The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 01/14/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: January 14, 2021

-There is a big leadership gap between LeBron James and Kevin Durant-The Jaguars are a perfect fit for Urban Meyer-Why aren't NFL teams trying to hire Nick Saban?-The Chiefs title window isn't as wide open as people thinkGuest: Greg Cosell, NFL Films Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is big to me.

I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild. 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. Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Herd. This is the Best of the Herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Thursday. Live in Los Angeles, it's the Hurd.

Wherever you may be, however you may be listening, Fox Sports Radio, Iheart Radio, and FS1. One hour from now, Greg CoSell, do you bet football, do you play fantasy football or just love the game? Greg CoSell, NFL meat sandwich in one hour. We've got all sorts of breaking news happening today, all sorts of car chases. Car chases don't always end in car crashes. Sometimes there's a nice little resolution into a police department or something. So we don't know what's going to happen in Brooklyn. It's a lot of noise, I'll tell you that.

It was a crazy day yesterday. It was. And this morning is getting even more intense. It is. So let's just talk. James Harden wanted out of Houston. He's out of Houston. Now he's in Brooklyn.

I don't know what's happening to Kyrie Irving. but it is your typical NBA blockbuster deal. Four teams, five draft picks, four draft swaps, and seven players. And only one matters, James Hardin. Rest of it, nobody cares. Nobody cares. James Harden, if and when he gets into shape, KD, James Hardin, is interesting. Championships, no, but it's interesting.

I think we can officially signal the end of the Kyrie Irving is a franchise guy. Kyrie Irving is a buildaround guy. Those days are over. I don't want to waste any time talking about Kyrie. I'm not going to project or I'm not going to guess. Who knows? His best friends don't know what he's doing. But Brooklyn, number one, Brooklyn had to make this move.

Why? Because Kevin Durant can opt out in one year. After next year, he can opt out. not sticking around for crazy, Kyrie and a bunch of bench guys. Number two, this also signaled that Brooklyn and KD now acknowledge we pick the wrong running, mate. But again, I don't want to spend a lot of time talking about Kyrie. This is all about James Harden. James and Kevin Durant, two of the top seven, eight players in the league, maybe two of the top five or six.

And I think they're very, very interesting. And they'll be very good when he gets into shape. And he will. He'll get into shape. But what this really illustrates to me, the difference. between LeBron, James, and Kevin Durant. For years, there was this inane argument, and it went on for like years. Kevin Durant's better than LeBron.

Oh, that's so sad. No, no, no, forget, forget because one guy can shoot a better jumper. No, no, no, no. Kevin Durant couldn't make Kyrie Irving work for three weeks. LeBron made it work for three years. and that is the difference. In the NBA, let's just take stars, top 12, 15 player. There's only two groups of them.

There's LeBron and Steph. Husbands, fathers, dads, men, selfless, smart, businessmen, emotionally strong, intellectually strong, physically capable. LeBron and Steph, build your franchise around them. They're grownups. Give them the keys to the franchise. Then there's the other group, 10-12 guys, super talented, unbelievably gifted. Some of the best players in the history of the game. Kevin Durant, Westbrook, Kyrie, you know, you know, those guys, Kawhi Leonard.

Many of them unraveled in the bubble. Couldn't take it as LeBron rose to the top of the league. That's what we have in this league. LeBron and Steph, give them the keys to the franchise grownups. other guys, they're just gifted. By the way, nothing wrong. Some guys don't want to be leaders. But this whole situation tells you,

Kevin Durant couldn't make this thing work for three weeks. The idea that Kevin Durant was ever LeBron, you know, there's more to basketball than shooting jumpers. There's defense. There's teamwork. There's passing. There's doing the interviews after the game. There's the face of the franchise responsibility.

There's making trades work. There's elevating draft picks. There is working with your coaching staff in your front office. LeBron and Steph can do that. And then it's just talented dudes. But Chris Broussard talked about KD yesterday. Talented, but what else? My opinion is that he let all the talk about, oh, they were cheap championships.

There's an asterisk there. Anybody could have won those rings. And I was in that boat too. I believe those, he was great. but, you know, that team was stacked without him. I think he let that get to him and want to go somewhere else where it was his team and prove that he could win rings on his own. Again, I think he'd deny it, but I think that's the case.

And here's the thing, Colin, KD, as great as he is, he is not a leader, he's a follower, and he picked the wrong guy to follow. 99% of the stars in this league, they're just followers. LeBron and Steph, here's the keys. You'll get it done. I mean, Kauai couldn't even create decent chemistry with that stacked roster. The chemistry went into the tank. And listen, it's, you know, K.D. left the Warriors because he wasn't getting enough credit when they won.

Now he goes to Brooklyn. And if they win with Kyrie and Hardin, once again, he's not going to get all the credit. And now it's like a three-ring circus. But the difference is LeBron is playing chess. Everything is strategized. Everything is thought out. Every business move. beats headsets,

Lakers, calves, heat, coaches, players, draft picks, free agents between Maverick Carter and Rich Paul

and LeBron James. They are eight moves ahead of the league. LeBron is playing chess. KD and the other stars are just playing checkers. Just make an impulsive move to take a piece.

Not really thought out. Not any great strategy. Just kind of bouncing around, moving around the league. Can I win this game? Can I take that checker? That's it. There is such a gap.

And I know it's a cliche, but there's such a gap from what LeBron's doing and KD's doing. Stuff is so thought out and so smart. I mean, LeBron had this Anthony Davis deal. He had this thing done like two years ago. They had this thing wrapped up two years ago. And by the way, when LeBron went and got Anthony Davis, he's the perfect teammate. LeBron had it so thought out. Anthony Davis is quiet.

Anthony Davis, LeBron doesn't like to protect the rim. He wants to get out in the fast break. What's Anthony Davis do? He's one of the great shop lockers of all time. One of the best defensive bigs of all time. LeBron, and the personality works, the game works. I mean, Joy and I talked about this.

LeBron and AD literally the first week, you're like, what? It's perfect. It's like they're brothers. They've been planning it ever 20 years. Like LeBron is just, he's in a different galaxy. He makes everything work. He won with David Blatt.

He won't with Eric Spolstry. He wins with Ty Lou. Now he went to with Frank Vogel. Katie couldn't make the Brooklyn thing work for three weeks. It's interesting. I've never turned off a car chase. Ever. I watch him to the end.

And I'll watch Brooklyn to the end. All right. So this weekend, I was told by a source at Ohio State that Urban Meyer was going to take the Jacksonville Jaguar. job. And now the NFL network, I think there's four or five people reporting that Urban Meyer assembling a staff and he's going to take the Jags job. First of all, I think Urban Meyer owed himself this. He's 56 years old. One of the great college football coaches of all time and as good an analyst in college football as the sport has ever seen. He's 56. What is he going to golf for the

next 30 years? Be an administrator at a Big Ten school. He owes himself this. He is younger than Sean Peyton and John Harbaugh. He's 56. College football now, because there's two signing periods, is a relentless 365 days recruiting Schloid. It's not as much fun as it used to be. There's no offseason. And he's able to cherry pick what I consider to be a perfect job for him. Remember, doesn't have to be a perfect job in Jacksonville, but it's the perfect job for Urban. He's got a home there. Florida Gator Country. He's an icon. He gets a lot. He gets a That's Trevor Lawrence. He's an offensive, gifted coach.

The division's always been sort of winnable and quirky. They've got a ton of cap space. They've got draft picks. And he'll have personnel say. He's also been promised the facilities will be upgraded. But this is the difference why Urban's probably, of all the coaches I've met in my life, college football coaches, I think Urban's really, really smart. If not the smartest, it's a short list.

Is that a lot of coaches just take jobs. It goes back to the LeBron KD thing. chess and checkers. A lot of coaches just take jobs because they're open or they're desperate. He treats his profession like a stockbroker treats stocks. So I've been falling in Ermin Meyer for 20 years. Utah has always been a good program. It had two down years with Ron McBride, an old coach. He retired. Good program down. He swoops into Utah. Boom. 10-11 wins. He goes to Florida. Great program. Ron Zook could recruit, could not be a head coach. Great program down.

Swoops in national titles. Ohio State, great program down. Luke Fickle, six and seven. Swoops in, doesn't lose a conference game for two years. Most coaches, they just take jobs out of desperation. They take what's offered. There's no strategy behind it. Jacksonville just got the world's smartest stockbroker.

They're an $8 stock. The minute they draft Trevor Lawrence, they're a $28 stock. and Urban Meyer with that cap space, few free agents, there are a $48 stock. Too many coaches just, I'm a ball coach. I got my whistle. I got my plays. Urban Myers miles ahead of that. It's not the first job he's been offered.

Utah wasn't the only job. Florida wasn't the only job. Ohio State wasn't the only job. He had Penn State or Ohio State. He had Notre Dame or Florida. He's always taken the job. entry points matter. You don't want to follow Howard Stern.

You don't want to follow Mike Shoshchevsky at Duke. You don't want to follow Dean Smith at Carolina. This is a perfect entry point and a perfect fit. I don't know if they win Super Bowls, but if you go look at the AFC South, it's been nine years since somebody won 12 games. And there's only one big time quarterback in the conference, big time being like star Deshawn Watson and he wants out of the conference. So congrats to Urban.

I think for him it's the best job he could possibly do. And it makes the Jags, you know, I said this about James Hardin and Kyrie Irvin, Kevin Durant. Interesting's okay too. Jacksonville now is interesting. That's okay. Nothing wrong with interesting. Not many teams are championship caliber.

Ravens, Packers, Saints, Chiefs, those are championship caliber. And Jacksonville is going to be interesting. I'm all for it. Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

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

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

or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what you need to be. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

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

unpack what went down And try to make sense of how we survived it Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill Waxing all about crack In the 80s To be clear

84 is big to me Not just because of crack I'm down to talk about crack On day but yeah yeah But just so y'all know I mean at this point Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack

So I'm starting to see There's a through line We also have AIDS On the table right now So Thank you finishing that sentence. Yes.

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

Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests, I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark.

Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross.

Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different. different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new

podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free Our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. I got a story in the NFL that's stunning me and then one that's surprising me. And just hear me out on this. I don't ask for much in life. Why isn't anybody calling Nick Saban? Boy, it's too old. We just had two presidential candidates. One was 78, one was 74. To run the country. And the 78-year-old won.

That's global travel. Four years of it. Nick Saban is a non-drinker and a non-smoker and is an energizer bunny. He's burning 16,000 calories every game screaming at people. Does he look old? Pete Carroll's 69. He just signed a five-year economy. extension.

Vin Scully was doing play-by-play, eloquently by himself in a booth in the summer. In his mid-80s, Marve Albert's going to be 80. Regis Philbin was laugh-out-loud funny at 78 years old on the air. Joe Biden's our president and he's 78. Nick Sabin's 69 years old. Takes care of his body. I think he looks. He's in great shape.

I think he's lost weight. doesn't drink, doesn't smoke. Every time I see him on TV, he's eloquent, he's floored. Belichick, 68, Peaccarolls 69. Coach K is 73, Popovich, 76, Jim Beheim, 76. Warren Buffett's the number one stock trader in America. He's 90. You don't think Sabin could get the Houston Texans right?

You don't think Saban could go to Tampa if Bruce Ariens isn't the guy next year with Brady in that roster? He was not a disaster in the NFL. He was nine and seven first year with Miami. The team doctors wouldn't allow him to get and sign Drew Breezy. He went six and ten and said, see ya. Thanks for flying United. I'm going off to Tuscaloosa.

Why won't anybody call him? It's amazing. We got guys who have never been a high school head coach getting offered NFL jobs. I mean, you do know there's seven openings. Four of the guys they hire won't work. One will be a stud. Two will be okay, but eventually fired. You don't think Nick Saban would mop up in the draft for the next four years?

He would crush. Urban Meyer is going to crush for the next three drafts. He's seen the tape on all these guys. Why isn't anybody offering him a job? Folks, you think I, when do you think I'm leaving? You're going to be looking at this ugly face for 30 years. I'm going to be eating Jersey Mike subs when I'm 80 breaking down NBA trades. Where's my teeth?

I'm not going anywhere. This idea that like, oh, he's 68 years old. Pete Carroll just signed a five-year extension. Pete Carroll's wearing out his gum every Sunday on the sidelines. Do you treat your body? Pete's not a big drinker. He's not a smoker. He's not a smoker.

He's a movement guy. We've all been around 68-year-olds that feel 108. We've all been around 68-year-olds that feel 55. Nobody's calling Nick Sabin? Really? He's never had a health scare. Urban's had a couple, never had a health scare. Huge energy.

By the way, he just had his best recruiting class ever at Alabama. Ever. Do you know how hard recruiting is? Recruiting's all energy and work. He's doing got different coaches every year. He's hiring this guy and got to get rid of that guy and got to replace that guy. It's effortless. Every year he's great.

I don't know why people aren't calling him. He wasn't a disaster. Spurrier was a disaster. Nick went nine and seven. doctors are like you can't have Drew Breeze. Six and ten, I'm out. By the way, how'd Belichick do this year? It's amazing what you can't do in the NFL

when you don't have a quarterback. You can't win. Nobody can win. Belichick can't win without the quarterback. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. One of the things we know to be absolutely true,

it is easier to win NBA championships and Super Bowls. when the path is easier. We know Michael Jordan, we suspect he's the best basketball player of all time. Many believe that. But when the Pistons with Isaiah Thomas were in their prime and the Celtics with Larry Bird were in their prime, Michael couldn't get to the finals. And then those teams got old, and the path was easier in the east.

And then he won, and Magic, and the Lakers got old. And the path got easier, and he never had to really face great teams in the finals. It was Barclay Suns, Gary Payton's Sonics. You know, Clyde Drexler's Blazers, good teams, not all timers. Belichick, it's amazing how easy it is when you always get a buy home field advantage because the AFC East is terrible. It's amazing how that works. There is this sense that Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs are going to go on a 12-year run

and it's going to create a litany of Super Bowl trophies. They'll have to build rooms in Kansas City. But remember, they're going to have to pay him. This year his cap hits $5 million. Next year it's 22, 21. After that, it's in the 30s. After that, it's in the 40s. You better win now.

Because look at the current AFC quarterback roster. Look how many great young quarterbacks are in the AFC. Mahomes 25, Watson 25, Baker 25, Josh Allen 24, Burrow 24, Lamar 23, Justin Herbert 22. Trevor Lawrence 21. I won't count Justin Fields because I don't think he's a guarantee to be a star. In the NFC, we're not talking about what could really happen with Aaron Rogers. Is it going to be Aaron, who's 36, has five to six years left that goes on an unbelievable run? Brady's a year or two from retiring. Breeze is retiring. Alex Smith, Matt Ryan, Matt Stafford, and a bunch of young quarterbacks, Goff,

Trubisky, Carson Wenz, Garopolo, eh, a lot of meh, a lot of, I don't know. Aaron Rogers is going to have a much easier path, even in Aaron Rogers Division. Minnesota is not going to live with Kirk Cousins forever. Chicago's eventually moving off Tribisky. Stafford's not the future in Detroit. it's going to look like the AFC East. It's going to be Aaron Rogers and three teams trying to figure out quarterbacks. And Zimmer's a defensive coach, and the Lions may hire Robert Sala,

and he's a defensive coach, and those are not wizards offensively like Aaron has with Matt LaFleur. We're all talking about Mahomes dominating this league. He's got Justin Herbert in his own division. Good luck with that for the next decade. It looks like to me Aaron's got this runway. of eight, nine, ten years, and the only other star is Russell Wilson. That's it. That's it.

And Russell had to just get his OC fired and has the worst offensive line of all the star quarterbacks. So I know you don't think I like Aaron Rogers, but I look at the runway. And the runway is, for Aaron, is Russell Wilson and a soon-to-be-year-old head coach, who's more of a defensive guy. It's like, all right, that's what, you may not even have to play them in the playoffs. Somebody else could knock them off. I mean, Mahomes is just going to have this.

I mean, Josh Allen, many believe, is just as talented. Lamar's not, but is a better athlete. And I'm not even counting like Justin Fields. I'm not counting Tua. What if Deshaun Watson goes over to a better coach? So it's not a knock on Kansas City. I think it's remarkable. And in a lot of instances, this is really all about one thing.

AFC general managers moved up to get Lamar, moved up to get Mahomes, moved up to get Josh Allen. In a lot of instances, AFC general managers were just smart, super aggressive, and moved up to get star quarterbacks. I don't know. Kyler, I guess, is the real star in the NFCs. The one guy we all believe is kind of magnetic. And I don't doubt that. I don't think he's, I don't think he's Mahomes or Josh Allen, but I do think there's some real talent.

Maybe Jalen Hertz becomes that. But it's a lot of Carson Wentz, Tribisky, Gough. And then it's a bunch of Matt Ryan's getting old and Stafford's getting old and Breeze is going to retire and Brady's going to retire. And that's Aaron Rogers, Russell Wilson, and a lot of we don't know. I think the Packers got a long runway of Super Bowls if Aaron can stay upright. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life,

mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, Follow at Clifford and a TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 was big to me

not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack, so I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now, so...

Thank you for finishing that sentence. Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to Look

back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing and we're still chasing it and we don't know

when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch life becomes about wins and losses Steve Burns Dustin Ross because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth or are you a good person because you're afraid because that's two different intentions bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust I want you to just really be a good person Join me, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. Kansas City is a 10-point favorite over Cleveland, and the line hasn't moved. So that means the sharps, the wise guys, the people that bet for a living, not Twitter, but people that bet for a living, yep, that's the right line.

I don't get it. I don't understand it. So basically Patrick Mahomes is getting the LeBron treatment, which is, we don't really consider the regular season. He'll flip a switch and be great. So Cleveland's won 11 games. They just destroyed the Steelers. They have the number one offensive line in the NFL. They're seven and two since the by week.

One of those losses close to Baltimore, who everybody loves. The line loves Baltimore this week. They beat four playoff teams. They beat the Colts. There's no real advantage, by the way, being at home in Kansas City, maybe a half a point. This is the round, the divisional round where upsets happened. Two of the last three years, big dogs have upset big favorites. Last year it was Tennessee upset Baltimore.

And by the way, Raiders were an 11-point dog this year to Kansas City and beat them in Kansas City. And the line hasn't moved. And Baltimore didn't look good in December. Kansas City did not look good in December. And they're a 10-point favorite. I don't understand it. So this happens a couple times a year. It happens about once or twice a year.

I'm trying to think the last time it happened. It was, I think I'm wrong on this. I think it was like a Jets Raiders game or something. And the Jets blew the Raiders out. It was a Jets game a couple of years ago. I'm like, I don't understand the line. So I must be wrong. Generally, every week I think there's a line in the league.

Like this year, my number, my favorite bet this year was Green Bay went to Houston. Green Bay got humiliated by Tampa. The next week they were going to dysfunctional Houston. said on Twitter, I'm like, that's the better of the year, Green Bay. Green Bay was like minus four or something. And they won. And they won. I said, that's just a mistake by Vegas.

But this is now, I mean, these are, these are talked about discussed teams. You've only got a couple games left. The wise guys aren't moving off this. So I don't get it. I honestly, it makes me think Kansas City is going to blow out Cleveland. That's what it makes me think. It's like, I'm just, I mean, I understand Andy Redoff a bye. That's like the easiest cliche in the world.

they haven't played well in a month, and they're a 10-point favorite. The Raiders were at 11-point. That's what 10 points is in the NFL. Raiders at Arrowhead earlier in the year. Plus, it's a little more than a buy now. A buy. Like, bye-bye. Buy is a week.

It's a buy-bye. We haven't seen you in three weeks. I don't get it. So Greg Kosel, 41 years NFL. We always bring him on in Thursdays. Do you bet NFL? Do you play fantasy football or just love the sport? He is now joining us live.

NFL Meat Sandwich. Before I get to the playoff games, There's four. I want to talk about Tua. Yeah. So my concern was before he played. I went on the air and I said, listen, Lamar's feet, Josh Allen's size, Herbert's arm, Burroughs escapability and calm. They've all got an it.

Tua is accurate. You know, that goes back to the Chris Rock joke. That's the basics in the NFL. That's like saying I love my kids. Okay? Okay. That's the give me, right? So after accuracy, where's the it?

And I don't see it. And so I look at that and I think. think, what does the film say about to us? Should they move off him? Should they keep him? What does it say? Well, I'm not going to judge his entire career based on seven or eight games or whatever it was, but we have to understand what he is. He's a certain kind of quarterback. He's a timing rhythm player. He needs to hit his back foot. He needs the ball to come out. He has some movement, but he will not be a big time second reaction player in the league. So now when you look at those traits, you have to decide what can he be? And it's going to leave. And it's going to

lead to a fascinating discussion as we get to the draft, Colin, as to traits versus production, obviously to a high-level production at the best college program in America. But traits, like Justin Herbert, like Josh Allen is now showing in his third year, he does not have those kinds of traits. So are people going to start looking at traits, or will they still look at production? Two is not at that level when it comes to traits. I mean, some of these throws, like you say, if he's not, throwing off the back foot, it doesn't work. Like he has to throw off the back.

He has to be set up and ready to throw. Correct. He's not a late in the down pocket quarterback, meaning he can't go 2.5, 3.1 seconds in the pocket and sit there while the rush gets close. He doesn't have the arm for that. He's not set up for that. He needs to be a timing rhythm throw, which by the way, Chan Galley understood, but it can't happen all the time.

And then you need something else to do. And that's where he's not there. whether he gets there, I'm not going to say he won't, but he's not there now. All right. Let's go to the games. Baltimore at Buffalo, a fascinating matchup with two dynamic quarterbacks. Let's start with this. How will Buffalo try to contain Lamar? Well, let me tell you this. These two teams played last year, week 14, and the bills did a really, really good job against Lamar Jackson and that offense. Now, obviously, that offense has added a number of elements to it in the run game.

This is a run game offense. But what the bills did last year, which they have not done this year, is they played out of their base defense last year. This year, they play 90% of their defensive snaps out of nickel with Terran Johnson, the slot corner, essentially playing linebacker against base personnel. He's very good at it, by the way. So the Ravens have added a lot of these counter-gap scheme elements to their run game that are very, very effective. And of course, you have the Lamar Jackson factor. I mean, the play we're looking at

right now, Kevin Byard, a very good NFL safety was in perfect position to make a play and couldn't make it. Yeah. So really, it's all about stopping the run game and how you go about doing that because the past game really is almost secondary. Josh Allen, how'd you think he played against the Colts? How do you think he's playing? I think he's playing at a really high level. He's the most physically gifted quarterback in the league when you look at his arm. his size, his movement. And he's playing extremely well right now. He's gotten so much better in a number of areas, pace and touch on his throws, patience in the pocket.

His ability to just stand there and deliver the football is absolutely remarkable. So he's playing at a really, really high level. He's going to face a ton of pressure in this game. The Ravens are a proactive pressure defense. They will not be scared of this at all. They are going to pressure Josh Allen. the bills do not really have that functional a run game and they don't even use it that much. Yeah.

So Allen will be under pressure. So he will move in this game, but I do believe he's going to have to make some throws from the pocket. It can all be just movement throws as good as he is at that. Wow. So it sounds like Josh Allen will be under duress. The line's under a field goal and I can't wait. Now, Kansas City Cleveland, it would seem to me as a novice, the run game for Cleveland, dictates their chances.

They run well, they got a shot. That's what I'm thinking. Well, it's very interesting you say that because what do you hear all the time in games like this? You have to keep the quarterback off the field. So on average, there's 12 possessions for a team in an NFL game. So let's say they get 10 possessions instead of 12. So let's say they score five touchdowns on those 10 possessions because Cleveland's defense is not that good, quite honestly, relative to Kansas City's offense. So if you are the Browns, is your goal to run the ball and keep Mahomes off the field or is your goal to score points?

And that might seem like a ridiculous thing to say, Colin, but you have to be careful, in my view, about getting into that, well, you got to keep them off the field. They're still going to get 10 possessions. You know, the Colts tried that against the bills this past week. They did a really good job of controlling time of possession, playing the way I'm sure they wanted to play, and they were losing 2410 in the third quarter. You've got to score points. So what is the best way to score points if you're the Browns? That's what you have to decide, not just say we're going to run the ball. Of course they're going to run the ball.

That's who they are. But you've got to score points. So, I mean, I guess Kansas City is your guess they can just flip a switch? They haven't played particularly well. I mean, do you just think they'll just flip a switch? Well, it's not a matter of flipping a switch. They've also had an extra week of practice. We know that they've got tremendous speed.

We know that they have some really good play designs. And Andy Reid always adds something in the playoffs, particularly when he has a week off. So it's not a matter of flipping a switch. They've got high quality talent at the receiver position, obviously, including the tight end Kelsey. And they do a lot of things by design with that talent. So you're going to see a couple of wrinkles to what they do. And that's where they're really, really good. Yeah.

I can't wait for that, by the way. It's, there's just, it is, there's so much drama. If they come out and blow Cleveland out, that'll just change the way I think about the whole playoffs, because I haven't, I haven't, Kansas City for the last month. You know, I said, I said that they remind me a little bit of the Warriors when they had Kevin Durant, Stefan Clay, that they were so dynamic. It is hard sometimes to create urgency because they have this ability to score 23 points in, in six minutes. No, you're exactly right.

Yeah. And I think it's, yeah. All right. They'd be down by 20, by 15. and then Curry would hit five threes in the space of a minute and a half. And then they're up by seven and you go, how did that happen? Right. Let's talk New Orleans and Tampa.

You said last week, and I want to continue on this, that this is the best Brady's played this year. And the ball's coming out quicker it looks like. And he's throwing it with great velocity, good accuracy. These teams played the last time week nine, and that was a game in which the Saints defense dominated both with pass rush and with their man-to-man coverage. The Saints are a man-to-man defensive team.

They play what we call two-man, two deep safeties, man-to-man across the board. Latimore has won the Latimore Evans matchup predominantly. So they're going to have to win against man coverage because they're going to get it. And Brady's going to have to turn it loose because this is a good pass rush as well. So he can't stand there and wait. So Brady's going to have to make some tight window throws, precise ball placement throws. he's more than capable of that, as we know. But they're going to have to beat man coverage in this game.

So the Saints beat him badly both times. Is there anything they did in the first two times that it doesn't look like Tampa can stop? I mean, at some point, they have given Tom troubles and they have scored with relative ease. Is it just a roster mismatch? I don't know if it's a roster mismatch. Obviously, Sean Payton is very good with design. And Breeze is another one of those timing rhythm throwers. At this point in his career, he has to hit his back foot and deliver the football when he can do that and he was able to do that against the bucks, then he's very, very efficient.

Now, what Todd Bowles will do is he will try to muddy the waters. He'll do a lot of disguise, late movement, post-snap movement. He'll try to slow down Drew Brees process. And that's what you have to do. He's a great quarterback and obviously as smart as there is, but you still have to try to slow down his process. If you don't do that, then he'll just hit that back foot and the ball will come out. And finally, Packers and Rams, the secondary is outstanding for Los Angeles. It's young.

It's active. They take big risks. They can match up with Devante Adams. Green Bay against the Rams defense. What do you suspect we'll see? Well, keep in mind that the Rams, they're not a match-up defense in terms of putting, let's say, Ramsey on Devante Adams. We'll see that for sure. But it won't happen on 60 snaps because what they do is they play a lot of zone.

Now, there are matchup principles to their zone, but Ramsey is not a traveling corner. He doesn't move around with great receivers. He doesn't go into the slot very much recently. So you're going to see them play what I believe will be their normal coverage. They're as good a team in the league in zone concepts as far as carrying players, passing receivers along. They do that better than anybody in the league. oh certainly over the last month or so.

So to me, there's no reason they'll change their approach. And of course, they've got a pass rush. So it'll be very interesting to me to see what Green Bay's approach is because Green Bay can run the ball very effectively as well. Jared Goff probably plays. I saw practice footage yesterday. He's got a banged up hand. It swells.

I mean, he's not playing with a lot of confidence right now. That I can see. I can just watch the game and doesn't feel confident. No, I mean, he obviously missed some throws last week when he came in. Cam Acres has really become their foundation in four of the last five games. He's got over 20 carries. They're going to have to run the ball to some degree. But Sean McVeigh is really good with play design, and he'll give Goff some opportunities.

Keep one thing in mind with the Packers. They're another team. Jari Alexander is not a match-up corner either. He lines up on the left side. Kevin King lines up on the right side. So they're not a match-up team. So they'll be some opportunities, but this team is so good with their design. And that's going to be the play we show.

And we can certainly go to it right now. This is from last week in the playoff game. The touchdown he threw to Woods late was so well schemed. And this is what they do. And they're so good at this is what McVeigh does. So what you're going to see here is they've got 11 personnel, meaning three wide receivers on the field. And what they're going to do here is they're going to run play action to Malcolm

Brown. And the play action is going to go to the boundary side, the short side of the field. And there's Shaquille Griffin. He's man to man on Woods down below. But what happens with the play action? And this is what happens with players. They just get caught and they lose their discipline. His eyes go where?

His eyes are going to go into the backfield because he sees the run action. But he's got Robert Woods man to man. And Woods shows that he's going to block. You're going to see that. He shows he's going to block, which gives Griffin another. key that it's a run. But then what happens? Woods releases. Griffin, whose eyes were in the backfield reading run, it's a touchdown. And you can see that clearly right here. And he had a man to man. That's the thing. That was his assignment. These are the kinds of things that Sean McVeigh is

really, really good at. So you have to play with a ton of eye discipline in your secondary. Eye discipline. I need more eye discipline in my life. I've got to be honest, sometimes I'm not reading the right scripts. I'm all over the place. Greg Kossel, 41 years, NFL films, having you on. Thanks, Greg. Thanks, Con. 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 Greg. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor? It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. On the Look Back at it podcast.

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