The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 1 - What were the Patriots thinking?

Episode Date: December 19, 2022

Colin discusses the crazy end of the Raiders win over the Patriots What to make of the Cowboys loss to the Jaguars Putting Patrick Mahomes' career in perspective  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.

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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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, 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 IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 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 IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. Now let's get this party started.

You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Oh, here we go on a Monday. We are absolutely jam live and lost. Angeles, it's the herd wherever you may be. However you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, one hour from now, where Colin was right, where Colin was wrong, plus Hall of Fame head coach, Jimmy Johnson. Sean Payton also stops by today. J-Mack joining us on between Saturday and Sunday.

World Cup NFL, bowl games, what a weekend. I thought Sunday was one of the greatest sports days as a watcher. I mean, the games in the NFL were incredible, the World Cup final to start today. One of the great days I've had as a sports fan, just wire-to-wire sports all day.

It was incredible. And at night, Washington Giants had some controversy. So let's talk the craziest ending to a football game I've ever seen live. I didn't see Stanford Cowell live, I don't believe. that ending in that game perfectly encapsulates what's wrong with New England and what they are now. For 20 years, they were the smartest team. Today, that was the dumbest play I've ever seen. They were dynamic, Welker, Edelman, Moss, Gronk. Now, 13 completions yesterday. Do you know they are 30th in the NFL and passing touchdowns behind Denver?

Belichick and New England fell in love with themselves and their culture. The Greek story of narcissists, right? So you drown staring at yourself in the pond. They bought into themselves. And football and technology change really fast. Ask Mark Zuckerberg at Meta. Ask Bill Bealecichick. New England's the only team in the NFL without a passing touchdown in the fourth quarter.

All season. Brady sought and got the hell out of there. New England now has family on the staff, defensive coordinators, the offensive coordinator. It's no big deal. It's just football, right? Man, they write books about this team. Hard to see it coming. Smart as coach, greatest quarterback.

But when you fall in love with your own soup, when you think you got it all figured out, the arrogance so palpable, and now they're kind of embarrassed. They can't draft. Their front office has been picked apart, so they don't draft or evaluate well. Their coaching staff has been picked apart. Their special teams used to be a strength, but now, because special teams has to help with offense, it's bleeding a little bit into weaker special teams. I mean, it's incredible. The Jets now in their division have a better defense. The dolphins now in their division have a much better offense. And the bills now in division have a better everything.

Everything. And to put a ball on it, was it not perfect that ex-patriot, former Patriot Chandler Jones, why did they ever let him go? It's the culture, right? We don't need an elite pass rusher. We'll just let him go. I don't know. I saw his numbers in Arizona.

I saw him yesterday. I think he's pretty valuable. Only three skill players for the New England Patriots today have more touchdowns than one of their safeties. They fell in love with themselves. I have no idea why in the world with Mack Jones, you wouldn't just take a knee and go to overtime. Maybe if I had Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes or Herbert, somebody with a rifle arm, somebody that moves well, somebody that can leap over tall buildings and linebackers with a single bound. But it's Mac Jones. Take a knee. Don't be smarter than the room. Here's the final call, the Raiders, radio network.

And now Jacoby Myers spinning around. He throws it to Chandler Jones in midfield. Amler Jones racing towards the end zone. My goodness. I can't believe what I just saw. Got to get uncomfortable. Got to update. Got to evolve.

You watch New England now. What do they do well? The special teams coach is now doing offense pulling from special teams to defense now. He got kids on the staff now. 13 completions. No fourth quarter pass. passing touchdowns all year, almost no skill players. The idea, and we said it before the season, we're not, you know, we're not bandwagon

backseat drivers here. We set it before the season. The arrogance to believe a defensive coordinator could just call plays. I mean, you really got to love yourself to think that. That is unbelievable to me. This is totally fitting. Here is Bill Belichick, grumpy, not much to say after the embarrassing law. I didn't worry.

I didn't worry. I talked about situational football. We talk about it every week. But we obviously have got to do a better job playing situational football and not making critical mistakes in the game. Craziest thing I've ever seen live. So the hardest thing to do in the national football league, let's talk Dallas Cowboys, is not win games.

I mean, T-Bull 1-7 straight. The hardest thing to do in this league is not win games. Sometimes you get breaks. Other team fumbles in their end zone. The hardest thing to do in this league is to find not only a franchise quarterback, but a great quarterback. There's like five in the league, a great 12-year star quarterback. Hardest thing to do in the league. And then one of the hardest, maybe not second, but one of the hardest in 2022 is to find a really smart offensive head coach who elevates the star quarterback.

Everybody wants to dump on the Dallas Cowboys today. I did not think that was the story of the day. I thought the story of the day was the Jacksonville Jaguars have found their star quarterback and have found the coach to elevate the quarterback. And we do not have a lot of that in this league. Cincinnati, Kansas City, there's not a lot. We like the Chargers quarterback. We don't love the coach.

The Jags got their guys, head coach and quarterback. Dallas had a very good game plan. Took a 14-0 lead. DAC was fine. Three touchdowns and a passer rating over 105. DAC was fine. C.D. Lamb has now established himself as an absolute go-to number one receiver. And Pollard and Zeke are an excellent combination.

I think they've finally worked it out. But Dallas isn't special. They're just good. And good teams lose on the road all the time to other good teams with ascending superstar quarterbacks and the right coach. The sky is not falling in Dallas. It was just never as clear as cowboy fans thought. If you're disappointed in Dallas today, then guess what?

You've got to align realistic expectations to what's actually happening. I mean, DAC was fine. Most of the game, he was pretty good. He had one ugly throw. But Trevor Lawrence had a really, really ugly fumble trying to do too much. That didn't decide the game. His interception for a touchdown was a bad break and a bad bounce. So what?

Dak had a bad play. Games fast. Every quarterback has bad plays. Trevor Lawrence had one. Cowboys led for about 90% of this game. Fans in the media, and I'm guilty of this, we watch a game and we attack the team that loses. I don't think that's the story.

I think the story is Jacksonville in a really close game has a more gifted quarterback and made a couple more plays. And they're an ascending team that's getting better every week. And it's a good thing for all of us as consumers. When you get the coach and the quarterback right and it's really hard. Kansas City's got it right now, and we think Cincinnati's got it, Jacksonville's got it. We like Dak, we're not sure about McCarthy. We like Justin Herbert.

We're not sure about Brandon Staley. We like Kyle Shanahan. We're not sure about the Niners quarterbacks. The story of this game was not Dallas losing. Good teams lose all the time on the road. The story was Trevor Lawrence, what he's become, and how he has put this team on his shoulders. He really has, this season was going into the toilet. He's put this team on his shoulders and carried them.

Here's his coach after. We need to be playing meaningful football games in December and January. And we've put ourselves in that position. Our season could have gone sideways three, four weeks ago, you know, and the guys weren't going to let that happen. So it's just a matter of those guys in that dressing room, believing in themselves and getting the job done. By the way, did you watch Josh Allen in the Blizzard,

or Mahomes complete 20 straight throws, or Joe Burroughs second half, or Justin Herbert's final drive, or Trevor Lawrence yesterday, and then did you see Washington and the New York Giants play? You can try to talk yourself in to a franchise quarterback. People in New York have finally come around on Zach Wilson. They know what they have. He completes about 50% of his throws. Those giant fans, though, those Washington fans and Taylor Heineke,

this weekend was an absolute showcase of the most important position and what you need to win. Josh Allen in a blizzard. Herbert had a bad day, but a great final drive. Burrell, a dreadful first half, took the game over, out-duled Brady. Mahomes, what was it, 1920 straight completions? And Trevor Lawrence. That's what a franchise quarterback looks like.

In his second year, team circling the drain, puts it on his shoulders, and his numbers since week 10 are better than even Mahomes. anytime a team can find its quarterback and its coach, it's great for the league. Since week nine, number one in the league in completion, pass a rating, touchdown to interception. We have ourselves another star just in a market we don't pay much attention to generally. One hour from now, little less actually, Colin Wright, Colin Wrong, and Jimmy Johnson. World Cup, J-Mack probably touches on that, an unbelievable showcase. You know, listen, I don't have the experience of a lot.

of you who have watched soccer forever, but that was the most unique, exhilarating soccer match I've ever seen in my life, and I'm not even sure if there's a second. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all. bet it 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 which I'm 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 what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality

and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Listen, this is not college football in the NFL, the Houston Texans, had the Cowboys beat and had the Kansas City Chiefs beat. There are great players all over this sport. And Kansas City almost lost yesterday, but we saw this throughout this weekend more than any weekend this season. The great quarterbacks may have played poorly, may have been behind, may have had a blizzard. The great quarterbacks pulled their teams to win yesterday. Trevor Lawrence, Herbert, Mahomes. Mahomes was 36 of 41, 88% completion percentage against an NFL team. It's the greatest day ever for a

quarterback in NFL history with over 40 attempts. At one point at the end, he completed 20 straight throws. That's impossible in the NFL. We now take him for granted. I think he's going to win one, probably two more Super Bowls. It's really hard. You need your left tackle. You need your Mike linebacker.

You need a lot of help. You need health. Brady was very lucky. Rarely did he go into a Super Bowl missing multiple starters. Mahomes went in missing both tackles. He got blown out. But Aaron Rogers, just to give you a sense of how great Mahomes is, Aaron Rogers lost his best receiver.

They went into the tank, the toilet. Mahomes lost his best receiver. Some would say a better receiver. He leads the NFL in passing yards and passing touchdowns in the significantly better AFC. Aaron lost his guy, toilet. Mahomes lost his guy. He may be better.

he is so far blown past like Aaron Rogers. No, he's not going to win seven Super Bowls. Again, Jordan went six for six. In Jordan's era, the Pistons and the Celtics got really old, so did the Lakers, and there was never another great team. Had Jordan been in the West, he didn't get to six finals. But that's just the way it worked out. But if you watch LeBron, I watched them both live.

LeBron's bigger and stronger than Michael, better passer, better shooter, just a better overall player, Swiss Army knife. But he's not going to go six for six, right? That's not going to happen. It didn't happen. Mahomes is not going to win seven Super Bowls. Let's be honest, the division Brady was in was mostly garbage, garbage quarterbacks, garbage coaches.

Mahomes is going to have to go up against Justin Herbert. Russell Wilson may turn it around. Derek Carr's not bad. But what you get with Mahomes is remarkable. You get all the big swings and risk without the mistakes. It's as if Aaron Judge never strikes out. It's incredible. Aaron Rogers, you don't get the risks.

He often plays it safe. Josh Allen, you get the big risks, but you get mistakes. With Mahomes, he's the home run hitter who doesn't strike out. Arm, IQ, size, mobility, coachability. The only knock I have on him is mechanics occasionally go sideways. It's my only knock on LeBron. He'll occasionally go into a funk with his free throws or three-point shooting, but it's brief.

And with Mahalms, it's brief. But let's never take this kid for granted. Yesterday, throwing to his three favorite targets. In an NFL game, on the road, a team that had Kansas City and Dallas beat, Kelsey, Juju Smith-Schuster, and McKinnon. 28 for 28. I mean, and you're trying to talk yourself into Daniel Jones. 28 for 28 in an NFL game. Andy Reid after.

You saw Pat and what he did. I mean, he took care of business today. And he went back to work and worked on it. I mean, you're talking about the guy that if he's not the MVP in the league, I'm not sure, you know, what's wrong with him. Total package, he's the best quarterback I've ever seen. LeBron's the best basketball player. Total package I've ever seen.

You can't get, the Super Bowls matter. he's got one. LeBron's got several. But athletes are getting bigger, stronger, faster, and more talented. Mahomes is so good now. He lost his best receiver in the tougher conference, in a tougher division, and he's better. All time. Jay Mack with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Let's start with the afternoon game on Sunday, Colin. Bengals Buccaneers. Wow.

So I need to be clear. I did pick Tampa in this game. A lot of people did. They were up 17-0-0. Yeah, a lot of people did. It was 17-3 at half. Yeah. And then the second half happened.

By the way, Burrow and the Bengals are a great second half team. They are, and defensively they are. But I just want to point this out. Tampa had four straight turrets. turnovers after attempting a fake punt in their own end, which they fumbled. It was crazy. This was a game that Cincinnati won, but it was because Tampa lost it. Cincinnati had 3.8 yards per play in the game. 237 total yards. That's it. They didn't have to do anything. I've never seen a game flip like that, Colin, where five straight times, they just

hand the ball to Cincinnati in plus territory. Like Joe Burrow did not look sharp. They only at 83 yards in the first half. The worst half ever under Burrow. Zach Taylor was getting out coached for a while there by Todd Bulls. Yeah, I mean, it was a weird weekend. There were a lot of big deficits. I mean, I thought Miami out coached Buffalo. Buffalo won.

I thought Tampa outplayed Cincinnati. Cincinnati won. I thought the Raiders, I'll be honest with you. They eventually won. They had that game locked up. They dominated the 13-3 lead. And we're just clearly the better team. What makes this sport so great is because now it's such an offensive league, and there's so many good quarterbacks, the margins are tight, is you have to watch.

The ratings are up, by the way. Of course, yeah. You don't know what's going to happen. It's such a coin flip league, Colin. So many high leverage plays. I thought Tennessee outplayed the Chargers the entire game. And Justin Herbert, who didn't play particularly well, great final draw. Mike Williams shows up with the catch.

Even the Kvon-Tibato play last night against Taylor Heineke. like New York Giants did nothing in that game. You look at the numbers. They're like, how did they win this game? You look at the Kansas City Houston game. Kansas City, on paper, wins that game by like 30 points. They move the ball up and down the field at will, but just a couple bad penalties on the defense,

a fluke turnover. Chief's defense is a little interesting. Very shaky. Listen, Chief's defense did not look good. Bill's defense at home in the snow did not look good. Dolphins ran all, dolphins had almost 200 yards rushing. Yeah. It was a weird weekend for the top.

tier teams in the NFL. You know who looked the best. Who? With San Francisco on Thursday night, they dominated Seattle on the road. All right, let's get to the second story. You haven't really talked about this guy. There he is. Zach Wilson, he's not to blame. Let's not blame him for the Jets lost. 317 yards, two touchdowns,

did have a terrible interception, only led to a field goal. It would be nice if he could figure out the clock. Him or his coach? Well, 50% completions. Inefficient. He was not efficient. I'll give him that. But we can't sit here and blame Zach Wilson. Here is what, I mean, he got a pretty good performance, and Wilson said, here's what he said.

It's got to be better, man. I think you guys saw we had, you know, explosive plays offensively, but, you know, it's the first and second down just staying ahead of the sticks. And, you know, I can think of a number of plays, you know, I left out there. So, you know, they got to look at it as a learning process, you know, just trying to keep it improving, you know, every single week, and that's the goal. Well, the best part about this is Zach Wilson, of course the reporters, after the game, tried to, like, put him in a corner and get him

and say something stupid, like, the last time when he ended up getting inactive. And he was like, I don't know if I'm starting. I like, you got to ask a coach that, not my decision. Something pretty smart. But if I told you, Colin, Zach Wilson throws for 317 yards and two touchdowns, only one interception, seven explosive passes of 20 or more yards. I know, but he misses a lot of easy stuff. That's a problem.

Like, that stuff, he misses more layups than anybody in the league. You can't rely on. I can't argue that. He's too rel- This is what my knock was out of college. You've got to hit that pass right there. Yeah, he's so reliant on the explosive. It's very Johnny Mansell.

He can give you great. He'll miss five layups a game. Like Herbert never misses the layups. I'm not saying he's the guy or any of that nonsense. I'm just saying for one game, he's not to blame here. The defense needed a stop on fourth and inches with the lead.

And they give up a 51-yard touchdown to an undrafted tight end who we wouldn't know if he was standing here in the studio. Brock, Brock Wright? Is that a porn star? Like, who is this guy? Honestly, it was an unbelievable call by Ben Johnson. Remember that name? Offensive coordinator. The Jets' defensive players are saying, listen, we saw every play this entire season. They've never run that play. That was an amazing call by Ben Johnson. Dan Campbell, runner-up coach of the year to Brian Dable.

Jets also got outclassed on special teams. They gave up a punt return touchdown. And I'm sad now, so I'm going to make up. Their clock management. Robert Sala, hey, they screwed that game up. I'm not going to stop talking about the. You know what hurts, Colin? Damn it. What hurts?

So I want to be like a top five pick or make the playoffs. I don't want this in-between crap where you're drafting like 16th. Right. And you miss the playoffs. So it's like you're close, but good job. You'd rather lose out now. Well, I mean, the problem is if they win out and the Chargers drop one, the Jets can sneak into the playoffs. But are they beating the Jags Thursday night?

Well, there's a really good kid from Northwestern. He's a tackle. Oh, he's awesome. I don't think he's falling to like 16. But if you could get a lot up to 12, Then you got a shot because there's a lot. I mean, the kid, Paris Johnson at Ohio State is pretty good. The left tackle, he's good.

I mean, there's like three tackles in this draft. Yeah, that's what you guys need because you got your receivers, your D-line, your corner. We have two quarterbacks on rookie deals, Colin. We can spend. Go buy one. Okay. Go steal one. All right, let's get to really exciting stuff.

The World Cup final. Colin, I've never seen a better soccer match in my life. My kids and I were on, my kids are like, I don't even, I'm not even rooting for anybody, and I'm tense. So I watched the game first half at a buddy's house. His wife is Argentinian. I went to the second half with my son to another house, and they are an Argentinian family. It was absolute chaos. People were going crazy.

Listen, when you're up to nothing with 10 minutes left and you've dominated, you're like, oh, we got this locked up. And then Mbapé scores back to back. It was like. Oh, my Lord. I mean, listen, you know, we talk a lot about Jordan and Brady and these guys. You see Mbapé. He's, I think, 24 years old like tomorrow. He's an absolute.

You know, listen, we have. some nice players. But folks, if you, if you want to, all of the United States fans want to blame Burrhalter. We got nothing like that. We got nothing close to messy. He's taking on three guys in space. Oh, he's insane and insane. I mean, he is strong physically. That shot right there, he makes that look so easy. Yeah. That is a rocket. And he gets it out of the air. The dude had a hat trick. Oh, in the World Cup final. Against the second best team or the best team in the world. And France, by the way, there was a virus in guitar. So like eight of their players were sick. Yeah. So a quick word, there is a Twitter thread about

what the Argentinian goalie did in penalty kicks. After Mbapé made the first one, he started to play these mind games. He would like ask the referee, hey, can you adjust the ball? It's not in the right spot to get in the heads of the France players. It's an incredible thread. At what point he goes and picks up the ball and then hands it to his player who's shooting next. It was an epic performance by the goalie and he got a big save. It was, that game was, if you play that back to I'm watching it over Monday night football. Sorry. Some of the goaltending in this World Cup is we don't talk about them because goals and scoring

and strikers, the quality of goaltending, even Matt Turner for the U.S. was epic. I mean, some of the saves in this game were insane. I'm having a little withdrawal today. There's no World Cup going on during the day. There's no sports happening now. I miss it already. J-Mack with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. You know, I think one of the reasons that people watch this show or have followed me for years is I try to add context and kind of take most of the emotion out of it. Like everybody else, I can make a mistake. I can be too hyperbolic, but add some context. So I do want to go back to Saturday night because I said going into it, you know, we've got a story on Tuo where everybody wants him to go to the Pro Bowl and I'll get to that in a second. but let's add context to that game.

The weather was not a factor until six minutes to go. So Miami got a break. Miami also had the better game plan, the better offensive coach, the two fastest wide receivers arguably in the league, Jalen Waddle was unguardable and Tyreek Hill. They had unbelievable, two-ahed, unbelievable run support. And he went like 17 to 30. Josh Allen had no run game.

Five years in, Sean McDermott still hasn't built up a reliable run game or an offensive line, often running for his life, and Gabriel Davis, boom or bust, you never know what you get. But when the Blizzard moved in with five or six minutes to go, Josh Allen put a cape on and won that game. So let's give this context. Two, it didn't screw it up. Josh Allen won it. Yesterday, Mahomes won it.

Herbert won it. Trevor Lawrence won it. That's the standard to be great. Now, Miami's been so average and awful for years, mostly average. not awful, that the standard is, he's not screwing it up. I agree. When you give him that game plan and that run support and you got to break with weather and those weapons and that speed, he's more than capable of going 17 for 30.

Tebow, one seven straight. He just didn't screw up the Broncos defense and Matt Prater in a decent run game. Tua is an easy quarterback and an easy kid to root for and a great story to root for. but Josh Allen won the game. And when the weather got really bad, it was like Josh Allen got better. Josh Allen won the game. If you have the right franchise quarterback, Burrell won the game. Herbert won the game.

Mahomes won the game. Trevor Lawrence won the game. It's not, they were capable. They didn't screw it up. That's Daniel Jones. Here's the context I'll add. This is as simple as I can make it. When Tua returned from an injury in week seven,

he faced five straight games against non-playoff teams. In those games, he went five and O, and he looked like a pro bowler. He was remarkable. Pittsburgh, Detroit, Chicago, Cleveland, Houston. And then the last three he's played against playoff teams. O and three, completing less than 50% of his throws, five touchdowns, two picks. To the left for our television audience, he played non-playoff teams. To the right, he played playoff teams.

you got to be better than he didn't screw it up this weekend was the classic example of have and have-nots. Most have-nots get their have-nots. But if you're constantly talking about play calling, you don't have the right guy. Because I didn't like Buffalo's play-calling. I never think they have an offensive identity. I didn't like the Chargers play-calling. I can never figure out their offensive identity. identity. Both have defensive head coaches. But Herbert and Allen just, you know, put a cape on and

win the game. It's not a shot at Tua. Miami out-coached him, out game plan him, had better running and lost. All right. Jimmy Johnson is coming up. Top of the hour and Colin right, calling wrong. And good news. Good news. I went and looked at the playoff scenario today. And it's interesting when you light it up here, left side, right side, AFC, NFC. One conference, every team in this morning feels like a legitimate playoff team. And the other conference, a couple of posers, who I think are falling out of it. We'll talk about that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd Weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Hey, I'm Doug Gottlieb. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches, we talk to players, we tell you stories.

You download it, you listen to it, I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Gottlieb on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

I don't care what I'm 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of Tontons and Wampas on the Ice Planet Hot,

or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith Rule of Two. Listen to Stuff to Bo Your Mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Tough economic times. Check out Legacy Precious Metals, have gold and silver in your house. 866-674 heard or visit bylegacygold.com. Stock market's tanked for the last five days. So, you know, now this is a fun time of the year.

year. We kind of look at the playoff picture because you're getting down now to there's not going to be a lot of movement. Some teams are clinching their division and clinching, you know, Kansas City just clinched their playoff and sort of the Dodgers, Kansas City Chiefs, they're going to win their division. You know, just mark it down. Seventh year in a row, Kansas City has won their division. So let's go to the AFC playoff picture. My feeling on the AFC is that the team's now in for our radio audience, Bill's Chiefs, Bengals, Titans, Ravens, Chargers, Dolphins. Now, the Titans are struggling. These all feel like they have an identity in their playoff teams.

Baltimore now, struggling too. Let's check it out. But when I watch the teams right below them, New England has a BB gun offense. Jets, not good enough at quarterback. Jaguars, I don't think, are there yet. I think the Dolphins and Chargers are better than they are. have more veteran players and dependable players. Raiders have given too many games away.

Brown Steelers, yuck. So I feel when I look at those teams, now, when you look at them, Jason, is there anything you see? I feel like even though the Titans are struggling, they have an identity. Baltimore struggling. That defense is big boy defense. They've got an identity. New England has no offensive identity. The Jets have talent, but they're just chaotic at quarterback.

So do you believe they all feel like playoff teams? Two things jump out. If you look at the quarterbacks of the top six in the AFC, if you remove Tanna Hill and you put in Trevor Lawrence, Alon, Burrough, Trevor Lawrence, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert. That's probably six of the top 12 quarterbacks in the league. Yeah, the great quarterback who wouldn't make it is Trevor Lawrence, but again, he's ascending. He's big time ascending. You know, listen, this is probably too spicy for the first hour here, but I look at that Jaguars team. No, do they feel... They remind me a little bit of the Bengals from last year when they got hot with a great quarterback. Yeah. I mean, but he doesn't have Jamar Chase. He's throwing a Zay Jones and Evan Ingram and making things happen.

This team is a little bit dangerous right now. Do we both agree in the AFC? If the Jaguars made it in, they wouldn't win a game, but they'd feel they have an identity offensively. Wait, if they're hosting Miami, you don't think they're winning that game? Or if they're hosting... Chargers? Lamar and the very limited Ravens?

So we believe the Jags feel like if somebody's going to make it, they would be the one. One other note, Justin Herbert, when he gets healthy, remember that defense, still no Bosa, no Derwin James. They get healthier, and the offense is healthy with Allen and Williams. Seen the schedule? Very easy. They're going to be a, I know you love Burrow. I hope he doesn't have to face Herbert in the first round.

Be terrible for America. It'd be great for America. Terrible for Burrow. Okay, let's go to the NFC playoff picture. A lot of posers here. So I believe in identity. Do you have a, you're not a playoff team if you have no identity. So Eagles, Vikings, Niners, Bucks, Cowboys, Giants, Commanders.

Say what you want about the Dallas Cowboys, but they are pretty lethal offensively. They've got a star receiver, a couple of good backs, very productive tied-in. Dax's at least a B-B-plus quarterback. But here's where it gets interesting. I feel the Lions at 7-and-7 feel like a playoff team, and here's why. The Giants don't. Giants have a great coach and a wonderful running back in a nice D-line. but they're rebuilding their receivers, rebuilding their offensive line.

Daniel Jones isn't a playoff level quarterback. Commanders, they have talent, but they have no offensive identity either. They're just a bunch of talented players. I love Terry McLaurin. Here's why I like the Lions. I want to talk about the Lions for a second. The Lions have the ability. The Jets, the Giants, the commanders, the Patriots, they have to play one way to win.

The Lions can win a shootout. Yesterday they won a low-scoring, ugly game. The Detroit Lions, to me, feel like a playoff team. If I said to you, they got into a shootout with Minnesota 313 and they won. You'd be like, totally possible.

Or they got into a really ugly game with the Niners. They lost but it was, and be like, oh yeah, yeah, I can see that. Detroit's now playing much better defense. Hutchinson's having rookie of the year level play, golf when he's got a clean pocket, and this is a very good offensive line.

This whole line is better than the L.A. Rams line is last year. It's really, really good. So I feel Detroit, I think Dan Campbell's play calling, he moved up Ben Johnson, the coordinator. I still, I don't love Campbell's clock management, but it wasn't as bad as Robert Solas yesterday. But I feel like Detroit is a better version of Jacksonville, is that their quarterback's been to a Super Bowl. They've got excellent running game. Their defense is getting better. They've got pretty dependable wide receivers. Here's Dan Campbell after. The win feels great and you know they the guys you know they believe they believe and now here we go this is another win but it was a different way to have to win it we had to find a different

way to win another way to win and every time that happens you just continue to grow and you start figuring things out your confidence grows okay so let's look at the nFC playoff picture again so we talked about the aFC now let's talk about the nFC I feel like the giants and Sanders are posers. I think the giant story is basically Brian D-Bel and a D-line. That is a... Let's say the Giants go to San Francisco. What's the spread in that one? Nine and a half, 10? I mean, that's a beat down. Giants can only win one way. Right. If the Detroit Lions sneak in and they go to the Minnesota Vikings in the first round, Minnesota is scared of that game. Of course they are. They already played two super close games. And the Lions beat them once.

Should have beat them twice. Now Green Bay can still make it in, but they basically have to win going way. I don't think they have a chance. A couple notes on the Lions. By the way, the Packers are a great example. They don't feel like a playoff team. So the beginning of the season, they never ran the ball, even though they had Aaron Jones. The defense is underachieve, can't trust special teams. Aaron doesn't trust his wide receivers, although it's getting better. They don't really have an identity. Detroit's got an absolute identity. They never quit. Nobody plays harder. They're explosive offensively and getting better defensively. They're one of the tougher teams in the league. That's an identity. Green Bay does not have one. Remember the quarterbacks in the

AFC how they're loaded. Here we've got Kurt Cousins, Brock Purdy, Tom Brady, who did not look particularly great yesterday. Dak Prescott, I think you just showed the stat nine picks in the last six games, and then Daniel Jones and Taylor Heineke. So, ask yourself this. For all the, I think this is nuts, for all the people that think Detroit, instead of fixing that defense, because it's a great defensive draft in the top 15, 20, 25, there's a lot of corners, defensive linemen. Go look at the quarterbacks in the NFC playoff picture. Look at the quarterbacks in the NFC. And you want to get rid of Jared Goff. Atlanta needs one. The Saints need one. Washington could use one. Wait, wait. You didn't like Desmond Ritter's 97 yards passing yesterday? Seahawks are going to draft one.

I mean, outside of Aaron, all the In-the-Hunt teams need a quarterback. And then you go to two teams that are in it. The Bucks will need one because Brady's leaving. Giants, say what you want about Daniel Jones. They have one way to win. Give me a break on Daniel Jones. So, and by the way, the nine-ers. We don't know what they. I like Brock Purdy, but you start looking at Jared Goff, who's been to a Super Bowl in that NFC playoff picture. You think Jared Goff's the problem? You're out of your, you're not watching their games.

By the way, the offensive line, healthy in Detroit, did not allow a sack of Goff yesterday. Jets were like top three in the league and pressure rate. They missed Quinn and Williams, but Goff, he didn't make any mistakes. Now, in the red zone, O for three could not deliver touchdown. You're going to need more than that in the playoffs. No, no question. That's what. Mahomes in the red zone are Alan.

Goff's not. that. But Goff can, in between the 20s, Gough can move the ball. He's a grown-up. He's Matt Ryan with a better ball. I always thought he has, he's Matt, like Matt Ryan is kind of rigid. Jared can let it rip once in a while and throw a beautiful ball. But just the idea of a first round game where it's Herbert versus Burrow and then the very next game is Daniel Jones versus Brock Purdy. It's kind of a tough watch. Some of those NFC matchups, not ideal. I do hope Detroit sneaks in. They've covered seven straight. They're fun. They are. There's something to say about fun. What I think is what was so amazing about this weekend, and I do, I want to talk a little bit

about the commanders and giants. So we can talk a little bit about just a little, right? Not, not too much. Not a ton. So again, you know, people did not like the officiating in that game. I thought it was pass interference in the end zone. I didn't like that McLaurin's pointing at the ref, am I lined up? Yes. I mean, I, I, there's a lot of people out there that say, you know, the NFL's so upset with the Washington commanders and Daniel Snyder, you know, the rigged comments. I'm over it. I don't buy it. You wouldn't do a standalone game.

I always say this. When Tim Donegie was fixing NBA games, there were games nobody was watching. You don't fix standalone games as an official. Even a fixer isn't that stupid. But Ron Rivera after the game was very disappointed with the officiating, as you would expect. Terry seemed pretty adamant.

He had pointed his hand out to the ref. What was the explanation? What did you guys see on the film? It looked like Terry pointed his hand in the... That's exactly what I thought too. Thank you. And I got to ask about the Curtis one as well. The fourth down.

Yeah, I mean, again, in fact, don't ask me about the refereeing because I can't answer the question. Yeah. This goes back to something fundamental. The reason Washington lost that game. And I like Taylor Heineke. I had him on the show last week. You love Taylor Heineke. I like him a lot.

Okay. So he's a gamer. He's the little guy quarterback. I get it. But this is an organization where the owner forced them to take a quarterback. quarterback, sadly the late Dwayne Haskins. The front office didn't want to take it. And then a lot of people in the front office didn't want Wence.

They waited and waited and waited and got Carson Wence, and that didn't work out. So this organization has put themselves in this spot where they're using Taylor Hineke to win games for the season. And again, that's nothing against them. Terry McLaurin's good. They've got a couple of rookies who are out of this world. I think Washington's got talent, but they have a defensive coach. I mean, ask yourself this. If the standard of the league is Hall of Fame coach Andy Reed offense in Mahomes,

Washington's got a defensive coach and probably a backup. And you're blaming the officials. Blame your owner. You're in this mess for a reason. I mean, if the standard, whenever you have an argument, what is the standard? What is the gold standard? In the NBA, it's the Warriors. The GM's bright.

The coach is brilliant. The star is brilliant. They've got depth young. Oh, that's the standard. The standard in the NFL is to win. Super Bowls generally, Hall of Fame level coach, you know, Sean Payton, Drew Brees, Belichick, and Brady. And these days, it's offensive coach.

So the, so the chiefs have a brilliant offensive coach and a brilliant offensive quarterback, or a quarterback. Washington's got a defensive coach and a backup quarterback. So you can blame officials all you want. I know everybody gets upset, but this is a poorly run organization. The Giants, by the way, are a mess too, but they have an offensive coach who is pulling every ounce of talent out of the incredibly limited Daniel Jones. Just listening to what you said, it dawned upon me. Ron Rivera has a good team. Defense is there,

skill position players. They're young running back. They have players. Okay. Do they give up a first and a fifth and say Derek Carr, come on down? We're ready to make a run in the NFC. Well, the receivers are there. The offensive lines pretty good on them. They couldn't block Thibodeau. No. Washington, you know, I said last year, Justin Herbert was too good not to make the playoffs. Washington's roster is really too good not to make the playoffs in the NFC. But I don't think they have much of an offensive identity. They just have talent. Colin right, Colin wrong on a Monday next, and Jimmy Johnson.

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

Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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 Cliford Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 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 a podcast.

For 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 year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. It was a wild year.

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