The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - Urban Meyer

Episode Date: August 8, 2023

Fox Sports college football analyst Urban Meyer joins the show to discuss the expectations for Harbaugh and Michigan this seasonSee 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 Clifford 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 IHeard 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. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday on Fox Sports Radio in noon to 3 Eastern 9 a.m. to noon Pacific. Find your local station for the herd at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHeart Radio app

by searching Fox Sports Radio or FSR. Now let's get this party started. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. 17 years as a college football coach, three national titles, one with the Buckeyes, two with the Florida Gators, a three-time college football coach of the year, 185% of his game,

12 and 3 in bowl games, which I believe is the best winning percentage ever in bowl games. That's a, that's an, those were big bowl games. 12 and 3 and 1 90% of his games at Ohio State 83 and 9. Urban Meyer is now joining his live, Fox Sports. So as a guy who grew up on the West Coast and lived in the world of the Huskies and Ducks, I think they work as damp wet weather programs into the Big 10.

I think there are halves, not have-nots. The Pac-10 died. I feel like it died about five years ago when I started noticing the payouts for the SEC in the Big Ten. I thought this isn't going to last. I'm not surprised by it. Are you shocked by now four Pac-12 teams going to the Midwest? Colin, I think my initial sting was like everybody else. I grew up when the Pac-12 was arguably the best league in the country.

USC was dominant. Terry Donnyu was at UCLA. All those programs that great players, Heisman Trophy winners. But I like you, I get it. I think the Big Ten has got to be reckoned with now. I mean, can you imagine, as we were talking earlier, you'd flip on the TV at 10 o'clock, you've got a big new kickoff, and you go until midnight because you've got the West Coast now. Yeah. It's interesting.

So, Pac-12 fans are upset because, you know, their conference has, you know, unraveled. How does a Big Ten fan, like, I can see a Big Ten guy in Wisconsin going, wait a minute. I already have to deal with the Wolverines, the Buckeyes, and the Nittany Lions. now have the Huskies, the Ducks, and the Trojans, this isn't any better for me. Stay in your own conference. How do most Big Ten fans look at it? Well, I think the fans are probably fired up because they see their conference strength right now. They're going to be able to watch them.

Here's the interesting thing that goes along with the fans. How about the coaches? All of a sudden, now the Big Ten West, you had Iowa, you had Wisconsin, you had Minnesota, those teams are competing for a chance to go to the championship. game. Northwestern went the championship game. If they eliminate divisions and you add Oregon, Washington, UCLA, USC, you know, what happens to the Wisconsin's? What happens to the Michigan states? What happens to those teams that are really good programs, but they're just a notch below? Do they drop even further below in the conference now? Those are the questions that if I'm a coach at one of those plays

something, wow, you know, if they eliminate divisions, what chance do I have and get my program to that Big Ten championship game, which is everyone's goal? because it just got a hell of a lot harder. Yeah. What I don't like, one of the things I've argued for, and I think I've said for years, the reason the UFC overtook boxing is because they had a leader. And boxing was just promoters setting up fights.

And then UFC was Dana White, and he said, no, every Saturday, this is what we're going to do. College football doesn't have a commissioner. So the SEC's playing eight conference games, and the big 10s probably go to go to 10. and then some people have soft schedules. I mean, Alabama, it's like Nick Saban sat down there and gave him perfect buy weeks, and then other people don't.

I'm not picking on Nick, but it's like, come on, guys, this is not fair. I feel like the sport need just a commissioner to wrap it together. Did you ever feel that way? I did, and I've sat in many, many meetings. The problem is that really every conference is out for themselves. Yes. Every school is out for themselves. You just saw that.

I mean, there's no getting along and let's do this thing together. Right now, the SEC is worried about one thing, the SEC. The Big Ten obviously had no, they could care less about the Pact 12 because they take their teams. You know, same with the Big 12, take the rest of the Pact 12. So as long as everybody is so independent, the chance of a commissioner are coming under one umbrella, I don't see that happening, Colin. I don't see that at all because right now the SEC, you know, do you think they really could care about the Pact 12, the Big 10, the Big 12, not at all.

And same with the Big 10. They were where they need to be. They're worried about one thing. Can they support all these other sports in every program in their conference? And that's a tall task. Well, it's going to be an amazing bicostal three time zone conference. Jim Harbaugh right now is his best team. And I said this earlier.

Harbaugh's unorthodox. and he's quirky and he's, you know, he can be a lot. But what Jim does do, and I saw him do this at Stanford, Stanford was a mess. And about three years later, he walked into the Coliseum against Pete Carroll, and they pushed USC around. There's something about his personality, the way he builds a team. They get very physical, very quickly.

When you go back to your matchups, you've had your way through the years at Ohio State against Michigan. But when you look at Harbaugh, and if I'd never seen him coach, and I said, Urban, what's this Harbaugh guy about? What are his teams about? What would you say? Well, I know his teams very well, and they're tough. You know, he grew up in a tough family.

He played for a tough coach. And you watch, the reason they beat Ohio State the last two years is they won the line of scrimmage. That game, for the history of that game, whoever wins the line of scrimmage wins. So you remember about three years ago. So his job was on the line. Yep. I think they redid his contract.

They were really struggling, and he's done a great job. He's got a really good football team. He's got a quarterback coming back. One of the few teams with a returning quarterback. So when I think of a Jim Harbaugh team, I think of a, you better line up and run the football and stop the run because that's coming at you. You know, I can think two things at once. I can be for the transfer portal, but not want it during the middle of a season.

even in the NFL, there's a free agency period, and then there's times you can't. So everybody's like, well, players should be able to transfer and my takeaway as, yeah, but you can't transfer in a season and disrupt programs. The second thing is, I am for the NIL, but I don't want it to be the Wild Wild West and paying some kid at a high school. That's not what this thing's about. So as we've had these changes, NIL transfer portal, it is settled into sort of a groove, right? Are you comfortable now with where it's at, or are you still a little uncomfortable with how the whole NIL thing is working?

I think I'm a little more comfortable than the initial sting. I still, I guess I hear a lot of things that many people don't because I'm still very tied into many of my own colleagues and college football. You know, the one thing that you hear is the collective. And the collective is they go raise money from donors. They put together a big pot of money. and they pay players to come to school and then return to players have to do charitable work. If you want to eliminate the Wild Wild West,

I think collectives need to go away. I think NIL purpose was great. If a player, like a Marvin Harrison Jr., if Marvin Harrison Jr. can get a job at a car dealership, selling cars, selling autograph, selling jerseys, that's called capitalism, and that's great. But I'm like you, I think when you start saying, okay, I'm recruiting a 17-year-old

and he has an agent and this school's offered him 20,000 a month we need to go to 25,000 a month getting. I don't know what else you call that other than cheating. That's not what the intent of NIL is. That's not what the purpose is. I think once a player

has earned that right and he has value, which is that's the whole purpose of name and likeness, I think it's fantastic. It should have been done a long time ago. But that's not what's happening right now. There's a lot of other stuff There is that happening, but the fact that they're paying players to go to schools, you know, that's very clear.

The rulebook says, don't do that. You know, Ohio State's in an interesting space where, you know, this is a discussion I had with a Buckeye fan a couple years ago, and I said, the receiving recruit, first of all, the Buckeyes have never recruited better. Okay, so the recruiting through the roof. But their wide receiver recruiting is insane. I mean, it's just all five-star guys. And I said, I wonder if when you have that much talent in your receiving room in college, it doesn't, if you're Ryan Day, influence practice.

And not that you would try to be more finesse, but when you've got these Marvin Harris, I mean, literally, they're all first round NFL talents that it's nothing against the running backs or the tight ends. But Ohio State, they've literally shifted from a linebacker power program to the fastest. you know, the fastest team in the country where they're receiving course better than half the NFL. And I do wonder that if their talent is so great on the perimeter now, urban, is it possible that it is affecting practice and sort of the physicality of the program that they have gotten more of a speed than a brute team? Or is that just nonsense and it doesn't work that way? No, I think that's very observant. That kind of happened to me in Florida.

we started recruiting a speed and I always made a comment I wanted to be the fastest team in America and then you get good news and bad news is good news you have the most talented players in the country bad news they got to touch the ball and so you have to get that ball in our hands I'm not saying Ohio State's less physical

but I'm saying you have a group and you are correct Brian Hartline has recruited and I did this a long time I've never seen the level that the quarterback and receivers are recruited in Ohio State right now everyone's a first-round draft big Everyone.

Everyone's a five-star, but you have to get the ball in their hands. And, you know, the good thing is they're loaded a tailback this year, too. But I would not say that turns into a finesse game, but it turns into a game that you've got to be creative, whether it be handed to them, throw it to them, throw screens to them. They have got to, your job as a head coach, get the best players the ball. Yeah. Finally, there's been some discussion that these California teams will go into the Midwest, and they won't be as physical.

And I do think, you know, having grown up with a PAC 12, it was, we were going four wide a long time ago. And, I mean, your flex offenses at Utah, like, it's always been a creative region. We didn't always have the best players, but it's always been a coaching region. A lot of coaches in the PAC have gone to the NFL. And so I don't know. I think they'll be fine in the Big Ten. But when you, you know, you coached Utah and faced Oregon's and cows when Tedford was around.

I mean, you know Pac-12 football. you faced, you know, USC and those kind of teams. Is Big Ten football? Is it a little different? When you get that, you know, that cruddy weather in November, do you have to build your team differently if you're USC or UCLA? So when we, my last two years at Ohio State, we played USC in the Cotton Bowl and then Washington in the Rose Bowl.

So we saw every game. And I felt the skill positions were about the same. when you get to the offensive and defense alliance, that's where I thought Ohio State, that's where, and we did. You know, they were unable to block the BOSA's and the Chase Youngs and not many people can, but you just saw a difference in the offensive and defense alliance. For USC and UCLA, Washington, Oregon to compete, and you did bring up weather,

that will be a factor. They're going to have to get much better in the offensive defense alliance. I just noticed a little bit of a drop-off in the last few years that, and I talked to several colleagues that coached out west, they're not as easy to find as they used to be out west in high school. And I don't know why. I know you have a theory. I remember you gave me a theory on that.

Yeah. That you just, it's hard to find Lyman out west. Yeah, yeah, it is. I'd ask you one more thing. Colorado and Dion Sanders are going to be on Fox.

Now, I think TCU lost a lot of talent, but I still think TCU is going to be a handful for Colorado. I don't know how many players they have, but you were out there recently. What am I supposed to, supposed to expect from D. out in the Buffalo. I don't know how many players do they have?

I mean, I know Dian Sanders a long time. I've always loved Dian Sanders. I respect him. We get along. I called him up. I was out west. We have you the first two games. He was more than gracious to have me out there. The most underrated people, obviously you got your players. The most underrated people in football are the assistant coaches. And he's hired really good coaches. I went to the meetings. I watched him practice.

They have, I believe, 70 new players. So I call this thing a grand experiment. And I'm telling you, Colin, I mean, that was not what I expected. I thought we'd see, you know, I didn't know what to expect, but I saw a very good team. I saw talented players. His son's an excellent quarterback. They got a, Travis Hunter is one of the, you know, I looked at Prime, and I said, man, I've had one of those. I called Percy Harvin.

I just pushed him to the side. You don't need to practice him much longer. He's that good. So if they can, depending their life. lacking, Colin is death. Yeah. If they can stay healthy, they have a tough schedule. They're going to make some waves in the pack 12.

Yeah, I can't wait to watch it. So I think it's TCU, it's on Fox. It's Dion Sanders in Colorado and that cowboy hat. I don't know what to expect, but I'm going to be watching it. Urban, it's great to see you as always. You're indoors in Florida where you need to be today because it's almost 100 degrees and humid, so it's great seeing you. Great seeing you, Colin.

Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, I will say this, because it's been a big discussion. on what do you do with like USC, UCLA? Washington, Oregon will be fine. They play in cold, windy, wet weather all the time. But UCLA, you know, they're practicing in 75, 80 degrees in Bel Air. And then you go to Wisconsin, Camp Randall at night, and it's 27 degrees, and there's snowflakes.

It's a whole different thing. So I, you know, I don't know what to expect. I can't wait, though. 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.

I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

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

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

or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and a 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 Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill,

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

Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Ryan with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Turn our attention to the NFL.

Mike McDaniel's first year in Miami showed the potential Tua and the dolphins have to be a true contender. Tua talk to Peter King about what his coach does to bring the best out of the team. and here's what he said. Mike McDaniel heightened the joy of the game. We have so much fun. If you were to ask me this question two years ago, you probably wouldn't never have seen our guys get excited as they do on the sideline

because it felt like more of a job. Hmm. Pretty telling there about the difference between the two head coaches. Well, McDaniels is, first of all, he's very young. So I think generationally, you know, Flores came from that new. England culture, which is really rigid and really harsh and very much play within a system. McDaniels is more the Kyle Shanahan, be clever, creative, get in space. I also think age matters.

I think, you know, Sean McVey is, you know, not that much older than a lot of his players. And I think the modern player is different. He's motivated differently. You have to coach him a little differently. That's okay. I mean, the moderate employee, you know, they want to work remotely. You got to kind of convince him to come to work. So, yeah, I mean, I think, I also think offensive coaches are different than defensive coaches.

Like, defensive coaches are we win with toughness and don't make mistakes. Offensive coaches tend to believe we win with players and being creative. So I think it would be more fun if I was an offensive player to play with an offensive coach. They see the world differently. Sure. And that offensive coach has obviously brought out the best in Tua. His numbers were dramatically improved last season from passing yards per game, touchdown to interception ratio. even passer rating, I mean, very clearly, a completely different player who showed a ton of promise when he was upright in his first season with Mike McDaniel.

Tua doesn't have the biggest arm and it's not going to do a lot of stuff off script. But he doesn't, in Mike McDaniel's system, he's not going to burn you. He's not going to make a lot of mistakes. He had eight picks. So, I mean, my takeaway is it's a little like Alex Smith. I don't need 40 touchdowns. But you've got to keep the interceptions low, and I'm good with that. And I think Miami, I said before, if two have placed 15 games, I think they can win the division.

Absolutely. The Saints are expected to sign a running back Kareem Hunt and linebacker Anthony Barr. Both deals are reportedly pending physicals. New Orleans was looking for depth at both positions this year, following injuries to the linebacking group and a three-game suspension for Alvin Camara. Everybody, they have really good roster. I don't know if I have troubles with that franchise right now. They got players. I don't doubt that. They got all sorts of players. Yeah, they definitely, they have great playmakers, and it's also just a big question about the division and the conference as a whole.

Also, I don't know what Deshaun Watson is. It was obviously rusty last year, but when he left the AFC, I thought he was the elite. And then here comes Trevor Lawrence, and, you know, all of a sudden Joe Burrow emerges. And then, you know, now all of a sudden it's like Justin Herbert's becoming a star. Russell Wilson moves over. Aaron Rogers moves over. Is he a top eight quarterback in the AFC? I'm not sure he is. I mean, again, it's amazing in this league. Three years ago when he's playing a lot, you're like, oh, he's a top five AFC quarterback.

Is he top 10 now? I mean, Lamar, Burrow, Herbert, Allen. I mean, if Tua has Mike McDaniel, his numbers will be elite. Aaron Rogers. Russell Wilson should pop with Sean Payton. So I don't know what Deshaun Watson really is. He's competent, but I don't know if he's a top 10 AFC quarterback, and that's not a criticism of him.

I just don't know if he's that good anymore. It's fair. It certainly didn't look good in that short half season or less than half season in Cleveland. And we'll wrap up with some baseball here. Yankees manager, Aaron Boone, was fed up with the strike calls and the loss to the White Sox last night. And the 18-bing Boone was ejected after yelling at the umpire when Anthony Volpey was called out on strikes after he was thrown out. He ran to the home plate, very heated argument included an imitation of the umps three-strike call. things are slowly melting down for the Yankees. Not so great for New York baseball as a whole either.

Yeah, they just don't have enough hitters after Aaron Judge. They just don't have enough professional hitters. They've struggled to score run. Remember about a month ago, we went and looked at the batting averages in the American League, and the Yankees were hitting 231. And by the way, the A is a AAA team, we're hitting like 223. It's like, what's happened? My whole life, the Yankees have never.

not always had great pitching, but they've always had hitters. They've always had sticks. And it's just like, Aaron Judge got hurt, and it's like, wow, there is just nothing there. And if you look at the last nine games, they're three and six, and the overall wild card standings in the AL, they are slowly falling out of the hunt. They're down to five and a half games back of the playoffs, and it's not looking like there is any immediate turnaround on the horizon. Wow. You know that. Ryan with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Herd line. 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. Listen to comeback stories. I'm Darren Waller. You may know me best as a tied-in for the New York Giants. You may also know me for my story of overcoming addiction and alcoholism.

You may have heard a few of my tracks as an artist or a producer. You may have seen the work that I've done through my foundation. And you may know my friend and co-hosts Donnie Starkins as well. He's a mindfulness teacher, a yoga instructor, a life coach, a man fully invested in seeing people reach their fullest potential. And we've come to form this platform of comeback stories to really highlight not only our own adversity, but adversity in the lives of well-known games. with amazing stories. Catch us every week on comeback stories on the IHeart Radio app,

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

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard 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 Jay 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

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. Want to thank Nick Wright, Michael Vick, and Urban Meyer for stopping by today. Very active show. A lot of fun. So we get ready.

It's time for the Magic Gateball, which is there's a lot of movement. So the preseason starts on Thursday with a couple of games. Then there's a couple of games on Friday. Then it's a jam-pack weekend. So it's, this is sort of, we're ready to go. And coaches like Sean McVeigh, who have in his career not played starters in the preseason, his team is so young defensively, he's going to play a lot of starters or potential starters. So there's been a trend in the NFL not to play a lot of starters in preseason. But I mean, CJ Stroud quarterback's going to play. Anthony Richardson, Bryce Young. So you've got to play some of these young quarterbacks. Last year, we were. was Kenny Pickett, remember? That was the quarterback we were watching. Now we got three new guys.

Got to get them out there. Sean Payton said Russell Wilson is going to play. Not sure who the Niners are going to play at quarterback. The Jets are going to play Zach Wilson. So I think it's going to be actually a pretty hardy preseason with a lot of starters or people who have started before getting time. So let's go to the Magic 8 ball. You ready to go, Ryan? Let's do it. Let's start things off here. The NFL MVP will come from the AFC. Well, don't count on it. There could be Patrick Mahomes fatigue. He won the Super Bowl and MVP last season.

Also, Jalen Hertz was the runner-up. We've got some really interesting offenses in the NFC. Like Jared Goff, believe it or not, if you look at that offense, they're going to put up major points. I would slow down on that. Sean Payton will win Coach of the Year. I would say ask again later. Brian Dayball won it first year with the Giants, but there's a lot of room for improvement.

So not only were they 5 and 12, but Russell Wilson deteriorated, and they were like the worst offense in the league. So if you just show marked improvement and you're a top 10 offense, Sean Payton, I think it's reasonable to say, would get a lot of love in the coach of the year. Plus, he's well-known, he's outspoken,

he'll be a topic all year. A team led by a rookie quarterback will make the playoffs. Whoa! Signs point to yes. I think Carolina gets in. Weak division. Now remember, the Steelers in a great division, 9 and 8, just missed the playoffs with Kenny Pickett. So I think Carolina is actually a pretty good football team. I think their front seven's good. They ran the ball at times okay. And I think Bryce Young's really smart and really good. And I think he'll pick the system up fast. Frank Reich is always on a good job with Andrew Luff. Phillip Rivers, Carson Wentz, refining quarterbacks.

So I think Bryce will come in, won't make a bunch of mistakes, winnable division. So I think Bryce Young is going to make the playoffs. Wow, all right. How about a team will go a perfect 17 and 0 this season? Yeah, that's a pretty obvious one. That is very doubtful. Listen, only eight quarterbacks started all 17 games last year. So it's like even if you're a good team, people get banged up.

And there's some great quarterbacks in the AFC, but it feels like most of them are in the AFC. And so it just, you could be a great football. You could be Kansas City could lose four games, close games. They almost lost to the Texans last year. They did lose to the Colts. So I just, I think the days of undefeated football teams, last year Philadelphia was really good.

They got a streak of like below average quarterbacks. This year, their schedule is tougher, so I don't think it happens. A team will go a not-so-pefutable. perfect 0 and 17 this season. It looks like here, my sources say no. I don't think there's a terrible team in the league. Now, I think Tampa is going to start slowly and move at the trading deadline, move off pieces.

What I think will happen is that this is going to be a crazy NFL trade deadline and the reason being Caleb Williams. So what's going to happen if teams start 1 in 5 or 1 in 6, they're going to be a crazy NFL trade deadline, They're moving parts. And Tampa's got a lot of really interesting pieces they could move. So Tampa could get really bad really quickly. So I think keep your eye on Tampa. But other than that, Kyler Murray's going to play for Arizona.

He's going to win football games. He's too good. So I say no. Zero teams in the NFC South will have a winning record. That's very doubtful. Saints have a nine and a half win total. There's four new quarterbacks. There's new coaches.

again, I think even Atlanta, which people could, Atlanta's over, under's like seven and a half, eight, Bejohn Robinson, Kyle Pitts, Drake London, offensive coach, top six, seven offensive line. Atlanta's going to score points. And we consider Atlanta to be kind of a bottom seven, eight team. Atlanta will put up points. So I don't think, you know, we say this all the time.

The best division's never as good as we think. Somebody in the AFC East is not going to play well, and then maybe the Jets are Miami. me. In the NFC South, I know we all think it's terrible. You're going to end up seeing some pretty good offensive players in that division. Jordan Love will lead the league in interceptions. Ask again later. I have never seen him. He's got three touchdowns and three picks. I have no idea. Matt LaFleure generally likes to start his offense with some power running, and they have Dylan and Aaron Jones. So, and a good offensive line. So I think they're going to run the ball a lot.

And I also think they went and drafted two-tied-ins, so it's going to be a lot of stuff underneath. They do have a young receiving core. The schedule's not easy. But I just do not know enough about Jordan Love to have an incredibly strong opinion. I've been told there's not a lot of juice, but who knows? I'd like to see some footage. Baker Mayfield starts every game for the Bucks. Don't count on it.

reports say that Kyle Trask and he are in a, you know, in a battle for the number one job. Also, again, if they teeter, if they wobble early, they're moving parts. And at that point, I'm not sure Baker is going to be, want to be upright. So this is the one team in the league. I really do believe. When you're trying to figure out your quarterback and you're already three weeks into camp, Tampa, and again, it's okay if you're bad in pro sports, if there's a LeBron James or a, you know, a remarkable player available, Caleb Williams, Andrew, John Elway. So Tampa is it a very quick reboot?

Ezekiel Elliott will play with the Cowboys this season? Outlook not so good. They've got a new identity with a new offensive coordinator. Zeke is 28 years old. It is odd to see him playing another uniform. him. He's only 28. It's not like he's Brady, like when he moved to Tampa. But Zeke is just, to me, Ohio State and the Dallas Cowboys. That's just what he feels like. I do think he'll find a home. He's a great blocking back. He's got really pretty decent hands. He no longer has the burst, so you're not going to pay him a lot of money. But I've got to tell you something, if you're trying to protect your quarterback and somebody out of the backfield that can catch that has NFL experience, people say in Dallas he was like kind of the soul of the team. People liked him. Bryce Young finishes top 10 in passing yards. Ask again later.

Mack Jones was 13th. Now, no rookie quarterback finished in the top 20 in passing yards last year, but Kenny Pickett played very well at the end of the year, and Kenny Pickett has a defensive coach. So Bryce Young, Frank Reich, a little better O-line than people think. I don't think there's a lot of great defenses in that division. I mean, I could be way high on Bryce Young.

could be way high on Bryce Young. It's certainly possible. But I watched him, I saw him come out of high school. I saw him come out of college, and he picked things up so quickly. He is just cognitively, very capable of picking up an offense. There we are. All right. Urban Meyer was fantastic.

We'll put him on the podcast. He was terrific. Nick Wright was, as always, Michael Vick stopped by. I want to thank Michael for stopping by in his off season. I don't know what to make a Dion Sanders and Colorado. I have no idea. I'm encouraged that they have 70 players. Dion's son, pretty good quarterback.

Draftable quarterback, so that's interesting. Football's back in Boulder. See you tomorrow. 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, 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 experience. excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfilled 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 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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.