The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-2-Herd Hierarchy, Raiders

Episode Date: September 22, 2020

Herd Hierarchy for week 2 of the NFLColin admits to being wrong about the RaidersGuests: Matt Nagy, Marquez Valdes-Scantling Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was 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 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. 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Hurd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Sports Radio.

Here we go, hour two, live in Los Angeles. This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on Fox Sports Radio and right here on FS1. Had so much fun watching that game last night. Derek Carr, look pretty good to me. It's tired of being disrespectful. Yeah, Joey Taylor.

Marquez Valdez Gantling of the Packers joins us in 40 minutes. Matt Nagy, the coach of the Sharks. Chicago Bears, they're 2-0, joins us in 15 minutes. This is where NFL people come. Just hang out. A lot of our shows, they're busy. We call. I got time.

We've got stuff to do. Nothing to do. You're America's media icon. That's right. We're America's honesty brokers. We are. Oh, the ratings. NBC, big numbers, Fox.

Our numbers have been up back-to-back weeks. Stop believing everything your friends tell you. Yeah, Fox is up 10% NFL ratings through two weeks. That's competing against NBA playoff games, which don't. don't normally happen in September. This weekend, you had the U.S. open, the Emmys, the NBA finals. Fox were up 10%. We watched the NFL.

I bet the NFL. It's the only sport I bet. I bet professional football. Last night, I literally just lit a cigar. I called the buddy. I said, bring cigars over and beer. You're like, yeah. Are you always been a cigar guy?

Not really, but it's the new me. Yeah. The beer, the cigars, I am a rebel. You've been smoking a lot of cigars. I mean, I'm fine with it. I love cigars, but. It's just, I think I've just moved into a different phase in my life. I live in a smoke-free community, so I can't smoke.

Really? I can't smoke-sugers, yeah. What do you mean? Oh, the place you live? Smoke-free? Yeah. All smoke? In California, too.

Yes, all smoke. It's very limiting. Wow. Bummer. That's a you problem. Wow. All right. Here we go.

Heard hierarchy on a Tuesday. Let's go. Heard hierarchy. Time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Allen. Number 10. Shocked to say this. I was wrong. New England. I'm sorry. You can win a bunch of games that way. Cam Newton. More passing yards and touchdowns than Brady so far. It works. He's got running backs that can catch. Edelman, Nikiel Harry had seven catches. Third most passing yards in a game for Cam. Isn't that bizarre? I like it. They're deep. You know, Belichick's always got defensive players that work. Their secondary is great. But I got to tell you, this thing works. And it's only going to get better. I mean, as long as Cam gets more comfortable. They had no preseason.

Still the best well-coached team in the NFL, and I don't think Brady could have led him to within one play of beating. Now, I do think there's a ceiling here. At some point, you'd like to have somebody that can get open down the field, but this works. That's a top 10 team. Number nine. Saints, I think, will get it kind of together, but this is really troubling. 160 total air yards this year, worst among all quarterbacks. It's very Kirk Cousins. And you say, well, that doesn't matter. And they don't have Michael Thomas. But what matters is, is they faced a Raiders defense that didn't create a sack.

So Breeze had nothing but time last night and was still dumping it to his running backs. Like, I get dumping it to your running backs if you're facing Chris Jones of the Chiefs or you're facing San Francisco last year. When you have time to throw and you're dumping a running backs, you're not a dangerous offense. They've also been heavily penalized this year, which they weren't last year, Saints at 9. Number 8. I'll put the Raiders in. They got a ton of offensive weapons. Their tight-end group and their wide receiver group and their running back group is fantastic.

The offensive line was missing two starters last night, and I still thought got a push. Darren Waller has the second most catches and targets of any player in the NFL this year. They're one of four teams to score 30 plus points in their first two games. I'll give it out to them. I don't know how long it lasts. They're going to New England this weekend, but just in terms of offensive weaponry, they're fun, they're fast, they're athletic, they're loose. They got a lot of dudes. They got a lot of dudes that can run, and a lot of guys were open last night.

And New Orleans is a well-coached defense with good personnel, and there were a lot of raiders that were really open last night. They got players. Number seven. Buffalo, I think, has the best young coach, arguably in the sport, Sean McDermott. Josh Allen has benefited greatly because of that. Josh Allen's first two career 300 plus yard games are in the books. The Bill's defense top five in yards allowed. Now it should be noted they face the Jets offense and Miami and Ryan Fitzpatrick.

So they got the Rams this week. They got them at home, but the Rams offense has got a lot of weapons, and they may scale back a little bit statistically. But I think Buffalo is doing it right. I still have to see Josh Allen against good defenses in big games, but I can't deny what I see. Well-coached, real defense, and Josh Allen now can play. Number six.

Tampa Bay. Leonard Fernette is going to get better every game. So first of all, what's not being talked about is their defense. Their defense shut down McCaffrey. It's shut down Alvin Kamara. I don't trust their special teams, but as we predicted, their defense would carry the day in September. The defense is allowing the fewish yards per rush of any team since the start of last year.

So take last year and this year. This is the best run defense in the NFL, I think Pittsburgh second. So I'll put Tampa Bay is just going to get better. And I got them at six. Number five. Green Bay. Now, again, Detroit and Minnesota, Detroit had a lot of secondary injuries, and the Vikings defense lost five starters from the previous year.

Some of it's that. But Aaron Jones looks like the best running back in the NFL. Aaron Rogers is playing well. He's not holding the ball. He's taking more shots down field. He's only been sacked once. The hidden gem right now for the Packers is this is Aaron's best offensive line in several years.

He had time to throw, allowed him to throw deep, he sprinkled around to different wide receivers. They deserve credit. Number four. Rams. Their defense is better than I thought. Second lowest passer rating allowed. Carson Wentz really struggled.

Now, Sean McVeigh teams, this is the third consecutive year starting 2 and 0. He brings a lot of new wrinkles, and it takes a while for the league to catch up. But their top five in total offense, they're generating a pretty good pass rush, though not great. I will say this, more misdirection than any offense in the NFL. Both Dallas and Philadelphia were, it was a dizzying display of new looks, motion, multiple sets, variable looks. and golf when he's got time and his moving is a very good deliverer of the football. Number three.

Kansas City, four of their last five wins have come trailing by 10 points or more. That's a little troubling, and I did think Mahomes was off. And I, listen, I'm going to give them a pass because they had Baltimore on the horizon. It's the game of the year. And so Baltimore didn't play well, and Kansas City didn't play well last week for the talent they have. I do think this is a team that has not been great out of the gate. They're falling into holes, and Mahomes is having to do a little hero ball here, but I still believe in the staff, the GM, the quarterback, the offensive line,

and I think they're a very focused football team. Number two. Seattle. I can't make them number one because they have no pass rush. And I think in the end, that keeps them from winning a Super Bowl. But I'll tell you what, man, D.K. Metcalfe and Russell, Wilson. Yeah, that works. That works. Now the running backs are healthy. You know, the offensive line is a little better than I give it credit for because they are good at left tackle. And frankly,

if you can run the football like Seattle runs the football, they can't be as bad as pro football focus thinks. But they've got no defensive front. In fact, their last in past defense and they're last in total defense. That's not great. Number one. Baltimore, I think they're easily the best team in the league. I think they're going to beat Kansas City this week. They've allowed the fewest points. They've got the best point differential. Didn't play great and still blew out a team Houston that had three extra days to prepare. I think they're the most explosive. I think they're the hardest to face. I think Lamar keeps getting better. And I don't see a hole. In a salary cap era, everybody's got a hole. They don't. I don't see it. I don't see the weakness with this team.

I don't. Baltimore number one. I want to say that there you go. So the Raiders obviously jump out because I thought they were going to be hooey. They're very good. I will say this. When a team is bad for a long time, it's very easy to be critical of them because we've just seen so much bad. Right? Like we were all kind of slow to say, oh, the Warriors, they made a really good move drafting a guy from Davidson, none of us watch play in college. Because they made so many bad moves forever.

And then all of a sudden, Steph Curry is a brilliant move. The Raiders have been a mess for like 15 years. And when I grew up with the Raiders, they were John Madden, they were Tom Flores, they were Super Bowls. It was a great franchise. They were tough and they were rebels and they were contrarian and they were a great brand and they didn't tuck their shirts in and they sat on their helmets and they were all the things the league didn't want. John Gruden now not wearing a mask, getting trouble. But we've been very quick to judge them because they've been so bad for 15 years. Mike Mayok's hired.

We're like, he's never been a GM. John Gruden's hired. He's been out of the league for 10 years, the Kaleel Mack trade. What are you doing? Let goal of Amari Cooper. Guys, only good guy you got. Richie Incognito. Then they started drafting guys based on character.

It looked like reaches. You know, they paid Trent Brown of fortune, and I ripped that. But I look at their offensive line, and they were missing two starters last night. It's good. And Amari Cooper's gone, and it doesn't matter. They got a half dozen good receivers, and their tight ends are great. and they've drafted well. And all those character guys have worked.

It's working. And I'll say this. Derek Carr, who I've always liked more than the collective media fan opinion, Derek Carr looks good to me. And Gruden can be a barker and Derek's more sensitive. But I'm watching Carr last night. And he's throwing darts and he's thrown to the corner. He's throwing up field.

I thought he kind of struggled in the first quarter. But you know what? Once Drew Breeze got off script, he didn't give you anything. Once Derek Carr got off script, I thought he was. was excellent. And I don't know. I've been very quick to criticize them, but all I know is what I watched. And they're fast, they're long, they're athletic, they can run, they got weapons everywhere. And Gruden talked about his relationship with Derek Carr. There's a lot of people that make a lot of opinions on Derek and Derek's performance and our relationship. But, you know,

he had nine different flankers last year, nine. You know, when I was here, I was here for four years and we had Tim Brown every week for four years. One. You know, we've had, I don't know how many different combinations on the offensive line. Yet, you know, he threw for over 4,000 yards and 70 percent put us in a position to make the playoffs in week 15. This guy's a great quarterback, and we're surrounded him with better players. They really are. You can't deny that. They looked the part last night. Man, that's Saints defense is a real deal. And Carr was slinging it and they're tied ends. Darren Waller looks like an NBA player. He's like six, six, six. runs a 4-4.

It's like Tristan Thompson out there catching balls with the pads. He's big. He's big. You can just spot guys and go, okay, he's bigger and faster than everybody. Like, Darren Waller, you can't cover. I mean, Nelson Aguilar fits perfect. That Jacobs kids from Alabama is knocking people over. Like, it works.

Hunter Renfrozo was open. They got three tight ends. So I said, until further notice, my two tiers of quarterbacks, the oh my God level and the special level, Drew's out, Derek Karz, and Carson Wentz is on the clock. I thought Derek Carr looked good. I don't know what you want. I mean, he was better than Drew Breeze for three and a half hours.

And I know I had a cigar and there was smoke and maybe I didn't see everything. But it was obvious. He was livelier. He moved around better. He threw the ball down the field. And what I liked about Carr is Drew Breeze was good on the first 20 plays. Then I get nothing. What are you after the script ends?

Derek Carr was not great early. He was fantastic late. Those were not scripted plays. Derek had ad lib. Derek's audible and he's ad-living. He doesn't know what's coming. Like he was really good. It's fun.

Loved it. Matt Nagy coached the Chicago Bears, 2-0 Chicago Bears. What a great feeling. Great city. You're 2-0. America loves you. And you're just clinging,

hoping your team stays healthy, which is such a huge part of this league. He's next. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart Radio app. Search Herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. in 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, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

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

something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network. on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast.

I'm Sam 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. 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. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you Get your podcasts.

Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests.

I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it, and we don't know when we've done enough, Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses.

Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines,

as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. This week starts Saturday Strong with a huge doubleheader on Fox. First Oklahoma looks to avenge last year's loss, the K-State, on Big Noon Game of the Week. Then the Longhorns take on the Red Raiders only on Fox and the Fox Sports app.

You know, we talk about all the time young quarterbacks are better sooner than ever. And a lot of that is because the seven-on-seven, these elite 11 camps where, you know, This generation of kids, they're getting 10,000 snaps by the time they're 12, 13 years old. And the quarterbacks are just, they're better earlier. The league, I don't think I've ever seen the league this good at quarterback in my life. I've been watching the NFL for four decades. It's just incredible. And you're getting new young coaches.

Matt Rule now. Matt Nagy. You're getting, you know, Cliff Kingsbury. So the league feels very youthful to me. And I like that. And Joy and I talked about this with the NBA, the NBA bubble. God, there's so many good young NBA players. We've just got so many great athletes.

And Chicago is 2-0, and the quarterback sometimes gets some heat. Mitch Trubisky, but he's 2-0. And by the way, I looked at their schedule. They face Philip Rivers and Tom Brady and Matt Ryan. There's a lot of years, this Bears defense, a lot of years in the NFL. The Bears defense is going to be challenged here. And Matt Nagy, the coach of the Bears, is joining us now live from Lake Forest, the beautiful part of America.

Okay. So it's interesting. So your quarterback gets beat up in the off season. Everybody's ripped, blah, blah, blah. And it's not just you. You have to sit there and take a young man, Matt. And it's like build his confidence back up. Because people can say they don't hear us.

Everybody hears. If somebody was talking about me all the time in the city, I'd hear about it. How much of this off season for you and Mitch Trabiski was building his confidence back up? Yeah, Colin, you're right. It is. You hear it all. And like you said, for those that say that they don't, they're really not telling the truth. But at the same point in time, you have to be able to understand that that's a part of the business that we're in.

And what Mitchell and I have done, I think, is taking this off season to really step back and reflect as to what we've done the last couple of years and how can we get better. And, you know, you have a kid here who's come on into this league as a high pick. And there's a lot of pressure put on him. And what we want to do as coaches is give him the best opportunity possible to make good plays. this past year in 2019 was difficult for all of us. But what he's done is he's become extremely locked in right now in the off season. And he's come into training camp. He won the battle.

And now here we are at 2 and O. And I think we're still learning a lot. He's been through a lot of adversity, but we're fighting through it. And that's what I love about the kid. It's an interesting team. So Chuck Pocano is your defensive coordinator. He's an older guy. And he's been a head coach.

So when you're a young head coach, and you've got a guy that's been in the league longer, and he is a former head coach. What's the dynamic? Because their defense is playing great. Do you hover over? Do you offer suggestions as an offensive guy? How do you and Pagano make it work?

Because whatever you're doing is working on defense. Sure, absolutely. No, Coach Pagano has done a really good job at taking over last year with this defense and learning some new schemes with them and doing different things with the players. What I love about Chuck is his personality. I think that he's done a really good job

at building the relationships and the trust with our players on defense. We have a lot of vets there, a lot of guys that have been in different defenses and had success. So what he's done now over time has been able to create havoc with our defense. And this year in particular, I think we're doing a good job of keeping teams out of the end zone. You feel it, you understand it, in practice. We didn't do really well that first game. We struggled a little bit to first game, but it was a challenge to them, to the players and the coaching staff, to be able to come back this past weekend.

and I thought we did that. So it's awesome to have. There's a really good energy and vibe right now with that side of the ball, and it's contagious. You know, it's a little bit of a cross-your-fingers time with injuries, so you don't get a preseason, and they say often you need about three weeks of live hitting to kind of create the calluses in the NFL.

Take me to the only year of your life that you'll probably ever have no pre-season. You start cold. What's been the hardest part of that? Well, probably the biggest thing is understanding that every single day is going to be different. We've got to be able to adapt. And everybody says it, but do you actually do it? And then when you do adapt, is there complaining? Because we talk about complaints kill culture.

And we feel really strongly that our culture and our building right now, we've been able to build this thing ever since the end of last year. We've taken this thing to another level. I really believe that that's a big reason why we're 2 and 0 right now. our last two games have come down to the final play of the game. There's been resiliency, there's been perseverance, and there's been togetherness and unity. And I love that about our team right now. So was it pretty? No, but every wing counts in the NFL.

We'll take it. We're proud of our guys. And hopefully this is just the start. So I'm a believer in you got to have an identity. It's one of the things I've seen with Cam and New England in the first two weeks is they kind of, they kind of know what they are. And that's probably a, you know, that's why Belichick's a legend. They've been able to self-identify what they are. If I look at you, Matt, and I say offensively, what are you today?

What can you put your finger on that you know you do well? I would say right now, as far as running the football, we've shown that the last two weeks. I'm proud of Coach Juan Castillo and what he's done coming in here and setting a mentality with these guys on offense. That offensive line in particular. And then those offensive linemen to be able to step up to the challenge and know that that was going to be something that we really focused on this past off season. two weeks in a row now. I feel like we've been, we've done well with it. Can we get better? Yes. But our tight ends have also, Colin, been a big part of this run game success. And there hasn't been a lot of production right now in the past game, but that's okay. They've done a really good

job at making sure that we work together, O-line and tight ends and the running backs. That part I like. Can we get better in other areas? Absolutely. But there's more time here for us to kind of create that identity. But I'm pleased right now with the run game. Now, let's just say, let's just, that's the elephant in the room. You're paying some money to Nick Foles. Mitch has a couple. Now, you've got some teams coming up here. Indianapolis has real defense.

That Tampa defense, I've watched it two weeks in a row, is no joke. Okay, I start looking at your schedule, and I think to myself, okay, you've got some defenses. Is the elephant in the room? Mitch has struggles back-to-back weeks. How do you measure that? You're not paying Nick Foles peanut brittle. This is a real salary. How do you dance that?

How do you walk that line with Mitch and Foles? Well, what the biggest thing is that we do is we try to be completely up front with these guys. And I think they had a heck of a battle in training camp. And you see how Mitch won the job and started the season here. And I think right now what he's done, he's not worrying about any of that other stuff. Now, that's something that we do need to, you know, we know right now that we feel really good about our quarterback room and that we need to win. We need to score touchdowns and we got to win football games. You try to keep it as simple one-on-one as you can make it.

And so right now, we are always evaluating all positions at all times. We're evaluating how we are as coaches. And I just think that with where we're at offensively, I felt like the third and fourth quarter of this past game, we just played against the New York Giants, wasn't where we need to be. But I do like parts of our first two games where we've been. So we want to continue to grow.

We want to be patient. But at the same time, there's got to be that urgency to score. were touchdowns on offense, protect the football, and then ultimately get wins. By the way, you know, everybody thinks you coaches basically live in a room and watch film and you have no life and all you do all season is just drink coffee and watch film. Did you watch the Raiders Saints last night? Because I love the NFL in Vegas. I love it.

I thought it looked great. Did you watch any of it? Yeah, you know, I had it on in the background so you're able to kind of see. What I think is cool when these games go on is you're able to really watch a lot of situations. football. And there was some of that last night for sure. You could see that two really well-coached teams with a lot of great players on that field. And it was, it was, there was a lot of excitement. You know, that decision at the end of the game to kick the field goal and put it a two-score game was, was really big. And I just think, you know, right now there's been a lot of great

games these first two weeks and we want to keep that going. But yeah, we're, we have it on in the background. But for the most part, you're in there and you're grinding away with, with, with your opponent for this week. Is there any advantage to not having crowds in the NFL? I mean, frankly, can you just hear easier. Well, you certainly can hear a lot easier. It was strange week one. I'll tell you, I don't know if I was quite prepared for how quiet it was. And I think every week it's going to be a little bit different based off of what the team, the home team wants to do. But you had to create and manipulate your own crowd noise. And ours has come down to the last play of the game two weeks in a row. And we've had to get our guys jumping up on the sideline and being

loud and screaming. And you can hear the different personnel's that the opponent's doing, screaming from the sideline and the substitution. So there can be an advantage, I'd say. It's probably more to the offense than the defense. But, you know, hey, we're adapting. I think the players and coaches are doing a great job, as well

as the TV crews with making it sound like it's loud when you're actually there. Yeah, no, I thought the presentation so far aesthetically has been great around the league. You got the Bears logo behind him, Matt Nagy, third year head coach, a coach of the year in the league two years ago. It's great having you on the show. Love having you and we'll talk soon.

Thanks, Colin. You're the best. I appreciate it. You bet. He's a disciple, of Andy Reed. All Andy Reid's guys, folks, just hire Andy Reed guys. You'll be good. Just hire Andy Reed guys. You'll be fine. All right, Marquez Valdez, Scantling of the Packers this hour. Jeff Pearlman's written a new book on Kobe Shack, the Lakers, Phil, Jerry West, the history of the Lakers

and what they're going through. And, oh, by the way, Lakers, Denver tonight. Lakers win up 3-0. That series is all but a officially over in LeBron's in another finals. Joy with the News. No, no, no, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Tom Brady got his first win as a Buccaneer Sunday, but he is far from satisfied with his team's overall performance.

He didn't crack a smile when he was talking about the game in his press conference and instead focused on what the team needs to keep working on in true Brady, New England style. But Leonard Fournett added that Brady is hard on him and the rest of the team, and he hard on Brady right back. He said, I'm hard on Tom and he's hard on me. He expects a lot out of me. I expect a lot out of his ass. He's a six-time Super Bowl winner. So I expect a lot out of him. Just know that. Sometimes I'm like, Tom, you might hold the ball too long. And he might tell me I'm not running the ball hard enough. And I'm like, damn, if Tom says that, I'm not running

the ball hard enough. So I've got to come back and start doing what I've got to do. It also helps you to be responsible at your job. So the Brady effect is, in fact, happening in Tampa Bay. Like to hear it. Well, this is what you would expect. Of course. I mean, he's not, you know, old dog, new tricks. He's not going to leave New England after 20 years and then all of a sudden become this wild man who doesn't hold anybody accountable. Like, that is what Brady is.

That's why Arian's comments after the first game kind of felt a little aggressive just in the wording that he used. Because it's like, this is not a guy who's not determined. He's not going to try and get it right. Yeah, the determined thing to me was that's the, you know, there are certain things you don't have to worry about Tom, obsessed, determined, focused. He's good on those. Those boxes have been checked on the flight down. Yeah, right. Like if you watch Tom

versus time, this is all this guy does. So I do think they will progressively get better. As Arian said, he thinks that they're going to be better in November than they are right now. I think so too. Because again, this team, and I pretty much say this every day, this team and a team like the Cowboys are teams

that we don't think about in that category of while they probably needed a preseason, they have a new situation. Cowboys have a new coach and Mike McCarthy. Bruce Ariens has Tom Brady now. These are massive changes. And that's why Peter King said earlier, you got to give the Patriots and Cam Newton some credit for being able to put that together so quickly in a completely new situation, which really no one expected. So there's a lot of new situations around the league, but I think this is one that will continue to develop just because Tom Brady is like that. He's going to hold you accountable. So the Falcons suffered another

devastating loss after falling to the Cowboys on Sunday, failing to recover the on side kick. Head coach Dan Quinn insisted that his players knew that they couldn't recover the ball before it went 10 yards but just didn't make the proper play. However, team owner Arthur Blank disagrees. He said he thought it was clear in the video that they didn't understand what the rules were. Clearly. And what they had to do. By the way, why can't if I'm the Falcons jump on the ball? It's the cowboys that can't touch it for 10 yards. Atlanta can just jump on the ball. What are they doing? I don't know. You're a special teams coach. You have to do your job. Know your rules as a special.

The team getting the onside kick, they can touch it at any time. They don't have to wait 10 yards. I think everyone has to wait. Are you sure? I don't know. They could have grabbed it at any point. Now, the Cowboys can't touch it. Falcons can just jump on it and they're done.

Yeah, Atlanta, what are they waiting for? That makes it worse. I mean, the onside kick rule, I think, is ridiculous to begin with. I thought they should have changed it. It was on the table. to change this year. They decided not to. If the owner is saying they didn't clearly understand the rules, the coach is fired.

Somebody's getting fired over that. It's just special team. There's certain mistakes that happen on NFL field that I feel like are just unacceptable. And special teams mistakes are just kind of one of those things. You can't make mistakes like that. You have

to know the rules. You have to know exactly what to do in those situations. Two franchises that just don't do special teams generally well, Chargers, Buccaneers. Don't we always think they have talent and can't win the big games? Like, do you know how many times New England has won a big game because of special teams? Because it comes down to situations in big moments. And that game right there is Atlanta butchered it. Dallas didn't. And that's the difference in the game.

I mean, I think I should have never been in that situation to begin with. Right. If we're being honest. But at the end of the day, still, you got to finish the game. Somebody's getting fired when the owner says, yeah, my coaches, players didn't know the rules. Somebody's getting fired. May not be this week, but somebody's getting on. But to Arthur Blank's point, if you're, could, if you're the Falcons and you could get that ball at any moment, maybe they didn't know the rules.

They didn't, clearly. Why wouldn't you just jump on it? No, no, clearly the coaches didn't elaborate the rules to the players. That's the issue. Unbelievable. Well, the NFL sent a memo to every team after week one, reiterating the need for everyone on the sidelines to wear masks. And those that didn't would be subject to penalties.

So far, three coaches have been singled out. We're not following the guidelines. Pete Carroll, Kyle Shanahan, and Vic Fangio. Oh, brother. have reportedly been fined $100,000 each for not wearing their mask properly and their respective teams were each hit with $250,000 fines as well. They got a headphone. They got a talk. I don't know. I think Andy Reid has figured it out. I feel like the shield was a little bit of a struggle

week one. But I think his shield now, I was looking at it. It has like fitted over his cap. He's got like a special. It has bent holes. I noticed that. Yeah. So he's figured it out. Like he's not into the mask. He's wearing the... My wife and I argued about this last night. She's like, why isn't Gruden wearing a mask? I said, because he's talking on a headset. Is he supposed to do this?

So they're not in a bubble. But in theory, if you're on the field, you are COVID-free. Yes. So what's the point? But, well, I understand the point for the staff and for the coaches. I don't know if I do. I understand. It's a little difficult.

You are yelling. But you have to think about optics. And they are thinking about safety. Like they've done an amazing job with whatever it is they're doing. So it's clearly working outside of a bubble. If you're outdoors in the wind and the sun, we know in America. Well, I think the issue here is, and John Gruden apologized last night saying he's doing his best as well. I understand it is difficult.

The issue here is, and I noticed that with the refs as well, like whenever you're getting close to people, pull the mask up. Like if you're yelling out onto the field and you feel like they can't hear you and you pull your mask down, okay. But they're like in groups of people yelling and screaming at each other and he's yelling at the ref and the mask is down. I don't know. But the NFL is taking it seriously. And all I will say is they've done an impeccable job getting the league up and running. No question. Very, very few positive tests.

I don't know the exact number, but very, very few. I think there are only two this week out of thousands of tests. So whatever the rules and regulations they have in place are are working? Everything. UFC, golf, NASCAR, NBA, NHL, baseball, football. Pro leagues have been unbelievable. Right. So if this is the medical guidelines that they have, which is try and follow them.

All right. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Al-Qaeda is scantling. Packer receiver. They have the number one offense in the NFL right now is going to join us live. The Packer-wide receiver, an emerging star around the corner.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast'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, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

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

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

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

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

Open your free, our heart radio app, Search, learn the hard way, and listen now. One of the things that's cool about the NFL when you watch young guys become stars for legendary franchises, wide receiver Marquez Valdez Scant League is in his third year in the league. And it took Devonte Adams about a year or two to become a star, and this guy can flat run. The Packers lead the NFL in scoring,

and he is joining us live from Green Bay right now. He just told me off there. He had five guys from his high school to go to the kids. of the NFL, including Isaiah Win, and I've got to ask you. So you go to NC State, you go to South Florida. Then you end up in Green, you go to Green Bay. Your first practice with Aaron Rogers, just go back to your, you're a Green Bay Packer. He's a legend. Do you remember the first practice? Were you nervous? I mean, honestly, it was just not even the first practice. It was just walking into the building. And I think him, Clay Matthews, and Randall were all sitting at a table

talking. And I'm just looking at him like, man, these are the guys I grew up watching. and, you know, just idolizing, and they all sit in the table right in front of me, and I'm going to build it with these guys. So it was kind of just stock struck for a quick second. But after that, you know, got to be around him and meet him and hang out with them and just a normal guy like everybody else. Aaron's a guy that likes to trust his receivers. It takes a while, Marquez, to build trust, a lot of reps, a lot of practices.

He's got to know you're going to be in the spot. When do you believe that Aaron, you were building the trust? When do you believe that you guys were on the same page and this thing was going to work? When he starts throwing you to football, that's kind of how it is. You know, with 12, he's been in the league for a long time. He's been around a lot of great wide receivers and he knows what it looks like to go out and be great. So when you have a quarterback that has a high standard, he knows exactly what he wants. And so, of course, he's going to have those standards and make sure that you know what you're doing before he gets out there and trust you when it comes to making plays.

How often does Aaron audible? When he audibles, does he look at you? When you go to the line of scrimmage, how much do you have to be on your toes with Aaron? Every single second before the ball is snapped. Just because, like I said, he's been in the league so long, he knows exactly what the defense is going to do, probably 99% of the time. It's not really too often that they can, you know, fool him into doing something that he's not supposed to be doing. So, you know, he's always making checks up the line and figuring out, you know, how can we beat this defense that they're about to. to put up. And so you got to be aware at all times about what's about to happen before the play

starts. So now that you've been established, everybody knows you're one of the fastest guys in the league. And when you walked into the league, people don't know much about you. But now guys have film on you. They know your speed. People can roll over coverages. Do you sense when you go out there, Marquez, the respect you're getting around the league? Are coverage is changing for you? It's a little difficult when you got Devonthe Av's on the other side. And you got a Aaron Jones in the backfield. So it makes it quite difficult to roll coverages. We got one of the best, you know,

wild receivers in the NFL and then one of the best running backs in the NFL. So it was a lot of one-on-one coverages throughout the game because you have a guy trying to double Devonthe Adams. You know, Green Bay is a very unique place. You played football. You grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida.

I used to live around there very warm. You played it South Florida. NC State's mostly nice winter weather. And then you go up to Green Bay and it's small and it's cold. Now you've got to catch a ball when it's 9 degrees. Was there any physical adjustment to the weather and the surroundings in Green Bay? Yeah, for sure.

I mean, obviously, you just stated, I'm from Florida, so I had never played in anything, you know, like the frozen tundra. So just being able to get used to catching football in this temperature and being able to stay warm and run fast in the cold. It's all different things that I had never been accustomed to. So I had to learn very quickly. I want to spend a long time here. I got to be able to do it.

So just had to figure out how to do it and who to talk to about, you know, what they did when they had to adjust to this cold weather and figured it out and, you never make it happen. So when you, you were probably so gifted in high school and college, you would watch film. But one of the things guys have told me through the years, when you get to the NFL, you really got to watch film. Like you got, like give me your average week. How much film do you watch? Do you, when you watch film, do you watch it with Aaron? Take my audience to what your film studies like. No, so, I mean, you kind of just, you work on the defenders.

You look at their defenses and what they run and I like to play certain leverages and things of that nature. But, you know, it's not really one of those things where you break it down with the quarterbacks or, you know, other wide receivers. You kind of just learn for yourself about, you know, how you can beat a certain guy on a certain route. And that's kind of what the mindset is when you are breaking down film. you've probably been the fastest guy in every football field and then you get to the NFL. Is there anybody that can run with you that can just line it up? No. No, they got to line it up first.

They got to show me they can beat me. And then when they beat me, they got to show me they can beat me again. Do you talk when you get into these cornerback battles? Are you a talker out there? For sure. It's just a Florida in me. That's just how we were raised. I'm going to try to talk to the day I die.

And so that's just who I am as a wide receiver. You know, I feel like if I can get in your head, you know, then I won already. So I'm a trash talk, you know, every single snap, you know, win or lose, you know, you're going to hear it for me. Marquez Valdez Gantling, a great young talent, second on the Packers. So Devante Adams is, you know, I mean, you just watch television. He just pops. When is there ever anything in the Packers or with Devonte, do you ever borrow a route? Do you ever look at a guy and say, God, I love that move?

Do receivers share secrets and gifts for the Packers? Yeah, for sure. I think Devante is the best at it, especially when it comes to that. He's always given knowledge, especially with him being the best while receiving the NFL, you can't ask for a better vet in your room to show you how it's done. I mean, I don't think I've ever seen the guy get covered for any amount of time in the game. So, Lest Day, just triple covered him. So other than that, he's just one of the best at the line of scrubs.

image, one of the best route runners, one of the smartest guys in the building. So just having a guy like that to show you the ropes and show you great practice habits and how to do things and how to get open and be open for a long time. It's a good guy to have. For the record, COVID's been difficult. You've got to kind of go home, go to practice, go home, go to practice. Can you have any social life in the season right now? Are you guys just basically facility home, facility home? Is that your life right now in the NFL? Yeah, basically what it is. I mean, it's not much to do in Green Bay anyway, but that's basically what it is.

So, you know, a lot of the guys get together and play video games, and that's kind of how we, you know, have our social life is through the internet and through video games so we can go out and hang out on the game and whatnot and talk about whatever we want to talk about. You get to talk to your friends all around the league, all on the video games. So that's kind of what we do now. Marquez Valdez Gantling, absolute pleasure to talk to you. it's a blast to watch. Got a great story,

and we appreciate you coming into the herd today, man. Appreciate it. Thank you. I appreciate it. I've been a big fan for a long time. Oh, I appreciate that. St. Petersburg, Florida. Guy can flat run.

And he's becoming a star in this league. He is becoming a star. How about that? I love that. St. Petersburg, Florida. I said, hey, during the break, I said, you know, it used to be a bar there called the hurricane.

And as he should have said, he goes, I've never heard of it. That was a good answer. And I'm thinking, that's the right answer for a young man to say. You might, you know, parents didn't let me go to that part of town. I didn't go to the hurricane bar, which had good, cold, cheap beer and fish and chips. Okay. Another reminder, Joy, I've got to get the audience ready for this.

Okay. For all the rigid people, LeBron's playing tonight, Joy. And if LeBron wins tonight, Joy, you know what that means. Well, Denver would argue they've come back down three ones a whole times, but it was three one. It's going to mean LeBron's probably going to get to the final. Yes, that's probably what that means. In the Western Conference, the thing that really blows me away with LeBron is LeBron has always been an adapter. He walked into this league and he was a freight train.

He really wasn't the first couple years in the league. He just bowled people over. Then he figured out, oh, I've got to learn to shoot three. He adapted. And then after the Dallas loss, I got to get a better low post game. And one of the things I'm impressed with, and this is why I consider LeBron the most valuable player in the league for 10 years. folks he's got a new coach a new system new teammates a new star a new bench the bubble this bubble for older players is all about who can adjust and a lot of these old NBA guys can't and a lot of the coaches can't

and once again LeBron the early adapter not rigid try new things keep getting better develop through a season if you don't think he's the MVP at the league at this point can't help you Buyraycon.com slash heard 15% off. Best wireless earbuds on the market. Buyraycon.com slash H-E-R-D. 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 Acapella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits,

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, unfilled 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 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. On the Look Back at it podcast. For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's 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. 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.