The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 12/04/2020 - HOUR 1 - Harden, QBs

Episode Date: December 4, 2020

James Harden doesn't want to be a number 1This weekend is the biggest game of Baker Mayfield's careerWasting the talents of a great QB is a sinIf the playoffs started right nowGuest: Doug Gottlieb Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

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

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

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

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

It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that doesn't. It does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the IHard radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Thanks for listening to The HARD podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1.

Find your local station for the Hurt at Fox Sports Radio.com or stream us live every day on the IHart Radio app by searching Hurd. For listening to Fox Sports Radio. Ah, here we go on a 4th, Friday, we are live in Los Angeles. This is the herd wherever you may be, and however, you may be listening. Fox Sports Radio, Iheart Radio and FS1, one hour from now blazing five picks. We were 500 last week, two wins, two losses, one push.

Joy Taylor is joining me in a Friday week has flown by. I saw the weather report around the country this morning. Eric Mangini's in a snowstorm, worst in 10 years in Cleveland. and I'm very fortunate to be living here. Yeah, I know. My sister posted a little Instagram story in the snow in Pittsburgh. It's crazy.

It is nuts right now. I mean, I used to grow up in that, and now I'm like, I don't, I can't do that every day. Yeah, I met a friend last night of somebody I hadn't seen in 20 years when we were talking about that. As you get older, you get more weather cranky. Oh, yes. When you're a kid, you don't even care.

You don't, college, I don't even remember it. You never thought about it. Every time I would call my grandmother, rest in peace, she would love to talk about the weather. It's all she wants to talk about. It's cold, it's warm, it's snowing, it's raining. Well, let's start our show with this. We've got a lot of football, but I do want to start with a basketball topic.

So James Harden, Russell Westbrook, James Hardin didn't work. And Westbrook gets moved on. Now it's John Wall. Story out this morning. And we talked about this briefly yesterday. And now Hardin wants to play with John Wall. He preferred him the entire time. And so now James Harden has run through.

two head coaches, a general manager, Dwight Howard, Russell Westbrook, and Chris Paul. Has anybody considered that? In fact, the two best runs of James Hardin's career. I don't think he's a one. I think he's a great score. The two best runs of his career, one was in the 2012 finals when he was a three to Westbrook and Hardin. And then the other was, a few years ago, Western Conference Finals, when Chris Paul essentially took over the team. why are we

there has been nothing no indication that James Harden is anything but a great score and I like points but I'm going to throw a couple things at you in Wilts Chamberlain's highest nine scoring seasons

zero titles in Michael Jordan's three highest scoring seasons no titles just because you score doesn't make you a one. James Harden has shown us no indication he wants to be a one. One's play defense.

Ones have leadership skills. Ones elevate others. One's get along with stars. It's not about points. I'll give you an example. Magic Johnson was a one. His career average is 19 points a game. He was never the best score on his team. It was always Karim. By the way, Bill Russell was a one. He averaged 15 and a half points a game. But it was his personality, his forcefulness, his willfulness, his defense, and elevating others. I'll give you another guy that's a one, and this may confuse you. Dwayne Wade was a one. IQ, alpha, leader, tough, respected.

But not all ones are equal. So when he played with Shaq, D. Wade had the self-awareness to step back, and they had two ones. And when he played with LeBron, D. Wade stepped back, had a self-awareness, that he was the second best one. Anthony Davis has never been a one. Anthony Davis is the world's most talented, too. being a one is availability.

Anthony Davis is not always there. LeBron's always ready to play. It's availability. It's productivity. It's leadership. It's both ends. It's being verbal. James Hardin is a score.

That's it. By the way, loves scoring. But now he can't get along with Westbrook. He can't get with Chris Paul. It was Dwight Howard. It was the GM. It's two coaches. Now I want to play with John Wall.

We do this all the time. We can, you know, most valuable player, we confuse with best stats. That's not what it's called. It's most valuable player. Most valuable player in the NBA for 20 years now almost has been LeBron James. It was always Michael Jordan in every year. He was the most valuable player. He was the most valuable guy for the league, for a franchise, for the branding, for his team.

He didn't play. They didn't win titles. He did play. They did win titles. But, you know, I look around the NBA and we think, oh, points. Tray Young's going to score a thousand million points in Atlanta. Does that mean he's a one? No, it just means he's a talented score.

And, you know, I look at the ones in my life. Magic was a one. Bill Russell was a one. Dee Wade is a one. Larry Bird was a one. Michael was a one. LeBron's a one. But I'll tell you something that's happened in the NBA,

and I think it's hard for general managers. The AAUization of basketball over the last 20 years. Everybody's friends with everybody. Everybody gets along with everybody. Everybody's got everybody's back. What you get is very few people who are kind of old school and willing to be hated. The late Kobe Bryant are going to kind of force their own way. Shaq.

He'd move off teams. Shaq ran Shaq's business. The NBA didn't run Shaq. Shaq ran Shaq. Shaq was a one. He thought like a one. He played like a one. He was forceful like a one.

He could score like a one. He could defend like a one. By the way, Kareem was a one. But then Kareem, when Magic came to town, realized this kid is more of an elevator of others and stepped aside. But I guess my point with Hardin is how many people's he got to run through before we acknowledge he's just the world's second best two to Anthony Davis? He showed no indication, no affinity for doing many of the things that count as a franchise guy. He just gives you 30 a night. Great, I'll take it.

But I can't build a franchise around that. He and Anthony Davis are the world's greatest twos. They don't want to be leaders. I mean, there's a reason Anthony Davis and LeBron get along so well. Anthony's like, no, no, you deal with the media. You talk. You dominate the huddles. Anthony Davis told you.

That's not my thing. You never felt New Orleans AD was a leader. You just thought he was a great player. All right. So now we get into football. So this weekend, there's an old saying in business that companies move off employees about a year before they tell employees. If your company is sort of over you, they're not going to give you heads up. They're going to do subtle things, small things, and you'll kind of feel like, I'm getting hints here.

Baker Mayfield's career, here it is this weekend. It's the biggest game of his career. Now, you would say to yourself, Cleveland's 8 and 3, everything's going well. Yeah, except when they played good teams like Pittsburgh, they were destroyed, Baltimore, they were destroyed, Raiders, they were manhandled. This weekend they play Tennessee, and it is a precursor to the playoffs, because Tennessee is the kind of team, the new GM in Cleveland, and the new coach in Cleveland, they need to beat going forward. Tennessee is a very good team. But like every team in the playoffs, except Kansas City, they're flawed. and the flaw is perfect for Baker Mayfield.

They have no pass rush, and Tennessee is a terrible third down defense, meaning Baker is going to be comfortable. Cleveland will be able to run the football. Baker has to compete this weekend. He could lose in overtime. He could lose close. But if Baker Mayfield can't compete this weekend, what it's telling you is against the Pittsburgh's and the Baltimore's

and the Tennessee's and the race. players, playoff level teams, even with all this talent in Cleveland, even when the matchup is perfect. Titans really match up. This is a good matchup for Cleveland because Tennessee's got no pass rush and Baker is bad with pass rushes. And they don't have one. 29 more stacks in the league. They got no pass rush. So Baker's going to sit in that pocket and be comfortable.

And in fact, Ryan Tannahill will be more uncomfortable in the pocket because Miles Garrett's back for Cleveland and Tennessee's O-line's a little banged up. So this is going to be, and remember, if Cleveland wins this week, then they're going to be nine and three, probably a two-game wildcard lead. It is a huge. This is the biggest Cleveland Brown game. It almost secures a playoff spot for Cleveland. This is the weekend.

And the matchup, Tennessee is, everybody now loves Tennessee, but they're a very flawed football team. And the flaws work perfectly for Baker. It's going to have time to throw and a running game that works. They will make a decision privately on that flight back or somewhere during the week. If Baker gets rolled, if Baker gets rolled like he did against Pittsburgh or Baltimore or manhandled defensively like against the Raiders, they're moving off him. Greg CoSell earlier this week talked about the similarities with the Titans and the Browns. They're mirror images of each other.

That's why Baker better be able to compete this weekend. Baker Mayfield is still struggling. He's very inconsistent. You can see he plays very fast. There's a frenetic movement to him. But then he'll also make two or three throws a game that remind us all while he was the number one pick when he came out of Oklahoma. So Buffalo is eight and three, but nobody questions is the quarterback good enough. Cleveland is eight and three, and it is the question.

is the quarterback of liability. Baker, this weekend, shut me up. Shut America up. Shut your critics up. Attack Tennessee. You don't even have to beat Tennessee, but you better be around with three minutes to play. This is your career.

This is it. No chatter, no talk, no commercials. This is it. These are the games, Tennessee, a precursor to the playoffs. This will be like a playoff game before the playoffs. by the way, just to throw this out, I wrote this down, I forgot this. We were talking about James Harden. And again, I like scoring, but it can't just be scoring.

In the last five decades in the NBA, you know how many scoring champions have won a title? Shaq once, once, and then MJ a few times. That's it. So again, I'm not banging on scoring, but I'm saying you can't just be a score. Yeah, I would also say MJ played a significant amount of defense, and Shaq was a problem on the other end as well. Right. You got to do more than just score.

I'm not anti-score, but you got to do more than score. Coming up this weekend, there is a game that shouldn't frankly be that close. But actually, the better team is an underdog at home. The better team is an underdog at home. And it tells you all you need to know about the end. NFL and a move that underdog needs to make. That's 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. I don't care which I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, the reactions,

my journey from basketball to college football, or my career in sports media. Well, somewhere along the way, this 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 better. So if you've ever supported me or you're just chasing down a dream, this is right where you need to be. Listen to the Clifford show on the IHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and at TikTok Podcast Network on TikTok. Do you remember when Diana Ross double-tap Little Kim's boobs at the VMAs? Or when Kanye said that George Bush didn't like black people. I know what you're thinking. What the hell does George Bush got to do with Little Kim?

Well, you can find out on the Look Back at it podcast. I'm Sam J. And I'm Alex English. Each episode, we pick it here, unpack what went down, and try to make sense of how we survived it. Including a recent episode with Mark Lamont Hill, waxing all about crack in the 80s.

To be clear, 84 is big to me, not just because of crack. I'm down to talk about crack on day, but just so y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line.

We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you 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 Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games.

And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the mental health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Tripp Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing. And we're still chasing it.

And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross. Because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth? Are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions.

bro absolutely and that that's two different levels of trust i want you to just really be a good person join me kear gains is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast learn the hard way open your free iHeart radio app search learn the hard way and listen now want to stream what you love all in one place discovery plus a new streaming service real life entertainment brands you love like the food network and new original stuff too. It starts in 2021, Discovery Plus. So the greatest sin in the NFL is having a great quarterback who has a lot of talent and you waste their talent. I think Detroit has wasted Matt Stafford's talent with some really weak coaches. I think Houston has wasted Deshawn Watson's talent. They don't

have a GM or really a full-time coach right now. And that's a real sin in the NFL. But I guess you could say it's not the greatest sin because Stafford and Deshaun Watson are really expensive. and that does limit other things you can do in your roster. The single greatest sin is having a great young quarterback who you're paying nothing for and you're wasting him. And this weekend's a great example. I like Anthony Lynn. I've met him and I know him.

And I do think he has some qualities, some alpha qualities where guys like to play for him. But this weekend's a great example. The Chargers are an underdog at home to the Patriots. The Chargers have the better quarterback, the better pass rush. Specialist, Joy Bosa, the better wide receiver, Keenan Allen, three highly graded tight ends. They're at home, and they're an underdog. Cam Newton has four touchdown passes this year. Justin Herbert had four in one game, and not against a stiff.

He did it against the Saints. In baseball, analytics have devalued the manager. In basketball, Frank Vogel was fired twice. He gets LeBroni wins a title. The star drives the bus. But football's the coaching sport. We've seen Bill Parcells turn around four teams overnight. We've seen Urban Meyer do it in college four times.

If you look at the division leaders right now in the NFL, what a shock. Mike Tomlin, Pete Carroll, Andy Reed, Sean Payton, the highly respected young Sean McDermott. It's mostly great coaches. Many of the wild card spots are filled with really high-end coaches. Brian Flores appears to be really, really good. the Chargers cannot roll the dice with a coordinator here. You cannot be an underdog at home with Keenan Allen, Joey Bosa, Justin Herbert's talent, an underdog to the Patriots.

By the way, what happens when you get a quarterback who's talented? On a rookie contract, Jared Goff got to a Super Bowl. Russell Wilson got to two. Mahomes got to one. Joe Flacco and Cam got to one. The Eagles actually got to. to one because they were paying whence nothing and foals nothing. The sin in the NFL, you've got a great quarterback.

He's young and you're not paying him anything. You do not roll the dice on coordinators. You've got to go get a coach. Urban Meyer, Brian Kelly, Bill Belichick, whatevs? You've got to get a coach because the Chargers should absolutely not be underdogs to the rebuilding Patriots this weekend. And they are. Joy Taylor with the news.

No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Sam Darnold will likely be heading out of New York this season after the season. He will. He's not lived up to the expectations the Jets had for him with the third overall pick in 2018, but Adam Gase is taking some of the blame for his development. Oh. I came here to help him, help him develop his career, and, you know, we haven't been able to do this. that we need to do things well, you know, around him.

But at the same time, you know, it's on me to get him to play better than what he's played. And, you know, right so far, I haven't, I mean, I haven't done a good enough job. Sam Donald hasn't thrown a passing touchdown in his past 142 attempts, which is the longest active streak in the NFL. That's not great. If he doesn't throw for a touchdown within his first eight attempts on Sunday, he'll be the only player in the last five seasons to go 150 straight attempts without a touchdown.

And he has regressed badly this year, so it's either Darnold, which is possible, or it's the surrounding elements of the Jets, which I think is more probable. I think it's a mixture of a lot of things. He has been hurt a lot. It's not like Sam's been perfect, and he's in a situation that's just a disaster.

Obviously, they don't have the players, or they wouldn't be in this situation. He hasn't play both sides of the ball. So it's not like they have this amazing defense who's able to keep them in games and the offense is blowing it. Like they're not a great team. They're the worst team in the NFL by far and we know that. He's also very reckless though. Some of these injuries are on Sam.

He's very reckless. They don't have a running game. He holds onto the ball too long. He puts his body in bad situations. And Adam Gase has clearly lost the locker room. You can tell by the way that they play, the ridiculous amount of penalties. They're just completely undisciplined. It's a disaster in New York.

So I think. it's similar to what's going on in Philly. Obviously, it's not the same level of disaster in Philadelphia as it is in New York. But I just think there's a mixture of a lot of things that are all playing into losses. And also, Trevor Lawrence is going to be the beneficiary here because they appear to have a real general manager. They're going to get a pick for Sam Darnold in a trade. They got a ton of picks for the Jamal Adams trade.

And the Jets draft was good last year. The good players are playing. So Trevor Lawrence is going to come into a much better situation. and because he's such a great prospect, he's going to attract more coaches. So Trevor's already better than Sam, but the next quarterback, Trevor Lawrence, it's a much better position to succeed than Darnold. And he's better than Darnold. But I think Sam's going to go to a team like the Colts or perhaps a backup to the Steelers,

which I don't think is a terrible spot for him either for two years to kind of reboot his career. I think he's going to end up in a great situation because there are some teams who are not going to be able to get a high traffic who needs someone like Sam Darnold, who obviously has the potential that needs to be in the right situation to see if he can level up to that. Now, if he gets a year and he can't do that, then maybe we're all wrong about him.

But I think if he goes to a more functional situation with better players around him, he will be able to succeed, and he will likely end up. He ends up with the Colts, it's an amazing situation for him. Even if Philip Rivers plays another year and he has to sit behind him.

That's a great situation for the Colts. I don't know if that's going to happen, but he's going to end up in a good situation. I don't think that the Jets are as bad. overall to your point as it seems to everyone. Like they're a bad team right now, but they have a million draftics. They're going to get Trevor Lawrence,

who similar to Joe Burroughs, I think, is going to come in and immediately elevate the team. Yeah. So CX Y receiver Josh Gordon has been conditionally reinstated by the NFL for the final two weeks of the season. He'll be able to join the team on December 9th and take part in team meetings and individual workouts if he passes COVID protocol and can return to practices on December 21st.

He will then be eligible to play in the last two regular season games against the Rams and the 49ers. I got to tell you, Joy, Seattle, between Carlos Dunlap, Jamal Adams being healthy, Josh Gordon and Chris Carson coming back. I'm not so sure this isn't. The Seattle team is really interesting suddenly, really, really talented suddenly. I've liked Seattle all year. My question was the same as yours. Is the defense going to be able to hold up? It's not the same as it once was.

Looks good in the last two weeks. Sometimes we get caught up in the idea of what a team is because of what they have been for so long and kind of forget that those players are not still there. And those players make up the DNA of that team. So they've completely redone their defense. They looked great. And I'm with you. I think this is a nice addition.

I mean, they obviously aren't. This is in a position that they're hurting at. But why not? Josh Gordon has amazing talent. If they can have them for the last two games of the season into the playoffs, This is a great situation for that. We always know the worst month for Belichick has historically been September. So we know what you initially appear as you don't necessarily end the year as.

Well, like Belichick is 69, Pete Carroll, 69, these veteran NFL coaches do a good job to change certain narratives and truths. I think Seattle has done the best job in the league at finding a weakness and not only kind of bundoing it and bandating it, literally solved it. They have the most sacks in the league in the last month, five more than second place. So like Seattle's issue is not only no longer an issue, it has become kind of a strength over the last month. And that's all we could talk about with them is like how are they? They're not able to be able to get to the quarterback. Tennessee never has one and they haven't solved it. They still don't have one.

So this final story drives me crazy. So the Bucks suffered another early playoff exit this season coming up short of their NBA title aspirations. expectations. And coach Mike Bultonholzer is not looking at this year as an all or nothing season. He said to think that a season is a championship or bust is certainly not the way we've approached it. We embrace the opportunity and we want to be that last team standing. But the phrase is just something that doesn't resonate with me or I think our group. Well, Janus is young. But I do think there, I would say this. There is a sense around the league of let's, a more urgency. Let's get to a finals. I like Mike Boonehulzer a lot. And I think they have a great culture there and he's obviously

a great coach, 116 and 39 with the Bucks in the regular season, 15 and 10 in the postseason. But they lost to the Raptors in the Eastern Conference finals. And then they lost the heat in the second round in the bubble. Here's my problem with it, because this is what Mike DeAntoni used to do a lot of. It's not a championship or bus season. It's not a lost season if we don't win a championship. Okay, well then I don't want to hear about you guys are championship contenders then. because that's really not the expectations that you have. There's a reason why the Patriots are in the playoff conversation and Super Bowl conversation every year.

That's the expectation. There's a reason why if the Steelers don't win a Super Bowl, everyone in the city is pissed. That's the expectation. There's a reason why Pat Riley loses his mind when the heat are not competitive or making it to the finals of winning a championship. That's the expectation.

We're not like here hanging out. This isn't like summer camp. We're like learning the fundamentals of the game. Sure, you're going to be consistently good, but are you going to win a championship? No. There's a championship mentality. There's an intangible to having that kind of urgency. Like, Paul George said it.

This wasn't a championship or bust season. Yeah, it was. Yes, it absolutely was. Nobody really wants to. There are certain things that may be true, but you just shouldn't say publicly. And one of them isn't, I've got the second, third best player in the league,

and it's not championship or bust. When you went out and got Drew Holiday because you're afraid the guy's going to leave. Like to yon- He hasn't until December 21st to sign a Supermax extension. Oh, he does? Yes. December.

So we're two weeks away from knowing. I mean, not knowing, but like it's going to be all within his control. But yeah, basically, like, if he signed to Supermax, he's going to stay there. But, I mean, I don't know. I just think he is a great coach, and maybe this is the mentality there. But as a fan, I would not want to hear that. It's absolutely championship or bus. Good stuff, Joy, with the news.

Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. I saw this despite I don't want to spend. I'm going to talk about this later. Alabama is a 29-point favorite over LSU. One year ago, the media told me Ed Orgeron is a great coach. One year later, he's a 30-point dog to Alabama.

Ed Orsjuron was a great story. He's not a great coach. Let's go to Doug Gottlie, brought to you by Mercedes-Benz, the best or nothing. Doug Gottliebaudly show Fox Sports Radio. All ball, his podcast, by the way. You know, I was saying this, Doug, is that, listen, scoring matters.

but in Wilts, nine greatest scoring years, no titles, in Michael's three greatest, no titles. In that, Magic wasn't a great score, but he's a one. Bill Russell wasn't a great score, a one. I always thought D. Wade had sort of the IQ, the toughness, the respect of other alpha males. He felt like a one, even though with LeBronny stepped back and said, okay, you're the better one.

I look at James Hardin and I'm like, okay, he scores. But Doug, I don't think he wants to be a leader. I never feel like, okay, this is a guy I can rely on. is it possible James Harden is the world's best two, and he's simply a great score, which this league has had 50 years of, but you don't really build a franchise around him? I'll meet you in the middle. I'll meet you in the middle. He's not just a great score. He's a great passer.

He's as good an offensive player as there is in the NBA as there may be ever has been the NBA, and especially for how the NBA is played now, right? Yes, a lot of NBA basketball has a lot more ball movement than they have in Houston, but his ability to use. the ball screen is second to none. His ability to, you know, create space off of mismatches. He hits threes. He gets to the foul line. He plays analytics basketball. He's unbelievable in offense.

What he's not is he's not a champion. And you are in the NBA in basketball who your best player is. And where I will meet you is, like, look, you can't not play defense. He can't be a non-defender and expect to win a championship. But, I mean, what is Houston to do? They're not going to trade him. There's nothing you're going to get back in return that's going to put you anywhere in the mix. If the story is, Westbrook for Wall, what does it do?

Look, I still think Houston's really good. They're just not going to beat the Lakers. They're not going to be the Clippers. And I think that Washington's going to fight for one of the bottom playoff spots in the NBA. And hopefully Westbrook's relationship with Scott Brooks can be good enough to get the best basketball out of him at this point in his career. And I think more than anything, these moves were made to keep the other stars happy, right? That Harden didn't like playing with Westbrook. Beal didn't like James John Wall's work ethic.

You switch guys and maybe those guys are happier and they stay for a long time, which kind of goes back into your Milwaukee story. I don't know if it makes them happier, but Drew Bledsoe is a massive upgrade over what they have with Eric Bledsoe last year. So we saw this story this week. Joy and I were reading this and it was kind of interesting. The athletic did a good job. They showed you all these things that Paul George and Kauai Leonard got. Like they had personal trainers. Doesn't bother me.

I think in this day and age, a lot of guys have their own trainers, whatever. That didn't bother me. Practice schedules, they dictated. Don't love it, but it is what it is. Media, they wouldn't talk to them until 40 minutes. Don't love that. LeBronzo was available to the media. So when you read that story in the athletic of all the special treatment they got,

as a former guy that was, you know, ran a team. What was a turnoff to you that you don't think plays in the room? And what is just, hey, it's their stars. You're going to give them some special stuff. Look, there's just, there's a limit there, right? Like you play in college and the best players get the best shoes. Everybody at the start, here's how it works in college basketball, okay? Everybody at the start of the year gets the same, like, Nike team shoe.

And you're like, yeah. And, you know, then the starters are like, they go to the manager like, you, can I get some, can I get some Gary Payton's? Can I get some gloves? Can I get some shoes that I like, some Jordans, whatever? And then the star gets basically anything they want. So Star treatment is nothing new. But some of that, I think there's a couple flaws here. One, they came from different organizations. And so there's not the sweat equity, right? Like, if you come up through that organization, you become a Star, and you're like, hey, you know what? I'm from San Diego. I want to live there. But if you're coming in from Toronto and you've been in San Antonio and you want to live in San Diego,

And people can say like, well, Kobe lived in Orange County. If the chopper didn't work from Orange County, you could still get there by car. Right, right. You cannot do San Diego to L.A. by car and hope to make it to a shoot around, let alone a game. You know, like, you just can't. So there's limits there to how much start treatment. I think that the biggest thing, though, is that the Clipper culture was supposedly one of the draws for Kauai Lai. Leonard, right? Said, ah, man, they got a great culture. They're tough. They play together. They're all

about winning and doing the right things. And then you come in and this is a direct departure from that culture, which these are warning signs for Brooklyn, right? Because the reason that Kyrie signed and brought Kevin Durant with them was the culture of how they played in Brooklyn. But that culture is not just on the basketball floor, it's off the basketball floor. So does it kill me? Does it, does it really bother me? Like, no, I don't care. I don't care where you live. Show up and practice on time. I don't care where you live as long as you, I don't care where you date. I don't care your sexual orientation. I don't care anything. Just show up at 7 o'clock at Staples Center, guard somebody, make big shots. And the problem was they didn't do those things. And they weren't a cohesive unit. The chemistry didn't get better. And then you have some other guys, the Lou Williams is who wants to go get wings at a strip club when everybody else's on lockdown. You got, you know, Montrez-Herald violating COVID stuff and showing up late to the bubble, some of these other guys. So their chemistry, was a mess. I don't think that in and of itself, these are the reasons why, but it's part of what the cracks in the foundation for the clippers and why they disintegrated before us when they were in

the bubble. So a football topic, I said, I've always said, I think Belichick could leave New England. Brady did, and we were kind of shocked, but he probably won't, but I think he could. I think most people are mobile. I think successful people have more options. I think teams would write a $15 million check for Belichick and just say, get out here. Come on, let's win. But let's talk Brady and Ariens. Bruce is older. He tried broadcasting. He didn't love it.

He's retired before. I can see Brady and Ariens at the end of this thing. They stumble. They make the playoffs. They get routed in the playoffs. And Brady would like, time out. I can come here for this. Get me Josh McDaniel.

So I said this a week ago and I said, I'm going to get crushed for this. But I don't think it's nuts. Your thoughts? I don't think it's nuts at all. I think though some of this, I'm more surprised that people didn't see it coming. Here's the first rule you need to understand. 33% of NFL free agents are a hit. 33%. Okay. So go and look at all the quarterbacks that moved. And it was reasonable to think that even Tom Brady might be a failure when he left. There's a reason that guys are out on the market. There's all kinds of reasons. Okay. The second part is guys that leave New England, England, what generally happens, even to the stars. Richard Seymour, one good year and then off a cliff. Okay, so Belichick allowed him. They didn't move mountains to try and keep Tom Brady. They were like, look, we like to have you back, but you don't want to be here. Okay. Belichick – former Belichick players generally have one year, and then they fall off.

Then you combined completely contrasting styles. And I talked to NFL people in the offseason, and then they thought, well, you know, they're smart football guys. I guess they'll figure it out. But they haven't. Bruce Arrynne's wants to throw the ball downfield, and all Tom Brady wants to do is get rid of the football as quickly as possible. He doesn't want to get hit, and that's where his football IQ and his accuracy within 10 to 15 yards, the line of scrimmage, that's where it's at its peak. And they keep budding heads, and now Ariens continues to air their dirty laundry. I'm sure Tom Brady's cool being called out in front of a room of 52 other men with Camp Bay Buccaneer uniforms, not in front of the rest of the world. So yeah, I could see, here's what I could see happening. Brady used Romo as a surrogate last week. There's no question in my mind. Like, you think Romo is just breaking down the tape and dissecting Tampa's offense on his own immediately and calling it out? Of course not.

And that's what these quarterbacks do. They're like politicians. Remember, when Eli Manning got benched for Gino Smith, Eli didn't say a word, but his former teammates did. And you know what happened? The GM got fired. The coach got fired. Right. Eli was back as starting quarterback without saying a word.

That's what they do. They kill you while you're sleeping. And that's what Tom Brady will do. Ariens will retire and Josh McDaniels will be in there. And Tom Brady's like, I had nothing to do with it. Right. Nothing. It's amazing what they're able to do.

So finally, we've got a couple minutes here. So the Chargers are going to make a coaching move. And I said, the biggest sin in the NFL is having a great quarterback, like a staffer John Watson, great talent. You feel like you wasted him. The bigger sin, though, is having a great young quarterback that is free and wasting him. And I like Anthony Lynn. But to me, okay, chargers have to go out now.

And to me, go big. Brian Kelly, Urban, Belichet, whatever it is. Do you think they have it in them? Because I think the sin in this league is you have a Herbert or a borough and you're like, and for four years you pay them nothing and you just go with coordinators and you go cheap. And I'm like, no, no, no, no, no. Jared Goff got to a Super Bowl when you didn't pay him anything. Flacco did.

Cam did. So your thoughts on what they'll do with the Chargers? I do think they're going to have to make move. I don't think they want to because Anthony Lynn is as good a man as there is leading an NFL team. And a lot of being a head coach, you know, I don't put all of the blame of the debacle of last week on him. Shane Steikin's inexperienced as an offensive coordinator, that was a mess at the end of Buffalo. But it did embody that like, look, there's a reason they lose all these close games. Right.

But like being NFL head coach is about leading men, about organizing and Anthony Lynn's good at it. They just lose too many close games. Here's the thing. People are going on old data with the chargers in terms of them being cheap. They are absolutely not cheap, okay? They paid Joey Bosa more than anybody had been paid. They paid Melvin Ingram before that. They were going to pay Keenan Allen.

They're going to pay Hunter Henry. Right? They're going to be able to pay all these guys within reason. And they like to pay them early. And especially now because they have a quarterback on a rookie deal. They are not cheap. Okay. They don't need a new facility, but they're probably going to open a new training facility in

L.A. just because they want to show everybody we're in L.A. and we got money to burn. So they're not cheap, but they are also very smart. They nearly hired Brian Flores instead of hiring Anthony Lynn, and they thought he needed a little bit more time to simmer. So I don't know who they're going to hire. I do think they'll try and get somebody who has a track record of success. But the cautionary tale is of getting rid of Shane Stiking, who I think has done a really good job. Remember, he was put in as the offense corner midseason last year. He's done a really good job. It's when you start to get different quarterback verbiage every year and a different offense every year. That's what, that's what happened to Alex Smith, right? Alex Smith,

I think seven coordinators his first seven years. And shocker, once he had the same offense coordinator two years in a row, he played better football. So if it's me, I keep stiking. Hey, I make an adjustment to the defensive staff. You get Derwin James back. You continue to build that offensive line, which of course has been just decimated by injuries. And I think the charges are a worst to first type of football team. Once you get a coach that understands, how to teach them those little things or what keep you from winning games. Doug Gottlieb, Dougger, after our show, Fox Sports Radio,

All Ball podcast as well on iTunes. Good to seeing you, bud. Good to see you without a cigar in your mouth. A guy can enjoy itself a little bit the other night. Just this is a little one, half a cigar. That's good, and the Heineken, it's all good. The Dugger. Okay, coming up next, Blazing Five Top of the Hour.

Playoffs start today. Where are we at? Playoff start today. Who plays who? Who do I like? That's next. Be sure to catch. live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific.

Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the iHeart radio Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th.

You might have seen the skits, 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 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, 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 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 Hardway. Open your free I Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. The streaming service with everything you're into. It's called Discovery Plus. It's coming in 2021, U.S. only.

Got shows you love, brand you love, like the Food Network, HDT, Discovery Channel, plus some exclusive originals, Discovery. Blazing 5, all those odds provided by Fox Bet, top of next hour. I feel great about my picks this week. Really like them. Have some underdogs.

week like some underdogs this week. So one month ago today, exactly. And I do this usually two or three times as we go down the stretch. About every three weeks to four weeks, I'll do this on a show. And I did it one month ago as of this morning that I take all the teams. If the playoffs were today, who would I like? Who ends up in the Super Bowl? I'm not going to predict the Super Bowl.

I'll wait until Super Bowl week, but I'll tell you where. So let's start with the AFC. Here's the current AFC playoff matchups if they began today. The Colts would be at the Kansas City Chiefs. I think you know who I would like. Kansas City is, I think, the only team in the NFL that plays several different ways to win. Physical, finesse, in front, behind. I would take the Chiefs.

The Dolphins at the Titans, I would take Tennessee. I think the dolphins have been a great story. I do not think they're a great team. And right now, they're not sure her their quarterback is. It's been a wonderful year, but this is a baby-step league. They get into the playoffs. They don't win a road playoff game. I take the Titans.

Brown's at the Bills. I just think Buffalo is a better football team. I also think Buffalo defensive coach, Sean McDermott, they are very good situationally, defensively, and I think Allen's better than Baker, obviously. I would take Buffalo to win that game. They're a good home team. Then the bills are at the Steelers.

I'll pick an upset. I'll take the bills over Pittsburgh. I think Buffalo does several. things very well. I'm not sure what the Steelers do well, and now they're banged up. They're talented, but what can they lean on? Outside of sacks,

not much. Tennessee at Kansas City, too many people are calling for an upset here. Kansas City is a better football team. They'll be at home, and the Titans, let's be honest, as much as I like them this year, they rolled the Colts last week. They also got blown out by Cincinnati. They can be a

little hot and cold. I'd take Kansas City. Then it's Buffalo, at Kansas City in the AFC Championship. I have no problem saying Kansas City wins and probably rolls here. Let's go to the NFC. Arizona's at Seattle. Kyler Murray's beat up.

I think this is a coaching and a roster mismatch. I think with the addition of Carlos Dunlap, Jamal Adams Healthy, now Josh Gordon, this Seattle roster's damn good. They're at home, experience coach and quarterback. They win this game. Tampa Bay at Green Bay. I think it's

a bad matchup for Tampa. I don't think this is a good matchup for Tampa, for Green Bay. Tampa can be a physical team. Green Bay is not. I'll take the Bucks. And then I'll take the Rams, even though they go on the road to beat the New York Giants, I do think it's close. Defensive front for the Giants keeps it close, but I would take the Rams.

What do we have after that? Buccaneers at the Saints. Saints win, much like Tampa's a bad matchup for the Packers. Saints are a bad matchup for Tampa. Beat him three straight times. Rams go to Seattle. I'm going to take the more consistent C-Hod. in this game. And by the way, it'll be close. Rams Seahawks, there are defensive issues. Aaron

Donald gives the Seahawks the offensive line issues. Rams Seahawks will be a very close game. Jalen Ramsey matches up very well against D.K. Metcalfe. It's a close game. I'll take Seattle at home in bad weather. Seahawks Saints, I'll take Seattle. I think they're more explosive offensively. I think the Saints are an excellent football team with limitations over the top. That is what has hurt them in the playoffs last several years. I'll take Seattle narrowly on the road over the Saints. If we had non-COVID in a full stadium, I'd probably take the Saints. Kansas City, Seattle, the exact same Super Bowl I had one month ago on November 4th. I like Kansas City, Seattle in my Super Bowl today. Winner, I'll give you that on Super Bowl week. Chiefs Seahawks Super Bowl. We go to

Hour 2, Blazing 5, and a good one coming up 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 podcast. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all,

embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year. Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the I-Hard radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the Look Back at it podcast. From 1979, that was a big moment for me. 84 was big to me.

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

I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Listen to Look Back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your... podcasts. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hardway with your favorite therapist and host, Kear Games. This space is about black men's experiences, having honest conversations that it's really not safe to have anywhere, but you're having them with a licensed professional who knows what he's doing. How many men carry a suit or armor. It signals to the world that you're not to be played with. And just because you have the capability that does not mean that you need to. Listen to learn the hard way on the

IHard Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.