The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 04/20/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: April 20, 2021

After another huge night from Steph Curry, Colin explains why he hasn’t been impressed with the offensive outbursts we’ve seen around the NBA. He discusses the career of one young quarterback in the NFL and why the more we see of him, the less we like. He also shares his controversial list of top 5 NBA MVP candidates. Plus, Florida head coach Dan Mullen joins the show to talk about his experience coaching Kyle Pitts and Dak Prescott.   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. On the Look Back at it podcast.

From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a year, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. With our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors. Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s.

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor.

It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that doesn't. 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. Thanks for listening to The Best of HARD 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 IHart Radio app by searching Herd. This is the Best of the Hurt with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. It's a Tuesday. Draft is inching closer in the NFL live in Los Angeles. It's the herd, wherever you may be, however you may be listening. Fox Sports Radio, Iheart Radio, right here on FS1. Michael Vick this hour.

Dan Mullen, coach of the Florida Gators next hour. Kyle Pitts coach. He faced all these Alabama guys top of the draft. It was all about these players. Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you? I'm good. Kyle Trask is coach also. Yes, Kyle Trask. He may sneak into the first round. So Dan Mullen's been one of the smarter offensive guys in college football for the last 10 years.

Coach, Coach, Doc Prescott, obviously. He's got to be very proud as a college coach. You know, we really ever talk about that. Like, if you're a college coach and you got a kid that you recruited and helped develop, and then they get drafted in the first round. Make $40 million a year. You've got to be proud of that. Yeah.

Yeah. Dan and Dack have done very well for themselves. So Steph Curry, you know I love Steph Curry. Right, you know that. That goes beyond. I've been defending Steph Curry forever. I don't think I've ever been critical of Steph Curry. I am Mr. Steph Curry.

And last night he hit 10 threes and scored almost 50. And I'm not here to be Debbie Downer, but I actually wasn't blown away. I mean, to score 49 points in an NBA game is big. big. But Steph Curry has been on a streak for a month now that's insane. And he didn't suddenly get this much better. Let's add context. It has been a terrible year for defense in the NBA. Do you know we're going to have the top four highest offensive ratings ever in league history all this year? The most points scored in 50 years in the NBA this year. The players didn't suddenly all get great. They didn't just suddenly start shooting threes. Folks, it's been a awful year to

play defense and there's an explanation for it. Because it's a condensed schedule. What does that mean? Players are more exhausted. It's a shortened offseason. What does it mean? Players are more exhausted. What part of the game do you give up when you're exhausted? You don't give up points in offense because that pays you. We've also had more DNPs, did not play for star players resting for the playoffs. A prime example last night, Steph Curry didn't face Ben Simmons. Ben Simmons took the night off. Ben Simmons is a great defensive player.

You're getting this all season long where one or two stars don't play, and they would guard the other stars. So last night, Ben Simmons out, Steph Curry goes crazy. By the way, this weekend, Steph Curry went crazy against Boston. Jalen Brown, D.N.P. didn't play. Jalen Brown's a great athlete and a very strong defensive guard. You also have no fans in most of these arenas. What does that mean?

It has a very scrimmage feel to it. You ever gone to the YMCA? How good a defense do they play? You ever watch the scrimmage? Nobody's taking a charge at scrimmage. Nobody's taking the big foul at scrimmage. Scrimmages tend to lean offense. So the Steph Currys, the Zions, the Lukas,

offensively gifted players are having an absolute field day. Also, because of the increased three-point shooting, and you're noticing this the last couple of years, in the last three years, there's more blowouts. So if a team falls behind by 15, the only way to get back is threes, and if it's not your night shooting threes, the game gets ugly fast.

And what happens when the game's 27 points early third quarter? What part of the game do you give up? Defense. players also this year, it should be noted, and I get it, there's been a little animosity. Most of them didn't want to start the season as quickly as they did, and they didn't want an all-star weekend. So players have kind of decided, we're going to pick our spots this year, and where are the players picking their spots on the offensive end of the floor? Because that's how you get paid, and that's how you get shoe deals. And if you worked in your work environment and you are exhausted and you have a little animosity toward your boss,

you're going to take a couple shortcuts, but you're not going to take shortcuts on the stuff that get you paid. So you're taking a lot of stars who are taking the night off. Ben Simmons, Jalen Brown, don't face Steph, both very high, especially Simmons, high-end defensive players. Players are more tired. They're taking the defensive end of the floor off. And we've said this is when you have all these superstar teams, the Nets went 19 and 4 when

Kevin Durant didn't play. The Lakers have a winning record not only without AD, but without. out LeBron and AD. So if you face the Lakers right now, their defensive rating has gone through the floor since LeBron and AD left. It's not the same team. So this is not a shot at Steph Curry at all. It's not. But you have to add context. There's a reason the PAC 12 and the Big 12 have these wild shootouts. You want to know why? Because they don't have SEC defensive football players. When the PAC 12 and the Big 12 generally go face the SEC that scores many points. So this year, we've already had almost 100 games where a player has scored 40 points.

And we have 200 games to go. That is double 10 years ago. It shouldn't double. In economics, if your stock market doubles quickly, they call it a bubble, right? We have an NBA offensive bubble. It's going to burst next year. Guys will come back. They'll be more rested.

Stars will take fewer games off, and the offensive numbers will pull back a little bit. So Steph is great. I love him. but this has been an atrocious year for NBA defense. All right. So this story came out yesterday. We did not talk about it. The Broncos have a new general manager.

And according to Woody Page, who writes for the Denver Gazette, he's been a journalist in that town for a hundred years. They want to move off Drewlock. They want to, they've called Atlanta, and they're going to move up, and they'd like to get a quarterback. Now, it doesn't mean Atlanta's going to budge, but Denver likes Trey Lance and they like Justin Fields and they should. They're both better than Drew Locke.

And it's funny about Drew Locke. I get this a lot from Denver fans. You loved him. I did for five games. I did. Josh Allen of the Bills and Drew Lock of the Broncos through 18 games and that's how many Drews played are the exact same quarterback. Bad.

But here's the difference. The more I saw of Josh Allen, the more I liked him. The more I saw of Drew Locke, the less I liked him. Why? Because Drew Locke is a movie trailer. If you just get the highlights of a comedy, all comedies are funny in the movie trailer. Will Ferrell's never had a bad movie trailer.

But Will Ferrell's, by half his movies, aren't that funny? Because all the funny stuff's in the trailer. And that's not a knock on Will Ferrell, because he's had some unbelievable movies. Go watch Alf. It's really good. Old school, all that stuff, or whatever. but Drew Locke's a movie trailer. His highlights are amazing because he's got a big arm and he's athletic, pretty athletic.

And he takes big swings and risks. And he improvises a lot. So if you watch his highlights or his movie trailer, he's like, whew. But when you really watch his game, he's got really bad habits. Really loose. There's a little James Winston, although I don't think he's that talented, really loose, really casual, thinks his arm is better than it is, throws the ball up for grabs five times a game,

just throws it down the field. And by the way, so when did I like him? Well, at the end of 2019, the last five games of the year, he goes four and one. And I sat on the air multiple times, Joy is my witness, there's something there. I kept saying there's something there I like him. But Denver wasn't good.

I wasn't watching the entire game. I was getting the movie trailer. I was getting his highlights. And he's got an arm. and he can move. But pro football focused watch all five of those games, every snap. And they graded him with a 58, which is T-Bow level. He was terrible.

So if you watch the movie, instead of just watching the trailer to comedies, that's why there have been so few great comedies made. There's been a million great trailers for comedies. every Will Ferrell trailer is hysterical. Jackie Moon was hysterical. Had about nine good minutes a movie. But the trailer was unbelievable. And what Drew Locke is, he's the anti-Darick Carr of the Raiders.

If you watch Derek Carr's highlight film, I have a huge arm. It's not super mobile. But if you actually watch the movie of Derek Carr, if you watch the games, Derek Carr's pretty good. I mean, he's very comparable to Tony Romo, who I think was one of the more underrated quarterbacks in the last 20 years. Derek Carr's a good player. He's accurate. He's a leader.

In big spots, he can be good. He can move a little. He's not super athletic, but he can move a little. He doesn't have a bad arm. He'll throw it over the top. He's a little hesitant. He's not a gunslinger. Sometimes he's a little Alex Smith.

You wish he'd let her rip a little more. But the movie of Derek Carr is pretty good. The trailer, put you asleep. Drew Locke's just the opposite. And so it looks like Denver is going to move off him. And if they don't, it's telling you just by the stories that, you know, my dad used to always say this, is that most of the decisions of your employment will be decided when you're not in the room. Lubricate, don't agitate.

They're already raising hands in the front office of Denver and there's more. let's move on, then keep him. And for this story to leak, they've already made their decision. He may play for another year, but barring just sensational improvement, they're moving on. 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 unleashed. Others say it's unleashed. Leaching 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 which I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined.

And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music.

The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right what 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. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life, hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean. I'll bet you a paramedipausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast, How Hard

Can It Be with the Adamani Arriba, 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 I was like, what the hell is that? I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Night sweats, Fupa's, sex drive. Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How can it be?

Getting naked at 50 with the new guy. That one's kind of hard 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 Coutura podcast network available on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Agency, the ability to know that we're the experts in our own body. On the podcast, cultivating her space, Dr. Dom and Terry Lomax create a space where black women can show up fully and be heard. I wholeheartedly think, you know, you hit 30. You shouldn't have to share one with anybody. Mm-hmm. From navigating friendships and healing to setting boundaries and prioritizing your mental health.

These are real honest conversations. We don't always get to have out loud. Totally unreasonable with different parts of life, right? Like, oh, have all three meals and make sure you're mindful during all of them? Absolutely not. During one meal, I'm standing. I'm standing and handing my children food. Because healing, empowerment, and resilience aren't just ideas.

They're practices. And this Mental Health Awareness Month, there's no better time to pour back into yourself. Listen to cultivating her space on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Mike Tomlin of the Steelers has signed an extension through 2024. It took me a while to figure out Mike Tomlin. Most head coaches, the successful ones, all have one thing when they're in the middle of a losing streak. One thing that defines them. One thing the players know they can trust.

For Pete Carroll, it's his energy. Sean Payton, his intensity. It's like nobody else. Bill Walsh, Bill Belichick, it's this sort of academic lean. You always felt they were smarter than everybody they coached against. Andy Reid, it's creativity. And Mike Tomlin, it's a presence. Mike's got a presence.

It's why he's one of the few NFL coaches I think could coach at the college football level. He'd walk into a great recruiter. But everybody in the NFL, even Belichick has losing streaks, what do you go to in the losing streak? What do you lean on in the losing streak where players find you believable? They know you're better at it than anybody else. And there's a certain presence and believability with Mike Tomlin. And I think I really noticed it when Ben Rothersberger didn't play. So he's 18 and 15 without Big Ben.

And that is something. Kyle Shanahan cannot win football games without Jimmy Garoppolo. How was Belichick without Brady? He is 18 and 15 without Big Ben. He has a winning record with Mason Rudolph and Landry Jones and Dennis Dixon. And a couple of years ago, you had a lot of drama and Big Ben's not playing well. Andy's aging and they can't run and the wheels are coming off and Mike Tomlin is the duct tape. Listen, this league is hard.

Pete Carroll's been fired twice and he's going to be a Hall of Famer. Tom Coughlin, his last four years, couldn't win any games with a Hall of Fame quarterback, Eli, man. It's a hard league to win. And when you go to those losing streaks, you can lose games. You can't lose a locker room. Tomlin never loses a locker room. Sean Payton, Pete Carroll, never lose a locker room. You've got to have something about you.

And players respect Tomlin. He's an alpha. He's got a presence. He believes in himself. And you can just feel it at the podium. He is blunt. He is brutal. He is honest.

He holds himself accountable. And that believability, that bluntness, That presence is why he's 18 and 15 without a Hall of Fame quarterback. Tom Coughlin could not win games, and he's going to the Hall of Fame. Sean Payton, once they paid Drew Brees too much, had losing records. Big Ben's not taking a lot of pay cuts. Mike Tomlin's never had a losing record. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Dabo Sweeney talking about how he is simply, even among Clemson players, and they've had Deshawn Watson, he's just different. If you watch Steph Curry shoot the ball, it's just like, you just go, wow, just to sit there and watch this guy shoot a basketball. Well, that's how you feel when you watch Trevor throw a football. When you get to see him live and you get to see him move, you just go, wow. I mean, it's just different. He's a face of a franchise guy.

Well, what's interesting, and this is really true in the South, where college football is the king, the quarterback, are worshipped. And nobody's been more worshipped than Trevor Lawrence because he's been the number one pick for the last three years the first time he stepped on the field. And the NFL's not like that. It is business. And just to give you an example,

that Trevor Lawrence, after his dad said, you know, he's not defined by football. And Trevor Lawrence said, I don't play with a chip on my shoulder. Trevor Lawrence, a day later, rushed to explain what he was saying. Now, why would he do that? He's going to be the number one pick.

Why did Trevor Lawrence, within 36 hours, rush to clarify his comments? Because it was bad for business. There's no way you want to sign a shoe deal because he's going to go on losing streaks. And people are going to say, well, I mean, you don't play with a lot of urgency. You're already giving people a negative narrative to grab and hold on to if you struggle. And Mark Sanchez told me this Sunday night. I talked to Mark Sanchez. And he said, you know, I played at USC, L.A.

And then I went to the Jets. And I thought, this is going to be an easy transition. right like the la press can be tough on you if you lose they'll call you out and it's la you got you got la times talk radio big stations sportscasters you know and he goes then you go to new york and you're a pro it's not the size of the city you're a pro and they don't treat you the same they go after you a little bit you could say something to a writer when you're a college player and then you know and you're a pro player getting paid and he goes i made a couple jokes all of a sudden you look at headlines in the new york post you're like okay i'm going to go to

stock answers. I got to pull back. It's totally different. Once you get paid, you get treated differently. The expectations go up. That's why Trevor Lawrence came and literally, I want to clarify my comments. It was bad for business. It's his first interception. But one of the reasons he's going to succeed is his talent. That's a huge one. Urban Myers, another one. But this is also part of it. Jacksonville's perfect. If he would have said, you know, I'm not defined by football. and he got drafted by the Jets. You would have to clarify that 100 times until the season started. They would be all over you.

And New York is not as forgiving. Jacksonville is a college market. So it's almost going to be like a second college career with a college coach. I remember spending a week in Jacksonville during the Super Bowl. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, the Super Bowl was not the lead story in the newspaper. The local newspaper talked about high school football recruiting day. Jacksonville is a college market that has an NFL team. And what does that mean?

They're not going to pound on you. It's going to be a very forgiving college market with a pro team. Also, Jacksonville, now some small markets are tough on their athletes. Pittsburgh, because they have a great history. So they're going to be all over you. Juju Smith, he gets banged on every time he does social media stuff. But you don't have that either. they have no history.

I mean, in Green Bay, you play poorly, you can get called out because the expectations are high. So Jacksonville is a small college market, kit gloves. It has no history to speak of. What are the standards? It is literally the perfect place as long as you have a good coach. And what is Urban Meyer specialty? Developing young quarterbacks. Alex Smith, Tim Tebow, Duane Haskins.

I mean, Justin Fields maybe early. I mean, this is, I guess Justin was gone. This is what? This is perfect. This is a perfect landing spot. If he just said that and had to get drafted by New York, it would chew him up for weeks. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app.

Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Hey, I'm Doug Gottlie. The podcast is called All Ball. We usually talk all basketball all the time, but it's more about the stories about what made these people love their sport and all the interesting interactions along the way. We talk to coaches. We talk to players. We tell you stories. You download it.

You listen to it. I think you like it. Listen to All Ball with Doug Ghalib on the IHeartRadio 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 I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'll say it.

Yep. That's me, Clifford Taylor the fourth. 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. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean.

I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast. How hard can it be with Deanna Maria Riva, where I call on my 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 Ness was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive.

Wait, what sex? Dating at 45. How can it be? How can it be? Getting naked at 50 with the 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 IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Agency, the ability to know that we're the experts in our own body. On the podcast, cultivating her space, Dr. Dom and Terry Lomax create a space where black women can show up fully and be heard. I wholeheartedly think, you know, you hit 30, you shouldn't have to share one with anybody. Mm-hmm. from navigating friendships and healing to setting boundaries and prioritizing your mental health. These are real honest conversations. We don't always get to have out loud.

Totally unreasonable with different parts of life, right? Like, oh, have all three meals and make sure you're mindful during all of them? Absolutely not. During one meal, I'm standing. I'm standing and handing my children food. Because healing, empowerment, and resilience aren't just ideas, their practices, and this mental health awareness month, there's no better time to pour back into yourself.

Listen to cultivating her space on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. NBA, MVP, we don't get valuable. We just go stats and stories. So I would give you my top five this morning, and you're going to not believe it, but again, it's called valuable. This is who I would give the MVP to.

Okay. Number five. LeBron James, hold on. You're going to freak out. LeBron's played 41 games. He's going to come back and play the final 11 or 12. That'll give him 53 of 72 games. That is three quarters of a season.

Do the math. That's almost 75% of games. The Lakers have not beaten a team over 500 that's fully stocked since he left. They beat the Nets without James Harden and the Jazz without Gobert or Donovan Mitchell. They have plummeted defensively. They have plummeted offensively. They're the 27th best offense in the league without LeBron James. They won the title last year.

I don't care that he took 25% of the games off. Not playing. They have plummeted as a franchise. They are a 500 team that can't be good teams. But in the NBA, there's so many bad ones they can stay at 500. LeBron's 5. Number four. Steph Curry.

He's going to have better numbers than when he won MVP, but here's the key. It's a bad basketball team that is 1 in 7 when he doesn't play. When he does play, they have a winning record and we'll make it into the playoffs. This is not a good team. Clay Thompson's out. Wiseman's now hurt. It's Kelly Ubray's talented, but Draymond's past his prime. It's not a very good team until he plays. And then his numbers this year are better than his MVP season he before.

Number three. I'll say it again, Jimmy Butler. He is a 500 to one shot to win it, Jimmy Butler. This is a young team bordering sometimes on immature, Bam, Tyler Hero, Duncan Robinson. He has to babysit some of these guys. they were early in the year when he got COVID. He was out for like, you know, 10 games a month. They were atrocious defensively.

Now they're top five in the league defensively. So unlike a James Harden, you get everything on both ends of the floor. They're a bad basketball team. And that's with Eric Spolstra, who's a Hall of Fame coach. They're 6 and 11 in the east when he doesn't play. 24 and 17 when he does. Again, valuable? He's got some LeBron qualities.

Like, he on both ends of the floor dramatically changes the effort and maturity of your team. Number two. Nicola Yolkich, Denver, bad body, I understand. But Jamal Murray, second best player, top 20 player in the league, he's out. There's 7 and 1 this year when Jamal Murray doesn't play. And again, after Jamal Murray, Michael Porter's a young kid. He's on pace to become the first player in the league history to average 25, 10, and 8 assist, and shoot 55 from the field. but it's not a statistical award.

He is the best passing big man from Bill Walton. He gets so many players on this team, open looks and good looks, because you often have to double him. He's the classic value additive. He makes players better. Westbrook makes everybody worse. That's why Yokic, to me, is valuable. Number one. Chris Paul.

Do you understand this? 11 straight winning seasons. Now, that wouldn't be impressive if you. You played for like, you know, a well-coached team. Now, that's with the Hornets, Suns, tanking, thunder, clippers, rockets, 11 straight winning years. By the way, the sons have the second best record in the NBA.

Now, do you understand for 11 years in a sport where almost everybody makes the playoffs, they were a tire fire? Phoenix was miles out of the playoffs. By the way, last year, Oklahoma City wanted to tank. Chris Paul got him a four or five seat in the West. He leaves, now they're on an 11-game losing streak. Next to LeBron James, nobody in the NBA has the ability to change your basketball team's win-loss standings. Nobody except Chris Paul.

Doesn't dunk. He's not flashy, doesn't shoot threes, so nobody loves Chris Paul. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1 and the iHard radio app so i first noticed dan mullen years ago so i'm a urban my friend i've been my i've known urban for a long time and i lived on the west coast and this guy named urban mire came to utah and he started beating all these pack 12 teams and you know like cows and oregon's and i was telling my buddies i'm like i don't know who urban mire is but they don't have the NFL players of all these oregons and all these other teams out west and they're beating them

well under him was a guy named dan mullen and dan mullen was under urban for three four of those jobs, including Utah, Florida. Then Dan gets a job at Mississippi State. Of course, had Dak Prescott. Dan's now gone to Florida, a powerhouse, and they're off to a great start, led the nation in his three years there, a lot of wins, led the nation in offense. He is one of the really creative, smart guys. And I asked this a couple weeks ago when I was talking about Kyle Trask.

I said, is Kyle Trask good? Or is Dan Mullen make all his quarterbacks look this good? I don't know. So Dan Mullen now, Florida Gator football coach, joining us live. First of all, Coach, you've done a great job. Thank you so much. I cover the Gators years and years ago, and I worked in Tampa. It's the loudest stadium I've ever been in.

And thanks for coming on the show. Oh, great to be with you. I appreciate it. I love that lead in right there. That was very complimentary. Let's start with Kyle Pitts. So one of the things you're known for, you're probably the most ripped off coach in the SEC. People take all your schemes and you move guys around and you very much, you make multiple sets.

you make it very tough to defend. When did you first notice with Kyle Pitts? Take me to the moment, coach, a practice or a game when you went, oh boy, I can put him anywhere on the field. Well, I think he came in as a freshman and we played it mostly a wide receiver. And the, you know, I had him flexed out. We had some depth at tight end. He was still growing and maturing in his strength.

And we didn't have great depth of wide receiver. And all of a sudden we put him out there as our ex-receiver. And he made some unbelievable plays, was learning. how to be a route runner, learning how to use his body and his leverage, you know, and thought, okay, this guy has a chance to be special, but all of a sudden he came back to next year. He grew into his tight end body, and then that's when it became fun, you know, because now you have this guy with that 6-6, 240 pounds that can play tight end. He can set the edge. They've got to respect him as a tight end within the running game in just how they fit the runs,

how they set the defense. But then you start moving around and you create the matchups. And he's just, you know, I mean, he has elite wide receiver skills, but he sets the matchups that you get them on people that they don't want to have covering them. Can he block it all, coach? That's the knocking him. Can he block it all? Absolutely. You know, I mean, now listen, I mean, you're not going to make a little.

You're silly if you have them and you're going to say, hey, I'm going to, this guy's going to be a blocking tight end force. But now they're going to have to try to create a matchup. Who are they going to put on them? So if all of a sudden, they're going to say, okay, we've got to have a bigger safety on them, you know, or a bigger corner on him. And you put him into the core of the formation. Well, that's safe to your corner now has to come fit in the core. He has to fit the run place.

So he can cover up defensive end. He's not going to make a living knocking him off the ball. He can cover up. He can set the edge. He can set the point on the run game. But now if you try to create a matchup, now you put a corner or a nickel on him, he's going to blow those guys off the ball. Then he becomes a dominant blocker within the matchup that you've created at the point of attack.

So I got to be honest, Kyle Trask, when I first watched, him. I thought he was a bit of a plodder. He's talented, but not much of a mover. And I thought to myself, he feels a little bit like a statue. Then I watched his pro day. It looked like he lost weight. He was a little more cut up. And it did look like, it did. I was like, it looked like it changed his body a little. Here's my question. Does he have an NFL arm to you? Absolutely. I think here's where you miss in his athleticism. He did. I looked at him at my pro day. I'm like, boy, he was out in California working out. One of those diets out there California, right? I mean, all slimmed up. But I think his athleticism, if you watch his small

area athleticism, his ability to slide and move within the pocket, and when you're six foot five, two hundred and 40 pounds, and your ability to slide and move in the pocket, you know, he's athletic enough to create, to extend. You know, he's not going to beach as a dynamic scrambler or a huge extender of plays. He's going to extend plays in a short frame moving around the pocket, but he can see over everybody. He has great anticipation. He has great anticipation. He has great accuracy within his throws. So, you know, like anything, and I heard you say this, and a great compliment of coaches. But if you watch coaches, great coaches, they're going to put their guys a position to do what they do well.

Tom Brady's never going to be mistaken for, you know, I mean, this dynamic athletic runner. But he's played for two great head coaches that have always put him in a position to do what he does well. Peyton Manning, great success when you put him in a position to do what he does well. Now, on the flip side of it, you know, you can go to a Lamar Jackson. but they put him the, you know, the coaches put him in a position to do what he does well. So if you take Kyle and say, hey, listen, we're going to have a guy that's going to be really smart, really prepared, extremely accurate with the ball, in the ball, he's going to be able to slide, extend in short area, sliding around the pocket, finding, throwing windows, he's going to be really successful.

And I think that is the key, and that's the key to the coach, to put him in the position to do that. I remember watching Dak Prescott. And I said when he came out of college, I said he reminds me of Tebow, but with a better on He has an NFL arm, whereas Tim was a, and they both have a lot of intangibles I liked. I don't think either one throw the ball like, you know, Aaron Rogers. Are you a little surprised? I mean, because one of the things that jumps out to me with DAC is the intangibles. He had a moment years ago, coach, and my audience made fun of me for this,

but he had a moment years ago when he was on the sideline and he was just walking up the sideline and he walked by a garbage can, and he threw a cup into it. He had had a sip. And it didn't go into the garbage can. He went back and picked it up and put it in the garbage can. And I said, that's a conscientious kid. And I said, that tells me something. And everybody in my audience says, you're an idiot.

That doesn't mean anything. But there is something about DAC that when did you spot it? What was different about him? You know, it was really funny. It actually goes back to high school. We had an elite camp. He came to a camp early on. And, you know, we wanted to love him.

And he didn't throw the ball well. he wasn't very big or exceptionally fast, you know, but everyone said, hey, boy, he is a winner, the high school coach, and everyone looks and says, he just makes everyone around him better. So it became one of these who wanted to love him. We gave him some things to work on. He came back to the elite camp a couple of weeks later. And we do kind of this thing in the wait room, hyping these kids up with all these great recruits, all your top players.

And our strength coach came running up to me and said, we need to offer that kid and make him our quarterback immediately. And I said, what do you mean? He goes, I've never seen the intangibles in a human being like he has. He just took over a workout of elite recruits and he knows nobody and every one of them are ready to follow him wherever he goes. And I said, well, I hope he can throw the ball a little better than last time. We walked out and here was the great thing.

You know what? He didn't throw it exceptionally well that day. But everything I asked him to improve on six weeks earlier, he had improved on. And I thought and I said, you know what, if he can work, if he can take those steps in that short six-week period, and he is the ultimate it guy. We can go work with that. And I saw that in that workout. So we got him. And you know what? He was a much better freshman year. He was okay. Much better pastor his sophomore year. Came back much better, much, much better player as junior year. He came back his senior year. And even though if you go back to his college

career, his junior years when he had all the hype, we were the number one team in the country. He was a superior player his senior year to his junior year. And then all of a sudden, I thought, thinking, you know what, he still is going to continue to improve as a passer. He is going to continue to improve his game. But if you ever want to build an organization around somebody, this is the guy to do it. This is the guy that can lead you. And I remember NFL team said, boy, can he carry the team to a Super Bowl? I said, I don't know if he has the talent to put the whole team on his back and

Flack carry you to a Super Bowl as Aaron Rogers or someone that you mentioned. But I'm going to tell you what, he can lead a team to a Super Bowl. And I think that is the difference with him. then you're going to see. If you watch every year in the NFL, he's a much better player the next year. That goes back to your personality, his character, and who he is. And that's what makes him so special. But I'm going to tell you what, I don't know, I'm a big DAC fan. You watch the Cowboys team when he was on the team playing and when he wasn't this past year. And it wasn't just the skill set or his talent. It was the personality of the team. And that's what makes him

different is his leadership of running and leading that whole organization. organization and the performance of everybody around. Finally, Coach, how good is Dan Mullen here? This is great stuff. I love Urban. He's a friend. Everywhere he's gone, he's worked. You know him better than anybody. I think he's going to work in the NFL because I think he's a quick learner.

I think he's just a guy that would succeed in investments, in college, in broadcasting. Urban's just one of those guys. What's something I don't know about him? When you work with him, what's the secret sauce that you saw that maybe you've borrowed as a coach? Well, I think this. I think one, he's learned to adapt to his situation. You know, and if you look at his coaching career, to be successful at Bowling Green, Utah, Florida, Ohio State,

very, very different schools, very different organizations, different leagues, different style of player, different recruiting, different everything, and had great success at each of those. His ability to adapt to the players he has, his ability to motivate the players he has, and his ability to learn. And one thing I think that people maybe have, talked about is look at the staff that he's put together he didn't go say call hey i want to go back and get my staff from florida ohio state and bring them in here to the jaguars okay his offensive staff you know

uh in bringing in in bevel and schottenheimer you know i mean guys with pro experience defensive staff so he has this fine mix of guys that even though he hasn't been in the NFL a lot he has some veteran NFL coaches on his staff and i think his ability to just lead and run and organize and be a CEO of an organization. He does that as well as anybody of motivating all, not just the players, but motivating the coaches, holding everybody accountable and getting everybody on the same page to become their best as what he's done to be really successful in the coaching profession. What a pleasure to have you. By the way, I looked at your schedule this morning. You get Bam and Georgia at home. So that's not bad. I mean, you got to reload a little bit on offense. You don't have Kyle Pitts

or Trask, but I'd rather. Hey, as you said, the swamps in a lot. We get to play Georgia in Jacksonville. So that's kind of a 50-50. Yeah. But I will say this. If that swamp you see in the picture behind me, if hopefully we get back to a little bit of normalcy, if we can pack that swamp when Alabama rolls in, it'll be one of the loudest stadiums in the country next season.

Yeah. I've said this before. The two loudest stadiums I've been in, the swamp and Otson Stadium in Oregon before they rebuilt it and it was built into the ground. You can't hear yourself think. Five feet from my producer in Florida. I couldn't hear him.

Five feet. Me neither here. Could not hear him. Dan, it's great. you. Thank you so much. Great to be with you. Have a great day. Go Gators. Another podcast from some SNL, late night comedy guy, not quite.

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