The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 08/03/2021 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: August 3, 2021

Colin celebrates Tom Brady's 44th birthday by admiring everything he has accomplished in his career and what makes him different from any other QB in NFL history. He advocates for the Colts to pursue Nick Foles as a replacement for the injured Carson Wentz and why they need to capitalize on their Super Bowl window right now. He tells you which teams in the NBA got better in free agency and which got worse. Plus, Chargers QB Justin Herbert joins the show to talk about his stellar rookie season and what will be different this season under new head coach Brandon Staley. 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. 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, unfiltered 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 I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. On The Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 is 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. I mean, 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. 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. Thanks for listening to the best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday. From 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1, find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Heard. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio.

Ah, it is a Tuesday. I am rambunctious and well rested. There is a lot happening today live in Los Angeles. Sunny all week. Sunny all year. What am I talking about? It's the herd wherever you may be. However you may be listening, IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1.

Justin Herbert, quarterback for the Chargers. You may have heard he likes me. We'll be on the show today. Dwight Freeney next hour joins me to. Alex Curry is here. Joy Taylor is vacationing in Italy. Her pictures are amazing, by the way. Oh, yeah, they are.

Well, vicariously live through her photos. By the way, the Fox family, they're all down in Arizona at a really fancy hotel, and they have these weekends every year where they make a lot of, all the announcements for the NFL team and the NFL family. And we announce all our broadcasting teams. I got to be honest, we got good people on the NFL. This network's got, uh, we got Gus Johnson and Akim Talib out there going to be doing games.

Buck, Aikman, Burkart. We got Sanchez and Shlareth. And we got so many good broadcasting teams. I've just watching some of the announcements this morning. We have so many talented people out there. Speaking of talent, let's start with this. It's Tom Brady's 44th birthday today.

What do you get a quarterback that has everything? And all the rings. If you wrote a movie using Tom Brady's real life, it would be rejected. It doesn't make any sense. It's fake. This is not the way it works. He doesn't drink a beer during the season.

Think about Tom Brady's life. Tom Brady, great family, supportive family, close with his sister still, goes to college, great brand, and the coach doesn't believe in him and he can't start. The coach likes the other quarterback more than Brady, who occasionally sneaks in and gets starts and shows a resilience to come from behind in the fourth quarter at Michigan. That'll get him drafted. Yeah, it did. A hundred and ninety-ninth player.

Six-round. Seven, eight other quarterbacks got picked. Almost all of them utter busts. He then goes to New England. He's backing up a great player, Drew Ledsoe. And he gets his first break, although it's odd, Bletsoe gets hurt. Weird injury, knocked out of bounds.

He wins a Super Bowl in his first year as a starter. The hell? He then goes on to a 20-year dynasty that include the two greatest comeback wins in Super Bowl history. Along the way, he marries a supermodel and raises a beautiful family. Then, after 20 years of dominating, and the team still believes in him, but like any team player relationship, he moves on. And he goes to a losing franchise that has had a lot of guys. good players, but they've never been able to get the quarterback right. And he goes to Tampa.

I covered him years ago. They were a laughing stock at the time. And he wins a Super Bowl in his first year. Wait, the story's not finished. Let's see. Let's make it even more dramatic. Let's throw a pandemic into the year. He wins a Super Bowl.

So he can't practice. What? No, we reject that script. That is not a believable script. Nobody will believe that. He's also six, four, half, handsome, apolitical, aging in reverse, humble, funny, joins social media, and he's hysterical. All right, here's the script.

I mean, what about LeBron? Oh, come on. LeBron was the chosen one. What about Tiger Woods? He was on television at three, putting it on the Mike Douglas show. This story is hard to wrap your arms around. Just consider this. The Michael Jordan documentary was great for a lot of reasons.

reasons. But I thought what really made it great is there was so much conflict. Michael was fighting with his owner and his GM and coaches were fired. And there was Dennis Rodman and players bailing on the team. There was constant conflict. How? Michael Jordan was the best player, the most fashionable, the best looking, the coolest. And he had to battle the whole time. He retires. There's a tragedy in his family. Tom Brady's documentary? There'd be no conflict. Episode 4. Belichick sort of seems to like Jimmy Garoppolo a little more than Tom. That's not going to get you 10 episodes.

I mean, Deflategate? Yeah, actually Tom's been better since Deflate Gate. That was a con. That story's ridiculous. Tom Brady is so far ahead of any other quarterback. Think about this. You can go look at his numbers. in his 20s, just Tom Brady in his 20s, the number say he's a Hall of Famer.

Tom Brady as a quarterback in his 30s is a Hall of Famer. Tom Brady celebrating his 44th birthday, now in his 40s would be a Hall of Famer. In his 40s, he's 47 and 14, two Super Bowl rings, averages 31 touchdown, nine picks, and has nine playoff wins in his 40s. That's more than Drew Breeze. his entire career. That's how many playoff wins like Breeze and Russell Wilson have in their careers. And did I say, an ad, he's aging in reverse.

I can't explain it either. There's literally memes and pictures all over the internet of Tom Brady. He looks now about the same age as Zach Wilson, the rookie quarterback for the New York Jets. Is it avocado ice cream? lack of alcohol, good naps, I can't explain it. But happy birthday to the greatest football player in the history of America's most popular sport. A life well-lived that would be rejected as a movie script. So this is interesting.

As I'm prone to do, I was driving home yesterday. And a lot of times I just turn on music. I try to escape a little bit. from the day-to-day pressures of being America's honesty broker. So I'm listening to some Tom Petty driving home. And I'm thinking about the Nick Folls situation and the Carson Wentz situation. And I'm thinking, you know, you don't want to bring Nick Foles back into Indianapolis now that Carson Wentz is hurt. And I'm thinking to myself, ah, the psychological stuff.

And then I don't know. Maybe it was the Tom Petty. Maybe it was the drive. And I thought to myself, wait a minute. With Simone Biles, I will defend the anxiety and the stress of an Olympic athlete at 24, representing America, who's already highly decorated, the pressure of one routine. Four years, eight years. You heard me all last week.

I'll defend athletes, many of them, for the psychological pressure and battles they face. But Carson Wentz is almost 30, closer to 30 than 20. He's been in this NFL now six years. And everybody in the NFL knows the game. Next man up. I think I'd call Nick Foles. The more I thought about it and listened to Tom Petty, the more I thought I would just, if I was the Colts,

called Nick Foles, who's currently the third-string quarterback for the Chicago Bears. And if you've not heard Nick Foles, he was asked a question about this yesterday. I have never heard a quarterback. publicly lobby for a job on another team like Nick Foles. Frank Reich is one of my favorite, if not favorite coaches at all time. He understands me as a player.

He understands me as a person. But, you know, I haven't had any talks with them. I don't know. I'm a Chicago bear right now. But I think he knows me. He understands, I mean, y'all watched the 2017 season in the playoffs where he changed the offense and built it around me and y'all saw what happened. But that being said, they have Carson and I have a lot of history. I have a lot of respect for Carson. He's a tremendous player. He's

going through adversity once again, but he'll bounce back. And you know what? He might miss a few games, but I know he'll be back out there, but we haven't had any talks. So right now, I'm a Chicago bear, and I'm going to keep slinging it with these third stringers and we're going to dice him up. He wants that Cole's job. Howie Long once told me the NFL is a league of desperate people. That should include general managers and coaches. These are America's best jobs for executives and coaches. There's not many and you get fired quickly. The Colts have to do what's good for the Colts.

Jim Mersey has to do what's good for the Colts. So does Chris Ballard and Frank Wright. I'd feel bad for Carson Wentz, but let's be honest. The Colts got him out of an unseemly situation. They did him a solid. Now maybe Carson Wentz needs to do them a solid. Carson's close to 30. He knows the game.

The Colts have a Super Bowl roster. They owe themselves a shot at the best quarterback on the market. This locker room, in my opinion, does not buy into Jacob Eason. A marginal college quarterback with zero NFL starts. And Nick Foles, by the way, has a winning record, which is remarkable considering he's a backup quarterback. Quick, off the top of your head. How many backups have a winning record?

Nick Foles, I watched him in college live once at USC, he carved him up for four touchdowns and 420 yards at the Coliseum, has always been as good as his environment. Remember the year in Philadelphia with Andy Reed, 27 touchdowns, two picks? Remember the Super Bowl where he beat Brady and was the MVP? He's not a superstar talent. but he's coachable and he's always been really good when the coaching is really good.

He has glimpses of great, but he's not great unless he has the right mix of support. And that's exactly what the Colts have. Listen, I understand as a sportscaster, feelings matter, anxiety is real, the pressure is intense in sports. But in the National Football League, the Colts have done every. everything right for years, and they got Carson Wentz out of an unseemly situation, they need to do what's best for them. And what's best for them may be Nick Foles. And again, here's Nick Foles lobbying for the opportunity to be a cult.

I'm 32. I feel great. The version of me right now is much better than the version that played in the Super Bowl. I'll tell you that. And I'm confident in that. So put that through your mind. I know that. I know what this game's about.

You have to have the whole package as a team. Like you have to have everyone in there. You have top down has to be great. If it's not great, you're going to be mediocre. I've seen it. I've been a part of it. And unfortunately, when you're a quarterback, you've got to go through a lot of the, you know, baloney. It's go time for the Colts.

By the way, breaking news, Quentin Nelson, the best guard in football plays for the Colts too. He's got the same foot injury as Carson Wentz this morning. He'll have surgery. And like Wentz, be out. five to 12 weeks. Jacob Eason, without Quentin Nelson, no NFL starts, Ram's first five games are brutal, or Nick Foles. I think this morning, maybe it's the Tom Petty in me.

I'd go with the latter. 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 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 you're 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-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. 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 you all know. I mean, at this point, 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. 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 Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway 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, Tript 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? 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, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. NBA free agency. A lot of average players got a lot of big money, a lot of good contracts. So for those thinking the NBA is in danger, I think they're doing fine economically. They're doing just fine. A lot of average guys made a lot of money.

Some of it like head shaking. But good for them. I thought one team absolutely unequivocally got better, the Miami Heat. The Miami Heat got veteran Kyle Lowry, who's good friends with Jimmy Butler. They added PJ Tucker, stealing him from Milwaukee, weakening the bucks. If you look at the top seven guys right now who would play for them, Kyle Lowry, Jimmy Butler, Duncan Robinson, PJ Tucker, Bamadabayu, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tiberu, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tyler, Tiber, Tyler, Tiber, Tyler, Tiber. That's a viable Eastern Conference Finals contender with a great coach Eric Spolster. So that team got better.

weak in the bucks. A lot of people think the Lakers got better, and I would say they got older and stranger. They now have six guys over 34. I'm fine with LeBron and A.D. and Westbrook's not my ideal player, but I'm fine with it. But the rest of it, it's an antique store. You know, you can say what you want about Alex Caruso and Dennis Schrooter and KCP and Kyle Kuzma, but any Laker fan who looks in the mirror and his honest knows, those guys made a lot of shots. And those are young legs, and they can play a lot of minutes. All right, Wayne Ellington and Dwight Howard can't. They lost four athletic young guys.

Caruso's athletic. Schrooter's athletic. Kyle Kuzma drives you nuts, but he can make shots. So can KCP. They're all gone. I mean, you start looking at these guys the Lakers have. Swear to God, let me read this. Dwight Howard, seven different teams.

Wayne Ellington, nine teams. Trevor Areza, 10. Kent Baysmore 5, Westbrook, fourth team, four years. It's like, where's Francis McDormant? This is Nomadland. And once again, a basketball team is saying, well, we'll just let LeBron figure it out. No, LeBron's in his 19th year, not his ninth. LeBron's at the point in his career where he should be building around a team that he can help make it work,

not have to singularly make it work. You take LeBron off this roster. It's not a playoff team. A.D. and Westbrook and Trevor Areza and the antique store is not a playoff team. So I think the Lakers here went a little too far and getting rid of all the young guys and getting a bunch of old guys. And everybody on Twitter is like, yeah, old guys work in the playoffs. Yeah, they do.

But Drew Holiday for Milwaukee ain't that old. and Yannis ain't that old and Chris Middleton wasn't that old. Milwaukee also had some youth. Okay? Like, let's not kid ourselves. That Laker team that won in the bubble. Yeah, they had LeBron and they had A.D. But they had Coosma and they had Caruso and they had KCP who played very well in the bubble.

I think the Lakers swung too far into Nomadland, too far into the antique store of the NBA. is that I understand LeBron is just tired of teaching guys how to play. But you cannot deny that Coosma and Schrooter and Caruso and KCP, they may have been inconsistent. They made a lot of baskets. And they played a lot of minutes. And young players, when they get injured, they get back on the floor quickly. You bang knees now with Trevor Reza and Wayne Ellington.

They're on the injured list for a long time. It has a lot of miles on those tires. So the Miami Heat absolutely got better. The Lakers got older and stranger, and I thought they swung a little too far into the, hey, LeBron just figured it out. No, no, that's not fair anymore. You can't ask LeBron to be super glue in year 19 and make everything stick together. That's not fair anymore.

He's got to be part of what makes it work. a big part, a large component. You start looking up and down that roster, though. He is going to have to run the offense. There are nights he's going to have to guard the best guy. He's going to have to play 40 minutes. And I'm talking regular season. Forget playoffs.

Because you know AD's not playing 82 games. You know that, right? And Westbrook's now had multiple knee surgeries. He's not giving you 82, although he'll play his butt off when he's on the floor. I thought they got too old, too creaky. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, this is Jason McIntyre. Join me every weekday morning on my podcast, Straight Fire with Jason McIntyre.

This isn't your typical sports pod pushing the same tired narratives down your throat every day. Straight Fire gives you honest opinions on all the biggest sports headlines, accurate stats to help you win big at the sports book, and all the best guests. Do yourself a favor and listen to Straight Fire with Jason Macon. on the IHeartRadio 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 you're 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 conversation. 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 Cliverts Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 a little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at a podcast. I'm Sam Jette.

And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick you here, unpack what? went down and tried 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 all 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, so. Thank you finishing that 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 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.

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, Keer Gaines, is we have really. 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. Aaron Rogers is not volcanic, but he's needy and never truly content. And so when Brian Gudenkoons, the general manager of the Green Bay Packers, didn't tell Aaron Aaron Rogers, he was drafting Jordan Love. Do you think it's possible he thought, well, what the hell if I did? He still wouldn't be happy. It's Aaron.

He's not happy with anything. Do you think that crossed his mind? You ever been in a relationship like that? You're married, your husband, your wife, a girlfriend, a boyfriend, a boyfriend. Not going to be happy if you tell him. Not going to be happy if you don't. I just think I'll pass on it. Hopefully they don't find out.

Aaron creates these little landmines and minefields because he's constantly, and this is well documented, a little bit of a grudge holder. It can be a little manipulative. That's not a criticism. That's a reality. And Packer fans would acknowledge that. And so Guden Coontz yesterday was talking about drafting Jordan Love. And he came out and said to Sports Illustrated basically that, hey, if it was even a possibility to tell him, I would have to love to. but we didn't go into that draft thinking, hey, we're going to target this guy and do this.

If that was the case, we probably would have done it. But, you know, I don't know if we'd have done it differently. But as a player like Aaron in a situation like that, you'd love to give him a heads up, but it wasn't part of our plan to draft Jordan Love. And it should be noted several wide receivers were picked right before the Packers picked, and so they could use that as an argument. But let's say Aaron did get a heads up. Really?

you think he'd be happy with it? Aaron Rogers and Fav didn't get along for years. And I've never met a player who didn't love Brett Favv. That was strained. And then Mike McCarthy and Aaron Rogers, well documented was strained because Mike didn't draft him when he was a coordinator with San Francisco.

And then a week ago, Aaron listed 12 different players that were treated poorly by the Packers through the years. It's funny he didn't mention Jermichael Finley or Greg Jennings because they'd called him out before publicly. Petty, petty, petty, petty. I wasn't the only person who noticed that. He went on to say, Brian Guden Coons, he went on to say, you know, Aaron wants to be given a heads up. But I'll read this to you for our radio audience. He says, well, what if I do give Aaron Rogers a heads up?

what's your definition of input said gundkundt are you listened to if you're listened to and a different decision is made do you still feel listened to it's a great point by the way or is it just doing what you want i think there's a difference there but i do think those guys that it puts so much into the organization it's important to have a little bit of a voice and i'll ask you again if you give erin a say and you don't do exactly what he wants you think you'll be cool with it come on man the loud guy or woman

you lie to him all the time because who wants to get into an argument over stupid crap Aaron Rogers thinks he's winning but a lot of times this organization may not bring stuff to Aaron because he's so damn needy it's just another

passive aggressive shot at the organization through the media and his surrogates that's the downside to being high maintenance It's the downside to being the grudge holder. It's a downside to being the tough guy. People lie to you. They're just not going to tell you the truth because you can't have a reasonable opinion with America guy. Can't have a reasonable opinion.

You can't talk to them like a grown-up. Everything escalates. And so the Packers, Brian Guden Coons, maybe have just thought, I can give him a heads up. What's the point? I don't want to argue with him over the phone. This thing's live. I got seven minutes to draft. This thing's...

Aaron, we're going to draft Jordan Love. You're going to get into an argument? It's draft night. It's your pick. And if you do tell him stuff, and you don't listen exactly, he's going to take a shot on 96.5 Milwaukee's Best Rock, or he'll take a shot to a surrogate or a media buddy. It's the downside folks to being high maintenance. Don't be.

Or you'll be lied to. You'll be avoided. People that are difficult, the studies show most Americans are afraid to fly, many Americans have a deathly fear of public speaking, and almost all Americans don't like conflict. So if you're high maintenance, very emotional, get loud in arguments, need to be heard. People just avoid you or lie to you or manipulate you. Talk less. Listen more. Lower your voice.

Be agreeable. Don't be a guy who's always got to get his way or I'm disrespected. It's an exhausting personality trait. The Packers, I'll defend them here. Maybe they're just tired of arguing over crap and just are going to do what they're going to do and deal with the ramifications later. On 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.

The pelicans are screwing it up with Zion Williamson. And I don't think they've made every right move. But they basically got Lonzo ball out of town to Chicago. Good for the Bulls, good pickup. But what the pelicans are basically saying is Zion's our best athlete. We're just going to give him the point guard. We're just going to let him have the ball more. 6-7, 280, in transition, unstoppable.

Nobody in this league. It's a skinny jeans league now. Nobody's getting in his way. You know, in the NFL, 25, 30 years ago, quarterbacks mostly looked and played the same. They were 6-3, they were 220, never too tall, never too short. They distributed the ball. They were coaches on the field.

Don't run around. Don't run out of the call that's already been played by the man with a headset. And then Michael Vick happened and Russell Wilson happened. And now you're just looking for somebody that could be tall, they could be short, they could be fast, they could be wiry, they could be thick. You just want somebody with juice. Lamar Jackson, stop criticizing him. He's juice.

He makes stuff happen. He's won 80% of his games. Justin Herbert's juice, different kind. But he's juice. He can just do stuff. He could play tight end in the NFL. He decided five years ago. we wanted to play that.

Point guards the same thing. I grew up 30 years ago. Point guards were 6 foot 2. You didn't really want them to be scores. Distributor, coach on the floor, mature, get the ball to the right guy, hit an occasional mid-range jumper. And then Steph Curry happens. And then LeBron James happened. And now you can take all the shots.

I know you're a forward, play a guard. The Pelicans are 16 and 8. when Zion has five or more assists. When he's the guard, they're at their best. Quarterback now in high school or junior high. Who's the best athlete? Can you throw? Go play quarterback. And in basketball, KD., Paul George, Yokic, Janice, LeBron, you're the best player. Just give him the ball more. He's juice. He makes stuff happen. You can't stop him.

I mean, Janus, you don't even trust it, the free throw line, can't really shoot beyond like eight feet. He's got the ball all the time. All the time. And he's not even a guy that can pull up and hit a three. So, you know, years and years ago, when I was covering this league, there was a GM for the Blazers named Bob Wittitt. He was a smart guy. We didn't know his agree, but he was smart guy. And Bob said this to me like 20 years ago when I was covering the Blazers and it always stuck with me.

He said, you media guys are into labels, point guard, shooting guard. He goes, I'm looking for guys that can play. Guys that can handle the ball and shoot and defend. I always want athletes. Just give me guys that are athletes. You guys are into four and three and one and five. And he was right. Bob was ahead of his time.

Just get me players. I don't even know what position LeBron is. What position is Zion? Hell if I know. I mean, I remember watching Charles Barkley. years ago, I worked in Tampa, and I was the only guy in the office that loved the NBA, and the Orlando Magic had Shaq and Penny. So I would go cover, I would lobby to go cover the Orlando Magic.

And I went down there and Orlando was very good. Penny was, that was pre-injury. Shaq was like skinny. They were fantastic. And Charles Barkley played for the Phoenix Suns, and he came in and I got really good seats. At that time, I was not known as America's honesty broker, so it was hard to get good seats. so I got good seats. And I remember watching Charles Barkley in the first quarter.

Put on a clinic. He shot a left-handed hook. He shot threes, twos. He used his big butt to get dunks. And I remember thinking, I didn't have seen anything like this. Like, I don't even know. I thought it was a forward. He just took the game over.

He nudged KG and Marley out of the way. KJ and Marley. He had the ball. He had it in transition. He took threes. He was the point. He was the rebounder. He was the center.

It was the first time I was like, he doesn't have a position. He's just Charles Barkley. He's just the best basketball player in the fore. I think he scored like 16 points in the first quarter or 12. At one point, the Orlando players waved a white flag. We surrender. I mean, he put on a clinic, threes, twos, dunks, left-handed hooks.

It was insane. And it was like, oh, let's get out of labels. Barkley was just great. He could score in transition, score at the rim. He could shoot a three. He could shoot a two. He had this, you know, he was only about six, four and a half. Barclay was a forward. It was six, four and a half, but he could handle the ball like a point guard.

A lot of these great, I mean, Michael Jordan, if I say, who was the point for the Bulls? You say, well, BJ Armstrong, for a while, but a lot of times in big spots, it was Michael. He just gave Michael the ball. You know, Phil Jackson of the Triangle Offense. Oh, the Triangle Offense is great. You know what the triangle offense was? Give it to Michael and Kobe. They'll figure it out.

You know, that's why nobody ever copied the Triangle Offense. You ever noticed that? In the NFL, they copied that goofy Wild. had offense, even Belichick did. In the NBA, the greatest coach ever has something called a triangle offense. Nobody ever copied it. Why? Because they didn't have Kobe or Jordan.

Pimia doesn't work very good without them. So I am for less labels on players. Get good players. Get them on the field. Give me a quarterback. I don't care if they look like Josh Allen or Six-Sex or Kyler Murray. Give me a guy. Give me Lamar Jackson.

He's got juice. He just makes stuff happen. That's what I want. You're a high school coach and a kid walks He's a freshman. He's six, two, he can run around. And years ago, you would have thought he was a receiver. Ask him if he can throw. That's the game.

That's what's happening. Dwight Freeney. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeard Radio app. It was really one of the most remarkable things I've seen a rookie quarterback do. Justin Herbert to the Chargers last year was not only the NFL offensive rookie of the year, but he broke in the history of the National Football League. He set the NFL rookie record for touchdown passes in yards per game and

300-yard games and completions behind the last ranked offensive line in the NFL. And I'm simply not sure how many players in this league could do that. But he's also humble entering his second year and four new starters on the offensive line, the pride now of the Chargers formerly of the Oregon Ducks and he's joining us live. So, you know, Justin, it's great because seasons are long and you guys ended on a four-game winning streak at the end of last year. What is the value of that to you?

I know it's last year, new staff, but that it's, give me why that matters to you. Yeah, well, first off, thanks for having me. And I think that four-game winning street tells us a lot. lot because you have to find ways to win games in the NFL. And, you know, in the first half of the season, we lost so many close games, decided by seven points or fewer. And every game in the NFL is going to come down to two minutes or something like that. And for us to kind of find a way to win late in the season, I think we found out how to do

that. And I think if we can carry that over and apply that to an entire season, you know, I think we could be really good. So you guys lost 12 games, by the way, decided by one possession last year. You did not lose all of them. so that's most in the NFL. I want you to take me to the practice you had today and go back one year from today at any practice.

What is the difference for you a year removed from last year? How is the world change? How you see the game? Yeah, that's a great question because last year, I think I was just worried about lining up correctly and opening to the running back the right way. And I was just worried about saying the play correctly, making sure I don't forget any motions.

But this year it's a little different. and I have to worry about mic IDs and flipping protections and making sure that, you know, I'm on the right side given certain coverages. So it's definitely been a different year, but it's been a lot of fun. You're only 22 years older. You were last year. I don't know your birthday, which, by the way, when is your birthday? It's March 10th.

Okay. Well, so you're 22 right now. 23, okay. You're 23. My bad. So I said last year, one of the things I've always wondered is when you walk in and you're the youngest guy in the locker room and everybody says, okay, go be a leader. And I'm like, well, he's 23.

His teammates are 29 and 30. Do you feel a little more comfortable off what you accomplished, walking in and letting your presence, your voice be heard a year later? Yeah, I think so. I think the important thing is to be yourself. And I've never wanted to be a raw, raw guy who's only up when things are good. And I want to be the same person when times are bad and when times are good. And being true to yourself and being yourself and being genuine with your teammates.

and having a relationship outside of football. I think all those things go into being a good leader. Yeah, when things need to be said, I don't have a problem stepping up and saying them. But I could always be better. So that's just something that I'm always going to work on. So you have a new coach and four new offensive linemen. And by the way, you know, you've got a center who's a pro bowler, Cory Lindsley. How long, Justin, until they're used to your voice, your cadence, your inflection.

because part of this game as a quarterback is manipulating the defense, getting them to move to show their tell. Like how long do you feel it's going to take before there's some symmetry here and you feel like, okay, this is a unit. We're all one here. I feel like we've actually got a pretty good step on that. I think the entire spring when we were able to work in OTAs and kind of work together, all those guys showed up and we got to work on the cadences. Brian Belag is definitely a guy who's always been on me, even last year, about, you know, making my snap counts sound differently and having multiple cadences to hold the defense accountable. And for him to do that and kind of hold me accountable, I think that's awesome.

It's only going to help us. And for us to be able to use different snap counts, different cadences, I think it gives our offensive line a huge advantage. You know, it's funny. I was talking to somebody the other day, and they were talking about a certain NFL quarterback. And I'm not going to mention his name, but they said he's not a great practice player, but he's a good game player. and I always think to myself, you know, if you're Tom Brady, I read a story the other day, he's punting a football, he's screaming and yelling at people, and he's throwing his helmet at practice after a bad practice, and you can do that if you're Brady.

What is your personality like? Do you have the intensity at practice that you would in a game? Are you a good practice player? How do you view it as you grow? I try to be perfect in practice, and it's unfortunate because I'm never going to be perfect in practice, and I have those almost unreachable standards in practice. And I need to be better at, you know, coming back at the next play. And I've done a great job working on that this past year.

And, you know, you're going to make mistakes. You're going to throw interceptions, incompletion. It's all about bouncing back on the next play and giving your team a chance at winning. And, you know, I think practice is a great place for that because I'm going to throw interceptions and incompletions in practice and I'm going to have an opportunity to get better after them. So, you know, I've tried to stay pretty level-headed during practice.

So you were sacked, you and Joe Burrow were tied for the most sacked quarterback last year. And Russell Wilson, even this offseason, complained publicly. He said, I'm tired of getting hit. It hurts. When you're getting sacked last year, there's a big difference between an Oregon State guy hitting you and a Kansas City chief guy. Was there a moment last year for you, Justin, that you felt the hits were taking their toll, if not physically, mentally on you?

No, I think we did a pretty great job in our strength and conditioning program where I felt like I was able to kind of withstand some of those hits. And a lot of them were my fault too. You know, I could have got the ball out earlier. I could have changed the protection and things like that. So it's on all of us. But, you know, I think if as long as you take care of your body, you keep eating the right things, you work out, you stretch and stay durable. I think you're able to take it some hits. And obviously you don't want to take too many.

But I think we did a good job with that this past year and even this year too. So they always say for quarterbacks, it takes until year three, Russell Wilson said year three, the light came on. And I guess that means, he said, he told me one time he said the game slowed down. So I just want you to try to explain to me because I want to get into your head here. Is the game slowing down to you and kind of explain what that would mean to somebody watching us talk that as you play in the NFL, because it's obviously faster than the college game, that it slows down. exactly does that mean or look like to you? Yeah, that's one of those tough things, because you look at a college team and you say maybe one or two of those guys on defense is going to go to the NFL.

And on an NFL team, every single guy is part of the NFL. They're all fast. They're all, every guy on the field is probably faster than me. And that's kind of what you have to realize. The speed of the game is so much quicker and realizing coverages and holding disguises. It makes playing in the quarterback position so much harder. There's just so much that I need to learn and so much film that I need to watch to really understand a defense for what it is.

And I think the more you can do that, the better you're going to get. Coach Day and I, we've done a great job with that this offseason watching film. But there's always so much more you can understand about run fits and protections and things like that. The list goes on. Yeah. By the way, Keenan Allen is one of the most underrated players, not just receivers. I remember when he played at Cal.

He's just an incredible player. But it's funny. He didn't run the fastest or he's not the biggest. but there's an it factor to him. If I'd never seen Keenan Allen play, Justin, and I said, Justin, tell me what makes Keenan Allen special. How would you describe it? That's a tough place to start.

I would say he finds a way to get open. However he does it, he understands leverage so well, and he's able to break, contain, and find a place to sit, or he's just got such a good feel for the game. He's got incredible hands to, and he catches everything that I throw to him. And there are even times where, you know, I'm hanging on to him too late just because I know he's going to get open. And sometimes I get back to the progression too late. But Keen just finds a way to get open. Makes plays.

And with the ball, he can make guys miss. And, you know, he might not be the fastest guy in the game. But, you know, he's got some good speed. And he runs some pretty good routes, too. Finally, you have a new coach, and he's a defensive coach, Brandon Staley. He's a young guy, is very smart. But, you know, defensive coaches, Justin, they don't want quarterbacks to make mistakes. They want the defense to win the game.

Have you ever gone up to your coach yet and said, coach, you got to lighten up. I'm going to throw the deep ball. I got a good arm here. Defensive coaches generally are more conservative than offensive coaches. Have you sensed that yet? No, he's done a great job of communicating with us. And he even played quarterback for a little bit too, so he really understands the game. You know, we ended up completing a post ball into quarters a couple days ago for a touchdown.

And he came back the next day, tried to hold that look, disguised. and got the safety deep. And I think they made a good play on the ball. So it's a game of cat and mouse. He's done an incredible job. So it's been awesome to play for him so far. Justin Herbert, Chargers. I'm going to a couple of your games with my buddies.

I've got several buddies who bought season tickets to watch a play. Good luck. Stay healthy. My friend. We'll talk soon. Awesome. Thanks for having me. You bet Justin Herbert.

Just a wonderful kid and a world-class talent. 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, 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On The Look Back at a podcast. It's a big moment for me.

84 is big to me. I'm Sam Jay. 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Clivert 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, unfilled 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 IHeard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

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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. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.