The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 2 - The best QBs in the playoffs

Episode Date: January 18, 2023

There's a big misconception about Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy What to make of Lamar Jackson's contract situation with the Ravens The top QBs that are in the playoffs   Guest: Gerald McCoySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's hour Number two. It's a Wednesday live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, F-S-1. So during the week, usually, my wife's out of town. So I go out and hang out with my buddies, and I went out with Sean Payton last night. But I don't drink tequila. I'm not a tequila. I'm not a tequila. I'm not a tequila. I'm not having one in two-machia drinker, but last night, but last night I didn't have one in 20. years. I've got to be honest with you. Well, orange slice, orange peel in there, a little tequila on the ice. Are you, I have had tequila in 25 years? I don't drink tequila. No, I don't, I'm not, I'm not a dark liquor. I'm not a, I'm not a bourbon, I'm not a caramel. Boy, I can't wait for Arizona next month. We're going to get after it on the party circuit at the Super Bowl. I, you know, I'll do a beer, but I, do you, are you a coct, are you a tequila drinker? Oh, whatever. Yeah. What are we doing tonight? I'm in, yeah. You know me. Okay. So,

Lamar Jackson posted a cryptic message ahead of the Ravens offseason free agency. Now, we know three quarterbacks last three years, stars, Stafford Brady, and Russell Wilson all changed teams. And we talked about this yesterday. So he went to Instagram and he basically said, when you have something good, you don't play with it. You don't take chances losing it. You don't neglect it. when you have something good, you pour into it. You appreciate it because when you take care of something good,

that good thing takes care of you too. Not that cryptic. He wants a new contract. So now I will say this. I have always remarked about Lamar Jackson is all these star quarterbacks who left had issues. Stafford didn't have a playoff win. Brady was old.

And Russell is arguably a declining player with some personality challenges. Yes, Lamar Jackson is imperfect. He's been a bad playoff quarterback. He's been bad. And he's had back-to-back seasons end with an injury. Don't love that. But this offense went from dynamic to unwatchable. He's 45 and 16 as a starter.

And if you look at the stats in season, so it's the same roster with and without him. They average 25 a game with him and 13 without him. They're 7 and 4 with him. They're 3 and 4 without him. So they're just not a very good football. team. And we do this, though, we tend to nitpick. But why is it celebrated? You know, Brady was old. Oh, Tampa got a star. Stafford had no playoff wins. Oh, the Rams will win the Super Bowl.

Russell Wilson, I fell for it. This is a windfall for Denver. But I see a lot of this. I don't know with Lamar. I don't. Stafford didn't have any playoff wins. At least Lamar's got a playoff went. So outside of Mahomes, there is no perfect quarterback. I mean, think about this. Arguably, the second best quarterback in the league is Josh Allen, who has a major turnover problem. That's number two. And Stafford and Joe Burrow, who I think's the number two, let's be honest, he's already had a really, really bad injury. If he had another one knee down, we'd be concerned. So I saw this with Andrew Luck. People nitpicked. Andrew Luck apart.

Well, his arm's strength. Did you ever once watch Andrew Luck in an NFL game and think, you know, if that guy didn't have a noodle arm, he'd be really, really good. So I always, I come down to quarterbacks and if I'm hiring somebody, do they add value you don't currently have? And if you start looking at all these quarterbacks, Stafford has a dynamic arm. Brady is dynamic pre-stap, snap inaccuracy. Russell Wilson, it was viewed as dynamic escapeability.

When you think of Lamar Jackson, the word I think of is dynamic. That's kind of the difference, but Kirk Cousins is talented. He's not dynamic. Dak is talented. I'd never use dynamic. Dynamics, sort of the line in the sand. Dinette, Trevor Lawrence, Herbert, Burrow. Burrow is the most accurate quarterback in the league.

Alan, Mahalms, they all outside of Mahomes have something that concerns us. So to me, we can nitpick all these guys. Russell Wilson came with baggage. Stafford never won a playoff game. Brady was old. If you try to, people try to nitpick Lamar Jackson. Essentially, Baltimore went from a playoff team to unwatchable. It goes 13 points a game.

This is a league now. So Harbaugh is an elite coach. They have a legit running game. They have one of the best tight ends in football. They had in-season momentum. The league is pivoted to offense. They scored 13 a game without him. 13 a game.

And it's not like they played great defense after great defense. They had a couple, but they couldn't score. So does Lamar Jackson, is he dynamic? It's the first word I think of. And does he add value to something you don't have? Yeah, I think so. He's the fastest player that's ever played the position. That's Tyreek Hills, the fastest receiver.

Lamar's the fastest quarterback. That feels like something to me. The fastest player ever at his position. For years at cornerback, it was Green for the Washington. Darryl Green, yes, sir. He was the fastest corner. What do he play? 17, he played forever.

If you're the fastest person in your sport and football, that generally, you're a, Dion Sanders is probably fastest or second fastest ever. Lamar's the fastest player that's ever played quarterback. Seems like to me I go, I said this yesterday. If you just say Jets, Lamar, it's a playoff team. Feels like a playoff team to me, right? You don't have to talk yourself into it.

That defense, that running back, young receivers, I mean, he's getting this team to the playoffs, and they've had over the last three to four years, the weakest receiving core in the league? Would what if Garrett Wilson be the, the best receiver he's played with? I mean, Garrett Wilson was incredible for the Jets this year. Hollywood Brown was good.

You don't like Hollywood Brown? He's all right. I don't know if Arizona loves him after this past season. Playing a lot of video games with Kyler Murray all the time. Oh, boy. Give me Garrett Wilson any day of the week. I saw something else. I did see something else.

I'll go into it later, but I didn't love this. So the Cardinals hired a new GM, Monty Ozenfort. and one of his quotes was he said, ego will not be tolerated in the building. And my first takeaway was, when Brady came back 28 to 3 at the Super Bowl and won, wasn't ego a component? Joe Burrow isn't ego a component?

I don't know. I think there's a, when Matt Stafford does a no look pass at the Super Bowl, isn't there a little ego? Like, cocky and confident? That line, you can go over it. It's straddled constantly. But my takeaway in that whole situation in Arizona, wasn't that just another public shot at Kyler Murray?

Can you guys stop doing your business at the podium? Does Arizona do anything behind closed doors? It's another shot publicly at your quarterback. It's not the way you do it, fellas. It's not working. It's not working. You don't think it's a good idea to join the team and introducing yourself to the fan base, take a shot directly at the quarterback that you just gave all the money to last year.

The rule in this sport is mostly keep your chaos behind a door. Keep drama out of the newspapers. Arizona does the opposite. They call a press conference and announce it. They announce their drama. It's like, don't do that. Everybody's got egos in this business. The best GMs owners, they all got egos.

Now, you try to have some humility, be grateful. If that accompanies ego, I'm okay with it. But, you know, I'm going to say when Matt Stafford does a no look pass at the Super Bowl, it's a little ego there. It's a little cocky there. Gerald McCoy, 11 years in the NFL, a six-time Pro Bowlver. So you watched DAC. In two weeks, Dak was awful and great.

And, I mean, you got a different quarterback. So let me ask you this, Gerald. Is it play calling? Is it game plan? it is unique that you can be your worst as a pro and your best as a pro in seven games what did you see with DAC on Monday that that what do you think that I mean that's as good as I've seen in play why did it all come together well first off thanks for having me great seeing you guys again um what I've seen Monday because I was there unfortunately and

it was it was a sad day in Tampa but But what I've seen the most is his resiliency. You know, Dax said in an interview prior to the game that they asked him, okay, so how do you get over the seven games straight of the interceptions? And he said, just mindset, take care of football. And that's what he did, man. He took what Tampa gave him. You know, they started out in the zone.

They tried to go, man. And he just took what they gave him, man. And he had so much time to get the ball out. And I think that's really what it was, man. The pass rush just really wasn't getting home for. temper and he just took advantage of it. You know, and they just opened up the playbook. And I think if they can continue this moving forward, then they got a real shot.

Now, the test is going to be if he can do the same thing with the rush just coming at him in San Fran. Let me ask you, the Cowboys kind of got hosed. So San Francisco was done by four in the afternoon Saturday. Dallas didn't even get home until three in the morning Tuesday. In your career, are there advantages to not having a ton of prep time? Because they're going to go in, Gerald, with a 24-hour or a 48-hour prep disadvantage. Does that worry you? Or at this point in the season, do you kind of know what you are?

What do you make of that? Is it hard to overcome? Yeah, I don't think it's the prep. That's the problem. I think the NFL has the best coaches and players. obviously that's why it's the highest level. So they're able to prep with the time they have. I honestly believe it's the recovery of the body.

You know, that was a tough hardfall game. You know, Dallas brought it. They brought it on Monday, man. They played extremely physical, and that was really the difference in the game, how physical they were. And now you're going up against a team. It's one of the most,

is not the most physical team in the NFL right now. Yeah. It's really the test of whether you can recover well. I don't think it's the preparation. I think they're going to be well prepared. You know what San Francisco is. You know what they can do. You know, you still face it.

I mean, as great as party has played, you know, he's still a rookie quarterback. So you know, Shannon has only going to do so much. Yeah. So I don't think it's the preparation. I think it's more of your body recovering and able to do it all over again a short amount of time. We were just showing Mike McCarthy. And I said, when you get an early reputation in your life, it is hard to overcome. you know, forever Tom Brady was viewed as a system quarterback.

And even at the end, a lot of people thought that. Then he left New England and he was the system. But he, as the goat, literally heard that over and because early in his career, he was a system quarterback for the first five or six years. Yeah, he was. So McCarthy got a reputation in Green Bay that Aaron was winning despite McCarthy. but if you put up his division titles, his playoff record, and his winning percentage, it's equal.

Tomlin, Harbaugh, Pete Carroll, Andy Reed, and he's got a Super Bowl. So he's one of those guys that got an early label, and now he's struggling to overcome it. He's a darn good coach. It's right up there with Andy Reed, winning person. Even without Aaron Rogers, he's a better coach statistically than Belichick without Brady. So my takeaway is you've been in the room. you know Mike McCarthy. He's doing something right, whether the media likes him or not.

What did you find to be his strength as a coach? I think the biggest misconception about Coach McCarthy, which I love Coach McCarthy. I had an opportunity to play for him at the Pro Bowl, and then I was actually in the room with him when he was preparing the team. The biggest misconception that I see that a lot of media says is he doesn't reach the team, or they're tuning him out or he doesn't know how to get them prepared. And that's wrong, man. When he speaks and he talks, he has a way about presenting things to the players

that he simplifies it. And he makes it very easy to digest. And he has a way of going about it, not just showing like statistics and how things work, but he'll say this is what we're going to do. And this is why we're doing it. And this is why it works. And I believe getting the right pieces. in the room, the leadership in their locker room is why it's working, along with guys just

wanting to play for this guy, man. And Coach McCarthy, man, that's a horrible misconception. And I see all the time that, oh, his pregame speeches or what he says is the players doesn't make sense or he doesn't have him prepared because he's not reaching him. And I, no, he's a deep doing something, right? All this winning ain't doing it out. So, yeah, that's just a horrible misconception. and I want to kill that today.

Coach McCartney is a great coach, and he really reaches those guys, and that's why he can get the most out of him, man. A lot of things they put on him where the team may not play well, they say, oh, well, the coach did this and the coach did that. Listen, his coach's style is what it is. But I've been in those rooms, I've been in those team meetings, I've been in those defensive meetings, and I've sat and talk to him one-on-one. Coach McCarthy knows how to reach me in, and he knows how to get him preparing and ready to play.

So I didn't love that Lamar Jackson was not in Cincinnati with his team. I don't like when he goes to Instagram, but I would pay him because I think he's dynamic and there's about seven truly dynamic quarterbacks in the league. Kirk Cousins is good. I don't think he's dynamic. Lamar's dynamic. But it has been weird. It's the Instagram stuff.

How do you think it's such a quarterback driven sport? Would it bother you that he did? didn't go to Cincinnati. Would that bother you? No, not as a teammate because you know what he's being, who he is. And when you're in the room with somebody or in a locker room or you sit down and eat with him all the time, you know who these people are. So it would bother me if he wasn't, if that's who he was. Oh, I'm a loner. I'm about me. I'm about this man. Lamar Jackson has went out there numerous times when he's been hurt. And you've seen who he is and what he is. He came into the season without a contract, and he hasn't played like it.

He hasn't act like it. You know, and because he takes shots here and there, sign it, you know, holding up a sign or, you know, post or something on Instagram. It is what it is, man. He's a pro. And what more does he need to ship? First off, he came out of college and a lot of teams say he was a receiver or a running back. And he proved that he's a quarterback. He said, no, I'm a quarterback.

And he proved it. Year two, he won MVP. He's one playoff games. He's taking his team to playoff multiple times. he had his team in the number one seed before he got hurt and a lot of people say oh he don't have weapons well the running game is this and he steals the number one seed I don't know he's doing this year in and year out

yes at some point it's going to boil over and you're going to do what you feels necessary for them to get the message hey look I should be paid right you know but as a player in the locker room I think everybody in that locker room feels like you know I think jk. Dobbins was it that said something like if we had Lamar jackson we were to want. I think that's more a shot at, you know, Baltimore instead of people taking it as a shot at the second string quarterback because it's more like if you would have paid this dude,

we don't know. There's a lot of speculation that he's not coming in because he hasn't got paid. Or he could miraculously be healed if he got paid. I think they're saying, hey, that guy deserves to be paid and he should have been here. Yeah. You know, and in the locker room as a player that's been in these locker rooms, we feel like if this guy's been doing this and we know the type of team made a player he is, pay him his money. Right.

And it's really the team's fault that he's not here. So we're more looking at the team like, pay him so he can be here with us. Yeah. You look at, you know Tampa, you played there for I think nine years, eight or nine years. And you were at the game. And Brady, after the game at a press conference, he sounded like he was leaving. What do your guys say about Brady and Tampa? make do you think Tom hangs it up comes back what do you mean what are you hearing i don't know

nobody knows you know tom is a mystery all you know is that he loves his teammates for sure that's all i hear the most is he loves his teammates he's all about his team and he just wants to win uh but outside of that he's more of a mystery you really don't know what he's going to do yeah and uh you know guys right now they all up and arms themselves about what just happened to him you know just a rough season. You go from being what we were when I was there, we were up and down, you know, a lot of down, and then you get the goat quarterback come in and you win immediately. I mean, you win, not just win, you win the Super Bowl immediately. And then the next year, you still keep winning. So when you come into this season and you expect the same thing. That whole losing way is not

even in your mind anymore. But then you have this season that they just had. Everybody's just kind of all over the place right now. Yeah. You know, I don't even know more guys are thinking like, it's time coming back more than just like, shoot, what am I going to do? I don't even know who's going to be in locker room next year, you know? Yeah.

Gerald McCoy, you did not plus C. When's the last time you played? September 13th of last year. All right. Are you done? Are you retired? Not yet. Huh?

Not yet. Okay. I'm just asking. Hey, listen, I'm a mystery as well. I know. Hey, I tell you what, I love coming on the show. So anytime you call me, just know I'm picking up. Gerald McCoy.

Good seeing you, my man. Yeah, all right. Love you guys. Thank you. All right. He was great. In college, he was great as a freshman. Big 12 freshman defensive player.

The defensive freshman of the year. He was great right out of high school, right in the Big 12. Gerald McCoy. You know, it is, he said something. He goes, I don't think. it's the prep time that the Cowboys will struggle with. It's the body recovery. So you're going from a very physical game to the most physical team.

But I saw a story in the Washington Post, and they talked about it. It used to be that the home team's got three to three and a half points. And they say now it's closer to one because of the quality of the training, the quality, you fly on bigger planes now. Teams own their own planes. You get off the plane. you're immediately doing all these plyometrics or whatever it is the trainers do, that the home field advantage is not nearly disadvantage is not what it used to be.

Now, Seattle and New Orleans are still really loud, but we've watched Green Bay melt at Lambo with Aaron Rogers and a pretty good defense. We've watched them melt three years in a row. Is that San Francisco won't be the problem, as he said. Prep won't be the problem. The problem is physicality. Can you face a team that is that physical? Will you be ready to play for three and a half?

hours against the Niners. Home field advantage. I mean, I've seen Miami go to Buffalo twice. With Skyler Thompson had the bills at home on their heels and Buffalo's loud. But it just, it doesn't matter nearly as much. You know, for years, the quarterback now gets, you know, audio in the helmet. The crowd's not a factor. It's, it's a good point. It's can you play the Niners, three hours physical, two days, two and a half days, less rest. One more herd? The herd streams 20. 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search heard 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 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do 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 was big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I learned so much about J. Mack during the commercials. So much.

We had a former NFL coach stopped by the set. He was the quarterback of your college team at James Madison. Indeed, yeah. We go way back, so we're just catching up. You love hearing NFL stories. Again, we need to get this sponsored. During the commercial breaks, we need like a behind-the-scenes. A little BTS action, right?

I like that. It's a good idea. J-Mack with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Talk a little Chief's Jags, shall we? Rematch from the week 10 matchup. Mahomes had one of his best games of the year.

KC cruises to an easy 2710 victory. But in the lead-up to this weekend's divisional round game, Mahomes has noticed a difference in the Jags film. Here's what he had to say. I mean, I think the only difference is they might just have a little bit more confidence just because they're winning football games right now, but they're a talented team. I knew that the first time we played them. You can see the talent that they had. They were flying around to the football. They made a few mistakes here and there, and that's why we kind of got to win the first time. But we understand how good this football team is and how much of a challenge is going to be for us to go out there and try to find a way to get a win.

And so we're trying to prepare ourselves the best way possible that we can find a way to win it there on Saturday. I remember that first game, and Jacksonville did themselves no favors. They made mistakes. But it was, when you watch Jacksonville, they look the part. I'll give you an example. If you gave the Carolina Panthers Trevor Lawrence, because if you watch Carolina play, I watched them go up and beat Seattle. Their front seven's got nothing but athletes. So Carolina's front seven, and they have one or two really nice perils.

players. He's excellent, but J.C. Horn, the cornerback got hurt again, but he is like a top flat owner. Jacksonville reminds me of Carolina. Their roster's not complete. The difference is one has a star quarterback and one doesn't have one. But I watch Caroline and Jacksonville play really good teams this year. They look the part.

Carolina's roster is way closer than people think. They've got to get a quarterback and probably beef up the O line a little. but Jacksonville looks the part. Chiefs average 7.8 yards per play in that earlier meeting. He had like 425 yards of all. I mean, I just can't make the case for Jacksonville here, Colin. This is two straight, grueling games having to come back against Josh Dobbs. They trailed at halftime of that game.

Down 27-7 against the chart. Let's be real. They shouldn't even be here, right? They need like five straight wins to end the season. Andy Reed, they win this. I don't know how handily they win it. but I like the chees And the number was 8.5.

Yeah, yeah. You got to watch garbage time points. You know, Trevor Lawrence, he's not going to stop chucking at the end of the game. I don't know if I take the 8 and a half. Maybe a teaser below a field goal. I know you love a good teaser. Next up, Brock Purdy. Boy, he turned a lot of heads, Colin.

49ers have won a million games in a row. Purdy undefeated. And Chris Sims, former quarterback of his own, believes it's evidence that 49ers should have done. drafted Mack Jones instead of Trey Lance with the third overall pick. Here's what Sims had to say. This is why I was saying draft fucking Mac Jones. This is why.

I mean, he's a lesser Mac Jones. And yes, this is sustainable. Because as long as you're smart and have control of the football, Shanahan, the team they have, they don't ever make it all about the quarterback. So he's just going to be, hey, fuck head, listen to this. I'm telling you the keys of the play right here. Watch this guy. If you could just listen to me, it'll be open, right?

That's all he needs. Yeah, I mean, that's why there's an argument that Tray Lance is the opposite of what they needed. This offense, accuracy is king. Garoppolo is accurate. Brock Purdy's accurate. Tray Lance is talented. Struggle. Like Justin Fields, really talented.

Not an accurate third down in the box. It's not what he does well. This offense is not built for the best athlete. So why draft Trey Lance? Well, again, it's fascinating. So there's a lot of respectable voices that said Kyle wanted Mac. The scouts said he's just not. And by the way, New England's discovered this.

He's limited. He's not going to make anything off script. Kyle would argue, I don't need him off script. Garoppolo got me to a Super Bowl. He's nothing off script. So, yes, I think deep down, Mac was now in hindsight a better fit. What's interesting is what they're going to do with Trey, because the one thing, there's one thing you can't be with a Kyle Shanahan's offense, inaccurate. Matt Schaub was excellent.

Matt Ryan, Herdy, Garoppel, they're accurate. Don't have to be a great athlete. So this offense is not asking you to be what Trey is. Lance is big, strong, power arm. They don't really throw it over the top very much. They don't. It's a lot of underneath stuff. It's a lot of seam stuff.

Remember what Kyle Shanahan did to Matt Ryan? Made him an MVP of the league and within seconds of winning a Super Bowl. That's Kyle Shanahan, okay? And what does Matt, what's Matt do well? When he has time, he completes footballs. Doesn't move at all. Brock Purdy's making plays. He's smart.

This gets really fascinating if Jimmy Garoppolo says, Guys, I'm healthy. I'm ready to go in the conference championship in two weeks. All coordinators. If they be Dallas, obviously. Coordinators are different. Greg Roman, Kaepernick Lamar. Greg Roman's offense, he wants a mobile quarterback.

Alex Smith was mobile. Colin Kaepernick was... Andy Reid likes to move sometimes the pocket. Andy likes a little more. He had Donovan McNabb. He had Alex Smith. He had Mahomes. So Andy likes a little mobility.

This is one of the few coaches in the league. It's like, no, no, no. Just deliver. I always said, this. offense is built for Chris Paul, not Steph Curry. You don't need spectacular. You need accurate. Brock Purdy wins this game. Who's starting the conference championship? Brock Purdy or Jimmy Garopp? Brock Purdy, absolutely. You need, with that Philly D-line, you need some mobility. And I'm a Garoppolo fan, but I believe what you're seeing is young Romo and young Kurt Warner.

This is going to stick. In this offense, it's going to work. They don't have to pay him a nickel for four years. Not a... Do you know what the... They can keep Bosa. They can keep Debo. They can keep McCaffrey. They don't have the player quarterback potentially anything. I bet my gut is, they move off Trey Lance. They move off him next year.

I think they're going to move off him and get a draft pick for him and redraft somebody like fourth or fifth round. I think they're going to go with Purdy. I really do. Boy, that draft class. Trey Lance, I think Zach Wilson was in there. Justin Fields. That's a wild...

Mac Jones. That's a wild. draft class. All right. Final story. Frank Reich. Remember, he was the Colts head coacher this season got fired. He's now being considered as a candidate for many jobs. He reportedly met with the Cardinals about their head coaching position after having already met with the Panthers last week. Another report claims he may get a look as OC of my New York Jets, which I think would be outstanding. Let me ask you this. Let me ask you, you're Frank Reich. Would you rather have Carolina, which right now is about defense but no quarterback,

or Arizona with a great quarterback talent, but drama. Which would you choose? A quick word on Arizona. So all we heard the last two weeks was, yeah, they had two guys inside the building, Adrian Wilson and someone else. They're probably going to divvy up the GM job among those two. And then they just say no to those guys. Bring in an outsider.

How do you think that front office feels right now? Arizona is a total mess. I'm avoiding it at all costs. Okay, okay. I would take Carolina. But who's your quarterback there next to you? Well, it's Sam Darnold? No.

Corral? No, you can bring Darnold back because you have the defense and the division's bad. So you can be very... Carolina, at the end of the year was when Matt Rule left. We're feisty. They were feisty. So you go draft. So there's three quarterbacks everybody talks about.

Bryce Young, Will Leva, C.J. Stroud. The kid at Florida, Anthony Richardson. Again, he's a project. You don't think he can play? I know people who were around him all season long. He's not ready for the NFL. Not even close. Okay.

I like him. I'm rooting for him. I like him. But Frank's a former NFL quarterback. Could he in 12 months, so he doesn't play as a rookie, in 12 months, could he back up Darnold for a year and be ready in 12? Because I would take- I had a better question.

But if I'm Frank Grech, Greg, do I pick up the phone and call Derek Carr say, yo, we need a quarterback. Oh, no, Derek Car would win there. You come here. We win this damn division. We got a defense. Me, you together. What do you say, D.C.?

Oh, no. Derek Carr wins that division. With that defense, that'd be easily the best defense. Derek Carr wins. If Brady leaves, Derek Carr wins that division going away next year. At Carolina. They lose McCaffrey. They put in a couple running backs, and it was fine. They lost like nothing.

DJ more on the outside. Like, there's some talent on this team. The kid they drafted on the guard, O'Quano, struggled early, but he found his way. Yeah. They could be good. They picked ninth overall. They got a defense. J.C. Horn, Burns.

No, they're not. And that division, remember, Brady's out. Boy, let me tell you something. Derek Carr goes there. Derek Carr goes from having to face Mahomes twice a year, Herbert twice a year, and the Denver defense to facing Desmond Ritter and the merry ground in New Orleans. Andy Dalton and Tampa, I don't even know who their backup was. Kyle Trask or Garoppolo. No, if I'm Derek Carr, Garapola is not going to Tampa.

Frank Wright, Derek Carr, Carolina. That's a playoff team. We're giving free advice. Remember that we started that firm last month? J&C. J&C, I'm first, obviously. J&C consulting for NFL coaches. Carolina, free stuff, baby.

Interesting. J-MAC with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie New. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. On Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Pauly Fusco here with Tony Fusco.

Yo. As you all know, we're the host of the number one rated show in all a sports talk. The Polly and Tony Fusco show. Numero Uno. Yeah, and we know why millions of people tune in every week. Yeah. They want to hear us talk sports, not our idiot guests who think they know more about sports than we do. Yeah, listen to these dummies.

You don't know crap about sports. You don't know nothing about football. This is the worst thing I've ever been to football. Wait, he's still on the life. Off the show. You don't know basketball. If you want to hear how sports talk should be done, yeah.

Listen to the Polly and Tony Fuscoe show on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever. you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 Kourke. 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 J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about cracking 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. The Giants and Eagles play on Saturday for a chance to keep their Super Bowl hopes alive. Fox Fed Super 6 is giving everyone a chance to take home $100,000 of Terry Bradshaw's money. Download the Super 6 app and enter your six game predictions for a chance to win. Okay, so how about this? So there's eight, we were talking during the break. So there's eight quarterbacks left in the playoffs.

So J. Mack and I was saying during the break, let's one to eight rank the quarterback. So would we both agree Mahomes is the best quarterback? 100%. That's an easy one. You get all the upside without the interceptions and turnovers. So Mahomes is kind of the standard of the league. You get the pretty, you get the spectacular, you don't get the heirs. So that's the easiest pick.

Now, I would say Burrow is my second because he doesn't have the knockout punch of Alan, but Josh has regressed. Josh makes too many mistakes. So I would say number two is Burrow. Agreed. Three, despite the mistakes, Alan literally is the entire Buffalo office. Yes. So that feels like the easy stuff.

Yeah. Now it gets complicated. Okay, so now I am a huge Trevor Lawrence fan, number one high school player, number one college quarterback, number one pick. I think he's lived up to it. Really, the only thing that derailed him was the Urban Meyer year. This year he's great. He was the best quarterback in the league statistically.

Thanksgiving until pre-kickoff last weekend. So I would put Lawrence four. Fourth best quarterback left in the playoffs. Well, I'm not saying he's Mahalmsboro or Allen. So the only, now, five, I would. put Jalen Hertz. Now, Trevor was a better high school, college, and I think he's greater professionally sooner than Hertz was. Now, we're not talking upside. We're talking right now. Yeah, I would take Lawrence because of his size, the way he throws the football. I get everything. I get literally,

if you want it, even the hair. I mean, like, he looks like the prince, as Nick Wright calls him. Then it gets, so by the way, that's all the top four quarterbacks are all AFC quarterbacks. I mean, I think we agree. Okay, now, now, five, I would go Hertz over Dak. We don't even know if Hertz is 100%. Okay, let's just base it on he is. It might be 90% or 80. Okay.

Now, a lot of people will say, well, come on, Colin. Remember, Jalen Hertz was a better high school quarterback than Dak, a better college quarterback than Dak. And he was, he's an MVP candidate. Dax, is it, Dak ever been a serious MVP candidate? No, but the reason Harts is an MVP candidate, the running ability, right? Well, his running ability. What's wrong with that?

Does he have that coming into this weekend? We didn't see him run in Week 18. Okay, but let's just again, our guess is he's 90%ish. Okay. One good season for Jalen Hertz. I'm just, I'm not saying career. What I'm saying is this weekend, my belief is Jalen Hertz is mostly healthy. So, I don't, career or whatever.

is Hertz is more gifted, his history tells you, than DAC. And I don't consider Dak a great runner. Hertz is a uniquely gifted runner who's become a very, very solid thrower. In that offense. So he's, so I, so do you have a disagreement with that? I think DAC is the best quarterback left in the NFC. So you would put, would you go Mahomesboro, Allen Lawrence? Do you agree with that?

I'll go DAC over Lawrence. Just for right now, not going forward. I love Lawrence like you do. I think Dak is the best quarterback left in the NSC. I'd put him at four, Lawrence 5, Hertz. Because we don't know what's up with Hertz. And unbelievably, Brock Purdy hasn't lost a game. Okay.

So now we're just left Purdy or Daniel Jones. Who would you take? Purdy. Okay. Last player taken in the entire draft. And Daniel Jones was the sixth player taken in the draft. And he's played the NFL for four years. My takeaway is Brock Purdy is a more accurate thrower of the football.

If you go to his college career, and his NFL career, he is simply a more accurate distributor of the football. I get accuracy over Daniel Jones and without the turnover stuff that plagued him for years. Now, Daniels has cleaned that up. But Brock Pretty, I don't think San Francisco has scored 35 plus points. How many straight games? At least four, right? By way, not a great online.

Now, great coach. Trent Williams is very good. He had a good O line. Center right, not great. A lot of this is Kyle Shanahan, Colin. That's what makes it so troubling. Okay, so we basically agree. Mahomesboro, Allen, we agree with.

We agree that Daniel's 8 of 8. Right. And Purdy is 7. So our big disagreement is Lawrence, Hertz, and Dak. You like Dak more than I do. I like Lawrence more than you do. And we both, we like Hertz, we don't love him. You went from no Dak on the Monday night game.

He wasn't even a top 10 player in the game. And I mean, now he's possibly the best quarterback left in the NFC. That is a little bit wild. See, the only real big, real big difference, you would just have DACA head of Jalen Hertz in the NFC. That's your real, you think that... Listen, Trevor Lawrence threw how many interceptions in the first half against the charge of? Four?

And he's the fourth best quarterback left in the playoffs? Did your TV go out in the second half? Because in the second half, he was really good. I was coaching a fourth grade basketball. He was like... I don't know if you... Your TV, your reception. went out. He was nearly perfect in the second half

against that defense. I don't know. Dak or Trevor Lawrence going into this weekend. Well, Trevor Lawrence. Trevor Lawrence was the league's best quarterback Thanksgiving on. I can take out one half

against the Chargers. The kid was nearly flawless for two months. Dak was horrible against Washington for three and a half hours. He was coming off the early season and I can't believe I'm defending Dak Prescott here. He was coming off the early season injury. And, oh, by the way, Lawrence was carving up the worst division in football.

Well, one of the second worst division in football. Like Houston, Colts. Those are jokers. Trevor Lawrence did look good against him. Let's not forget. He was losing to Josh Dobbs at home in a week 18 getting the playoffs game. He's a kid. And he needed his defense to bail him out.

By the way, they did beat the Cowboys. They did. Yeah. Jack had an awful interception. of fluky pick six. Noah Brown off his hands. Oh, okay. I think Dallas led that game.

Look at like your juggling. I think that was 2710 cowboys. Stammering. No, I think what's interesting is the AFC is generational quarterback talent. The NFC is just overachievers.

By the way, did you see Dak is also the oldest quarterback left in the playoffs? 29 years old. It's something. It's something. this is going to come off. It's so weird. People will catch like half this in the car, and then I'll get all these messages on social media.

Why do you hate Trevor Lawrence? What do you have a guy? I love Trevor Lawrence. I'm a huge fan. I think going into this weekend, I trust Dak more than I do Trevor Lawrence. I think you see Dak beating the Niners. I can't see Lawrence beating the Chiefs.

Can you? No. But I don't see either quarterback winning, and they faced each other earlier, didn't they, and Trevor beat that. Oh my gosh, Trevor did not win that game. It was about a month ago. Maybe did your TV go out for that one?

So your TV went out for that game in the second half. It goes out whenever Trevor Lawrence is playing. Well, it's strange how that works. Better call Spectrum, our local cable provider. That's who I have. Our three next. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your

podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.