The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 03/11/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: March 11, 2021

With Colin off, Doug Gottlieb fills in to discuss Jerry Jones's first comments since signing Dak Prescott to a record breaking contract and why it's not surprising to hear Jerry say he overpaid for Dak. He also explains a big move in the NFL that could determine who the next Super Bowl champion is. Plus, hall of fame executive Bill Polian joins the show to tell Doug if the Texans should trade Deshaun Watson.  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. American Soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip.

I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Boe. On our podcast, inside American soccer, you'll get the real storylines, the biggest decisions, and the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs.

We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis come in. He's like, you know I love you, dog.

You know it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva. And on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be? I call on my Gen X squad from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate Midlife's most fantastic BS. Unfiltered conversations from night sweats to futas to scheduling sex.

Wait, what sex? Is it just me? Or does every woman my age want to look at Pinterest instead of having sex sometimes? They say we can't polish a turn, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with the Anna Maria Riva 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 Heard. is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Making this part of your day, thanks so much. I'm Doug Gottlieb. In for Colin Cowherd. Radio. Radio. Oh, yeah.

Oh. Wherever you may be listening, however you may be making this part of your day, thank you so much. By the way, I have some incredible all-ball podcast, part of the Herd Podcast Network. You guys remember three years ago? First day of the NCAA tournament when UMBC upset Virginia. Their head coach, Ryan Odom, still their head coach.

They won their league this year. Then they got upset. He joined me. It's available. It's called All Ball on the Heard Podcast Network. If you're listening to this show on Collins feed, then you can also get it on that feed as well. Oh, yeah, by the way, Virginia is still defending national champion as we get ready for a bubble,

an Indianapolis bubble version of the NCAA tournament. And by the way, there's big news. Big news in college basketball. Duke had a positive COVID test, reportedly a walk-on. That's my college coach, the late Eddie Sutton used to say, Shaggers!

A walk-on test positive. Duke's turbulent season comes to an unceremonious end, which kind of bookends the last year because we are a year removed from sports shutting down. It was one year ago. today. Sports shutdown. And Duke loses any of their postseason hopes, likely because of a shutdown due to one

positive test. If that isn't 2020 slash 2021 in a nutshell, I don't know what is. We'll get to that coming up. But I want to start with something Jerry Jones said yesterday, which I was listening to actually a guest on Dan Patrick's show. And Dan, you know, I actually think that Jerry Jones can be delightful and is engaging and is entertaining. But the need to laugh at every line that he has, it's uncomfortable. But still, Jerry Jones yesterday had a press conference with Dak Prescott. his 126 to 166 million over the next four-year quarterback of the Dallas Cowboy. Jerry said this about admitting he overpaid for DAC, but he's completely fine with it.

Most anything that I've ever been involved in that ended up being special I overpaid for. Every time to the end. Anytime I've tried to get a bargain, I got just that. It was a bargain. a lot of ways and not up to standard. Yeah. Well, I'll pay, you know, I'm sure Jerry walks in to buy a car. He pays sticker. Right. Always a name brand car. There is the power of the name brand. What's interesting is the juxtaposition with not just, not just what's happening in the world, what's happening in the

national football league. And what's happening with, for example, the New England Patriots. if you've been looking around the National Football League, the cuts are really remarkable in terms of the names. J.J. Watt, of course, was on the market for about a week. He's now at Arizona Cardinal at a lesser salary. He's supposed to make 17 a half this year, non-guaranteed with the Texans. Instead, he's going to make 11 in change, 23 over two years,

with the Arizona Cardinals. And that's probably top of the market for even as talented, is Jay J-J-Watt for 32 years old. The Canstead Chiefs just released their two bookend tackles, both injured, but both cap casualties. Manuel Sanders has gone from the New Orleans Saints. Kyle Van Hoy, well, they got out of that contract really, really quickly in Miami. Was it necessarily a cap casualty, but he made too much based upon his performance.

Malcolm Butler, another former New England Patriot. Trent Brown was released by the Oakland Raiders. And I think there's a parallel to what's happened last year and what happens in your business, what's happening in my business, what's happening in the NFL's business. Stug Gottlieb in for Colin, this is the herd.

I want you to think about this for a second. I don't know if you're gainfully employed. I hope you are. If not, I hope you get on your feet rather quickly. Obviously, we had historically low unemployment before this thing happened. And then this thing happened.

and obviously they were first. First there was a pause, then there were furloughs, then there were just outright layoffs. And now we're trying to figure out, all right, who gets hired back and what does the landscape look like? Have you looked to hired somebody?

I can only tell you that in my business, which is broadcasting, from producers to on-air talent, to directors, to people, I have a dear friend I've been talking to. He's talking about switching professions because he lost his job and he was in management at one of the top companies in broadcasting.

He was like in charge of hiring and firing, lost his job and he's like, you know, I got a kid in college, I got one that's getting ready to get in college and I got to figure out how do I, how do I use all the connections I have my job to find my next? I was like, wait, you don't have a job right now? No.

How many friends have you talked to that are trying to figure it out, right? We don't call it I'm out of work anymore. We don't say I'm unemployed. I'm just trying to figure things out. That's what we say. Trying to figure things out. I'm guessing you have numerous.

You know? My esteemed producer, Ryan Music, is now one of the producers with Colin Cowherd Show. He's producing us today. So when Ryan moved up the food chain, I couldn't believe how many super talented people are out there and that'll work because people got light off, right? If it happens to my business, I guarantee it's happening to your business.

If restaurants go out of business and close their doors because people can't go, there's got to be a litany of quality chefs out there. Also, quality entrepreneurs with money trying to find the next thing to spend on. You go through the entertainment business. Couldn't make movies if you couldn't be in person, right? So all of those people, how to work. And now this is where the smart people, the really, really smart people understand that it's an opportunity.

It's an opportunity to get somebody who you never could have gotten. I couldn't have gotten him, but he learned how to work. The Brooklyn Nets just did this, right? Granted, it's different, but they have this like every year with the buyout market. there's no chance they're getting Blake Griffin in the salary cap, but Blake Griffin gets bought out and suddenly you can get Blake Griffin for like a million dollars. Like what? Blake Griffin's going to play basketball for a million dollars?

Granted, he got 55 million to not play for the Pistons. So cry me a river, but the point is that he was on the market. Teams were hemorrhaging money last year in the NFL. And you're like, well, they're worth this and that and the other thing. Like the idea that NFL teams were worth billions of dollars, you don't own an NFL team with the desire to sell an NFL team. That's not why they buy them. They buy them because they're toys.

And they want them, and they, by the way, we'll want to make money on them. And usually they do. And they make money on the value of them. So I use that as Jerry Jones is sitting here going, hey, you know, I, I will pay for everything. That's good. I have a pay, like, dude, this is basically like a recession. And a recession, frankly, is like a rich man's.

yard sale. They can go through and go like, I'll take that for less, I'll take that for less, I'll take that for less. Do you know who has the third most money, cash under the cap? That would be the New England Patriots.

And guess what they're going to do? They're going to reboot their franchise. Now with draft picks, now with draft picks, first round draft picks hit 53% of the time. Basically one and two. And the further down you go in the draft, the lower that percentage

is in terms of hit rate. Now, it doesn't mean that Trent Brown's absolutely going to get back to his form, but you know what his form can be when he's right, when he's not on the COVID protocol, and when he's been used the right way. I don't know if Malcolm, they want Malcolm Butler back, but Malcolm Butler at a million dollars is a lot better than Malcolm Butler considering what he was making at Tennessee before he was released.

The Patriots had eight dudes who opted out last year on the defensive side of the football alone, and they can refield the, their coffers without having to go through the, the process of figuring out who could play. And what, by the way, is the real story of the Patriot success over the last 20 years? They are the absolute best in football at the waiver-wire transaction, understanding who's out there, what do they need and who can they get for less who fits that need? That's how they've built themselves. Go back and look.

they haven't drafted that great. They haven't drafted terribly in the lower rounds. They haven't drafted that great. How do they get all these players? They acquired him. They figured it out. They know the landscape. They know how to evaluate.

Okay, he may not be great there, but there he's making 10. We pay him two, and we put him in a position where he's more likely to succeed. And guess what? You get more out of him. Meanwhile, Jerry has overspent on Amari Cooper. He's overspent on Ezekieliot. He's overspent on Jalen Smith. He now admittedly overspent on.

I'm Dak Prescott. He all, he overspent in the stadium. Everything, good I've got. I overspent on. Like, okay. Jerry, how's that worked out for your last 20 years in the NFL? Bill's been doing it a different way. How's it worked out for him?

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. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire, with Jason. McIntyre. This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straightfire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor

and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre 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, 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 Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defining the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game.

We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson,

we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court,

and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart. I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Boe.

On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balligan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team.

and the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Will Ferrell's Big Money Players and IHeart Podcast presents soccer moms.

So I'm Leanne. Yeah. This is my best friend, Janet. Hey. And we have been joined at the Hipsons High School. Absolutely. now a redacted amount of years later. We're still joined at the hip.

Just a little bit bigger hips, wider. This is a podcast. We're recording it as we tailgate our youth soccer games in the back of my Honda Odyssey. With all the snacks and drink. Sidebar. Why did you get hard seltzer instead of beer? Oh, they had a bogo. Well, then you got it. Do you want a white collar or something here?

Just hit it. Oh, what are y'all doing? Microphones? Are you making a rap album? Oh, I would. Come on. I would buy it. Cuts through the defense like a hot night.

through sponge cake. That sounds delicious. Oh, you're lucky. I'm not a drug addict. You're lucky I'm not an alcoholic. You are. I'm lucky I'm not a killer. I love this team and I'm really trying to be a figure in their lives that they can rely on. Oh. Listen to soccer moms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Mitchell Schwartz, who of course misses Super Bowl with injury, Eric Fisher, missed the Super Bowl with injury to the number one overall pick. Those are the bookend tackles for the Kansas Chiefs were both released today. Part of it is older,

part of it is injured, most of it is cap casualties. It's the reality of it. And we do know that the cap is going to spike some point in the near future that we're just not to that future yet. And if you watch the Super Bowl, will we all agree,

Pat Mahomes is awesome, Does anybody want to question Pat Mahom's credentials? But what you would hear from NFL people is like, or if you just watch his family, like, well, what if you put Aaron Rogers with that offensive line with that running back with those wide receivers? Like Aaron Rogers has one great wide receiver. But give him Tyreek Hill. Give him Travis Kelsey. Give him.

I mean, look, Sammy Watkins isn't worth what he's paid, but dude is still very, very, very, give him Clyde Edwards-Hilaire. Give him the play calling of Aaron, Andy Reid, and the offensive line that protected him. Well, you took away that offensive line in, how was he in the Super Bowl? Last year in the Super Bowl, he struggled because Nick Mosa was in his lap. The line struggled, but that was a good offense line.

This one was a banged up offensive line. And I know that we still have, we're still in a window where it's not as crazy a cap number, but considering all the money, money they have tied up, how are you going to replace two bookend tackles? You have to draft. And as I told you before, first round draft picks, it's a 53% hit rate. So if you take a first round draft pick tackle and you're the Kansas State Chiefs, you got a base scale one and two shot of him hitting. That's also one and two shot of him missing as well. You got to nail it.

And then you kind of got to be lucky, too, to be totally honest. Now he'd have to nail it, but then also the guy has to say healthy. That sometimes is completely eye control. Then you've got to get another tackle. Oh, yeah. And then you have other flaws within your team, which you're going to have to shore up. So does anyone else feel that we're going to,

we're going to get to a place where, hey, welcome to how the rest of the world lives, right? Like Aaron Rogers didn't have David Bactiari in the NFC championship game. And Tampa dominated the line of scrimmage. That said, they still obviously had a chance. chance to win it late. Came up short several times over. But the point was that for Aaron Rogers, it's finally a chance for say, hey, welcome to my world.

You know, Russell Wilson, welcome to my world. I've had offensive line problems for years. And now you're making so much money. It's prohibitively more difficult to support you with an offensive line because we've got other holes and other mouths to feed. And so what's the answer going to be? Draft young players. Yeah, okay, but what about if they're not that good?

draft better. That's great. You don't think that everybody researches. Everybody has scouts. Everybody researches. They do make good decisions or bad. The hit rate is still 53%. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m.

Pacific. Collins off today, but Collins kind of like me. We're never like off in terms of like turning the whole thing off, right? Turning your brain off. So I went for a great jog this morning. I just want to call you. And one of the things I learned from Colin, and I've done this kind of myself, is, you know,

I've worked at three networks. He's worked at two. He obviously worked a lot of other places before he got to our first destination together when we first became friends. But the more you do it, and the higher your profile is, the more people you meet and you can talk to. And you just cold call him or text him out of the blue. Like, hey, I want to get that guy's number.

You just text him and they're like, yeah, I know you are. And because you're kind of in the sports world, they talk to you. And so we were talking about this Russell Wilson stuff. And I said, do you think it'll happen? He's like, it could. It could.

And it's interesting. So I've been texting, I have a couple friends in the league. And there's one that surround the bears that said, like, they haven't said no yet. They haven't said no. Then I saw this tweet from Diana Rossini, of course, covers the NFL for ESPN. And on her Twitter feed, she tweeted, this thing has been picking up steam.

Those in league circles believe there's a good chance this could happen if a team is desperate enough to make this trade. So Russell Wilson. Okay, he's not going to Saints. They're in Cap Hell. knock on the Cowboys. Where else? Where else could he go?

In terms of desperation, it feels like there's two teams. I mean, maybe the Jets would be a third. But the bears are interesting. Somehow he has a better feeling about the bears and what they have to offer

than the Seahawks. Now, look, I don't, this is what Diana means. The hit rate on first round draft picks is 53%. So if you're trading him for three first round picks, that's a player and a half. That's not enough for a franchise quarterback,

one of the elite quarterbacks in the sport, a guy who's a first ballot Hall of Fame once he gets done playing the sport. So you have Russell Wilson, who you're going to have to trade some guys for, probably a quarterback in return, and three first round picks. And who knows what else?

just to get them. Now, I believe that stories get leaked for a reason, and I don't know if it means that the Seahawks really want to trade them, or they're really just floating, this could be the Seahawks floating it out there. Hey, let's just see if we can get somebody to make a stupid trade. Let's just see if we get somebody to make a stupid trade. What's interesting about the Bears is the Bears might have the most maligned and yet underrated franchise in the NFL.

What did you think about this? Who's been better the last three years in the NFL? The Bears, Ryan Pace is their general manager, or the Indianapolis Colts. Now, if I were to tell you the Colts, you'd say, okay, well, three years, who are the quarterbacks there?

Okay, well, I had Andrew Luck for a year. I had Jacoby Brissette for a year. Philip Rivers for a year. Okay. Their record is exactly the same of that as the Chicago Bears. And Bears have actually won their division. The Colts, I believe they've won one playoff game.

And the Bears really, they're a double doinker from winning a playoff game in their own right. They basically have had the same last two years. And yet the Bears quarterback situation is considered an abject disaster. the Colts, far better, far smarter, they know what they're doing. Okay. So that's where Russell Wilson can look at a tape and go like, if they just had a quarterback, they'd be really, really good.

The problem is they don't have a quarterback. So I understand it. And I've heard the same thing, which is they're not saying no. And when you're not saying no, you're kind of saying yes. Isn't that what we learned at home? She didn't say no. If it's no, it's like, ah, it's no. All right, I'm going to go downstairs and watch something, watch some TV, right?

That's kind of, that's, that's how it goes. I mean, it's no different than when your boys, the opposite of when your boys ask you, like, is she the one? You know, I don't know. We're just enjoying each other right now. Like, he hasn't been dating for three years. She's not the one, then she, if you don't know by now, then you do know, you just don't want to say it or try and start a new relationship.

That's never fun. So I think this could happen, but it's going to take somebody to do something really, really stupid, which is to leverage all of their future for this very moment. And kind of like Charles Robinson said, you got to get the right guy. Context is everything. And it's everything. It's like we were talking last hour about Lamar Jackson and should they get me a new deal? deal. No.

Like, Lamar Jackson has been really good the past couple years, but his play in the playoffs and their offense, it's ruined a great, it's just wasted a great defense. Great. Great defense. I mean, other quarterbacks have that level of defensive competency, that level of excellence. And you have a Super Bowl next to your name. That's how good they've been. So, but the context is the cost has been there for a, he was there when drafted.

So there's already a buy-in. they don't need to pay him right now. There's no thought that he's going elsewhere. He hasn't been hurt, but there has been a ceiling. And it just doesn't have to do with the fact that he's been an MVP. He runs the football a lot. When you run the football a lot, you have a very good chance of getting injured at some point, especially as you slow down, the older you get.

Now all of a sudden you look at Ryan Pace and you say, well, he could be on the coach, he can be on the general manager, hot seat, their coach could be on the hot seat. If there's a team that's desperate to win and win now, wouldn't it be the Bears? It does, it does have some logic. The part I don't get is why the Seahawks would move them. I don't care how many picks you can get. You have, and all those picks, what you'll be looking for, a franchise quarterback.

And guess what? You already have one. You already have one. I mean, I don't think it's a great look for Russell Wilson to sit here and go, hey, I need, I'm to getting hit. You're in mid-contract, and I don't think anybody thinks in mid-contract, if you've given you at the time, the biggest contract in the NFL, you should, there's a reason that people want to keep that salary cap number low,

because when they do, they can get more talent. He didn't, and I'm sure it hurt Seattle. You know, when they had some, you win those Super Bowls, you lock up Bobby Wagner, you lock up Russell. Ultimately, you're going to pay for it. and they've paid for it based upon, you know, where they draft, who they've been able to draft, and how much it limits them in the free agency and the cap.

I'm not saying Russell Wilson's perfect, right? Like Russell Wilson, no one's ever blamed him for that terrible throw that Malcolm Butler intercepted. He holds the ball too long. That's why he gets sacked so often. He's not the perfect quarterback. And he is seen as a guy who's a bit, a bit plasticy, a little bit, he just comes, it's just too much.

She's a little extra on some stuff. All that said, are you really going to trade a guy who everyone would say that's a top five talented quarterback? Of course not. 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. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straightfire with Jason McIntyre.

This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same. tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre 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, Superhuman, documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming.

Ramers sending on to Ernie Stewart the Chip. I'm Tab Ramos. I'm Tom Bo. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions.

If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover,

and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How Hard Can It Be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my GenX squads from Ohio to Hollywood,

as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45.

How can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard, you know? Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, How Hard Can It Be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public.

Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. finding ways to win no matter what.

He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup,

he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends, stop by like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash will get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He run up

the court licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, after you go through a training camp with that, I said, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Bill Pollyan joins us. He's of course a legendary general manager with the Indianapolis Colts. And before that, with the Buffalo Bills and the Panthers. He has his own podcast, Inside Football Podcast, on iTunes. The last two episodes have been about the NFL quarterback carousel. Bill, let me just start with Dak Prescott. What do you think of the deal that Dallas agreed to and then announced yesterday?

I think it's a good deal on both sides. They get a quarterback that they think highly of and who has the capacity. to take them where they want to go. They get it done for four years, which, while not ideal, is better than not having him or having to pay him again on the franchise tag. And in the end, that gets what he wants,

another bite of the apple, and a pretty good payday. So it's a win-win all the way around. My issue with it is, now you have a highly paid quarterback of super highly paid wide receiver, highly paid running back, an offensive line that's well compensated, but a little bit past its prime in a couple of spots.

Jalen Smith, like, how are they going to fix the team? Because this team, with a couple exceptions, been together two years. And even when he's healthy, he hadn't beaten anybody. Well, what they got to do is to fix the defense. The offense is in pretty good shape.

They've got to make some adjustments on the offensive. line. But other than that, the offense is in really good shape. In fact, two years ago, the offense was the top one in the league. The problem has been defense, which has been abysmal to say the least.

And so what you've got to do there with Dan Quinn now at the helm, they've got some players that fit for Dan Quinn's system more than fit for the last system. And they're going to have to draft the other ones. That's where they're going to have to go on the draft.

Bill Paulian is our guest. We mentioned that your last two podcasts have been on the quarterback carousel. If you were the Seahawks, is there any deal that can make you trade Russell Wilson? No. Simple as that. You know, this is one of the, in baseball, I used to call it the Hot Stolt League. This is the Hustow League. You know, it's great to talk about.

In reality, are you going to take on the dead money on Russell Wilson's contract if you trade him? And for whom would you trade it? There's nobody. You can't get anybody. But the same thing with Deshaun Watson. Like, Deshaun Watson, he just signed a deal 10 months ago. Does the same rule apply for the Texans considering they weren't a playoff team and they are trying to rebuild their roster? No, it doesn't.

In the Texans case, and because of the structure of the contract, they've got anywhere between $35 and $45 million in what is considered dead money, which is really guaranteed paragraph 5. So you can trade that. That's the weekly salary. You can trade that. Maybe not all of it. And certainly if you traded all of it, somebody took all of it, they would have to, you know, the draft compensation wouldn't be as high as some people are daydreaming about. But he's tradable.

And the question then becomes, A, who plays quarterback for Houston, if not him? And B, they've got to get draft choices because they're really. don't have any. I mean, they're really in tough shape in terms of a team that's bereft of talent virtually across the board and no draft choices to rebuild it with. So, you know, I think a trade is probably the best way to go to just start the rebuild process, but they're really pretty far down. And by the time they get it right, even though Deshaun says he doesn't want to say, And I believe him. I mean, he's been consistent with that.

By the time they get it right, I mean, he's going to be, he will have wasted a lot of years. Bill Pullen is our guest. I'm Doug Gottlieb, filling for Colin. This is The Hurd on Fox Sports Radio Network. Okay, so what do you do if you're the Jets, right? You have the second overall pick. Everybody seems to be in, everybody's in love now with the BYU quarterback. right and was that

Wilson you have maybe the possibility of if Houston relents trading for him or you have Sam Donald who it hasn't he hasn't performed and hasn't been healthy but it hasn't been a fair fight I put you in Joe Douglas's shoes how do you perceive

well the first thing I want to do is try and determine if Sam Donald for all the reasons you stated is the guy who can take us to the promised land if they think he is, then stay with him, trade down, get a ton for that pick, and rebuild your football team. They, too, are bereft of talent. So that's one way to go.

If you have decided that you'd rather have Zach Wilson or Fields, although I would be, I didn't have a lot of trepidation about replacing Donald Fields myself. But that's just me. If you decided that you're going to replace Donald, then you trade him. And he is eminently tradable because he has only this 50-year option left on his contract. And that's not terrible for an acquiring team. And, you know, in the minds of a lot of people, still a bright future. So you could get a lot back for him. in terms of choices, which they badly need to rebuild the team.

But if they do let him go, then the second pick in the draft probably has to be used on a quarterback. Am I crazy to think this could be a market that's really good for the Patriots, right? Like they specialize in not necessarily dumpster diving, but they're, they like kind of going through and going like, hey, there's a guy we can get on the less expensive side. Trent Brown they trade for on the less expensive side. You're seeing because the cap has been lowered, and we always see veteran players getting cut this time of year. It feels like there's more this year than the past.

Could this be the way in which the Patriots choose to rebuild and could it actually play to their strength to rebuild with some veteran players, some being former Patriots that are out there in the market? No, I don't think so. I mean, that's a team that overachieved at 8 and 8. Now, yeah, they do have a couple of guys coming back, but Chung's on the older side. Hightower is probably the most important guy coming back. He'll make a difference.

But who's the quarterback? That's number one. Number two, you know, is Trent Brown the long-term answer? No, I think he's a patch. So, no, I don't think they're going to go scrounging in the marketplace and come up with another championship team. they'll always play well because they're the best coach team in the league. But championships require championship talent, and they're not there at this point. Bill Pullian is our guest here in the herd.

Doug Gottlieb filling in for Colin. Check out his podcast, Inside Football Podcast. Is there any way that Cam Newton's has started in the NFL next year? Well, it's always possible. Right now, I don't. don't really see a landing spot for him as a starter. And, you know, the carousel hasn't started to turn yet because the linchpin is Houston. Could he be the starter in Houston?

Sure. If they trade Deshaun, they don't have anybody. So, you know, there are always jobs that are going to be available. But until the carousel starts to turn and the linchpin, of course, is, is Watson, we won't know where the openings really exist. I don't think he's a factor in Washington who does not have a quarterback.

And, you know, as we just said, whether the Jets, what are they going to do? What is Carolina going to do? He's not a factor in Carolina, I don't believe. So, you know, that limits the number of openings. We just can't throw football. You just can't throw football. Pardon me?

They can't throw football. He showed that he's willing to do whatever last year, but it just in terms of it's not about intangible, tangibles. Can't throw. Yeah, well, that's right. Yeah, the injuries have taken their toll. He's not the quarterback by a long shot that he once was. And probably over a long season, another bunch of hits will take their toll.

but if you're Houston and Deshaun Watson sits out and you don't have anybody, is Cam Newton a viable alternative? He might be. Do you think Matt Stafford is enough of an upgrade to get the Rams where they think they can go? Yes, I do, but everything else has to go right. They've got to have another running back, I think, to take some of the load off, the number one guy who's really good. They've got to be healthy at the wide receiver position. They can't lose too much on offense and free agency.

And they've got a new defensive coordinator who has to do as good a job as the last two did in order to keep that defense at the top of the league. So there are a lot of ifs. It's not just on Matthew Stafford by any means. And think of it that way in terms of all the other things that have to kind of go right. That's the part that people don't seem to realize is that the quarterback is a factor, but everything has to actually has to go right in order for the quarterback to be able to live up, which brings us to Kansas City.

You saw they got rid of their bookend tackles, cap casualties. Both guys were talented, but both injured, didn't play in the Super Bowl. And I know that his deal is kind of backloaded in terms of the cap hit, but they got a lot of money already spent. What are your thoughts on Kansas City and what they'll look like with what appears to be a new offensive line next year? Well, number one, 60 offensive line. Duvernate Tortish is likely coming back from his medical leave, and so that'll help. But they got to get two tackles, and that's the bottom line. And then you'd like to have another quality, wide receiver who you can count on,

as we found out in the Super Bowl, when it really comes to the biggest game, when push cups to shove, there's only Hill and Kelsey. So you'd like to have, and the running back. So you'd like to have another quality receiver that you can rely upon. Absent that, you know, I still think they're a darn good football team. Tampa Bay did a phenomenal job defensively on them. But it really revolved around the fact that the two tackles that played couldn't protect and everything else went to hell because of it.

So if they fixed that, they're still probably the favorite. Okay, but you've done this. You've done this your entire. It's easier said than done. That was my point. You've done this your entire professional life, right? How difficult is it to use draft picks to finding the, answer, not at one, but at both tackles? At both, it's hard. At both it's hard. You're going to have to

say, I think, look, we're going to invest in two in the draft and we're going to pick up two from the veteran group that you mentioned before, who might be willing to sign on short years and short money. And out of that four, we'll get two, and hopefully one will develop into a guy that can be a cornerstone. That's kind of the way you look at it. but it's going to require an investment without question. Bill, great stuff, man. Great catching up with you. Really appreciate to join us.

Look forward to hear more of your pods. It's the Inside Football podcast on iTunes. Bill polling, of course, former GM of the Colts, former GM of Panthers, and the Buffalo Bills in that dynasty they had with four straight Super Bowls. Bill, thanks so much. Thanks, Doug.

Great to talk to you. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite, unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends, me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an acapella band with their between songs banter.

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Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Point Game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was calling it. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to him. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your

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