The Herd with Colin Cowherd - The Richard Sherman Podcast - NFL Predictions: Seahawks or 49ers in NFC West? Playoffs for Broncos?

Episode Date: September 5, 2023

Richard Sherman gives his predictions for the 2023 NFL season, including his picks for every NFL divisional winner and his Super Bowl matchup. Will Russell Wilson and Sean Payton make it work in Denver and earn a playoff berth for the Broncos? Will Aaron Rodgers and the Jets be the most improved team in the NFL? Does Richard like the Seattle Seahawks or San Francisco 49ers to win the NFC West – and could one of those teams make it out of the NFC? How does Sherm feel about the Dallas Cowboys this season? Don’t miss Richard’s surprise pick for MVP. #volume #herdSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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at Richard Sherman to tune in to all of our shows live. The volume. Notice, sir. You're all for these. You don't. Super Bowl.

championship. That should always be the expectation. All right. You're mad at you. Go on here. Welcome back to the Richard Sherman podcast. Another season in the books, another season about to start. Can't wait for it. Mitchell, what you got? Richard, we're back. We're better than ever. Kickoffs next Thursday, my man. This is exciting times in the sports community. It's been a long April, May, June, July.

All the training camp talk. We've seen hard knocks, you know. Well, last year, Rich, we kicked this off with a little season preview. And we're going to go right back to that because we were right about some things, but we were also wrong about a few things. Let's kick it off in the AFC East, Rich. Who do you like coming out of this division? Well, I think it's going to end up being one of the best divisions in football. Obviously, I like my guy, Robert Salah and the JETS Jets, Jets, Jess.

I think they're going to do greatness division this year with A-Rod and the new additions that they have offensively, Breece Hall coming back to Alvin Cook now on the fold. Randall Cobb, his veteran presence, Sauce Gardner, DJ Reed with another year behind their belts, C.J. Mosley, Quinn and Williams just got his, got paid J. Romaine Johnson. It's coming into his own. You got Carl Lawson. You got Big Al Woods to solidify the run game. I just can't wait. Well, I know you like the Jets. I mean, what is the peak of this team? I mean, do you truly view them coming out of the AFC East, beating out the

bills, I mean, the dolphins? Yeah, I truly believe that they'll beat them out. You know, if it wasn't for Dak Prescott, you know, throwing 15 interceptions in 12 games, you would have, you would have really been talking about how Josh Allen threw 19 interceptions last season. You know, he's

been trending in the wrong direction. The year before, he only threw 10, but this year he threw 19. And it really, it was really detrimental to the team, down the stretch especially. And I think they got lucky in some games, they got lucky the Jets didn't have the quarterbacks to beat them last year, and they will. You know, you get no situations where you play that bad against A-Rod, you walk home with ale. And I think that's what's going to happen. I think the Miami Dolphins with the addition of

Vic Banjo is going to be huge. That defense was already talented, really talented. Christian Wilkins and Xavier and Howard. And then you had, they got Jalen Ramsey in the fold. And I think they were already a really, really good defense, really talented, really fast, athletic and they got even better. But it's, Jaylon Ramsey's going to start the season on pub. And then you got questions about if Tool can stay healthy. He had a concussion issue week after week after week last year.

And so you're concerned about that. And you just got to, you just got to think if he's healthy and Vic Fangio's running a defense that everybody's been trying to copycat and steal and they're not just running zero coverage and random parts of the field putting their DBs and harms weigh every single game, they're going to be a really good team.

And they're going to be a team to deal with. So I would have the dolphins over the bills at this point, especially with Von Miller starting to season on Pupp as well. Well, Rich, you saying that is going to raise concern in Buffalo land because this is, this team is starting to teeter on the edge of the Jim Kelly days again, where they got all the talent in the world. They got a top five quarterback in the league and Josh Allen up there. You know, they got Stefan Diggs.

I mean, obviously they got some injuries their battle coming out of the season. With Von Miller being hurt. But Rich, what is it going to take for Buffalo to finally get over that hump? Because it seems like they're getting there year after year. But last year was a little bit of a regression. Yeah, I mean, it's going to take Josh Allen being efficient with the football, another great season for Diggs. Stefan Diggs has to have another good season.

And if he doesn't, you know, I don't know how long he's going to be patient there. How long he's going to sit there and say, hey, this is cool. I'm enjoying myself. You hear rumblings right now about his, his discontent. So I think they've got to play better defensively as well. They got big-time playmakers. They have everything you need. They picked up Taylor Rap to an already pretty talented secondary. But they lost Leslie Frazier, Tremaine Edmonds, Roger Saffold, who was really, really strong in their run game. Cole Beasley, who's been consistent for him for years. And you just,

I just don't know. You know, it depends on how healthy they come back. Their secondary could be really good again. They've been good. Their safety play has been all pro for years, but they got a little beat up last year. And so it's going to have to come down to Josh Allen and him executing. They're going to have to establish a running game, too, because that's something that's been lacking for the last several years.

Let James Cook, cook, to say the least. I mean, are we punning on the Patriots altogether here? Is this, is Bill Belichick's magic just gone now? I mean, it's not gone. They just don't have a good enough team. people are talking about the GM Belichick more than the coach. But his coaching decisions have left things to be questioned as well. You know, his offensive coordinator, now he brings Bill O'Brien,

who's obviously a very accomplished, incredible office coordinator. He did well in college, came back to the league. I'm sure he's going to do really good, really well. But the coverage is pretty bare in terms of their talent. You got Mack Jones, the receiving course pretty much the same. They're trying to look for people, you know, who they got, you know, they picked up juju. They, they, they got Christian Gonzalez in the first round, but these are young guys.

You know, they got just SECI, but how well is he going to play in that offense? You know, because they, they picked up two tight ends the year before and gave him $10 million each, and neither one of them really panned out the way they were supposed to. So I don't know. I'm not punting on them, but I just don't see them making very much of an impact. If they send three teams to the playoffs, I don't think the Patriots are one of them. Well, okay. A-Rod taking the crown and the AFC East.

We'll see if that happens. Rich, let's move to the north. The AFC North. This is regarded possibly as the best division in football right now. It is going to be a race to the finish line. Let's start with the Bengals. I mean, there's some question marks about Joe Burrow and his health. Obviously, I know you love the guy.

They got a rock star compliment of offensive threats. Hopefully that offensive line is shored up going into this year. But are they on top of your list? and the AFC North? Yeah, I mean, as long as they have Joe Burrow healthy, they'll be on top of the list, but it's not by much, and his health is a huge part of it.

And this offensive line, they got Orlando Brown, but they didn't do much more than that to solidify it. They played a little better last year than they had the year before, but the year before they were putrid. And so they got to, they can't start off slow like they did the year before. They got to find a way to get off to a fast start,

protect Joe Burroughs. That defense is going to have to play really well. They lost trade flowers and Eli Apple and Bon Bell. Von Bell made huge plays down the stretch in both of their playoff runs. And so replacing that veteran leadership, that playmaking ability is going to be, I mean, somebody's going to have to step up. Maybe they already have a plan for it. But I'm interested to see that.

But I think they're the top of the division right now, but the Baltimore Ravens are right there on their heels. Lamar Jackson's coming back. He's healthy. He missed five games each of the last two years, but now he's got his money. He's got OBJ. He's got Rock Yassin on the other side. Justin Houston is gone.

Marcus Peters is gone. But Zay Flowers, who's, you know, you just hear throughout all the training camp, you watched him at Boston College and huge big time playmaker, making huge plays, very dynamic, shifty. And then you just see viral clip after viral clip of him putting people, putting DPs in a blender. And if he can make the kind of plays he made, this preseason and this offseason,

I think their offense is going to be one to be trifle with. They got a new offensive coordinator. You know, everybody, Greg Roman, you know, you heard all the stuff about Greg Roman last year. So they changed offensive coordinators. They're going with a new system. I think all positive things for Lamar, and I'm looking forward to seeing what that means.

Well, they got a nice, shiny new object on the offensive front and OBJ as well. Man, he's coming off the injury. What are your expectations of OBJ in Baltimore? If he's healthy, he's going to be a problem. He's going to be an issue for somebody. And it looks like he's healthy. It looks like Lamar is healthy.

And if they can, they'll cause a lot of people problems. He'll obviously be the best receiver Lamar has had his entire professional career, especially if he's healthy. And then if safe flowers can give him what he's been giving him in the preseason, it's going to be a fun combination to watch. They haven't had a lot of receivers to talk about in Baltimore. They talked about the tight end. And, you know, he's a pro bowler, one of the best.

outside into the National Football League, but he hasn't had this kind of supporting cast. So it's going to be cool to see Lamar with these weapons. Let's not forget about the last two in this division. The Steelers, I mean, this to me is a team. If Kenny Pickett gets it right, there's a lot of expectations on him. A lot of people are expecting a huge second year leap from him. What is this ceiling for the Steelers? I mean, it's hard to see them winning a division,

but it's also to see them having a losing record, seeing that Mike Tomlin has never had a losing record in his whole professional coaching career. And so I think they're going to do well. I think Kenny Pickett had a really great preseason, but preseason can fool a lot of people, and it has. I think George Pickens is going to be a pro bowl of this year. I think he's an outstanding talent and just suffered from poor QB play last year and probably some of his own competitiveness getting in the way. but they added Patrick Peterson.

The defense was already solid. Still have Cam Hayward. T.J. Watts coming back. It's going to be a team that's formidable. They added Alan Robinson, a veteran receiver. We all talked about him last year with the Rams and his struggles, but maybe a change of scenery will change that. But it's going to be fun.

It's going to be a fun season for them and their fans. I think they can do better than the 9 and 8. They did last season, but it'd be hard to see them winning more than 11 games. The big, big question in Browns in Cleveland land, Deshawn Watson, is he ever become worth the contract he signed? I don't know. I don't know if he ever becomes worth it

because it's hard when you don't have enough talent around you. And he needs guys around him to be better. Amari Cooper is going to be outstanding this year. He was pretty good last year. He needs a defense to play well. He was playing fantastic football before the incident and before you had to sit out for a year and a half, two years. But it's always hard with football because do you ever catch back up?

You know, you've seen people recover from injury and come back and play well. But in a situation like this is so unique. But he's looked good in training camp, and all things in training camp seem to say he's doing really well. He's playing well. He's orchestrating the offense last year really well. And so, I mean, you've got to give him the benefit of it out at this point. But I think until proven otherwise, they're the fourth team in his division. division. Okay. Okay. So we like the bangles. Let's move to the AFC South. This seems like it's the

Jacksonville Jaguars Division to lose. They've got Trevor Lawrence. This is a crucial year for him. He's teetering on the brink of that, you know, tier two quarterback in the NFL. What's it going to take for Trevor Lawrence to get above that hump and be considered one of the elites at the QB position? Well, he's going to have to play like he did the last nine games of the season. He had 15 touchdowns to only two interceptions, really efficient, looked like a really elite quarterback. They went seven and two in those ball games. He had 104.6 pass a rating,

but they got some playmakers now. Calvin Ridley has been the buzz of Jacksonville's training camp all season coming back off of suspension for the gambling deal. He only played five games in 2021. He's going to be fresh. He had 90 receptions and 1,300 yards. The last season, he played full. I don't know if they're Super Bowl contenders.

I think they can make the playoffs. I think it was frustrating. It was frustrating as a fan. Last year they were playing Kansas City Chiefs. It's a ball game. Kansas City Chiefs are having their way a little bit. Then there's an entry. Patrick Mahones goes down.

And it was one of those moments where the Jacksonville Jaguars could have taken the next step. Trevor Lawrence could have taken the next step. Even if they don't win the game, they go out there and scare the mess out of Kansas City. And they weren't able to do that. and that was disappointing to some degree. So it's going to be interesting to see if they can take the next step. Like, it's time for you have to take the next step. They don't take it now.

I don't know. But Trevor Lawrence did take the next step at the end of last season. The rest of that division is suspect to say the least. Yeah, it's not enough to talk about. Well, the one point I do want to ask you about, because you're right, there is not a whole lot to talk about. But D.Hop, D'Hop, D'Hopkins, switches teams. He goes to the Tennessee Titans. I mean, he's obviously, you know, entering that older phase of his career being 30 years old.

What are your expectations of D. Hop with Ryan Tannihill or Willis or Willis throwing him the Rock? I mean, he's done it with everybody throwing him to rock. When he was in Houston, it didn't matter who was throwing him to rock. He was getting 1,000 yards. It didn't matter in Arizona who was throwing him to rock. He's going to get 1,000 yards. And I don't think it's going to matter this year who's throwing in the rock. He's going to get 1,000 yards.

He's a good receiver, great receiver at times. he catches the ball with his hands. He finds a way to win a contested catch majority of the time. There's probably not a receiver that's more covered up in the National Football League that wins those matchups, that wins those 50-50 balls. So the expectation, you've got to give him the benefit of the doubt that he's going to continue to do what he's done. Sean Murphy Bunting came from Tampa Bay.

Really good corner wearing number zero, the new zero rule. He's going to be really good. But, you know, I never want to count them out. You know, they can always come back to division. You know, Jacksonville hasn't shown enough to just say, hey, Tennessee won't be an issue at all. But you just got to, I mean, they got to show me. Yeah. All right.

So we got the Jags. 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, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football,

or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross

double-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 that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you for finishing that. incentives. 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. AFC West, Kansas City Chiefs.

What keeps them out of the top spot? Anything. I mean, disaster. worldwide famine, some kind of war on the grounds. I have no idea, but not anything that you can do on the football field. They survived the Patrick Mahon's injury in the divisional of the playoffs last year, and it was a pretty significant injury, and they still went to the Super Bowl and won it.

Andy Reed does a great job. Obviously, them losing Eric the enemy will have some impact. I think obviously Andy Reid still has control, and still cause the majority of the plays, but I think it will have some impact. Them losing Orlando Brown will have some impact, Frank Clark being gone. And this Chris Jones situation is still not settled.

The Chris Jones situation needs to get solved. And if they go into the season without it solved, their pass rush win rate with him on the field is number one over the last five years. And without him on the field, it's number 28. So you're not getting to the quarterback if he's not out there. And I think that's his point. is that I'm not being valued enough.

He's not being a valued enough, and he's not feeling valued. So they're running into situations where, you know, if they stand there and they're stubborn, things could get rocky to start the season, but I think they'll come to their senses this week and pay one of their best players and a captain and a guy who's been there and provided great play for them

for the last five years. But if they don't, that's one of the things that could make this season a lot more interesting for this division. Well, the other element, and you got, you know, all-world teammate, you know, tight-end Travis Kelsey, and then we see T.J. Hawkinson now set the tight-end market, getting paid $17.5 million a year, and now all of a sudden Travis Kelsey's 14-plus million a year is looking like an extreme discount. Do you at all see a situation develop where Travis says, hey, you're going to have to pay me, too?

No question. No question. Because the value that Travis Kelsey brings to this team is much greater than, then Hawkinson brings to Minnesota Vikings. And it's just funny because you got a tight-in making $17 million and these running backs, you know, Josh Jacobs and Jonathan Taylor and Sequin Barclay, fighting, toothed nail for $12, $13 million. And it's really insane because, you know, if you're telling me a tight-in is more valuable than a running back than you've lost your mind in the National Football League.

It's just not the truth. You would think that they would find more value in. in the running back position than in tight end. Now, there are some generational tight-ins like Travis Kelsey whose value cannot be measured, whose value literally cannot be measured. What he is to the Kansas City Chiefs, if he was going, that would be a different team,

much different than Tyreek leaving. Travis Kelsey leaving would be detrimental. It would be, it would be terrible. It would be awful. That would sink that ship. That would be a massive hole in the offense. And so I just, I know T.J. Hawkinson, a good player, maybe even a great player.

But he, $17 million is a lot for a tight end. And that's my opinion. I think if you gave it to Travis Kelsey, people would say it's justified. George Kittle at his best. People would say it's justified. It's just hard to justify it in this situation. But he got it. So good for him.

Good for him and his family. Before we leave the AFC West, I got to ask. The Broncos, really tough season. You know, they got a new coach, Sean Payton. Can he write this ship? Can he fix Russell Wilson? Well, I mean, it's just a tougher question than that because their season isn't determined by that call. They can have a solid season from Russell Wilson and still go under 500 because the receivers are beat up to start the season.

Tim Patrick out with a torn Achilles. Then you got Jerry Judy with the hamstring, you don't know how long he's going to be out. Sutton's still there, but how long will he stay healthy with the way things are going? that offensive line has a ton of question marks. Sure, they just got Mike McGlenshy, which is a great pickup at the right tackle. Their left tackle, Gary Bowles, coming off a major knee injury,

it's always up in the air what you're going to get from those guys. And then interior, it's just a lot of question marks. And so if you can't protect the quarterback, you can't block and open up these holes for Giovante Williams in these backs, and you can't play action and run the offense and get the ball out of your hands like Sean Payton likes to do,

like Drew did for a number of years, then it's not on them. And that defense, they lost a few playmakers, but they're still going to be really, really good players. They still got Patrick Sertan, Justin Simmons. They still got playmakers on a defensive line. But you have to find a way to weather the storm this season until everybody gets healthy.

And then you're in one of the toughest divisions. You know, you have the chiefs, and then the chargers will get better. The Chargers are going to get better. The Raiders are going to be better. Josh McDaniel now has Jimmy G. And they did very well in New England, and he's going to run his offense.

And you can see he runs. runs his offense very efficiently. And so I think they can be better. So I think it's going to be much tougher this year than it was even last year for the Denver Broncos if they don't get healthy. Let's move over to the NFC, Rich. Last year, we called the NFC East, the dumpster fire division of the league. Boy, were we wrong.

Boy, were we wrong, Mitchell. Holy cow. It's amazing. That's one thing about the NFL. It's insane how the percentage. of a team can shift in one year. No question. Going into last year, the Eagles were considered a run in the mill,

kind of middle of the pack, you know, hovering around 500 kind of team, and then they go off and go 14 and 3 and go to the Super Bowl, and now they're looking like a top three team going into this year. What are your expectations of this division? Who do you like? Well, I got to like the Philadelphia Eagles. There's nothing that has changed for me to not like them. They lost Yvonne Hargrave to the San Francisco 49ers,

and we're going to talk about that later in the show, because my goodness, is that an abundance of riches. But then they added Jalen Carter. Jalen Carter had his incident, his driving, racing incident, you know, and that he's been charged for. And he fell in a draft. He was most of the year the consensus number one pick. He was a consensus number one pick, I mean, all the way probably,

up until a couple weeks before the draft or when that incident happened. And then you got a situation where you're like, okay, I know he's not going to fall to Seattle. And Seattle decided to go with Weatherspoon, Devin Weatherspoon. And it was like, okay, I know he's not going to fall further than that. And he fell all the way to the Eagles. And of course, the Eagles have a lot of Georgia guys.

They had a drafted a Georgia guy in the first round the year before. They got a ton of Georgia guys. They drafted a couple in this draft. It's the perfect spot. They got veterans and Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox who can help this guy mature and help just big brother and mentor this guy and mentor all the guys, you know, because they got Nolan Smith, too, on that D-line. And it's just you got Hassan Reddick and you got Nolan Smith and you got Javon Hargraves and

you got all these guys that already had, Josh Swett had what, 11 sacks last year. You got so many guys and such an abundance of riches, they're going to continue to be that. And then, oh, my God, let's get back to the. offensive side of the ball, and you got so many playmakers, so many playmakers. Then they got DeAndre Swift, who was really good in Detroit, who nobody really knew about because he was in Detroit. And now you're going to see him every week in Philly, and people are going to, he's probably going to be a pro bowler this year in that offense with the other guys that they have and all day, always open, AJ Brown. Like, what are you going to do with him? And then you got Devante Smith,

who everybody has been raving about all training camp. And then you got the two corners, all pro and James Bradbury and a pro bowler and Darius Slay. They lost CJ Gardner Johnson, but they're still the class of this division. I know you've heard a lot about them now that you're sitting across from Skip Bayless on undisputed. The Dallas Cowboys. I don't want to talk about them. I know you don't. But the nation wants to hear about it, Rich, because do you want me to start a beat for you?

Mitchell, Mitchell, just do what you got to do because we, you know, I'm waiting for the, I asked a little Wayne if we can get in the booth about it and he said he's going to get back to me. But they're going to do what they've always done. You know, they get everybody excited during the preseason or the regular season, all the hype train. Even when they got some of the best players in the National Football League, you're like, oh, my God, this is a year. And then they get to the divisional and something crazy happens, whether it's a coaching decision. The ref didn't get out of the way and spot the ball. they just run into the San Francisco 49ers and they're a better team.

Des caught it. Des didn't catch it. Whatever it is, they find a way to the division when they go home. And so they got Trey Lance. That's the big news right now, but it's not really relevant to this season.

I don't think it's relevant. I think Dak Prescott's the guy for at least the next couple years. Tony Pollard's a feature now. How is that going to go? Everybody's hype on him. You were hype on him last year, Mitchell, early. Before the, right about this time last year.

Right, right. And you made the great point of what you thought he was going to be. And he was an elite playmaker. It was a pro baller, but he's coming off an entry, major injury. And it's hard to really anticipate what he's going to be coming off as a major injury into his first season as the feature back. They don't have Zeke to split the carries with. He's going to have to take the brunt of the work. And he's going to have to deal with weekend and week out, 20, 25 carries and some catches.

And just, you know, it's running back to tough position. but that's why they have him. I just, I mean, I'm excited for him. I think they got playmakers. They brought in Brandon Cooks, who's a walking thousand yards everywhere, regardless of where he goes. I think he's much better.

I think Stefan Gilmore is a huge, huge addition to that defense. But I just, I don't know. I think, Kellyn Moore being gone, I just didn't understand that from either side. I thought they had a pretty good relationship. They led to the league in scoring, and they were always a real,

good offense with Kellan Moore, and he's going to be great with the Chargers. But now Mike McCarthy's back to calling plays, and I just don't know how I feel about that, but I guess if you're going to have your job on the line, you're going to go out on your own sword, and that's what Mike McCarthy's saying. Wow. Is there any hope for the Giants or the commanders? Yeah, there's some hope for the Giants. Daniel Jones has to step up and play well.

Jalen Hyatt has been really good in the preseason, a lot of speed, and Daniel Jones has a big arm. Day Bowl is a great coach. I think that's been understood. There's playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. Dory Jackson has started to come on late. Dexter Lawrence, you already know what he's about. And so, I mean, there's a chance. They played really well at times.

And then at times they left you scratching your head, especially Daniel Jones. But he got his money and we'll see. They have a lot of question marks. Saquan Barkley coming off his best season of his career. Can he show that he's worth the money? He's on a one-year, prove it deal again. And he plays well this year.

I think he's going to get a big payday. So we'll see. We'll see. They added some more talent with Deonté Banks defensively, but they just have to show it. You know, we were talking about it, but they got to show it. Yeah. Well, Richard, you're calling the Eagles.

And this is a crazy stat for you. There hasn't been a repeat division champ since 2004. So you're saying they're going to break that little curse here, the Eagles to win per Mr. Richard Sherman. I want to move to my personal favorite topic of this segment, my conference, the NFC North. Then you go for it, Mitchell. Richard, if you don't recall,

after that Thanksgiving game that the Lions gave the Buffalo Bills hell in Ford Field, they lost, but I told you afterwards, this is going to be the turning point of this season. Now, I'm not right about everything, but I'm right about a couple things. One being Tony Pollard, two being the Detroit Lions, eight and two down the stretch. Richard, they have not won the division in decades.

Do you think the Detroit Lions will come out on top of the NFC North this year? I'm going to take it one further. I think they find a way to come out on the top of the NFC North, and I think they find a way to win a playoff game for the first time, Mitchell, in your lifetime. Second time, Rich. I was four years old when they won last time. So that was a happy day in my life.

the happy day. The first one that you will be able to remember and celebrate with a nice brew. I think that the Vikings benefited from very close games last year. And just, you know, I mean, the ball bounces that way sometimes. It's no shot against them. They did well. I think Justin Jefferson had an outstanding year, player to year candidate, MVP candidate the entire year. Kirk had a really good season. Kirk's playing on a, on a prove it year. You know, this is a contract year for Kirk, they have to find a way. Dalvin Cook is out of there, and Dalvin Cook has been a mainstay for them for a long time. What does that look like?

They added Byron Murphy to that defense, Marcus Davenport to solidify that pass rush, but you lose Dalvin Cook, Patrick Peterson, Eric Hendricks, Eric Kendricks, who's been there for a long time since I've been in the league. And what does that look like? There are so many unknowns. Kevin O'Connell has done a great job with that offense, but I think people are starting to adjust. I'm sure the floor is adjusting in Green Bay, and they have to with Jordan Love. But this is the year that I think the Lions take the next step.

They had a lot of momentum at the end of the season. They beat Green Bay in a situation where Green Bay needed that win to go to the playoffs. And Seattle had who had won earlier. So all they had to do was win their game, and they go to the playoffs, and they got beat. They got beat by that giant, that Lions team, who everybody said, wouldn't play hard. And they played hard and they won. They got really good receivers.

Your boy, St. Brown, Amonra. The Sun God, Rich. The Sun God. He's developed into a really good receiver. They have a really strong one. Jameson Williams gets off this suspension for this freaking gambling.

My goodness, it's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of. Guys gambling on non-N-FL games getting suspended for six games. I mean, goodness, don't get me started on that. But Jamar Gibbs, It has been, all we've heard is fantastic things about him, all training camp. He's giving everybody problems, the Lions problems.

He's given problems in joint practices as a receiver, as a running back. It's going to be great. But they did lose Jamal Williams, who led the league in touchdowns last year, and they did lose DJ Chark. But I think they can weather that storm. C.J. Gardner Johnson, who was co-leader of an NFL with six interceptions. My boy, Emmanuel Mosley, I have. at the corner. So they are going to be really solid on defense on paper. It looks like they're going to be a really solid defense. I got them winning that division. What do you expect of the Packers?

Aaron Rogers is gone. This is Jordan Love's time. We saw this 20 years ago almost. Brett Farf. It seems like you see it moves on to the Jets, right? Or where do you go? The Vikings of the Jets or one of the two? One of the two. Now Aaron Rogers is doing the same thing, man. And this is open up the door for Jordan Love. He's looked good in preseason. I'm not going to I'm a little scared because having to endure the Packers being dominant at the top of this division for the entirety of my life, I think they deserve to come back down to Earth a little bit here, at least for a couple, two, three years, man. So we'll see what happens with them. Yeah, I mean, they just lost so much.

They lost not only just A-Rod, they lost Lazzard, they lost Cobb. They lost a lot of players defensively. They still have a lot of continuity. They still have great players. But it's going to be up to Jordan Love. Obviously, the Packers believe he can be the replacement, but it's a one-year deal he's on. And so regardless of how he does, I think the Packers are going to have to resign him, or they're going to have to go into mediocrity.

And they won't play bad enough to be top five, top-10 pick. But will they play well enough to warrant him getting a $35, $40 million deal? That's the question. And I don't have that answer. I don't know if Jordan Love is a guy. We haven't seen enough of him, but we're about to find out whether he's a guy or not. whether he is or not, just like Daniel Jones's contract, he's going to still be starting quarterback in National Football League,

or you're going to have to restart. So Green Bay is going to have to make that decision, probably halfway through the season. 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. Clever 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

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Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on The Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down,

and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know.

I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. 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. Rich, the NFC South. Now, we talked about the NFC East last year as the dumpster fire division. There we call the NFC South the dumpster fire division this year, because I feel like There's, it's hard. It's hard.

It's hard. It's hard. Young quarterbacks for the Panthers and Falcons, rookie quarterback for the Panthers. And a rookie quarterback, that's going to be really good in Bryce Young. And you hear nothing but positive things. Frank Wright is a good coach and has been respected. They got Adam Theeland, Von Bill,

Miles Sanders, who was really good in Philly, DJ Chark, who was with your lions. But I just don't know, man. I just don't, I can't see them doing well. That offensive line has been too porous, especially in the preseason. They couldn't stop anybody. He couldn't stop anybody from getting to the quarterback, and he got beat up a little bit there. And then you got the Saints.

They got Derek Carr. They got Big Mike back. They got good receivers. Jarvis is coming back. Toma Williams is there now. They should be pretty solid. I think the Saints win that division just because they got the best quarterback play of the guys that are.

in there. The buck's just got Baker Mayfield, and he's got a lot to prove. He's on a $4 million deal, which doesn't, you know, speak to a lot of confidence in him, but it's a, it's a solid bet for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. If he can do it, you know, he has Mike Evans, Chris Godwin. Mike Evans are walking thousand yards, and you know Todd Bowles defensively is going to make it shake. He's going to put pressure on guys, especially in the division, so we'll see. We talked about it too, Rich. I mean, We feel like Tampa is the most slept on team going into this season. I think everyone's kind of written them off with Tom Brady going down and retiring, now venturing into NFL ownership.

Baker's one of those guys. I don't think he's the most widely liked player in the league, but he's a good game manager. We saw what he did in L.A. You know, walking off the plane and winning that Monday night game or Thursday night game, whatever game that was against the Raiders. I mean, he can do it. And who's to say, I mean, they got outstanding weapons in the wide receiving room.

You know, they got a young running back. I know you question their old line, but Rich, this Bucs team, they could be dangerous, too, if Baker does his thing. Yeah, I mean, I think he's best when he's playing without expectations, without the pressure of expectations and the burden of expectations. And this team doesn't happen. And I don't think anybody's sitting there saying, hey, Baker's going to light the world on fire. He's not getting commercial deals. He's not getting endorsement deals. He's going to get to play very free.

And I think that's the best spot for him to be playing free. They'll sneak up on some teams and ruin some days for sure. Last but not least, the Richard Sherman Conference, the NFC West. I know you've got allegiance to both teams, two teams in this division, the Niners, the Seahawks, both are looking really good. Who do you like coming out of the West this year? I like the San Francisco 49ers until otherwise. Brock Purdy hasn't lost a game that he has started and finished to this day.

And so I don't expect that to happen. Obviously, they need to get Nicholas John Bosa the reigning defensive player at a year signed immediately. But unless something crazy and drastic happens with that situation, I expect their defense to be really strong with the addition of Javon Hargraves and Philadelphia Eagles, who had a tremendous season last year. And then you got Fred Warder and Talaoa Hufanga,

the Amador-Linor on one side, to various ward on the other defensively. They're going to be really solid. Eric Armstead is still there on the offensive side. side. They got some question marks on the interior D-line with Buford and the center situation is up in flux. McKivitt's at the right tackle, obviously, the pro-Bowler, all-pro, Trent Williams, best tackle in football on the left side. Brandon Ayuk is poised for a really great year, contract year, and it's time for him to put on the show and have his time. All Debo has been talking about is how much he let the team down last season, so he has a chip on his shoulder coming in.

And then you got Christian McCaffrey coming off of full offseason, a full season with the team to learn to take playbook, to acclimate, to be comfortable in the space. And I think he's going to be really comfortable and really happy in the space. I'm excited to see what he's going to do with the full season under his belt. So there's a lot of hope in San Francisco, but there's a lot of hope in Seattle as well. Because of Gino.

Geno. No. Pro Bowl season, looking to have an even better season with D. K and Tyler. Then you got JSN from Ohio State, who's been nothing but really dynamic. He has the wrist injury right now, but all signs point to him making him back for week one,

so it's going to be an exciting time for them. Gino set a number of records. I expect him to break a number of records this year. Went to the playoffs last year. I expect that to continue. They finally got a defensive leader back, a legend in this franchise, Bobby Wagner, a legend in the league,

and all his all pros and his accolades and everything he brings to the football team. Tariq Woolen, obviously we talked about Devin Wetherspoon, who they got in with the fifth pick of the first round. He's going to be coming off the injury, probably not looking like he's playing week one, but he'll help them throughout the season, Quandre Diggs, and then Julian Love. And Julian Love, when Quandre Diggs back there, it's going to make one of the best safety tandums in the National Football League, both very smart playmaking safeties, reliable, can be interchangeable at any time.

And then they're getting Jamal back. Jamal Adams is going to be back this season. He'll have a new role with the team and a new role with that defense and they'll put him in positions to be successful. Well, Richard, I've watched a lot of Seattle Seahawk football over the years, obviously working with you for a decade plus now. After the Legion of Boom was gone and that nasty visit to Arizona, you with your Achilles, Cam with his neck, you know,

the Seattle Seahawks went through. a murky territory of a couple years where they, to me, it seems like they were missing an identity. What management has done now is rediscovered their identity. I mean, they've got a trio of wideouts and DK and Tyler

and JSN now. And if you guys don't know about JSN, I advise you to watch one game. And that is the Rose Bowl game against the Utah Uts. JSN put on an absolute clinic. And to me, I think you should have gone above Chris Olive if he was in the same

draft as him, you know, probably neck and neck with Garrett Wilson, all Ohio State guys. So Seattle's about to be really nasty, Rich. And I know that you know that too. And I think the Niners are going to be in a battle for that top of the division. And I think we're going to see some fights of old between these two teams. Oh, definitely, definitely. Division games are always tough. And I think the division games between the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks are going to be, oh, they're going to be gladiated. They're going to be Goliath. And I'm looking forward to seeing those games. It'll be a lot of fun. Rich, before we exit the division, I want to ask you one thing about the Rams.

You know, it came out Matthew Stafford having trouble connecting with the younger players on his team. I mean, what do you make of this? I mean, obviously it came from his wife's podcast, but, you know, it's kind of a big thing, especially from the quarterback, the leader of your team to be, you know, I guess silently saying this through his wife. What do you make of that? I mean, it was unfortunate that she said that. I'm sure she knows that locker room talk should not be especially, I mean, Bedroom talk shouldn't be talked about in the public.

And, you know, I mean, she said that. She says she regretted it. Worst things she could do. She says she's talked about women when they made headlines talking about football and their husbands. That it's a distraction. But I think it will end up galvanizing the team. I think Sean McVeale use it as a joke.

The young guys will probably react well and start to come together and support their teammate and get off their phones a little bit because it probably shouldn't be on them that much anyway. So I don't think it's that big a deal. Well, our rich, so that's that. We've locked in the divisional winners. I want to talk about playoffs now. Who do you think is going to be coming out of the AFC

and who's coming out of the NFC? Out of the AFC this year, I mean, I think it's, you got to go with Kansas City Chiefs as your obvious pick, but my sleeper pick will be the JETS, JETS, JETS, JETS. I just don't know if they can put it all together in the first year of A-Rod. You know, I think they make a really fun run and make it exciting, but I think the Kansas City. Chiefs. So I'll end up coming out of the

AFC again. Joe Burrell will have something to say about that, but, you know, hopefully they can keep him upright more this year. But Can City's a safe fit. And how about the NFC? The NFC, I got the Niners. I got the Niners finally pulling it off and doing it

for Kyle again the first time since 2019, which isn't that long ago. But pulling it off this year, having good health, you know, a lot of playmakers and that D-Line being as ferocious and as aggressive as ever and causing a lot of problems for a lot of teams. Who is your Super Bowl champion?

We got the Niners against the Chiefs, a matchup we've seen before, Richard. Can the Niners pull this one off? I think the Niners finally find a way to get it done missed on. I think they find a way to make plays down the stretch and contain Pat Mahomes the way they did for three and a quarter quarters in the Super Bowl in 2019. They can finally close the door and finish that

and Kyle can get a lot of his haters off his back. Your MVP pick on the season. My MVP pick on the season. Ooh, that's tough. It's always the quarterbacks. He's dang quarterbacks. I just wish they take the quarterbacks out of it. Joe Burrow wins his first.

Okay. How about defensive play of the year? Is it Nicholas John Bosa? He's going to be in it, Mitchell. I have a hard time thinking. and it's going to be any different. I mean, hopefully he comes into the season ready and in shape. This contract situation is the only thing that I could see changing my opinion about that

because them having Javon Hargraves and still Eric Armstead, they're not going to be able to double Nicholas John Bosa the way they would want to. That D-line is going to be too ferocious. But Micah Parsons will also be in that discussion as he has been. They're saying he's playing more defensive line exclusively. So Nicholas John Bosa, Mitchell, I got to go Nicholas John Bosa. He got to support your guys. Every year we see it.

Every year there's a worse to first. I mean, every year there's a team that just comes out of nowhere. I mean, the Eagles last year, making it all the way to the Super Bowl. Is there a team that you see that is going to be, it's going to shock the landscape of the NFL? Who's your surprise team? Well, I mean, it's not a surprise because everybody's saying it, but there's going to be a team that didn't make the playoffs last year

and we're under 500, the Jets that made a way into it. I think a team that could potentially make some noise just because they're in a really bad division and they can shake some stuff up, young quarterback. Maybe the Houston Texans just because that division's so bad. D'Amico Ryan's coming in. They got a really good left tackle. They have some playmakers there to do some things,

especially defensively. Stingley has shown real growth this season, played a full season last year and played really solid. And I think he takes the next step this year. So there's talent on both sides of the ball for that team. And I think they can sneak up on some people and just, you know, not worse to first or anything crazy like their playoffs. But I think it'll be a lot different than what people were expecting from them. And finally, before we wrap it, Rich, every week last year, we had your Richard Sherman Power rankings. You ranked the top five teams in the NFL. So who's on it going into week one?

You got to go Kansas City. They won a Super Bowl, Philly, San Francisco. That's when it gets interesting. Cincinnati. I hate to say Dallas. I hate it. I hate it when I have to do it. I hate it when I don't have enough NFC teams in it right now, Mitchell.

The Jets, Mitchell. The Jets. J E-T-S, yes, yes, yes, just at five. You know what I like about that, Rich, is my lions are going to knock off your number one power-rank team week one. Book it, Rich. Mitchell, Mitchell. The lions are going to go into the kingdom, whatever the heck they call it over there,

and they're going to absolutely shock the world. Week one, Rich, book it, book it. That is my hot take. That is my call this year. I called Tony Pollard last year. I'm calling it night. It's going to be an early season hot take. The Lions are going to exit week one, one and O, and they're going to be in Richard's top five power ranks.

They do that, Mitchell. We'll have to put it in just off the strength. Mitchell, they have to be hot, just off the height. Oh, Richard, I'll let you wrap this up for us in our preseason. I guess what do we want to call this, Rich? Preseason preview on the Richard Sherman podcast. Thank you guys for joining us. We appreciate you.

We'll see you next week. you. 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.

or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. In 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.

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