The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd-HOUR-3-NFC

Episode Date: September 9, 2020

Colin gives his predictions for the NFCGuest: Mark Schlereth Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes,

creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok's podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast.

For 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84's big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians,

and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeartRadio app by searching Heard. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Great to have you in tomorrow night.

Two highest paid quarterbacks. Patrick Mahomes, Deshawn Watson collide on another network. And Sunday, a full slate of NFL games. Mark Schlerath, who's got three rings, multiple pro bowlers. A Fox NFL analyst is joining us live from his beautiful place in Denver. So you got the Seahawks and Falcons. And we were saying this already here today. There is a movement in Seattle.

an active social media movement called Let Russ Cook, where Seahawk fans and, by the way, analytic people in the NFL are saying, this is Russell's team. Let's go. Pete Carroll, let's let it go. Now, I know, Mark, your career was built on running the football. But you also won a lot of games with John Elway. When you're looking and deep diving on that Seattle tape from last year

as you prepare for the Seahawks' Falcons game, do you think they need to reboot the offense in Seattle? Absolutely not. You know, the Russ, let Russ cook. Yeah, you may let him cook.

He may be on a spicket because they have not been very good from a protection standpoint. They are really built on being physical, being able to run the ball, and a lot of Russ's big plays in the passing game honestly come from the play action aspect

of their ability to run the football call. And so that's a big part of what makes Seattle Seattle. And, you know, I called the game last year where Baltimore came in there. And their whole premise was shut down their run game and make Russell Wilson throw it 45 times. Because we think if we can do that, we think we have the advantage. So I'm not down with the let Russ Cook. I'm down with the let the offense operate. And I will tell you this, he's one of the most unselfish players I've ever talked to.

And I'm sorry about my dog, but he's really excited about. Russell Wilson, obviously. But he's one of the most unselfish players I've ever talked to. And this is a guy that if he throws it five times in the first half, as long as they're winning, he doesn't give a rip. That's what makes him great. And it really is set up off that play action and then his ability to scramble around. What's your dog's name, by the way?

That is Romeo and Romeo very excited about being on the herd. He has always been a fan. He watches you every single day. And as soon as he saw you on the TV, I mean, he's giving his analysis, obviously. I apologize, but there's nobody home but me and Romy, so that's what you got. All right, buddy. Okay, so now I want to concentrate on Atlanta, the team that breaks my heart every year

that's in the Super Bowl a couple years ago. And now they got a coach that's a lame duck coach. And I actually like them in this opener. What is it about this organization? All this talent, Super Bowl MVP-level quarterback. quarterback and they just don't show off every other Sunday. Well, part of the issue, Colin, is that you can have talent. I mean, you know, we get enamored by talent because talent is really easy to see.

It's easy to see, you know, speed. It's easy to look at Julio Jones and see what Julio Jones brings. It's easy to see just overall talent, speed, and athleticism. The issue is that they can't dominate the line of scrimmage and they've really never since they've had Kyle Shanahan, they really never basically majored in anything as a group. And so when I watch their film,

one of the issues I have is, like, what are you? A wide zone team? A tight zone team? A bend back team? Are you a power team? Are you a gap team? What do you want to be?

What is your run of choice? Like, that's what I would ask. And so I'm watching some tape from last year, and I recognize maybe 12 or 13 completely different schemes. Well, when you run that many schemes on any given Sunday, you don't major in any scheme, right? You basically minor in a bunch of them. So it really renders some of your play action stuff ineffective

because you haven't sold any one thing. You haven't made a defense defend any one thing. And so I look at them is having too much volume in their offense. like pair it down, major in something, and sell out on that. And that will, you know, I mean, you can look at all your, all your periphery weapons and all your receivers and all that you have there. But the bottom line is, in my mind, you haven't done a good enough job of majoring in one thing in the run game that sets up a lot of the explosive plays to play action. Listen, my staff just said to me, do you want to take 90 seconds to put your dog away or something? Yeah, that would be great.

Okay, go ahead. I'll wait for you. Okay. All right. You talk amongst yourselves. All right. So his dog is Romy. I almost got a dog right at the beginning of quarantine.

And I'm really, I'm glad I didn't because we ended up working from home for two months. So you're not a cat person? I am a cat person, but I have an apartment and like the litter box and the apartment. You know, it's like a full life commitment. Right. So I'm glad I didn't because I was once we started working from home for two months, I was like, oh my God, what would I have done if I had a barker? Like, my goal was to get, like, the laziest dog possible, but...

I got a couple of those. That's what I need. Yeah. So I got Buddy and Yosi for Yosemite. I had a dog Romeo in college. Yeah. You know, the way I look at it, you know, I will say this about dogs is on a bad day. Okay, I'm back.

Nothing puts you in a better mood. All right, there we go. Listen, Romney's a dog. He saw you talking to yourself and he couldn't figure it out and he started barking. No big deal. Yeah. Well, he's old. And yeah, he's old.

And like I said, he's a big Colin Calhurt fans. He just wanted to say hi. All right. So, you know, sometimes we overthink the room. And I look at Brady and he got Leonard Fernette. And Leonard Fernette's actually a really productive guy, considering he played in front of a bad front and had quarterbacks to people crowded the box.

And I look at it and I think to myself, are we overthinking the room here? I got Mike Evans and Chris Godwin and I've got O.J. Howard. and I got Gronk and I got Shady McCoy and Ronald Jones and they upgraded tackle and I got Leonard Furnett. Stink, are we overthinking it here? This is the most talented offense potentially in the NFC with the most efficient quarterback and this is going to be a lot better team than we think in Tampa. Oh, I think, I think two things. One, you're right about the offense, right?

You've got Grunkowski, you've got three tight ends that can really play. So you have an ability to attack a defense. you have an ability to really control the middle of the football field. Leonard Furnett, listen, I don't hold anybody accountable for not playing well in Jacksonville because, Colin, it's Jacksonville. Right. And that was one of the most dysfunctional organizations or is one of the most dysfunctional organizations. Nobody wants to be there anymore.

You've seen mass exodus, right? Guys just begging to get out of there from Ramsey to Ngakwe now to Leonard Fornett. So Leonard Burnett is a full-grown man, and he is going to fit into that style exceptionally well. I think the other thing that people don't really understand is how good that defense is. They are young on that side of the ball. They are athletic on that side of the ball. Todd Bowles, their defensive coordinator, is a blitz-happy goat attack. And they've got this philosophical approach that we're going to create some turnovers.

We may give up a few big plays, but we're going to create turnovers. We're going to create sacks. we create short fields for that offense and that talent. It's incredible what they've built in Tampa Bay right now with Tom Brady, who at 43 years old is still absolutely insanely good. So it's interesting. I really liked Denver about two months ago. I didn't love them at left tackle, and then their right tackle opted out.

And I thought, oh, boy, they're going to become Cleveland, where I like them, but they have a young quarterback with bad tackles. And then Vaughn Miller gets hurt. And this morning I wake up and I think to myself, now I'm not so sure on Denver. Am I overreacting or losing a right tackle, losing Von Miller, it changes things for Denver. Yeah, no, it certainly changes things. And I didn't think they were a playoff team anyhow because I think they've got too many question marks on both sides of the ball. But you're counting not only on a young, talented, but young offensive core, right?

that was really what you were what you were counting on being good. And then defensively being really good on the defensive side of the ball with Vaughn Miller, with Bradley Chubb, and you were going to overcome some of your issues on the defensive side inside linebacking from a, you know, from a coverage standpoint, young corners and corners out of position. They've replaced, you know, essentially three starting corners, three of three. So there were some question marks, but you thought, hey, with Von Miller, And with Bradley Chubb, we can overcome those, you know, those issues at corner early as those guys develop.

Well, now all of a sudden, what do you got? Well, you know, Bradley Chub has been injured and he's not, you know, he's not full go yet. And I don't know what he'll be on Monday night if he'll be ready to go or not. But I think at the very least, you're going to have him on a pitch count. And then you've got Vaughn Miller who looks like he's going to be out for the season. So, yeah, you know, anytime you break the huddle as an offensive player and you've got a guy like Vaughn Miller, on that side. You know, I played against guys like Lawrence Taylor and

you know, Reggie White. The first thing you do when you when you leave the huddle, when you go break is you find that particular guy and you say, we have to have a plan for him. So if you're an opposing quarterback and you're playing against Vaughn Miller, you're looking at yourself and going,

hey man, I don't know, 20% of our offense, we probably have to scrap pile it because we've got to mitigate what he brings to the table. from a pass rushing standpoint and from a present standpoint. So all of a sudden you're going, oh, no Von Miller? Well, that 20% that we just can is back in our offense now.

So it gives me more opportunities. And now if Bradley Chubb is also injured, yeah, this is, you know, this could be a two, three game swing. Yeah. Is there a team, I'll put you on the spot here? Give me one team in the NFL that everybody likes, everybody's hot on, and Mark Schlarith is like, you know, I don't see it. Who's the team?

Everybody's just got them rolled into a 10, 11, 12, and you have some misgivings about them? Well, I mean, there's always, there is always the Cleveland, you know, the hype of Cleveland is going to be great this year. But let's just scrap pile them because I don't buy into that. The Rams are a team in that division, as tough as that division is. And, you know, it was really interesting to me. Everybody last year said, well, the Rams, what were they nine and seven last year? Everybody said, well, you know, people have caught up to Sean McVay. No, no, they haven't.

They lost the most physical guard in all of football, and Roger Saffold went to Tennessee. There's a reason the correlation of the run game in Tennessee toward the second half of the season really exploded. They also lost their starting center. And what they were disguised as that people didn't realize is the Rams looked like a spread team. but they were really a power-run football team that set up all their play action stuff off of that. So in that division with the Niners, as good as the Niners are, with Seattle as good as Seattle is, with up-and-coming Arizona and what they were doing last year toward the end of the season, I think the Rams are a team that a lot of people look at as, hey, they're a playoff team

that might be sorely, you know, sorely mistaken come playoff time. Yeah, it is funny. Stafford left and all of a sudden tennis. see could run the ball and the Rams couldn't. It is amazing. You guards don't get any love. We just don't pay attention to you. No, you guys don't love us.

It's sad. It is sad. It's a very sad life. Well, go get, what's the dog's name again? Romeo. Romeo. My wife came home and took him for a walk, so she saved the day. All right.

Sorry about that. Go work on your lawn. It's snowing here, Colin. I can't work on my lawn today. It's snowing. It was 98 yesterday. And it was, our 98's on Monday.

yesterday it was snowed. Yeah. Welcome to Denver. Yeah. You gotta love it. Yeah. Good seeing you, buddy. Likewise, bud.

Take care. Sunday, Seahawks, Falcons, won Eastern on Fox. Mark Schlerath has that game. 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, 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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clipper 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, 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversational. with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase

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

Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions. bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Here's Joy Taylor with the news. This is the herd line news. Jimmy Butler led the heat to a series win over the top-seated bucks.

It was very impressive. It was very impressive to reach the first conference finals of his career, and he opened up about finally getting to this point in the playoffs. I mean, like you said, that's not my goal. It's not my guy's goal. It's not the organization's goal. I want to win a hit. I want a championship.

And I think that's what we're focused on. These next eight are going to be much harder than the previous eight. You know that? We're ready for. You know what? I've always felt you should wait for the playoffs to vote MVP. You could make an argument that Jimmy Butler should be in the MVP race. For sure.

Who went to an average team and got them to the conference finals? One guy in the league. I mean, if it's most valuable player, he is the most valuable player outside of LeBron this year in the NBA. Well, the conversation, I guess, is it's a regular season award. Right. Who cares about the NBA? If we did a playoffs MVP,

which, you know, they did a bubble MVP, but if they did a playoffs MVP, and the word is valuable. And I guess that comes down to finals MVP, but that can be subjective as well. But, no, I agree with you. Jimmy Butler has been absolutely incredible. This was the absolute perfect fit for him. Change the locker room? Change the way they defend?

Well, the heat have always been a gritty, nasty, villainous kind of team when it comes to defense. That's what Pat Riley likes. Right. And Pat Riley, for being the, you know, the suave godfather. cool. He's a grinder. He's very like serious and grinder and no nonsense and there's a system and there's the way we do things

and there's a standard and that's showing now and I I'm really proud of this organization because once LeBron left, we were left for dead, you know, it was like this Spokane coach and obviously that's what happens when LeBron James

leaves an organization. Obviously Chris Bosch and then Wade. So everything as it happens, Dynasties fall apart at one point or another for whatever reason. But keeping consistency, and this is a good example of what well-run organizations do, they don't panic when there's change. Change is inevitable. That doesn't mean you have to panic.

You see organizations that fall apart. They fire people and bring in new coaching staffs, and this doesn't work, so let's try this. You got to be consistent. When you have greatness at the top, you know what to do. You know how to ride the storm. And now they're in the Eastern Conference finals. I mean, that's what good organizations do. It's why I trusted to.

Toronto when they got Kauai because there's a well-run organization. Yeah. It's there every single year. They need a superstar to put them over the top. That's why a lot of these quarterbacks drafted in the NFL struggle. It's not their talent. They go into the wrong place. It's hard to overcome dysfunctional ownership.

It's really, you got to be Andrew Luck. Look, not even. Like, you have to, you can't even be LeBron. Like, LeBron was in Cleveland. He's the greatest player in the league couldn't overcome it. He left for Miami. That's where he won his first championship With a championship level organization

You can say whatever you want about going back to Cleveland But once you go back to Cleveland He had the blueprint, then he had the control Then he was able to say no to this and no to that It's almost impossible to overcome A traditionally dysfunctional organization In any sport, no matter how big of a superstar you are Speaking of LeBron, he had a great performance

in game three last night against the Rockets It was one of those games I'm like, man, we are really blessed to be able to watch LeBron James play basketball. How about blocking all the shots? Unbelievable. 36 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 4 blocks in the 112-102 win. The victory also moved him past Derek Fisher into the first in all-time playoff wins with 162. I was talking to a friend last night about this.

I said, why does LeBron look so fresh? Well, he got injured last year, so he didn't play. and this year, because of COVID, he had three months off. I've never seen LeBron look this fresh as we get ready for the Western Conference finals here. No, he has like a bounce in his step. Like, LeBron's had about a year now. He just hasn't played that much basketball. And I don't think the pandemic benefited anybody more than LeBron, who in year 17th, like,

yeah, we're going to wipe out a big chunk of the regular season. He looks. Because he's always taken. incredible care of his body and has miraculously not had major injuries. Like, he's done an incredible job with that. So it makes perfect sense that him having that extra time off from the injury. Blessing in disguise. They weren't going to be able to make it through to the championship with that team last year anyway,

even if they had made the playoffs. This is a great scenario for him and a huge milestone for him as well, which, you know, of course, after the game, he said the right thing as he always does. But it's, that was like a vintage LeBron game. The block shots is what he used to do is the first six years in the league. But you, over time, you'll give you the points. I can't run up and down the floor blocking everybody's shot.

Right. And that's what we're very critical of him after a while. He doesn't play any defense anymore. He just looks great right now. Finally, Bill Belichick is facing a new challenge of season, coaching a team without Tom Brady for the first time in 20 years. He's one of the oldest coaches in the league at 68. But when he was asked about the possibility of leaving the team in 2021,

he gave his standard response. I'm just trying to get ready from Miami, Glenn. I don't know. Honestly, long term for me, it would be Sunday. I like this new bill. He's got commercials and he's being funny. He's praising his quarterback. I know. Life of the party. It's wild. Subway commercial. Of all the things you would have expected in 2020, I don't want to get into the Bill Belichick retirement conversation. We talked about Tom Brady retiring for like 10 years. How about this, though? That's like replacing Howard Stern. Let somebody else do it come in after that. Who would you rather replace Tom Brady or Bill Belichick?

I think John Brady. Yeah, I think so. I mean, you're just not going to be that good. Because some of, I mean, Tom Brady is some of his success was circumstantial. With Belichick, he's just smarter than everybody. His brain's not circumstantial. It's going to be something to have to replace Bill Belichick. But I am not going to start having the replacing Bill Belichick conversation.

Bill will let us know when he's retired. We don't need to project and worry about it. I don't have that conversation. Every single year, is Tom Brady going to retire? I don't know. He wants to play three more years. I don't know. It doesn't matter. We'll find out all together at once. Can we just do that? Let's just agree. Joy with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lye News. Three-word game, NFC style, and best for last is coming up next. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

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

A win is a win. Yep, that's me. Clipper Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skis. hits, 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 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 it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it.

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

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast.

Learn the Hardway with me, your host. and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations

with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it

and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on Earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust.

I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast. Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Boost your healthy testosterone burn fat. Check it out MDrive for Men.com. They've got boost and burn.

Joy Taylor is joining me. It's best for last. We did the three-word game yesterday with the AFC. Today it's the NFC, where we believe you can describe every team's fate in just three words. Forces you to get right to the point, and here we go with the NFC three-word game. Dallas, DAC in Saddle. Despite heavy speculation, Dak Prescott signed a franchise tag,

second most passing yards in the NFL last year, the downside, he did it against bad teams and was one and six against playoff teams, an aging offensive line, like him or not, Dak in the saddle. New York, don't judge yet. Listen, last three years, they were 0 and 12 against the Eagles and Cowboys.

It can't get worse with Joe Judge. He replaces Pat Schumer, who's more of a coordinator personality than a head coach. I did think Daniel Jones was surprisingly nimble and efficient, and I did think they had a good draft, and I like a couple of their free agent acquisitions. So Dave Gettelman's not my fave, but I thought they had a very good offseason. Philadelphia, Hurt versus Hurt. Carson Wentz is always hurt, and they drafted Jalen Hurtz. both will play this year. They lost Brandon Brooks, one of the best interior offensive linemen in the NFL,

but they acquired Darius Slay, who I think you can argue is the first or second best corner in the league, and that has been a problem position for the Eagles in the last several years. Washington, ride the Rivera. Worst scoring offense and worse passing offense in the NFL, and they hired a defensive coach. The good news, Dwayne Haskins, last two starts, four touchdowns, no picks,

73% completion percentage. Take a deep breath. Let's give him 6 to 7 to 8 starts. Then we'll make judgments. Chicago must ditch Mitch. Last among all qualified quarterbacks last year at six yards an attempt. Let's be honest. He doesn't throw the ball down the field.

He's a good kid. He works hard. He's kind of athletic. He doesn't let it go. And it's an Alex Smith. thing, but he doesn't throw the ball as well as Alex Smith. Now, the good news is they have the easiest six

game stretch to start the season of anybody, but it's not an easy division. Detroit lying to themselves. Matt Patricia's not working. He's 922 and 1. It's not working. Matt Stafford's now an old 32, missed eight games

last year. They lost Darius Slay. I think Patricia, at the end of last year, lost the locker room. A lot of people like Detroit this year. year, I think they're lying to themselves. Green Bay. Can Aaron LaFleurish? Matt LaFleur and Aaron Rogers. Listen, Aaron's 37, gets more banged up. Passer rating last three years, under 100. Completion percentage last three years declined. He's only got one weapon on the perimeter. That's why he was upset. They didn't get a wide receiver. I think they're good, but not special.

Minnesota. Minnie will winnie. Listen, Kirk Cousins drives us nuts, right? Bottom line, Delvin Cook Star, had his best year ever. Offensive line, last two drafts upgraded. Adam Thielen, two tight ends I like. And Mike Zimmer's an excellent defensive coach. We may think they have a low ceiling.

This is a good football team. This is a really good football team. Good GM, good coach, capable quarterback in kind of a Derek Carr sense that we and we think there's limitations on letting it go. But Minnesota's well-run. It's a good football team. They're going to win this division. Carolina.

My bad. Atlanta peaked in 2016. Since the Super Bowl loss, they're 24 and 24. And Matt Ryan got the you-know-what kicked out of him last year. He got sacked 48 times. This is their one great asset. Protect him, please. This is not difficult in the NFL.

You get a good quarterback. Draft offensive linemen. Tech Matt Ryan. Todd Gurley is an interesting acquisition. It didn't work in L.A. at the end, but if you can get 65, 70 yards, Gurley's a pretty good pass catcher at running back, and he did play in the South, so he may feel like he's home again, and he won't have the innate pressure of that massive contract in L.A.

So I do think Todd Gurley works here for this organization. All right. Carolina. Ready, Teddy, go. Teddy Bridgewater's 22 and 12 as a starter in the NFL. That's like 65% winning percentage. Okay, I know he doesn't have a big arm. Neither is Drew Brees. This is Christian McCaffrey.

Curtis Samuel. DJ Moore, Matt Rule, decent offensive line. Now, last year, actually, their defense was kind of a mess. I think they're going to score a lot of points. I think they're rebuilding. I think they're going to be a pain. I think Matt Rule is going to bring energy. I think Teddy Bridgewater,

doesn't turn the ball over. I don't think they're a playoff team, but I have a feeling we're going to look up halfway through the season and they're ruining people's lives. New Orleans, one last March. Breeze, 20th season, this is it. Then he's going to be a TV announcer. Malcolm Jenkins, Emmanuel Sanders, good pickups. I like it.

I like it. One last March. Joy thinks they're in the Super Bowl, good argument to be made. NFC West. Arizona. Oh, sorry, darn it. Tampa. their treasure. All time winning his quarterback, Gronk, Shady McCoy, Leonard Fernette, all engineered

by the best quarterback of all time. He'll change the locker room, the intensity, the efficiency, the urgency. He is LeBron. He is beyond good. He brings so many leadership qualities to a team. You just can't duplicate. Arizona, Murray up offense. Kyle Murray, a rookie of the year. What I like, they do what Seattle hasn't. They kind of give it to them and say, let's go. It's your offense. Los Angeles, ready to resurgence. Sean McVeigh, winning record, top 10 offense each year under him. Let's not go crazy. If the protection's good, golf has excellent weapons. I'll argue this. Best receiving core in the NFL. And Van Jefferson, the rookie has looked great at camp. San Francisco, Shan the man, Mike Shanahan, Kyle Shanahan.

They run the football. Three different players rushed for over 500 yards last year. They're 10-0 when Garoppolo throws for 275 yards, and he will. And finally, Seattle, for Pete's sake, stop running the ball so much. Russell Wilson, only NFL quarterback in history to lead his team to a winning record each of his first eight years. Pete, throw the ball. Stop running so much. We're back tomorrow for joining everybody.

It's the heard. 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 guys. 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 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, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show.

This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Cliford show on the IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast,

wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

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