The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Herd - Hour 3 - Who is under the most pressure?

Episode Date: April 3, 2023

USC head coach Lincoln Riley joins the show to discuss their expectations for the upcoming season with returning Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams at quarterback Which NBA teams are under the most pressure?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Number three, live in Los Angeles, it's the hurt. Wherever you may be, however you may be watching or listening. Thanks for making us part of your day. There's a lot of options out there. Rick Buecker, Albert Breer, both stopped by. Lincoln Riley is going to stop by in about a minute. He's just sitting down at USC. So I quite enjoyed the women's national championship game.

I thought it was fantastic. And I've said this before. I've watched women's basketball before, obviously. I lived in Connecticut for 10 years, so I went to some games. It was a dominant program. And, you know, Pat Summit in Tennessee, obviously. So I'm aware of it. I've seen it.

I don't report a lot on it. But what you had is a kind of a remarkable catalyst, Caitlin Clark, who got people kind of into the game. And then once you watch the game, you're like, oh, the quality is really good. And I said this earlier. No sport in America over the last 20. years has just gotten better and not all sports get better. Like you think all sports get.

Boxing, there's not as many great boxers because there's more money to make in other sports without getting your head beat in. So like boxing is not as gifted in terms of overall talent as it used to be. It's just not. You know, I grew up, there was a lot of American tennis stars. Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, who I saw at the grocery store a week ago. I don't think Americans men tennis feels women have been great, but American men's tennis doesn't feel as dynamic or robust as it did years ago. No sport has benefited more in the last 25 years than women's basketball,

and the ratings are proving it because now people understand how cool it is for women to be pushed into sports. It was always cool. It took a long time for a lot of people to understand it. And so you're getting these great athletes. If you watched that game yesterday, the quality, the speed, the twitchiness, the athleticism, I mean, they've closed the gap with men's basketball. Men's basketball is struggling to keep their good players for more than a year.

And the young lady at Iowa, who's like Steph Curry, she's coming back next year. So their stars keep coming back. So you get the best players who are in college like three and four years. So the quality of women's college basketball, and the ratings are indicating it, it's very good. You're getting junior and senior-laden teams. Many players can go play at the WNBA professional level, whereas men's basketball, it's a little bit the opposite. If you're great, boom, you're out. You're off to the G League.

You're off to the NBA. You're off to somewhere to make money. Well, Lincoln Riley is entering his second season at USC. They were two plays away from being a 13-1 football team, but they were 11 and 3. and to turn around a program that quickly, I think took even Lincoln Riley fans a little by surprise. Lincoln Riley now joining us live. So you just, I saw this, so I follow recruiting. I've said this before.

I am on that stuff all the time. So you got Deuce Robinson, number one tight end. You got the number one receiver. You got the number one quarterback. So obviously you've got a very effective. recruiting pitch. But when I think of you, I don't think, well, Lincoln's not really a pitch guy. You know, you kind of more ethereal and cerebral. So there is something you're doing to connect with these kids, but I don't see you as a salesman. And I mean that as a compliment. So what is your

pitch? I mean, especially last year when it was basically on a plan, you're recruiting some of these kids off a four and eight program. What is your pitch? Well, that's one of the fun things about coming here, Colin. I mean, this school, obviously, Los Angeles, this entire setup that we have here in a lot of ways sells itself. I mean, the best thing that we can say is, look, it brought all of us here. And obviously, a lot of members on this staff came from a lot of great places where, you know, we were successful and things were going well. We were at really good programs. And so for all of us to want to leave some of the things that we were at to come here, obviously says how much we feel about it. Yeah, and I think you had some key guys in this first class that wanted to be a part of it.

I think understood the opportunity at hand here at USC. And now what's happening is guys have seen some of the momentum. They've seen that it wasn't all hype, that it is real, and nobody can deny that. And so I think that's even added to it. And you can really fill the momentum right now. Listen, I'm from a small town. I love L.A., and you're from a small town in Texas, and you fit in L.A. are you surprised even a little bit that because i mean you you think about going from norman to

l.a culturally size uh are you surprised i mean is there ever been anything where you thought you know wasn't this traffic where i'm from like what is the movement personally like for you and your family it's been great you know we've loved it we have embraced uh all parts of living here the people here have embraced us um and we and let's another place we've lived have been great too. This is great just in a different way. The life away from the office is so good in so many different ways. Just the experiences and being able to have a little bit of a normal life when we're not at work has been tremendous. And yeah, even in a year here where the weather's been a little bit unusual, right? We've still just loved every single part of it. So yeah,

I think some of the negative things that you hear outside about L.A. When you're an outsider coming in, to me, have not really been much of a factor. I mean, we've just enjoyed every part of it and really couldn't imagine living anywhere else right now. I saw Caleb Williams at the Super Bowl and his dad, and he said, Colin, I'm not as good as you guys are making me out to be. And I thought it was a really humbling, funny moment. But it is difficult because he's going to be the star of college football. he is and that's just the reality of it. How are there any, it's different.

Last year you were introducing him, unless you were a diehard to a lot of us. You were introducing him. Okay, now he's a star. And now come expectations. How concerned are you that we're all piling a lot on your young quarterback? Well, that's part of it. I mean, with the success is going to come that. And I think it puts it back on, you know, Caleb, on the

staff here, myself, all of us, the setup around him to continue to educate him and get him ready because you're right, this is going to be a different challenge. I mean, he's had some, you know, he's been a high profile player, you know, as a recruit and then playing that first year at Oklahoma. But this is a, you know, it's a totally different animal after, you know, the year we had. And when you win a Heisman, it changes things. And he's, it'll be a little bit of a new experience for me, too, because the other guys that we've had that have won it. And obviously that was, those were their final seasons with us. So we've spent a lot of time on it.

We really have. We've tried to be very deliberate and intentional about, you know, educating him, putting him in the right situations, making sure that we're doing our part for him to allow him to continue to improve. And that's what he's got to do. He's got to continue to improve. You certainly want to embrace something like that. But I think for him and for all of us, it's, you know, the Heisman's over.

All that was last year and that's great. And we're glad it was a great start for the program. It was a great year for him individually. but we're on to bigger and better things. And so we've tried to keep the momentum there. We've tried to keep the focus there and really try to support him because there is a lot of attention right now. I don't think you can completely overhaul a roster in a year. I think what you did was you elevated clearly the offensive side.

And again, the transfer portal, you don't get everything you want. Like a lot of people want great defensive linemen and there aren't many out there. Some criticisms have been it was a poor tackling team. I push back on you can't solve it all in six months. You need two portals, two classes to fill in gaps. But when you heard the criticism of your defense, how did it land for you? Well, to me, I think the number one thing that showed up was our lack of competitive depth defensively. We had some games, especially early in the year, we played really well, several games that defensively won the game for us.

I mean, without a doubt, as the offense was starting or really attempting to find a rhythm, the back half of the year, I thought you saw a lack of depth, and that showed up. You know, guys get worn down. Same guys are playing all of the snaps. You have a couple of injuries, and all of a sudden you're not filling it in with the type of quality that you want to have. And then I think it really showed up in the front seven for us. And so, I mean, you can look at our roster right now and see the biggest difference from last year to this year is the front seven is, drastically different.

And we've added quality bodies. We've developed some of the guys here in house. And we knew, without a doubt, that's how we were going to have to get better. And regardless of the results in those last couple of games, we knew within the walls, we had to take some big steps. And halfway here through spring practice, is it where we want it to be down the line? No. But have we taken some big strides there?

And are there some bigger bodies and more of them and more competition at those spots? absolutely. Jordan Addison is obviously going to get drafted. Many speculate he'll be drafted in the first round. And so I saw some of him at Pitt, and then obviously I'll watch them at USC. And he's not a striking figure in terms of size. I take this. So people often say, well, this guy doesn't run this or doesn't run that.

And I'm always like, he's open, like Cooper Cup. I'm always like, he sure open a lot. Travis Kelly. So when I watch Jordan Addison, my takeaway is whatever he's doing, in his route tree. He's wide open a lot. If you were a GM and I said, hey, what about Jordan Addison? What does make him special? He's got a great feel for the game. We had him for such a limited time. I mean, we had him the two summer months and really ended up happening about half the season. You know, he had the really bad high ankle sprain at the end of the first Utah game

down there at their place. And he really, he came back and played against UCLA, a little bit against Notre Dame, and it really wasn't the same a whole lot after that. And so, but very, so with that being said, like, did a phenomenal job of learning our stuff. He's a guy that doesn't take a lot of reps. He can play different positions. He can play inside, play outside. You know, he has just an elite feel for the game.

He's good after the catch. He's a really good player. He is. we've been lucky and been able to coach some really good wide outs in the past 15 years, and he stacks right up there with all those guys. Your schedule is incredibly backloaded. So as I look at it, you're going to score a lot of points early, and there's going to be a lot of pressure,

and then all of a sudden, here come your Utah's and your Oregon's, and Washington's bringing back a Heisman quarterback as well, UCLA the rivalry game. When you look at that schedule, how strategic do you, you get or is it as simple as here's the game go play it or or do you look at your depth and you look at that schedule and think we got to come in with a strategy on this thing because your last six games are pretty brutal Notre Dame Utah Washington at Oregon UCLA and you'll have a you could have a Pac-12 championship game or a playoff game absolutely I think I think it puts

pressure and responsibility on our team that we've got to really do a great job of continuing to improve throughout the year right I mean I mean I mean, that's, you're right. And listen, there's going to be some teams in the front half of that schedule that emerge and are really good football teams too. I mean, we all know how that shifts throughout the year. But, yeah, we're going to need to play a lot of our best ball as a season goes on. So this team, regardless of how the first half goes, we're going to have to be really geared up for that. And that was an area that, you know, we were a little too inconsistent at the end of the year last year.

So it's a great challenge for our team, our program, to take that next step and be at our very best in the, in the second half of the year. And that's already been a focus point for us throughout spring and really even in the locker room of the last game. And from then on, that's been the number one thing talked about in these walls is that we've got to take those steps. And I think we have very people to do it.

You know, it's interesting, Lincoln. You know, my friends and I talk about recruiting. And I always, I say, it didn't matter if it was Pete Carroll. It doesn't matter if it's Lincoln Riley. It doesn't matter if it was John Robinson. the greatest coaches in college football, Nick Saban, Dabo Sweeney, they miss on 25 to 30% of their high school kids. You just don't know. It's high school competition.

And my argument is the transfer portal, you may not get a star, but you're not going to get a total miss because you got tape. Why not going forward? 12 high schooler, 12 transfer guys. You made the chemistry work. Like, why do you have to go back to the traditional route? Why? The evaluation of the player is much easier out of the portal. As you said, you're getting to watch them against college competition,

and most of these guys have been good enough to earn jobs or be able to earn those reps. So that part's easier. The toughest part about the portal is evaluating the character and the person, especially if you had no previous relationship with them before, because the portal goes so quickly. You know, you take, like Duce Robinson, for example, that we just signed up. We recruited Deuce for three and a half years. I mean, we know a whole lot about Deuce.

And we know the quality of person. Like there's no concern on that whatsoever. Whereas a portal guy, you're getting information quickly and you're having to make a decision quickly because a lot of these guys are getting in the portal and wanting to make their minds up and get enrolled at the next institution in a short time frame. So I think getting the right person and the right fit is the biggest challenge with the port. and it's kind of opposite with the high school guys. Finally, Caleb Williams, I thought the most important moment of the year was Oregon State. I thought Oregon State came in with a great game plan, got you guys a little off center for a half.

Things weren't going great. Protection wasn't perfect. You got a couple guys banged up. Your defense actually saved the day. And he, I don't know if the word is moody, but he had a moment on the sidelines where he was really discouraged with Caleb. He wasn't happy with Caleb. And you and I, you guys had conversations. And then, and it's hard.

You're 19, 20, 21-year-old kid. It's TV. You're not playing well. You're upset. You're not getting protection. And something happened in that moment where he just said, okay, I don't have time to worry about anything that happened. Rear view mirror means nothing. It's all windshield.

And I thought in that moment, I was like, I'm a little worried what I'm seeing here. Oh, I'm not. Go back to that. Am I overvaluing that moment? For me, that was the key moment. I felt like, okay, he overcame that. It wasn't a perfect game. It was on the road.

A couple calls didn't go your way. That felt big to me. That was the moment. Am I overstating that? That was a huge moment for him. Because if you take even a bigger, look at a bigger lens, he had some games at Oklahoma the previous year on the road that he didn't play his best either. And that was a big challenge for us going into this next year was great quarterbacks find a way to win on the road.

You just do. That's what separates you. And some of our conversations in that moment were this is what we said we were going to do on the road. It's never easy. And, yeah, you may not have handled this stuff well as a freshman last year like we want you to, but you're not a freshman anymore. So if we're going to be different, like this is the time right now. And I give him a lot of credit because he did. And that two-minute drive at the end of the game, he made some really phenomenal plays.

I think it showed some maturity that even when he didn't have his A-game and wasn't at his best, he was able to really pull it all together there at the end. So I think for his confidence, it was a big step and really gave him a lot of confidence in playing on the road. He played very well on the road, really, the rest of the year. Well, you have a nice view. I saw your house on the Internet. You have a very nice view, so you don't need to go on a ton of vacations. You don't need to go on a ton of vacations.

but is this the time now? Do you guys get a break? Because I don't like what college football does now. They make you guys recruit all the time. It's just too much. If you want great coaches to stay, give them a life. When is your hangout, camp, do something, travel, not worry about football. When does that happen for you?

Yeah, two windows now. So after the second signing day, February now is a dead period the whole month, which is a great thing. So that's a chance to get out. out, get the staff out of the office, get away, get some family time, and then we'll do it a little bit in July, again, after it's kind of all based on the recruiting calendar. So dead period in July, although we play week zero this year, so it's going to be a quick summer. Yeah, great senior. Congrats on Deuce and the recruiting class. Can't wait to watch Caleb and the

offense and the Trojans. And I appreciate you stopping by, Lincoln. Thanks, my friend. Fight on. All right. Lincoln Riley. Good stuff. They just landed a couple days ago. they beat Georgia for the top tied-in in the country. So top-tide-end, top receiver, top quarterback, that's what they do. It is interesting that I say this all the time. If you've got flaws, because everybody last year said USC can't tackle, the defense is no good. They went 11 and 3 off a 4-8 season, and were two plays from 13 and 1. If you're going to have flaws, whether in the architecture of your roster or things you don't like,

they can be on the defensive side. Like Alabama now will go play Tennessee and when they play Henan Hooker and NFL quarterback get completely shredded. I know everybody you can look at George and say, well, what about Georgia? Ohio State, move the ball up and down the field on Georgia.

If you get an NFL quarterback, Ryan Day and C.J. Stroud move the ball up and down the field on Georgia. Like if you really have elite offensive players, nobody's going to stop you. Now, it doesn't mean you're going to win all your games. You may have other flaws in your program, but if you're going to make mistakes or have limitations or weaknesses

in 2023, they can't be on offense. 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 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 a little kill? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now.

Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And then there were two. Tonight's national championship game comes with a chance to win 5,000.

dollars for free playing Fox Bet Super Six. Download the Super Six app on your phone and enter your six predictions. If all six are correct, you'll be dancing too. I don't know if Yukon covers the spread, but Yukon's winning tonight. It's like when TCU had that emotional win over Michigan, they weren't going to answer the bell a week later for Georgia, an upset win. If you have Iowa upset South Carolina, there's going to be pulling. back against LSU, which was just a better team, is for San Diego State to be down, come flying back, win on the last second, they're going to pull back tonight emotionally. They'll probably be very competitive early, but Yukon's going to win that game. I'm not sure if they cover the

lines like seven and a half points. San Diego State probably keeps it close for a while, but my guess is Yukon rolls tonight. Ryan with the news. No, no, no, no, turn on the news. This is the herd line news. All right, we'll kick things off this hour with the NBA. The Warriors started off strong against a Nuggets team without Nicola Yokic on Sunday night, leading by 10 after the first quarter. But by the end of the second, they had opened the door for Denver and weren't able to keep up that intensity before going on to lose 112 to 110.

Yeah. The loss dropped Golden State to 9 and 30 on the road this season. Which is just insane. Yes. And again, you know when something's so bad, There's got to be a reason for it. Like it would be one thing if they were like, you know, you play 41 road games. It'd be one thing if you were like, you know, this team was 17 and whatever you would be.

23 or whatever it is, 24. There is bad almost as the rockets and tanking teams on the road with Steph Curry, Clay Thompson, Draymond Green. So that tells you it's probably a chemistry issue in that, and I point to Jordan Poole. many of you, when Draymond and Poole, that punch, Steve Kerr was not mad at the punch as much as he was mad at got out, and that Draymond and Steph are the keys to the team. That's the key to this team. Jordan Poole's talented, but long-term,

because Clay is having such a great year and Steph's got three or four great years left. I would argue they're going to move off Jordan Poole, get picks or get a player, because some of this, you can blame Drayman. He's argued you the best defensive player. He's an offensive catalyst. And Steve Kerr will tell those close to him. Outside of Steph, Draymond is easily the most important player on this team and during this run, much of it for practice and off-the-court guidance.

And Steve Kerr spoke about this disappointing loss. Middle of the second quarter, we had total control of the game, and we stopped playing. And we just lost our focus at both ends. We had control the game mid-second quarter and just handed that back to them. And then it's a game. And we gave them life and they took advantage of it. We were mindless out there and we weren't tough enough, not disciplined enough, and ultimately didn't deserve to win the game.

Yeah, it's hard to explain why exactly this team is so bad on the road. Maybe one reason recently has been the absence of Andrew Wiggins. He is reportedly nearing a return to the Warriors and is expected to be back earlier this week, but no timetable yet on in a specific game, return to game action. I was told about three weeks ago he was not going to return for the regular season. You know, they were hopeful on the playoffs, but at that time, we didn't know if they're a playoff team. So they feel very much to be kind of a one-and-dunner without Wiggins. With Wiggins, they'll be better.

But how you get in game shape in two or three weeks, totally different than being in shape. So not even just game shape, but playoff game shape, which isn't even another level beyond just that. Yeah. So we'll turn our attention to the NBA, or sorry, the NFL, and Brock Purdy. He had elbow surgery three weeks ago to repair that torn UCL off that injury he suffered in the NFC championship game. He gave an update on his rehab, saying that it has been going well so far. Protocol for his treatment is to begin throwing again three months post-surgery. And Purdy said that that is still the plan.

as of now. And the 49ers, we heard John Lynch last week speaking about the future of that team and that Brock Purdy, when healthy, should be right in line to be taking those first team reps once again. Trey Lance working to come back from his ankle injury, and they also signed Sam Darnold to a one-year deal this offseason. Yeah. So for the Trey Lance fans, Brock Purdy's not going to be around for OTA. Right? So there's opportunities here for Tray Lance, who's dealing with an injury as well. I don't know what his certain situation is right now in terms of playing. He was recovering from that ankle injury that he suffered.

We haven't necessarily heard of any setbacks, so he should be ready to go and taking reps. The Niners are going to play who allows them to win. And Kyle Shanahan knows more about the team than you and I do. So here's your opportunity. Because I got news for you. All they care about in that organization with that roster, and that roster is aging. who wins the games. So a lot of people, oh, you did this with a draft pick, you cannot worry about it.

The people I trust closest to the organization are telling me Purdy today would start if he was healthy. He has the trust of the coaching staff to move the chains more consistently, and that's as simple as it is. Doesn't matter where you were drafted or what I gave up. Move the chains. Yeah. They have a narrow window of a lot of these elite players, the Christian. McAfree, Trent Williams, George Kettle, Debo Samuel. They're a tough physical team. They're in that win now mode.

They can't afford to be playing the long game with any of their quarterbacks in this situation. They need a guy who's ready to go right now. And we'll finish up with some NFL draft talk. Colin, you have your mock draft that you said is written in stone, ready to go for tomorrow. But as of right now, we're looking at the Carolina Panthers who traded up to the first overall pick in the draft to get their quarterback of the future. their choice is likely coming down between CJ Stroud or Bryce Young. Yes. Peter King says there are, quote, several influential voices within the Panthers organization

who prefer Young to Stroud. Frank Reich told King that height is not going to be a huge factor for him. However, Reich has never had a starting quarterback as an NFL head coach or offensive coordinator that was shorter than 6-2 as their listed height. Bryce Young coming in at 510 while Stroud comes in at 6.5.10 comes in at 6. Yes. I contend that if they believe that Stroud is 90% of Bryce Young, agility, which he's not, field vision, probably not. Accuracy probably is, then they would take him. But I do believe high school and college Bryce Young has been the best quarterback in his class, and I still think

he's the best quarterback. The more I think about this, I don't think the choice is that difficult. You take Bryce Young, you also in this draft, attack the offensive line. you're not going to win a ton of games early. The good news is it's a pretty feeble division and a weaker conference. But it would be hard for me to say, listen, I'm going to take the second best quarterback with the number one pick because of two inches. I mean, that's what it comes down to. Because Caleb Williams next year is six feet, six and a half.

So he's two inches taller. And so to me, the three quarterbacks over the next year that are the best quarterbacks are Bryce Young, Caleb Williams, Drake May. Caleb's not huge. Caleb's thicker. He's heavier, trunkier, but he's not that much taller. And so, and Caleb's a slam dunk. So the idea that I'm going to take the second, third, or fourth quarterback, over clearly the most successful quarterback high school in college because of that, I know you're not supposed to take undersized quarterbacks, but I'll say it again, not everybody's a 401k. If you told me I get four years from Bryce, stability and wins, I would take it by next year.

Fifth, sixth round. I could draft another guy for an insurance policy. Well, and that's exactly what the Panthers need at this point. I mean, that quarterback situation has just been a revolving door of an aging Cam Newton to the Baker-Mayfield to the PJ Walker, Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Darnold. It's about time that they just have at least a longer-term plan in place. And like you said, does that mean Bryce Young is going to be an all-pro level quarterback for 50? 15 years, no, but if they can get six good years, that is infinitely better than the situation that they've been in for the past five years in Carolina. So might as well go with something

you feel much more confident, much more comfortable with than just betting on upside. Because they've been trying to bet on upside for years and it hasn't necessarily paid off for them. Ryan with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd Lie News. I did see this. This story is funny. So Sean McVeage, the coach the L.A. Rams. And I think we all understand what I'm about to say. It's a head coach quarterback league. Quarterbacks probably 60% of it. Coach is probably 40% of it. Brady Belichick, Reed Mahomes. People have just decided that the L.A. Rams off a bad season are done. Well, Arizona's a tire fire in their division. The NFC's weaker. San Francisco doesn't quite know who the quarterback's

going to be. They're all young. And Seattle, I, I don't think it's going to duplicate a Gino-Smith magical year, not to that level. But if you look at what wins in the NFL, it's a wealthy non-meddling owner, check, a dominating defensive line presence, check, a great weapon, Cooper Cup, who was getting MVP consideration check, an offensive coach check, and a star quarterback check. Outside of Andy Reed and Mahomes, let's take them off the board. what is the best? They also have 11 picks, by the way,

so they got a chance here to find some gems in the draft. What is the best quarterback coach combo in the NFL? Take Reed Mahomes out. Well, Mike McDaniel and Tua, Tua is a concussion away from careers over. Aaron Rogers and Robert Sala? We don't know if he can coach. I mean, we think he defensively can coach.

He just has a losing record. Stafford and McVeigh. are number two. They are. John Harbaugh is a good coach. We don't know if Lamar's going to play for him. Josh Allen and McDermott? I thought he regressed at the end of last year.

We have questions if he can get the offensive line in the run game right. Sean Peyton and Russell Wilson could be good. We don't know. Shanahan and Brock Purdy? Again, start looking around. Who is the second best quarterback head coach combo? it's Stafford and McVeigh. So in the NFC and in the division that Arizona's a little lost,

and San Francisco's got their fingers crossed on Trey Lance and Brock Purdy's health, Sam Darnold's the backup, this is it. Sean McVey talking about, he thinks they're going to be okay, Stafford's going to be fine. I think just the competitor that he is, he loves the game. He loves to be able to go play, he loves to go compete. And I think when you look at some of the things that he had to navigate through last year, he's motivated to come back and respond and lead. That's what he's done for such a long period of time.

He certainly elevates everybody that he's around. And I think this is the first season in a long time, first off season in a long time that he's actually feeling good. He's been able to throw. He's been able to kind of start his rhythm and routine a little bit earlier than previous years. And he's got a good look in his eye, and I'm glad he's leading the way for us. Read Mahomes, McVeigh Stafford. I don't, I mean, Josh Allen's got a defensive.

coach. Aaron Rogers is going to have a defensive coach. I mean, you could say Joe Burrow and Zach Taylor, you guys all wanted to run Zach Taylor out of the league two years ago. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, it's me, Rob Parker. Check out my weekly MLB podcast inside the Parker for 22 minutes of pipe and hot baseball talk featuring the biggest names of newsmakers in the sport, whether you believe in analytics or the IT. we've got all the bases covered. New episodes drop every Thursday, so do yourself a favor and listen to Inside the Parker

with Rob Parker on the IHartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes,

for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'll say it.

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 big. 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're going to be.

You can find out on The Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jett. 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 you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack.

So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Discover credit cards into your first year automatically double all the cashback you've earned. Seriously, check it out. They double it. Discover.com slash match. So we only got like four games left for most teams, four or five games left in the regular season. We know who's good in the East, and the East is better than the West. The West, Denver's a runaway number one. They're very efficient.

They've got Yokic. They've got some depth. We don't know if they have a playoff successful coach yet. We'll wait and see. But they have been kind of the runaway number one most of the years. So we're going to play NBA pressure cooker because I do think pressure on certain teams can change. things. I think once you have a title like a Milwaukee or Golden State, it's less pressure. So here we go. Ryan, give me the team and I'll tell you the pressure. All right, let's start in the Eastern Conference,

one of the favorites. How much pressure is on the bucks to win the finals? I think it's medium pressure. A, they've already got a ring. They're also the oldest team in the league at 30 years old average. They're a very good road team. We know Janus is great. We know they've got a ring, and we know the East is loaded. So if you lose to the cellars, or you lose in the championship. I don't think they're going to make any massive changes. This is going to be a defense first. Yonis led, older than average team.

It's got a little bit of San Antonio Spur feel to it late in Duncan's career. Not a lot of pressure, medium pressure. What about the team that was in the NBA finals last season? How much pressure is on the Celtics to win the finals? I think the highest pressure in the league is on the Celtics. ninth straight playoff appearance and one conference final appearance in that span. They also are 2-0 against the Bucks this year when Jason Tatum plays. Now they do have a rookie coach, enormous pressure on him.

How long do you stay with this group? Al Horford's not getting younger. How long do you stay with this group, Brown, Tatum, Marcus Smart, if you're not getting to at least finals? So I think they face the most pressure in the league, and I don't know how they're going to react to it. We'll look at a team that hasn't even made in Eastern Conference Finals just yet with Joel Embed.

How much pressure is on the 76ers to win the finals? Slightly less than Boston, but still high pressure. Doc Rivers has had some playoff failures. M.B. is one of the MVP favorites. They've been the best team arguably in the league since December. So again, James Harden, show me your success in the playoffs. Ambide, show me your success in the playoffs. So they've never advanced past the second round in the Embed era.

So I think Doc Rivers has it. Harden has it. Embed has it. Slightly less than Boston, but not that much less. Let's take a look at this one. How much pressure is on the Cavaliers to win the NBA finals? Low pressure. Youngest team in the NBA.

By the way, it's also the first year with Donovan Mitchell, who's been hot lately. Yeah, I don't think any reasonable person sees them as a championship team, especially in the East when you have veteran Milwaukee and veteran Boston and veteran Miami. I think they are the future potentially of the East, for that matter of the NBA. But they do all the things right. They play real defense. They're unselfish.

They've got a star. I think there's an argument that's the most fun team to watch in the NBA right now. And a team that we know always has very level-headed fans. how much pressure is on the Knicks to win the finals? Well, medium, because it's New York. But they don't really, they don't have a lot of depth. Their bench scoring is like 25th in the NBA. They haven't won a playoff series since 2013.

There's limitations here. Jalen Brunson's been nice, but I, you know, I kind of think when you look at this team, you know they can't get into a shootout with a Cleveland or they're not as good defensively as a Milwaukee, or at times Boston, if they win a playoff series, I think that's a, the East is better than the West. I think if they could win a playoff series, and I'm not sure they're going to,

but that would be, you'd have to look back and go, okay, that was a good year. We've got to get one more big time piece. Uncle Colin, trying to bring reason to a mostly unreasonable fan base. Let's turn our attention to the Western Conference. How much pressure is on the Nuggets to win the finals? It's not Boston or Sixers pressure. It's the highest pressure to me. in the West because, I mean, they're 12 and 3 against the top seats.

So they've been beating all the good teams in the West all year. If you're not winning multiple playoff series, then you either got the wrong coach or the wrong dynamic. And it's not like they're that young. They've been to one conference final appearance in the Yokic era, which has been several years now, 2015. So it's kind of like it's time. You've got to get to at least the conference finals. I don't think it's Philly or Boston pressure, but in the West it's pressure. Let's take a look at one of the more exciting teams at times with John Morant.

How much pressure is on the Grizzlies to win the finals? Small market, medium pressure. I mean, again, second youngest roster in the league. Stephen Adams has been banged up. They're not healthy. Again, I think if they win a playoff series and then go and have a real viable second playoff series. I don't know. I don't see it as, I don't think they're a championship team. I don't think they, you know, if John Morant has a bad shooting night, they don't have

depth of scoring. They have the depth of players. I don't feel massive. I still feel like they're outside of Cleveland. They're just a bunch of kids. Like they, they got to let this thing bake for a couple more years. We'll wrap up with this. How much pressure is on the Sacramento Kings to win the finals? Can't believe we're even find ourselves saying that this time of year. of low pressure fronts. It's their first playoff appearance since 2006. I mean, it's forever. And the other thing is, they're the most improved team in the league.

So this has always been a baby steps league. You don't go from awful to conference finals. So, again, this is the, if they won a playoff series, that is the next step. Bad? Do you win a playoff series? And then next year, you've got to win a couple of playoffs series. but Deeran Fox has been a great player, especially in the fourth. So bonus, they have their two young stars.

So I thought they were going to be better sooner. A couple of their picks didn't work out. Deer & Fox became a great player, a great clutch player in the fourth quarter. There you go. For endless hot water that is easy on the environment, go tankless, leader in green technology, durable, efficient, 15-year limited warranty, tankless made symbol.com. Bankless Maidsimple.com with Navian, Rick Buecker, Albert Breyer, and Lincoln Riley stopped by today. JMAX's off this week. I'm working for the next few days. Ryan is more than capably filling in on the herd line desk.

I thought the women's national championship, I have not seen the ratings. I imagine they're gigantic ratings. Everybody loves the, you know, the NBA is for, you know, a lot of reasons is a polarizing league. You got a lot of stars and people are just going to love the women's. A lot of people are. going to love the women's national championships going to beat some NBA ratings. But it had a lot of things. It had a very polarizing figure in Kilmocally the coach of LSU. It had a star in Caitlin Clark. It had two great teams. And you had a lot of, you know, you had a catalyst, you had a polarizing coach. And, you know, I said this earlier today. I've spent my entire life arguing about male coaches that were bullies and obnoxious and at times were borderline unethical. And every, you know,

Everybody defends them because their players love them. Say what you want about Kim Mokie. Listen to her players after LSU win the Natty. Her players loved her. You gave guys that pass and continued to high school level all the way to the pros. All right, we'll be back tomorrow. Live from Los Angeles, third. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite, unhumored me with Robert Smy

and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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 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. Hey, this is Robert from the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast. Joe and I are both lifelong Star Wars fan, so we're celebrating May the 4th with a brand new week of fun, thought-provoking Star Wars-related episodes. Join us as we tackle science and culture topics from a galaxy far, far away,

such as the biology of tauntons and wampas on the ice planet hot, or the practicality and corporate business sense of the Sith rule of two. Listen to stuff to blow your mind on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

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