Joy Taylor (3:31)

You know, the hair and makeup ladies downstairs were like, Colin's in a great mood today. I was like, it is Thursday, you know, Thursday night football playoffs almost.

Colin Cowherd (3:38)

Bo Nixon, Justin Herbert. My guys go Herbert, come on. So I saw that, you know, listen, they're all, this is the time of the year where I know it's stressful, but you gotta be grateful for what you have because life can go sideways very quickly. And it wasn't that long ago that Aaron Rodgers was celebrated as kind of the rock star of the league. He was the good looking guy. He had kind of an independent streak. He was in Green Bay. It was kind of an odd fit, but it worked for a long time. And just to give you a sense of what a circus he entered because remember, that was good marriage and Aaron wanted out of the marriage. He had the wandering eyes. According to a story in the Athletic, Woody Johnson, who owns the jets, vetoed a Jerry Judy trade. Jerry Judy, a former Bronco, now in Cleveland having a great year. He vetoed it because the influence of Madden ratings and apparently the Madden ratings stems from his teenage sons, Brick and Jack, which sounds like a really cool Nickelodeon show. Yeah. Anyway, there was also a guard that didn't have a power rating on Madden. Woody Johnson didn't like and maybe Brick and Jack or jack and brick, 97.5 Clovis, New Mexico's best rock, whatever that is, they didn't like it. Also Another story today is speculation that Garrett Wilson wants out. Excellent young receiver. So. Oh yeah, and your quarterbacks in a dock taking shrooms with a bunch of other lost souls. I know the Green Bay packers get a lot. You know, we kind of make fun of them. They're a little bit square. They probably all still use flip phones in the front office. But I gotta tell you something, they would be laughing their butts off right now if they weren't getting ready for the playoffs, which you know, the Green Bay packers do every single year. And you know, Aaron's out there in that self absorbed world of Netflix and documentaries and I'm sitting there thinking, the reason you're trying to find yourself because that's why you take shrooms and do that stuff you're trying to find yourself is because Aaron lost himself. The packers never forgot who they were. This was a great marriage. I mean, if you're a quarterback and you land in Green Bay, do you know how lucky you are? You get a small, friendly local media. Go ask, go ask Aaron about the New York media. You get. I mean, when's the last time the packers had a bad offensive line? 30 years ago? I couldn't tell you if they've had one in 30 years. You have a former player who went to Colgate, smart guy Mark Murphy, running the franchise. I don't know. Sure, anybody. Maybe the Steelers. Does anybody draft and develop players better than the Packers? They always have offensive coaches. Sometimes they have a good running back, sometimes they don't. They do now. They've missed on a few running backs, but by and large you can't do better. The fans are like collegiate. They love you, they worship you. And this was a great marriage. And somebody had wandering eyes. And it's really funny because who Aaron was married to had been successful on her own, from a great family, very dependable. Didn't need Aaron. They had Brett Favreau. Jordan. Love was in tow. Aaron made this marriage dissolve. This is Aaron's thing. And as they say, the grass is Noah's greener. The story today is Woody Johnson. Woody Johnson is listening to power ratings on Madden. Joe Douglas, the former gm, was quoted saying today that he got tired of listening for advice from teenagers. Garrett Wilson wants out. Aaron's in a dock taking shrooms. And I look at this thing and I'm like, the Green Bay packers have the second best odds to win the super bowl from, from the nfc. Second best NFC odds. So this whole thing is, listen, I always, you know, we've all heard the saying the grass is always greener. Sometimes the grass is greener. I mean, sometimes it is. I mean, Matt Stafford, Lions to Rams, the grass was greener. Sometimes it is. But never forget the Packers. When everybody else was doubting Aaron Rodgers in the draft, the packers said, no, we think this kid can work. And when Brett Favre was treating him like crap and if you read, you know, Connors book, he was, he was, he was, it was really uncomfortable. He kind of bullied Aaron and the packers supported him and they kind of supported his prickly nature and the passive aggressive stuff. All they asked was, you know, be around in the summer, be committed. What are you doing? And he went on a retreat and into darkness. And when he came out, they'd had enough of getting kind of snipy snarky comments for years. But it's interesting. This jets thing now is a complete circus. And it's like you were in this great marriage in this perfect organization. You want it out and this is what you get. Because by the way, there are a lot more ownership groups that are closer to the jets than the Packers. No owner situation. How many great owners are there in the league? 8. And then, and the packers are better run than every team in this league that doesn't have a great owner because there's more mediocre to bad owners. So you know, I, I, I look at this thing, I don't know if Aaron understands what a mess this is, but there are three broken franchises in the league and he's with one of them. So yesterday Julian Edelman was on the show and I've said before the Philadelphia Eagles and I don't even think it's close. They have the best players in the league. They have the best roster. Especially now that Detroit's roster is falling apart physically. On the defensive side, it's the best roster. Can their pure talent in Philadelphia overcome all the nonsense? Historically, Julian Edelman was on the show yesterday and historically it's usually a bad omen.

Joy Taylor (9:52)

It would be unreal to me to see if they can continue to have all these little feuds, these outside noises. We got Dom the security guy who's a kid. Like we have so many things. It would surprise me if they went on one of the super bowl because there's going to be a fundamentally sound team that's going to be mentally tough, that's not going to go down this road, that's going to, you know, that's.

Colin Cowherd (10:15)

Going to handle them.

Joy Taylor (10:16)

I've never seen this with leadership the way that they have. That's to go out and win a Super bowl.

Colin Cowherd (10:24)

And playoff football is a little like the holidays for the rest of us. Travel and family and gifts and it gets a little tight the schedule. People feel ignored. People want a little more love. You've got to play some political games, get people the right presence. Make sure you give grandma the attention and your in laws feelings get hurt. The kitchen's always hot because of the cooking. Yeah, the holidays are wonderful and joyous and so are the playoffs but they're different and little dramas can explode into big dramas. And right now if the playoffs started in the nfc Philly would open at home against Washington. A rookie quarterback that's a wild but that that next game currently would be against either the red hot Vikings, Stafford McVeigh and the Rams weapons or a Tampa Bay team. You cannot run on forcing Jalen hurts to win the game, not Saquon Barkley. So I could see Philadelphia plowing through Washington but man those games after that are red hot quarterbacks, red hot teams, house money, nothing to lose and. And I'll go back to that sideline confrontation. I'm sorry, I don't have a problem. When a player like a Travis Kelsey gets mad at a head coach. I understand players losing their cool but when a coach loses his cool regularly, I've never seen that and we saw it again this past weekend and Julian Edelman addressed that as well.

Joy Taylor (12:06)

I think there's a lot of lack of respect for the head coach and I like players can they have the best roster. They got really good football players. But I think that the leadership. You can't have a head coach that doesn't have the respect of everyone. I just don't when it comes down to it in like a gotta have it situation or some kind of something where he's going to have to make a decision. I just don't see it happening. It's either super bowl or bust for this team that's it's not about getting to the NFC championships, not about winning two playoff games. This team needs to win now.

Colin Cowherd (12:41)

And it's. I just, I was thinking about this this morning about the Philadelphia playoff games. That first one Washington will get overwhelmed but if they have to play Tampa. Didn't. Didn't. I mean we all know that Tampa's played pretty well against Philadelphia. Like we all understand that and Sam Darnold red hot and so is McVan Stafford. All the pressure beyond Philadelphia, we all know this even with Kansas City back to back championships these games call all come down to like a minute 15. The sideline intensity like this is a team Philadelphia, that has won 10 or 11 straight bulldozing people and they're having arguments in the sideline. Now, if you think your family is feisty now, wait till you're all in the same house and the oven's hot and everybody's waiting and the kids are crying and you haven't seen your in laws in a while. And now you know why? Because they're aggravating. If you spend more than two hours with them, a couple glasses of vino mixed in. I'm just saying, man, playoff football ratchets up everything. Everything. And if we're seeing this now, Edelman sees it, I think it, and I think Philadelphia's easily got the best players. The question is, can their raw talent overcome so much of this nonsense and noise? J. Mac one hour from now, Greg Cosell, Joel Klatt stops by. I gotta tell you, the this weekend is unbelievable. So Friday I'm gonna be at Cosm, Indiana is at Notre Dame and the weather is crazy. Have you seen the weather for Ohio State?

Joy Taylor (14:15)

Tennessee does not look good at all.

Colin Cowherd (14:17)

All three games, a low of 13 degrees. And urban Meyer said something yesterday on our program and I drove home after and I thought that is terrible, terrible news for the Buckeyes. I thought it was years ago. True story. So this is back in like 2007, Ohio State. Jim Trussell was the coach. Trestle was the coach. You know, I'm going to tell this story on the other side. I'll give you. It's an old Urban Meyer story that when Urban Meyer talks before a big college football game, listen, and I'll tell you a story that was in the hallways of the Other place back in 2007, 2008. I'll have that in the other site. Be sure to catch live editions of the Herd, weekdays at noon Eastern, 9am Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHeartRadio app. Hey, it's Steve Covino. And I'm Rich Davis. And together we're Covino and Rich on Fox Sports Radio. You can catch us weekdays from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. And of course, the iHeartRadio Apple. Why should you listen to Covino and Rich? We talk about everything, life, sports, relationships, what's going on in the world. We have a lot of fun talking about the stories behind the stories in the world of sports and pop culture, stories that, well, other shows don't seem to have the time to discuss. And the fact that we've been friends for the last 20 years and still work together. I mean, that says something, right? So check us out. We like to get you involved too. Take your phone calls, chop it up as they say. I'd say the most interactive show on Fox Sports Radio, maybe the most interactive show on planet Earth. Be sure to check out Covino and Rich Live on Fox Sports radio and the iHeartradio app from 5 to 7pm Eastern, 2 to 4 Pacific. And if you miss any of the live show, just search Covino and Rich wherever you get your podcast. And of course on social media, that's Covino and Rich. 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That's what the Duck is quacking about. Helping cover gaps. So, like, this is how I think of Aflac. Let's say you have an All Pro linebacker. Anytime there's a gap in the defensive line, you know he's going to fill it, no problem because he's an All Pro. Aflac does the same thing. If there's a gap in your health insurance, Aflac wants to better protect you by helping close the gap. You're sick, you're injured. Aflac can pay cash to help fill the gaps your health insurance can leave behind. You can use the cash, put it towards whatever you need. Rent, mortgage payments, medical bills. It's completely up to you. Look, life can be tough. Fortunately, Aflac is tougher. I mean, we're talking middle linebacker tough. To learn more about how Aflac can help fill the gaps health insurance can leave behind, visit aflac.com it's time to start thinking about holiday gifts. What are you going to get that person that's impossible to shop for? We all know somebody like that. What do they want this holiday season? What do you want? Give the Gift of sound with JLab headphones JLab headphones are the perfect gift. I love them for the podcast lover in your life or the one that wants to stream sports all day long. JLab Perfect gift for anybody with a diverse collection of headphones, which makes it easy to find the gift for your family and friends with a variety of styles, colors and sizes. JLab. They have products for under $100, under $50, even under $25. Gift yourself a new pair of JLab headphones, too. If you're traveling this holiday season, pick up the JLabs, JBuds, Lux ANC, tune out the drove of the jet engine or your talkative relative. Save up to 60% on select JLab products this holiday season. On JLab.com find your perfect pair of headphones. Look for the JLAB Blue Box at retailers Everywhere, or visit jlab.com to upgrade your sound and style. Today, the herd's brought to you by Grainger. Everyone has been in this situation. Well, maybe not everybody, but maintenance specialists certainly have. You're halfway through the season when an air blower belt in the furnace suffers a major tear and the whole thing goes down for the count. The furnace has been going for so many seasons, you don't have a replacement belt on hand. In fact, you're not sure if anyone does. What's your play? Easy. You call granger with over 1 million industrial products and supplies their depth chart off the charts. And with fast, dependable delivery, you can get the belt you need when you need it, so your furnace can get back in the game. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by a local branch. All right, we're entering the no Bull zone, sponsored by Credible Great Rates. None of the bull. So years ago, it was like 2007. I was at the other place and Urban Meyer. Ohio State had Jim Trestle as a coach and Ohio State was playing LSU. I think for the Natty, it was 2007 and LSU, I think they were favored. But I, but I remember this. I was in the hallway and I said, you know, tell me what you think. And Urban Meyer, in about two minutes, literally laid the game out. He said, ohio State probably scores first, but the layering and the depth at running back and receiver for lsu, I think LSU is about two touchdowns better. And I remember walking away after the, after the game and thinking, he just told me what it was going to look like. So, you know, coaches have a sense, especially when they're not the coach and they're, they're close to the coaching, but they're not coaching. And so Tennessee has the best defensive line arguably in the country and the best running game in the country. They're made for cold weather. It's going to be 13 degrees in Columbus, potentially. Ohio State's offensive line is their weakness. And I don't love their quarterback. So I think the matchup, especially in awful weather, favors Tennessee. But the Buckeyes are favored. They have more great players, more NFL bodies. They're favored by a touchdown at home. But Urban Meyer talked about, you know, when you go into a game and you have three weeks to prepare for it and you know, their D line at Tennessee is better than your O line at Ohio State. Would it concern you, does that concern you that the volunteer strength could be the liability of Ohio State? It's very alarming. Anytime you get to December, that's really the number one place you looked. I remember for years and years and years, you sit there and you just run back and forth the matchups on the offense line and defense line. The obvious answer is, Cullen, get the ball out fast. This is going to be a, this is going to be a throw first game for Ohio State. It's going to be cold, but there's, you know, is what it is, it's going to be a throw first game, which obviously that's not conducive to, you know, a big time matchup. But this could be a throw. First game for Ohio State, they brought Chip Kelly there to run. It's going to be 13 degrees. Will Howard's hit and miss. When the weather's perfect, you're not going to be able to run on Tennessee. And in 13 degrees, Tennessee led the SEC in rushing. So it, you know, to me it's like with everything going on with LSU for years and years, Big Ten fans said, hey, what if those guys had to play ball games up here in the north? Well, here it is and it looks now Tennessee's never played in anything close to this weather. I do think that's an advantage for Ohio State, but I don't think Ohio State, when you get into a, when's the last time you saw one of an amazing 54, 45 shootout in 13 degrees. Like, it's just, it's hard to catch. It's hard for everything and it's just not ideal. And so I asked Urban the inevitable question. What do you do with Ryan Day if they lose in the first round of the College Football Playoff? They will not do that now. There's no chance they'll do that now because Colin, if you, if you made that change, you lose your roster, you know you lose. They can't do that. They can't do that now. I don't believe they do that now. It would just be that much more pressure like for Coach Day and his staff next year and they have a tough deal. They open up with Texas right out of the jump. So no, I don't believe they do it this year. My take is this is a low scoring football game. It's very 23, 20. I think Ohio State's got more good players. But it's fascinating when Urban Meyer said, yeah, this is a throw first game. He said it three times. Chip Kelly's a run coach. He likes to run the ball. So. And this is a offense that has really struggled up front. And by the way, the Michigan game is a blueprint how to beat Ohio State. And Tennessee basically has Michigan's offense, but it's capable at quarterback. So this is a fascinating matchup Saturday. Jay McLean News. No, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the Herd line news.

Joy Taylor (24:58)

All right, let's start with that Joe Burrow Zach Taylor incident, if you will, argument. I don't know what we're calling it on the sidelines from Sunday. You can read Burroughs lips. There is an expletive or two. He is very unhappy. Well, the quarterback just talked to the media and said his coach was telling him to enjoy the moment. He was just trying to tell me.

Colin Cowherd (25:19)

To be happy with the win. And I appreciate that about him because I can get lost and just like everybody can, you get lost in the adversity of the season. You get. You can't take winning for granted. And you know, I, I've tried to get better at that and you know, Zach tries to. To help me get better at that and I appreciate that about him. You know, I'm going to defend Joe burrow on this. 14 penalties. I'm going to defend the quarterback who's not willing to settle. I'm going to defend Burrow all day long. When Joe. I love when Lamar Jackson is furious even in a win, when he makes a mistake.

Joy Taylor (26:04)

I love.

Colin Cowherd (26:05)

I like my athletes to care as much as I do. So I'm going to defend Joe Burrow forever. I know everybody always says, hey, I appreciate the wins. This is a quarterback that's top three in the league that's been to a Super Bowl. He's passed in a division where he's now in last place or in third place and struggling. He didn't want to hear that. You can't tell Peyton Manning in his prime, hey, just be happy that you beat awful Jacksonville by three. If your goal is excellence, 14 penalties doesn't do.

Joy Taylor (26:35)

I am. I'm going to be watching the Bengals closely. I think they should destroy DTR and the Browns this week, right?

Colin Cowherd (26:41)

Yeah.

Joy Taylor (26:41)

If they don't and they slip up somehow and they finally get eliminated from the playoffs, what do you do with Zach Taylor? Because you've mentioned to Chicago Joe Brady, the offensive coordinator of the Bills. Well, Joe Brady was at LSU with Joe Burrow. And I just wonder, is there a world where Burrow's just not happy with.

Colin Cowherd (27:00)

How many, how many years does Zach Taylor, the Bengals coach, have in his contract? Because the Brown family is cheap.

Joy Taylor (27:06)

They are.

Colin Cowherd (27:06)

That's the problem. They will not pay for dead cap coach.

Joy Taylor (27:09)

Even if you've got a quarterback who's unhappy.

Colin Cowherd (27:11)

I mean this, this, this is a franchise that is. Everything is so he's through the 2026 season. They wouldn't even pay two more years left. No way. They cheap is.

Joy Taylor (27:21)

No way they would.

Colin Cowherd (27:23)

Well, it's. I, I totally agree. If you, if you, you know, I always say this. If the first thing out of your mouth or the first thought in your head running a business is budget, then you don't really have a plan. And you're not a visionary. Visionaries understand budgets. It's not what they're thinking about. They're thinking about creating new stuff.

Joy Taylor (27:40)

Given the quarterbacks in the afc. Will Joe Burrow get to another Super Bowl?

Colin Cowherd (27:46)

No, no. I'll say right now, no, not when you're paying. This.

Joy Taylor (27:49)

This is a Dan Marino situation.

Colin Cowherd (27:51)

I. I think you saw it on the rookie contract and I don't. I don't think so. Nope. You can, you can put this on archive, you guys. Is this being taped? Yeah. Okay.

Joy Taylor (28:03)

Will Joe Burrow get to another. No, no, Unequivocally. I kind of feel in the same way.

Colin Cowherd (28:07)

Home. Mahomes will get to five, six, seven in his career, maybe eight. Josh Allen will get to a couple. Lamar Jackson, I think. I don't know. Herbert. Herbert will get to one. Bo Nicks. I don't even want to give you a number. Shador.

Joy Taylor (28:20)

And the Raiders, like, listen, AFC is really tough and I know Bengals fans don't want to hear that, but. Sorry, it's just. That's the franchise. Next up, Colin. Let's go to the Buffalo Bills. They are huge favorites against the Sad Sack Patriots this weekend. And you know, obviously Josh Allen's getting a lot of praise, but how about running back James Cook? How good has he been? Here's what Josh Allen said about his star running back.

Colin Cowherd (28:44)

It's been nothing but spectacular. He's been awesome running the ball extremely hard out of the backfield. He's making plays, he's blocking. He is. How great must it feel that he can turn, give the ball and watch an elite player do something? He didn't have that the first five or six years in that place. Now, Cook's been a difference maker. You know, we don't talk about this, but Buffalo is very similar to Green Bay now. Now, Green Bay has been great forever. Buffalo is really good now. But if you look at Buffalo and Green Bay, the smallest markets in the NFL, Buffalo does not miss on a lot of draft picks. I mean, if you, you look at Buffalo's roster right now, those are dudes they drafted. They don't miss on a lot of guys. They went and got Stefan Diggs moved off him, so they tried to go out and spend a little money and, you know, the culture, the cultural fit didn't work. But Buffalo's well run right now. We are lucky. If you look at the really good teams in this league, Buffalo's well run, Green Bay's well run. Kansas City, Philadelphia. There's a, There's a comp. Baltimore. There's a common thread in this league. The winning franchises. It's not just the coach and the Quarterback.

Joy Taylor (29:51)

Let me go another way with the common thread. Buffalo, Detroit, and Philly, why are they thriving? Think about it.

Colin Cowherd (30:01)

Buffalo, Detroit, and Philly, power run teams.

Joy Taylor (30:04)

There you go. I've been hearing for the last five years, the passing league, you gotta pass, gotta pay. Wide receivers, the three best teams in the league, no disrespect to kc, I just don't think they're there.

Colin Cowherd (30:13)

One of your best takes was a year ago when you said you've heard of housing bubbles, were having a wide receiver bubble. You were right. He should never have paid.

Joy Taylor (30:21)

Wait, give me Saquon Barkley. I. I'll take him.

Colin Cowherd (30:23)

Stevon Diggs didn't work. Brandon Auk's contract looks regret. Regrettable. Debo Samuel, last year with The Niners.

Joy Taylor (30:29)

Christian McCaffrey was the engine. He's not there this year.

Colin Cowherd (30:32)

They've kind of fallen off a cliff.

Joy Taylor (30:34)

You need a power run game. And I know the analytics, you know, this is similar to that NBA three point discussion. In the NBA, everybody's saying threes. In the NFL, everybody, you got to pass the football. You have to pass. Running is stupid. Well, a couple, couple of best teams in the league right now have gone against the grain and they're thriving. And James Cook, man, he's on my fantasy team. I don't want to brag too much, but I'm in the championship thanks to James Cook. Final story.

Colin Cowherd (30:56)

Colin.

Joy Taylor (30:56)

Oh. Lincoln, Riley and usc. Oh, my gosh, this is not good. They have now lost nine of the 12 top 100 recruits signed in 20, 22 and 23, including all four of the five star recruits. Okay, bottom line, you know, they're losing the stars that they got out of high school. Got something. Wait, wait. Hang tight. Okay? Lincoln addressed guys leaving the program and here he is talking about it.

Colin Cowherd (31:28)

There's a financial component to every decision that we make and every decision that a player makes. Now you, you overpower, pay for the wrong person. It affects every other one on the roster. Listen, I think everybody's having to adapt. I think, you know, everybody's having to determine, you know, where they place value on, on certain positions on certain people. And that's just the nature of it. The NFL has been doing it forever. I think people are freaking out here. I was talking to somebody on the staff yesterday. By the way, all these great recruits, none of them were difference makers. See ya. Bye.

Joy Taylor (32:06)

Branch had the potential to be. He didn't get enough.

Colin Cowherd (32:09)

So does every five star kid. He didn't do anything. The best two receivers stayed. This is all a bunch of nonsense. First of all, what Lincoln Riley said was this. When a kid makes a choice now, it's a money choice. And he's right. If USC gets a guy in the portal, they outpaid Oregon. If Oregon gets it over usc, Oregon paid more. He wasn't ripping the collective. What he was saying is it all comes. It's not facilities, it's not winning. It all comes down to what you're being paid. He's absolutely right. And USC's collective is now $18 million, which is top seven in the sport. That's not the issue. But what he's saying is, hey, if you pay the wrong guy, which they did with Bear Alexander, well, then you. You just spent a million dollars and you're not getting anything out of it. So you have to be very careful. People are taking these bites as if they're flammable. He's just telling you what's happening, which is every decision by kids now is all money. And that's fine. But if, if usc. USC signed a running back the other day, they probably paid more than Colorado was going to pay. That's all kids care about. That's fine.

Joy Taylor (33:12)

This is a tricky one, Colin, because, you know, it's like the NFL in free agency. You pay the wrong guy, you overspent.

Colin Cowherd (33:19)

It's the same thing.

Joy Taylor (33:19)

It's like exact same thing.

Colin Cowherd (33:20)

And that's what's happened to college football.

Joy Taylor (33:22)

I do wonder if maybe the teams need to start thinking of it the way the NFL they are. I want.

Colin Cowherd (33:29)

I don't.

Joy Taylor (33:30)

I don't want a flashy wide receiver. I need a left tackle and a right tackle. I need to protect my quarterback. And I. This is why I'm bullish on Bill Belichick. I do believe he's going to come in with an NFL mindset. Trenches, trenches, trenches.

Colin Cowherd (33:42)

Yeah, right.

Joy Taylor (33:43)

And find, like Edelman was saying, give me. Give me a guy who maybe is undervalued and can win, because I don't. I'm worried about your boy Lincoln. Riley Collins. Listen, I know he's not going anywhere this year.

Colin Cowherd (33:55)

They're not.

Joy Taylor (33:56)

$70 million buyout. It's not happening.

Colin Cowherd (33:58)

People are taking bites, and they're making them into what they're not. We just have to be honest about this whole thing. If Notre Dame beats LSU on a player, it's likely it was. It came down to money. And that's all he's saying. And that's exactly right. USC needs a quarterback next year and a couple of corners and a D tackle. If you go look at their schedule. It is the easiest Big Ten sch schedule you could possibly have.

Joy Taylor (34:22)

By the way, you say it comes down to money. I'm going to give you three teams. Oregon with Dylan Gabriel, Miami with Cam Ward, Ohio State with Howard.

Colin Cowherd (34:30)

They paid the money.

Joy Taylor (34:31)

Ohio State. The reports are Ohio State didn't want to go to Cam Ward's number. Colin, if Ohio State had Cam Ward.

Colin Cowherd (34:38)

They'D be the national champs.

Joy Taylor (34:39)

Lock that up. I. I think they made a mistake.

Colin Cowherd (34:43)

But Cam went to Miami for the check. I am not begrudging. Yeah, and Miami was relevant. The biggest. The biggest nil collective is Oregon's.

Joy Taylor (34:53)

They got Gabriel.

Colin Cowherd (34:53)

They have Phil Knight, Ohio State.

Joy Taylor (34:56)

Listen, Howard, I'm not crushing the case.

Colin Cowherd (34:58)

Fine. He's okay.

Joy Taylor (34:59)

Well, against Oregon, he kind of screwed up at the end. And then he was abysmal against Michigan.

Colin Cowherd (35:03)

Yeah. So you got to pay the right people. That's what it's all about. You've got to pay the right. But just like the NFL, now, it's an NFL model to some degree. J. Mac of the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by the Herd lie news. So this is interesting. It is interesting to watch. Perception against reality. And so over the last three weeks, here is what I've heard about Kirk Cousins. He's washed. Atlanta should have never paid for him. He's a bum. He's just no good. And over the last three years, here's what I've heard about Brock Purdy, franchise quarterback. He's a star. You got to give him the bag. Perception against reality. Well, what if they're the same quarterback since October? Brock Purdy and Kirk Cousins. Cousins, the one that's washed and panic should play is actually better. More wins, higher completion percentage, more passing touchdowns, fewer picks or more picks, Passer ratings higher. And so it's just very interesting. The entire time, I've pushed back on Brock Purdy, who I like. I'll pay him 34 million. He's much closer to Baker Mayfield than. Than, you know, Josh Allen. Much closer. And I don't think he's as talented as Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold. But the entire time, didn't we ask this question about Brock Purdy his entire career? Okay, it's productive. But what would he be like, you know, with a normal roster? Well, now, because of injuries, he has a normal roster since October. And he's worse than Kirk Cousins, who you are calling washed. Perception against reality. That's all we asked. The only thing I pushed back on it, I know he's Productive. But how much is him? And right now, by the way, even though the Niners are beat up, PFF has George Kittle as the number one receiver, Juwan Jennings number nine receiver. So Kittle's number one tight end, Jennings number nine receiver. And Trent Williams has played in 10 of 14 games. Oh yeah, there's this guy named Kyle Shanahan and his numbers are worse than Kirk Cousins. So Steve Young was on the Dan Patrick show this week talking about that contract dilemma with Purdy. Everyone loves Brock and loves his game and loves his efficiency and his leadership and everything else, but we got to make sure we have the money to put the people with him to, to, to go win it. But if you're talking about I, we want to go to the super bowl, we need people to be there to help Brock. And so just with that mentality, he could all get worked out. If everybody says, oh no, I want every last dollar and I have to, and I have to set the market, that's going to be a complicated. There's the awkwardness. So again, right now, because of injuries, the Niners roster is closer to the Texans. Good team, good roster, pretty good. Than the Eagles. Great roster. And so when you say, you know Brock Purdy, I don't feel sorry for teams that have data. All they have to do is a little homework and they're pressurized into signing a quarterback because the fans like him or he's popular in the locker room. You sign this guy to a 60 or a 50, bye bye. You're going to become the Cowboys. Bye bye. You're going to get real top heavy. So, and this is not a knock on him, it's just here's the data. You know, if you go look at the 14 quarterbacks right now in the playoffs, you know what you're going to notice? All the best quarterbacks and not all of them have great rosters. Does Bo Nix have a great roster? I think it's better than people think. I mean, here are your current playoff quarterbacks. Every one of these, almost everyone's a first round quarterback, okay? He got drafted in the seventh round. So you're telling me Cousins is washed and that it was a terrible contract but you want Purdy to get a five year bag? I don't know what you're seeing because the data doesn't tell you that's what to do. 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Joy Taylor (44:08)

Make sure you play this week's Fox Super 6, sponsored by DraftKings. Go to the Fox Sports app and enter for a free chance to win cash prizes.

Colin Cowherd (44:18)

Yeah, I was funny yesterday. I had a commentary earlier. There's week on the NBA ratings and it really blew up millions upon millions of people feedback and and I got it from our social department, blah blah blah. And it's funny. One of the things a lot of the media critics are trying to figure out NBA ratings. It's not difficult. The American public is always right. Caitlin Clark's awesome. They watched in droves. Tiger was awesome. They watched in droves. You can't fool the American public. They don't want politics with their sports. Sorry, left leaning media. They don't. They want a separation. The NBA's got more political than other leagues. It's costume in a very tribal split society. And the bottom line is a lot of the stars play when they feel like playing. And there's too many three point shots. I'm an NBA guy, I watch less NBA. I don't like what it looks like. Baseball this year. I told you I watched more baseball this year than I have in 20 years. Why? Because the game was faster. They took away the defensive shift. All the stars were on the big market teams. So the public's always right. The media struggles with this league struggle with this. The NBA has to make some changes. Just like Goodell did in the NFL, Manfred did in Major League Baseball. And the minute you make changes and respect the public, you will be rewarded. This isn't about guys like me, older guys looking for nostalgia. I've said a hundred times we've never had more NBA great athletes. I thought the Pacers, Spike Lee Knicks series is the most overrated series and over documented series ever. It was awful. It was a free throw shooting contest. I don't care about Spike Lee on the sidelines. I want players doing great things. That was the most because it was in New York. That's why it got all the press. It was a. It was just a bunch of. I mean go look at the scores and the number of free throws. It was awful. So I am, I am not a romantic when it comes to sports. You guys have all been listening to me for 20 some years. I'm not a romantic. I make fun of purists. They're annoying, they're dorky, like whatever's the best. Now I'm. I'm for. I'm for nil. I'm for transfer portal. I don't see the world ending in sports. But the NBA product now. Too many threes. Every team looks the same, everybody runs the same offense. It's boring. The public is always right. If I get a good rating on my show, it's because I had a good segment. If I have a bad segment, I get a bad rating. The public's right. It's up to me. It's up to the NBA, it's up to the NFL to make the quality better. But the public, I mean, mostly guys didn't watch the wnba. Their ratings weren't very good. Caitlin arrived. All of a sudden, the male audience, it's Taylor Swift. Why? Because Caitlin Clark's awesome. She's like a female Steph Curry. Never seen anything like it before. 34 footers. So the public will reward you. What? You can't be as stubborn. You can't be stubborn as a league. These baseball purists. Go collect your baseball cards, you weirdos. Don't listen to purists. They're not going anywhere. If you reward the audience, they'll come flying back in. It's like, it's like ufc. Dana White, he is always looking for a star. Always. In fact, sometimes we'll give you our money as fans. And it's a, it's, it's Logan, Paul and Tyson. We err on the side of consumption. We're looking for fun stuff. But if you don't change the NBA and you got a bunch of guys jacking up threes, the public is right. The ratings are plummeting. They don't want up 72 threes in this game. You're watching everybody play. Oklahoma City was 5 of 32. Let me ask you this. Would you watch my show if I was mispronouncing every other word or would you go. It's not very efficient. Have you ever seen CNN's ratings go down? Maybe it's the 38 people on the set. The public is always right. They're going to watch Texas, Ohio State because it's huge. You know what they don't watch? The Weed Eater Bowl. Stop blaming the public. Stop blaming commentators because of nostalgia. Change. Tweak more mid range. And, and the league has got a. Whatever the history is. 80 years. I've been watching it since the 70s. But here's what I know more than most media people because I've been doing this a long time and I've been pretty good at it. The audience is right. Tweak it. Roger Goodell came on my show and I said, you got to tweak your catch rule. I, I literally had him on the show. I said, you got to change the catch rule. I'm a consumer. I'm totally confused. What did they do? They changed it during a Super Bowl. That Eagles. Super bowl with New England. They gave guys catches in the back of the end zone that they wouldn't have given them a month earlier. So this whole thing about all the old heads, it's all nonsense and it's just make the game better. We were watching it, by the way. It's not like we weren't watching it when the warriors were great. Because not every team was trying to be the Warriors. The warriors had three of the best three point shooters ever. And it was fascinating. Katie, Stephen, Clay. But if you have a roster like OKC or Houston, Houston can't shoot now. They're athletic, so they should be a transition team and play fast and defend, but they can't shoot. I mean, I've watched them three times this year. It's awful. But when they get in transition, they're really fun to watch. Same with okc. If Chad Holmgren's not playing, it's sga and a bunch of guys, a bunch of Lou Dorts, it doesn't work. So I, I. The arrogance of leagues. Rob Manfred, baseball was literally not talked about. The attendance was doing this for eight years. Eight years. TV ratings. He changed the pitch clock immediately. You can roll your eyes, J. Mac. That year, the ratings and attendance went up immediately. The audience will tell you NBA cup final ratings were down 30% this year. Wemby is seven foot three. Half his shots are three pointers. It's awful. The sport's not awful. The current infrastructure and aesthetic of it is. But, I mean, baseball is a great example. It was on a downward trend for a decade. The minute Rob Manfred changed it, it went right back up. The public's begging you to get it right. They're begging you. Just, just tweak, fix, whatever you got to do. I don't want WEMBY shooting. 12, 3, 7, 4. For God's sakes, get him the basket. You get me all worked up on this stuff. I know I've talked about this, but stubborn. It never wins in sports. It doesn't win for commissioners, it doesn't win for coaches. It doesn't win for players. It doesn't win for broadcasters. Don't get stubborn. Just, just tweak, tweak, tweak. And I also think baseball has a new thing called the golden at bat. And all the purists are worked up about it. I get Mookie bets one more time, and whenever purists go, I'll never watch baseball again. All right, bye, bye. Take care. I will. I'll watch more. I'll watch twice as much. He'll watch not as much. And they'll what? Whatever purists tell you, I'm out of here. It's like the people who boycotted the NFL. I'm not watching because of Kaepernick. I'll never watch again. Ratings are up. And that's with Breeze gone, Manning gone, Brady gone. Far have gone. Ratings are up. We want to be entertained. We're all sitting at home at night looking for something to watch. You are. I am. Holidays, I'm sitting home with in laws half I don't like. I'm looking for something to watch. Put something good on. All right. I had. I was going to go somewhere else there, but I just got all worked up. You get me worked up. Blockbuster was stubborn, all right. Okay. Congratulations. How's Blockbuster doing? I haven't driven by one of those in a while. Stubborns. A death sentence. It's over. All right. Greg Cosell, Joel Klatt. Joel, I am so fired up if Ohio State in a weird way because I tend to root for tire fires. It's better for us if Ohio State loses. It's anarchy. I, I, I. It really is. If Ohio State loses. I got like 32 segments to fill just on Buckeyes. What's up, everybody?

Joy Taylor (52:42)

Adnan Burke here to tell you about a new podcast.

Colin Cowherd (52:44)

It's NHL Unscripted with Virgin Demers, Jason and Mers here.

Joy Taylor (52:47)

And after playing 700 NHL games, I got a lot of dirty laundry to air out. Hey, I got a lot to say here, too, okay?

Colin Cowherd (52:53)

Each week we'll get together, chat about the sport that we tons of guests.

Joy Taylor (52:56)

Are going to join in, too. But we're not just going to be talking hockey, folks.

Colin Cowherd (52:59)

We're talking movies, we're talking tv, food, and Adnan's favorite wrestling.

Joy Taylor (53:03)

It's all on Le table.

Colin Cowherd (53:05)

Listen to NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers, the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, y'all? So on a recent episode of Questlove supreme, my co hosts, Mpe Bill and Sugar Steve and I sat down with the king at Rock of the Beastie Boys. We talked about the early days of the Beasties, thinking for records around the globe and how he makes music these days in a cabin in the mountains. Oh, and this jewel.

Joy Taylor (53:29)

I was trying to start a band in the 90s called the nasal tongue. Me and Q Tip and MC Milk and be real.

Colin Cowherd (53:37)

Listen to Questlove supreme on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Catch Jon Stewart back in action on the Daily show and in your ears with the Daily Show Ears Edition podcast. From his hilarious satirical takes on today's politics and entertainment to the unique voices of correspondents and contributors, it's your perfect companion to stay on top of what's happening now. Plus, you'll get special content just for podcast listeners, like in depth interviews and a roundup of the week's top headlines. Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up everyone? It's Justin Penic from John Boy Media, the host of the Football Today podcast with Bobby Skinner and Chris Rose. We roll three times a week on Mondays, on Wednesdays, on Fridays, breaking down everything you need to know about the NFL. We're gearing up for the NFL playoffs. I hope you can join us. Join in with us three times a week. Listen to Football Today on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast and you will be glad you did.