The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 12/24/2020 - Best of The Herd

Episode Date: December 24, 2020

Today on The Herd with Colin Cowherd Doug Gottlieb fills in for Colin to discuss Bucks F Giannis Antetokounmpo missing a big free throw last night to cost them the game. Doug says Giannis will now be held to a higher standard after signing a super max contract and not getting it done late in games. Plus, Doug talks NBA and says Rockets G James Harden doesn’t understand leadership with his latest antics. Former NFL Scout and host of 3 & Out Podcast John Middlekauff joins Doug to discuss the latest around the NFL news and if it really matters if quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Bruce Arians get along in Tampa Bay. 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. Hey, what's good, y'all? You're listening to Learn the Hard Way 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 and learn the hard way on the AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what you're saying.

Yep, that's me, Cliver Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey, or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The Clifford Show. This is a place for raw, unfiltered conversation. 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 Best of Heard Podcast. Be sure to catch us live every weekday from 12 to 3 Eastern, 9 to noon Pacific on Fox Sports Radio and FS1. Find your local station for The Herd at Fox SportsRodio.com or stream us live every day on the iHeart Radio app by searching Herd. This is the best of the herd with Colin Cowher on Fox Sports Radio. What up? Welcome in. This is The Herd.

Wherever you may be, Utah, or however you may be listening to this show, he's not. Welcome in. I'm Doug Gottlie, filling in for Colin Cowher. Joy Taylor alongside, and she came bearing gifts. I did. I brought Christmas cookies. Which she tried to convince me that calories don't count. They don't.

On the holiday season. Calories don't count on the holidays or the weekends. This is the radio-only version of the herd, which is disappointing on a multitude of levels, probably mostly because Joy is bringing joy. She has reindeer... Can you hear my bell? I can't hear them.

You can't hear them. Maybe they don't have the little... Oh, they're just plastic, okay. Oh, you don't have the little... No, I tweeted out the... They're not actually bells. So they're more like ornaments. And she has a great ugly Christmas sweater, which two chains gave you?

Yes, two chains gave this to me. This is dab and Santa. People don't dab anymore, but I've kept it for vintage purposes. Actually, they do dab. Now it's like a sarcastic thing that kids do. I have, again, like I live, I understand that the new generation a lot more because of, so like my daughter Harper, she'll, when she'll do something, she'll dab, but it's out of like sarcasm. So they're being funny about it now.

Yes. Yeah. We've reached that point to where it's now. Well, that's good because it quickly got worn out by people seriously dabbing who shouldn't have been dabbing. So I'm glad we've moved on for that. Yes. It's like once the president fist bumps people, you're like, wow, I really got to stop fist bumping people. That is, I don't care how cool our president at the time was.

It became classically uncool when you're seeing some of the stiffest people on the face of the earth fist bump each, fist bump each other. You mentioned the turn, the change, the evolution of things that are cool that become lame, right? Yes. Last night, the NBA kind of officially tipped off, right? We had the two games the first night, but last night, like everybody else played, except, of course, the rockets and the thunder. The poor thunder, right? They ended the season last year when Rudy Gobert tested positive last year. And of course, this year, this kind of group of misfit toys, which everyone believes is building for what should be a really good future, but the future is not now, was supposed to be playing in Houston against the Rockets.

But then there was one positive test, and then there was contact tracing, and the Rockets didn't play. We'll get to that and what I think it speaks to in terms of James Hardin a little bit later. John Hollinger is going to join us from the athletic, former NBA GM. he'll join us in 15 minutes. Should be pointed out that John Middilkoff will join us in an hour in 15 minutes. We'll turn our attention to football. And Rick Buecker will join us in the third hour of the show. A good another programming note that if you like Joy Taylor and we like Joy Taylor,

tomorrow morning, turn on Fox Sports Radio and she'll be filling in. No, not tomorrow, Saturday morning. What day is today? Today's Thursday? Yeah, today's Thursday. Today's Thursday. Today's Thursday. Tomorrow.

I swear to God, I thought. I know. You scare me for a second. I'm like, oh, wait. Because I'm not working tomorrow. That's what I always... Saturday. Okay, so Saturday morning.

So she'll be reacting to all the Christmas Day sporting events, gets you ready for NFL football, college football, everything. That's Saturday morning, 7 o'clock. 7 to 10 Pacific. 10 to 1 Eastern. Just turn on Foxport Tray. You're like, oh, Joy's on. Oh, Joey's on.

Of course, you should follow her on IG as well. Okay. So the change, and I'm... Last night in the NBA, a lot of stuff. happened like trey young 37 points in 25 minutes and miss two shots like oh my god that's crazy and they won most importantly they won against the uh the chicago bulls um there are other stories which are interesting but this one i think the most interesting because you have the bucks who are not interesting they're just not they're good not great but not interesting even though they added one of my

favorite players in the NBA drew holiday um and the bucks lost to the Celtics, 122, 121. If you turn on all the highlight shows, I think most of them are just Jason Tatum in a bank three to win the game over Yannis. You're like, oh,

game winner. Yeah, that's actually not what happened. What happened was Jason Tatum in a bank three over Yonis and then the Bucks got the ball back. Yannis got fouled with 0.4 seconds to go. He made one free throw, missed one free

throw, they lose by one, which there's a bunch of kind of loaded up things that come with it, right? Like the Bucks never win the big game. They're taking on the Celtics that a team they'd have to beat. We would guess to get to the finals or the conference finals. Of course, the Celtics look different without Gordon Hayward. Obviously, they're trying to work, you know, the Kemba Walker knee thing and Jason Tatum, kind of a burgeoning star.

Like, there's a lot to it. And then the big question for Janus's ability to make, whether it's three point shots or just free throws or open shots, he misses a free throw. And you wonder if this becomes a thing, right? Like he can't make big free throws and it becomes a thing. But the bigger point is what I would guess is coming, which is everybody's all nice to Janus because it's a great story, right? like a guy who was like in the second division in Greece, gets drafted, you know, in the middle of the first round. And in a draft where so many,

there are so many busts above him, and he becomes a two-time NBA MVP. And by the way, the Bucks build a new practice facility, new arena, kind of all, and a basically a team all around the way in which he plays. And then in this past off season, at the very, what felt like the final hour, he signs the biggest contract in the history of the sport, the Supermax contract, to stay in Milwaukee and build and win a championship organically,

which all feels like a great story. But we know kind of how this goes, right? Like, oh, we're all nice. And then you lose in the playoffs and you can't win the big game and you become a choker or just not a winner or whatever. And I do wonder, like I've often said this. Joy. Nobody gets newspapers anymore if you do. Actually, I signed up for my newspaper. I signed up for the LA Times, the Orange County Register, just because they are, it's like two bucks for like six months. It's like, are you kidding me? But if you do get the Sunday paper, if you did back in the day, there's the parade magazine. You know the parade magazine? Right. So there's one, one of the magazines, one of the magazines, one of the one week per year, they do the what people make.

You ever seen the what people make thing? I had Dave Revston's a dear friend of mine. He works with the Big Ten Network. He's my original play-by-play partner when I first started doing basketball games. 18 years ago. And one time we were driving from Lehigh, Pennsylvania to Bristol, Connecticut, and we entertained ourselves the entire way with the how much you think this guy makes. And I would give him the, he lives in Logan, Utah.

He is a postal worker. He's 50 years old. How much you think he makes, Reverend? And he'd guess, right? We do the over-under and you'd guess. But the point of the parade magazine is always, once you find out how much somebody makes, you cast judgment about them. You absolutely do, right?

I mean, like if a guy, a school teacher, you know, a school teacher is having a bad day. You know, they're doing all the stuff on Zoom, and you're like, you know, they're a school teacher. They don't come to make much money, right? Whereas if an athlete, you know, he misses a shot or he, Chris Paul pulls a hamstring. Now, you can't pull a hamstring. You make $42 million a year.

Because in our minds, there has to be a direct correlation between how much you make and your level of performance. And I guess there should be. Yon has signed the biggest contract ever. He stayed home. He's done never, for the most part, never done anything wrong. to anybody, right? Is the turn coming?

You mentioned the turn and the dabbing. Is the turn coming when Janus is no longer fun and cuddly and a puppy? And now he's a full, full grown dog. And we're like, we hold him to a higher level of accountability. Oh, I think the turn is definitely coming. But I've been saying this for a while now. Janus is not not interesting because he's not a great player. He is a great player.

but he's not controversial. He's not even not controversial. He's not polarizing. Like if you look at what a star is, Tom Brady, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, they're controversial in a way that people want to argue about them. Is Kobe the best? Is MJ the best?

Is LeBron the best? Is Tom Brady the best? Is Aaron Rogers the best? There's a conversation to be had about it. There's no conversation to be had about Janus yet. Now he's signed the contract, so there's expectations of winning. but what's really changed? They've added Drew Holiday, which I agree with you.

I love Drew Holiday. Great piece. Is he enough to say get past what looks like what might be one of the greatest offensive ensembles ever created in the Brooklyn Nets? Is that enough to get past them and get to the NBA finals? I don't think so. And what have the Bucks done in the past few years with Janus

to prove that they're able to even get to the finals, let alone beat any team that comes out of the West? To me, nothing. So Janus has been, it's a, similar trajectory to me to KD in Oklahoma City, where KD was beloved. I mean, he was very much protected by the media. He was a great player. Everyone adored him.

I wouldn't describe KD as that now. KD has criticized a lot. But his career has dramatically changed since then. There comes a point where you have to actually perform in the postseason and match what you're making and the expectations that we've put on you, that you've put on yourself with actual results. I don't think Yonis is going to do that. What was the headline in the Oklahomaan?

It was Mr. Dependable? Mr. Unreliable, right? Mr. Unreliable, yeah. Mr. Unreliable. Here's how beloved Kevin Durant was in Oklahoma City. He didn't play well against the Memphis Grizzlies in the playoffs. And the headline was Mr.

It was unreliable and they made, it was like a play on word, right? Instead of reliable was big and then Un was kind of next to it. In other words, it was like surprising how unreliable he was. was considering his reputation. And they, they retracted and apologized for the headline in a sports page when he didn't play well. Yep. It was, it was crazy.

And think of how people criticize and pick apart Katie now. So imagine that used to be a world. Isn't that because he left? Yes. Right. So Janus didn't leave. Yonis didn't leave. Right.

So there's really, there's really only two. options for Janus now. Either Janus is always going to be considered a great player that's not a champion and it's just a really great regular season player, nice player, good representative of the sport. But if you're going to be a superstar, you have to win.

And he's not able to do that yet. Yes and no. I agree he should have to win. But like Damien Lillard gets a pass. But Damien Lillard is a little polarizing. He has a little edge to him.

No, I agree, but no one ever, I have yet to hear somebody go like, hey, you know, Damien Lillard might not be a winner, you know. Now look, Damian Lillard, when he's faced off with Steph in the playoffs, Steph has been better every time. Regardless of, you want to say like sporting cast, like Steph has been better. Damian Lillard is also not back-to-back MVP. I understand that, okay? But I think we give got, we look, we in the media, whether we want to or don't, we pick and choose,

who we like and what we like about them, right? And for whatever reason, they're sides. I operate mostly in the gray area because there are guys that are so good that I might not be at love them as guys, but I'm like, dude, you got to respect that. I don't know if the turn is coming to Janus because I think he will get the Milwaukee Pass,

which is the Portland Pass, which we pat him on the head. It doesn't matter how much money they spend and how they're in the same league as anybody else and that, you know, LeBron could win in Cleveland. Why can't you win in Milwaukee? It's a similar market. If anything, it's a better market because it's an hour and a half of the road from Chicago, right?

I think we'll give him an additional pass because he stayed home, right? He got more money. Like, that's the crazy part. I always love the, man, I'm in it. I love it here. I'm staying here. Like, yeah, but you've got more money to stay here.

That's not. I don't think he necessarily should because at this point in his career, his game should evolve to the point where he should be a much better shooter, right? And he just hasn't. He's developed his body. He's developed lots of his game, but his shooting has not developed. In some ways, it's regressed because it looks different and not as good as it looked early in his career. But I think that we, I think they're the cute fuzzy pet still that we pat him on the head

because he stayed in Milwaukee, and we may not hold against him that parade magazine of $226 million in a four-plus-one deal, just like when you look at that parade magazine, like, he makes how much? Like, oh, well, he lives in Logan, Utah. I would argue because these guys are making so much money, especially in the NBA with the shoe deals and everything else,

the money starts to kind of become a blur. For me, it's the back-to-back MVP's and the talk that he might win a third straight MVP. That is more of the parade magazine element that I'm holding Yonis to. Like if you're back-to-back MVP, there's already talk that you might get a third MVP in a row. That at some point, it's got to get you at least to the NBA finals. No question. If you're going to be the most valuable player, you have to be valuable when it actually matters the most.

Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays at noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio. F.S1 and the IHard Radio app. Imagine an Olympics where doping is not only legal but encouraged. It's the enhanced games. Some call it grotesque. Others say it's unleashing human potential. Either way, the podcast's Superhuman documented it all, embedded in the games and with the athletes for a full year.

Within probably 10 days, I'd put on 10 pounds. I was having trouble stopping the muscle growth. Listen to Superhuman on the IHard Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what 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 Clivert Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or we're 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 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 hard way. Open your free, our heart radio app, search learn the hard way and listen now. It's fascinating to me

how like our perception of others and like look, we all bring in kind of our own biases. Tiki Barber is interesting. I know Tiki, I've gotten to know Tiki pretty well. I work with him

where he currently works. And he said this, and should be pointed out that prior to last Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals. Adam Schafter report that Wence isn't interested in being a backup quarterback and would want to leave Philadelphia if he is behind Hertz on the debt chart for the foreseeable future. Tiki has a show called Tiki in Tyranny.

He said, quote, Carson Wence is being perhaps the worst teammate that you could possibly be ever. Now here's the problem. There's a narrative around Carson Wence that as good as he is or potentially could be, he's just never been able to be the man. The championship was won by Foles, who they love, and Peterson, who has a good relationship with him. Foles ran the offense a lot more efficiently than Wenz did.

But coming back, you get rid of Foles, there's no quarterback controversy, and it's Wence's team. There's a litany of things that I actually disagree with there with Tiki. Foles was great for two games, right? the Vikings who frankly should have lost to the Saints, we remember, the Vikings and the Patriots who didn't play their best cover corner, instead played three safeties in Malcolm Butler

only playing one snap. He was great in those two games. Foles also started the next season and was terrible and has been bad ever since. Like literally very little glimmer of hope. No one's sitting there going, you know who's better than Carson Went, Nick Foles. But Nick Foles did perform

incredible in the biggest sporting event in America. So, like, I don't think Carson Wentz not wanting to be a backup to Jalen Hertz after this year is anything profound or anything we didn't expect. And, oh, yeah, by the way, I think Shepter also reported that he's being a good teammate and helping Jalen Hertz get ready, get ready for every week. I guess the question is, like, if you're Philadelphia, what do you do? Let's bring in John Middokoff. He's worked in Philadelphia.

He's worked as an advanced. Scout as well. Of course, now you can download as I do his podcast, the three and out podcast and the Hurt Podcast Network. He joins us in the herd. If you're Philly, Hertz was okay the first week. They won, but much better energy for the team. He was good in week two against Arizona. And that's against a coach that knows him and against the defense that had to know some of what was coming. If you're Philadelphia, what do you do? I just think you play this year out. So that he's playing the next until the season ends. You know, they're not going to go to the playoffs.

You wouldn't think. But, and then you go into the offseason with an open competition because you're not, the way NFL contracts work, you're not just going to eat the money and trade them. And you're also not going to trade a guy whose value, like you don't sell your house ideally when it says an all-time low value, right? And they paid a lot for that house if Carson went to the house in this analogy. So they invested all those picks when they drafted them. invested all that money.

And if all these other teams, which they would be lining up to get them, that means, you know, you're not going to sell it at its lowest point. So to me, you give it an open competition. And if he can't beat out Jalen Hertz in the offseason, then you probably got a problem. But I also think there is kind of the elephant in the room of the teammate stuff. Here's a reality. The Jalen Ragers, the Miles Sanders, some of the younger guys on that team, they're experiencing success offensively with Jalen Hurst, right?

They're not caught up with dead cap money and draft slots. They're just trying to win every week. Plus they saw Jalen play and college. Like, I think it's people aren't the thing as powerful. They saw Jalen play and play well in college. They are, they speak the same language. They play the same, they play to the same crowd. Like, I actually think that's a much more powerful thing than people.

Yeah, so it's just, you know, if they keep having offensive success, like they have the first two weeks. And guys are scoring touchdowns, they're scoring points for a four. or five-week period to end this season. If you do go into the off-season with an open competition, there is just a human element where those guys, you know, as a player, who do you want to play with? Guys, they're going to make you look better.

It's just human nature. So Carson Wentz, if this keeps going as well as it's going, it could create a bigger problem. But if Carson Wentz is who we thought he was, right? And this $100 million man, this big-time talent, Jalen Hertz, I don't care if he's better than everyone thought he should not be able to beat him out and be a better player. let's get to the jail and Hertz part because look there was a ceiling at Alabama right like let's

just be honest there was a ceiling and the way to break through that sibling was to put to a tungo in instead of him and the offense just took off right then he goes to Oklahoma and while he had success it wasn't what Kyler did it wasn't what Baker did there's a ceiling there matter of fact if you look midseason last year they kind of scrapped a lot of the advanced stuff and they just said hey dude, we're going to more design runs, right? Yeah. If you don't have it just run. So if there's a ceiling in college at two different schools, there's quite obviously

going to be a ceiling in the NFL, or do we have it all wrong? And there is another level to it. Yeah, I mean, you'd think, but we've seen, I think, Josh Allen, I'm not saying he's going to be Josh Allen. We have other examples in this kind of modern day football where it's just easier to play of guys improving dramatic. You know, I mean, the coaching in the NFL, I guess Lincoln Riley's probably as good as it gets, but he was only just a one-year starter.

It was a transfer period where, you know, Baker was there several years. Even Kyler got to sit behind Baker for a year and then play. Jalen Hurts played football from the day he got to Alabama. Like this was, and he played for NFL, he played for two. Top five pick. You know, two of it was right. Again, I thought Jaylon Hurt was a running back. Hold on.

But, hold on. Wait, wait, Mittukov, hold on. I didn't think he could do that. What's the matter with your cell phone? Can we get him to a better area? Are you on a landline? Is that what you're doing? Yeah, can you hear me?

Yeah, the landline's terrible. Go to the cell phone. I'm telling you, this is, things have changed in 2020. We used to only call people on landlines. Now landlines are terrible. Cell phones are where it is. Can't let me call you back. Yeah, call us back.

All right, back from the Wendy's drive-thru. Hearing every other word is John Middilcoff. I've completely forgotten where we were. But let's let's jump right in. Let's jump right back in with Buffalo, right? Colin has annoying them the best team in the NFL. And I mean, Josh Allen is ball. And Stefan Diggs might be the best wide receiver in the league.

I mean, he's always been a great route runner. Now he's getting the ball more. How much of a buyer are you of them in the playoffs? You know, yeah, sorry about that Wendy's Drive-Draft. I'm playing on a way turf here at my parents' house. But the hard part for that, one for me, and I'm a big Josh Allen guy. I mean, what he's done this year is incredible. I mean, he looks like Patrick Mahomes light, you know, in 2020, just his physical gifts.

I mean, I hated him coming out in the draft. How could you like a guy that threw like 40% completion percentage? And now if he's going to throw 70% with Diggs and Cole Beasley and just that offense looks fantastic, two things make me nervous. One, their defense isn't as good as has been. So they're very dependent on a quarterback that we just haven't seen, you know, produced at the highest level in the biggest games in January. Last year, you know, he kind of crumbled down the stretch in that Houston Texans game. And the other thing is, like, I saw them play the Chiefs, and the Chiefs destroyed them. Like, they weren't, it wasn't even close.

The score was actually much closer than the game. So I have a hard time seeing that they're just going to go and beat the Chiefs, especially because they're going to have to beat the Chiefs in Kansas City. I'm not buying that one. Can I ask you a question? The McDermott thing, which I don't know how much the story's been told. in Philadelphia, you go back and you know this because you work there. Andy Reid obviously is an offensive mastermind and he's great.

But he had Jim Johnson was a longtime defense coordinator. Get sick. Cancer dies. McDermott was his protege, right? He takes over for him. It's a disaster. It does not work. He gets run out of town.

He goes to Carolina and rebuilds it. They go to a Super Bowl. And then he gets the Bill's job and he brings Brennan Bean with him. And so they work together. How did, has he changed since the Philadelphia thing? Why did the Philadelphia thing work so poorly and then seemingly most everything else has worked since? Honestly, I don't think it's as big of a disaster as people think. I mean, the personnel that my first year in Philly, we made it to the playoffs and lost Aaron Rogers in the playoffs.

And he ended up winning the Super Bowl. Our personnel in defense wasn't very good. I mean, we had a couple of good players. The good players were all in office. So I think part of it was like Andy had been there. a long time. The expectations were crazy. They were just, it was like Super Bowl or bust by that time. And it was a decision, I would imagine, if you'd go back, they would take that one back. And I think that was a little bit out of Andy's hands. I think Sean, you spend five minutes around him.

He is just really, really impressive. Honestly, I've talked to Lincoln Riley before, and when you talk to Sean, he kind of has a Lincoln vibe, but just on defense. Yeah, no, or McBay. He's kind of a, he was McBay before McBay. But he's really impressive. but he's a guy's guy. I don't know. I mean, I just people love him. I mean, I think Andy still loves him to this day. Ron Rivera obviously swears by him.

The guy's in Buffalo. He's just very kind of steady eddy. And, you know, I just think you're as powerful as the players you have. I mean, he gets to Carolina. And what do they do? They immediately draft Luke Keekely. They had Thomas Davis. Their defense was just good.

You know, I mean, you give good coaches, good players. They're usually going to be pretty good. And then I got to give the bills organization. Obviously, Sean, the good. the general manager, a lot of credit. I mean, they, to me, Josh Allen was a little bit like an NBA pick, right? You were swinging for the fences because it didn't really add up besides just the raw talent, and they hit a home run.

And it honestly might change the guy's career to become like they might win a Super Bowl one day if he can just maintain this level of play, right? So he was a good coach, but like any good coach, you're as powerful as the quarterback you have, and it looks like they drafted the right guy. And now I think also Buffalo being there, it's been really cool, right, just to see the reaction, people root for the quarterback. that franchise, but they've been so crappy for the last basically 20 years. And it's just kind of a cool story. And I think he's from around that area, so it's just kind of perfect.

Yeah. It'd be interesting to see if they can maintain this level of success, if Brian Daibble gets a head coach. Yeah. To me, that's always the hard part with, and you're going to see this hiring cycle about defensive coaches or leadership coaches, right? The one thing you have, when you have an Andy Reid, you have a Sean Payton, you have a Kyle Shanahan, you have a McVeigh, you're not worried about your offensive coordinator. Like, you can find defensive coordinators. Obviously, guys are better than others, but the guy that impacts your quarterback the most is the play caller. So having that guy moving around, that's always, you know, Belichick and Brady were able to overcome it a lot, but you just never know. You absolutely never know.

Is Pittsburgh fixable? No. I mean, Rathesberger, to me, just looks, he's gotten really old, really fast. He can't move. I mean, listen, I'm a huge big Ben guy. He's one of the best players the last couple decades. You know, obviously Brady and Manning and Rogers get all the hype, but, you know, you know, you know, you know, you're not. but in his heyday, I mean, he's not that far behind those guys,

just as a pure raw talent and just his production. But he can't move really anymore. And part of his game was extending plays, not running, but like running behind the pocket, breaking tackles and throwing guys. Like now they're, I think, where they're getting rid of the ball, like almost in two seconds. No, he's playing like Brady played in New England. And that's not who he is. Like Tom, he can't move anymore.

He doesn't want to move. Yes, but Tom's game has. has always been, you know, accuracy and, and, you know, picking a part of Devens. Whereas Big Ben, Big Ben played the way that Ariens really wants to play because he played for Arians. Well, and think about it. New England built their team around that type game. Yes. When you look at Pittsburgh, they're really built like Ariens would die to have that.

Yes. Yes. Right? Just go deep, throw bombs. I mean, that's what they're made for. So it's just, I actually kind of like Benny Snell. I know people crush. They can't run the ball.

I think he's a good young back. but it's just when you're passing game is so predicated on just like quick outs and slants and you can't really throw deep like he could earlier in the season and plus it's harder to do that when it gets cold I mean part of people like kind of not diminish but kind of talk smack about the way New England did it that translates because what translates in the playoffs when it's freezing cold and snowing right run game and defense well what also translates well the quick passing game just slants and wheel routes and screens like that stuff works that's kind of why arian got ran out of in Pittsburgh because he didn't run the ball.

Yeah. Yeah, with Tommy Maddox, right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay, so I look at Pittsburgh and how quickly Ben has fallen apart. Maybe we should have seen it coming, right? He did have Tommy John certainly. He's just old.

Yeah, but I look at Pittsburgh and I think, boy, Green Bay looks really smart. They look really smart. They have a great team. And anybody they would have drafted, you know, maybe defense, though, would have struggled to get on the football field. And they want to protect themselves against that rapid. decline. And by the way, I don't know if you saw this, Aaron Jones signed

signed with Drew Rosenhouse, right? Oh, yeah, I saw that. Right? So he's gone. Correct. So look at their first two picks, right? They drafted a running back, who could replace the running back who's going to get a paycheck and go somewhere else? And they dropped a quarterback

because they look around and Aaron Rogers is great, but in two years could he be Rothensberger? But, like, I'm with you. Like, what they did in theory works, but those players got to be good. AJ Dillon, you know, the reports, again, running back's hard to tell. But the quarterback, he couldn't beat out Tim Boyle.

So now he's a big time project. To me, there's still some question marks there. Like he's kind of a raw talent, a little Josh Allen-y, like a poor man's version. No question. They got a lot of work to do there, but I'm with you. Like, you've got to, I mean, the Niners are a good example this year, right? Jimmy goes down and their backup plans are Mullins and C.J. Bether, and they got no shot. Because if they just had middle-of-the-road quarterback play, they'd probably be right in the playoff mix.

So having, and the Steelers are a good. example right last year when rothusberger went down that defense was elite and they still went eight and eight but they're just quarterback play was probably the worst in the league right and look and they drafted quarterback play and your team's good and when i say decent i just mean like top like 22 players in the league yeah yeah you can win nine games if you have an elite defense and a good run and and why didn't the steelers you know they used what a third round pick on mason rudolph he's like yeah they actually they've tried no no no no but listen remember but remember though that big Ben was always pushing back against, you know, drafting somebody early first or second round,

right? And so there's a reason guys around in the third and the fourth round. Speaking of, there's a reason. All right. How did so many people who I really, really respect, how did everybody miss on Herbert? That's a good question. I mean, he was, he didn't quite look like this in college, and he still went six overall. There was, to me, he was like a better version of Josh Allen coming out where it was still like the raw talent. He was better in college. But it was weird. His stretch, especially the last couple years at Oregon,

they didn't have like NFL wide receivers or even running backs or tight ends. Like he wasn't playing with much skill guys. I also think when you look back, Oroyo, who's now the UNLV head coach, might just not be that good. And sometimes, and this is always the hard part about an evaluation, is who's coaching a player at the time at any college, You just sometimes you wonder, is he getting the most out of it? Is he tapped out?

Because you're talking to that coach, right? You're not necessarily talking to Herbert when you go into the school, and he's telling you his side of the story. And it's just natural you might believe that or, you know, you're trying to weigh it. And I just think sometimes it's hard. And sometimes, like he went to a situation despite coming from one, you know, like a top 10 program in the country at Oregon, just in terms of name recognition, their recruits and stuff.

But from the skill guy standpoint, he goes to the Chargers. It's infinitely better. Well, look at Tua. Tua went from Alabama. He took a huge step back going to Miami. So it does impact where you land, who's coaching you, but definitely who he's playing with. I mean, Tolesco doesn't get enough credit for, he's kind of Pittsburgh Steelers. Like, he finds these random wide receivers that are good. And they got speed there. Obviously, they got Keenan, who's a star. Hunter Henry's good. So it's just, I think his personnel is way better.

And he's just, you've got to give him credit. I mean, he's just, I don't want to call him elite, but he's had an elite rookie year. He is relative to rookies. And in fairness, as much as they didn't have an offseason, right? They also aren't playing in true road games, and it's a lot easier. And I think it helps. He's really smart. Yes.

So in these situations when it's all, it's weird, you're on Zoom, you're not practicing, a smart guy can kind of separate from the pack. Now, he has the physical tools too, but, you know, part of that 4.0 GPA, but, I mean, James had a good GPA. You know, it doesn't always translate. Right, right? No. No, but there were some signs there that there was some things missing with James.

There's definitely some signs there. Last thing, you said to your parents' house. Would your parents be okay if you gave them gift cards for Christmas? That's a good question. You know, I mean, they just, they probably wouldn't even use it. I don't even, I don't know if they're too locked in on the gift card market. Like if I just handed them $200 from Amazon or something. Yeah.

Yeah, it'd be pretty hollow. Amazon would be pretty hard not to use. Because you don't have to move, and it's like there by the time you press send. Yeah, I mean, that is true. But, you know, technology, you know, they're different little generation here. But yeah, I mean, I can pull that off. All right. Well, I know you come from money, so tell the butler to really cook up something good for Christmas.

And happy. Merry Christmas. We'll talk to you soon. See, bye. Be sure to catch live editions of The Herd weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific. The NBA postponed the Oklahoma City Thunder Houston Rockets game last. night. That's because the Rockets didn't have a league required eight available players need to proceed with the contest. By the way, this is made worse because this year, I don't know how

many people know this, but instead of the traditional 13 on the active roster, there's 15 on the active roster. So you have 17 guys, 15 on the active roster. They couldn't field eight. Normally, eight out of 13. This is eight essentially out of 17. Could not get it done. The NBA said three Rockets players have returned tests that were either positive or inconclusive for the coronavirus under the NBA's testing program. In addition, four

other players were quarantined under contact tracing protocol and Chris Clemens, ruptured as Achilles tendon, was unavailable to play because of injury. The league also said that the Rocket star James Hardin was unavailable due to violation of the health and safety

protocol based upon a video published by BSO that has been circulate in recent days where he was maskless at a Houston club. What's amazing about this is yesterday we read a post. Ryan Music, do you have the post again? Could you read me the post when you do have it? There was a post that was deleted put up and then deleted by James Hart. Go ahead.

Read that post if you would. One thing after another. I went to show love to my home girl at her event in parentheses, not a strip club, because she is becoming a boss and putting her people in position. of success and now it's a problem. Every day it's something different. No matter how many times people try to drag my name under, you can't. The real always end up on top.

Ah, the real always end up on top. The real always end up on top. I will, part of this does remind me of Marcellus Wiley, Daddud, you can see on Fox Sports 1. He had a great post on Instagram last week, I think, where he's like, imagine smoking weed at a family gathering and the weed was the legal part, right? That was amazing. That's the time we're living in, though.

But that is the time we're living in. And, like, I think James Hardin thinks that we're all moralists and we're like, you cannot go to a strip club. Like, no, dude. Like, the league depends upon all of their players buying into the, I can't go to these public gatherings. That's a tradeoff. You know, you're going to make $45 million per year guaranteed for the next two years.

We ask basically one thing from you. You got to just go home after work until you get the vaccine. And then you can kind of go back to doing what you want, right? Not that big an ask, but he doesn't get it. And this is the problem with James Harden. He just doesn't get it. Doesn't understand that his, like, I would be mortified if somebody retired my jersey at a strip club.

I would be mortified by it. Not because, again, the moralist, the idea, the idea, it just makes you look like, such a clown. Makes you look like such a clown. Chains are not India. Sorry, dude. You're just the guy with the biggest lot of bills.

I would be mortified at the fact that my coach, my general manager, guys that believed to me, got fired because I couldn't win and play well enough in the most important games. Or that there was a turnstile of first Chris Paul. And then Russell Westbrook was a friend. Like, they were legit

friends. And there was a fissure there because Russell West was like, yo, this dude is not about winning. But instead of being mortified by your own actions and by the culture that you have created, not absorbed, he didn't come to Houston and be like, oh, I just fell under there. No, it was all built around how you wanted to be. Instead, it's let's post something. Everybody's got it all wrong.

It's about, it's not about the strip club. It's not about the strip club. It's about everything that you've done says that none of winning is not important to. you. And being a good part of the NBA, if I'm the players union, I'm pissed. Yo, man, we're trying to have a season. Get paid. Play basketball. All you got to do is go home. That's it. That's it. Wait a couple weeks. You're going to get the vaccine. Like, we're going to get the vaccine. Everybody knows that athletes are going to get the vaccine before the common person is. Sorry, you don't like it. That's the way it works. Life is not fair.

They're going to get the vaccine. Not before first. responders, but not long after. But instead, it's about woe as me. People are judging you because of the strip club. We don't care. We do know that the strip club is a losing proposition, but we don't care. We care about trying to see professional sports. See sports in general.

Want more herd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week within the IHeart radio app. Search herd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. in 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, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more behind the scenes, follow at Clifford and 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 y'all know. I mean, at this point, Mark, this is the second episode where we've discussed crack. So I'm starting to see that there's a through line. We also have AIDS on the table right now. Thank you for finishing that sentence.

Yes. I don't think there's a more important year for black people. Really? Yeah. For me, it's one of the most important years for black people in American history. Listen to look back at it on the IHeart Radio app, Apple. podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist,

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Search Learn the hard way and listen now. When Tom Brady signed with Tampa, my biggest hesitation was that Bruce Ariens likes the quarterbacks he's been successful with. He's been successful with several. Ben Rothesberger, big, strong, holds the ball a little bit too long, throws it down the field. Andrew Luck, big, strong. Held the ball a little bit too long. That's one of the reasons he took such a savage beating,

throws it down the field. And, I mean, look, Carson Palmer, big, strong, holds the ball a little bit too long, throws the ball down the field. And, by the way, all three got hurt playing for him, but had an immense amount of success, and they like Bruce Ariens. And then I think at Tom Brady

and how Brady has always been described to me is the Tom Brady gets rid of the ball so quick, there's literally nothing you can do. Like your pass rush, you know, you have to slow their wide receivers because you cannot stop Tom Brady once he gets to his spot and he gets you apart. He gets rid of it way too quick for you. So I did see some of this coming,

but Bruce Ariens and Tom Brady have spent the better part of the past two weeks talking about, man, how great our relationship is. you know this, Joy, from anybody's, your best friends or your girlfriends or a dude you know's relationship. Almost any time somebody tells you in passing how unbelievably great their relationship is. You're like, yeah, I'm not buying that at all. I am not buying that out. Like relationships can be really, really hard. And when somebody says, so when I hear Arians and Brady say, oh, it just, it's, I mean, we are fitting together.

like hand and glove. We are working out and it's everything is great. I'm like ah ha ha by the way speaking of a ha do you see coming to America too is coming oh I can't wait it looks so good it looks it might be terrible but I am definitely it looks good though yes I'm I you know the question is do you see it in the theater or does it go direct to HBO Max like everything else is going anyway I think it's a prime video is it yeah it's a prime video one I think it is yeah well that's good that order some on Amazon watch a little watch a little Eddie Murphy and our City of a hall. Anyway,

but you don't care if they're good or if they're not good, right? For coming to America? No, Ariens and Brady. Oh, no, I don't care. I doesn't, to your point, did I ask you if your relationship was going well? And maybe the reporters are asking them how things are going to they're answering. But it's like, everyone knows that's not how relationships are. So if you're constantly, the answer is always everything is perfect, then it is clearly not.

because nobody's relationship is perfect. Right. But more than that, I don't care if your relationship is perfect. It's not about your relationship. If your relationship is affecting the team that much, we would be hearing it from other people. So who cares of Bruce Ariens and Tom Brady get along?

I don't think it matters in the grand scheme of things, right, for the next 30 years that they're exchanging Christmas cards. But in this particular case, it matters for two reasons. one Brady has to be able to play his style in order to be successful not just long term but like he's 43 years old he cannot be holding the ball he clearly cannot throw the ball down the field and be not only comfortable but accurate that's just not who he is so trying to make him do anything other than what he does best at this

late stage in his career is stupid in my opinion and Ariens and the relationship so much of it's about ego and trust right and if there's no trust there, then there's no relationship there, and there's not the, hey, Tom, I trust you to do whatever you want, run whatever you want, I'll figure out how to make it work. But there isn't it. So I do think it matters specifically because it is his offense at the end of the day.

And then the other part is, and this is where I think, at least, even if it's fake about the game along, you don't need to be taking shots at him at the press conference and saying, worked in practice. We showed him everything. that he was going to see and he saw it, just didn't happen in the games, got to complete those deep balls, because it, in addition to probably ticking him off, it undermines his credibility with his guys.

It just does. To your point, it's not that they need to get along. You don't have to have a great relationship, but you have to have respect. So if there's a respect issue there or there's a communication breakdown, then that would be of interest to me. but all of the over the top like he's great and this praise and that praise it's like that doesn't matter to me are you guys communicating and do you respect for each other because that will actually that will translate to wins because you can communicate okay this doesn't work for me Bruce I need to do

this or Tom this is kind of this what's going to work in this system can you adjust to that respectful communication is key to a good relationship respectful communication there has to be the like I look I just think arians is going to have to to come off of the everything I've done. Because Brady, not only can he say everything I've done is work, but he actually has six different pieces of metal that can show you it works. And he ain't changing.

And this is kind of the problem with guys, right? Like guys get into this like, I am who I am, and I've been six. And Ariens wants to know I do it his way, but he wants to show that he can win a Super Bowl his way. I don't care about whose way it is either. Like that, that to me, especially when it comes to coaches, I feel like that is a very silly notion.

Like you have to adjust to the talent that you have. And that's the genius to Belichick, really, right? Yes, yes, absolutely. And you're seeing some of that in Miami with Brian Flores, who is a Belichick coaching tree disciple. Yes. Do what's best for the players that you have. Like you have to adjust.

You're one guy. They're the collective team. Now you can have an idea, you can have a system, you can have a play, you can have a style, that's great. But at the end of the day, the guys in the field have to execute that. And if they're not capable of executing whatever has worked for you, then it's irrelevant. I just-

John Wooden adjusted his system for Lou Alcindor. If John Wooden can make adjustments, then you can too. Well, John Wooden also didn't win until he had play, right? Like, he was a 500 coach and then he had play. But yes, you are correct, right? any of these guys that live and die by a system. Yeah, I don't care about your system. Usually die by a system.

Do what, you know, find what's best for your guys and have them fit, you know, and adjust to them. Especially when you get a guy who's been doing it. And they haven't done the same way in New England, right? There was it, when they had Randy Moss, they threw the ball deep down the field. But when they had Wes Welker, they didn't because he was the best option route guy in the NFL. So these things, you know. But to your point. Bruce Ariens, and you look at the quarterbacks that he's worked with,

they're not really death by a thousand cuts. Tom, that's Tom Brady's style. Right, which is why it's an odd fit. Can it work? Yes. Will it work? Don't know. I feel like it won't because I do feel like if either of those guys were early on in their career,

then yeah, maybe. But they're not. And that's a really, those are really hard hills, hills to come up. Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smygel and Friends. Me and hilarious guests from Bob Odenkirk to David Letterman help make you funnier. This week, my guest, SNL's Mikey Day and head writer, Streeter Seidel, help an a cappella band with their between songs banter.

Where does your group perform? We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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. 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 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 AHA radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. A win is a win. A win is a win. I don't care what I'm saying. Yep, that's me, Clifford Taylor the 4th. You might have seen the skits, my basketball and college football journey,

or my career in sports media. Well, now I'm bringing all of that excitement to my brand new podcast, The 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 Clivert Show on the I-Hard 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. This is an IHeart podcast, guaranteed human.