The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 12/02/2020 - HOUR 2 - Lakers, Belichick

Episode Date: December 2, 2020

LeBron has won everywhere he's goneThe Chargers need a big name HC coachBill Belichick's thoughts on Justin HerbertGuest: Joel Klatt, Steve Smith Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Another podcast from some SNL, late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

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Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast.

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

84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 Clifers Show. This is a place for raw, unfilled conversations with athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. So let's get to it. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes,

follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Thanks for listening to The Heard podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for the herd at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeartRadio app by searching Hurd. You're listening to Fox Sports. Sports Radio.

Ah, here we go. Hour 2 on a Wednesday live in Los Angeles. This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. Fox Sports Radio. I Heart Radio and F.S. Wong. Joel Clatt in about five minutes. He's not going to like my SEC take, but

it's going to have to deal with it. Strong take. Beungs with you. Joy Taylor is joining me today. We have a little LeBron news. We do. I love. the de-escalation of LeBron announcements.

So Shams Sharania tweeted that LeBron has agreed to a two-year $85 million maximum contract extension with the Lakers. Rich Paul told the athletic net today. Boy, Rich Paul's had a good year. He's making a lot of money. Yes. Very well. Went from the decision to I'm coming home article.

So like a tweet statements, and now it's just... Shams. I mean, that's not small, but not quite as dramatic as the decision. Well, it's interesting because it was about five, six years ago. Many people were saying that Kevin Durant was better than LeBron. I didn't buy into it, but Kevin Durant's great. Nobody disputes that. Probably the second best player in the league if he was healthy, which, you know,

you cross your fingers on that. But the difference between LeBron and KD, is really that LeBron is strategic and Kevin is impulsive and it has shaped their career. That's the difference. There's a story out today that Kevin Durant denies that he had talks with James Harden. Of course he did. Kevin's impulsive. Kevin once got engaged when asked why he said, quote,

because all my friends were doing it. Not wrong with that, but that's impulsive. That would be impulsive. LeBron's moves are always strategic. So he goes to Cleveland, and they cannot get him a second great player. And so he's like, I want to win championships. So he strategically goes to Miami and wins championships. Then he's got the titles.

Now he was the NBA's villain. He's like, that's not great for my brand. It's not great for my brand. And I want to go home. And for my legacy, they got some pretty interesting pieces. Kyrie Irving can play. So he goes home, wins a championship. And then nobody in Cleveland at that point burned a jersey when he left because he delivered.

Nobody was upset. Everybody, they almost understood, oh, Kyrie's out. He's going to leave. Cleveland understood it. He delivered for it. Then he goes to Los Angeles for a business move and a great brand because he wanted to, and it's been brilliant. TV shows, movies, acceleration of his net worth, a mogul stage, and also it's Los Angeles.

It attracts players like Miami that can elevate me as I, get older and play less. Everything strategic. LeBron's moves, and I just happen to be friends, pretty good friends with two of LeBron's best friends, and they're very smart guys, everything's strategic. Kevin Durant tends to be more impulsive. So Kevin, and by the way, lots of people are impulsive. It doesn't mean Kevin's any less talented, but his moves, he's in Oklahoma City.

And instead of like really being aggressive and going and saying, I'm better than Westbrook, what are we doing here, he's kind of passive aggressive. he says, I'm leaving. I'm going to go to Golden State. But he went from a ball-centric guard to two guards in Steph and Clay that would take a bunch of shots. And he wanted to be the man, but he went to an organization where he would never be the man, because Steph is the Warriors. Kevin's more talented at his prime, but Steph is the warrior.

And then he leaves, and he's, I'm going to go surprised all of us. Brooklyn. I thought it was going to be the Knicks. And then he goes to Kyrie, who is at best a little flaky, at best. that feels impulsive. So when the James Hardin story came out, I thought, yeah, this is what, this is what, you show me what you are and I believe you.

And that's not a knock. I love watching Kevin Durant. I think he's a remarkable, you know, probably one of the top five or six scores I've ever seen in basketball. He's a seven footer who can drive past you, put it in the deck, score, post, jam, shoot. He's really unstoppable. I have a buddy Mark few that coaches at Gonzaga,

and he was an assistant coach on an Olympic team one time. And he said, and it's just all great players. He said, when you see Kevin Durant with all the other great players, you're like, oh, offensively, he's way better than all of them. And it's like Harden and LeBron. It's like Kevin's one of the all-time great offensive players. But he's impulsive. And I do think it will unravel a little bit of his legacy because I think Brooklyn's going to be at some point a little bit of a mess.

But there is a big distinction between strategic and impulsive. and I always feel with LeBron, he really just, everything's about business. And by the way, he's three for three. Miami worked, Cleveland worked. Lakers is working better than I thought, actually. Let's bring on the voice of college football. Joel Clatt is coming to the show. Fox NFL draft analyst, former Colorado quarterback.

What's up, man? How you doing? Sensation. I bet. I mean, there was a lot of name dropping on that last segment. Boy, did you know he's friends with LeBron's friends, everybody? Is that name-dropping or is that accurate? No, it's not name-dropping at all, Colin.

I would do it more. So anyway, so let me just say this. So I have made, I am tired of one argument because I am fact-based and science defender. Oh, great. All I'm about now. Here we go, here we go. If I hear one more time,

how can you put a two-lost Georgia team above BYU? because I have eyes in their way better. Okay. I'm going to consider recruiting. I'm going to consider the draft. And when year after year, these SEC teams are all top eight in recruiting. And then the NFL draft half the first round is SEC.

In a subjective sport, when I have to vote, I'm going to think, well, that team's got 32 NFL guys and BYU has won. Why can I make that? And I'm just, Auburn went 9 and 4. They beat Bama and Oregon. and they were the fifth place SEC team. Listen, I mean, I don't think that the SEC is quite as strong this year as they were a year ago. And Auburn's a great point.

By the way, is anybody. Big Ten's not either. Yeah, I mean, the Big Ten is down, but you could make an argument that all these teams look down because they haven't had the cupcakes to beat up on, right? And those records aren't quite as impressive because we're playing conference on the game. Let me just stop you there. I don't think any conferences is as good. Michigan's a mess.

Penn State's the Big Ten's down. I don't buy Miami Hurricanes. Pack 12, I've seen Oregon play. Sorry, Washington looks small to me. And by the way, Texas ain't working. No, because of Notre Dame's inclusion this year, the ACC is better than it has been in the past. The SEC is top heavy this year with Bama.

To your point about Georgia, though, like the pushback I would give you is that it can't just be a beauty contest, right? And the Olympics, we don't just say like, well, you know, this person wins the gold medal because we just, know they're better. Why can't it be a beauty contest? Well, because the game has to matter, right? Or else why do we have a score? Well, Georgia doesn't have six losses. They've got two to Bama. And I understand that, but they also have not played dominant football, even in the last couple of weeks. Everyone's been like, boy, they've been great in the last couple of weeks.

I'm like, pump the brakes. You beat a South Carolina team that just fired their coach. You played a former assistant. And Mike Bobo was the interim head coach for the South Carolina Gamecox, who are a terrible team, by the way. You beat Mississippi State by seven. I mean, Mississippi State beat Vandy by seven. That's a winless team that's hopeless and just fired their coach. I mean, Mississippi just beat Mississippi State by the exact same score, 31, 24. So I just think that this notion that Georgia has earned that spot outside of recruiting rankings is false. Now, if you want to include them, that's fine.

That's your prerogative. I think that we should not rank teams based on recruiting rankings, and we should rank them based on what happens on the field, or else we don't have any way for teams to earn their way into the conversation. And I think that you're pointing more of this towards BYU. I feel some animus towards BYU. No, I have. Sure you do.

Because you know why you're in the middle. the country and Colin just likes to go there to ski. True story. Am I wrong? I like skiing. But BYU, Provo is beautiful. Oh my gosh, cleanest city in America. There's no doubt about it.

I played some minor league baseball there. Beautiful. And I got some friends there. Yeah. Friends. So what I would say about BYU, though, is you have to keep in mind that this year is so much different because like on BY's U's original schedule, you had Michigan State, Arizona State, you had Stanford.

you had Utah. There were all sorts of Power 5 teams that then pulled themselves off of that schedule. So BYU scrambled to keep the schedule intact at all. But here, hold on. All I'm trying to tell you is the same type of people that are sitting in the committee room telling me that BYU is no good based on their schedule are the same type of people that are preventing BYU from having a good schedule in the first place, the athletic directors. So I don't want to hold it against these kids who don't make the schedule themselves.

Zach Wilson is in the Heisman conversation. He's good. He could be a first round draft pitch, by the way. You want to talk about draft picks and prospects? How about the best position on the field? Georgia would trade quarterbacks for Zach Wilson in a heartbeat. So this notion that BYU is just not anywhere close to as good as Georgia, I'm not sure if that's the case this year.

By the way, in the last two years, BYU has beaten Wisconsin, Tennessee. Tennessee stinks. Fine. They're one of your SEC darlings, though. They recruit better than BYU. They've recruited in the top 15. But you just told.

But you just told me two minutes ago that recruiting is all I need to know. No, I didn't say it's all I need to know. I said it is a strong, I am a strong proponent of looking at who do you have. Now, if Georgia had five losses, I'd be like, get out of here. Oh, so that's what it takes. Your standard is five losses. You have to have five losses. In the SEC.

But no losses for BYU and a schedule that they had to make from the scrap heap is no good. Just get out of here. So you're giving BYU credit for games. they didn't play. Like, well, these teams backed out. Well, that's the brakes. I'm also looking at the games that they did play. And while they're scheduled,

not a lot of great teams. I'll be the first to admit this. However, what should a good team or a great team do against bad competition? What should they do? Beating my 50. Okay, so BYU leads the country in point differential.

33.7, even better than any of the other schools in the country. They're second in the country in yard margin per game. So what are they supposed to? Like, what's Zach Wilson supposed to do? Kalani Sataki? You tell me. No, I'm not.

Just recruit better? No, no. They need to have the bag man come in. But I'm just wondering, because you're telling me that recruiting matters. So is it all about recruiting? No, it's about 75%. Okay, so do the games matter at all? 25%.

Okay, so if they're only mattering 25%, what are we doing? Why even play the games? Well, for revenue for big networks. Oh, so it's just about revenue. No, I think the games actually matter. But only 25%? In a subjective sport. But it's not completely subjective.

No, no, no. That's why games matter, too. Let's go 50-50. 50 on games, 50 on... So you have to win some games. Okay, so in the biggest two games that Georgia played, they got their doors blown off and their precious defense got hammered by Florida and Alabama.

I didn't say Georgia should be in the playoff. I just said they're better than BYU. Well, you were defending their top 10 ranking. Yeah, they're about 10th, 8, 7th. They're better than BYU. You know, if we had... If we actually had math that made sense... See, folks, here's the deal.

Like if you just understand math even basically, you would understand that a 13 variable equation, which is what the committee is, has a high statistical variance of each variable. Okay, so one bias here or there is going to like wildly swing the outcome. Wouldn't you agree with that? Yeah. Okay. In the BCS system, while it only included two teams at the end, you had hundreds, if not thousands of inputs, variables. So the statistical variance of those variables was much lower than what we have right now. So I'm supposed to be told that the 13 people in that room know better,

even though they're the same type of people that are holding BYU down from a schedule standpoint, when all the human polls and computer polls that would have been used in the BCS would have put BYU right around 7th or 8th. Okay, let me ask you this. Your kids' college education, BYU, Georgia play tomorrow. Who do you bet on? Georgia's going to blow them out? I don't know if they blow them out.

I don't know. Well, the better quarterback lies on the BYU side. I don't know what I'm going to get from Georgia's quarterback. Who's going to play quarterback? He won't have to. Mathis just transferred. They got the walk-on kid that didn't do much. I don't know.

I think if asked where do you put your kids, where do we put our 401Ks? What would be the Vegas spread? Probably seven. I would say seven? For a drunk handicapper, they're going to blow them out by 20 points. I don't think so. Georgia may win, but the game still have to matter. BYU's done everything asked of them.

And the only reason their schedule is composed the way that it is is because of the type of the people that are sitting in the committee room. I just think you're taking short-sighted. No, no, I think, first of all, I've always argued this. The people in the committee always get ripped. The March Madness people always get ripped. Nothing against Jay Billis. He'd be argued, I can't believe VCU doesn't make the tournament.

Listen, these people on these committees, they sit and watch games all weekend. They give up their social life to watch games. I think they're generally pretty smart. I'm supposed to have empathy for the committee who gets it wrong. but I think they're more right than wrong. The only empathy I have for the committee is the fact that the criteria has never been set in a firm fashion for them. So they're left to their own accord.

They're like children playing in a park with no rules. That's not. They're going to injure themselves. Children. I am pro-committee. I think they buy much. You're pro-committee. You're also just pro-like beauty contest recruiting rankings.

Well, I mean, let's face it. Well, then, guys, Texas hasn't lost their fifth game. and their composite ranking is really high. They're going to have some draft picks. They should be in the top 10. Colin, you know what? I agree. Let's put Texas in the top 10, everybody.

No, no, no, no. Because their recruiting rankings have been really good. So they haven't had that fifth, that magical fifth loss that you talked about. So Texas comes in at number 8. My new top 10, Longhorns, number 8. The difference is the Big 12 is a pillow fight. So I don't take a Big 12 team like tech. They can't recruit their own state.

I think tech. Let's shift to Texas here. The SEC is? Oh, it's a great conference. Oh, it is. This year, it is. Like great teams out there. Man, did you see Vandy play last week?

They were so good. How about Kentucky? Man, Kentucky is really coming for it. I tell you what, South Carolina, too. They just paid $13.5 million for Will Mushchamp not to coach. I can take the bottom of every conference and make fun. Can you take these body blows that I'm giving you today, though? Hey, I'm Roy Jones Jr.

I'm here for the fight. I guess. I guess. Listen, if this is a draw, then. Okay. Go ahead. So let's talk about Texas because I thought Tom Herman, he was aggressive. He could recruit. Urban Meyer, you know, he worked under Urban Meyer hired him, so I know Urban hires good coaches.

And he'd won. And all of a sudden I watch in Texas. Now, I've had friends who have dealt with him and said he's difficult and prickly. How cool are these friends? Well, I will say this. Let me just say this about Texas. is there's no excuse. I don't want to hear this fairness argument to lose to Iowa State.

I don't give a rip about Matt Campbell. They're bad right now. Like the games shouldn't matter and we should just be looking at the recruiting rankings. Texas? In that case, let's give Tom an extension. Be honest about Tom. You're disappointed. Tom has underperformed.

And I think he would admit that. However, it's also true that they are in better shape than when he got there. Both of those can be true. That's not me defending. That's not me taking a stance. Either way, the rub right now with Texas is that they are playing to their level of competition, regardless of what that competition is. And losing. And sometimes they lose those games and sometimes they win those games. So in one year, like a couple of years ago when they beat your precious Georgia

team in the Sugar Bowl, they played up and then won those close games because in large part, their offensive line played well, they ran the ball while they did some of those things. Now they make far too many mistakes. Penalties are an issue. They turn the ball over and they don't make critical plays late in the game. And so they play to their level of competition. This they make those little mistakes and they lose the close games. And I think that's, I mean, that's rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. I thought Tom was going to have to win the rest of his games in order to stay. I don't know this to be fact, but I just, I know that there's a lot of animus and I do believe

that there is momentum to change down there. Now, who they're going to get, I'm not quite sure. How many years he'd been there? This is his fourth year, if I'm not mistaken. Yeah, that's a lot of years. It's enough. It's enough years. That's right.

That's fair. in particular to beat an Iowa State team. Even if Iowa State is playing really well. Matt Campbell's done a great job. By the way, Matt Campbell, probably the best candidate out there in college football. Yes, I agree. They're fun to watch. I've watched them actually last couple years, about twice a year.

They're clever. Breece Hall, their running back, stated it this way. He said, five-star culture beats five-star players. But that flies in the face of every argument you've made here today. By the way, snarky guy. Oh, he doesn't like it. it when I come in here. You realize if you took Clemson out, just take one program in the country at Clemson. FCC wins the championship every year. Yeah. I mean, listen, but you're never going to get

me to say that the SEC's not the best conference. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't allow games to matter, right? I do. 50%. That's my thing. They matter 50%. I mean, that's just, that's assonine. You can't say that 50%. All right. The games have to matter. You're right. 58%. Oh, man. You're asked, because all these teams outside of Bama was lose. Well, Bama is the best team. By the way, we might be arguing just total moot points. No, Bama is the best team.

Easily. Far and away the best team in college football. I mean, we thought they were. They blow out of Auburn. It's like it didn't even physically competitive. It's like, okay. No, it's just. By the way, Mac Jones, I think he's played himself in the first round

in the Heisman conversation. Watch out for Mac Jones. I told you all the way back at the beginning of the season, Mac could have a Joe Burrow type year. And while he's not going to be the number one pick, And he's certainly not Joe Burrow. I'm just saying like, here's a guy that before the season, you'd be like, oh, yeah, Bama's got that kid at quarterback.

Mack Jones is going to be. What's his strength? What's his strength? Three things. He prepares incredibly well so he understands defense, right? And you can tell his audibles that he makes, his adjustments on the field, where the football goes. His anticipation, that's number two, and then his accuracy down the field.

He throws a beautiful deep ball. And granted, he's thrown to great players, but I will tell you, he throws a beautiful deep. That ball hung in the air. That wasn't a great throw. Oh, my goodness. What are we do? I'm getting guys wide open. Oh, look at that.

In stride over the outside shoulder against your precious Georgia team. Isn't Georgia the best team in the country? Let me see this one. Let me see this one. Come on, guys. Oh, you under threw that one, by the way. What are you talking about under threw it? Where was the defense?

By the defense wasn't there. This is his highlight reel. That one's great. How about that? In stride. Wide open. How many times do you see that? Don't see that in the NFL, unless you're playing the Jags.

Here's another one. Let's see it. Let's watch this throw. Nice pump fake, too. Get some to bite. Oh, boom. Draws them right back in. wide open by 10 strides.

It wasn't wide open by 10 strides. This is his highlight reel. Let me see. Oh, geez. A guy within a football field. You know why? Do you know why? Okay.

Okay, folks, if you don't see this playing on FS1 right now, that was a fake RPO. Okay, so he gives the play fake, and then he gives a huge pump fake to fake to fake the slant pass to Devante Smith. Guess what that detail-oriented football does? Fake? And then boom, a big pump fake, not just with his shoulders, but with his arm as well. The safety bites up. You know why Devantze Smith was wide open by 10 yards because of the detail of the quarterback position?

Oh, my God. This is nonsense. All right. I want a bet right now. I want whatever you want. Fox bet, let's go. That Mac Jones is drafted in the first round. Oh, he will be.

No question. Well, then what's your problem? I thought that's all that matter. No, I don't buy into this. You're recruiting in first round draft picks and now you're changing your tune. I can't follow this. The inconsistencies run rampant. I have to put a wet blanket on some of you hype masters out there.

Hype Masters. This is America's honesty broker. Joy is a witness. All right. I got to move on. I got big stories to break. We got a lot of stuff. Joy has got a whopper of a story coming up.

Joy, great to see you. You too, Joel. I actually thought you explained the math part of the conversation very well. Thank you, Joy. I love bringing guests on who talk algebra. It's great radio. One more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the I-Hard 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 I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw,

unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week, I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment, and the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast, it's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told, and for people who are chasing something bigger. So, if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be.

Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok podcast network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode, with Mark Lamont Hill waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer 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, is 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. In three days, it's the fight event of the fall as undefeated Earl Spence Jr. takes

on Danny Garcia for the World Welterweight Championship available on pay-per-view or buy the fight on foxports.com or watch on any screen you want. That's going to be a good fight. Yes, I'm looking forward to it. I will watch. All right, we got some good

stuff, big story here. Joy Taylor with the news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Sponsored by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. Best or nothing. The Clippers struggled to find team chemistry last season. They did. And it reportedly stems from preferential treatment that was given to Kauai Leonard and

Paul George. According to the athletic, a very big story on this came out today, that Those perks included personal security guards and trainers, control over the team's practice and travel schedule and their personal playing time, and later post-game media time slots. Also, Kauai was allowed to live in San Diego, which often made him late for practices and team flights. All this was poorly made it very difficult for the rest of the team to buy in and eventually destroy the culture that had been built in previous seasons,

because obviously the Clippers kind of moved away from, you know, the Blake Griffin type era and we're now in like, you know, hardcore blue collar. It's a sort of rebranding of the Clippers that they had built. A.O. Scrappy team. Yeah, they were a chem. Like, like, it's the same thing with Brooklyn. Brooklyn and the Clippers last couple years have been a chemistry play,

not a talent play. Yes. And then you get talent and you give them certain. special gifts and the chemistry dudes don't like it. Well, yes. But I would say a big part of this, just from reading the article that doesn't necessarily apply in Brooklyn that would apply here, Kyrie and KD are both champions. So they both have rings.

So Kauai was, but Paul wasn't. So maybe it was Paul more than Kauai teammates up. Well, Paul was a big part of it, which we heard a little bit about in the bubble that a lot of players were not buying into Paul George. Kauai is obviously not a vocal leader. Paul George was trying to be that, but like where are your credentials to be that? And because they didn't have the team chemistry going into the bubble, all that time together in the bubble, they were behind all the other teams that had that going on. I think sometimes the chemistry thing, we're not really sure how much of that is really playing into it.

At the end of the day, you know, can you come together? If you're front runners, I don't know that the chemistry really matters as much. But if you're going to have to overcome something, then that is where the issues lie. Kauai has a whole, this from reading the article, all of these things that he wants to do. He has a pregame, private, like, stretching warm-up session.

In certain places, they had to empty the locker room for that. So then, like, the staffers would have to go into the women's locker rooms. Then the women's staffers couldn't use the women's locker room. Like, it's just a trickle-down effect of, like, okay, this is a lot? And is this really helping anyone else in the team but you?

Maybe this is what you do, but maybe you need to be more flexible. Yeah, and the Clippers probably, and a lot of this was probably negotiated when Kauai came. Like they basically, in the end, the solution in the NBA is then get other glue guys.

You have to have Paul George and Kauai. And if the chemistry guys like Montrez-Herald don't like it, then move off chemistry guys and get, I mean, I'm going to back the stars on this, even though I think some of it sounds absurd and extreme. But James Harden is quirky. There's no other James Hardin in the league, so I'm going to back the star on that. I'm also going to back the stars.

I do think that it does at some point become a self-awareness thing. Thank you. Yeah, LeBron has demands, but LeBronzo has been pretty good. And he's very inclusive. Yes. So even though he is aware that he's getting extra special treatments, he's going to try and make it feel like everyone's a part of the special treatment that he's getting. Yeah, self-awareness has often separated the good players from the great ones in this league,

and LeBron's got self-awareness. And it also helps if you have the credentials to be in that space. So, like, while Kauai might have been a lot, it's Kauai. And Paul George, you can't necessarily do what Kauai does, even though you're a star, because you don't have any of these things. That's right. And he does. Yeah, that's very fair.

So another guy that has a ring, Aaron Rogers, is proving he's still one of the top quarterbacks in the league as he puts up MVP numbers this season. And on the Pat McAfee show, he took the opportunity to tell his critics that he still has a lot left in the tank. When it comes to records, I love them in milestones. Like, I do take pride in them. I think there are more things you look back on when you're done playing. I don't think I'm done by any stretch of imagination, even though some people may have thought so in the off season. Boom! You know, I thought that they were going to struggle a little bit more this season than last season.

Because I thought, well, one, I thought Jordan Love was going to be able to win the backup spot. Boy, also, they lost Blake Martinez, who was a tackling machine at linebacker. And they, I mean, that's a guy that most fans out of Green Bay don't know a ton about. But boy, was that a loss? They also did not, they didn't get the pick that they needed to get at the Jordan Love position. I did not like that pick at all. I am with Nick Wright and I'm with you. I don't believe that Aaron Rogers needs extra motivation to go be great.

I don't buy that nonsense. And listen, maybe if Jordan Love was really good, then I could buy into that a little bit. Yeah, no, if he looked like Joe Burrow at practice. There's a little drum beat there. We're hearing a little there. Okay, maybe that pushed him a little bit. But he is not even the backup quarterback. He's the third string quarterback.

Yeah. So it's not motivating Aaron Rogers. Rogers is just great. I thought they were going to have a little more chemistry issues. They obviously still needed some positions because they did not get to the Super Bowl last year despite having a great season. It's very possible the Packers whiffed on their first and second round picks. It's very possible because that running back, A.J. Billen, didn't get any touches either. I just think Aaron Rogers is every right to be flexing. He does. So finally, the 49ers are still in the playoff hunt, even without Garapolo and George

Kittle in the lineup. They both have been out since getting injured in week eight. But Kyle Shanahan is still holding out hope that they'll be able to return this season. He said they're starting to get some work in on their own, and the team will see how they progress over the next couple weeks. That feels extremely optimistic. I thought Garoppolo was coming back, though. Wasn't he?

There was a conversation that was coming back this season. But I mean, at what point? Like, if he's back for the last two games of the season, that's not how, like, is that we really feel like they're still going to be in the hunt at that point? It's interesting because that division beats up on each other. So if the Seahawks lose to the Rams, that's a division. Like, it's not Kansas City pulling away. That's a division where I can see them winning ugly for three weeks in a row.

Garoppolo comes back and you look up and you're like, if we go to three games, if we went on last three games, we're a wildcard team. I think they had a nice win over the Rams. I mean, look at them. They're five and six. They're one game back of the Cardinals in their division. They're only two back of the Rams. Well, their remaining schedules, Bill's Washington, at the Cowboys, at the Cardinals, and Seahawks.

The Bills game's your season. Feels like your season. Yeah. Got to win now. You have to win the Bills game. I don't know. I'm not as optimistic about the 49ers. I think it's great that they're still playing well.

And, you know, they're still in the hunt without Gropolo and Kittle. But I, I, this feels very, this feels like a little bit of a stretch. I think at the end, the healthier teams are going to end up coming out on top. I think it's great that they're still competitive. But we'll see how it progresses over the next couple weeks. Good stuff. Joy with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by.

The HARD line. Bill Belichick gushing over Justin Herbert, the Chargers quarterback. They play each other this week. Why the Chargers should make a run as crazy as it sounds at Bill Belichick. I'll talk about that coming up. Plus Steve Smith, Senior. Probably going to get some Hall of Fame votes. All-time great receiver joining 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. 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. I don't care what you're saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions, my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media.

Well, somewhere along the way, this platform became bigger than I ever imagined. And now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversations with some of your favorite athletes, creators, and voices that not only deserve to be heard, but celebrated. One week I'll take you behind the scenes of the biggest moments in sports and entertainment. And the next we'll talk about life, mental health, purpose, and even music. The Clifford Show isn't just a podcast. It's a space for honest conversations, stories that don't always get told,

and for people who are chasing something bigger. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tapped Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs?

Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim? Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam Jek. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 was big to me not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack all day, but just so you all know. I mean, at this point, 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Keer Games. And in recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field

and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking, Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. and we're still chasing it and we don't know when we've done enough because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross,

because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, 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 iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the hard way and listen now. Casper mattress. 1,500 perforations.

Create a cooling system. So you sleep at night and it's cool. Boy, I slept well last night. I'm really into that melatonin stuff. Three milligrams every other night, Joy. I'm not kidding you. You know what you made me do? You made me get pizza yesterday.

Oh, I love pizza. Because you mentioned it on the pre-show meeting yesterday morning, and I couldn't stop thinking about it. I know. So I got pizza. You should never stop thinking about pizza. It was good. I don't regret it.

But it's your fault. Patriots face the Chargers this weekend. Belichick talking about Justin Herbert, who, by the way, has a 101 passer rating as a rookie with no preseason. Throw him for 3,000 yards, 23 touchdown, 7 picks, 67% completion percentage. He's a monster. Big, strong, mobile, smart, you know, got a new haircut, too. here's Belichick talking about Justin Herbert. Yeah, he's impressive.

You know, a very talented player. Tall sees things well, has a good arm, can certainly make all the throws. It's athletic. Definitely escape the pocket. Smart. Looks like he's going to be a good quarterback for a long time. A lot to work with.

I know he's a smart, hardworking kid that likes football and I'm sure he'll continue to get better as he has this year throughout the course of the season. I think he's got all the, like I said, all the tools. I mean, listen, I like Burrow, but he's a bigger, stronger borough with a much better arm than Burrow. Like a much better arm than Burrow. He's got to be smarter because he was a 4-2 biology major. So Herbert is just a remarkable player, the numbers he's putting up and with a coaching staff that's doing him a disservice.

By the way, they're going to hire a new coach with the L.A. Chargers. That's understood. They're going to do that. I'll tell you right now, you get buried in Los Angeles. You have to think about your market. You get buried in Los Angeles very fast. That's why the Lakers, they get LeBron and AD from the sports page. Dodgers get Mookie Betts.

They were winning their division, but when LeBron came to town, Dodgers are like, okay, we're getting buried here. Dodgers go get Mookie Betts. The Clippers, Kauai and Paul George, Rams, Jalen Ramsey, Aaron Donald. They got to go big on this. I'd call Belichick and Urban Meyer. Do not go small, do not hire a coordinator for Justin Herbert. Go big, because this kid is an all. All-timer. This kid's got Elway talent. He is Andrew Luck with a better arm. That's how good I think

Justin Herbert could be. Let's get Steve Smith in here. The former Pro Bowl wide receiver played in the NFL for 16 years and was a pro bowler for over a third of him and joining a now live NFL network as well. Hey, Lottie don't know this. He's a world traveler. Guy travels all the time. How you doing, buddy? I'm good. I'm good. I want to ask you about this. wide receivers, great ones need the ball. And Brady goes to Tampa, and they got Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. It's A.B. And Ronald Jones and Gronk.

Is it possible that it could create, not animosity, but you got too many mouse to feed for Tom Brady? No, I don't think he has too many miles to feed. I think there is a struggle with the coaching staff to figure out how to do it. and also do it the way that Brady is comfortable doing it. You know, sometimes coaches get so creative in the X's and O's, and my coworker uses this all the time, Mike Robinson, but allowing the Jimy's and Joe's to actually make the plays. You know, when you draw up a great, fantastic play,

it has no heartbeat, those little exes don't move. In the real world on the field, they move, right? Like, they had a great concept on how to cover Tyreek Hill in the defensive meeting room in air conditioner on a piece of paper. But that guy got on the field and Davis was in trouble. And he found out real quickly how much he was in trouble. So that's just the example of why you can't do so much coaching that you lose the ability to let the game speak for itself. Where are you right now? Lamar Jackson will not play against the Steelers.

He will play against the Cowboys next week. Where are you with Lamar Jackson right now, his development and where he's at, Steve? It's a struggle right now because obviously having so much ties to that organization and also being an offensive-minded guy, you can't put it all on Lamar, and here's why. Lamar is not calling his play. He's not sitting at the line of scrimmage.

auto-blowing into and out of plays like we see here in Carolina, Teddy Bridgewater, or we've seen in the past a Ben Rutherstberger or a Tom Brady, Drew Brees. He's getting a call-in and flipping up his wristband and looking at all those things. And so I don't believe it's fair to put all this on him as if he's calling his own plays. He's not. He is calling what they are giving. giving him. And the game plan is starting to catch up with them. People are starting to figure them out. And they have to make some great wrong and needs to make some adjustments because his

quarterback is getting the brunt of it all. But it's not Lamar. I hate to say it's not Lamar. It's not the lack of weapons they have because you don't throw the ball. Right. And they run a RPO, which is run past option. They run an R. Oh, run option and very few P's in the past. Where are you on Carson Wentz these days? Three offensive linemen out with injuries. Alshan Jeffrey kind of looks shot. Where are you at with Wentz these days?

I mean, I like Wins. He has a strong arm, but he also, since they won a Super Bowl, you can see he struggles and he tries to always make the big play. Yeah. He is trying to show everyone that it was my team. It was. but Nick Foote, Nick Foote, one that, and then also, too, is I like Doug Peterson, but he seems to, all these guys that have been under Andy Ree, are trying to outdo Andy Reed at Nagy. They're so creative, but they, they aren't Andy Ree. Stop trying to outdo the teacher and just be the student, right? The only guy that seems to have gotten it together a little bit is, Frank. right. But all the guys that have been under Andy Reeves are, they're drawing the ball,

they're doing all this stuff, they're doing this fancy stuff. And it's coming to bite them in a buck, to be honest. Where are you with Cam Newton today? Would you just sign him for another year, draft a quarterback? Where are you on Cam? I think you really have to look at this team. Knowing the Patriots have a number of issues defensively, their stout, but they do have some guys on offense. You desire a little bit more. And so I think it is an unfair assessment to say, where is he? Because also, too, we're not in those, we're not in the locker room. We're not on the practice field.

The reason why they're running these plays is because of this. We don't really know, but we do know, based on this history, you're showing it right here, 9 of 18, for 84 yards. That is not a Cam Newton that we all have known to, love and dislike. There are a lot of people that dislike them. There's a lot of people that love them. But nine for 18, for 84 yards and two interceptions, that's not the Cam Newton that we all know. And so, and that's not even a quarterback for the New England Patriots that we all know. So it'll be interesting to see how they finish out the season. And when they finish out the season,

how does it really go? Does it go good or does it really fall apart? Or do they squeak one out and then get blown out in the playoffs. Okay, Steve Smith, NFL network every Thursday, NFL game day kickoff leading up to Thursday night football. It's great seeing you. Come on any time. And happy to have you on, buddy. Thank you.

Appreciate it. Merry Christmas. Steve Smith, Sr., I saw him play at Utah. That's how old I am. He was great at Utah. Tough guy. He's a tough guy. One day I was at a restaurant, Manhattan Beach, and he walked in. He just got back for, like, South Korea. He's like travels all over the world.

He's just like an adventure. You know, the Justin Herbert thing is really fascinating because, let me go back to that. We started the segment with this. So Belichick plays Justin Herbert bragging about him. In Los Angeles, it's just so many things to do. USC football, Clay Hilton, nice guy, not much of a presence. They've disappeared. It used to be like a Laker USC town.

USC's disappeared. Anthony Lynn, nice guy, not a huge media presence. They've disappeared. like if you're the Chargers, it's not just about winning. You have to create a presence or you'll disappear in the city. This is not Indianapolis. This is not New Orleans. People don't show up to the games.

You have to get them to the games unless you're like the Dodgers and your family's been going for 100 years to the Dodger games. Then you're Laker games. But when you're new in town in Los Angeles, when you're new in town, you have no history. Yeah, they're not a legacy team. You got to go big. You got to get Urban Meyer on the phone or Belichick. And you just say, you know, Belichick, I'm going to.

and mostly give you the, I'm going to let you do what you did in New England. 10 million a year, run it. To me, when you don't have legacy in a town like Los Angeles, you have got to go over the top with a coaching hire. Hour three 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 acapella 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, a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, 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, unfilled 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 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 J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick a here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it with our friends, fellow comedians, and favorite authors.

Like Mark Lamont Hill on the 80s. 84 was a wild year. It was a wild year. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.