The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 03/16/2021 - HOUR 2 - NFL free agency

Episode Date: March 16, 2021

Colin gives his list of the top 10 best free agent signingsUp to date NFL free agent newsThe Seahawks lost a very good CBGuest: Scott Pioli Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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A lot of juggling a lot of balls this morning. Stuff flying in on free agency live in L.A. It's the herd, wherever you may be in, however you may be listening. Iheart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Drew Brees just retired. Scott Pioly, who started the New England Dynasty. He was the GM for Belichick. I'm reading the story here. Scott scouted him in person.

Patriots like Drew. Breeze. Drew Breeze? That makes sense. Yeah, that does. I could see him as a Patriot. Oh, God, yes. He'd be the, like, Aaron Rogers

doesn't feel like a natural fit. No. A little too prickly. Drew Breeze feels like a patron. Well, I mean, it's a big reason why we didn't think Cam would have fit there. But I think Belichick is not changing

his ways, but I think he... Lightened up. He lined up a little bit, yeah. So free agency is risk. And I thought this is a bit. morning, you know, everybody thinks their guys are great. I don't like what the Jets did. I don't like it. New England, tight end. I love what they did. And the rest of it feels like New England. Joe Tuny to the Chiefs is obviously a good move. They got to rebuild that O-line.

Corey Lindley Chargers, John Johnson, the safety to Cleveland. Those are good moves. Your units got better. There were predictable moves. But here's the 10 best. For different reasons, the 10 best free agent signings in the history of the National Football League. Number 10. Mike Vrable to the Patriots 20 years ago. He'd never started an NFL game before signing with New England. He was the perfect fit. They won three Super Bowls in four years.

He became the glue guy and the IQ and the vocal leader. They even used him in the Red Zone on offense. He's the greatest value free agent ever. He'd never started a game. He went and became really a key component, a leadership, a Brady on defense. and didn't have to pay him anything. Like, he's the greatest value free agent ever, Mike Frable. Number nine.

Kurt Warner Cardinals, total culture changer. Losing franchise, he made him a winner. They had not won their division since the mid-70s. And then Kurt Warner showed up for Arizona and changed everything. And he got him to a Super Bowl, and it was their first Super Bowl appearance. So he really changed the culture. Didn't win the Super Bowl. But, I mean, Arizona, from that point forward, we think of them as a competent franchise.

Number eight. Charles Woodson to the Packers. It was much riskier than you think. Now, it turned out great. But Green Bay was the only team that bid on him because he had not played, believe it or not, he had not played a full season in the previous four with injuries. So you look at it now and think, oh, it's brilliant. Nobody else offered it.

Now, he went on to become the defensive player of the year. A couple years later, had, nine interceptions returned for a touchdown while a Packer, which was most in the league. But it was riskier at the time than you think. Number seven. Warren Moon, 80s to the Oilers, a stabilizer. Here was this great quarterback who had to play in the CFL for years. And he really changed everything about Hute.

They became an offensive juggernaut with Warren Moon. He stabilized the franchise. And they always had talent, but they just never felt like put. together right and he ended all the chaos in Houston. Number six. The flashiest free agent signing of all time. Oh, you guys have oh that's my bet. Rod Woodson Ravens

back in 98. So he changed positions. So he became a safety and became a defensive playmaker. He was always a great player, great speed. But again, a little bit of a risk. I'm going to changed positions, but he really added an aggressiveness to the Ravens defense where they became a playmaking defense. Some guys just get interceptions. Ed Reed, Rod Woodson, become offensive players once they get those interceptions. And he had five defensive touchdowns during his Ravens

career, most of any player in the NFL during that span. Number five. Okay, this is the flashiest free agent signing of all time. It was the Dion's sweepstakes. Eagles, Raiders, Dolphin, Saints, Niners, Cowboys. Cowboys won their third title in four years. Dion was fantastic. It was the biggest, flashiest, most outspoken star to the biggest flashiest brand. Certainly one of the most talked about free agent signings, prime time to the number one prime time television show in the NFL. Number four.

Reggie White to the Packers. Not a high risk. He was a dominating player. It was the first offseason that featured free agency in the NFL. and he was the first big free agent to change teams. He went to Green Bay, not a lot of risk. He was dominant. Six playoffs, six pro-bowls, three division titles, defensive player of the year.

You know, this was one. Everybody saw it coming. He was great. First big star to switch teams, and he completely utterly delivered. Number three. Brady and the Buccaneers. Now, it's only a year old and it got him a Super Bowl. They've always had talent and they've always had decent coaching.

But they had the worst winning percentage of any major American pro sports franchise. 17 years without a playoff win. So like Kurt Warner, he's a culture changer. Now guys are taking pay cuts to stay with Tampa. I would put that at two. Number two. Peyton Manning, because he did it longer. He got to two Super Bowls.

And it was interesting. And this is why I give Peyton credit. He replaced a popular quarterback. People in Tampa were kind of done with James and his interceptions. Tim Tebow, especially conservative, the GOP, I mean, people, Denver can get conservative. They loved Tim Tebow. And Elway was trapped. So he had to get a bigger star than Tebow to kind of save the franchise from what they viewed as a niche college quarterback who'd gotten on a hot streak in the NFL.

So Peyton number two. Number one. Drew Breeze. I mean, end of story. Not only did he change the culture from a losing culture, he overcame Katrina. He's been huge for the community. He was seemingly there forever.

It's one of the winning his franchises. Listen, of all the free agent signings this year, don't take it personally. None of you are going to get Drew Breeze. There will not be a free agent signing as good as Drew Breeze this year. Best of luck to Corey Davis and the Jets, fine player, but it's not going to be Drew Brees, the greatest free agent signing, and frankly, easily of all time.

Scott Piole worked 27 years in the front office, NFL Network now, former NFL GM. He was at the beginning of the New England dynasty. He would work hand in hand with Bill Belichick, and he is now joining us live. Three Super Bowl champions, five-time NFL executive year. So it's funny, you and I talked about this the other day on my podcast. We talked about this. that people look at what Belichick's doing and go, whoa, Bill's crazy.

But Bill's always been better with NFL talent than college talent. Let's go back and remind people at the beginning of the dynasty. He had done this earlier. Colin, yeah, in 2001, we signed 23 free agents. Now, we didn't spend this kind of dough. We spent a total amount of signing bonus dollars total of $2.5 million. But that free agent hall that we had was so good. It was Mike Ravel.

It was Brian Cox, Anthony Pleasant, Mark Edwards, Mike Compton. All these names that people don't remember Terrell Buckley, Matt Stevens starting in safety. Again, we brought in so many players. And what we did is we always paid attention. My background was in pro personnel. And Bill, obviously, as a coach, knew what was playing in the league. So what we did is we had a good idea of what was playing. in the league. Oh, I forgot Larry Isom. There's another name. So doing things through free agency has

always been a staple of the Patriots dynasty. And it's just a matter of getting the right kind of players that fit Bill's culture and his personality right. And hopefully they're doing that again this year. I said, I didn't love what the Jets did. Corey Davis, it feels like a jet side. It's a lot of talent, but has not been consistent. Whereas Belichick got a lot of a lot of B-to-B-B-plus players who have been very productive, are very young, and outside a tight end where they had to spend money, they're just bad at it. The rest of the signings, to me, felt like value signings. I don't love spending a ton of money on an inconsistent wide receiver for the Jets. Tell me, I'm wrong. Well, here's what they did. To me, Colin, this wasn't about

any one player in isolation. This was about a collective. What they needed to do was improve their past catchers. Everyone wants to focus on, oh, they're not. They've got to have a receiver. Oh, they've got to have a tight end. But, you know, the third down back is important. Two tight ends are important. Additional receivers are important. They improve their team's past catching ability significantly

by signing two good wide receivers and two good tight ends. So to me, this is more about the collective. They didn't go into this saying, okay, if we get Hunter Henry, it's over. That's it. If we get John Smith, it's over. That's it. They went in for the collective. And this is big picture what they like to do, Colin.

Yeah, no, no, that's New England. I'm talking Jets now. So Jets go out. Oh, I'm sorry. So the Jets get Corey Davis, who's the opposite of that. Big price tag, never delivered. I'm not a fan of going huge star-wide receiver who's been inconsistent. Your thoughts on that signing?

I'm sorry. I apologize, Colin. No, absolutely. I've never been big on going in big on one player. Again, I was a part of that a couple of times. The one time I remember was Adelius Thomas in New England, we went in big for a player that we thought was going to change the fortunes of our team. That didn't happen or improve the fortunes of our team.

So to me, Colin, I've never been big on spending, again, you can sign individual players for big deals, but what you're trying to do is build a team because teams are what win championships. So the one head scratcher for me, I really like Ron Rivera and where Washington is going. And they get Ryan Fitzpatrick. Now, I could make an argument. I would have stayed with Alex Smith just for leadership or gone after Sam Darnold for some athleticism. I do wonder the messaging to the locker room to get a kind of gunslinger, 38-year-old, a lot of last year 13 TDs eight picks I don't I don't quite get that I would have just run

Alex Smith back and I know he's limited but he's a leader I can sell that to my guys he was five and one as a starter explain what Washington's doing here well again I don't know exactly what they're doing but the I understand your desire to possibly want Alex Smith they have a lot more intel on his health, on his future. Potentially it's a risk they just didn't want to take because the makeup of Alex Smith is rare. It's special. So they bring in Ryan Fitzpatrick. I think they paid him up to what it's going to be $10 million. If you look at that, the fact that they're quote unquote now starting quarterback is only $10 million. They still have plenty of

cap space and cash that they can spend at the position of quarterback. So even though they did this, it's different but similar to what the Patriots do with Cam Newton. They've given him a backup quarterback contract and their quarterback of the future and possibly their starter for this year is not on the roster. What this is is a bridge quarterback or a hold the fort quarterback to use an old phrase from Coach Parcells. This is a hold the fort kind of situation. They need to have someone that can line up and they can start games with, but their other quarterback is not on the roster yet. That may come through the draft. That may come through free agency. It may be a trade. Because here's the deal column. There are more quarterbacks out there than there are

starting positions available. This is a business with supply and demand and or musical chairs. And there's still a bunch of quarterbacks standing out there right now. You know, it's interesting. There's a story out, and I don't think it's a secret, that Pete Carroll really likes Sam Darnel. Now, he knows he's not as good as Russell Wilson. But when you make a potential move, as big as moving Russell Wilson, that feels like to me about two coaches in the league have that power. If you were working in Seattle and Pete's like, I told Joy earlier, I feel like Pete is telling us, listen, we don't have to be best friends.

But if you call me out publicly, I'm losing the locker room and you can lose games in this league. you can't lose the locker room. And it kind of feels like Pete's drawn a line in the sand that you're taking stuff public. We just can't do this. Do you think right now they are having John Snyder, Pete Carroll, are these real discussions? Is it more fantasy football? How deep do you think it goes with this discussion? I don't know how deep it is it come because, again, it's always difficult to speculate what's going on inside of another building.

But I think you hit a very, very important point here, Colin. The fact that Russell Wilson and or his surrogates chose to take family business publicly, probably not a good idea. Pete Carroll doesn't deserve that. John Snyder doesn't deserve that. I have seen so many situations and circumstances where coaches and or front office and players didn't necessarily like one another a whole lot, but they had a common goal that was not just about themselves. it was about a greater good.

And I've never been a big fan of taking family business publicly. So something happened here, but I think you hit on a really, really important point here, Colin. What they're going to do, what they're really talking about, what is, you know, just chatter? I'm not sure. But you're right. There's only two coaches probably in the National Football League that have the cachet that would be able to move on from a quarterback like Russell Wilson. But here's the other big thing that I learned early on in this league.

If you're going to make a decision like that, it all sounds good, it all looks good on paper, but you better have a solution to the problem before you create a problem like that for your football team. Because if you do that, as a coach or a general manager, you're telling your locker room that you are willing to sacrifice wins by moving on from such a great player. Yeah. Finally, Drew Breeze retired. I just read this morning that you went to West Lafayette, you went to Purdue. I imagine it was cold because it's always cold there and little Drew Breeze. Your thoughts when you saw him and did you envision some of his success? You know, Colin, what's crazy is I actually went out there because this was the 2000 season. We were going to go into our, you know, what was going to be our second draft in 2001.

And we had to rebuild our offensive line. So I was actually out there to go see Matt Light, who was their starting left tackle at that time. And I knew that Drew Breeze was a good quarterback, but oh, by the way, we had drafted a big 10 quarterback the year before that guy from Michigan, and we thought he had a chance to be okay. But I went out there that day, and the two best leaders on the field were Drew Breeze and Matt Light. They had a team that was loaded. As you know, that year, they won the Big Ten. They went to the Rose Bowl. But to watch Drew Breeze, and again, he was a really conflicting, name in the draft world, in the scouting world because of its size.

But I watch how that guy prepared, how he competed in practice, the attention to detail. He was on top of everything and everyone, every moment of practice. And yes, there was a coaching staff there, but Drew Breezes, again, his attention to detail was unbelievable. And he had this ability to jump people when they weren't being serious, when they weren't doing what they were supposed to be doing, to having a good time in practice, but also to let everyone know that this was serious business. And I'll tell you, it was one of those situations where I went out to see, you know, Matt Light and a couple of other players and, yeah, I was going to be

looking at Breeze, but I walked away saying, wow, that guy's got a chance to be really good. But truth be told, you know, I was concerned about the hype, but, you know, Drew Breeze is one of the best things to happen to the National Football League. And I wish him all the best. But the league is a lesser place without Drew Breeze playing in it next year. Yeah, Scott Pioly at Scap, Pioli 51 on Twitter. Great seeing you again. NFL Network. Appreciate stopping by. Thanks, Colin. Great to be with you again. And remember this about Drew Breeze. Even back then, Michigan and Penn State and Ohio State ran the Big Ten. So how great is Drew Breeze? Anytime Purdue ends up in a Rose Bowl, that's a great player.

So when people say, well, I mean, he played here, here, here. It's not like Purdue was a power back then. It was a Penn State, Michigan, Ohio State, and that's what you're kind of looking like and have been in that kind of territory. And in fact, what year did Penn State join the Big Ten? Let's go back to the year, Drew Breeze. What were the final standings, Drew Breeze? When did Penn State get to the Big Ten?

I wonder, because Michigan State was also, say it again, Ryan, 1990. So that was the year. That's the year. 1990. Yeah, so Penn State was there. Penn State, Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State was always pretty good, and Purdue gets to the Rose Bowl. That's, that's talent. Purdue's never been a football factory in my life.

They've had great basketball programs, but the one or two times have been great. What do you know? By the way, another time they were good was Jim Everett was the quarterback. Jim played with the Rams, tall, thin guy. That's another time they were good. All right, Joy Taylor around the corner. More to come, NFL free agency. One more herd?

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Live at 8 Eastern on Fox. So the big free agent moves, the Patriots went and got two great tight ends and spent some money on that. The Patriots tied ends over the last two years. Catches last, touchdowns last, targets last, yards last. They were terrible at tight end. They said, we're going to solve it, we're going to go by two NFL guys. It is interesting. Belichick's never been a great drafter.

Two of his most productive players ever are. are lucky. Brady in the sixth round, Edelman in the seventh. That's just luck. Nobody projects that. You'd have drafted him sooner. He hasn't had a ton of success. I mean, Gronk was nice, second rounder. Aaron Hernandez, late Aaron Hernandez, I think they got him in like the fourth. He had some troubles. But again, he was a first round talent, but he had stuff. And nobody wanted to draft him. He had baggage, but Belichick had the power and the leverage and the gravitas and the league to roll the dice on Aaron Hernandez. But it is interesting. If you look at Belichick's history, he goes to free agency all the time. He knows the NFL better than college. And if you really think about it, if players all cost the same, wouldn't you rather always go get pro players? Because you know they can play in the league. But because of a salary cap in the NFL, you're forced to get into the college draft business, which has a 35% bust rate. And they're cheap. And the reality is for the first three or four years, you build your roster on guys that don't cost anything. But Belichick's the smartest football

guy ever. He doesn't have a lot of draft success. Since Scott Pioly's left, where's all the success? He didn't have a ton of it. Brady's luck, Julian Edelman's luck. And by the way, their offensive line picks, are they great draft picks or was it Dante Scarnicchio? I mean, seriously, were they great picks or they had the best offensive line coach of all time? So it is hard to tell. They are admitting, though, New England is admitting, we're not good at drafting wide receivers or tight ends. Last couple of years, we whiffs, so they went and spent money on it. But, But, yeah, I mean, for the top 12 draft picks last year in the draft, four of the top 12 could be busts. I mean, as we always say, if it was all equal and you paid everybody the same, it would be much easier to just go around the league and go, yeah, he can play, he can play, he can play.

The guys the New England got yesterday can't, can all play. That's not going to be the way the draft goes. They're going to have 8, 10 picks, four can play, six can't. Every guy they got yesterday can play. The question is, are they worth of value? Hunter Henry is really good, but he gets hurt a lot. The Chargers loved him. He's just, when you're playing 9, 10 games and not 16, but Hunter Henry, he'll be the inline

tight end. He can do blocking. And then Jono Smith is the guy you can move all over the field. So they went from worst in the league at a position to top two or three in the league at the position because they know, unlike college drafting, they know they can play. They've seen it. They're productive. Joy with the news.

No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. We're sticking with the Patriots, they have been big spenders in free agency so far. Cam Newton back for another year. And as you mentioned, Nelson Agalore, Kendrick Bourne, Hunter Henry, Jonu Smith.

They also added defensive tackle, Devon Godchow, linebacker Matt Judon, and defensive back Jalen Mills. Now, everyone was kind of freaking out about the money yesterday. Because this is not a normal thing for them to do. You know, the Patriots are usually very cheap. They're always asking people to take pay cuts.

But, as we know with NFL contracts, Most of this is just funny money. They're never going to end up paying out all of that money. You pay attention to the guaranteed dollars. A lot of it is incentives. A lot of it is cancelable years. But they were aggressive, which pays off. But the bigger story to me was not so much that they were aggressive in the money they were spending.

And I was saying this all year last year. Bill Belichick is not just going to submit to this being his fate for the rest of his time in the NFL. Now, obviously, nobody thinks the Cam Newton, including the pay. This is the long-term solution for the Patriots, or they would have signed him to a longer deal. But he is, as you mentioned, played well down the stretch. It's a second year in the system. And if you look at the division with all of these additions and with the eight opt-outs, vastly improved at the tight end position.

So you gave him some weapons. It's not impossible if they're going to make the playoffs next year. Now, last year was a disaster. Yeah, but I think I honestly, this morning, I would be surprised if they were in a playoff. The Jets are still the Jets. And Miami, it's Tua. And they benched him twice last year. It's Tua.

And unless Miami makes an aggressive move for Disham Watson or drafts another quarterback at that number three position, which I don't anticipate them doing. Well, what has Belichick done his entire career? Owns young quarterbacks. Two is young. Zach Wilson will be young. And by the way, Josh Allen struggled with Belichick. So there's a lot of the components to New England that are going to look just like the old New England, but they don't have Brady.

Right. But it was just, I told you yesterday, I went on Boston Media this weekend. I was living in the hotel. I had time. And I'm sitting there. I mean, you would have thought, you would have thought they gave Andy Dalton a 10-year contract. They signed Cam to a $14 million one-year deal. I don't even know if it's, I think, like, $2 million of it is incentives.

It's actually closer to like a $12 million deal. It's like, folks, what was the, what was the, what was the, fruit the market was bearing. There was none. It's Sam Darnold. Isn't that the same Boston media that was trying to tell us, Jared Stedham was the future of the New England Patriots? They, sometimes Boston media wakes up. Okay, every day they wake up and they just want to scream at something. That's an angry, that's an angry mob of media in Boston. Well, yeah, I mean, that's, and that's fine, but I think we can being on the outside be a little more realistic about it. I thought they were going to be terrible last year, and they were. Now,

there were some other circumstances that played a role in that. I think. I think COVID with Cam Newton was a, you know, a huge issue. And that played out. But I would be worried if I was in that division about the Patriots next year. Because I don't know what the dolphins are going to do. And we're just assuming that the jets are, I mean, they are in a rebuild. So I'm not going to assume it will be a little bit of an improvement. Right now this morning, I feel like Buffalo 12 and 4, New England, 10, and 6.

Miami in that 8 and 8, 9 and 7, and jets are bad. I mean, I just don't trust too. Yeah, I don't either. more from Tua last year than I would put the dolphins above the Patriots, even with all these additions because of the way that they were improving. And I like what Ryan Flores is building there. But I don't trust Tua. So the guy that was going back and forth with Tua is Ryan Fitzpatrick.

After two seasons with the Dolphins, he will join his ninth different team in the NFL for the 2021 season. He has agreed to become a member of the Washington football team on a one-year deal worth $10 million that could go to $12 million with incentives. He's expected to enter training camp as a team starter with competition. from Taylor Heineke and Kyle Allen. I would assume he's going to win that starting position. But this is an interesting move to me.

Well, Scott Pioly says this is not, they're not done. They're not done. Well, they're not done, but you have Taylor Heineke and Kyle Allen on the roster already. You're not going to carry four quarterbacks. So what are you going to do? Are you going to make an aggressive move in the draft? Because I like, I'm happy for Ryan Fitzpatrick. Sure.

But here's the thing. If they don't make another move, and maybe they do, to Scott's point, because they still have the money, it's not like they're paying him $35 million a year. But if they don't make another move and you're running it this year with Taylor Hinekeye, Cal Allen, or Ryan Fitzpatrick. I don't think, I like Dallas to win the division. Yeah. Everyone is just calm down on the NFC East, okay? Just relax a little bit. Saquan Barkley is going to be back.

Dak Prescott's going to be back. I don't have a lot of faith in the Eagles, but they're not going to be terrible. It's not going to be the same abysmal division that it was last year. So going with Ryan Fitzpatrick, while I like Fitzpatrick, that's a submission to not winning the division. Yeah, I mean, that's a good point.

This morning, it feels like Dallas's division. Yes. Because Dak comes back. Listen, Andy Dalton went four and five. Okay, so brand new with no preseason. So Dak with a preseason. One thing we've never criticized, Dallas's weapons are fine, way above average. Dallas has to pay a lot of attention to the defensive side in the draft.

That goes without question. But this morning, I do feel like, okay, now it's Dallas's division. That's what I feel like. And let's not forget about the Giants. Yeah, if I wish I, give me to Thanksgiving. I know, you want to wait until Thanksgiving. But I do think they're going to be better. If nothing else, they're going to have Seekwan back.

Yeah. So it's, I don't, if they do end up running with, this and they are done, it's very interesting move. And to me, they're submitting that this year is not the year that they find the franchise guys. You know how we always say this? What do your rivals think about your move? In Dallas this morning, when they heard Ryan Fitzpatrick got signed, I think they pumped their fist. I think they thought, oh, that's the answer?

If they're under the assumption that he's the answer, yeah. I mean, I think Dallas this morning thought, we got Dak and they have Ryan. Well, we have the best quarterback in the division. Yeah. And we both have veteran head coaches who have gotten to a Super Bowl. And Dallas is like, we got better weapons than they do. They have a better pass rush. We're not going to deny that.

Of course, their defense is great. Both secondaries, Washington, Dallas need work. But if I'm Dallas this morning, my takeaway in the Ryan Fitzpatrick move is we got Dax. Well, we talk about this all the time. Who's the best quarterback in the division? So obviously, Dack. Dack is. Daniel Jones or Ryan Fitzpatrick.

I would lean Ryan Fitzpatrick just because of experience, but. Dack is easily the best quarterback in that division. If Daniel Jones takes a step up this year, Like he's younger. I don't know. And we don't know what Jalen Hertz is going to be. So it's not the same division as last year. And they barely won the division last year.

So the Nets survived a late push by the Nix last night. This was a fun game. A little bit of a controversial call. Julius Rangel got hosed. Yes, he did. The Nicks trailed with three, with 5.7 seconds left to go. Randall attempted a three-pointer, but Kyrie Irving jumped with him to contest the shot.

When Randall landed with the ball, he was called for traveling, but the replays showed, and we're showing it right here, that Kyrie's hand did touch the ball, which would have negated the travel call. It was a bad call. Officials did not review this, and the next one, 117, 112. Okay, so explain that, because I read that, I didn't see this, I read it, why didn't they review it? I don't know.

That's a bad call. It was a bad call, and they didn't review it. And he's having a good year. He was very frustrated, having a great year, very frustrated. He was after the game, I don't know if we just showed this video or not, but after the game, he had to be restrained. Obie Toppin and some of the other players and staff were holding him back. I don't know who was going after, but he was very visibly upset, which he has a right

to be. Like, that's a terrible call. Well, it's a game deciding call. It's a game deciding call. Obviously, we're showing this. Yeah, we're showing it now. In slow motion, you couldn't, I mean, in full speed, you couldn't see that Kyrie touched it.

But it's very obvious in the replay when you slow it down, but Kyrie did touch the ball. True Chief Scott Foster said that Irving touched the ball, but didn't dislodge it making it a travel in his eyes. He touched the ball and he moved it. So it's definitely a bad call. It's very frustrating if you're a Knicks man. You know, what Randall should have done is when Kyrie touched it, you let go the ball and then re-grab it. Yeah.

It's like a new possession. Right. So it would have made it more obvious, obviously, for the... Yeah. But they should have reviewed it. Like, that's tough when it comes down to that. But he's having an amazing season, had an amazing night, 33 points, 12 rebounds, six assists, and three steals in a very fun. He was a Laker.

He was always productive. He was one of those classic players. He didn't shoot threes. And it's really funny about this. This goes back to my, yeah, but he's productive. Like Ben Simmons doesn't shoot threes. Yeah, but he's a great finisher at the rim. He's a great defender.

He's a 6-11 point guard. He doesn't shoot threes. Julius Randall's always been in LA, that was a thing. They were always like super productive. But didn't shoot three. So you get to the point in the NBA. There's got to be room for Zion, Julius Randall, Ben Simmons.

who are unique body types, they don't shoot three. And productive, but aren't. They don't shoot threes. I mean, look at how well the Knicks are playing with Randall being their best guy right now. It's like a playoff team. And the NBA is better when the Knicks are playing well. Yeah, it's just more fun.

Yep, joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Lie News. Oh, my sister just says she's got her vaccine schedule for Friday. Marlene's very excited. She's giving me thumbs up emojis and everything right there. I saw this weekend, Joy.

It may have been Sunday. Maybe it was Friday. Three million Americans were vaccinated in one day. So just extrapolate that out, 90 million in a month. So I think you and I talked about this a couple weeks ago. We felt like late April it's going to look like the place we grew up in. I've been purposely not optimistic over the past month or so. So you do that too?

But, well, because when everything first happened, I felt like I had a good grasp on things. And I tried to, like, stay very grounded, which is difficult, obviously, and had moments. But we've been in California. So we're kind of like a different space in the whole world. LA. Not even California. LA County. So I've just been like, I'll wait and see.

But it looks like things are trending in the right direction. Yeah, Dodgers are going to have 15,000 people. Jim's open now. Yeah. It's nice. It is. Small businesses who have been grappling for a year. Yes.

It's got a fighter's chance. Promising. Yeah. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. 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. 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's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast. The Clifford Show.

This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me, or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. If you're watching the latest season of the Real Housewives of Atlanta, you already know there's a lot to break down. Gorsha accusing Kelly of sleeping with a merry man.

They holding Kay Michelle back from fighting Drew. Pinky has financial issues. I like the bougie style of Housewives show. I think it looks like it's going to be interesting. On the podcast, Reality with the King, I, Carlos King, recap the biggest moments from your favorite reality shows, including the Real House Wise franchise, the drama, the alliances, and the T, everybody's talking about.

As an executive producer in reality television, I'm not just watching it. I understand the game. As somebody who creates shows, I'll even say this. At the end of the day, when people are at home, they want entertainment. To hear this and more, listen to Reality with the King on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Jared Adano. You might know me as that loud guy who yells out, help on the internet. Help! Somebody! Please!

But there's so much more to me than me. I'm an actor. I'm a comedian. And recently, I've become quite the helper myself. And on my new podcast, hope from a hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with my sage advice and thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian! I'm not qualified to give good advice! Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to man. If I'm calling you, even if you're on your phone, let it ring twice. One ring is too scary.

Oh, cream a chicken suit. A cream, cream a chicken suit. This is help from a hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from Hypocrite as part of the Mike Coutura Podcast Network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Separate the men from the boys, Tommy John's hammock pouch underwear. 20% off your first order at Tommy John. Go to their site for details, Tommyjohn.com slash heard. So this is an interesting free agent tidbit.

We just had them on a couple days ago. The cornerback for the Seahawks, Shaquille Griffin, last couple, he's been a pro bowler. I think he had three picks this year. He just signed Urban Meyer and the Jags. So Seattle let go of Carlos Dunlap to save cap space, right? So their pass rush won't be as good. And now the weakest part of Seattle is their corners, and they just lost their best pure corner.

So you worry about Russell Wilson and the offense. Shaquille Griffin is now a Jacksonville Jaguar. So that's a really good signing for Jacksonville. They've gone out and gotten a couple of tight ends. So Urban Meyer goes out. He knows Florida and Florida athletes. He probably recruited Shaquille Griffin, former Florida Gator coach. And when he went to Ohio State, he recruited a lot of Florida athletes.

That was the success. Ohio State was the rare Big Ten team that looked like an SEC team in terms of speed. So Shaquille Griffin, that's a good signing for Jacksonville, is gone. And Seattle now, their weak spot is even weaker corner. So Seattle's going to have to draft multiple corners in this draft, it feels like to me, unless they're going to go in free agency. They do have some space now. But there you go.

Seattle's had a very, very interesting offseason. A lot of, you know, I have a rule on this show. The noisier the team, the worse the team. Philadelphia in the last year got really noisy. Dallas tends to be really noisy. Pittsburgh in recent years, really noisy. This year, Cleveland got quiet after being really noisy. noisy for two or three years.

Stefansky comes in. The Browns get very quiet. They don't make headlines. They make the playoffs. Seattle's getting noisy. A lot of talk, a lot of stuff out in the media, a lot of discussions. And the division, right now the Rams are the best team in that division. And they won 10 games last year and they upgraded it quarterback.

San Francisco's in a weird spot because they don't want to pay Trent Williams the tackle. And they'd love the draft to tackle. See, San Francisco's got to be interested in Darnold in this division. So San Francisco's in a weird place. Trent Williams is a great tackle, but he cost $20 million. It's a good year for tackles. And San Francisco's got the 12th pick. So they're in a great spot.

They could go draft a top tackle because they're right tackle. McGlinchie, they got from Notre Dame years ago. He's great. Road grader, great. They're good at center. They're good at right tackle. Left tackle. They would have to pay.

and they got some expensive guys on this team now. You know, Bosa, some of these defensive players. So they don't want to sign Trent Williams. They would love to just go get a left tackle in the draft. At the 12 spot, they'd probably get the second or third best left tackle. They'd be great. The problem is, because of the instability with Jimmy Garoppolo's health, you know, they're sitting there thinking,

we've got to use that 12 pick to get a quarterback. So that's the situation San Francisco's in. they just can't do this. They can't run this back again with Garapolo. He was hurt in week two in New England. Remember the deflate gate? When he subbed for Tom, week two got hurt. San Francisco, week two got hurt.

San Francisco, week two. It's not that Garapolo gets hurt. He gets hurt in the first month of the season. His body's not built for this. So you've got a huge hole at left tackle without Trent Williams, who's a Hall of Famer. You don't want to pay him. 20 million's a lot for a left tackle. And it's a great tackle.

draft. So San Francisco's lucky. They need a tackle that's inexpensive and there's like four really good ones. But what do you do with that 12 pick? Because you may be able to move up and get a quarterback. So to me, if I'm San Francisco, I mean, honestly, do you, and we talked about this before, you go get Sam Darnold and you tell Garapolo, we will move you before the trade deadline week eight. And we'll do everything we can to move you to a legitimate team. And you and I Joy. By week eight, somebody needs a quarterback. So you go to Garapolo and you say, listen, you can't stay healthy, you get hurt early, we're going to go get Darnold.

We'll let him have eight games to figure out our fairly complex system, and then Jimmy will move you in week eight. And they'll be a taker. And by the way, Garapolo's contract is there's not a lot of back end on it. So if you're desperate and you need a quarterback and Garopolo's there, you don't have to worry about signing a five-year contract. you may be able to get a decent deal on him. So it feels like to me, San Francisco and Darnold, there's just, and remember,

Darnold was really popular in the West. Pete liked him, John Lynch liked him. My West Coast guys, the Chargers like Darnold, you know, out West, he was very popular. You saw a lot of his games. He kind of took over the West. He went up to Seattle and beat the Huskies. He beat Texas in the Rose Bowl. He beat Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

He beat Texas in the regular season. He had these very dramatic moments and you kind of got sucked into it if you lived out West. All the West GMs were really into Sam Darnold. Just think the Niners, they got to take a left tackle at that spot or pay Trent Williams. And that's a lot of money for a left tackle. Life changing sleep. It's all about what's underneath. How about Casper.com?

Those mattresses provide the cooling support of comfort. You need for that refreshed feeling in the morning only on a Casper mattress. at casper.com. All right. Shaquille Griffin to the Jags. Seattle needs apparently multiple corners.

So as the NFL world turns. I just got my phone. I never bring my phone out here. Now I'm doing it. Got to have it around. Got to have it around today. Hour three next. 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 headwriter, 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm CJ 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 part of it. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow.

Then after that game seven, Marquis come in to you, 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. The story I've told myself can then shape my behavior, and that can lead me to sabotage the possibility of connection.

This Mental Health Awareness Month, tune into the podcast deeply well with Debbie Brown if you've been searching for a soft place to land while doing the work to become whole. This podcast is for you to hear more. Listen to Deeply Well with Debbie Brown from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Joey Dardano, and on my new podcast, Hope from a Hypocrite, I'll be changing lives, helping people in need with thoughtful solutions. Sike, I'm a comedian.

I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff, rant, recommend some of the most legally dubious advice known to me. This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite Wednesdays on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.