The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 08/05/2021 - HOUR 2 - Hall of Fame, Burrow, USA

Episode Date: August 5, 2021

The current NFL players Colin would put in the Hall of FameReason for concern about Joe BurrowIt's OK to say USA is a lot better at basketballGuests: Jay Glazer, Kevin O'Connor Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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We're live in Los Angeles. It's the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1. So, Jay Glazer in about five minutes, joins us from Canton, Ohio. You've got the Steelers and the Cowboys tonight. Dax's not going to play. A bunch of backups, but it'll still get a number because it's the NFL.

I'm watching it. You're watching it. We're watching it. Of course. We're watching it. And, you know, unlike NBC, we don't make it impossible to find the stuff we want to watch. Boom. Set it right there.

Your burn of the week. Okay, before we get the Jay Glazer, I was talking about, I started the show talking about as great as Patrick Mahomes is. We do this all the time. We never give support systems enough credit. And if writing didn't matter more than actors, and that's what makes a good movie. It's not the actor.

If it was the actor, then Marlon Brando wouldn't have been in eight awful movies. Then Tom Hanks would always be in a great movie. Tom Hanks is as good as his director, which is often Stephen Spielberg in the writing. That's what I've said. Quarterback, you've got to have an O-line. You've got to have a play caller.

And Mahomes is a great talent. He's like Alan Iverson. He'd be a Hall of Famer regardless of who's around him. I mean, certain guys like that are great. But he wouldn't have the titles. He wouldn't have all the wins. He couldn't win in college because he didn't have the coach and didn't have the players. Couldn't win in the Big 12.

Oklahoma quarterbacks, Baker Mayfield, won a lot more games than Patrick Mahomes in college. Is Baker better than Patrick? No. Baker had the better coach and Baker had the better O'line and Baker had the better receivers. So Baker was a better college quarterback than Mahomes because of the support system. So just to show, so we started talking about Hall of Fame and I said, Canton or Cant out? Just like, let's take some current stars and I'll tell you if I think they're Hall of Famers yet or not. Not, I'm not guessing on what they do, on what they've done so

far. Canton or Cant out. Here we go. We're starting with Odell Beckham Jr. Can't out. Okay, last four years, he's given me 670 yards. He's missed 23 games. He's a Hall of Fame talent, but he's not on the field enough. In the last four years, he's just not available. He's not a Hall of Famer.

Ezekiel Elliott. It's not a Hall of Famer. Can't out. He's the only running back in NFL history whose yards have declined in each of his first five seasons. So he is a declining player whose first two years look like a Hall of Fame lock, but doesn't feel like a Hall of Famer to me now. Julio Jones. Canton.

No question. He has the most receiving yards per game in NFL history, 95. Most seasons, over 100 plus receiving yards per game. Arguably the best receiver in the NFL for most of a 10-year period. Absolute first ballot lock. Travis Kelsey. Chiefs tied in. Canton, he's already in.

A thousand plus receiving yards in five straight seasons. He is the first tight. end in NFL history who has done that. I still think he's in his prime. I think he has three or four huge years left. I always kind of thought, you know, Kellan Winslow was the best tight end I've ever seen. I think it's now Travis Kelsey. Calio Mack. Callio Mack can't out. Again, couple of good years is not a Hall of Fame career. He's had fewer than 10 sacks in each of his last two years. He's never had a sack in the playoffs. He's never won a playoff game. He's a remarkable talent, but he needs two or three more great years.

Is Patrick Mahomes a Hall of Famer? I said he needs one more year. By the way, Ken Stabler and Joe Thaisman had an MVP in a Super Bowl title, and Stabler finally got in 30 years after retiring and Thaisman's not in. So I think he needs another great year, and then we can start the discussion. But he's like 120th in passing yards, 113th and wins. Yes, he's great. but you know

can we can we act you know let's make sure we all understand how great the hall of fame and football is great alone you got to give me some numbers you got to give me some years not just great okay von miller very very close i could make the argument canned out uh excluding the super bowl year he's had a sack and a half and four playoff games so and there's a lot of injuries piling up so i think vaughn miller's on the edge cam newton not close uh worst completion percentage in the NFL since he entered the league. Now, he was a transformative player and a unique player, but a lot of injuries, never had back-to-back winning seasons, really inefficient in terms of throwing the football.

I think he's a star, commercials, endorsements, he's a star, but he's not a Hall of Famer. Ben Rathlisberger. First ballot Hall of Famer, 18th year. He only needs a thousand more passing yards, the past Marino for the most passing yards by a quarterback who spent his entire career with one team. So I've got my issues with Ben, but I think he's one of the most uniquely gifted quarterbacks I've ever seen, the greatest pump fake quarterback I've ever seen. I mean, you know, it's interesting.

We all talk about, you know, his off-season, he doesn't work out hard. Doesn't it tell you how great he is? Uh-huh. That he doesn't work out hard in the off-season, and he's been that successful. He's a first ballot hall of famer. Matt Ryan. Very close. I'd say can't out.

Now, he's got over the last 10 years, no quarterback has a kid. accumulated more passing yards in games they lost. So Matt's not winning enough to me to be a Hall of Famer. That Super Bowl win may have been the difference, but right now I need more wins and more quality seasons. I do think Arthur Smith is really, really good for Matt Ryan. I think he's going to end his career with Arthur Smith and put together. He has a chance for it because I think if Brady retires and he's still playing for two or three years,

Matt is still in the running. The next three years will decide it. JJ Watt. I've had my criticisms, but he's a three-time defensive player of the year. He's going to Canton. There's no doubt about it. He was a unique force. He's had some injuries, but in his prime,

I mean, he was the only defensive lineman. I can remember getting interceptions, getting touchdowns. I don't think he's as good as Aaron Donald, but he was so dynamic for about a five-year period. And I think he, to me, he feels like a Hall of Famer. That's it. But when I say Mahomes isn't,

what I'm saying basically is can we give respect to the Hall of Fame? This is the shrine. It can't just be your great with an MVP. I mean, if you go look, there's only one baseball player ever that's in the Hall of Fame that didn't play very long, Sandy Kofax. Now, Kofax is considered unhittable. You know, there's the old joke about, you know,

Frank Robinson's a lot. legendary baseball player. And somebody was talking to Frank Robinson once. And they were asking him about all the pitchers he's faced, all the great pitchers. He was like, ah, it's pretty good, this, this. And they mentioned Sandy Kofax. And Frank Robinson said, oh, yeah, nobody hit Sandy Kofax. Yeah, nobody hit him. So Kofax is the only baseball hall of him. It didn't play very long, but he was so dominant. So you could make the argument with Mahomes had he won the Super Bowl back to back. Then you get into a space where it's like, I mean, he's three-year starter. But I do think here, year four, if he lights the league up, which I think he'll do.

If he stays healthy, I think he will. And if they win the Super Bowl, they're certainly in a small group of teams that could. Then I think we can have the discussions. But we tend to do this. You know, Marino got to a Super Bowl. We thought he was going to win eight. Aaron won a Super Bowl. We thought he was going to win six.

It's hard. This game is hard. Basketball players don't get tackled. Baseball players don't get tackled. Soccer players act like they get tackled. They don't get tackled. we tackle our quarterbacks. They get hurt. And offensive lines, cap space, do you have the right coordinator?

This game is practice is hard in football. With that, our Hall of Famer, Jay Glazer, Fox Sports NFL Insider, owner Unbreakable Performance Center. Those are amazing. A founder of the MVP, merging vets and players, joining us live from Canton. How are you? Oh, boy, look at that. You look all cleaned up here and you're going to be in Canton this weekend. I've got to ask you.

start tonight. Yep. And, you know, during the Aaron Roger's stuff, Aaron the last couple days and Brian Gudenkootts have sounded like adults. We're talking our way through this thing. You know, they're like adults. They disagree. Let's get along and figure this stuff out.

We're both talented people. The clarity, though, Jay, is interesting. What did they exactly agree on? I know Aaron got a year taken off the deal. Is there anything else out there that I don't know about or we should know about? Yeah. So if Aaron wants to get traded after the year, year than Aaron can get traded after the year. It's not necessarily to the team that he desires.

So I think his two options now, and he kind of holds some of the cards now, a lot more cards than he wanted to, than he had. If after this year he wants out, they could trade him. If he wants to decide where he wants to go, he can elect a stay for an extra year, and then he'll hit free agency. And that's why they took that extra year off. But, you know, look, you're talking about that relationship, right? And in order to be on Aaron's, you know, he'll hit. Rogers level. In order to be great, you've got to be crazy. Right. But the best head coaches and GMs in the league, they manage that kind of crazy. So you understand what you have in Aaron Rogers. For them to handle Aaron, the way they have, the entire front office there really didn't make a lot

of sense. Yeah. So we got into this discussion today. Lavaar Arrington, it was funny. He said, everybody's got a guy in the league. They just, they can't, it gets in their head. And I asked Levar. I said, who was the guy? And he said, Flozell Adams. He owned me. He goes, I just, I don't know. And it's like, Carson Wentz, Nick Foles, maybe the guy that gets in his head. And

the other day, somebody said something to me. They said it's very difficult if you're a quarterback to be emotionally and physically fragile. Is Went, is the problem with Wents is we know physically is a little fragile. And now there's the, you can't bring in Nick Foles because it won't work. Boy, Jay, I could argue,

you got to be able to handle Nick Foles, don't you? Well, you know, that was the whole problem last year with Wentz and Hertz in Philly is, man, he really just got under Carson's skin and they weren't able to coexist. And, you know, I said that in Foxxendable Sunday last year. That was a big problem. He just, man, it just got in his head and he lost his confidence. So, you know, the thing I will say this about Carson Wentz, they don't think, or I guess

they're cautiously optimistic, that it's not going to be two months, three months, something along those lines. They, you know, they're going to re-evaluate them here in about three weeks from now. Let them rest it up, re-evaluate then, try and rehab there, and then see where you can go. They're still going to try and push them for week one. I think we're kind of looking more like week three, but they don't think right now this is going to be, you know, an eight to 12-week injury. That's great. So we got into this. We kind of joked yesterday is that, you know, general managers and coaches don't like to blow too much smoke up young quarterbacks. You know, they want to keep everybody. This is not the NBA. Not everything.

Everybody's going to be called great, right? And so I got Shanahan saying, Garoppolo looks unbelievable. That's the best I've ever seen him. And then I got Lynch saying, Trey Lance is way better than we thought. And my takeaway is they want to move Garapolo, and they don't want anybody to think that Trey Lance isn't ready to play. They don't want to be low-balled. It did make me feel like they're probably going to move Garapolo.

I mean, the way the compliments are coming down at practice, I thought, boy, that's a lot. You don't hear that a lot in the NFL. Well, no, you're doing camp, though. That's the thing. Colin, in camp, everybody's going to go undefeated this year. You know, if you go and you read every press clipping in every camp, you rarely ever see somebody just stinking it up in camp. Everybody's fantastic.

Everybody have the greatest offseason of all time. Everybody came in in the greatest shape they've ever come in. And everybody just wows the rest of the world. So, you know, until they start going against other jerseys, everybody looks phenomenal. And, you know, with these two quarterbacks, the thing they're with Jimmy is that even when there's been interest, they've wanted so much, way too much,

in return for Jimmy Garapolo. So if they ever do want to move them, and then they're going to have to kind of come down on what they're looking for. But I also do think they look at, their plan going on this year was not to play try. It really was for him because Shanahan's offense is so incredibly complicated. It's not something you usually pick up overnight.

It takes some time. And again, I know he looks great, some of these throws, but it's a really complicated offense. It takes more time than people really understand. Dax's shoulder. Now, you work with athletes all the time, and my gut feeling on Dak was, because of the leg injury, he was overcompensating and being more of an arm thrower, and it probably got sore because, as you know, if you pull a groin off on the left side, then you overcompensate and you pull it on the right side. That's what athletes always do, right? So it doesn't sound too serious, does it?

Right. No, they're not concerned that's going to hold them out. However, I think it was a little bit worse than they originally thought as far as, okay, we really need to make sure we protect him from himself. And it's kind of been a weird error. It's kind of more under like the armpit. It happens more in baseball pitchers than it does in football players. So they just want to make sure, because Dak is the type of guy. It's not that he would overcompensate for the leg. He would just work so hard to do so much and so much and so much. When they say we've got to protect him from himself, they really do. This guy, he outworks the world. And once it gets sore, he's the type of guy. He's just going to power through it. They've got to make sure he doesn't power through it. And it completely recovers. By the way, I've said before, Jimmy, whenever, when I worked on the Sunday shows,

one of the reasons I got in early because Jimmy is one of the first guys to show up. And I just sit there. Yeah, three o'clock in the morning. Yeah, it's insane. And I just peppering with questions about nonsense football stuff. and Jimmy always had answers. And I think you and I both agreed that Jimmy, we couldn't figure out why it wasn't a Hall of Famer.

One of the things that Jimmy did in the NFL that I think is not discussed enough is nobody made trades before Jimmy Johnson. I mean, literally nobody made trades. I could be wrong here. But isn't Jimmy Johnson, didn't he create a chart that still used to? Yeah, he created the trade chart. Absolutely. He created that.

It's also, and here's the other thing people don't know about Jimmy is the number of general managers and head coaches and aspiring coaches who go down to Florida with the hopes that they can get in front of Jimmy Johnson and just talk football, it'll blow your mind. I mean, he really is. He's the Wizard of Oz. He's the one everybody wants to go and try and go down the Olympic Road to go and get some time with. So he is the Pied Piper for a lot of these guys. And look, our moment last year, I guess two years ago now, I mean, the last time we were

all together was the Super Bowl. So tonight, when we're doing the Hall of Fame game, this is the first time we're all together since the Super Bowl two years ago in Miami. And, you know, we're each other's families, man. We are, you know, best man at each other's weddings. There's been a lot of weddings. You know, Godfathers to each other's kids. We are so incredibly close to see Jimmy two years ago

when David Baker came out and surprised him. That was, this is my 19th year at Fox. Those guys have been there almost 30. That, I think, is the best moment. we've ever had in the history of Fox and about Sunday, just to see Jimmy, because beforehand Jimmy acted like, ah, it's no big deal, it's no big deal, no big deal.

And Jimmy, that's why Jimmy's got, it's great to poker, got a great poker face. But when it happened and the emotions came out so much and how much it meant for everybody who's worked under Jimmy and all the players, that's why it meant so much for him. It was incredible. It was so incredible.

We have a feature tonight on the free game show where we're kind of reliving what happened after the show, which you guys will love. It was wild. Jay Glazer, Fox Sports, Unbreakable Performance Center, founder of MVP merging vets and players. You look great, good scene. You have a blast tonight in this weekend, buddy. All right.

Love you guys. Thanks. All right, Jay Glazer. Yeah, we talked about that yesterday. Jimmy is, he is, that's a great way to put it. He's the Wizard of Oz. Belichick goes down every year, goes on the boat fishing, to talk to him, and, you know, it's funny about Jimmy.

Jimmy loved coaching college football. He really did. But Jimmy O. was new in college football, he would go to these NFL seminars while he was in college knowing he would go to the NFL, which is interesting because Urban Meyer never did. Urban's always been a college coach. That's why I've always said with Urban, I'm fascinated to watch Urban Meyer. Jimmy, it's not shocking. Like Pete Carroll had been in the NFL, then dominated college. Going back to the NFL, he just had to get a quarterback. Once he got a quarterback, he'd be fine. Like some of these guys in

college, you know will be fine. But with Urban, there's never. been any interest in the NFL. Like he didn't watch the NFL. When I talked to him for years, he's like, I watched game tape. I watch, you know, Big Ten or SCC tape. I don't watch the NFL. So he's a quick learner. He's very smart. So that's why I think the Jacksonville situation, you know, had Urban been a wide receiver coach for the Giants for three years. Like Tom Coughlin, when he went college to pro, had been an assistant, Nick Saban, who was always better in the NFL that he gets credit for, had been in college and the pros. And so that's why Jacksonville, fascinating because Urban's never shown an interest.

Jimmy knew he was going to be an NFL guy if given the opportunity. Want 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. 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. 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 Jette. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack.

I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for 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. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me. Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this play. platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated.

One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next, we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger.

So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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 conference. 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, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Tonight on Fox, the NFL is back as the Steelers Battle the Cowboys. In the Hall of Fame game coverage begins at 7 Eastern 4 Pacific on Fox and the Fox Sports app. It's great to have you in everybody.

By the way, the NFL does start tonight, Steelers, Cowboys. And even though backups will play, you're going to watch it. I'm going to watch it. Everybody watches it. And that's okay. You know, the boycott crowd that every year there's people that come out and scream, they're going to boycott stuff, you may want to give it a rest on the NFL. It's going to survive without you.

It's the only thing every broadcast network has to have. don't have to have the NBA to flourish or baseball or soccer or you have to have the NFL. The NFL does three things really well. And there are three things that any business could learn from. Number one is they're never rigid. Schedules, equipment, rules, they're always willing to change on a moment's notice. Great business CEOs talk about it all the time. you've got to quickly be able to pivot.

Number two is they understand how valuable television is. Other sports don't do this. The NFL sees themselves as a television show. They're in constant communication with the league's television partners. How do we make the television product better? Baseball too often is concerned with seamheads, the diehard, 70-year-olds, who cares what they think? They're not going anywhere.

They've loved you forever. They'll love you until they're not around. Number three is the NFL does not give their power to the employees. I know Twitter wants you to do that. But in the NBA and baseball and other sports, too many average players are paid enormous salaries. In the NFL, they pay enormous salaries to great players. Teams never get trapped for multiple years.

with a guy who just doesn't deliver. I know Twitter and social media wants everybody to get rich, but that's not a good business. You have to be flexible. You have to be nimble. Yes, Patrick Mahomes and Russell Wilson should make money. Khalil Mack should make good money. J.J. Wattenham is prime should make good money.

Aaron Rogers. But you can't have a number three receiver, like you have the number four player on an NBA team, locked in for five years, or a baseball player locked in for 12. that's three things any business could learn from. One, don't be rigid. Be able to pivot fast.

Number two is understand who you really need to take care of and communicate with. The NFL's great dealing with its TV partners. And number three, pay huge salaries infrequently, rarely, so that you're allowed to be nimble and flexible. And if a player doesn't deliver, a player gets hurt, you can move on and still be viable the following year.

The bottom of the NFL is tiny. Lions aren't very good. Houston's kind of a mess. But by and large, it's the League of Hope. And that will begin tonight. Alex with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news.

This is the herd line news. Well, the Lakers have made. a lot of off-season moves this year. And one huge criticism of the additions is the collective age of the roster. But LeBron is calling out anyone who doubts what the team can do. And a now delete a tweet. He said,

keep talking about my squad. Our personnel ages. The way he plays, he stays injured. We're past our prime in this league, etc. But do me a favor, please. And I mean, please, keep that same narrative energy when it begins. That's all I ask. I like that he's

already feeding off the criticism, though. He's feeding off of the doubt. He deleted it, though. He did delete it. Yeah. Why did he delete it? Because we're right. You know, like, sometimes the media is wrong. It is the oldest franchise. It's the oldest roster. Not in the NBA in league in league. I'm going to be a glass half full here, but if anyone can elevate a team, might be the oldest team in the league. LeBron James is the only person that could elevate, could elevate other players who have that kind of talent. But again, he's top of conversation. talking about him. Yep.

And that's what it is. All right. Well, the 76ers have reportedly hired a new coaching consultant, and it just so happens to be Phil Beckner, the longtime trainer of Damien Lillard. Oh, that's very interesting. Yeah, the two have ties going all the way back to Lillard's time in college. Beckner is expected to assist the Sixers coaching staff in several areas and has reportedly already started working with some of the players at their training facility.

Oh. Now, with all the rumors circulating the summer that the 76ers were very interested in Damian Lillard, It's a little foreshadowing. Well, I think it's where he really fits. I mean, Damien, unlike Ben Simmons, he's built to play with a dominating big. And so Embed and Dame and Tobias Harris, like that's a real team. That is a, I don't know if they're, I wouldn't favor them over the Milwaukee Bucks, but they're in this, they would get to the Eastern Conference finals.

And Ben Simmons has reportedly cut off all communications with basically everyone in the Sixers organization. Wow. And he is only communicating through his agent right now. All right, so it's officially done. Now, by the way, Darry-Love him, been on the show. Smart guy said a couple of, you know, a month ago. This is a bedrock relationship. We will be here together.

You don't have to tell us what we know isn't true. Ben Simmons and Philly are done. It doesn't work. And I will say this. I think Philadelphia with Dame is a really, really good team. Oh, yeah. And I know Doc Rivers is pushing for it. Doc, Doc knows how valuable a great.

great guard like Chris Paul can be. Or Rondo in his prime when he was with, you know, Doc. They got a title in Boston. But Ben Simmons is not necessarily a bad fit with Portland. Remember, they could keep C.J. McCullough.

They would add Simmons distribution and defense. C.G. not much of a defensive player. If Portland could get, they've already got Nirkage. So I think it's a deal that actually, I mean, what is Portland going to get for Dame? I think Ben Simmons may be about as good as you can get,

and he will enter a team without necessarily a dominant big like Ambid who clogs up the lane. So by the way, it is interesting that Zach Collins and Enos Canter, two bigs, are no longer on Portland. Maybe they're trying to make this more guard-wing-centric, so it works for Ben Simmons. It's all very interesting. Simmons not talking to the 76ers anymore.

Sixers hiring Damien's trainer. Yeah, something's brewing. Moving back to the NFL, Aaron Rogers spent a lot of time this offseason debating his future with the Packers, which could have left Jordan Love wondering about his own future there. But Rogers knows what it's like to be in that position from his time sitting behind Brett Farv, and he said he made sure to keep love in the loop while he was still figuring out his next move. And then I just reached out. You know, I reached out a number of times, check on him, see how he's doing.

I didn't, you know, hold things from him. I let him know where I was at mentally and what I was thinking about. and hopefully he appreciated that. I just felt like that's what I would want in that situation, just to hear from the guy. And also, there's a love and an appreciation and a friendship there, just like it was with me and Brett. So I wanted to make sure I checked in with him

and let him know I was thinking about him. Oh, that's nice. It was the right thing to do. You have to respect that. Very thoughtful. It was very thoughtful. Regardless of all the stuff he's going through, he still cared about Jordan Love and the team.

Very nice. Yeah, right thing to do. Alex for the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd lie news. So we like quarterbacks for different reasons. We like the playmaking ability of Kyler Murray.

He's not the classic height, but he moves around a lot. We like the size and the power of Josh Allen, right? Like big power arm. We like Brady's ability to manipulate the line of scrimmage. We don't think he has the. the biggest arm, although it's always been underrated. We don't think he's the greatest athlete. We liked Eli Manning's ability in the two-minute offense. He was always available. Not a great athlete, but boy, he was good in the two-minute offense, and he was often really

good on the road or in the biggest spots in the biggest games. For Joe Burrow last year, it's not the body. His arm's okay. He's a good athlete, not a superstar like, you know, Lamar Jackson or a Russell Wilson. Russell could be a major league baseball shortstop. So could Kyler Murray. He could be a major league baseball player. But what we loved about Joe Burrow was the swagger and the confidence in which he plays. So these stories are interesting.

Observations from people who cover the Bengals who tend to shade positive over negative. Joe Burrow, it's not good. Throws that were layups last year are off target. There's a multitude of reasons for the struggles. It has

been ugly. Tyler Boyd, a very good receiver said, Joe Burrell looks good, but he is iffy on the knee. The thing we liked about Burrow was the swagger and the confidence, and the it wasn't the arm, it wasn't the body, it wasn't just the athleticism, and he has apparently lost it. Now, that doesn't mean he won't regain it. But remember, he was sacked 32 times last year in 10 games. This is still not an elite offensive line. Remember, tore is ACL, tore is MCL, and there was other additional damage.

This was a bad, bad injury. And he played on a bad, bad offensive line that should be better, but is not solved. Carson Palmer said this years ago, he admits when he came back 15 years ago in 2006 off a knee injury. Carson Palmer said, quote, it's a feel thing. 18 months. That's how long it takes to get to where your knee feels somewhat normal again. It takes two years until you can't really tell you had surgery. So that first year, it just doesn't feel right. Now that's in a division. Baltimore's better. Cleveland's better.

Pittsburgh's still good, although I don't think they're as good as everybody else. And we don't know if Zach Taylor's a great coach or not. I have no idea. I really don't know. He's not winning a bunch of games, but I thought last year, They had a lot of fight and a lot of spirit, and their offense was pretty clever. So it's just, it's things to worry about. What we like about Burrow is the confidence and swagger and the reports from people who are teammates and reporters, generally optimistic covering the team is he's gingerly like he doesn't want anybody near his knees. I remember when Tom Brady hurt his knee.

I remember the following year, he got snippy if a guy fell near his knee. that confidence off an injury, the lack of it is a real thing. It's not a weakness. Everybody, everybody goes through it. 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. 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 McIntyre on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast 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. 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 it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so 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. now. Thank you finishing that sentence. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. 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, 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, 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, Keir Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway.

Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Get more from your neighborhood with DoorDash, the dash pass 10 bucks off groceries pet food alcohol because summer try the dash pass for free year round savings zero dollar delivery fees now it's on the door dash app stay cool out there terms and conditions apply i use door dash all the time all the time oh i do too there's a peach join around the corner i think i may use it tonight dash pass there you go i do i use dash pass there you go uh kevin connor of the ringer NBA analyst for the ringer which we read off uncovered the NBA for a long time, some interesting moves in free agency. And let's have him join us now. LeBron James deleted a tweet calling out the people that were critical of the Lakers.

I was one of those people that I said there's a difference between veterans and just being too old. And this was what happens, Kevin. Fans, when guys get traded, they're like, well, they were bums. And then they love all the new guys. They don't like any of the old guys. But I don't think the Lakers are as good defensively. do you this morning? Well, they're definitely not as good defensively.

That goes without saying when you lose very good perimeter defender and Alex Caruso, Kyle Kuzva, who got way better over the course of his career with the Lakers. Losing those guys hurts you. But I think the offense for the Lakers oftentimes last season, granted they had some guys out, LeBron missed some time. Too often, it just ran stagnant. Their half-court offense would struggle to create easy open baskets like we see some other high-powered offenses do.

you would expect to see from a team led by LeBron James. So all of their additions lean towards the offensive end of the floor. And to your point, some older guys who over the course of the year might not have a great defensive season individually. But as long as they have buying collectively and they all hustle, they can be good. But with that said, Anthony Davis, he's going to have to have the best season of his entire career because there will be more mistakes on the perimeter to lead to to more mistakes that need to be cleaned up by him. Yeah. And he's missed 72 games in three years. I do think he's going to have a great year, but I think your point is well taken. Caruso and Coosma play defense. There's going to be more mistakes. We're going to need him to be even a better

defensive player. Now, I thought the Bulls, I still think they could use some size, but I thought Chicago did about as good a job as you can do in three or four days to improve the team. Am I overstating it? But, I mean, they're young now. They're super athletic. They've got, they'll be a fun team to watch. Are they a good team? The Bulls will be a good team. Absolutely. They will score a lot of points. They're going to be tough to stop.

Their defense absolutely needs improvements. Anytime you have Nicola Vucovich, you know, with DeMarda Rosen and Zach Levine on the perimeter, guys need to get stops to succeed in the playoffs. But regular season, there's no doubt the Bulls are going to be really good. Demarta Rosen, the player he turned into in San Antonio as a playmaker, he's not just a scorer anymore. And I think we're going to see a real three-guarded backcourt trio with the Rosen. Levine and ball with a bunch of guys that have complementary skills.

The real concern, though, with them is defense. And with Team USA, the way they've performed, we've seen a different version of Zach Levine. Zach Levine's doing some of the dirty work for that team. He's grinding on defense. So that's got to be encouraging. It has to be. Yeah, no. And by the way, my knock on Levine is not a winning player.

He's just talented. But I do think point taken, I think in the Olympics, he's done himself some favors. He's uglied it up and willing to do some of that stuff. So there's a report Ben Simmons has cut off communication with the 76ers. Ben's not that communicative, I think, on his best days. So that tells me they're trying to work things. I want to throw this out to you and tell me, Kevin, I could be totally wrong here. But Simmons plays better without a dominant big because he can't shoot.

He scores at the rim. So the Blazers, Zach Collins, no longer a blazer, Enos Canter, now a Celtic. They've moved two bigs. Am I reading way too much into that that Portland may be the spot for him? Is it for Dame or CJ, though? Is that where you're suggesting there? Well, I think, I think, I think Mori wants Dame. And by the way, Philadelphia just hired Dame's trainer.

This kind of feels, it kind of feels like Philly Portland's going to do something, right? Or am I overreacting to it? I mean, I think it's really the most logical trade for both sides. if you're moving Damien Loweard is Portland or if you're moving C.J. McCollum. If you're the Blazers, of course you don't want to move Damian Lillard. You want to keep him. He's signed for four more years. He's still in the prime of his career and seemingly getting better.

Why would you not want to trade him? And with the Sixers, though, the reason why they're asking so for much besides the fact that Mori always does that with trade negotiations when he first starts out is because they do want to kind of just buy their time here with Ben Simmons, wait for the moment to strike for the real star in Damien Lillard, rather than, you know, settling. for C.J. McCollum. I think a Simmons-McCallum deal makes some sense if Portland adds a little bit more onto that to get Ben Simmons. But ultimately, like, in the end, Darrell Mori wants Damien Loeff. That's the guy he's willing to wait as long as he can for. The question is, though, how long are you willing

to wait before the Simmons and Bede, you know, issue here with Philadelphia, him not being happy, becomes an issue that really hurts the entire roster in the product on the court? We don't know when that it is. I bet they take it into training camp at least. So Team USA has played played very, very well recently. They will now face France in the final. Now, France always gives the U.S. I mean, it's a real team with real NBA guys, and I think it's a very competitive game.

And I was thinking about this, Kevin. Kevin Durant now is the all-time leading score in Team USA basketball. He certainly has nothing to prove. He came off an injury this year. Maybe this is just conjecture, but, you know, Kevin Durant did not have to join this team. Why does he? He seems to be in

maybe it's just patriotism, but he's really bought in to the Olympic movement. Any insight to why? I think this is just, he's a real hooper. He's a competitor and the fact that the Nets got bounced early. I'm sure played into his decision to go out and play and travel to Japan and compete for a gold medal. And I think part of it, though, too, is just the fact, why not play? He's still in the prime of his career, still is an opportunity here to compete. And I think for him, it's just something he likes doing.

And I think for Katie here, he has continued to prove he can be so adaptable. He can do whatever a team needs, playing defense, running the offense, playing inside. And he does it in an international format. So for Katie, why would you not play? It's a chance to win a gold medal. Now, remember, the free agency just ended. I thought the Celtics may move Jalen Brown. They did not.

I thought Bradley Beale may move. He did not. Do you expect, if I said to you, Kevin, there's going to be one major trade in the first half of the NBA season. Because I think Simmons will get, do you think it's Simmons still? Or is there anything else out there lurking? Bradley, I mean, Bradley Beale, probably less so. Everything the Wizards did was with the intentions of building with him.

Damien Lillard is going to have to be him saying, I want out. Ben Simmons has already, you know, at least indicated he's not happy there. So Ben Simmons is a safe bet. And it could be the guy. Like I said, I would expect Mori to take the Simmons saga into, training camp, but there's always a chance at any moment we get, you know, a report that he's near being moved. It's always a possibility in the next couple of weeks. But I expect that's still the lingering of training camp, but he's the safe bet now. Kevin O'Connor, the ringer,

good seeing you as always, man. Take care. Thank you, Colin. You bet. By the way, Team USA is in the gold medal game. Katie carried them. They were down at half to Australia. We can't show video of that game. NBC makes it hard to watch and talk about stuff. I will say this. You know, Mike Popovich is going to make the Hall of Fame, and he's a smart guy and a good coach. But, you know, he, you know, he scolded the media. You guys disrespect the world. We just can't rule people by 20 points. Oh, that's interesting.

The USA has just won the last four games by 1954, 35, and 14. And they're favored in the gold medal game. It is okay. Media. Sometimes liberals. It's okay to admit America. better at stuff. It really is, sometimes way better. We're way, way better at basketball than the world, and there's nobody close. Jason Tatum comes off the bench for us. Outside of Slovenia,

he would be the best player on any of these teams. We are way better at basketball. Damian Lillard had five points. He didn't even play well last night. I mean, you start looking at the people we did not send. Our back court would be Stefan James Hardin. LeBron and A.D. and Zion would be our forwards. Kauai, Kyrie, Trey, Tray Rung, Chris Paul, and Donovan Mitchell would be off the bench. We're way better at basketball. Now, Bigs, boy, Europe has given us some amazing bigs. And I think basketball being a global sport, baseball too, we're seeing some all-time athletes. But our biggest obstacles, yes, is. It's okay to say this.

Our biggest obstacles in the Olympics for our basketball team. Number one is indifference. We're so much better, hard to convince us. We're not too. Chemistry. We've got so many good players. We're constantly switching up our team. And fatigue. Our great players are constantly playing each other and wearing each other out.

America is better than the rest of the world in some things. And in basketball, we're way better. Men, women, buy a lot. By a lot. It's okay to say that. Hour three. 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilts.

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 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's 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. It 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. 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.

Human 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-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human.