The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 03/29/2021 - HOUR 1 - NFC West, USC, Lakers

Episode Date: March 29, 2021

The NFC West is getting very aggressiveUSC is not a good matchup for GonzagaAndre Drummond chose LeBron James NOT the LakersGuest: Mark Schlereth 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. A win is a win. A win is a win.

I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but the show. celebrated. So let's get to it. 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's podcast network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your

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Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox SportsRadio.com or stream us live every day on the IHartRadio app by searching Herd. You're listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Monday after a great weekend of sports. UFC college basketball, NFL moves. It's the herd in L.A., wherever you may be, and however you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1 in two hours. We're not in FS1 now for the first couple of hours. Joy Taylor is joining me.

People were so happy in Los Angeles this weekend, Joy. Oh, my God. It was wonderful. You know, everyone's not like, you know, get down south. Everyone's, like, warm and friendly. Always, like, smiling at each other and stuff. You don't always get that in L.A. Well, it's very transient. Yes.

L.A. is where people move who think they're too good for their hometown. Well, everyone was very happy in L.A. It was very nice. Everyone was smiling. It was a beautiful day yesterday. Restaurants were jam. Restaurants were open. People are out.

This new area, town, I mean. in, you have to call for reservations, like a day and a half ahead of time. Yeah, you better have a reservation. Well, what's going on with that? There's no more. I mean, people want to be out of their homes. I'm America's honesty broker and I can't get into a restaurant. Well, I mean, if you show up at the restaurant, they should probably give you a table.

Thank you. But the rest of us need reservations. So speaking to L.A., I want to talk about the West for a second. So San Francisco, we were on the air, Joy and I Friday, and the Niners moved up to number three in the draft. And when they draft a quarterback, and that's what they'll do. In the first time in NFL history, a team will draft a quarterback in the top three picks within two years of being in the Super Bowl.

It's never happened before. Why is the NFC West so hyper aggressive? In my lifetime, I've never seen a division like this. It's insane. Arizona is the only team next year with its first round pick. And I think there's two reasons. I mean, think about this. Seattle was 12 and 4.

They've upgraded. Rams were 10 and 6 won a playoff game. They ditch their Super Bowl quarterback. Arizona, multiple moves. San Francisco, Super Bowl two years ago. They're getting rid of their quarterback eventually. It's insane. Why? The first part, and I think I'm the only sports talk show host in America

that's lived in all four corners of the country. So I speak of this, and I observe for a living, that's what I do. The West is different. It's not a coincidence Silicon Valley is here. Silicon Valley is out west for a reason. That's what we do. We invent. People that move out west, you're the one guy in the face.

family that didn't want to live for your grandpa's dreams, your dad's dreams. You wanted to chase your own dreams. I say this all the time about the West. In the East, if you get a better job, you buy a more expensive tie. In the West, you no longer want to wear one. You go to jeans, a crisp shirt, a blue sports coat, and no tie the rest of your life. We think differently out West. We do not romanticize an old church.

We tear it down and build a new one, hopefully with air conditioning. It's how we roll. I lived in Connecticut for 10 years. Every house is the same. Center door colonial, mostly white. They all look the exact same. And I lived in a nice neighborhood. It's just different out here.

In the Midwest, Mike Pence feels like a Midwest governor. He's just too way up tight out here. We're the adapters. We're the evolvers. People move out west who chase their dreams and want new stuff. It's just how, think about the Midwest. The Cincinnati Bengals have not made a daring move in the draft for 20 years.

The Green Bay Packers have had Brett Farbenarian Rogers, and they clinched their teeth with every free agent dollar. The cults are well run, but incredibly frugal. That's very Midwest. The Northeast, very, when I lived there for 11 years, bound by tradition. The South, very much into tradition. So the first part of it is this is what the West does. 49ers, Seattle.

Los Angeles. These are tech centers. This is new stuff. We don't have a lot of old buildings. We just tear it down and build a new one. Even in Vegas. You don't romanticize stuff. Caesar's Palace, that wing's old.

Boom. Blow it up, start a new one. It's just the way we operate out west. So part of it, I think, is the sensibility of out west. Just go. The second thing is, is you have three great coaches and their legacies are on the line. Sean McVeigh, Kyle Shanahan, and then Pete Carroll. who we all kind of felt gave away that one Super Bowl,

he doesn't want to be knocked off his perch by a couple of young upstarts. And then you have Arizona, which does have a rich history, but their GM and their head coach are toast if they don't win soon, probably by next year. So you have this Western sensibility, which is a evolve, go for it. I always say this about Californians. There's an optimism to Californians. I'm not a native Californian. I have friends who are native Californians, many.

and there's a natural optimism about California. The feeling is, uh, spend today. Tomorrow will be better. We'll just figure out tomorrow. It's how California, I mean, we got into a pandemic and had a $19 billion surplus. Like California was the one state in the pandemic economically exploded. Zoom, docusign, Netflix. So I think some of it is just the Western sensibility.

Just go for it. And the second part is when you have three great coaches, and their legacies are on the line. And Shanahan, little of the shine is off. He's kind of one-dimensional offense. Kyle Shanahan can't win without Garoppolo. Pete Carroll gave that Super Bowl away. Can't get along with Russ.

They've all got these legacies now that have been dinged in the last 12 months. A little dinged a little bit. And they're fighting for those legacies. And they're great coaches. And they have huge power inside the walls of their organization. So for those two reasons, it is. the single most aggressive division I have ever seen in my life. All right.

So I watched a lot of college basketball, especially yesterday. I sat in front of a TV and ate Fritos. So there is this sense, and I've said this, Gonzaga or the field, I'd take Gonzaga. But things emerge over the course of a tournament. You know, like you start watching teams and you're like, wow, they really, it just took them a while to find their act. So Gonzaga is the best team in the tournament, no question. And what they really are, though, is easily the best offense.

I mean, they honestly, have they taken a bad shot in the tournament? Everybody can handle the ball. The ball movement is incredible. Everybody's a scoring threat. They've got NBA Biggs. They've got NBA guards. Jalen Suggs is going to be a great pro first or second pick. They're really an incredible college team, especially in this 2021 where everybody, the transfer portal

and people leaving and people coming and your stars leave after a year. just they are so fluid it's like they've been playing together for 10 years like they never picked the ball up they never get a bad shot but what's interesting is and i bet them yesterday to win big they are beautiful offensively i've seen two three times in my life the best offensive team not win it five slamma jama back in 1983 and their two pro prospects were akima la joan and clyde dregsler better than gonzagas and they didn't win it In 1985, I watched the best team, in my opinion, never to win it. St. John's, Mark Jackson, Chris Mullen, Bill Wennington, Walter Berry, four NBA prospects not win it.

Because when you slow down a great offense and make them play half court, what this tournament really comes down to is a handful of defensive stops in the last five minutes of games. Yesterday, Gonzaga actually played great defense against Creighton. Gonzaga is not a great defensive team, though they played really good defense yesterday. They've got some bigs, but they're not brilliant, what I would call rim defenders. That's not what they do. Here's what's interesting. They play USC next.

And USC is not a great matchup for Gonzaga. First of all, they held Oregon last night to 38% shooting. They held Kansas to 29% shooting. They held Drake to 29% shooting. They're going to give Gonzaga real troubles. They're going to slow it down. I saw teams do this with $5.5. Slamma-jamma and those Chris Mellon teams.

They're going to slow it down. They're not going to give Gonzaga any freebies at the rim. They're going to bat that stuff away. They got NBA bigs. They're longer than Gonzaga. So Gonzaga is getting no freebies at the rim. They're going to slow. Andy Enfield's going to slow that puppy down.

Gonzaga loves playing with tempo. And the other thing is USC's got a player named Evan Mowley, and there's nothing like him left in the tournament. He's got a little Chris Bosch. He is just great. he is just a fantastic. He'll be the second or third player taken. Jalen Suggs will be the second third player taking.

Kate Cunningham, probably first or second or third. The first three players in the draft next year are all great. It's a much better draft. The other thing Gonzaga has to deal with, they're the first unbeaten team to get this far since 1976. That's real pressure. It's one thing to be a number one overwhelming seed. To be a number one seed and have not lost,

Gonzaga has not played a competitive basketball game in three. months. And they're going to come in as a massive 8, 9 point favorite. And I think USC is going to give them real problems. That basketball game has a chance to be the best game in the tournament. The best game in the tournament. And I know I'm buddies with Mark Few, but so much of this is matchups. And Gonzaga is easily the best offense.

They're not the best defense. They're not the longest team. And I've seen great offenses, slow them down. don't give them freebies at the rim. It's amazing what happens when you're the overwhelming favorite, and it's a four-point game with four minutes left. People get tight. I've seen it my whole life.

People get tight. So I think Gonzaga USC is a chance for an upset. And I'm not calling it, but I think it's a really fascinating matchup. USC's defense right now is suffocating everybody. They took Oregon completely out of their offense. and Oregon's a really good basketball team and a really well-coached basketball team. All right.

Very, very interesting developments in the NBA over the weekend. Really interesting. Do we have our finals wrapped up? That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app. What's up, everyone? It's me three-time in.

Phil all pro Sean Merriman. And I have a new sports podcast called The Lights Out Podcast with Sean Murrayman. This podcast is special to me as I get a chance to talk to some of the best who's ever done it on the field or the track. So whether it's talking to a Super Bowl champion or a NASCAR Cup Series champion, the Lights Out podcast will bring it to you the only way I know how to. I'm giving you the best insight from the best who's ever done it. Listen to Lights Out with Sean Merriman on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged.

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

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

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

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at Tickford. Talk Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped 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 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. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. clear, 84 was big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. 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 levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person.

Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way. Open your free. iHeartRadio app search learn the hard way and listen now for hot water that never runs out go tankless with navian spotlight comfort efficient saves you space hundreds on local rebates too tankless made simple.com tankless made simple.com navian so um interesting weekend in the NBA the lakers signed

Andre Drummond and Andre Drummond's only 27 years old okay he's probably got four peak years left he's a four time rebounding champ. He's not a guy I would build around like Detroit tried. He's a hell of a basketball player with four plays on both ends. He's an all-star multiple times. Got to the playoffs, O for eight, and he's made $137 million, and he just said, oh, six teams wanted him. He chose LeBron. He didn't choose the Lakers. He chose LeBron. That's why I went there. And I'll get to that in a second. Celtics wanted him. Nicks wanted him. Charlotte wanted him. There were winning teams that wanted him. He chose LeBron James. The Brooklyn Nets, got Lamarcus Aldridge. He's a 20-point game player on his career. He'll give you about 14 to 15 now.

Lamarcus Aldridge has got four more years of good mid-range jumpers. He's a six or seven-time All-Star, but he made $211 million. He chose Kevin Durant. That's what he chose. You're seeing this now. You saw it with Tampa Bay. A lot of guys taking pay cuts because of Brady. They're not choosing the Buccaneers. They're choosing Brady. Andre Drummond chose LeBron James. Lamarcus Aldridge didn't choose Brooklyn or Kyrie Irving. He chose Kevin Durant. Hardin doesn't have a ring. When you add these superstars, there's obviously a lot of benefits. You win more. The thing that nobody ever talks about is you get a discount on about 90% of your roster. I mean, Dwight Howard was a completely irrelevant player. He goes to the Lakers, plays with LeBron, and then there's like

four teams after him in free agency. Andre Drummond is going to get more exposure in three weeks in the Western Conference Finals and NBA finals, in three weeks. Then he got in Detroit in nine to ten years, in a decade. That's why you choose LeBron and Durant and Brady. If you start looking at, Andre Drummond gets bad mouth because he never want a playoff game. It's Detroit. They're not well run.

They haven't been particularly well coached. They don't have a lot around him. They couldn't do anything with Blake Griffin. It's not a good organization. Lakers are. So Drummond's a huge get. Both ends of the floor, four-time rebounding champ, totally athletically in his prime, 27 years old.

You're asking him, can you give us 20 minutes tonight? You're not asking him to lead the team. You're asking him to be the fourth or fifth best player. Same with Lamarcus Alridge. Could you be our fifth best player? 15 a game, Lamarcus Alridge? So players make so much money now so quickly, NBA and NFL. Guys get into the 100 million net worth at 27 years old.

That was even five years ago. That's what you made in a career. A hundred million net worth. Andre Drummond has made $137 million. He's 27 years old. He's 27 years old. And so then you can just choose the superstar on a total discount, play for three months. The market, Lamarquez Aldridge, I mean, especially Andre Drummond.

He'll go to the market after the finals, and he'll have seven suitors. If he'd have stayed in Detroit, he'd just dry up. So the benefit of the stars, we know this. Beyond like getting a mokey bats make you a better baseball team, players will take discounts because they make so much money early now. Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Crazy sports weekend. It was actually a great sports weekend. This is starting with Friday's news, then the NBA signings, men's and women's tournament, in a great UFC fights. So UFC 260, Francis Ngano, is the new UFC heavyweight champion. Wow, is he?

Boy, is he. He took down Steve Miotich with the second round knockout Saturday. With this win, In Gano, is now expected to face John Jones, who is moving up to heavyweight after dominating the light heavyweight division for the last decade. This was a rematch of about that Miotich won by unanimous decision at UFC 220 in January of 2018. And this was an impressive performance. Miosich is the best heavyweight ever, and it looked like Big Brother, Little Brother. Like, it wasn't competitive.

Well, physically it was, like, he is, like, he is the most, he's the most impressive fighter in UFC history. He's the hardest hitting. By far. Fighter in UFC history. Yeah, I mean, like John Jones, to me, had the most natural talent. And I do think Connor McGregor was the most dynamic. Yeah.

Nate Diaz may be the toughest, and the Russian guy who just is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is probably for his weight class, the greatest fighter in the hit. But in turn, listen, heavyweight division rules boxing in UFC. Biggest guy is fighting. This guy is insane. This wasn't even competitive. I'm just sitting there. I'm like, my God.

Like, this is, they better have doctors right outside the octagon. Well, they do. But what makes it so impressive is everyone knows how great Sipay is. And, I mean, this is a rematch. Spoke him apart. It was very, very impressive. And he has such an incredible story. I saw Kevin Clark tweeted something about his story.

He worked in Sandmines as a teenager and took a 14-month journey from Cameroon to Europe that failed six times and risked his life. He was homeless and now he's the chance. I know, his story is amazing. If you look at pictures of him, you know, 15, well, God, probably eight, nine years ago. He's just a skinny kid. He's a tall skinny kid. But he was one of those kids that was skinny that you could tell from his shoulders. As he has the gate to put on more ways.

Yeah, it's like, oh, that, he's going to be big. It was a fun night. So Sammy Watkins agreed to a one-year deal with the Ravens. The deal is reportedly worth $6 million with $5 million guaranteed. This was a huge addition for the Ravens. Their weakness is receiver. Big time. The addition of Watkins ends the Ravens' pursuit of a veteran wide receiver.

Their passing attack ranked last in 2020 with only 171.2 passing yards per game. His 4,665 career receiving yards are more than double the combined career total of the Ravens' current wide receiver group. I'd draft another one. They absolutely should, and this was a really great signings by the Ravens. According to Football Focus, they had the 28th ranked receiving grade last season. So the only groups that were worse were the Broncos, Washington, Jets, and Eagles. With bad quarterback play. Baltimore didn't have bad quarterback.

Right, exactly. And that's why it's such a position of need for them. And the other thing is about Sammy Watkins is he's always been really good in the playoffs. Sammy can disappear and get banged up in the regular season, but he's got that, he's got that Rondo thing. There's playoff Watkins. Playoff Sammy and playoff Rondo. He has been a big play delivery guy in the playoffs. Yeah, I think they will draft another receiver, but I really like this signing for them.

All right, let's talk about your favorite topic in sports, NBA MVP. Oh, God. James Hardin has obviously been putting up some incredible numbers since you joined the Nets. Let them to their 17th win in 20 games Friday night, and he was asked if he believes he's in the MVP conversation. Do you think that your game has grown even more since your last MVP season? And do you feel like you belong in those conversations again this year? Well, I feel like I belong in it.

I feel like I am the MVP. I mean, it's just that simple. Just, I don't want to talk. want to be, you know, speaking to visioning on myself, but I'm going to just leave it at that. Very controversial. I mean, look, we like having the conversation about NBA MVP because it's a narrative. It's a narrative conversation, right? And it changes throughout the season.

As Nick Wright so eloquently put it, it's just going to become a rotation, like LeBron, and then the person above LeBron is going to continue to rotate. And LeBron will be second, which according to Fox Bet right now, Nikola Yokic, has the best odds. Joel Embeddead and LeBron are tied. Where's Chris Paul? The second. I don't have Chris Paul on here,

but fourth is James Hardin. So James Hardin is the fourth best odds right now to win MVP. Yeah, because Chris Paul shoots mid-range jambors and everybody hates. I think Chris Paul certainly deserves to be in the MVP conversation. It's looking like it's going to be Yogich because of the consistency. And LeBron and Embed have been heard. James Hardin wasn't with the Nets all season. And Chris Paul is further down the line.

He's not going to get the recognition of what he's doing for the sons, which he deserves to, absolutely. And it's not that Yokes doesn't deserve MVP. He's having an incredible season. But what did you say, Alex? What did you say about your, Chris Paul? He's... Okay, so Chris Paul's tied for 12th in MVP.

Oh, no, no, no. That's silliness. I mean, it's literally... That's silly. Oklahoma City was trying to tank and got him out of town because he made them too good. He's tied with Kevin Durant, who is not playing. He's tied with Kevin Durant and who's not playing.

Hasn't played since early February. It's late March. Well, again, it's just, I know you hate this conversation, but I just wish we could just define what the MVP is. It seems to me the word valuable is not. It's just, yeah, maybe it's like we need to change the name, I think. Like, like, best, best player this year. I don't know. Most fun story.

Yes. I don't know. Phoenix, same guys last year, awful. This year, two seed in the West. It's funny. What happened? Crazy. His contributions.

I don't get it. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Lye News. Joy and I were talking about it. People were so... A friend of mine knows a restaurant.

He goes, people are just so happy to be able to sit inside a restaurant. Like, he's like, our alcohol sales are through the roof. People are just having a second bottle of wine and stumbling home. Mark Schlerath is joining us live. Brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best of another. So have you gone out in the last week or two in Denver? We're noticing in Los Angeles, Mark, because you can eat inside a restaurant.

It's the happiest place on earth. Denver, what's your lockdown situation? You guys been open for a while? Yeah, we've been open for a while. You can go to the restaurants in Denver. So yes, I'm with you 100%. It just feels like normalcy, right? Just being able to go and order a meal

and have it served to you. It was just incredible. Like, oh, my gosh. It's funny how you take those things for granted until they are taken away from you. And then, you know, as soon as it opens back up, it's hell bent for election. We've been out. We, it's like we're out and we never go out.

My wife is a fabulous cook, but we've been out a bunch simply because we can go out now. Yeah, no, it's great. So the Niners move up to number three on Friday, Mark. What does that tell you about their plans? Well, first off, let's just talk about what it tells you about the NFL. So you can trade unknown commodities for unknown. commodities, guys that haven't put a squirt of piss in the NFL bucket, and it trumps the regular season news of the NBA, NHL, the tournament, everything. I find that incredible, the power of the

National Football League. But what it tells me about the Niners is this, you have a particular target in place. When I hear, hey, they love all three. I mean, we assume that Trevor Lawrence is going number one. Zach Wilson is going number two. And then there's Lance and there's Fields and there's Mac Jones. Like, oh, all three of those guys are in play. No, they're not. They've picked one guy. They've identified one guy that they think is a difference maker for them. And they're going to go up and get them. Because if you did, if you thought all three of them were going to fit your system and you'd be happy with all three of them, that's not necessarily or that's not how the NFL works. you just trade to number five and go to the Bengals and say, hey, we'll give you this for the number

five pick and you save yourself some of that draft capital. So to me, it tells me the 49ers have identified one guy that they're in love with and they've targeted him because the draft starts at number three. You know, it's interesting with Garapolo. I was talking to Bill Polion last night and I said it's an interesting game here. You know Garapolo's injury history. And you got about eight weeks until the trading deadline, six or eight weeks. And I, I asked him, I said, Bill, what if you play Garapolo, you draft a quarterback number three, and you kind of press him. You play him in preseason. You give him a lot of snaps. And then you watch Garapolo knowing his injury history. And even if you're six and oh or five and one,

his trade value now is substantial. Okay. Do you move off him in season, even if you're six and one, seven and one, and go with a young guy. Could you sell that to a locker, room. I mean, your thoughts about Garoppolo, knowing his injury history, what do you do if he plays really well early and you kind of like the progress of the number three quarterback you picked out of college? Yeah, I mean, it's a, I guess it's a good problem to have, right? I mean, if that mentorship has gone well, Jimmy Garapolo, obviously, the injury history is part of, you know, part of the issue. And so, but there's no question about his arm talent. all those things are above board.

I would say that some of the decision-making occasionally is an issue. But you look at Kyle Shanahan. I mean, look at what he has done. Coaching Matt Ryan, he's made him an MVP. Then he coached RG3 in a completely different style where he went and basically took some college concepts and put them into his offense and had RG3 playing to the rookie of the year caliber. Then he got Jimmy Garapolo and had him playing at such a high level. They went to the Super Bowl.

you know, Kyle is incredibly smart. I've known the kid, I've noticed he's 15 years old for crying out loud. He's a ballboy first when I played in Denver. He really understands what he wants, but he is able to manipulate what he's doing to fit a young player. We've seen that happen before. So I, you know, I know that they would like in a perfect world the scenario to, hey, Jimmy, you play, play really well, take us to a world championship. We've got a great roster. We'll, you know, teach the young guy, mentor the young guy. That's in a perfect world. But if somebody offers you something that you can't refuse for Jimmy Garapolo and you can get some of that draft capital back, then you've got to make that move. So Dolphins, too, is interesting. They trade it out of the number three spot, move back up to six. But they're not going to get one of the four best quarterbacks at six. And certainly, you know, they're doubling down on Tua. And my question is, okay, how long do you go on Tua?

It's a bad quarterback draft class next year. do you just give him the year grin and bear it how long do you go yeah yeah i think i think you definitely give him this year i think the interesting thing for me is i did the 49ers miami game where miami absolutely blew the doors off of the 49ers and it was interesting to me colin because talking to brian flores at that point early in the season he's like listen toua is not ready if he was my kid he wouldn't play and then a couple of weeks later all of a sudden he's the starting quarterback right to me which said that was not a coach's decision. That was an ownership decision. We want to see the new toy that we drafted,

right? And so for me, I think he played, he was unprepared or unready to play. He was forced to play not by the coaching staff, but by the ownership. That's just my take. And that's what I feel like they did. So to me, because like I said, Brian Flores told me flat out, if he was my son, he wouldn't play. I don't think he's quite ready to play. And that had to do with not only understanding of what was going on, but that had to do with injury history and overcoming those injuries. So I think you have to look at it like, hey, two is going to be a lot better with an offseason where he can prepare where he's healthy and we're like, we'll, we'll gamble on the fact that he's going to get better.

Here's one of the things I love about the National Football League. I mean, look in Denver. Garrett Bowles, their left tackle was awful for three years, led the league in holding every year. All of a sudden he's a pro ball, all pro player in year four, right? Here's the thing about the National Football League. If you put in the work, you're allowed to get better. You're allowed to mature.

You're allowed to grow up. Isn't that great? But we have such a microwave society that we won't allow anybody to get. We want to make a snap judgment right now. And it takes time for, you know, everybody's on a different scale, time scale of preparation. But it takes time to grow as a player, to understand the game as a player. Some guys pick it up faster than other guys, but you're allowed to improve. And Tool will be allowed to improve this offseason.

By the way, it is crazy, the NFC West, all these teams, goff, you're good, not good enough. Garapolo, love you, not that much. Seattle upgrades. It's crazy. I don't remember, and I said earlier, I think part of it is you have really good coaches who have power in the building and their legacies are on the line. And I also think part of it is it's just how the West operates. I think we tend to be sort of a, you know, we don't romanticize the beautiful church. We blow it up, build a new one with air conditioning.

We don't cling to the past. And there's kind of a race in the West for the new idea and the new way to do things. I don't know. I don't think I've ever seen a division like it. Have you and what do you make of it? Well, I think number one is they all know how talented they are. Even Arizona, a very talented football team that has made some incredible moves this offseason with free agency. But I think all of them know, hey, we're ready

built roster-wise to compete. Our rosters are exceptional. So we've got to give ourselves the best chance to win. And with 17-game schedule, you know, 10 and 7, 11 and 6 is probably going to win this division as good as this division is. So you look at the Niners and how built they are on both lines of scrimmage, how good they are, and their running game and their identity and what they are. You know, again, the ceiling of the Rams and what they had and saying, hey, our quarterback can only take us so far. So we've got a ready-built roster, great defense. We've got the best defensive player. We probably have the best defensive lineman, maybe the best defensive player in football in Aaron Donald. And oh, by the way, we also have Jalen Ramsey. So we may have

the two best defensive players in football on our roster. You look at Seattle with Russell Wilson, and the receivers they have. Like, it's an incredible division. So this is a, this is a, this is a a race to, hey, who can get to 11? Because if you get to 11, you win the division. You're battle tested. You've got a chance to be a world champion. Mark Schlerath and beautiful Denver, Colorado. Great seeing you, my man. Appreciate it.

Oh, anytime. Always good to see you. Thanks for having me on, Colin. You bet. We'll be on TV, by the way, in our number three, I think. Still up for some debate. They're having a car race on dirt. So I saw something this weekend. I am not actually as active as I probably should be on Twitter. Like I turn my phone off for long stretches in the day.

I find it annoying this weekend because I was just sitting there watching hour after hour of college basketball. I was on the Twitter. And I know it's not real life, but can the sports media take a deep breath on something that is so ridiculous, is such a non-story. And it became the story the six hours I was sitting watching. Watching college basketball regarding the NFL and pro days. That's coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

What's up, everyone? It's me three-time NFL All-Pro Sean Mariner. And I have a new sports podcast called The Lights Out Podcast with Sean Mariner. This podcast is special to me as I get a chance to talk to some of the best who've ever done it on the field or the track. So whether it's talking to a Super Bowl champion or a NASCAR Cup Series champion, The Lights Out podcast will bring it to you the only way I know how to. I'm giving you the best insight from the best who's ever done it. Listen to Lights Out with Sean Merriman on the IHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcast.

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 where you need to be.

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

What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for. 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 Fantine, 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. levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the

hard way. Open your free iHeartRadio app, search Learn the Hardway, and listen now. I tell these stories about every two years. So you just forget how much better pro athletes are from weekend warriors and even college athletes. So there was a show on about 15 years ago. and it was they took the best flag football team in the country these guys 28 years old they'd all played division one sports they're pretty good athletes they were a san diego group of guys they were the best flag football team in the country and they played these washed up NFL guys i think it was ken o'brien james lofton and it may have been kellen winslow i could be wrong but i think those are the three they practiced they had one practice the pros these other guys have been playing together for

years and years and years there were division one athletes and they went to a dinner the night before, and the young guys are just cocky and talking trash, and the old guys are rolling their eyes. I think guys, like Ken O'Brien was now in his 40s. James Lofton, forget a four or five, 40. It was over. Like, they were eight years out of their prime.

Eight years out of the league, forget their prime. And the pros beat them. And just, that's what they do, their pros. The second story is, one time I was in Portland, I was doing a live shot. for the Fred Meyer Challenge. It was a wildly popular, I don't even know if they do it anymore,

wildly popular golf charity-raising golf event with Peter Jacobson, but on the tour forever, NBC Commentator. And where I was doing it, Peter would host it, very funny guy, very glib guy. He was getting ready to go on and host it, but he did it from behind the tent. He was hitting some iron shots, about 200 yards, into a small cylinder about the size,

half the size of an NBA key. one after another in this tiny little bucket in this space. At the time, Peter Jacobson was not only not in his prime, he was struggling to make the cut of golf tournaments. The difference between professionals and guys who played Division I is the Grand Canyon. You ever see those videos at Carmelo Anthony? You know, he's hitting jumpers. Carmelo Anthony could hit 19 to 20 jumpers unguarded in his mid-50s.

Michael Jordan in his 50s could take 90% of the Division I players. I mean, Jordan now just sits around smoking cigars and drinking wine. It's been out of the sport 20 years. It'd still beat 90% of the college players if he gave him two weeks to get in shape. So this weekend, Zach Wilson had a pro day. He's the BYU quarterback. And Twitter exploded. It's embarrassing.

It's ridiculous. Hey, everybody, Zach Wilson was great against air. Forget the fact that he's throwing to a college teammate and he's comfortable. It's indoors and he's comfortable. He's not wearing pads. There's no defense. It's all about comfort. NFL's the opposite. It's all about discomfort. Zach Wilson, do you see those throws? Folks, he's been a quarterback since he was six. He's 21, 22. He's been at every camp. He's a professional. national athlete now. This is what they do.

They can do tricks with a football. He can make behind the back throws. He's going to be the number two pick in the draft. Making good throws against nobody is the minimum. Every year people freak out about pro days. It means nothing. Nothing. If you've ever met like somebody, forget like the PGA tour.

What's the, what's the, What's the corn fairy tour? What's the tour below the PGA? Somebody that's been golfing since they were five. Their dad was a golfer. They're a golfer. Golfing since five. They're 22 years old.

They're not even on the tour. They're on the, the tour below the tour. The corn ferry tour. You take any of those players, any of them, they can take a golf ball and a golf club and do stuff. And you're like, like a magician. And it's like, no, that's the bare minimum. they can do all this stuff.

They can hit 100 straight nine irons, 120 yards out, within six feet. And they can't make the tour. So the idea, there was a study done years ago that it just cracked me up. Now, there are questions about Zach Wilson. He's thin. Can he take hits? He didn't beat the best competition.

Can he handle New York City? Those are real questions. By the way, those are all, you know, like not against air and against nobody. Those are real intense situations. Those are all based, by the way, on discomfort. But years ago there was a study, and I hate to say this as a guy, but guys can be so delusional. 75% of men who were athletes felt that if it wasn't for an injury or a coach who had something against them, they could be a pro athlete. I don't know if women think that way.

I don't know if women think if it wasn't for a pimple in high school, they could be a supermodel. I have no idea. I have no idea. But men think like that. Like go to Twitter for five minutes. Men think like that. Men go on Twitter and question Elon Musk and Mark Cuban. Like all day long.

Mark Cuban owns like 40 businesses. Like stop talking. It's embarrassing. We just went, we're still in a pandemic and everyone got an overnight epidemiology degree. Overnight. Everybody knew more than the guys at Stanford and Dr. Fauci was number one in his class Cornell. Can't even spell virus. and they have all the answers.

So it's like, when I look at this pro day stuff, it's like this is the minimum for somebody that's a professional athlete that he can make throws. He rolled left and threw right. Oh, good hell. I don't know what to make of it. It's just, it's a combination of things. One, it's fun.

And two, you know, we haven't seen them play football in a while. So it's like we want to feel like we're part of the scouting process. I mean, it's like, remember Trey Lances? They were like, oh, he looks like really big. You know? Listen, whether Zach Wilson works or not. It's not going to be because of his pro day.

How many throws has Zach Wilson made? And by the way, he's a good-looking kid. He's fun. He's got a real arm. He looks like a professional quarterback. Sure. And as long as he gets a good coach, I'm sure he'll succeed. I'm not doubting he's going to succeed.

I do worry about he doesn't look too stocky. I worry a little bit about that. But, I mean, he can make all the best. the requisite throws. Like that's, that's, that's, I mean, it's just folks, the, the, the, the, the minimum, I've seen Dan Marino do things. There's a piece of video out there with Dan Marino. And this is such a pro athlete.

Dan Marino makes a perfect 50 yard throw behind his back. He takes the football and he whips it behind his back. It's a perfect spiral, 50 yards are the corner of the end zone. That's what pro athletes do all the time. They've had that now. Now, they may not be very socially engineered. They may not be good academically because they pour their life into it. Like, you know, I mean, they literally from five years old pour their life into it.

I can remember, again, being in Portland, and Dirk Novitsky was young. Like second year in a league. And Mark Cuban was there. And I was talking to Mark Cuban. And he's like, boy, this guy is, he's really, oh, boy, this is. He went around the circle. Hyper speed. Just going around the circle shooting threes.

He had either 27 in a row or 27 of 28. Like, okay, if you hit seven straight, you would tell your friends for a month. 27 of 28 coaches running at him, and that's the bare minimum for an NBA star. That's that you've got to be able to hit 27 of 33. That's what you do. All right. Hour number two. This hour just flew by.

It really did. Got all my spots red. It's really night. The weather's really nice. getting nice in LA, by the way. It was beautiful this week. Oh, my, I saw you had some hamburger thing. I did have a hamburger. Oh, God. I made a watermelon. Daquaree? No, it was a paloma. Delicious. Don't even know what that is, and it's for it. Hour two. Live in LA, it's the hurt. 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 helped make you funnier. This week, my guest, S&L'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 I-Heart 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying.

Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfills of conversations with athletes, creators,

and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford Show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Hey, what's good, y'all?

You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Game. 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 IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHart podcast.

Guaranteed Human. Thank you.