The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - New Herd Hierarchy

Episode Date: November 21, 2023

Colin gives his top 10 NFL teams following week 11 Thoughts on USC's disappointing season and the future of Caleb Williams   Guest: Nick WrightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Live in Los Angeles, it's the hurt. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. Nick Wright, five minutes. Urban Meyer. How good is that? One hour and 15 minutes from now? You know my feeling.

I think Michigan is the team to beat with Georgia right now in the country. Carson backed that quarterback for Georgia's, the best quarterback Georgia's ever ever, period. You can make NFL throws. Georgia's defense isn't as good. Their secondary is very hit and miss, but Georgia's got their best quarterback ever. It's usually been okay quarterback's great defense run game. Now they have a great quarterback, NFL first round talent.

Defense is okay, it's good, but it's not Georgia last two years good. So I think Michigan and Georgia are the two best teams in the country, and that's where we stand today. How are you, J. Mack? I've been better. Should have had a 4-1 in the contest, and the Chiefs just blew it. You know who did go 4-1? Yeah, you did. Yeah, I know.

Because you texted me about it, like, 7 seconds after the game. 4-1, yeah, no bleep, Sherlock. Yeah, just disappoint. NFL's really tough, man. So many games come down to the wire. I know, it's hard. You ready to go? Let's see this.

Let's see the list. All right. Today's heard hierarchy. Hierarchy. Time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college.

Number 10. I don't know what to do with Cleveland. I'll put him here. Dorian Thompson, Robinson, I guess the quarterback going forward, but they did beat the Ravens and Steelers in back-to-back weeks. They have never done that in franchise history. They've won five of their last six games. I think Miles Garrett's got an argument to be the MVP of the league.

They've got a really good roster. I like their GM. I like their coach. I love elements of their defense. I don't know how far you can go with DTR at quarterback. see it'll be a fun watch Cleveland at 10. Number nine. Buffalo. I do think, and I said this last week, I think they rebound

and they're pretty good the rest of the way. I think they hit a low point, and I think they'll rebound. Listen, they're number four in the league in point differential. They have the number four scoring defense, and Josh Allen's an all-time talent. They will score points or find a way. So I think they've bottomed out. I think

they're pretty decent the rest of the year. Josh Allen's not going anywhere. He's going to be around the AFC for 10 to 12 years. Buffalo at number nine. Number eight. Houston Texans. How about that? Listen, C.J. Stroud, I could read 15 lines here of copy about how he's the best rookie quarterback we've ever seen. Give the coach credit.

Give the front office credit. They made some nice moves. We talked about it in the summer. First three-game win streak since 2018. Hey, listen, we're all looking for great quarterbacks. It looks like we have the next great franchise quarterback. His comp was Jared Goff. Jared Goff's pretty good.

I like watching Detroit's offense. If he's Jared Goff, I'll take it. C.J. Stroud, Houston, number eight. Number seven. Jacksonville. They're a weird team. They've won six of their last seven. Let's not freak out.

Their defense leads to the NFL with 20 takeaways, and Trevor Lawrence has 100 plus passer rating in three or four games. They can beat anybody, but they can also weigh an egg. I mean, this week against Houston. They got bombed by Houston. Houston is one of CJ Stroud's first games. So I don't know what to make of them, but I like their weapons. I like the coach.

I like their quarterback, and they take the ball away, defensively, Jags at 7. Number 6. But I really like the Lions, just a relentless team. They've won 16 of their last 20 games. That's hard to do in this league. Seven straight divisional games. They are now Aaron Rogers, Farva the Packers. They're going to own their division.

Their offensive line, dominating. PFF has it number one. Their defense, man, if they made adjustments, this defense was nonsense last year. It's now number two. It's one of the leaders in sacks. So it's not a great secondary. They're going to have to mostly win by scoring points.

But I like the culture. I like the offense. I like their O-line. I have Detroit at six. Number five. One spot behind Dallas where I think when they're rolling, they can sort of sledgehammer teams more than Detroit because I think they're better on the back end defensively.

They got six wins by 20 plus points. Dak Prescott, credit where credits do. It's a lot of bad teams. But he's got 119 passer rating over the last five games. His accuracy's been stellar. He's healthy. And even in the Philadelphia game, he lost. He was very good.

So I flipped them over Detroit because I think Dallas does have that little Mike Tyson Avalanche quality. When they're ahead of you, they can really bury you. And sometimes Detroit lets you back into game. So I have Dallas at number five. Number four. This is where it gets really tight to me. Inches not feet.

San Francisco. I don't like Hufunga. safety being gone for the year. Brock Purdy has 100 plus pass rating and 10 of his 15 starts. Yes, they have the best roster. But they're always missing somebody because of their physical style.

So it's inches, not feet. I love their coach. I love their culture. San Francisco at 4. Number 3. I've loved Baltimore all year. Maybe I have them low. Listen, they've trailed for 32 minutes all season. Okay, they're really good. And they have an absolute identity.

The number one rush offense in the NFL. It's probably why I should have them two and not three. But, but they can be a little, a little ugly and choppy in the fourth quarter of games. The Charger game, I'm fascinated to watch, but I have them at three. I love virtually everything about them. Don't always seal up wins the way I'd like them to, but I have them at three. Number two. About one inch behind Kansas City. Listen, you say, well, Kansas City dropped the ball last night. That's what Kansas City is now. They drop passes every week. Well, they weren't very good in the red zone. Well, they're tied for the most turnovers in the NFL this year in the red zone. It's what they do.

They're a great first half team trying to find an identity in the second half, and they can't. I put them ahead of Baltimore, mostly because of Mahomes and Andy Reed finding ways creatively in like a playoff game to potentially find a way to win. But don't tell me, well, they didn't play well last night. Chiefs haven't scored a second half point in three weeks. That's why we like Philadelphia. Number one. And the Eagles. And don't tell me they didn't play well and got lucky. That game looked like all their games. They're 4 and 0 when trailing at halftime. They're 3 and 0 when trailing by 10 plus points. They're 12 and 2 on the road over the last two years. This is what their games all look like. They can get too cute, which they did in the first half.

Jalen Hertz only one rush. And then they settle down and go physical over fancy. Jalen had 11 rushes of his 12 in the second half. But this is what Philadelphia is. I've watched almost every snap this season, and this is what Kansas City is. They're imperfect teams. Philadelphia's games all look like that, and increasingly, Kansas City's games,

great first half, lots of drops, bad second half, look just like that. So I'm not so sure these aren't going to be the Super Bowl teams, but I'm hearing a lot of this. We didn't play well. We didn't play. I've watched every Eagles game. This is exactly what they look like against the commanders.

Jay Mack, your thoughts. What's going on here? Where are the Miami Dolphins? 11. They have one speed. They can't beat winning teams. They have one gear. Holy cow.

They have one gear. They're fast. Gotcha. You know what? Massive disagreement. There's value today on Tua MVP, Dolphins to win the AFC. I'm not even joking.

This defense is getting healthier. Off a buy struggle with the Raiders. mildly concerning, but I mean, really Cleveland? I thought you put Denver at 10 over Cleveland. They play this week. And I don't want to touch that game because I kind of like Cleveland. You ought to watch it, though, but not touch it. No, listen, I was texting Sean Peyton yesterday.

I think it's unbelievable coaching. Breaking news? No, I was just like, you are, this is a great coaching job. All right, let's go to Nick Wright. He's bummed out first things first. Although he's putting out animal pictures on the internet, which I thought was very, very funny, actually. So my takeaway is listen. These could be the two best teams.

Hi, Colin. Good to see you. Very excited to do this today. I've been waiting all morning to talk to you. Okay. What's that now? Go ahead. Here's my thing.

You could say, well, we just dropped passes. And I would say, yeah, that's what you do. Like, I think you've moved into phase two of your dynasty, which is, Mahomes is now expensive. Your second best player's aging. and you're going to have to kind of navigate certain areas where, because you're expensive quarterback, you can't have a tie-re keel and a jujuice Schuster, this is the new Chiefs, may win the Super Bowl,

but this is not a fall behind 21-0-0 raceback team. That's not what this team is anymore. Is that fair? Yeah, that's absolutely fair. Luckily, they never allow more than 21 points, so it's hard to fall down by much more than 21. Listen, let me be fair here. your herd hierarchy, I think I might agree with every single placement on there.

I think this is the now also, while I'm giving the compliment, I did not miss the fact that you put your Melokia on the Chiefs by giving them the number one spot just so you could drop them. But this week right now, I think that's about exactly right. and I know people want me to panic about the chiefs. I won't. I am not going to say the Eagles got lucky last night. I'm not, you know, and Philly fans, you can learn something from this. I'm not going to blame the officials.

I'm not going to blame the playing surface. Philly deserved to win that game and Kansas City deserved to lose. But I think Kansas is going to be just fine. I think that even with all the drops, their two first ballot Hall of Famers, both had an uncharacteristic mistake. Kelsey fumbles once a year. Last night was his one.

Last year he actually did it in the Bengals game in a similar spot where he was trying to go up two scores and they ended up losing that game. And Mahomes, yes, Mahomes has thrown some picks this year. That type of interception on first down in the end zone is uncharacteristic. So they could have overcome the drops. They couldn't overcome the drops plus the turnovers.

But if I may say something about Philadelphia, Colin, I don't know when the NFL media started treating NFL teams like college football teams, where they were like, well, they won, but how impressive was it? Where were the style points? Philly deserves massive credit for finding a way to win in this league week after week. Now, do I think if they were to play the Chiefs again in the Super Bowl, the Chiefs could and would win? absolutely. But this idea that Philadelphia at 9 and 1 is somehow a more flawed team than

San Francisco at 7 and 3, I just reject it. I don't care that Philly is winning ugly, and I respect the fact that I thought Jalen Hertz for about three and a half quarters last night that the Chief's defense really had him on tilt and he was not himself. And despite that, He made a great play. He had to make one throw all night, and he made it. So I think, listen, Philly right now deserves to be the number one spot on the herd hierarchy, and hopefully it jinxes them the way it jinks the chiefs and they can reclaim their spot. Okay, fair enough.

I find the Brock Pretty MVP stuff interesting because I said this earlier. Garoppolo left Kyle Shanahan in this group, and an hour later looked like he couldn't play. that let's take a deep now. Jared Goff left McVeigh and can absolutely still play because Jared Goff's a number one pick and is a really good quarterback. Jared Goff's excellent.

He was blamed for all the Rams' fault, but he's a damn good quarterback. Garoppolo left this team. He couldn't play. By the way, Devonte Adams, Josh Jacobs, good left tackle, good, I mean, it's not like the Raiders. Offensive coach didn't have weapons.

So my takeaway is with Brock Purdy is, can we just acknowledge he's probably a better version of Garopolo? And that's okay, got to a Super Bowl. Yeah, so that, okay, I'm so glad you're saying this, because I cannot believe we are twice in the same year going to discuss is Brock Purdy the MVP, when in between those conversations, the discussion was,

is he going to be benched for Sam Darnel? It's like everyone's lost their mind. So on the Garoppolo point, everybody, go look at the four starts Jimmy G had, his four final starts with the Niners, Not counting the game, he played a couple snaps and got hurt. Once they got Christian McCaffrey, a 112-passer rating, seven touchdowns, no picks, the best football of his career. And then that same exact player went to the Raiders and got binsed for a kid from Purdue

and led the league in picks through the first eight weeks of the season. Same guy. So maybe there is some system adjustment here. And everyone's wants, here's the thing that I don't buy into. You can say I'm too skeptical of Purdy. That's fine. We'll see if that ends up being the case. But it is not hating on a guy to say he is not the most valuable player in the NFL.

Like the idea that it's like, well, I mean, give him his flowers. Okay, flowers is one thing. The single most prestigious award the league gives out to a player, that's another thing. And no matter your definition of MVP, everyone knows in their heart of hearts, they don't think it's purdy. If you are truly saying, well, valuables in the word, so it must be about value, does anyone think he is more valuable to the Niners than Lamar Jackson is to the Ravens? Of course not.

And if it's, well, valuable doesn't matter. It's about who's the best player. Does anyone think he's the best player on his own offense? Of course not. That's Christian McCaffrey. Like this is, the purdy stuff is really baffling to me. Everyone knows that that exact scenario we saw this weekend have a lead in part due to his good play early and then cook he can do. We had questions.

How will he look if guys are out? How will he look if they have to come from behind? We saw those come together in three straight weeks and he failed all three tests. And then all of a sudden people are like, you know what? He's the valedictorian. He's not. It's a good story, but he's stop with the MVP. Everyone has to stop.

So there was, you know, history gives us a pretty good template for the future. And when people said Russell Wilson has washed, I said timeout. He's never had a major injury. We know he's a workaholic. I mean, like he's doing setups on planes. Like, there's no precedent for being 105 passer rating. Yeah, yeah, he'll tell us about it. But there's no precedent from 105 passerating to Zach Wilson.

Like, I don't buy it. So I feel somewhat redeemed here that I see Russell. But the other day I was thinking about this. I do think it's about 90% of Seattle, Russ, the laterals, the rainbows, accurate. Am I overstating it? I mean, if you were Denver today, what do you do with Russell? I don't think it's 90%. Well, so this is, so here's where I think I was highly critical of Sean Peyton through the first month of the year.

And while I stand by that, at the beginning of the season, I didn't think he had done a good job. and I think he had put his team in a rough position with some of the commentary. The fact that he pulled them out of the spiral they were in and they are now a free, you know, when we show the graphics, they're on the in the hunt part of the playoff picture is remarkable. So he deserves a lot of credit

and for a team that was one in five and looked dead in the water. I, you know, you said you were texting with Sean. I, you know, he probably, maybe he would tell you, but you couldn't tell me. I'd want to know what he thinks of Russell Wilson. Because I watch these Broncos games, and it doesn't seem like he really trusts his quarterback. It's a whole lot of very, very short passes, and then that type of throw to either a moonball or a shot to Cortland Sutton. And I think it is, that's why I give Sean Payton credit for making it work.

But I personally believe the best case scenario for the Broncos would be if Russell, plays well enough the rest of this year that you could convince someone that they would like to acquire him even for just a mid-round pick. You'd still have a bunch of dead money, I understand that. But I think for Sean Payton's purposes, this might be the most you can get out of Russell. And I know the numbers are good, but the eye test is mediocre. I don't think that Sean's going to be able to have the exact offense he wants with an agent Russell Wilson as as quarterback, but it is somewhat remarkable that he got back to this point, which I wouldn't call 90% of Russ in Seattle, but maybe 70% of Russ in Seattle.

So you have been willing to sort of pivot on Aaron Rogers. I think I'm more positive than people give me credit for on Aaron. You were positive, but you've sort of pivoted to, you know, he takes a lot of oxygen out of the room. And, you know, one of the things I said a couple days ago is I think he's going to make the Hall of Fame first ballot. I find him to be a remarkably interesting guy, but I don't think he'll ever matter again in the NFL. The AFC is stacked. Russell Wilson's got a competent quarterback. Burrow comes back. You know, they'll eventually get a star receiver in Kansas City. Trevor Lawrence,

Justin Herbert will get the right coach. I didn't think it was a hot take. I said when Brady had the opportunity in life and Peyton Manning to use their power and flex with their organizations, They really didn't. Every time Aaron gets the opportunity, hack it to the Jets. Alan Lazzard to the Jets. Tim Boyle to the Jets. Tim Boyle. He wants you to know, I got a lot of power here.

And I think it's his undoing. So I want to talk about Boyle, his buddy now quarterbacking. And if Aaron's need to show that he has power is actually now going forward limits what they can acquire for him. Well, listen, and I don't know. I don't know if it's to show he has power, if it's out of just loyalty to his friends, if it's just as simple as simple as kind of misreading how good players or personnel or coaches still are. I don't know what it is. But I do know unequivocally that the Jets offseason being the Aaron Rogers' friends and family plan was an unmitigated disaster.

That's undeniable. Cobb can't get on the field. Alan Lazzard is at best at this point a number three receiver and that might be pushing it. Nat Hackett has never called a great offense in the NFL. People like, oh, he was the O.C. in Green Bay, yes, but LaFleur was calling the offense. Like, there are so many things that the Jets did seemingly to placate Aaron that I, that seemingly just had no actual, they weren't tethered. to winning football at all.

And here's what I think, and I know Jet fans don't like to hear this. I do not believe. I think that Aaron injury has potentially tricked the Jets into believing, oh, if he didn't pop his Achilles, we would have been fine. No, you would not have been. You still have that same offensive line. You still have, of all your skill position guys, you have a good running back and an excellent receiver, and then a bunch of guys.

You still have a head coach that I have major questions about and an offensive coordinator that I have nothing but questions about. And so this, I don't buy that Aaron Rogers going to play again this year. And the idea that coming off the Achilles at 40 plus years old with that offensive line in that division and that conference that all of a sudden the Jets are going to be right there in contention, I disagree with them. One other thing. Forget the NFC.

How many AFC teams right now have a better defense than the Jets? The Browns do. The Chiefs do. The Ravens do. And that's supposed to be the thing that is their calling card. That's just in their conference. So, yeah, I don't see it. I think you're right about the idea that Aaron's going to deliver anything close to what he talked

on the opening press conference to New York. I don't see any way for that to happen. Well, considering the results of last night, you'll want to watch. first things first after us. I know this was a little unsettling to come on the show, but you know what? Listen, just like Buffalo, you'll rebound. Just like Buffalo. Yes, but I know, but you know, Colin, I'm going to say this just real quick. And somehow you've gotten off the hook with your 34 to 6 prediction multiple times. And then I heard you be like, game, game went just how I thought. I was like, really?

I thought you had 34 to 6 Philly, but maybe that was just for the Twitter streets. That's not the point. Here's the problem. You've heard some people do emotional hedges, which is in their gambling. If you're a diehard, you know, Jets fan, you bet against them. That way, if they lose, at least you make some money. I do the opposite professionally and financially. I go emotionally all in, a reverse hedge. So not only did I have thousands of my hard-earned dollars on the Chiefs last night,

but I also pre-committed to not only going on this show, but I'm also going on your podcast tonight because I was so sure the chiefs were going to win and I was like it's just going to be 90 minutes over the course of the day of me taunting coward and now instead I have no money and I have to talk to you again today it's a disaster

it is truly a disaster I'll try to take it easy on you tonight buddy thanks buddy first things first Nick Wright God that made me laugh he does he really does he goes all in emotionally all in financially. I tend to, I am what he said.

I'm a hedger is I don't want to get burned. I bet Oregon State this weekend because the Huskies, I thought they were going to lose. And I just wanted to hedge my bet emotionally. Try to tell you, you know, listening to you guys talk about the Aaron Rogers, this just hit me. Neither have you said it. Aaron Rogers had no power in Green Bay. They just decided we're trading up to draft the quarterback.

We're going to do this. We're not drafting you wide receivers. He wanted power. Got it in New York. Now it's a dumpster fire. You're exactly right. He never had the power he wanted, so he was going to show everybody. Hackett, Lazzard, Cobb.

This is absolutely true. I don't know if Aaron would acknowledge that. I doubt it. But what they say is people that haven't been recruited eventually want to get recruited. You know, like sometimes these athletes who are like overachievers, like they weren't heavily recruited as NFL or NBA players. and all of a sudden they become very good and they hit the free agent market.

And it's the first time they really had heavy recruiting in their life because they were like two-star recruits and they really want to be whined and dined. It's very human. But Aaron has flexed. You think they would have hired Hackett, signed Lazard.

Come on. It's amazing that Hackett's getting a pass. Like the offense, oh, it's all Zach Wilson's fault. Like, you watch it. There's not a lot of pre-stap motion, not a lot of creativity. A lot of first-down runs. into the line of scrimmage.

By the way, no receiver schemed open. Hackett's people were blaming Russell Wilson. It clearly wasn't Russell Wilson. Okay. So Hackett's people were delivering certain messages through the media, which I didn't buy,

which is, boy, Russell Wilson, we couldn't do anything with him. That's interesting. Russell's now back to Seattle. What happens if the dolphins beat the Jets stay 3710 on Friday? Well, that's what's probably going to happen. Oh, well, it was Tim Boyle's fault. He's just not.

It's not Nathaniel Hackett? has nothing to do with it? Want 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. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games.

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

A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, 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-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

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

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back. I have such good friends. I'm going to go to the Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey games Saturday.

I've yet to go to one of their games. I'm all fired up. My son went last year and he's like, Dad, you got to go to this thing. place is crazy. So have you gone to a... Oh, is that AAA hockey or NHL? No, it's NHL. I'm just kidding. I'm just a joke. They won the Stanley Cup. I know. It's a joke. They've been one of those rare

expansion. Hockey does expansion right. You can be really good really quickly. So I live in a community now. Like, you know, the South Bay is all hockey guys down there. It's all L.A. Kings. So I'm on the drinking some beers on Saturday night. I'm watch Michigan, Ohio State, then hockey, NHL hockey.

I'm fired up for it. It's a pretty good except the Jets Dolphins on Friday. Friday is just, it's going to ruin everything. Let me tell you something. You go to a hockey game, next to college football, it's the best be their sport in America. Oh, come on. Over basketball? Depends. There's a lot of boring basketball games.

If you go to a college football game... Maybe you're going to the wrong ones. I've been to two college football games live. It's incredible. You go to a hockey game live, it's incredible. Can you even track the puck? It's just moving so fast? Yes. It's the ice is white, the puck is black. It's very easy to spot. And by the way, you follow the players. Hockey's the only sport.

You can go sit in the end zone. And it's actually many regard it as a better seat so you can watch plays develop. It's fun. Well, I'll say this. The Raiders end zone is the place to be. Nothing like that. Bottle service at the tables. Waitresses seem friendly.

I didn't talk to him, so. Saturday night's going to be a fun night. Jay Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. 26, Colin. That's how many drops the Kansas.

Kansas City Chiefs receivers have to see. 26. I mean, that's what they are. Listen, last night, I counted three on the final drive alone. Okay, Kelsey, the short one. Watson, the fourth and 25, hit him in both hands. And then MVS on the deep pattern. Like, he beats Roeby by like, what is that,

three yards, four yards? I don't care what Tyree Kel says. Tyree Kel, of course, went on social media to defend MVS. Everybody thinking that catch easy at night in them lights. Well, it's... It's not, it may not be... You guys make it $10 million a year. You have one job.

MVS. You're not blocking a lot on the outside. Catch the ball. You're fast. No, I agree. How is this hard? How's anybody defending it? Like, it's just staggering how bad this receiving core is.

It's just a total whiff by me. I thought, oh, they'll get around to it later in the season. Tony, Skymore. And it's just, here we are in late November. And they still can't catch a cold. Do they think Watson's the guy? He had like 13 targets. What's going?

going on. I know. I mean, Justin, Justin Watson, really? Is this, like, where's the quick fix? What do they do? Like, can they get anyone? Well, I think all these young receivers can get better, but I think simultaneously the issue is, when's the last game Travis Kelsey played,

where he wasn't limping at some point in the game? Like, that's the reality of it. So, are they a good run team? I will say this. They're very twitchy. Tony gives them speed. when he's healthy. Yeah, the checkout. They've got some really quick guys, so I do think they're explosive and will score points.

But if you're looking for 11 play drives and route tree excellence and cat, that's not what they are. They're going to have to go over the top because they do have some really quick athlete. Tony's a burner, burner. Basically, Eagles had three drives last night. That's it.

And then just a billion punts. The Chiefs did get in the red zone twice and had turnover. You get zero points on two reds. zone trips, you're not winning many games that way, even if you're Pat Mahomes. Listen, it was a go-either-way game. Total coins. But it did end the kind of the way I talked about.

Hour three yesterday, I spent five minutes yammering on about this. I said, they're going to win. I said, Kansas City's going to take a first-half lead, but they don't have an identity, and the Eagles do, and you'll see that identity develop in the late second half. I mean, the game literally went as I thought, because Philadelphia is flawed, but they really do know what they are when they need to take games over there. They have a clear sense of themselves. It was the opposite of the Super Bowl, right?

The Eagles led by 10 at halftime in the Super Bowl. Chiefs come back. And now last night, the Chiefs lead by 10, Eagles come back. A crazy game. Next up, the New England Patriots, Colin, coming off their by week. And there is a lot of mystery about who's starting against the Giants at quarterback. Mac Jones was benched. There is the option of Bailey Zappy.

There's some chatter about Malik Cunningham or whoever else gets called up off the practice squad or what have you. Here's Bill Belichick. toying with the media. Bill, is the decisions I made of a starting quarterback this weekend? I've told all the players the same thing. Be ready to go. Hopefully, they will be. I've told everybody to be ready to go.

Yes, there's a difference. What are you telling them when they're dying there are a decision? Let you know on Sunday. What do you make of that? Your mic's not on. There he goes. Sorry, I'm very tempted to bet the Patriots here, Colin. I'm just the opposite.

Bill Belichick against rookie quarterbacks. It's like 0-N-21 or the number's insane. He just confounds these rookies, throw stuff at them. They've never seen. Patriots are getting healthier on defense. I just, I don't care who the quarterback is, but it's three and a half, I think, still. I mean, there's no way. With that New England offense, I can give up three and a half points.

There's no way. I think New England in a much better space, if they lose it, this is the one that It's like a W. They won't be favored the rest of the year, and they end up with the number two pick because all these teams, Green Bay, they're bad, Rams. These teams are all winning games. Arizona's going to win games.

Patriots still get to play the Jets one more time. That's probably a win. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe. Tim Boyle? I don't know. That's a bad football game, not worth watching.

Final story, let's go to the NBA. Kevin Durant, I had a great. night the other night. I think he had like 39 points. But he had some issues with sports gamblers on social media. Here's what Kevin Durant put out. When I get you paid, you don't DM me and send a

small percentage to my cash app. But when them parlays don't hit, I'm every name in the book. Y'all ain't real. Kevin Durant, speaking some truth there, Colin, I kind of like this from KB. Yeah. He's not wrong. He is willing to push back on

social media. He is He's never DM me. I don't know if I follow him, but I think he's interesting. If you tag him on Instagram, he will respond. That's just what he does. I don't go to Instagram. I will say this. Are they a more functional version of Brooklyn with Kyrie, K.D., and Simmons, or Hardin,

is that, you know, Beals are grown up, Kevin Durand. Beals now out for a month or something like that. But they're basically Brooklyn. Three really good players. They're more functional to Brooklyn. Three really good players. players that will never play with each other in the regular season. And then you get to the playoffs and they have no chemistry form.

Now, Brooklyn was much more dysfunctional. But I would argue they are the West Coast version of Brooklyn. Three talented guys never play together. And eventually they'll just not be able to be to Denver or Sacramento or the Lakers because they don't have any chemistry creation. That's a take. Would you put them top three in the West right now? Well, I thought they were going to be in the Western Conference Finals.

I really like all the players. I like Booker. I like KD. I like Bradley Beal. But now, Brooklyn was highly dysfunctional. But nobody doubts that Kyrie, KD, and Hardin are the Hall of Famers. And everybody kept saying, you just wait. And I was like, they don't play together.

They don't play together. And two of those guys won't defend. Now, in this instance, Booker is OK defender. KD's willing to defend. Beals willing to defend. They're not great. But I'm just asking the question, this is not a statement. It's not a definitive position.

It is just, are they becoming Brooklyn West with more functional players? I don't know the answer, but it feels a little bit like that. You know when Suns fans are stoked over a win over the Utah Jazz, a nail-biter, when KD needs 39 and plays a billion minutes? Like, things aren't great. Kevin Durant, by the way, is logging a lot of minutes this season. A lot of shot. You don't want that.

I'll just say this right now. You know, I like an underdog NBA team. The Minnesota Timberwolves continue to roll. I know. This team is getting good. Aunt Edwards, Carl Anthony Town. They're fun to watch. I don't know if our audience cares or if you'll let me do something on the Timberwolves.

T-wolves actually feel like they would match up with Denver size. Oh, they do. 100%. Yeah. So, I mean, I think, and Porzingis helps Boston match up. Horford Lesso, Porzengis, with Denver size. I think the three teams, and I think Milwaukee can match up with Denver size. I don't think they're as good as Denver.

But Denver puts you in. Golden State now looks tiny and completely step-reliant. They look bad. I mean, they couldn't guard, what's it? Sengoon, the Rocket Center had like 30 and 15. Clay Thompson and Wiggins look shot. Like fast. Off a cliff.

Remember Wiggins missed like 20 games last year with some personal, it never has become the same guy. I don't know what happened. I hope he gets the right. All right, J. Mack with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News.

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. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask?

Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada, and Super Bowl champion. Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up On Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushmanzada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast from. 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 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, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way,

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

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

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

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

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

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Saturday is a huge day of college football on Fox. Kick things off with the game of the year. Number two, Ohio State takes on number three Michigan on big noon Saturday.

Then it's a battle for the Apple Cup as Washington State faces number five Washington at 4 p.m. Eastern. Then Iowa State and K-State score off at 8. It all kicks off Saturday on Fox. Oh, my God. We have had this year at Fox, we have had an unbelievable college football schedule. And this is just capping off what has been an unbelievable year. I couldn't tell you the last time I watched this many college games, enjoyed this many college football games.

All the networks I'm sure have been good, but we have done, we have had some great games at Fox. And those could both be very interesting. So USC was not interesting. So as USC has lagged this year, eroded this year. Caleb Williams, the number one pick, he will be, has taken some shots. So, recency bias is a very powerful thing. USC football will be fine. Lincoln Riley went 55 and 10 at Oklahoma. Okay. Then he came to a tire fire at Southern California, and from four and eight to 11 wins.

Well, he lost to Tulane. Nick Saban lost to Louisiana Monroe, his first year at Bama. Things were bumpy this year. They'll get better. He's a good coach. He's smart. And Caleb Williams is a remarkable talent. I think he's one of the rare kids that is good enough. We get one of these every five or six years. Andrew Luck was one that good enough to overcome even a bunch of nonsense.

I think he's going to be fine. Even in Chicago, I think he'd be fine. But I thought yesterday Steve Smith had a really good point. I thought it was a really smart thing to say about people saying he's emotional. He can be moody. By the way, he can be a moody player at times, not Steve, although he could be two, but Caleb Williams. But here's what Steve said about Caleb this year. For him to get emotional or he's erratic, my answer to that is, so you're telling me he's a college student.

And so to evaluate a young kid like that and anyone else by watching him, he didn't jump off the top rope and drop kick somebody. He was emotional. He doesn't like losing. well so you want a kid that is okay with losing who looks forward to losing i mean you got to pick you got to pick and choose what are you looking for you're looking for passion or or are you looking for what makes you feel good uh really smart because of our phones we get headlines and news urgently and so there was always something called recency bias it's more powerful and more common than ever but i think resumes matter

When you are all selling your stock on Russell Wilson, I said, it makes no sense. He can't be washed. He can be eroding, regressing. He can't be washed. How many times did all of you sell Jim Harbaugh stock? Caleb Williams is really good and is going to be a really good NFL player, regardless of where he lands. And Lincoln Riley is really smart.

You don't go 55 and 10 in college football in a Power 5 conference without kind of known what you're doing. And people forget how good USC was his first year here. I mean, folks, when Lincoln Riley showed up to campus, he wouldn't tell people publicly but privately, he thought he had 32 players,

maybe 35. The roster was awful. Two NFL guys. Two on the whole roster. Jordan Addison, he went and got through the transfer portal and a defensive lineman now with the chargers. USC will be fine. The Big Ten's

a two-team conference. Michigan, Ohio State, and Michigan's not going to be this good next year. As for Caleb Williams, he's passionate, he's moody, he's young. I've said this before. I don't know what I would have been like being

a Heisman winner and getting $4 million to play a sport in college, but it would have been far less responsible and more moody and more immature than some of the kids that get criticized. I think Steve Smith had it right. What do you want?

I want passion. I can take Moody. At 38, 33. 29 want less of it. At 23, I get it. Urban Meyer around the corner. 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 Band. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 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 here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the... 80s. 84 was a wild year.

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