The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - Ed McCaffrey

Episode Date: November 30, 2023

Colin glances into his NFL Magic 8Ball and predicts the future of the NFL. Former NFL wide receiver and 3x Super Bowl Champion Ed McCaffrey joins the show to talk about the incredible season his son, Christian McCaffrey, is having with the 49ers.Guest: Ed McCaffreySee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. We're listening to Fox Sports Radio. We got into a discussion this morning. We were talking about running backs in the NFL, and it's very rare in professional sports in any league when you can kind of separate from your position. And we were talking about Christian McCaffrey, and we're like, who's the second best running back?

Best hands, elusive, tough. He's just been, I remember when that trade was made, the Niners picked him up. And a lot of people said, oh, look what they, gave up and we're like timeout. When you give Picasso an empty-de-campus, when you give Kyle Shanahan, Christian McCaffrey, it's like the ultimate Swiss Army knife.

It's going to be a steal of a acquisition. And it has been a classic steal of an acquisition because he can do so many things. And his dad is Ed McCaffrey, who was a great player in the NFL, 55 touchdowns, 3 in O in Super Bowls, 7,500 yards receiving, humble guy, but Ed was a great player.

Little did he know his little son would end up being so great that Ed can walk in now put glasses on and nobody hounds him anymore. Let me ask you, I want to ask you first of all about Christian is, and Carolina was a great place, and they used him appropriately. But San Francisco does feel different. And Ed, I think you would state this. You were nine years with the Broncos, then Giants and Niners. Where you land in this league matters. Did you think it would be this good, knowing your son's style and Kyle's history? Well, I certainly hoped it would be, and he fits in perfectly in San Francisco, and I knew that he would because I'm familiar with Kyle Shanahan, their head coach. I played for Mike Shanahan.

In Denver, I was familiar with Bobby Turner and Anthony Lynn and Brian Greasy, and a lot of the coaches on their coaching staff. I know Jed York, and he's an incredible owner, they really care about their organization, and they invest in players and coaches. They've done a great job of developing coaches that have gone on to become head coaches, which will, by the way, giving them a lot of draft picks, which made up for anything that Carolina had given up for Christian. But more than anything, they have consistency,

stability, and veteran leadership. And, you know, that's just something that wasn't in Carolina. They went through it. It was in the beginning. And then slowly, you know, Cam and Greg Olson and Keekeley and all those guys retired. And the new ownership, multiple head coaches, multiple general managers, multiple coordinators, a different starting quarterback every year that he was there to start the season.

And they just didn't have the stability and consistency. They were in a rebuild, and they're still in a rebuild. But when he got to San Francisco, he was around a lot of like-minded veteran leaders who have committed their lives to this game. Smart coaches, dedicated players, and it put him in a position where he can just do his job. And that's where he's at his best, when he can just go take the field, No one he can count on his teammates. They can count on him, and he can just go play ball. So, you know, you don't have to give me private conversations, but when Brock Purdy, Mr. Irrelevant comes in,

obviously Shanahan saw something very early in practice because they were getting him out there. I mean, give me a little story if you can. Most last picks in the draft, you were a third round pick. I think Christian was a first round pick. Like, you don't get a lot of seventh round guys who are spinning it like that. Do you remember the first time Christian said to you, Dad, this dude, he can play? Yeah. You know, I watched him in training camp and watched him in preseason, and he looked pretty good. The one thing I couldn't tell about Brock Purdy was how he would compete in a real NFL game and also how mobile he was. I didn't realize how mobile he was.

He does a great job of extending plays and making plays with his feet. But he's also incredibly smart, and I did know that because when Christian first got there, he didn't even practice with the team. The only reps that he got were with Brock Purdy, who was running him through the entire game plan and going over all the rules with them and reviewing all the protections and going over all the routes.

And Christian told me, after a day of working with Brock, that, you know, hey, this guy is pretty sharp. You know, he knows the whole game plan. It really helped running through those plays with them before Kansas City. They played Kansas City. Christian hadn't even practiced yet, but Brock really helped get them ready.

And so I'd heard some really good things from Christian about Brock before he even became the starter. And then, wow, once he got in the games, you know, even better than advertised. So I'm going to come back to Christian and his initiative on the cleats in the second. I do want to ask you two questions. Your son, Dylan, played for a couple years with Harbaugh, and then he transferred. I've had enough sources and coaches that know, Jim. He's a lot. He's intense.

He's unique. I think he's a heck of a coach. But Jim is unique. He's different. He's a bit of a disruptor. I made the argument that he's more important for college than pro. He works at both. But I think I can make an argument that Jim's personality could wear you out after about three years like Sabins.

And college is a better fit. Because about the time Jim's, you know, Jim's personality could wear, you go to the NFL. Your take on Harbaugh, what you know from your son and what you've heard, is he a better college than pro fit he won it both obviously ed yeah no i i think you're pretty accurate in your assessment you know i know jim pretty well he's always been really cool to me um treated my son well uh i you know i would say i remember the first time i met him um although i did get recruited by michigan and bo shembeckler had me out on the sideline when they were playing ohio state and jim harball was the quarterback i didn't know him then but i was at one of his games

as a recruit. But I got to know when I was in the NFL and we went to Anaheim for the Buffalo Bill's Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl. And we were doing like the NFL players stuff before the game and hanging out and eating and they bring us all over in a bus to watch the game. And there was like these little circus games set up, right? You know, like a carnival. And one of them was the football toss. And you know, they give you this bloated football and you throw it through a little circle. It's, you know, it's a gimmicky carnival thing. It's not a real assessment of your football prowess or skill. But, you know, I was with this guy that was super unathletic and a little, you know, short, chubby guy. And we were sitting at this table with Jim and he was with some other

people as well. And my wife, and we went into this football throw. And my friend is the most athletic of the group somehow gets it through in like two tosses. And it takes me a couple more times to get it through the circle. And it's luck, right? It's mostly luck. It's not football skill but Jim was having trouble throwing the football through the circle and and and so you know he tried a couple more times we left went back to get some food and then looked over I'm not kidding like 20 minutes later and he was still over at this little carnival game trying to throw this bloated football which is not a real football through this little circle and I guess my point is he wouldn't leave until he threw the football through the circle he's he's that competitive so the one thing I'll say about him he wakes up

thinking about football, he goes to bed thinking about football. He's ridiculously competitive. I think it's one of the reasons for his success and also the reason sometimes maybe he crosses the line and this year maybe has gotten a little bit of trouble for things that have happened within his program, but he's incredibly competitive. He expects his players to be incredibly tough and physical. When he makes bad decisions, he recognizes it and he adapts because he knows if you don't adapt in this sport. And in this game, you're going to die. So I got to give him credit for that.

He's tough, he's competitive. He expects that out of his players. He's a good recruiter, great recruiter, and he's done a really good job of picking the right schools to coach for. And the right teams to coach for it. And I don't think coaches get enough credit for that. You need a great organization. You need a school that invests in sports in their football program

that allows you to build the program the way you think you need to build it. And he's done a good job of picking the right team. So in terms of Michigan, I mean, since I was in high school, and way before that, that team has had a football tradition. With Beaumbechle being one of the people that's influenced him in his life, but also his dad, like he's from a football family. Him and his brother, John, they believe in tough physical football. And they grew up with a great football coach who has had a huge influence on their lives.

And so, you know, when they stick to what they believe they need to do to win football games, and they don't deviate from their core values, which maybe once or twice, you know, you make a mistake with personnel or coaches or players, but then you're right to ship. When they do that, they know what it takes to build a great program, and he's had a lot of success doing it. If he's asking me, you know, if you want to make more money, go to the NFL, but if you want your statue up next to Bo Schembeckler, outside the big house, you know, stay at Michigan.

Yeah. You played for a year with Dion Sanders. I think he won the Super Bowl that year. Yeah, I think you did. And now he's at Colorado. And when he first got hired, I said,

oh, this isn't going to work. He's a lot of flash. But the transfer portal, Flash matters. You get people in. But if you do too much transfer portal, USC and Colorado,

you don't have any chemistry. and it's a grab bag of guys who just want a paycheck. I thought Dion was fascinating in September, so I leaned into it. It was new and fun. You live in Colorado. In that state now, how is it viewed? It was fun, but it was a lot of hype. You know Colorado football's not a powerhouse.

Ed, you know that. It's hard to win there. The state doesn't have a ton of high school football stars. How long do you think Dion stays there? What do you make of the whole situation with he and Colorado football? football. Well, I'll tell you what, he created more excitement around Buffs football than I've seen since I've lived here, and that was in 1995. Now, they did win a national championship, and I played against them in the 80s. So they did have a good, you know, good program at one time.

But they had kind of fallen off the map. And in terms of the investment, the school made in the program, in terms of the support that the football program got from the school, it didn't seem to be there. It's there now. Dion has done an amazing job of shaking it up a little. And it's little bit. I think, you know, love or hate what he did, he kind of had to do it. Now, a lot of coaches would probably get fired for saying and doing some of the things he said, but he's gotten the support from the president and the AD, and he brought in a lot of incredibly talented players. They went from one win to four wins in a year, an amazing victory over TCU early on, and they scored a lot of points against USC and some other teams where they lost, but it was impressive.

And, you know, Dion is Dion. He does it in his own style. I play. with him. He was a phenomenal teammate. He was defensive player of the year in San Francisco in 1994 the year we won a Super Bowl. The last Super Bowl that San Francisco won, hopefully there's more to come. And I think he knows exactly what he wants to do with that program. And so he's going to be controversial. He's going to be a mercurial figure within the sports world. But, you know, if there's one guy that has a chance of turning CU into a perennial winner in football, I think, I think it's Deion and I think he's exactly what they needed at a time when they needed it. Now, the slippery slope of being a college football coach right now is how do you build a long-lasting culture

and still build a team every year to win and not turn into a feeder team, not turn into a team where your star players are always going to leave for a better opportunity as soon as they have some success. That's the real challenge he's going to face. How well does he do rebuilding his roster from this year to next? Finally, your son, Christian McCaffrey, he has a My Cause, My Cleets initiative. Your family, Christian, had charities, which is awesome. And I think it's part of your family.

You're all athletes and charities and doing well for others. And is the initiative still going on? How can people participate? It is. You know, he put something out on Instagram. Just look for Christian on Instagram or go to his website, the Christian McCaffrey Foundation. He has two causes he really believes in. One is supporting military families

that's really, really important to him. And the other is the Logan Project, supporting Logan Hale. And that story will just tug at your heartstrings. It's a young man in Carolina who unfortunately passed away who just wanted to play video games with his friends in the hospital during

his last days. He had a great attitude, love of life, a lot of enthusiasm, and all he wanted to do is play video games with his friends. So, Christian, has made an effort to partner with other NFL players and other teams in hospitals in NFL cities to put gaming consoles in children's awards in the hospital so that they can play not only with their friends and family but maybe even other celebrities he put on the Logan Bowl last year and a lot of NFL players participated and played against each other and shared with

some of the children and hospitals in their NFL city so it's a great cause and just an amazing story and means a lot to Christian and so check them out on Instagram check out the website Too late to vote for which cleat he's going to wear this week. He's thinking about wearing one of each on his left and right foot, but definitely not too late to donate and make a difference. Ed, you took time first today, 15 minutes. I know you're busy. I always appreciate that, and I just want to thank you for it.

Anytime, Colin. Thank you for having me on the show. All right. Ed McCaffrey, he was a great player. Three and O' and Super Bowls, 7,500 yards, 55 touchdowns, Stanford Guy, heck of a player. I have a great parlay for you this weekend, thanks to Draft King's Sportsbook. New users, please use the code Heard, H-E-R-D when you download the app.

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I'll take the Chargers to win by more than a touchdown. And I'll take the Jaguars hosting the Bengals. Jake Browning, not it. Can't beat you downfield. Jags want to get that number one seed. They're motivated. If you want to take the Hurd Parlay, check out Draft King's Sportsbook. Please, new users.

Use the code Herd, H-E-R-D. When you download the app, it's real simple. 21 plus in most eligible states, but age varies by jurisdiction. Eligibility restrictions apply. Gambling problem. Call 1-800 gambler. In New York. Call 8778-8 Hope-N-Wire, text Hope-N-Y 4667-369.

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

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clivert 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 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 was 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, 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. black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years from black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. J. Mac with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Wouldn't that be amazing?

So you're a great player. In fact, I was years and years ago, I asked. Wait, what am I great at? No, no, no, no. Oh, you're just saying in general. Oh, I thought you were giving me praise here. No, no, sorry. You're always seeking it, but nothing. So, wouldn't it, so years ago, I remember asking an NFL player, it may have been on the show. Like, who was the most underrated player you ever faced? He was like, oh, Ed McCaffrey. Like, that guy was way faster than people thought. Wouldn't it be amazing if you were 3 in Super Bowl's?

You're great. And your son ends up being, like, iconic. And, like, Christian McCaffrey is the best running back in the league, maybe the best receiving back in the history of the league. First round draft pick. I mean, Ed had a career. It's just, it's, I see this, I see this all over sports all the time. You know, a lot of times, the dad who. who's great and the son's not quite as good, but that Ken Griffey's senior I watched in the 70s

and then his son ended up being, you know, the natural, but it is amazing to watch your son. You had a great career and to watch your son surpass it and become kind of iconic. Yeah, it's, it's, you're a father, you want your kids to have a better life than you. You want them to be better people than you. Yeah. You're athletes too. For some reason in the NBA, it's really, really hard. Probably because these NBA players, the dads, have so much money and wealth.

You know, the kids probably don't grind as hard. That's possible. But football's a little different. We see some of the kids... Oh, guys get caught. Yeah. Good players get caught. We see a lot of the kids be better than the parents.

Yeah. It's interesting. All right, let's get started here with the Pittsburgh Steelers. My team of destiny this year, Colin. 421 yards of offense last week in the dub in their first game without OCMAT Canada. Most yards for Pittsburgh in any game this season. But they only scored 16 points. Kenny Pickett is focusing on having that number go up.

Obviously you want more points, but after watching the tape and seeing how we executed in the past game, the run game, how things kind of balanced off each other. You know, definitely liked our performance, but you want more points, obviously. The chunk plays were there. You know, that was good. I thought we, you know, had some really good drives, working on some long fields. You know, when we got to the Red Zone, we just had a negative player. Apparently, we felt like that it kind of took us out of that rhythm, that really good rhythm that we were having. So, you know, if we get that fixed, you know, the points will follow.

I don't think the points will follow They also have a Deontay Johnson problem Well, he's vowed to do better The line here is 5 and a half You instantly were like that's too high I want Arizona Okay, Pittsburgh's got way better player I get it

They did get to the red zone I think I'm not taking Kenny Pickett as a 5 and a half point favor That's the problem I think I want to take them Well, I want to do a lot of things I did you see Arizona's defense Like they could not stop Kyrin Williams If Pittsburgh sniffs that

Oh, we'll give Naji Harris 20 carriers in Jail and Warren 15. That's a clever offensive coach and a great quarterback in Stafford. You're right. Better schemer in McVeigh. Yeah. So you're saying stay away, huh? Because you know I got to pick five in the contest. It's hard as heck.

I thought Steelers would be a layup. Well, at this time of the year, a lot of backup quarterback. So it's some of the teams I like. Like, to me, the game that I immediately loved, San Francisco, when it was when they were getting points, I was like... No, no, San Frans, fine. And Detroit, when it was at, like, four. Yeah.

Well, now Detroit's at four and a half if it's to five, if it's don't. So did you see, you're not looking at injury reports yet, are you? Arizona, Trey McBride's banged up, Michael Wilson, the rookie who Hushman Zad has been raving about, like, there just are not a lot of options. It's like Rondale Moore, James Connor, Kyler, Kyler, good luck. Yeah. They're not having a defense. Go Pittsburgh.

Next up, the Cleveland Browns. Oh, look at this news. Joe Flacco is now the number two quarterback on the depth chart behind rookie DTR. However, DTR is still in concussion protocol. If he's not able to go, January Joe Flacco will get to start against the Rams out here in SoFi. Rams favored by three and a half. Colin, two months ago, Joe Flacco was raking leaves in September. He's now going to be going up against Aaron Donald.

Brown's offensive line is banged up. The defense is hurt. This has to be a Rams spot. I know everybody loves to remind you and I, sometimes people on our own team remind us when we're wrong, but I never bought into Cleveland this year. They were seven and three. What was not to buy? I would never bought into them. I didn't buy into Sean. The injury stuff was nonsense, the chemistry. Well, the defense was outstanding, and what people are now realizing

what we've been saying is the home road splits for the Browns defense are massive. At home, they're incredible. Remember, they locked up the Niners. They go on the road, and the Colts run over them, and last week the Broncos get whatever they want. I think the Rams are going to put one on them here. It's tough when you're down to a rookie quarterback or a guy you just plucked off his sofa. Come on, yeah, yeah. What in that? Final story, Cowboys open week 13 tonight.

Dallas is on a three-game winning streak. Big showdown with the Eagles next weekend. Seahawks, they got San Fran next weekend. If they lose this, then have to go to San Fran next weekend, which they do. They all of a sudden can be out of the playoff mix. It's gotten bleak fast. Well, again, don't want to pick on Pete. Defensive coaches.

Ron Rivera just never quite got the urgency of getting a star quarterback. He's going to lose his job. You know, Pete was buying into this Gino thing, and Gino was a total bust in New York. This was a total reclamation project, and they doubled down on it, and I understand it. But it's this simple. When you watch a quarterback, is he a hoist a trophy quarterback?

Nobody in the league thinks Gino is. So it's like the – Sometimes these defensive coaches, they don't sense urgency at that position or the O line. And if you look at the lowest graded O lines, it's a lot of defensive coaches and the highest graded O lines in quarterbacks. It's offensive coaches. Interesting. I remember after Gino struck gold last year, we talked, and I'm looking now, we talked about should Seattle draft a quarterback? And Cops. No, we got Gino.

We got Drew Locke. We're good. They didn't draft a quarterback last year. J&C consulting was advising, Pete. You got to draft a quarterback. Now they're back to the drawing board because Gino ain't the dude. We know it's not Drew Lott. But losing games, Seattle may be like 11th or 12th if they lose.

They lose this. My takeaway is if you're in the top 12, you can get a quarterback. I think they're all, I think Drake May, Caleb Williams, Bo Nix, and Jaden Daniels are probably all gone by the 12th to 13th pick. That's my guess. Now you may be able to get. So now you're left with Pennix. Well, no, I like Pennix. And by the way, Pete, you know, he's one of those guys.

He watches Pac-12 football. Pete's, you know, he's very good Pac-12 football. By the way, who did they draft last year, the UCLA running back? Pete's lean into the Pac-12 more than once. I, panics to the Seahawks would not shock me at like 15 at all. So also, Pete loves the Big Ten. He was shopping into Big Ten for Illinois, Ohio State last year in the draft, Michigan twice. So, I mean, listen, they got two Michigan players.

You know, they're not getting J.J. McCarkey. You're out on McCarthy because we heard one thing about him and we're not going to repeat it. You, the tools, this guy's toolsy as they say in baseball. Is that applied to NFL? Go look it up real quick. We have time here. How much does he weigh? Now he's skinny. He's tall. He's like six, two and a half kid. How much does he weigh? J.J. McCarthy. What do you want? 195, maybe? That's a guess. I'm going to say 190. Find me the 190. Okay, according to always write Wikipedia, 202 pounds. But we'll wait for the conference. Maybe he's under that. He looks a little slight to me. He does look slender.

Not a lot of great quarterbacks in league history under like 220. There's not. That's just a fact. That's a statement that just threw me for a loop. I got a hit with that. Maybe I'm wrong. I've never heard that. I don't know 220 was a line of demarcation for quarterback weight.

I don't think it's a line, but I'm just saying he looks slight to me. Okay. Josh Rosen out of UCLA looked slight to me. That was a whiff for everybody. I don't want to hear anybody say, oh, yeah, you guys said Josh Rosen. everybody and their mom thought Rosen was going to be good. Coming out of high school, he was a star. You know, most of these guys are.

J-MAC with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd-Ly News. When your business reaches a certain scale, challenges begin to surface. You deserve a tailored solution. That's NetSuite. Learn more when you download their popular KPI checklist, absolutely free.

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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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what 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 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. So. 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. Make sure you play this week's Fox Super 6 free-to-play game. Download the Fox Sports app and enter for a chance to win your share of $10,000 in weekly cash prizes. I'm not eligible to win that, so I'm not allowed to play. Unfair advantage with my labyrinth of sources and connections. J. Mack, we haven't played Magic 8 ball in a long time. Did you just say Labyrinth? Nice usage.

Ed McCaffrey's from Stanford. I'm from Eastern Washington. That's the Stanford of the Palluse. Okay. So are you ready to play Magic Ateball? Let's roll. Okay, you ask me the question. Will Brandon Staley be the next head coach to get fired?

Don't count on it. Keep your eye on Dennis Allen of the Saints, Todd Bowles of the Bucks, and Matt Eberfluse. The Spanos family tends to let a coach finish the season. Of course, Jordan Schultz the other day reporting that it would probably take a miracle for him to be retained. What about a loss to the Patriots? Would that get them fired? Would that get him fired? It would be very agitating in the building.

But Spanos family is, they don't want to, they don't want to. want to pay coaches that aren't working. Will the New England Patriots draft the quarterback in next year's draft? Without a doubt. Currently projected with the number three pick. Mack Jones regressed each of the last two years. Completion percentage is dipped. Passer rating is dipped.

He's not liked in the locker room, I'm told. Not loved by teammates. Without a doubt. All right. Let's try. Will the Rams make the playoffs in the NFC? My sources say no. Three of the six games left are against, you know, Ravens, 49ers, Cooper Cup, as you noted this week, is still banged up, not 100%.

I think McVeigh, it may be 5 and 6. I think he's had a really good year coaching, and I think they're kind of healthy now. They're currently outside of the wildcard spot. But if they beat Cleveland, and I think they will, they will hit their over-under number. and I just think those, they got a couple tough ones down the strength. They got Washington, New Orleans and the Giants. That should be three straight wins. If they make the playoffs, you're going to, I swear we bet a cruise.

No, no, no, we did not bet anything shaved in my head this year. No, we did not. Next up, will the Broncos make the playoffs in Sean Payton's first year as head coach? Ask again later. Only four teams ever have made the playoffs starting one in five. And turnover regression is. is probably happening. So they've gotten 15 turnovers in four games.

Generally, there's some randomness to getting a lot of turnovers. So they're probably going to pull back. I don't know if I like him this week. Don't they play Houston this week? I think I like Houston. Thank you. So there's a little turnover. I think they've been a great story, but I'm on a pull back a little.

All right. Will Josh Allen lead the league in interceptions for the first time in his career? Yeah, most likely. I mean, he's had a pick and eight straight games. And in the last two seasons, since Brian Dayball has left, guess how many giveaways he's had? 37? 27 picks and 69 giveaways, two seasons.

That's a lot. So it's, like, again, I'm okay with strong-arm quarterbacks. Farb, Namath, Elway. They threw some picks. I'm Andrew Locke. I'm okay with it. But it's when you throw the picks, but he'll probably lead. Will the Raiders finish for the better records than the Chargers?

Don't count on it. They've been held under 20 points in three straight games and five of six. So Aiden O'Connell, he's an immobile backup. Pretty good rookie out of Purdue, but he's a backup. And, you know, this team has got an interim coach. I think Antonio Pierce, if they continue to play hard and battle, like they did last week against Kansas City, he'll retain that job. I think you have to be fair. This has always been a little bit of a last decade, a little wobbly franchise, so I don't think.

I think the Chargers just, they got some doubles here coming up. Will the Cowboys finish with the highest scoring offense? Offense in the NFL. Don't count on it. Remember, coming up. Eagles defense, bills, lions defense. You don't like them to score a ton against the Seahawks tonight. So the schedule stiffens, they're going to be in the top three.

Miami right now, I think, is number one. They'll be close to it. But I think their schedule is pretty tough down the stretch. And finally, will Trevor Lawrence get the jags to the number one seed in the AFC? Ask again later. 6 and 0 away from home is interesting Least-pendalized team in the league They're a little inconsistent week-to-week

I thought the win over Houston was kind of important Because Houston's better than we think You know, it's Houston and Denver are great examples A year ago, I mean the start of the season We thought Houston needed like seven more good players And Denver 8 And the quarterback plays well

and it's amazing how good Denver and Houston look. I watch Houston against Jacksonville, and I'm like, that's a go-either-way game. That is a one year ago, Houston was the biggest mess in the league. You get the quarterback. Russell Wilson, I came into the season, we both said. Eight wins would be, you know, that felt right. If Peyton would have taken this job last year,

you wouldn't have had to do the rebuild for six weeks? Denver's pretty good. Denver's got players. So Jacksonville currently eight and three. Here's my thing, if they get the number one seed, Colin. Is there any home field advantage in Jacksonville? No. Point. Yeah, I mean, the Chargers went up.

Wasn't 27-0 nothing in the playoff game last year? I know they lost, but they... I mean, how many places in the league? Is there a true home field advantage? Oh, Philadelphia has a home field advantage. Arrowhead, I think. Even though they lost with Reed and Mahomes, two AFC title games there,

Patriots and Bengals, that's still a home field. No? Well, two things have happened in the NFL. One, the head, the ability to talk to a quarterback in the helmet. So that's made audibling and it's made it easier. That's probably taken away a two, three point advantage. The second thing that's happened in the NFL over the last four to five years is teams travel with larger groups. The players are treated like it's a home game.

They take, I mean, they take, they make it a home game on the road. The hydration, the stuff that used to be, it used to be it was a road game. And it felt like a road game. You talk to NFL players, road game, home game. Now, some team Dallas played very well at home, but mostly outside of the Niners' debacle, Dallas has played pretty well all year. Philadelphia, late January, with the Super Bowl in the line. That's a scene.

Now, I'll give you two advantages. Miami and September at home. It's brutal. It's so hot. I've seen teams go down there and just melt. I also think there's no question that... There's really nobody in the AFC, Colin? I mean, I think Kansas City, but you're pushing back.

I don't think the Ravens have a distinct. home field advantage to you? I would say the other advantage is Denver in September, the altitude. No, no, we're talking playoffs, number one seed and stuff. I think taking Miami going up to a cold weather is a disadvantage. Buffalo, KC.

I think it's, I don't know what it is, but you know listen, when you live in warm weather, I mean, we live in Los Angeles. I walked in this building today. It's probably 68 and I was like, it's freezing in here. I mean, it's just the reality of what you get soft. How about Detroit? Is there a home field advantage in the dome, loud? Well, I think Goff's

better in stable environments than wind. Like if golf has to go to Philly in January, they're getting smoked. Sorry. It's just happening. Probably, yeah. You know, I'll tell you something. The consistency of excellence on this show is hard to duplicate.

Thank you. I'll accept that as a compliment. Oh, wait, you're talking about yourself. I was talking about the staff. Oh, staff, okay. Staff is coming through strong. They have. Disagree a lot.

Sometimes they have to be managed, but a very good day for the crew today. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel help an a cappella band with their between songs banter. Where does your group perform?

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get. 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, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing.

How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast,

or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.