're buried,

because of Miami gets so much attention. Bakers in Tampa. there's so many stories around them on the East Coast. We just don't pay attention to Jacksonville. They got everything. Okay. Quarterbacks they beat this year, just for fun. Anthony Richardson, Desmond Ritter, Josh Allen in London,

Gardner Minshew, Derek Carr, Kenny Pickett. Those guys have anything in common outside of Josh Allen? Derek Carr, Josh Allen. What about Derek Carr? Well, well, what's Brock Purdy? If they beat Brock Purdy, is it just well, they beat Brock Purdy? No, no. I think Brock Purdy, it's just well, it's...

according to some metrics is one of the top five quarterbacks in the league this season. Yeah, well, those metrics are wrong. Wow. Top five quarterback in the league. Listen, some of them have Josh Allen as number one. Remember that? This week we talked about it. We're like, I don't see it.

Well, I think you can make the argument Josh Allen. And I'm not making the argument Brock Purdy. Josh Allen and Brock Purdy are, that's a different game. Entirely. He's selling your Brock Purdy stock a little prematurely, huh? Still no word on Trent Williams. He has practiced this week, but we don't know. We don't know if he's a go.

this is probably one of those games where you I would go the under two teams coming off the by slow starts feeling each other out Niners don't want to lose this game right? I just can't go against the Niners here Colin I don't know I understand Final story is your Bengals

your boy Joe Burrow Things are looking good they've won four straight However Zach Taylor has officially announced here in the last 20 minutes that T. Higgins will not play due to a hamstring injury This is a rough season for T. Higgins. He's in line to get paid. Also, Jamar Chase is hurt in this game. Jamar Chase is hurt. So it's seven.

If it's minus seven. It's not seven. Those are all gone. It's six and a half. And Jamar Chase says he wants to play. He has been doing light practice. I just tried to look at the depth chart for the Bengals. If Higgins out, Chase, if he misses. Average tight ends. Okay, Tyler Boyd in the slot. They've got a slew of tight ends. I don't, I don't think it. I mean, it's a low scoring, ugly game. Yeah. I just see the road splits for C.J. Stroud here. I know.

And they're not great. He has not performed well outside of that Jacksonville game. Yeah. This is leaning toward a stay away from me. You know. Yeah, I get it. I get it. Jay Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Lie News. So I saw this. It was really interesting. I've been really hyped up on the Buffalo Bills for years. And I think I've just overvalued their talent. because I like Josh Allen and Stefan Diggs.

But even the Von Miller acquisition, I thought it's that much money now. So the Buffalo Bills had a players-only meeting for the offense. In the history of player-only meetings, one thing happens. It works briefly, but the coach is eventually fired, or it doesn't work at all, and the coach is eventually fired. Bill Parcells, Jimmy Johnson, Bill Walsh, Vince Lombardi, Don Shula, I don't Andy Reid, not a lot of player-only meetings. The other thing you hear when the coach is in trouble is the player starts saying stuff like,

hey, it's not on the coaches, we got to do better. Josh Allen yesterday. It's not Ken Dorsey. We've got to do better. Ken Dorsey is not Brian Dable. So three things are very, very clear. Is that Ken Dorsey may be more than capable, but Brian Dable is a high-end coordinator and Dorsey's not Dable.

That doesn't mean Dorsey's not capable. Number two is Sean McDermott's personality, which leans toward rigid, can be very tough on assistance. That's inarguable. And the other thing we have to be honest about is that this This team's had brutal injuries to defense. They've lost a very good safety.

Their top corner, their top linebacker, one of their top defensive tackles. This is a defensive culture with Josh Allen and the defense isn't as good. So when you see the headline, players only meeting, that's like getting text from your boss. Hey, swing by before you leave the building today. Or from your wife's wife. We need to talk. Those are the three headlines or text you never want to get. Your wife says we need to talk.

Your boss says swing by the office. And then once you do, he said close the door. And players only meeting, it's bad. Now you're getting players. That's not the coaches. We had Jordan Palmer on earlier and yesterday. And Jordan has been a quarterback coach forever. He knows Josh Allen.

he knows Burrough, Mahalms, he worked with all of these guys. And we talked about what's wrong with Buffalo. And sometimes it's not necessarily, although I think in Buffalo's case, there are some things that are wrong. It's not always what's wrong. It's that somebody right just left the building. I just think Davele is a very special coordinator. I got a lot of guys who I hear what they're running and I know how they install it.

And there was things that Daibel did where they'd take a shot up and against, game, they wouldn't hit it, and then next play, they'd take a shot again. And so it was just, there was a very aggressive mentality. And I think that's a hard thing where, whatever the reason is, whether they move on to be a head coach or they just move on, that's a hard thing to replace. But the reality is, is this team's won a lot of games, and they've been in it at the end of the season for three years now. There's more than just figuring out how we're going to stop this opponent. There's figuring out how to fill these major voids. I just, I think when you lose four or five guys from one side of the ball and they're

all very good and you've already got limitations on the other side of the ball outside of one good receiver and a star quarterback. Buffalo's not that good. They're good. At home, they can be tough. But this week, they face Denver, offensive coach, capable quarterback, improving defense run game off a buy. Would you be shocked if Denver beat Buffalo? I would not. Greg Cosell talked about it. The film doesn't lie on the bills. It's a very condensed offense right now, Colin. They do not. work at the intermediate and deeper levels the way they did in the past. They're lacking explosive pass plays. I think there's a myth out there that this is a really highly talented offense. They've got

a high-level quarterback. They've got Diggs, who's a very good receiver, but not a vertical dimension. They don't really have a number two wide out on any kind of consistent basis. Their O line is probably average. They still have not developed any meaningful run game. The way they always scored in the past was they would make explosive pass plays. And that has not happened this year. Because they don't have the personnel to do it. Ryan Rosillo and the Blazing Five top of next hour, Will Blackman as well. And we are expecting, assuming the Big Ten will levy some real punishment toward Michigan this afternoon.

There are some predictions that's going to happen in about an hour from now to two hours from now. So we will absolutely keep you posted. Be sure to catch live edition. of the herd weekdays in noon eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeardt. He's by Carmen. I'm Dan Byrd. We have a brand new fantasy football podcast called I Want Your Flex. Twice a week, every Tuesday and Friday, we come up with new episodes to not only look back at what happened, what you need to do at that minute, and also look ahead of what's coming up in the fantasy football world. That's right, Dan. Every week, we're going to scour the waiver wire to find the pickup. to turbo boost your fantasy lineup. Sit, starts.

Fantasy football players' rankings to get you ready to dominate the competition. Listen to I Want Your Flex with Mike Harmon and me, Dan Byer, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clever Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

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

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

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed 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. I probably serve my country but struggle in civilian life. USVs helped me when I need it the most.

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It is not an NFL schedule chock full of great games. There's an argument the two best games of the weekend are Michigan and Penn State. It's on Fox. Jags Niners, it's on Fox. Those are the two must-watch games. A lot of teams have buys that we like to watch, like Philadelphia, Miami. So it's not must-win territory for San Francisco yet, but it's weird. They've lost three straight.

There have only been two teams ever to lose four-plus straight games and still just reach a Super Bowl. One of them was 20 years ago, and that was the Raiders. That was a different sport. And then one was the New York Giants. And they don't have Eli Manning as a quarterback here. But it does, it's not must win, but it does sort of feel like if they lose four straight, it does sort of feel like, you know, we probably have to go out and get another quarterback

at some point in the draft. This roster is built for the Super Bowl. It's loaded. Now, Tom Brady, a six-round pick. I'm not saying Brock Purdy is Tom Brady, but Tom was a young six-round pick in year two after a Super Bowl. They lost four straight. Young quarterbacks tend to be hot and cold. Even young quarterbacks who have good rookie years have what they call sophomore slumps.

It wouldn't be shocking if C.J. Stroud next year, everybody's got film regressed a little. This happens all the time. Losing streaks happen all the time. They don't happen much with Mahalms or Lamar Jackson, but they do with young quarterback. But here's what's worrisome. Their schedule is brutal. This is the easy part. Now they've got Seattle twice, the Ravens, and the Eagles, and the Jags this weekend.

So five of their last nine weeks are the Ravens Eagles, Seattle twice, and the Jags. If you look at the NFC playoff picture, if San Francisco loses this weekend, and I'm not saying they're not as good as the Falcons or the commanders or the Vikings. But if they lose this weekend and their schedule is much tougher down the stretch than the Falcons and the Vikings. So San Francisco loses, this isn't good. This is not good. So it does feel like must-win territory. And in a must-win territory, they go in with a significantly less talented quarterback. They face an offensive team off a buy at home that is really good against good teams.

Nobody's given Jacksonville credit. They're not beating the dregs of the NFL. They're beating good teams. They hammered Buffalo. So the offense isn't quite what it was. talked about this, J. Mack and I, now they're bringing the defensive coordinator down to the field, Steve Wilkes, because they're underperforming. It's not nearly as good a defense in the red zone. They're starting to commit lots of turnover. So when teams start bringing coordinators down to

the field, like that's like a move you, you ideally want them upstairs. You bring them down when you got trouble. So San Francisco's feeling like, we got to get our defensive coordinator down the field. Brock Purdy's committing turnovers. This is not a place you want to go on a losing street. Jacksonville off a buy. It's not where you want to go. The offense, the defense, struggling. Here's Kyle Shanahan. You don't ever want to take stuff away from other teams

because other teams always make it harder. But I do feel the times we've struggled, we've just made some key mistakes that I think we're capable of not making. And I think we're the ones who have slown herself down. I mean, I don't think when you look at how little we've punted and things like that, you should have points to match with that.

And I don't think we have the last few weeks. We've got to get more points. So I don't want to spend a lot of time talking about Carolina. They are ratings poison. But I will say watching Bryce Young last night, we're all making judgments, right? So Bryce Young looks small. We knew that going in, 510, 190, but he looks a little overwhelmed. Now, Carolina's offense is talentless. They have no speed. They drafted a receiver last year. Mingo, he looks like a three or a four. They're slower than New England. And that's saying something. The offensive line's bad. Even New England is okay. They don't have a number one

receiver, a number one tight end, a number two receiver, no team speed. And you're asking a rookie quarterback to do it. But we've seen C.J. Stroud with the Texans overcome a pretty average roster. Now, that roster has some speed. Tankdale, Nico Collins, they got some guys that can run on the perimeter. Carolina does not. But C.J. Stroud, and we always talk about this word, can you overcome, that's what all star quarterbacks can do.

C.J. Stroud, wonky ownership, defensive coach, first-time coordinator, good left tackle, but injury-ravaged offensive line, and no run game. None. And C.J. Stroud is overcoming. You don't have to be an overcomer to be a franchise quarterback. I think Dak Prescott is a franchise quarterback and pretty darn good. I don't see him as an overcomer. Bryce Young does not appear be strong enough, dynamic enough to overcome holes and obstacles. And that's why Burrow and Herbert immediately you knew. Herbert had the lowest ranked O line in the league, and Herbert set rookie quarterback records, not Mahomes, not Joe Montana.

No, no, no, Herbert, Justin Herbert, Joe Burrow, terrible O line, got to a Super Bowl. So you can be a franchise quarterback and not be an overcomer. Derek Carr to me. He's a franchise quarterback. Kirk Cousins, but they can't overcome. What's exciting about C.J. Stroud, he's overcoming a lot of nonsense. That is rare. There's about seven guys in the world that can do that.

I like Jalen Hertz. I don't know what he overcomes. He's just good, right? He hasn't had to overcome a lot. So now, Houston does have a very elite left tackle. Carolina does. Houston has an excellent tight end, Dalton Schultz. He's number one.

Carolina doesn't. They have two receivers who can really run. Carolina doesn't. So there's stuff that C.J. Stroud has. But ownership, health, coach, first-time coordinator. C.J. Stroud isn't just surviving. He's flourishing. So this was a B-to-B plus quarterback group, right?

Anthony Richardson didn't have a lot of reps. Bryce Young was small. C.J. Stroud didn't look dynamic with a lot of juice. Will Levis. cocky, big arm, but didn't love him. So it was a B to a B plus quarterback group. It does appear, and there's surprises every class, that C.J. Stroud is the best quarterback.

He could be an A. Again, sophomore slumps are very common. Would not be shocking if C.J. Stroud pulls back a little. Everybody has an offseason in film. That is incredibly common. I think Peyton Manning had a pullback year. People get filmed. They see what you can't do.

But C.J. Stroud appears to be the best. Will Levis. has the best arm, Anthony Richardson is the most athletic. Some of it's not a surprise. Levis's arm, Anthony's athletic ability. Bryce Young is small. But I'm not saying he's a bust. That's different.

A bust is different. You can see bust where he found. I don't see bust. What I see is, I don't know if he can overcome stuff. In terms of size, listen, two is small. Kyler's small. Bryce Young's small. There's a reason that most questions.

quarterbacks as we watched football from the 70s on were 6.2 and a half are up. You'd ideally, if Bryce Young was 6-2-2-2-20, you'd feel different about it. Even if it was the exact same stats, you'd feel, C.J. Stroud looks big. Anthony Richardson looks compact, big. Will Levis looks thick. Justin Herbert, big, Allen. Lamar Jackson, by the way, has gotten thicker every year. Jalen Hertz, year two to three.

Remember we saw the practice video? Like guys got a gun show. So, I mean, Russell Wilson's put on weight. Now he's brought it back. Kyler Murray, again, he's pretty stout for his size. But, you know, when you watch, it looks small. And there's a reason for years, quarterbacks weren't 5, 10, 188 pounds.

We said that going in. This is why he was a B prospect, not an A, his size. But here's Greg Coasell. You know, he was talking about C.J. Stroud yesterday, about how good he was. And here's Greg. I think he could roll out of bed and be precisely. this ball location. He's just one of those guys. He's got a compact delivery. He's a naturally

precise ball location thrower. But the trust he shows, Colin, in throwing the ball early because he sees it cleanly is really high level for a young player. All right, Ryan Rusillo and our Blazing Five top of this hour. You know, we did this earlier. We were talking about the Chicago Bears. the only thing they should really care about is not the standings, is not the winning streak, where is their draft position? So as of this morning, the Bears are a three-win team with some very winnable games down the stretch,

they're not going to end up. Their pick will not be one or two. And there's going to be a bidding war to get into the top two. Harrison will be the third pick to receive Ohio State. They've got to cross their fingers on Carolina, one and eight, remaining bad. But Carolina's schedule is one of the weakest in the league going forward.

So if you're Chicago, you're just, I think you're too talented. You're going to win another game over the next seven, eight weeks. You're going to win another game. That's going to be four wins. Giants may not. Patriots, I'm not sure. But what's scary for Chicago is Carolina's 1 and 8, and right now they'd get the number one pick. That division is not good.

And by the way, you could see Atlanta or Tampa going on a losing streak and then just sitting guys. and because this will be a bidding war to get to the number two spot. The number one team is not going to give it up because they all need quarterbacks. And it's Caleb. But that number two spot, Harrison's going three, number two spot, you could have seven teams willing to give up two and three first round picks. And if Chicago has to do that, well, then the rookie quarterback comes in and they don't have any draft cap them. Well, the real problem is the GM's, you know, the GM in the front office is thinking like that.

We agree. You don't want to win games. Tell that to Matt Iberfluse. Who knows he's going to get fired. they win three or four games. He's out. That's right. That's another reason Chicago is not going to finish three and 14. They got a coach who wants to win and a quarterback that wants to win. Yeah. So Chicago's got enough pieces here. Once they get fields back, they're going to win some games. They have a good secondary, now an elite pass rusher. They have some weapons on. I actually like Chicago's running backs.

They're not great, but they're tough, they're physical, they're capable. The O line, they've got a tackle that's good. Chicago's not miles off. It looks like it with a backup quarterback. It looks like they're miles off. They're not. Offensive coach, get the right quarterback. Chicago next year in that division? I mean, second place in that division wide open. 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 helped 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. your group perform we do some retirement homes those people are starving for banter listen to humor me with robert smigel and friends on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts

a win is a win a win a win i don't care which i'm saying yep that's me clifert taylor the fourth 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 clifers show this is a place for raw conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrating. 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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's 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.