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

Episode Date: November 28, 2023

Colin unveils his Herd Hierarchy after week 12 of the NFL season He also officially presents the WORST loss of the NBA season thus far   Guest: Nick WrightSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Here we go. It's hour two. We're live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Thanks for making us part of your day on a Tuesday. Jim Harbaugh discussions later this hour. I'm so fired up about Jim Harbaugh right now. Coach of America's team. Very exciting times. America's team is no longer the Cowboys. It's the Michigan Wolverine. I can't tell if Harbaugh is going to be the next Bill's coach or Chargers coach. I'm just kind of waffling between. the two. No reason to leave college football. He's the king. That's a great point. Except for that money thing that we flashed earlier with all the NFL coaches making big, big bank. Yeah, and crazy owners that fire you

if you don't win immediately. What about the crazy boosters in college football? That's more a southern thing, don't you think? It's SEC. If you look at Ohio State. Well, yeah, Ohio State. You got those guys trying to run Ryan Day out of town. That's crazy.

Yeah. Well, again, that's the lunatic. That's not most people. The lunatic fringe. Yeah, most people are not bad. All right, it's the herd hierarchy, top ten teams in the NFL. You're going to blanch it, maybe a couple of them, but here we go. Heard hierarchy.

Time is now, let's go. The top ten NFL teams, according to college, number ten. Right now today, Denver is a top ten team. Five and O since week seven. Four of the five teams, they've beaten everyone. winning records, allowing 16 points a game. Best turnover differential in the league. Excellent backs, power football, young, young athletic defense, good enough receivers, Mims, Cortland Sutton, Jerry Judy, Dulcich coming back at tight end. 20 touchdowns,

four picks for Russell Wilson. This morning, that is a top 10 team in the NFL. Number nine. Buffalo, listen, they're crazy, but six of their losses are by six points. They are what they were three years ago. Josh Allen leads the NFL with 24 touchdown passes and 13 picks and 16 total giveaways. They're one of the more penalized teams in the NFL. In fact, I think they're the most penalized team. This is what they are. They're not buttoned up. I called them the Mike Tyson. Just depends on who they fight. They'll knock you out in the first round or lose a close fight late because they're bad on the details. But you can't tell me they're not a top 10 team in the league. They had Philadelphia

beaten about three different times in that football game in Philadelphia. Number eight. Miami. I have my issues with them, the speedboat of the NFL. They're one and three against teams that are 500 or better. But we have to be fair. If I'm going to support Russell Wilson with Sean Payton, I've got to support Tua with Mike McDaniels.

Tua under Mike McDaniels. 16 wins, eight losses, 67% completion percentage, pass a rating at 104.6. It's a good team. They don't have the defense of Denver, but Tua with this coach and these weapons feels like a playoff team to me, Miami at 8. Number 7. Detroit.

Love their offensive line and ability to control the clock with the run game. Jared Goff's gotten sloppy in the last couple of weeks. They have a hole on this team that is going to take them out of the Super Bowl running. They're bad on the back end of their defense. And I'm not sure this coaching staff can solve it. They're just not, they don't have the personnel in the back end. They're like the chargers. They can outplay and lose because they give up cheap stuff on the back end.

back end. But they have the number one ranked offensive line, the number two total offense, they can win shootouts, and they are capable of winning a playoff game, Detroit. Number six. I like Jacksonville. Least penalized team in the NFL. Only undefeated team on the road this year. Do you know that? Six and O in the road. That says something. Six and O in the road this year. I like Jacksonville. Do I think they can win a Super Bowl? No, that's my top four teams in the league. My top four teams, I think, are Super Bowl teams. Can win on the road, star quarterback, clever offensive coach, I got him at six. Number five.

Dallas, they crush the teams they should. You do get credit for that. Now they've played the easiest schedule in the NFL, and they've beaten up on the dregs of the league. But again, you get credit for that. Their remaining five games are much, much tougher. They play Seattle, Eagles, Bills, Dolphins, Lions. But let's be fair with Dak, over his last six games, he's been terrific. Team TD's two picks.

We got to be fair. The CD-Lam DAC combination, it's got a burrow, Jamar Chase field to it, it's Big Boy Football. Dallas at number five. Number four. And here are my Super Bowl teams,

Baltimore. I may have them one spot low. Listen, Baltimore's got the number one rush offense and the number two scoring defense. I like them. They're fast, they're physical. Opposing quarterback's passer rating,

72, lowest in the league. Again, I may have them a spot low, but I think if they played my number three team tomorrow, I'd take my number three team, so Baltimore's at four. Number three. In Kansas City by an inch, keep your eye on Rishie Rice. Looks like he could be their number one receiver. So I've said, I think they have a bunch of threes.

Rishie Rice, he was a second round kid, may become the number one. They also showed they can score in the second half. They've also, let's be fair with Kansas City, played the second hardest schedule. I still have doubts about their second half offense. it was the Raiders, but Rishi Rice, his growth is really interesting. Number two. San Francisco. When Trent Williams plays, they win, eight and one. They lead the NFL and turnover differential.

I think they have the most weapons in the NFL. Philadelphia beats everybody narrowly. They can blow people out. If they have their people, they blow people out. Devo, Christian, Kittle, Ayuk. Those are dudes. And I think they can beat you in multiple ways, so I have San Francisco at number two. Number one.

Listen, Philadelphia, 31 consecutive weeks, they've had the best record in the league. It's choppy, it's inartistic, but they're 7-1-and-one-one-score games. Their O-line D-line combination is excellent. They are not a perfect team. You can beat them downfield. But my top four teams are the teams I believe this morning should be favorites and can hoist a trophy. Philadelphia 1, San Francisco 2, Kansas City 3, and Baltimore 4. I don't know what to do with Baltimore.

I think for the second week in a row, my take is I probably have them low. I do not think Dallas hoist a trophy, but I think they're the closest team to not doing it with Jacksonville that could potentially do it but won't. J. Mack, your initial thoughts. Oh, my goodness. So I was looking around my desk, I need a flag to throw. So I, oh, like if I was this tissue box. Caldard, what are you, where are the Pittsburgh Steelers?

11. How were the Houston Texans? 12. No, no, no, this doesn't work. Time out. This doesn't even, this isn't it? Detroit Lions at 7? All right.

Let me name, let me just name the quarterbacks on this list, not the teams. Jalen Hertz, you love Purdy. Mahomes, Lamar Jackson, DAC, Trevor Lawrence, Goff, Tua, Josh Allen, Russell Wilson, Kenny Pickett. Oh, so what, we're just named me the best quarterback? So the best teams right now. Best quarterback mostly wins the division. Interesting.

You can't, listen, Mike Tom. Tomlin coach of the year. There's no way I can put Denver right now. You have to unsee September. Denver is playing. They've beaten Kansas City. They've beaten Buffalo. They're beating good teams. So now the simple size is like four or five games. So we're basically, that's why Denver's ahead of Pittsburgh and Houston. If the place I used to work, nobody had courage. They would just list standings. That's not how I roll here. I'm telling you the best teams this week. Let's go to a reasonable opinion, Nick Wright. Well, what'd you make of it?

He's outraged that Kenny Pickett didn't wedge his way in. Where are you? Well, listen, I think you're a little high on the Broncos supply. So here's a fun thing. The Broncos, and then we can work kind of backwards from there. The Broncos preseason projected win total was eight and a half. They are going to win eight or nine games right where they were supposed to, and everyone's going to consider it a massive success.

because of how awful they were the first five weeks of the year. And I give Sean Payton credit for pulling them out of the death spiral they appeared to be in, but I don't think the Broncos are legit. I think they are more pretender than contender, and that's not just for the Super Bowl, that's for the playoffs. So, listen, everyone is just in love with the Buffalo Bills. Nine is obviously too high. Yes, they are dangerous on a week-to-week basis,

but they are dangerous for themselves and for their opponent. they seem to have a lame duck coach. But after that, I think you did a very solid job here. My only, I'm not going to argue with you anymore about the Chiefs. I'll just let you keep planting your flag. There's a lot of teams better than them, and then they'll win the Super Bowl. You said something about the Ravens, Colin, that you might have them a touch low. I think you have them a touch high.

I would flip-flop them in Dallas. I don't know about you. I was watching Sunday night. The Ravens were up 13. three on a hapless Chargers team and I thought, oh, Baltimore absolutely could lose this game. Like, of all the really, really good teams, they're the only one that a 10-point lead doesn't feel safe. And so I feel like Baltimore is going to at some point in the postseason have a game similar to the one Sunday where the offense just doesn't get going and they find a way to lose.

So the Ravens, to me, I would have the Cowboys ahead of them. The Cowboys have played poorly, in my opinion, once all year. Twice if you include the Cardinals game, but everyone has a hiccup game. The Niners game, they played really poorly. Aside from that, they look like a great team. Obviously, the Chiefs are excellent, and the Niners and Eagles win healthy for the Niners and Eagles under any circumstances are excellent. So I think for the most part, this is a better than typical herd hierarchy,

but the Broncos are about to lose three straight. So I don't think they're a top 10 team. Three straight road games coming up, Colin. They're going to be dogs in all of them. I think they're going to lose three straight. Oh, boy. Let me ask you this. So I said about Justin Fields.

If you'll, 33 starts, if you went to a stand-up comedian for 33 minutes and you didn't laugh much, he's not that funny. After 33 starts, what I saw C.J. Stroud do in the first start, second start, it's like obviously accuracy, seeing the field. Like, it's over, right? I do think he'll get another chance, but like in Chicago, it's over, right? You have to draft Caleb Williams. Well, certainly. Like the Bears now are just the biggest games for the Bears all year are the remaining Panthers games. They need the Panthers to finish with the worst record.

The Panthers will probably help them out with that. And then, yes, obviously you draft Caleb Williams. And then I'm not ready to say Justin Fields can't work. I am ready to say he's not going to work in Chicago. I said this before the deadline. It didn't happen, but I wonder if it could happen this offseason. Colin, what do you think of this? And there are other people have speculated of this connection.

Justin Fields for a second round pick to Atlanta. Yes, yes. Atlanta is indoors, a ton of speed and talent on offense. Yep. They have a better defense than people think that you could run an offense that works for him. They don't have the quarterback there. It's not going to be ridder.

For Atlanta, it's kind of a buy-low opportunity. And for Chicago, you get, you know, the 45th pick of the draft to keep rebuilding your team. That's the environment, Colin, that I think he has, because he does show flashes. Yes. The reason it's hard for me to just give up on him is I am more convinced Kenny Pickett will never be an above-average starter than field. even though Pickett has had far more success. Because Pickett never makes me say, wow, look at that.

Justin does, but Justin also makes some terrible mistakes and has a lot of holes in his game. But he's so big, he's so strong and so gifted physically. And I saw, you know, he's had some really good moments as a passer as well. I wouldn't want to give up on him. But if you're the Bears, you obviously have to draft Caleb if you end up with the number one pick. Think about this, Nick.

They have two firsts. you could get a second, they'd have two seconds. They already have a third and two-fourths. That number four pick, if you get Caleb, you could trade down six, seven spots, still get an elite player, and get another one. Colin, it's not a gloomy of people think. It's not that bad, and they have a ton of money,

and listen, what you just said, I heard today on a very, very popular podcast, What's Right with Nick Wright, Tuesdays and Thursdays, you can get it wherever you get your podcast. That exact scenario, which is, Listen, if they were to end up with one and three, I would draft Caleb and Marvin Harrison Jr. But they're not going to end up with three. Their pick is going to be five or six.

That's you. That's Joe Alt. There's the Penn State O-Linman. But they used the 10th pick last year on an O-Linman. I love the idea for Chicago of drafting Caleb trading down from their own pick to acquire an additional first-rounder next year and really trying to rebuild with a bunch of blue chippers. I think that is, you have DJ Moore. I thought they paid a premium for Montez Sweat,

but then they did get him signed. You have at least a potentially bright future, and you'll get something for Justin. So I think that is absolutely the path. I want to talk Cowboys for a second because you and I have always been a little bit of a pretender, big brand, little hype, beat the bad teams, not the good ones. But it's interesting about Mike McCarthy, and I defended him.

I said, the knock on Mike McCarthy is late game management, clock management, play calling. Kyle Shanahan's brilliant. Lost a 28-3 Super Bowl lead, bad play calling. Sean McVeigh gets dragged for it. Harbaugh made a mistake against the Chargers this weekend. Andy Reed and Philly got crushed for it. Is that almost every coach gets crushed for that unless you have a star quarterback that just makes plays. So with Favre, Rogers, and Dack, they've all had arguably great years.

Sometimes they're greatest with McCarthy. And that what he gets dragged for is what even McVeigh and Andy Reed get dragged for. It's hard. It's fast. It's late game. There's analytics. There's pressure. And that Mike McCarthy and Dack now have gone from being overvalued to a tad undervalued in this league.

That's how I felt going into the year. And it's why, listen, you're right that I have been, you know, over the time that we've known each other, mostly a Cowboys skeptic. But this year, with that defense, with, I thought DAC was poised for a bounceback season. Listen, Dak, for his career, is fifth in NFL history and touchdown interception ratio. He has one year where he's a high interception guy, and people started acting like that's who he's always been. It's not who he's always been. So, you know, before the year, I picked Dallas to win the conference.

Obviously right now is San Francisco, it looks like they can't beat them, and Philly has had the better season. But I think Dallas is right there with those teams. And as far as McCarthy goes, and I was having this discussion the other day, those of us, and I am at the forefront of it, that picket coaches for they're not aggressive enough, or the clock management, things like this, we're yet to find the perfect coach. It's not like though there's any of us can be like he's the one who gets it right all the time. So like Dan Campbell is great on fourth downs, but on actual game management, clock management stuff has been lacking. We thought our hero was going to be Brandon Staley.

That didn't go well at all because he had a few fourth downs go against him. He stopped doing it. And like you said, the two most brilliant play designer guys that we've ever seen, I shouldn't say we've ever. ever seen, but the coaching right now, Shanahan and Andy Reid struggle massively with some of the game management stuff. Mike McDaniel, who everybody loves, if you remember the end of that playoff game last year, he struggled with some of that stuff. And now he had Skyler Thompson, you don't kill him for it, but that's the only sample we have of him in that super high leverage moment. I am coming around to this idea. You know, maybe there isn't the perfect coach out there.

Maybe the guys who get the most out of their players are going to struggle on this. The guys who are great on the analytic stuff maybe aren't always getting the most out of their players. Here's what I know. The Cowboys are about to, for the third straight season, win 12 or more games. Less than a dozen teams in NFL history have done that. You can't do that without a good coach quarterback combo. And at the very least, they have that. And, in a weird year, Dak, if he balls out on.

national TV on Thursday and then beats the Eagles on national TV the next week. Dak Prescott very well might end up being the leader for MVP going into the final few weeks of the season. So I don't remember if this was a topic. Oh, this was a topic when you and I did a podcast, and I want to revisit this. Okay. I got a lot of crap for years, and I kind of leaned into it because I did believe it, but I thought it was funny on the hat on backwards stuff. And my takeaway is that Wednesday Presser, bank sponsor, face of the first.

franchise, most important presser. After a game, I understand. You showered. It's a bit of a mess. I'll give you a little pass. That Wednesday presser, Jalen Hertz is the most quarterbackial presidential quarterback I've ever seen in my life. He is virtually manicured.

Says the right stuff. Sucinct to the point, no excuses. And I watch Philadelphia in the second half. They're winning with maturity. They're winning with decision making. And I even as a Chiefs fan, When Mahomes broke onto the scene, what we were blown away with is that he was the same quarterback, winning, losing, trailingly, it never changed.

Hertz may be only the second guy, Brady Elway kind of in that class. Decision making, intelligence, resilience. I'm fascinated by him, and even you as a Mahomes guy. Are we undervaluing how great Hertz is in these crisis moments? Yeah, I mean, I think I certainly have in the past. So there's a lot there. So you mentioned Mahomes. One of my favorite Mahomes anecdotes ever is during the epic Josh Allen duel in the divisional round game, the 13-second game,

that by the way broke the Bill's franchise, as I predicted years ago when everyone laughed him. He would set that aside. He had one of those devices on that measures your heart rate. And his heart rate only spiked when the chief's offense was off the field. He was most calm when he had the ball and most nervous when he wasn't in control, when it's like, oh, this is out of my hands. And that always to me was telling, like, oh, his confidence is not fake. And there was going around Twitter this weekend an interview from Jalen right before,

for the draft where and I think it was Jeremy Shapp, I apologize if I get the interviewer wrong, said to him his college record and said to him, you know, you only lost four times your whole college career. You know it's going to be different in the NFL. And Jalen, not cocky, but very earnestly says, well, we'll see. And he seemed to just truly believe, well, I don't know, I've always been a winner. So I think I'll go ahead and keep being a a winner. And I did not think Jalen played well at all in the first half of the Chiefs game or the first half of the Bills game. I thought he played poorly throughout big stretches of those games. But then he comes through and makes the biggest plays and his teammates believe he's going to

come through. And to me, it is so different. And when you mention the press conference, I have watched now, and I'm not trying to pile on the bills because I thought Josh Allen played awesome on Sunday. He just came up on the wrong side of it. But I've watched Josh Allen now for the better part of a month and a half have escalating existential crises at these press conferences. Talk about being in low positive. Talk about not wanting to get too high. Well, you know, we're up against it. And you can see it on his face.

And Jalen, now maybe it's because he hasn't had a rough stretch. Jalen just even in wins is just this is what we need to do better this is what we did well I know what the mission is and I do think for the leader of any industry that cool earned confidence

permeates the team where now the Eagles are the only team in the league right now other than Kansas City that at every point of every game believe not quite sure how we're going to do it but we're going to find a way to win and that is top-down

leadership. Now, if they could just get their coach to stop being a child on the sideline and taunting fans and oppositions, I might actually like the Eagles, but Siriani ruins it for me. Nick Wright, as always, first things first, on fire.

Good to see you, buddy. See you, buddy. Yeah, Siriani's young. He's a little sometimes out of control. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, 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,

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and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English.

Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is 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. 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.

podcast or wherever you get your podcasts. Could have some breaking news next hour. Getting a few texts here. J-Mac with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. You can't pull the pin on a grenade and just do that.

Can you give us a hint, the sport? A lot of things going on right now behind the scenes. You know, it's just teams getting ready to sign Justin Fields, as you alluded to. I've got ten teams that. on fields. You can laugh all you want. I'm telling you. There's a market. All right, let's start with Frank Reich. Obviously, he was canned 11 games into his first season with Carolina. I know the owner, the billionaire. He's taking a lot of heat, understandably so.

He's disappointed with the development of Bryce Young is a big factor. But here he is explaining his decision of fire, Frank Reich. There's a lot that goes into, you know, what the success on the field is every week. One is the rosters, some of the scheme, how you practice, a lot of things. and obviously we can be better in all faces of that because a product on the field is just not good enough right now it just isn't and so we have to try to make every one of those faces better

and whatever it takes to make it better we're going to try to do forget being a football team if you ran a company and you had six CEOs in seven years would you think it was well run I mean you can you can rationalize all these decisions this is not a good day it's not a good move you can't keep running through it No top candidate wants anything to do with this organization. Pittsburgh Steelers in my entire life have had three coaches.

Noel Cower Tomlin. Now, sometimes they're loyal to a fault. They got rid of Matt Canada. We could go. Probably the right move. But that's how you run a business. Green Bay generally takes their time on coaches. Let them bake a little.

Well, you know me. I'm going to push back. So it's not like the Steelers were running one in ten. And they just kept rolling out the same coach. Tepper had a good quote. He said, I have patience, but that comes with progress and performance. And let's be real, we can pull back the curtain a little bit.

If I had come on the show and the ratings had gone down and we were arguing, I wouldn't still be here. You know that's the truth. If there were problems, you would have been like, hey, this isn't working. We move on. And I got to give the guy a little credit. Like, it wasn't working with right. There's zero progress.

Price Young doesn't look any better in week 12 than he did in week one. Okay. But this is probably, well, I don't even think it's probably. It's the worst offensive roster in the league. going from a certain offense to a different offense, and the GM didn't get them the right players for this offense. So they're just trying to make it up with a rookie quarterback as they go. They don't have the personnel. This is like the Patriots with warmer weather. They're one of the slowest teams in the league. They got no playmakers everywhere.

Belichick's not winning. This is what, when you don't have playmakers in 2023, it's not in 1973. Belichick looks like he's lost his touch. Belichick. They don't have any playmakers. The only way for Carolina and New England to score is like 13 play drives. And you can't do it with a rookie quarterback or Mac Jones because they make too many mistakes. So I'm looking up the Texans. They started 0 and 2, right? CJ Stroud did not look good. He has made growth.

The team has developed progress. It's not like the roster changed material. But Tank Dell, Nico Collins. Who were they in week one? They were nobody. But again, they're speed players, their playmakers. I mean, Carolina doesn't have a single player, a breakaway player. Like, not one.

Now, no, no. I'm not saying Reich's up for coach of the year, but this roster is offensively, I would say this. New England has a better offensive roster than this. Oh, stop it. Who do that? New England doesn't have anybody. But that's also Belichick is pulling the strings. I think New England's receiving course better than Carolinas.

And I don't think much of New England's. I mean, it's. I don't want to. waste anybody's time trying to break down those two crap offenses. But I don't know. I'm not totally defending temper, but I don't know, Colin. Progress matters and performance matters.

And Frank Reich was underachieving. All right, next story. There was an interesting moment on the sidelines. Oh, look at this. During Bill's Eagles for the TV viewing audience, Shaq Lawson got up in the face of an Eagles fan. And Shaq Lawson was jawjacking with this punk. You know, this guy wanted to go viral, obviously. This meatball. Lawson issued an

apology on social media saying that the fan made threatening remarks about him and his family. That does not excuse his actions. Now, there's another thing that happened in the NBA last night with Russell Westbrook we haven't talked about yet. We will get to that. Listen, this player fan stuff is tricky. There's not a right and a wrong. I'm overwhelmingly supportive of players.

I do think you should just stay away. But I don't like people. What do you mean? Just stay away. Well, I mean, I've been at games with obnoxious fans. I think it's, I've said this before. If I own a team, I'd get rid of an obnoxious. fans. See ya. I'll find another

fan. Some of these stadiums are going to be half empty if you do that. Come on, man. These guys are liquor up. Less than 1% of fans are jerks. This guy's just looking for trouble. I'd boot him out of the stadium and say watch us on TV. So is there a line that the fan crosses and the guy's going to get in his face? No, no, no. I don't think

Westbrook or Shaq Lawson should I think it's easy to say, ignore it, ignore it. And obviously Russell Westbrook has really struggled with this. But I also think it's obnoxious and I've sat next to fans that are obnoxious and I'd throw them out of the arena. I'd have no problem.

The idea the customer's always right. No, no, no, sometimes the customer's a jerk and you throw them out of the rest of it. Everybody agrees with that, but what about the player? Like, Shaq Lawson. Well, yes, I think it's always, I mean, I don't think you should ever respond to that stuff ever. But it's easier. These are 23-year-old athletes and 25-year-old athletes, and people get personal and say things.

I mean, I've been at stadiums, I've heard it, I think stadiums need to do a better job of throwing fans out. And, you know, I, so I'm always on the side of throw the fan out over the player being really deeply bothered. That said, Westbrook has a brand. He's got shoe deals, and he can't get in the space of that. You have to just say, you're a schmuck, I'm out. But I don't like, I'm not going to support these fans that do that crap. I'm no way.

On a personal level, I know you're a man of the community. You're out and about, glad-handing, like you're the, you're the. mayor of the town. Have you ever had a guy start talking trash to you and get in your face and say anything? Probably at some point. How do you handle that? I just walk away. I just don't... You'd be the bigger man.

Well, I also don't hang out in areas with people that are that, like that. But if I did, it's just you smile, walk away. Fans need to win. They're out there busting their hump. They're spending them what little money they have. They get in bad

mood. You give them three beers. They do dumb stuff. I don't like it, but I think, listen, we have a great life. Westbrook has a great life. Shack Lawson has a great life. Chances are that fan doesn't have his quality of life is that those people do. So like, just let them do their thing. Again, the responsibility for me is on the front offices and the ownership groups to get rid of jerky fans. Get them out. And I think it's a very, if you go to an NBA game, there may be nine people in that arena that are inappropriate. And there's 22,000 in the arena. It's a tiny, number. Most fans are just, they're down

there, and by the way, they're easy to spot. Any game you go to by the second beer, second quarter, they're half the time they come into the stadium all liquored up. So you can spot them instantly. I would just say, hey, appreciate it, money back, see you. Be honest. Total candor. Has there been a moment

where you were like, man, I wish this guy would say something. No, I just don't get into that. You know, you don't get there? It just doesn't... I'll be honest. There's been a couple times. You know, basketball well, yeah, but you're a gun show guy. I'm not. You're out there with your basketballs. Well, I mean, sometimes on the basketball court, guys will jokingly make comments.

You're playing in a sporting event. And then I came back maybe a little too hard. Yeah, I wouldn't do that. A couple people laughed and the guy got, he got in my face. And I was like, dude, you were joking on me. Why can't I come back at you? That's a good time. You can't be the guy who can only, you know, dish it out and not take it.

If you can't take it, we got problems. I wouldn't compare your rec league game to the situation in New York. That's a star player and a drunk fan. I'm not a star? No. We're playing Mosgov. Thursday night in the playoffs. Anyway, next story.

All right. The Giants have managed back-to-back wins with Tommy Davido at QB. Danny Jones recovering from the ACL. GM, Joe Shane, said they expect Daniel to be the quarterback one healthy. But, but they will be looking closely at their quarterback room this offseason. I think we're going to have to do something in the quarterback, whether it's free agency or the draft. I mean, just where we are. Tie-rods, contracts up.

you know, DeVito is obviously under contract, and Daniel, you know, we don't know when he's going to be ready. So, you know, just from an off-season program standpoint, you know, I think that'll be a position that we'll have to look, again, there's different avenues for agency or the draft, but we'll have to address it at some point. Justin Fields. Yeah, so they're going to be drafting. Right now, somewhere in the 8 to 15 range. I don't think they're going to go for like a quarterback there. So Justin Fields is, that's my prediction. He would be a name to watch

fits the profile of a guy Dayball could work with. Yeah, I don't think that's a bad take. J-Mac with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd

Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the I-Hard Radio app. I'm the King. What's good, y'all? It's your main man, Michael Smith, esteemed NFL analyst and certified fantasy football legend. Allow me to present to you your new favorite fantasy football podcast. The Dynasty Exchange, hosted by my first round rookie picks, Davis, Dylan, and Josh,

three guys who most definitely know their stuff. They're the co-commissioners of the coolest and most cutthroat dynasty league you'll ever come across. The Yacht Club. And now they're the co-hosts of the most elite. Now make that the definitive dynasty program in the game. It's dedicated to only the most devoted of diehards, the guys like me who can't stay off sleeper in KTC. And trust me, you won't regret making the choice to follow their dynasty advice.

Listen to Michael Smith presents the Dynasty Exchange on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you'll say. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

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

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

Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because, of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. 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. This Saturday, the Big Ten championship kicks off on Fox with their perfect season and

playoffs on the line. J.J. McCarthy in third-ranked Michigan. Take on number 17, Iowa. Coverage begins Saturday at 6.30 Eastern on Fox. People don't know what to do when they see something that's new and different, and Jim Harbaugh is that. All those Ohio State Buckeye fans railing and laughing and mocking Jim Harbaugh now have the second best coach in the rivalry. Nothing against Ryan Day, but he can't beat Harbaugh, and certainly there's no proof he could get to a Super Bowl. Harbaugh, though, had a moment yesterday, and I kind of agree with it, and I kind of don't,

about the intensity of the rivalry, Ohio State and Michigan. The student athletes that are, you know, young kids, young adults that are playing this game, And all we ask them to do is go out there and play their very best. I think that is very manufactured for the TV show that people want to watch and see. But it's not healthy. It's not healthy for the student athletes on either side. When you're trying to put that much, you know, somebody's practically, you know,

thinking it's life or death. Now, in principle, I do agree with Harbaugh, and I think 99% of fans get it. But one of the things the media does get right, and we miss a lot, is how we treat college athletes. We're not nearly as harsh on them, nor should we be. We're just not as harsh on college sophomores juniors. Maybe once they get drafted, it changes, or as they get ready for the draft process. But I will say the difference between the basketball and football culture in America, I like the football.

I prefer the latter. Our basketball culture is perpetual coddling. It's not healthy. It creates immature players and the percentages of busts in the NBA draft are through the roof. The football culture, they're coached hard, occasionally screamed at, ridiculed, mocked, mostly in a reasonable fashion. they are. The media doesn't really take out the sledgehammer very rarely, very infrequently on college guys. But it does create players who are hardened, coachable, and mature. I think the basketball culture in America is in a crisis.

I watch John Morant's personal life, Zion, and I say to myself, what's wrong with it? They're talented. Have they been coddled, given too much too early? I don't have answers. But what college football's culture does create, and it's not always pretty, is mostly mature players ready to produce, producing now at the top programs, and eternally grateful for the opportunity. Harbaugh is right. Some people can't handle it. It is not life or death. But in America, I would take the current football culture over the basketball culture, which Steve Kerr recently talked about the AAU and said it's actually a negative for players' growth. college basketball guys.

In fact, basketball players don't even have to go to college. The top four picks in this past draft were from four different leagues. I'm not sure if that's a great thing. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. But I like our football culture. At times, a small percentage of people go over the top, but I think it's a very small group of people. And by and large, I like the college system.

I like what it creates. I like what it produces. Coachable young men willing. to play hard, emotionally, physically, ready to produce like a C.J. Stroud, the minute they arrive. Now, for last night's most embarrassing NBA loss, and it wasn't the Lakers getting shelled, it wasn't by the Sixers. No, it was the paper clips, as Jason calls them. The Denver Nuggets didn't have the best player in the league Yokic, nor their second best player, Jamal Murray. Or their third, Best player, Aaron Gordon.

The Clippers had all four of their stars. Kauai, Paul George, Hardin, Westbrook. Not only did they lose to Denver, they fell apart in the fourth quarter with all their go-to stars and had only four field goals. DeAndre Jordan last night had 21 points. Dude, I didn't even know he played anymore. anybody who thought this Harden Westbrook thing was going to work,

no reason for me to make it personal. You fanboys just keep taking L's year after year. They're below average shooting threes, 25th in a assist per game, neither really wants to defend on a regular basis. Westbrook Harden on the floor together is a minus 43, the worst combo on the team. Again, no reason to make it personal.

But I can assure you, not everybody in this organization known as the LA Clippers loved all these moves, especially hardened. Chemistry matters, sharing the ball matters, committing the defense matters. After the game, Russell Westbrook had an incident with a fan. Again, I don't like how Fan Street Westbrook. I'm not a huge fan of the player, but he's a human being.

He works his tail off. He plays hard all the time. And fans can go absolutely over the top. Westbrook talked about the moment after. You know, fantasy they can say whatever they want. You know, I'm not going to say it now because it's not appropriate, but I'm just protecting myself. Just unfortunately, transiting they can get away with saying anything.

And I won't, personally, I won't allow it. I took a lot of, you know, people saying anything, you know, getting away with it. But I want to stand for it. Now, in fairness, Westbrook went to the staff and said earlier this year, I'll come off the bench. I thought that was a team move. You know, Hardin wouldn't do that. But again, the worst loss last night was not the Lakers. When you have your four stars and you're playing backups for Denver and they don't have their best three players.

And not only did the Denver Nuggets beat you, they destroy you in the fourth quarter. Jerry West is still connected to the Clippers. You cannot convince me Jerry West supported the hardened of the Clippers move. I don't believe it. I don't believe it. All his years, understanding chemistry and balance, no way he supported it.

You can't talk me into that unless I seem to sign document that Jerry West defended it, but it's not working. And last night, that was bad. No, you hope. Okich, no Murray, no Gordon. DeAndre Jordan lighting it up? They brought him in to be a locker room guy, not even play.

All right, final hour. We got a lot of stuff. We've got stuff happening. Hour three on a Tuesday. 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 headwriters,

reader Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. 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 gas. galaxy far, far away, such as the biology of tontons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.