The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 08/20/2021 - HOUR 1 - Patriots-Eagles, Cowboys, LeBron

Episode Date: August 20, 2021

The Eagles look horrible and the Patriots will have some easy wins this seasonDak Prescott's injury is a big problem for the CowboysLeBron James should get more consideration for best player in the leagueGuest: Kevin Clark Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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It's the herd wherever you may be and however you may be listening. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, FS1, Joy and I Match didn't mean to. It is great to have you on a Friday. We had an NFL game last night. team so bad in Philadelphia that both Cam Newton and Mac Jones looked amazing. Both. Philadelphia is an interesting organization these days. I thought there were some learns last night, though.

Yeah. You know, when you're a quarterback in this league, you want to put pressure on the quarterback, force him into mistakes. Philadelphia doesn't do that. So Mac Jones had a 17-play scoring drive. Cam Newton was eight for nine. The only incompletion was a drop pass. Philadelphia's starters aren't good.

Their backups aren't very good. And their third and fourth string guys, many are not professional football players. Hard to figure out what you watched last night. When you take New England's coaching and coordinating and you combine it with backups and third and four stringers for Philadelphia, Mac look great and Cam look great. Mac Jones was pro football focus as highest graded player last night. night, but he was playing against guys. A lot of these guys are not going to be on Philadelphia's roster.

And if you can't make Philadelphia's roster, perhaps you're not going to make any roster. So we all know that Mack Jones is eventually going to be the Patriots quarterback. He plays with a lot of poise for a young guy. Could it be soon? Here's my takeaway. Number one is the Patriot coaches are not unveiling Cam Newton the runner yet. That will add to this offense.

It's a bonus that Mack Jones does not provide. Number two, Cam Newton's a power player. I mean, he really is. This is a power roster. It is not a speed roster. It's not a pretty roster. It's not a finesse roster. Cam matches the roster.

Number three is Cam Newton is getting all the first team reps at practice. So, you know what? My takeaway last night is New England's going to be very boring. They don't have playmakers. But they may be 11 and 6 and boring because it's the best offensive line. potentially they have had in years, especially if Isaiah Wynn can stay healthy. They've got four legitimate running backs. The defense is always solid.

The head coach and the offensive coordinator are probably the best at their position in the game. And you know Cam Newton or Mac Jones is going to probably, especially Camgo 2 and 0 against the Jets. Never forget this, is that the dynasties for New England, the early and the late dynasties, looked a lot like this team. Let's go to the first dynasty. The receivers were David Givens, Dion Branch, Troy Brown, no elite receivers. The running back was Antoine Smith, who over several years averaged about 800 yards a game. The defenses were stingy, Brady made no mistakes, and they won't have a bunch of Super Bowls.

And the last dynasty before Brady left, let's go back and look at that one. It was Edelman and old gronk. Brady didn't make a lot of mistakes. The defense was stingy. And like the early Patriot dynasty, the running backs, three different leading rushers in three different Super Bowl wins. When New England had the playmakers, Randy Moss, Aaron Hernandez,

Wes Welker was the best slot receiver in the league. And winning Super Bowls. Those were the Super Bowl years. They were good. They broke some records. They were more fun to watch. this roster is a lot like the early and late Super Bowl rosters. I don't even think it matters.

I'm dead serious here. I don't think it matters. I think Mack Jones or Cam could both win 10 or 11 games. Now, I think Buffalo is head and shoulders better than both teams right now. Both, you know, Josh Allen's better than Cam and Mac. I think the roster's better. I think Miami and New England's rosters are fairly even with Miami having more perimeter speed. and playmakers.

But go look at the schedule right now. I looked at the schedule for New England this morning. Here's four guaranteed wins, just on coaching and defense. Jets twice, Jacksonville, and Houston. That's four wins. Here's three feel-like wins. New Orleans, Carolina, and Atlanta, all rebuilding. And then here's two that could go either way, but they get both of them at home,

Dallas and Tennessee. Four plus three plus two. is nine. The over-under in Vegas is nine. And by the way, last year, New England had the most opt-outs in the NFL. They're all back. They had no pre-season for Cam who got signed late, and then Cam got COVID. So the quarterback situation this year, even though it's Cam, it's better.

You have a much better Cam. You have Mac Jones. So I look it up and down to this roster and there's this big argument who should start. I think the coaches for New England got it right. I think Cam's going to offer a little playmaking. Matt Cant, Cam's taking the first reps with the first team. And I think Cam, they haven't unleashed his running yet. Cam's a power player.

This is a power team. But, you know, I sat and watched the first two weeks of the Patriots, and I'm like, this is a lot like their first dynasty and their second dynasty. Now, the AFC is much better today, and they shouldn't be favored. And Kansas City's better. And Buffalo's absolutely better. but after that, they're in the class with the Chargers, Baltimore, Cleveland. I mean, they're coaching their defense, their offensive line.

I don't think it matters who starts. I think this is a 10-win team. And I think if they get some breaks and Mac keeps growing and Cam stays healthy, maybe 11. So it's interesting on the Cowboys. So whenever I'm trying to decipher a story, the most obvious thing to do, you would do it. you try to find people close to an organization or a business who have good sourcing and what are they saying so gil brant used to work for the cowboys still very connected to the cowboys i think he lives in texas came out with a tweet he said had a long talk with dat prescott yesterday out in san francisco

frisco texas he said i expect him to be out there but i'm not sure he's going to be 100 percent the season tilts on his health that's what gil brant said and by the way remember mike mccarthy three weeks ago, Dax playing in the preseason. Then he had a second MRI, and Mike McCarthy said Dax out for the preseason. Michael Irvin, very connected, lives in Texas, still close to the Cowboys, said this about Dak in a recent podcast. I'm watching on TV when I was there at camp, and he was throwing the ball back to the guy that was snapping into him with his left hand.

Wouldn't even raise the right hand to throw the ball two yards. I was like, oh, no, oh no, you don't stay out this long with something. in this minor at that position when you had all the last year off. But wait, there's more. Troy Aikman on an early broadcast, Hall of Fame broadcast, I think it was. Troy Aikman,

very close to the Cowboys, lives in Texas, said this. Yeah, the Cowboys are downplaying it, but I think when your franchise quarterback's missing the amount of time that he's missing, I tend to think it's probably a little bit more significant than what they have led on. And, you know, a big year for a lot of,

of people. Dallas, remember, is very DAC dependent because they don't do a lot of other things well. Their head coach, their defense, their backup quarterback situation, you watched New England last night. They're not as quarterback dependent. A, they have a better coach. B, a much better defense. C, they can start either of those guys.

they're not dependent on Cam or Mac Jones. They can each play. The worse your team is, the more dependent you are on the guy that touches the ball 60 times a game. I mean, never forget. Dak was on pace last year in the four games he played, started and finished, to throw for 6,700 yards, shatter every NFL record. And they were still one in three. And the one win was that ridiculous fluke win.

against Atlanta. Like Dallas needs to get on the phone. It's called Nick Foles in Chicago, Gardner Minchew in Jacksonville. I mean, I'd go Mason, Rudolph, and Pittsburgh because it looks like Dwayne Haskins may win the backup job there. This is a very DAC dependent team. And I hear this all the time. Everybody's quarterback dependent.

You watched New England last night. They're not. That is a coaching, running game, O-line defensive story. One quarterback passed his president. Prime, the other not near his prime. They could win 10 games. They won seven last year. Now we've added an NFL game and they're a better roster. So remember, this is a baseball injury to DAC.

It's a shoulder injury, right? That's why the Cowboys contacted the Texas Rangers and the New York Yankees. And pitchers who get this injury, they put them on the shelf. They don't pitch. So add this in. Zeke has been on the decline for, three years. Defense, new coordinator, new system, a lot of young draft picks, they need to make an impact. This thing could blow up. They better get on the phone because this is not a good enough

football team to go to a backup quarterback and win five games. Washington's better. The giant should be better. Get on that. Jerry's got a 350-foot yacht. He's got to get on that small little iPhone right now and call the Chicago Bears of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Some more thoughts on Mac Jones. He's got eight things going for him, and I'm not sure Zach Wilson of the Jets has any of these eight things. And we'll talk about that coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHeart Radio app.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth.

Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skit, 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.

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Each episode, we picket 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're just so you're not. But just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, this is the second episode where we've discussed correct.

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.

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Open your free, our heart radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Escape QuickBooks, quicksand with NetSuite by Oracle, the nation's number one financial system. One-of-a-kind financing right now. Go to net suite.com slash herd. Great to have you in on a Friday. So I'm going to say something that you know it, I know it, and everybody that watches football knows it. Where you land as a rookie quarterback is about 80% of it.

It's about 80% of it. Where do you land? your GM, your ownership, your O-line, your coach, expectations. Mack Jones is going to win more games than Zach Wilson. And I think Zach Wilson's more talented. Think of these eight things that Mac Wilson has. He's got a great offensive line. How many kids, Dak got that.

He won 13 games as a rookie. Dak inherited that. A very successful coordinator. Yeah, it kind of matters. A Super Bowl winning coordinator. Been in a lot of big games. a legendary head coach, a great defense. It's Belichick. They're always top 10, top five. A very strong running game. No chaos in the front office. He doesn't have to start.

And he didn't have to carry the offense. They're not going to put him in positions to play above or beyond himself. I looked up this morning. Zach Wilson of the Jets has none of those. He needs to start now, first time play caller, rookie head coach, worst roster in his division, shaky O line, his left tackle came in at 370, about 25 pounds overweight.

That's what the Jets are acknowledging. He's got none of those. Mac Jones is going to win more NFL games than Zach Wilson, certainly early, barring an injury. And you put Mac Jones in Chicago, it's an entirely different outcome.

They don't have an offensive line, coach in the hot seat, I don't trust their front office. They have like one playmaker. And if Alan Robinson got hurt, Justin, make plays for us. So there's maybe one to two quarterbacks a decade that can overcome dysfunction and win. Andrew Luck. Yeah, that's it.

That's it. Andrew Luck. And he was forced into early retirement. Mack Jones has really hit on what they call pocket aces. He got the best college football coach of all time. And his coordinator, Steve Sarkesian, won the award for best coordinator in college football, 130 teams. He goes to the NFL and he gets the best coach in the NFL's history.

And if they gave out an award, Josh McDaniels would be on a short list to be the best coordinator. At both Bama and in New England, excellent running game, tremendous offensive line and protection. Both have great defenses. They don't ask you to play above and beyond yourself. they've been in big games. They know what it's like. This is as well as you can do. Again, you put Mack Jones in a lot of different spaces.

Jacksonville could be a disaster. Chicago, but I'm looking around this last night, and I'm like, he had a 17-play drive. Now it's Philadelphia's four stringers, but we all know this. Like, this is not a debate. This is one of the few things you and I can always agree on. Where you land.

It's a lot like life. You know, the difference is in the NFL for a rookie quarterback, They're going to give you about a year and a half to two years to prove you can do it. So if you inherit garbage, your career is mostly garbage. For the rest of us, you're born into a family. If things aren't great, yeah, I got 70 years to figure it out. But I watch Mack Jones and I'm like, this is perfect. I mean, this is, could you have given a kid a better landing spot than Mack Jones?

It almost, in a weird way, his limitations athletically are perfect. Like he knows This is what I can't do This is what I can And he's smart enough to see what New England provides It's just Just put it in automatic You don't even have to shift gears

Just an automatic Just drive when you start Just drive this puppy Because the road is just totally Groove for him right now Joy with the news No Turn on the news

This is the herd line news Well, Buck's off season has been pretty quiet until yesterday. Things got a little physical in the joint practice between the Bucks and Titans. There were five altercations between the players during the session. And one that stood out was Antonio Brown, who we haven't heard much from recently. And Titans cornerback Chris Jackson, as you can see in the picture. Sorry, radio folk. But the helmets are off.

Well, at least Chris Jackson's helmet was off. and Antonio Brown was able to land a punch, pretty square, as we just showed some punches and was thrown out of practice. He did return to seven-on-seven drills after he cooled off. But Bruce Ariens says no bucks players will be punished for the fights, and it seems like they're just moving forward as just a camp fight. Rams and Raiders yesterday, Gruden said he was disgusted by it. McVeigh was like, I've seen better. You know, here's the thing. I think you and I both agree that preseason should be shrinking from this point forward and replaced with scrimmages. So when you have scrimmages, this is what happens.

It was funny. I heard a quote from somebody, and I wish I could give them credit, but I forget what it was. And he said, I've never been in a scrimmage with another team and they're not be a fight. Yeah. He goes, they're just built for fights. They are. And it's why this is really, it's because of the names and the fact that it's Antonio Brown and we haven't really heard much from the bucks that it seems like it's a bigger story.

training camp. I mean, we saw it in hard knocks this week. The fights. Like it's scrimmages, it's camp, everyone's tired, it's hot, you're competing. There's also, it's a, you know, it's not like a game in where people are watching, the officials are tight, like it's loose. You know, you can hit a little late. People are gone a little bit. Yeah, they're not going to throw flags for taunting at the scrimmages as much.

Right. So overall, not a big deal, but there were a couple of fights yesterday. And I don't, I mean, there's always, there's training camp fights within the team, like when there aren't scrimmages. That's right. So it's this part of the game. So Trey Lance will take over for the 49ers one day, but today it's still Jimmy Garoppolo's job. And even though there isn't a true competition going on, Kyle Shanahan is impressed with what he's seen from both guys in camp. I ask off, they're doing a good job. I mean, it's not about one guy versus the other guy.

It's about how good can Trey be, how good can Jimmy be. I think both of them, and when you go through camp, you go through games, you go through practices. I mean, it's up and down throughout the whole thing. So that's why I don't sit and who's ahead of the other, what's going on after each practice. Both of them, I believe, can play at a high level, and I'm trying to see which one does that the best for us. You know, if Garoppolo stays healthy, they're going to have so many options. They could trade them at the trading deadline. They could trade them after the season.

You know, Joy. I mean, we almost had Carson Wentz go down. You know, by week seven or eight at the trading deadline, somebody's going to be good, like six and two, and lose their quarterback. And if Jimmy is healthy, then you're going to- Well, and Jimmy's healthy and they feel good about Trey Lance. It's a lot of options. You can get, I mean, this league is built largely on, as Howie Long said,

these are desperate men, and it's also desperate GMs and coaches. So if Jimmy stays upright, people will talk to them, I mean, Sam Bradford had an injury history and got another big contract. Jimmy, if he's seven, eight games in and he's healthy, you can go out. Two of the last three years, he's been fine. Well, I think that's part of the reason why Jimmy did not ask to be traded when they drafted Tray Lance. Because he said he thought about it and was really considering asking to move on. But I think the way that he is playing it now is the better route.

Like, you just go out there, perform well. You're with a good team. You know what you're capable of doing within this system. if you're healthy throughout the season, even forget the trading deadline. Say you're good throughout the whole season. Now we know of you as a good locker room guy on top of the loyalty that you already had within the locker room

because you've helped bring Trey Lance along. It's definitely a good situation for Jimmy Garoppel if he can stay healthy because he's going to have options as well. And I do think that the 49ers are obviously going to do with the best with the 49ers, but I think they would take care of him as well on the way out. You know, we were talking, it was really funny this morning. We were talking as a staff.

We were saying, you know, let's say week seven or eight, somebody goes down. Like, Denver and Washington have real rosters. You could see Washington be like, you know, we're really good. We're just not good enough at quarterback. Or you could see, and they're not paying Fitzpatrick anything. And Denver's not paying their quarterbacks much. You could see Denver in a division if Drew Locke just isn't the guy. So it's not, there's the teams that could really use a quarterback.

quickly, don't have terrible rosters because the bad rosters, mostly like Jets and Jags, Bengals, they've got their young quarterback. Yeah. Speaking of the Jags, they drafted Trevor Lawrence first overall and fans are definitely expecting to see him week one, but the team is still insisting that Trevor Lawrence and Gardner Munchu are in a quarterback battle. And offensive coordinator, Daryl Bevel, says neither player has secured that starting spot yet. Yeah, we're still going to handle it that way until we end up making the final decision.

so right now they're still status quo. We're trying to make everybody better, and we want competition at each and every position, and I think both guys are getting better because of it. Okay, I'm going to introduce cynical Colin. You know why they're doing this? Because they want to move Gardner Minshu, and if it sounds like, hey, he battled Trevor Lawrence to the end,

that's my theory on this, is that there's no value in saying it's over. Right. They need players. like the value is, no, because if you go back and look at Gardner Minchew's current NFL career stats, they're not terrible. No, they're their equivalents of Baker Mayfield. They're like better than Case Keenham, like, or Teddy Bridgewater recently.

So you're like, you make it sound like, but I can't tell you what, right now it goes either way. End a camp or trading deadline, you get something for him. It's very interesting. That's smart. You don't want to devalue a player that you could potentially move. cynical calling. Yeah, but you know what? That makes the most sense because I just don't, I don't buy into the whole quarterback battle motivating, pushing Trevor Lawrence. He's the number one overall pick and he's Trevor Lawrence. We were talking about him playing in the NFL after his

freshman year. So like, give me a break. If that dude was going to stop working hard because of praise and, you know, being put in a good position, it would have happened a long time ago. Like, he knows he's the future of the Jacksonville Jaguars. It's not a secret. He doesn't have to earn that position. Like, there's, I get it. Everyone earn their position. Like, cool, but... So, why would you do it then?

That makes sense. Don't minimize him. Somebody... We all know this league. I mean, we started talking about Philip Rivers two weeks ago with Carson Wentz, and I asked Frank Reich about it. He didn't laugh at it. He didn't laugh at Nick Foles again.

Like, teams get desperate, fast. Yeah. I mean, injuries happen every single year. He could be in a really good situation. if you found out today, seriously. You found out today. Dak can't start for four weeks. Would you not call Jacksonville?

Gardner Min's a gamer? You have to. I mean, yes. I mean, you look at their backup quarterback situation. They can get you through one game. They're not going to use four. No. Uh, something.

Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. Of course, I don't have any of it sourced. But it just makes sense to me. No, but it's logical. Right.

You don't want to devalue a player ever, especially one that you know has potential. And you're in a rebuilding mode and unique players and picks. Kevin Clark, this makes sense. The ringer, NFL writer joining us, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. All right, let's just throw that one at him. Okay, cynical Colin says there's no value in saying the quarterback jobs. Am I crazy? Was that cynical Colin off his rocker?

I was off air and struggling to keep it together listening to Beville try to sell a Gardner, Menshoe, Trevor Lawrence quarterback battle. So it's not real. I agree. I mean, I think that all of these guys, there's going to be a flood of backup quarterbacks who are available in September, whether that's Cam Newton, whether that's a little later down the line, Jimmy Garapolo. You know, listen, I just saw in New Orleans, Tassam Hill and James Winston go at it, and that's a quarterback competition that I don't think, I don't know if there's a winner per se of that. But there's going to be availability, and I think that maybe the Jaguar's want to get out ahead of that, and maybe auction off Minshu now for a quarterback desperate team. But, yeah, I don't think it's much of a competition college.

Okay, let's go to what you viewed last night. My interpretation is this is going to be a boring 10-win team. I think both quarterbacks could win. I really do. I would go with Cam because we're not seeing Cam's running ability now. He had 12 rushing touchdowns last year in limited duty, right? So I think he fits. He's a power player.

It's a power roster. that's my interpretation. But what did you see last night with both your thoughts? I think if you exclude spikes and drops, both of them had around a 90% completion percentage. Two of the best quarterback ratings of the preseason for both of them around the league. And I think Bill Belichick, one thing I learned is Bill Belichick and Freedancy hated the 2020 Patriots, hated it. That's why he went out and spent all that money.

It was uncharacteristic for him to go out and make that splashers. The reason you heard Robert Crafts said basically thought there was an inefficiency because they had to cap space and nobody else had it. But I think that they want to win this year. And they want to have the two tight ends up and got Nelson Aguilar on the outside. I mean, I think that they want to play a brand of football that I think Cam can fit into. Remember, this team was assembled before they got Mack Jones. So I think you roll with Cam early.

He's a dependable guy. I think that he showed in flashes what he was last year. But I think he was better than he showed last year. And I think they roll with him until they can see otherwise. But I do like Mac Jones. I liked what I saw in a Mac Jones last night. Yeah. I had a GM text me this morning.

He goes, I don't know if it's, I don't know what to make of Mac Jones, but boy, he looked confident. So there you go. So you had a great interview with Aaron Rogers this week. And let's, let's be honest. Aaron's the best quote in the league. He's thoughtful. You know, you can get Shakespeare, Game of Thrones, meditation thoughts. He's really, you know, he's a very smart guy.

Yeah. After you're done with an interview, you always, I always, I always. if I did it, I always have a feeling about what happened there? What is your feeling after interviewing Aaron about Joy and I talked yesterday when he had that 50-50 comment on a podcast, I'm like,

oh, this is the last year. This is the last year in Green Bay. What was your interpretation of Aaron, the guy and his thoughts after your interview? I spent a lot of time with Aaron and also Brian Gutenkins, the general manager, and a couple of the people in Green Bay. And what I noticed was a sense of

normalcy. Like, everybody moved past it. I think that part of the effectiveness of the opening press conference a couple weeks ago, Colin, was everything out in the open. It wasn't going to be death by a thousand cuts where he was going to leak this and leak that. It was just Aaron Rogers let his feelings be known. And he's in a good place. And we talked a lot about different things. You know, we talked about Simone Biles and the courage that she had to go out and say her piece.

And I think that Aaron is just very comfortable. And I think he wouldn't have been comfortable if everything was still in passive-aggressive mode. And so I think that the way they played that was exactly right. I think it's probably barring a Super Bowl win, probably Aaron Rogers last year in Green Bay. But again, this is the NFL. I mean, what if he has just an okay season and the options aren't that good? What if they come back? What if they put up 50 points a game and it's the best offense anybody's ever seen,

which is obviously on the table with how well they played the last couple of years? I just think there's a lot of football to be played. But if I were to guess, I would say this is Aaron Rogers last year in Green Bay. And guess what? He's very comfortable with that. Yeah. So a story that is really interesting to me is Joe Burrow, because he's such an open book. And he has just said, our offense isn't quite right.

And I'm not quite right. And, you know, we've always heard these stories, Kevin, that athletes get hurt. I remember Brady getting hurt for about a year. He just didn't like anybody near his knees. Like he would get angry. Like you could see the emotion. and where do you think Burrough is at? What do you expect from Burrow this year?

I expect a lot from him because the coaches expect a lot from him. One thing that Brian Cowan and the OC told me is they're letting him run offensive meetings. They want him almost ideally at some point in Peyton Manning mode. And you know what that means? That means basically running the offense at the line. So I talked to Burrow a couple of days ago about his rehabilitation process. It was dark times. I mean, this was a guy who 19 months ago was the coolest-looking college quarterback in history chomping on a cigar

after he puts up a million points a game in LSU. And all of a sudden, he's at a team that does not get a lot of shine in Cincinnati. He has the ACL and MCL. And he told me there was a couple months there where he couldn't go to the bathroom without somebody helping him up. That's not very cool. And I think that he had to adjust. He said he had to basically figure out who he was outside of football,

which for a football player is really hard to do. And he said that for the first couple of weeks of training camp, Colin, the vision that made him so smart in LSU in the early part of the NFL, it was gone. He said he just saw a wall of people. He couldn't diagnose anything. And that was what the adjustment was. When he said it was a mental thing, he said it wasn't about the yips or he wasn't feeling ghost pains on his leg.

It was none of that. It was just that he was looking at a football field and couldn't see what he used to see. And that was scary for him. But he says it's changing and he's coming along. Finally, you know, people say a lot of things. I do think if Garoppolo is healthy, San Francisco's got a lot of options here. And I think Garoppolo is going to have options. We tend to forget about injuries.

I mean, Sam Bradford, listen, when you need a quarterback and the tape looks good, when he is healthy, people just, you know, and Garoppolo's not that prohibitively expensive. What do you, if I said you guess where Tray Lance plays this year, is it sporadic? Is it week eight? I mean, what is your hunch on this? Early and often. Early and often. And even if, even if Jimmy Garoppolo wins the starting quarterback job. And it sounds like he's playing well.

They're going to find a way to get Tray Lance on the field. There's so much he can do. The way I heard a phrase that I loved was it's not a scheme fit for Tray Lance, the scheme expansion. All the things that Kyle Shanahan's been doing with a bunch of crappy quarterbacks in the past, whether Mullins are Bethard or any of these guys, he's now able to do with the guy who could do anything. And so Kyle Shanahan's going to have coordinator hat on,

and he's going to say, let's get this guy, Tray Lance out there to do things we've never been able to do with the arm, with the legs. is Kyle Shanahan is one of the best minds of the last, I don't know, 20 years of football, and he wants to use a quarterback who can allow him to do anything. And so the answer to when he plays is early and how much he plays, it's often. By the way, your last four interviews have been one-on-one interviews with Burroughs, Rogers, Josh Allen, and Mahomes. And we were talking about this the other day, is that don't resent kids who get the prep school

and their trust fund kids. Don't resent them because there's a lot of different ways in America. to end up at the top. And the two highest paid quarterbacks are going to be Mahomes and Josh Allen. Both had losing records in college. But somebody just rolled the dice and, you know, they got the right fit. When you interview Josh Allen and Mahomes, any similarities in personality? Sometimes I think the NFL is so lucky.

Their stars are such earnest, good kids. And did you see similarities? Are they really unique, totally different personalities? Honest kids, totally honest. and both obsessed with getting better and honest about their flaws. I mean, that's the thing that's interesting to me is a lot of times, Colin, you've seen this, that superstars will be guarded and they won't want to dig deep on what they made a mistake on. When I talked to Mahomes a couple days ago, he said he watched the Super Bowl twice,

not for motivational purposes, but for educational purposes. And he took some blame. And I think a lot of quarterbacks would look at that game and say, I was under pressure the whole time, nothing I could have done. He said he saw clean pockets he was scrambling from. He's watching Aaron Rogers film this summer because he thought that Aaron did an evolution over the course of his career that he wants to do, which is playing a little more from the pocket, not resorting to what he called, I think, backyard football as soon as the play

breaks down. He wants to stand there and dice them up. He also is watching Brady film for the same reason. And for Josh Allen, it's the same thing. I mean, I think they're different in the sense that in 2018, Josh Allen played on a team that had no weapons and no line. Patrick Mahomes went into a franchise where everything was set up correctly, but they ended up in the same place. And I think that There's lessons you can draw from both that are, I think, pretty important if you're a GM or a coach or whatever. And I asked Josh Allen, I said, what are the lessons the next Josh Allen should take from your rise? And he said it's patience. And it's just getting the building blocks in exactly where they need to be.

And I think the Buffalo Bill has played it exactly right. But from a personality standpoint, Colin, this crop of superstars, they're honest, they're blunt. I think that there was a generation there maybe that we're trying to be Tom. Brady clones and not say anything to hurt the team. I don't think that's the case anymore. I think these guys are just going to say what's on their mind. And that's why with Burrow, with Mahomes, with Al and I really enjoyed talking to them because they're going to call it as they see it.

Burrow literally said, I'm never going to BS a reporter. That's music to my ears, Colin, and yours. No kidding. NFL writer and a great one at the ringer, Kevin Clark. As always great seeing you. Can't wait to watch the games this weekend, start tonight. Thanks, man. Anytime, Colin.

Yeah, it really is. There's just, that's why you shouldn't resent people who have it a little better early. It doesn't mean they're happy or late. The struggle's real and the struggle is, it feels good. And boy, Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes, they couldn't get a break in high school. In college, they had to overcome. And you look today and you're like, those are the two stars in the league. That's pretty cool.

And by the way, Justin Herbert, not a five-star quarterback, literally went to high school right next to the University of Oregon. It's amazing how many small-town kids make it. Just small town kids, work hard. Dad was fairly athletic. Some were pro athletes. Most weren't. And they end up at the top of the national football league, our most popular domestic sport.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. Weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Hey, what's up, everybody? It's me, three-time Pro Bowl of LaVar Arrington, and I couldn't be more excited to announce a new podcast called Up on Game. What is Up on Game, you ask? Along with my fellow Pro Bowler, T.J. Hushman Zada, and Super Bowl champion.

Yep, that's right. Plexico Burris. You can only name a show with that type of talent on it. Up on Game. We're going to be sharing our real-life experiences loaded with teachable moments. Listen to Up On Game with me, LaVar Arrington, T.J. Hushmanzada, and Plexico Burris on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast from.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not a lot of, only legal, but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds.

I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. 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. It's in 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 Jett. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s. To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day but just so y'all know I mean at this point

Mark this is the second episode where we've discussed crack so I'm starting to see that there's a through line We also have AIDS on the table right now So Thank you for finishing that sentence

I don't think there's a more important year for black people Really? Yeah for me It's one of the most important years For black people in American history Listen to look back at it On the IHeart Radio app

Apple Podcasts Or wherever you get your podcasts 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, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid?

Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, as we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, learn the hard way.

Open your free, our heart radio app. Search learn the hard way and listen now. Tomorrow on FS1, it's a huge MLB double header. First, it's a pivotal game for the Yankees as Aaron Judge powers the pinstripes against the twins. Coverage begins at noon Eastern. Then at four, Pete Alonzo and the Mets fight for the NL East against Cody Bellinger and the Dodgers.

Catch all the action tomorrow on FS1 and the Fox Sports app. Of course the Yankees are playing well. They've always been a franchise that rises under pressure. So the Yankees are on fire and through the years they've owned the twins. and the Mets are now shrinking. Of course they are, circling the drain. Dodgers have beat them four straight in the last, what, week. So it's like, I really believe there are just certain organizations.

Like the Baltimore Ravens tend to, like, in big moments, tend to kind of ride. Cincinnati Bengals kind of shrink. Like the Minnesota Vikings, great franchise, they kind of shrink in big moments. Green Bay historically tends to rise over the last 30 years. So the Yankees are on fire. Everybody bailed on the Yankees. They're on fire. and everybody love the Mets and they're in the tank.

And I think part of this is the fan bases, the talk radio, the papers get so geeked up. When the Mets are occasionally good, it puts pressure on the franchise. And then everybody dumps on the Yankees and they're like, we're the Yankees. There's a psychology to it. It's not coincidence again. End of a year, Yankees playing well, Mets circling the drain. So this is interesting. They did an NBA off-season survey.

Now, ESPN only surveyed 10 scouts and executives. like a bizarrely low number. I don't know. But it's a number. It execs. You'd like to get into the 30, 40, 50 number, but it's 10 execs and scouts. And they polled them on a bunch of stuff anonymously. Best offseason, worst off season, best trade, worst trade, best player.

So there were 10 votes and LeBron James got zero votes for the NBA's best player. Yannis got five and KD got five. And now, you can make the argument. LeBron is not the best score. He's certainly not the best shooter. He's no longer the best defender. But he did win MVP of the finals 10 months ago. I would argue, you could easily say he's still the best player.

Because everybody else has a hole. Yonis can't shoot. Kauai can't stay healthy. Hardin and Steph are liabilities on the defensive end. Katie's the closest thing to LeBron, but he's a little brittle. So Tom Brady's never had the best arm. Tom Brady's never been the best athlete. He's never been the strongest guy or the quickest guy.

You could argue with Peyton Manning. Probably wasn't even the smartest guy. But if you had one drive in football, fourth quarter, who would you take? I'd take Brady. If you gave me seven minutes, game seven, fourth quarter, in the entire league, I'd take LeBron. Is that making the best player? It makes him the best player with seven minutes to go in the season in game seven. So I've said this forever.

LeBron does everything pretty well. He's a good shooter. Not great. He's a really good score. He can be a really good rebounder. He's still, at times, a really good defender. He's a really good leader. He's a great ball handler.

He's an amazing passer. He's an A or a B plus at virtually everything. You can't marginalize him. He can go left. He can go right. He can go mid-range. He scores at the rim. He can shoot a three.

You can marginalize everybody else or like Kauai they're not really distributors or leaders and they're quiet. So he's got a little bit of a leadership hole. KD's the only thing close to me in terms of just, okay, get a bucket. But I feel like LeBron, if I needed a stop, would probably get it before KD. And I've said this about LeBron. He has been for the last 15 years the NBA Swiss Army knife. The knife isn't quite as sharp as it was about six years ago.

And I would argue this. If I need a basket, just a basket, I'd take KD. If I need just a stop, I would go Janus or a healthy Kauai. But if I needed seven minutes of brilliant basketball, leadership, distribution, ball handling, passing, defense, could hit a three, could score at the rim, could hit mid-range. I'd take LeBron. And I would take Tom Brady one drive. I wouldn't take Aaron Rogers. Aaron Rogers' history is.

He's not great on the final drive. Russell Wilson is, but I don't think he's all in, has the experience in big games like Tom Brady. So, you know, it's best player is, we know it's a very tiny, tiny group. But you start looking around. And I think one of the things of Brady and LeBron, it's hard to marginalize them. They don't like A or B plus at everything.

You don't have he graded everything. I say this about the NFL. You just can't be terrible at anything because the coaching's too good. Like the New York Giants are really bad on the offensive line. That will completely unravel their season. Carolina has a bad offensive line. They can only be so good. The NFL coaching's too good.

You can't be terrible at anything. New England this morning is not terrible at anything. I'm not sure they're great outside of coaching at anything. But B-plus wins a lot of games. And B-plus also wins a lot of championships. All right, hour two around the corner. Greg CoSell, haven't had him on. He's looked at film.

He's watched the young quarterbacks. We get a second round of them starting tonight and tomorrow. Hour two and a Friday next. Another podcast from some SNL late night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and friends on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque.

Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way with your favorite therapist and host Care Games.

This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to, listen to learn the hard way on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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, my basketball and college football journey or my career in sports media.

Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw unfills of conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to The Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. This is an IHeart podcast.

Guaranteed Human. Thank you.