The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 04/09/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: April 9, 2021

Colin explains that Tom Brady & Pat Mahomes show us how committed they are to winning while Aaron Rodgers continues to show he's stubborn. Justin Fields continues to receive harsh criticism even though he might be the second best QB in the draft. LeBron James rebuilt the most dysfunctional team in the league while bringing the Lakers to a Championship level. Plus, everything in life including the quality of it has gotten better especially the NBA!Guest: Peter Schrager 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. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season. And I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was crying.

You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis keep coming to, he's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. Listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Your husband is not who you think he is. Your body is not what you thought it was. Your identity is formed by a secret history. I'm Danny Shapiro. And these are just a few of the stunning stories I'll be exploring on the 14th season of Family Secrets. He kind of shoved me out of the way and said, move. And he went out the front door and he jumped in a car and drove off.

And that was the last time I saw him. Listen to season 14 of Family Secrets on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is Saigon, the story of my family and of the country that shaped us. From IHeart Podcasts, Saigon. You don't think I'm serious about a free Vietnam? One city, a divided country, and the war that tore America apart. It's for Vietnam. They're pouring patril all over here.

Freedom for Vietnam! There's a fire coming to this country and it's going to burn. That's everything. Listen to Saigon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Thanks for listening to The Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching

herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a Friday week has flown by. Live in Los Angeles, it's the herd. Wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening. We are on IHeart Radio. We are on Fox Sports Radio. We are on FS1.

Interesting stories today developing. Interesting stories today developing. Lana Falcons still want to trade that number four pick. Something tells me it's getting close to happening. Joy Taylor, how are you? Joy. I'm great. It's Friday. I think I'm with you. I think we're going to hear some news about that number four pick within the next couple of days. If you guys are nice, you'll do it on Monday. That would be great. Really appreciate it. Start of the second hour of the herd. It'd be really nice. So I want to start, you know, usually I start my show with a little rant about life or something.

Nobody goes to college and majors in sales. But like 20% of the country, 25% of the country is in sales. You're selling something. You didn't major in sales. There's nothing wrong with being in sales. People sell this show every day. My radio, my podcast, television. You made a lot of money in sales.

But you didn't major in it. No kid drops out of the womb, man or woman, saying, I want to sell hardware. Radio spots. Why do you get into it? Because you majored in something else in college. You weren't totally committed. You didn't like being poor moving cross country.

And you're a pretty good talker and you can make good money. It's a fun life. Drive a nice car. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing at all wrong with that. When I interview people, I always ask them, young broadcasters, young podcasters, I ask them a series of questions. And all I'm trying to figure out without asking it is, how committed are you?

are you willing to move cross-country four times by the time you're 36? Are you willing to be poor for several years? You're not going to see your mom, dad, or sister for eight years. Can you do that? And if the answer is no, okay, I know you're kind of committed. There's nothing wrong with that. I'm not judging you. But Tom Brady shows us what matters to him.

He's been taking pay cuts for 15 years. Number one priority is winning. Patrick Mahomes. He's a kid. He hadn't even made the big money yet. He's already restructuring his contract. He's telling me how committed he is. He hasn't even made big money yet. Tom didn't even make big money. They were restructuring their deals. In fact, Brady restructures it so often, it's not even news anymore. You did it again this year. He does it every year. Interesting story. How committed are you? There's a story done by ESPN. And the reporter went out and interviewed an 8. agent, a scout, a coach, and an executive to try to figure out how would you handle this Aaron Rogers Packer thing? Because it's been tense forever. And the agent had a really, really interesting answer. I want to read this to you. He says, I've heard Aaron stubborn. And who knows that they're not offering up a palatable situation that is middle ground? I'm going to assume some sort of middle ground's been attempted by the Packers. And I'm going to assume right now Aaron's not listening to

it, but it's screwing the Packers in a lot of ways because now there's just no cap space. He goes on to say, the Packers called me, said the agent. And they said, listen, we'd like to do something big, but hint, hint, we've got to get through a space. Meaning they tried to make a deal. There's no reason for the agent to lie. It's an anonymous agent. Aaron's not his client. There's no reason for the agent to lie.

When you go anonymous, you get more truthful answers. Joy and I can tell you that. Once you go anonymous, people tell you the truth. Once you quote them, they go soft. It's very interesting. Green Bay trying to do things, but stubborn is more important than winning. Ego more important than winning. I'm not saying Aaron doesn't want to win.

But you're going to tell me how much things matter in your life by the sacrifices you're willing to make. If you're not willing to move away from your hometown for 12 years, you're not really totally committed. Joy did. I did. If you're not willing to sacrifice a little money, you're not going to be Brady.

You're not going to be Mahomes back-to-back Super Bowls. It's just very interesting. What do you care about Aaron Rogers? Jeopardy, power, money, winning, leverage. If this agent and his answer is true, winning's not just the only thing he cares about. Now, nobody thinks that Aaron doesn't want to win. That is not the question here. But it's like the question I often ask young people when I created my podcast network.

I ask a series of questions. How committed are you? Well, I kind of want to live around. I grew up in this area. There's a bagel shop over there. I want to see my parents on Sunday. That is awesome. But you're not all in on being great.

You want a more well-rounded life. And by the way, pro athletes have off-seasons. LeBron, Brady, they have off-seasons. You can have a well-rounded life. But it is interesting. This article, go read it for yourself. Agent, scout, executive. What conclusion do you come to?

My conclusion is, if, Stubborn is getting in the way of winning, Aaron needs to see a therapist. Because 25 years from now, you're going to look awfully small with one Super Bowl, but you won the argument with the Packers. All right, I want to segue to this.

This is interesting. So we're having all these pro days. And I think there are a bunch of nonsense. I don't think you get a lot out of pro, especially with quarterbacks. I think they're stupid. but we have them and they're big and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But I'm noticing a trend here.

Let's just talk quarterbacks and pro days. All of them get kind of surgically nitpicked, but it's interesting. So Trevor Lawrence, very little criticism. Hell, we didn't even talk on this show about his pro day. It's not even a topic on a show called The Herd. We love football and college football. We barely talked about it. Mac Jones, there appears to be a love affair currently going on that I can't understand.

He is zooming up the board. Zach Wilson, he's been locked into the number two spot for what a month? Trey Lance, wowed everybody at his pro day. My scouts love him. My sources love him. You can't find a bad word about Trey Lance. People like him. The only question is he hasn't played a lot.

And then there's Justin Fields. John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan of the Niners didn't go to his first pro day. At another network, a former NFL quarterback questioned his work ethic. Greg CoSell, who I bring on this show all the time and doesn't really have strong opinions beyond tape, said this yesterday about Justin Fields. I think Justin Fields has some issues. I really do. I mean, I've watched his tape and I've watched it several times.

and I think there's things that concern me, but he's really a high-level talent. I think Justin Fields is a big physical athlete. He may not be as refined as you'd like right now, so now you have to coach him. And I've always been a believer that coaching is a major variable and a big factor, and where Justin Fields goes will be a big deal because he will need to be coached. Interesting. And I noticed this. I wonder if you noticed this.

Atlanta is number four with the pick. Justin Fields is from Georgia. That matters. It does matter. I mean, Joe Burrow from Ohio, Cincinnati. I mean, I'm not blaming anybody, but it matters. It's kind of cool if you, Troy Aikman always felt and talked and sounded like a cowboy quarterback. It kind of matters, right?

So Atlanta had the number four pick. all these rumors for six months, they're going to move off. Move off. Matt Ryan. The minute the San Francisco 49ers appeared to be committed to Mac Jones, meaning they would get Justin Fields, the next day we'll take calls. What? So Atlanta's not into him.

By the way, a story this week on Carolina that needed a quarterback. That it was after the pro day of Justin Fields, they committed to Sam Darnel. I don't know what it is. I thought he had the best single game by any quarterback in college football this year when he rolled Clemson and made great decisions at unbelievably big downfield throws against Clemson. But there are red flags here. And I've always said in life resumes matter.

Remember when Drew Brees said something that ticked off his teammates? And I said, listen, I thought, he was a little out of lockstep with the locker room, but he had a good resume of being a good person, charity, Louisiana. You can't bury a guy because of a bad tweet or a bad moment. What's somebody's resume? It's one of my rules. Another rule is, and I talked about this with Deshawn Watson yesterday, when the volume gets

big on something, I listen. Multiple women, multiple sources. When I got Greg Kosell, Atlanta, Falcons, Carolina, Red flags, former quarterbacks, I don't know. It makes me wonder. I mean, I think he's the second best quarterback. But again, I'm in the information business. I make calls.

I make texts. I'm trying to figure out, you know, I don't do this professionally. But it is interesting. Every other quarterback in this draft is going up in the eyes of the media, the fans, the teams, and the scouts. And all of the bad stuff is landing on one. guy. Could it be that Ohio States never had a great NFL quarterback because Ohio State is so much

more talented? They may not be Alabama good, but if you took Alabama out of college football, just Alabama, Ohio State's arguably the second most talented team in college football, NFL talent. And in the Big Ten, they're so much more talented than everybody else, including

Michigan and Wisconsin, that the question is, I mean, Of course, of course he's piling up all these wins and yards. It's easy. I mean, at least Alabama has to face Georgia and Auburn and Florida, LSU, full of NFL people. Not like Purdue's got an NFL lineup. I don't know what it is, but it is interesting to me.

The nitpicking is pretty much off everybody else. I mean, I'll throw this at you. Apparently there's a story that Mack Jones as a freshman at Alabama got in a little trouble. I didn't even know that. Didn't even come up. Look it up yourself. Not even brought up. And yet the work ethic of Justin Fields has been brought up.

I've never heard that. But it does make me wonder, am I just wrong on this? Been wrong before, be wrong again. But all the nitpicking has landed on one guy. There you go. I don't know. It's going to be very, very interesting. I still contend he's the second best talent.

But again, I've said this before. I think Trevor Lawrence is the only guarantee success and whoever San Francisco drafts. Whoever San Francisco drafts, I think, will succeed. After that, all bets are off. Coin flip. 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. 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. The story I've told myself about love or relationships 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 and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself.

We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity, peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social. connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually need people in connection. 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 Iheart 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 that. 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 and 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 of chicken suit.

Hey, 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 MyCultura Podcast Network available on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen.

woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with the Adamia Riva, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that. That's what's going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex?

Dating at 45. How can it be getting naked at 50 with a new guy? That one's kind of hard now. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears or tears of laughter, and dive into it unfiltered and unbothered and ask, how hard can it be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to how hard can it be with Diana Maria Riva as part of my Cultura Podcast Network,

available on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Got some interesting developments with the draft. People going after that number four spot with Atlanta. As I said earlier, I think it's really strange. The minute Atlanta looked like they could get Justin Fields, the minute, okay, Niners going Mac Jones, the minute they could get Justin Fields, yeah, we'll take calls and move the pick. There's a lot of indications that's going to happen in the next two or three days. Very interesting.

So LeBron James, toxic environments, toxicity is very hard to overcome. It's just, it really is hard to overcome. I mean, Brett Farr, won with the Packers. He won with the Vikings. Even he couldn't win with the Jets. Like it's Michael Jordan, greatest basketball player most think ever, couldn't win with the Wizards. Like if the ownership is bad and the front office is a mess,

it just can't overcome it. And I was thinking LeBron came out, kind of foreshadowing his return on Instagram. He said, the weatherman says the weather is changing soon and predicts a thunderstorm is coming. Folks prepare and take the proper cautionary measures to stay safe, basically saying, I'm coming back and we're winning games. And I've got to be honest with you, does everybody realize how well it's gone for LeBron and how bad it was before he got here? He's already a defending champ.

He's already resting to get ready for the playoffs. And his business is exploding in Los Angeles. By the way, that movie's in Space Jam. The trailer looks great, actually. I didn't watch the first one. I may watch the second one. It looks great. The Lakers were a complete mess when LeBron arrived.

The roster was full of young, immature, skinny kids. They're all gone except Kuzma. The bus family, Jeannie and Jim, were not getting along. The front office was a mess. They couldn't even get meetings with free agents. Meetings. Forget being told no.

They couldn't get a meeting. The Lakers. It's like the Yankees not getting a meeting. The Lakers had the worst win percentage in the entire league in the previous five years before LeBron got there. Think about that. Not Sacramento, not Detroit. Not the Wizards, not the Lakers did.

they were in total disarray in the front office. The owners couldn't get along. The roster was awful. And today, when LeBron and AD come back, they'll be the overwhelming favorite to get to the finals. LeBron's like a sanitizing service. He just cleans up all your messes. It's like that 1-800 junk.

You ever seen that company? You just call them. They take all your crap. The house is suddenly clean. I mean, Golden State's dynasty, done. Houston's a complete rebuild. of the way. You're going to bet your 401k that Portland or Utah can beat them? They don't match up. Denver is interesting acquiring Aaron Gordon, but they'll be an underdog to LeBron. The Clippers?

The Clippers have never shown us any reason to believe they're going to rise to the moment and beat LeBron James. Charles Barkley said as much last night. Charles Barkley really said the Clippers weren't contenders. Well, let me tell you something, Manuel. I've been poor, I've been rich, I've been fast, I've been skinny, I've been old, I've been in the Hall of Fame, and one thing I can always tell you, the clippers have always sucked. Now that's harsh, but they haven't given us any reason to truly believe they'll get it together and rise in the moment. But for 15 years, he dominated the Eastern Conference, and all I heard was, well, if he played out West, he not only is dominating the West, he took over the most dysfunctional royal family in sports. The owners, the front office, the roster.

A couple years later, he's joking about dominating, he's got a title, business is booming, and he's resting with AD. Resting. They can win games resting, getting ready to host some playoff series and probably vanquish whoever in the West is in their way. Catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, I'm John Middlecough and I host the three and out podcast. Do you like football?

Do you like the NFL? Do you like the NFL draft? Quarterbacks, coaches. Well, I talk about it all on the show. I used to work for Andy Reid as a scout. Now I give you my unfiltered and raw opinions on everything that goes on the NFL. And you know we're talking college football because of how important the draft is year round. Listen to the three and out podcast with me, John Middlop,

iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Joe Rodano. 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 thoughtfully. solutions. Sike!

I'm a comedian! I'm not qualified to give good advice. Join me and my comedian friends as we riff rant and 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. Hey, cream a chicken suit.

This is Help from a Hypocrite, the worst advice from the dumbest people you know. Listen to Help from a Hypocrite as part of the Mike Cultura Podcast Network available on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The story I've told myself about love or relationships 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 and explore the journey of healing, self-discovery, and returning to yourself. We explore higher consciousness, emotional well-being, and the practices that help you find clarity,

peace, and self-mastery in a world that can feel overwhelming. The world is becoming lonelier. We're not becoming more social and connected. We're becoming more individualized, but we actually meet people in connection. 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 Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before.

And he knows. Without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us

on the night-to-night bases on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nash would get that thing. That man, hell get to flyin. He running up the court, licking his fingers, why he got the ball, like, after you go through a,

training camp with that Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I have been to a hospital. I'm apparently clumsy, three times and six years in L.A. The quality of the care is unbelievable. Communication is easier. Can you imagine this years ago? You're in a relationship. You got kids at home.

You left the house. There's no way to get a hold of your wife. If something happened at the house, you're at the house. You got to get a hold of your wife. Can't get a hold of her. Yeah, you used to have to tell people where you were going. Everywhere. You had to use pay phones.

Yeah, you always have to have changed with you. I don't remember the last time I've seen a pay phone. So communication's better. Health care. Everything's better in America. Now, that doesn't mean life is more complex now. Sure. It's more expensive now.

now. The gap between halves and have-nots is greater now, although we've always had that gap, but it is greater now. Technology has kind of exploded the high-end earners in America. Memories feel good, though. Everybody wants to talk about the good old days. They weren't good. They weren't that great. I got news for you. It just wasn't that great. I'm old enough. I lived through the 70s and 80s. Everything's better now. And same in the NBA. God, if I have to hear how great at you, to be. So people forget this. Here's the 1999 NBA finals. Knicks and the Spurs. These are the scores. 8977, 87, 78 77, 78, 87. 8981. It sounds like you're reading the tournament

scores. There were almost no elite shooters. People romanticized the New York Knicks teams. They didn't have a single elite shooter. They had multiple guys that you could never give an 18 foot or two. Oh, the Pacers series against the Knicks, go look up the free throw shots attempted. You could tackle people. There's a reason the NBA changed its rules. The NBA has never been more skilled. Now, I do think aesthetically, all these three-pointers can get kind of boring. Like, I wish they'd take the three-point shot in the NBA and the three-point arc.

And about six feet from the baseline, it would go right into the bench. meaning there's no more corner threes, meaning you could defend the wing three more easily, meaning the percentages would go down, meaning it would create more mid-range shots, which I think have value. The corner three is impossible to defend. When the Warriors had Clay Steph and Durant, impossible. Durant's in the corner. Your bigs have to go out.

You can't hand check. Steph drives by. It was just impossible to defend the Warriors. Impossible. And you should be able. to be able to defend even a great offense, have a shot to defend them. In the NFL, you can defend Kansas City. You don't want to have an offense that's so dominant you can't ever defend them.

So Draymond, I'm leading to this, Draymond Green was lamenting some of the younger players in the NBA these days on a Michael Irvin podcast. It's more talent around the league, I think, than it's ever been. For sure. I mean, I think from a talent standpoint, the league is in the good space. I'm saying. But as pure basketball lovers, you know what I'm saying, who love competition and like to see everybody competing at the highest level, I think they got to catch up in that department. They soft as hell. Man, I found myself this year trying to talk to some of these

young dudes that won't talk. And they like trying to be a friend. Yeah. But that's what these young dudes do nowadays, man. I don't understand it. Well, that's because, Dremont, you're not a highly skilled player, you're more of a troll. You're a hell of a talented troll. But highly skilled players, and the NBA has never been this skilled because it's more European and European players come from their academy system. They're highly skilled at 13, 14, 15. I mean, Luca is a mile ahead of most American kids at 28. He's like 20, 21. So the reason guys don't talk trash, it's actually smart. It's the reason hockey players don't fight. The sport's too fast. Power plays are deaf. That's why you don't have like thugs in hockey anymore.

You can't afford it. The game's too fast. If you can't skate at a fast level, you're a total liability. So this idea, guys used to talk trash. That's because the league didn't have many skilled players. And there was a bunch of guys whose whole game was to be a troll, was to be like a wrestler, to be a tackler. I mean, it's like football. Sports are always better if you let the stars shine.

Hockey is better when they stopped allowing great. grabbing and clutching and stars could be stars. Hockey now is so fast compared to the 70s and 80s. The NFL's better now. There's more space. You can't crush a receiver. So receivers are willing to go over the middle. Receivers have more space, more freedom.

Quarterbacks can't be hit. Basketball is better when you can't tackle the players. I mean, if people forget what football looked like, if you watch college football in the 70s and 80s, I'm not joking, It is insane how awful offense was. Many of the best programs, Oklahoma, Nebraska, Texas used one wide receiver, had three running backs behind the quarterback. Everybody was jammed in about a 90-yard space.

It's like football's better, skills better, the breathing's better. You got more room to do stuff. You can't rip somebody's head off. So basketball, I don't love how many three-point shots there are today, but the reason people aren't talking trash, and that was Draymond Green on Kevin Durant's podcast, is the league doesn't have as much room for unskilled trolls. If you have one in a roster, that's it.

That's about all you can afford. If you have two guys on the floor that can't shoot, you're not a playoff team in the NBA. You're just simply not a playoff team. I mean, Blake Griffin went from mattering to a liability to a lot of teams. He couldn't shoot in about a four-year period. more herd. The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Like a great meal that you have to

savor, we did not want to rush Peter Schrager, who's been covering the NFL for over 15 years, uh, works at FS Juan. Good morning football. He's our trusted reporter we bring on this show all the time, and he is joining us now live from New York City. Brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. All right, so let's start with this. I love mock drafts. I'm into them. About every two weeks, I bring a former scout on, and we just did one yesterday. You only do a couple, if I recall, just two.

You just released one. Why do you only do two? All right. So I never do a mock draft before the combine in a typical year. And I always wait until after free agency, because you can't determine what a team is going to do without knowing what their needs are. And then I look at my mock draft differently. There are some really good scouts and guys who grinds.

the tape. Daniel Jeremiah, I think, is one of the best in the business. He watches the tape. He plays with the scout's mind and says, here's what I would do. I don't do that. I don't watch tape. I have no interest in watching tape. I use my phone, Colin, and I text to everyone I know in the league. My first mock draft is kind of like putting it there out there in the ether and seeing what happens. The amount of texts that I get from people around the league, the day after that mock draft comes out helps me formulate my thoughts, my information steers me ways. The amount of coaches that texted me and said, you're way off on this one,

or you're wrong on that one. That wouldn't have responded until I put the first mock draft out with that information really is telling. Here was what I did with the top 10. And Joy, I know you're getting skewered

by Dolphins fans for even suggesting that Tuotunga Violova is not going to win five Super Bowls and 16 MPs. I'm getting skewered by Dolphins fans because I've got Kyle Pitts not going at sixth overall.

So you say, well, well, tight ends don't go that high. We could talk about that. But I use the information I get from other teams and many of them saying, I don't know if Pitts is even going to be there at six. He's that highly valued. I have another team that called me and was like, you got to put Pitts higher. That's the stuff I do.

I use intelligence from other teams and sources. And I trust what I got. And I usually do end up with a pretty accurate mock draft when it's all said and done. But here's top 10 from yesterday. And Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson. And yes, I've got Mack Jones going three to San Francisco as I have since they made the trade. So in the last 24 hours, like I thought you had Kyle Pitts a spot low, in the last 24 hours, what have you learned? The biggest thing you've learned?

Yeah, the biggest thing I learned is that it is not a slam dunk that this quarterback is going to go in this order. There's a lot of feedback, and a lot of people seem to say, well, I think Lance makes more sense for San Francisco as a bigger long-term project, but you don't need to do that with Garapolo. but other people say I like fields not only more than I like Mac Jones, but I like Fields more than Zach Wilson. It's wide open. I think the quarterbacks, we go chalk here. We're like, all right, well, the mock drafts say Lawrence, Wilson, Mac Jones. That's it.

I don't think that's the case just yet. It's what I've got, but my feedback is telling me this thing is wide open. And the fact that John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan aren't just sitting on their hands right now, but they're actually going to Ohio State to go work out. Justin Fields again tells me it's not a slam dunk that Mac Jones. is that number three guy. Okay, so you, and I agree with this, you have New England moving up to the number four spots. So one of the things I've learned through the years, and I guess any fan could figure this out, when a, when a team wants to do business, nobody gets hurt if they

just leak, we want to do business. And so when Atlanta leaks the story, and they did probably, which is, hey, we're taking calls now. They're just telling everybody, call us. We're interested. some teams are more connected than others so you got to make it easy for them hey everybody will leak a story we want calls so why new england moving up to four and why now yeah it's a great question and Colin i got a lot of feedback on this one too obviously because new england's one of those teams people raise their eyebrows and say wow well first Atlanta you're at the fourth big they just restructured matt ryan's contract but they didn't restructure it in a way where they're out of that contract they're going to be paying them a lot of money for the next three years whether it's salary cap money they're paying or it's dead cap money

So I don't think they're going quarterback just yet. That said, the Patriots, they never want to be this high in the draft again. The last time they were this high in the draft, I think it was Gerard Mayo in 08, who they took in the top 10. That's how long it's been. They're not used to being 15. And yet being at 15 isn't high enough to get one of these quarterbacks, the way this thing is going to play out. So I've got New England who have been aggressive all off season saying, let's nip this in the bud. Let's get one of these guys.

It might not be their first pick, Justin Fields. They might like Mac Jones more. They might like Zach Wilson more. But let's get one of these guys and let's finally start developing one of these young quarterbacks and it being one of these elite prospects. They don't plan on ever being in the top 10. They don't plan on ever being in the top 15 again. They wouldn't have spent all this money in free agency.

They're aggressive right now. And I think the aggressor gets rewarded with big plays when they actually have to go out and get it. I don't think this is the same Belichick of years prior where it's let's just sit around and wait and get these guys and rely on compensatory picks in the third. third round. No, I think Bill could be very aggressive this time. And I think if he likes Fields, which I'm not sure, I could tell you on the record, I don't know his thoughts on Justin Field. But if he likes them, this is the year they're going to open get them. They're not going to have that 15th pick too often. You know, I was talking to Joy about the Sam Darnold thing

before you came on. I'm sure you were listening to it as we were going to bring you on, is that the college quarterback draft, my scouts are all saying the same thing. It's bad next year. This year's great. Yeah. If trade Lance is your fourth best prospect this year. I mean, the Niners may like Mac Jones, he could be your fifth. That's a good quarterback draft. Next year's not good. It's injured guys.

It's hot and cold guys. There's no huge arms in it. And I said to myself, when Carolina got darnled, what they were telling you was, we don't know if it's going to work, but the environment's better here. You don't have to pay Sam a fortune. And what we don't want to do is get trapped next year. So take me through a little bit because you are so connected to the Jets.

The Jets, the darn old Carolina, how it played out, and maybe Carolina's thinking. Carolina made no secret about it. They were very interested in Matt Stafford. I think they were very interested in the Sean Watson before that thing went haywire. And I think they knew that the eighth overall pick

in this year's draft, there's a chance they get left out of the dance and that there's four teams or maybe even five. They get quarterbacks before them. So when this thing came to, the compensation was discussed. They basically told the Jets, this is what we're willing to give up. We would love Sam Darnold. But let me tell you something.

It's not like Carolina saying, we're trading for Sam Darnold, and he's the quarterback of the future, and here's a $100 million extension. It was a low-risk investment for them. They did not give up an eighth overall pick. They did not give up their second round pick. They gave up next year's second round pick, which is a great unknown. And they're only paying him $11 million per year over the next two years. Yeah.

This is a no-brainer for Carolina. But it also doesn't mean they won't take a quarterback at eight. And that might cause mass hysteria on draft day. But if Trey Lance is a guy they like or Justin Fields is the guy they like, and for whatever reason those guys start slipping, you're right, Colin, the next year's quarterback class, and who knows? I mean, Zach Wilson came out of nowhere this year. We can have one of those deals this coming draft class too.

And there might be that guy. But you don't want to be drafting in the top three or four to have to get a quarterback. So it was almost security for Carolina to just go and get Darnold. They know he can play. They know that he's got an upside and they know that they can at least audition him for a year before giving him the huge extension. But the truth of the matter is, Colin, I don't think this is a slam dunk that they're saying Sam Donald's our quarterback of the future.

He's the quarterback for now. It's quarterback for now until the next three weeks unless a quarterback falls inmate eight that they really love. All right. Let's look at Peter Schragger's mock draft again, which has been accurate through the years. He's got quarterbacks going one, two, three, and, for in Atlanta moving out. It all makes sense to me.

The Penae-Soul move makes a ton of sense to me because the weakness for Carolina is left tackle and corner. So sometimes you get very lucky in the draft. Well, what you need just happens to be available. By the way, and I agree with Atlanta on this, what Atlanta needs is really not available at four. They need Micah Parsons. They need defensive players.

They're a mess. So, yeah. Now, by the way, you have New England going up to four. Yep. A couple minutes left. If New England doesn't go up, do your sources tell you there's another team to keep your eye on for four? I think Denver's a possibility to move up.

They're at nine right now. As you see, I've got them getting Trey Lance who slips to them, but who knows, maybe they like someone there. They can move up there. I would always keep an eye on Chicago who took a major swing at Russell Wilson and did not land him and could still be in the market if there's someone willing to trade up or trade back with them. I would look at New England. And then I would look for the teams that might not want a quarterback at four, but might want Kyle Pitts at four, which sounds crazy. We have never had a

tight end in the last 60 years of the NFL be drafted in the top five. But the way people are talking about this guy is if he's some sort of unicorn, unlike anything we've ever seen, six foot six out of Florida, has all the talent in the world. I never value the tight end position in the draft. And I think it's because if these guys are free agents, they don't make nearly the same money as offensive tackle and defensive end and quarterback. So why would I draft one so high?

But the way that the NFL responded to this mock draft with text to my phone saying, how could you have pits slip to seven? It is as if this Kyle Pitt is already Tony Gonzalez or Shannon Sharp. It is hype that I have never seen before from a tight end coming out of college. And yet, if a team falls in love that much, he might be the guy someone trades up to Atlanta to go grab.

By the way, I said this yesterday. Dallas Cowboys have 10 picks. Would Dallas give up a pick or two? Get pits, which, by the way, would make McCarthy and Dak better. It validate DAC's contract. That's for sure. And then they could use another seven picks on their defense. I talked to somebody yesterday, texted him.

And I said, he said, if Jerry loved him. somebody. It is being discussed now in their boardrooms about moving up to get pits. Dallas was set on a guy named Kayla Von Chase on at LSU, a defensive end last year. I had it from good sources. They were set. The day of the draft, C.D. Lam starts slipping, and it was within two minutes. He said, we got to take C.D. Lamb. They didn't go through the depth charts. They didn't ask questions. C.D. Lamb was the guy. If Jerry wants someone, you have to restrain them really hard, especially on offense, to not take them. So if Kyle Pitts were to slip or if they thought they could trade up,

nothing's off the table with Jerry Jones. Peter Schrager, we just savored that meal with Peter Schroeder. Awesome. Love that meal. Hey, go have a nice weekend with your fam. You're the best, Colin. Thanks.

Enjoy yours. Great as well. Thank you. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier.

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