The Herd with Colin Cowherd - 49ers-Seahawks, Russell Wilson, Cowboys, and the Herd Hierarchy

Episode Date: November 12, 2019

Colin discusses the 49ers-Seahawks game, why Russell Wilson is the MVP this season, a big problem with the Cowboys, and his new Herd Hierarchy. Guests include Michael Rapaport, Bucky Brooks, and Tony Allen. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Another podcast from some SNL late-night comedy guy, not quite. Unhumor me with Robert Smigel 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. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the Fourth. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her.

What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Wreck, my mama want you to weigh better. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast point game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season, and I'm looking back on some of my greatest playoff moments. If we didn't talk ever again, I was harmed. you just understood. That's how personal it got.

Wow. Then after that game seven, Mark keep coming to her. He's like, you know I love you, dog. You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball.

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Here we go on a loaded Tuesday live in L.A. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Labian Bell, the jet stops by Reggie Bush. Joy Taylor is joining me one hour from now. The Heard Hierarchy, which is going to be the hardest herd hierarchy ever. What do we do with San Francisco in Seattle this morning after one of the great NFL games in recent memory. God, I swear, the last four or five football games, including LSU Bama have watched, have come right down to the wire. What a weekend of football period.

Yeah, this whole weekend has been a treat. That was an amazing watch last night. An amazing watch. Let's start right here. The only thing worse than having to face that San Francisco defense is having to face them trailing, which is what happened to Russell Wilson last night. Oh, by the way, seven for 15, 35 minutes time of possession, 24 of 34. I know, I know there's this great new kid named Lamar Jackson.

Everybody's in on all that MVP Lamar Jackson talk. Y'all need to settle down just a tad here because you see, Lamar Jackson has this advantage over Russell Wilson. When he plays, he has a full complement of players with him. Last night against San Francisco, on the road, trailing early. He was down to one functional tight end, something called Jacob Hollister, a practice squad guy, a rookie wide receiver, D.K. Metcalfe, who can't run many routes. Josh Gordon had been in Seattle 10 days.

Undrafted Malik Turner, who at one point Pete Carroll, said, who's Malik Turner? None of us knew, and I'm from Seattle. Late in the game with that, against that defense on the road, multiple times Russell Wilson had winning potential drives, up and down the field. Had Seattle's game been on last week against Tampa, the MVP race is over. But Seattle tends to be, you know, right next to Alaska and Idaho, so it's geographically isolated.

The only reason their games get on TV period the last 10 years is Russell Wilson, maybe last seven, six, five, what ebbs? My point is, let's stop the MVP talk. There are guys playing quarterback, guys learning how to play quarterback, and about three guys in this league that have mastered quarterback. You were watching one. Russell Wilson in his career, he has faced six times a team that is eight games or better above 500, meaning translation, a great team.

he's 6 and 0. Last night, this is a guy that makes everything work for Seattle. Three years ago, he led the NFL and touchdown passes with the lowest rated offensive line. Tom Brady can't do that. Aaron Rogers can't do that. Patrick Mahalm can't do that. Drew Brees can't do that. Dan Marino couldn't do that.

John Elway couldn't do that. Joe Montana can't do that. I'm not sure Deshaun Watson can do that. That's insane. Everybody works with him. Doug Baldwin goes to Stanford. Undrafted becomes a star. Tyler Lockett is a gadget guy out of Kansas State becomes a star.

They have a tight end. I'm from Seattle. The Huskies had a tight end named Will Disley. He was a blocking tight end. He actually started playing defense. They moved him over to tight end. His junior year he had two catches. He ends up with Seattle.

He got hurt this year. And we all said, oh, my God, how are they going to make it without Will Disley? He made Will Disley a name. He works with everybody. By the way, the last two quarterbacks that got drafted number one, Kyner Murray, Baker Mayfield, got drafted because of him. And I wouldn't be shocked if this morning, Russell Wilson isn't in a children's hospital with sick children.

If you ever seen this guy emotionally, last night he throws a pick. And he's like, all right, goes to the sidelines. Let's go, let's go, let's go. I mean, I always talk about 30% of what you're paying a quarterback is leadership. I've never seen anything like it. I mean, Brady occasionally shows emotion, not a bunch but some. Russell Wilson throws a Super Bowl interception.

He throws an interception last night. It doesn't bother him for a minute. He is so unique. I like Lamar Jackson. He's still figuring out how to play quarterback. He gets to play the Bengals twice a year. Russell Wilson's got to play the Rams twice. He got to play the Niners twice.

By the way, the surprise team in the league not called the Raiders is Arizona. He's got to play them twice. He's got to face McVevales. and Wade Phillips and Kyle Shanahan. You got to be kidding me. I like Lamar. I'm a Lamar fan. I like a lot of these young quarterbacks.

But what you're watching here is ridiculous. This is absurd. On the road, San Francisco's practice squad tight ends, undrafted wide receivers. I'm from Seattle. I don't know who these guys are. I mean, could they, Josh Gordon's been there 10 days.

And that worked. New England's like, enough Josh Gordon. Russell Wilson's like, I'll take flash. Boom, boom, two huge catches last night. I mean, I just think we're looking at a guy, no losing seasons ever. It just doesn't, you know, we make excuses for Cam. He's never had back-to-back winning seasons. Russell Wilson's never had a losing season.

NC State win, win, win, win, Wisconsin, win, Seattle, win, win, win, win, win, win. You know how hard that is in the NFL without Bill Belichick is your coach? Do you know how hard it is? Look, what happened to Atlanta this year? Look at Philadelphia is struggling. We've had Aaron Rogers the last two years couldn't win in Green Bay. Patrick Ramah Holmes has lost three straight starts.

You know how hard it is to win in this league? I mean, Lamar's great. But you've got to be kidding me. I'm watching them last night. And it wasn't a stat night for him. Last night wasn't about stats. And the MVP's about stats. That's not what last night was about.

It was about leadership and moxie and toughness and a big mistake and overcoming it. And dealing with used parts. Here's Russell Wilson afterwards. It's the craziest game I've ever been a part of. I mean, you know, I'm talking about a Monday night football game. It felt like an NFC championship game right there. Just back and forth, back and forth, two great teams going after.

We knew it was going to come down on the wire. I said earlier in the week. I thought it wasn't coming down on the wire. Didn't think it was going to come down in overtime, no more time on the clock kind of wire. But that's just a true, amazing moment, wildest game. Most amazing game I've been a part of for sure. And I said this about Tiger Woods. Just enjoy Tiger Woods.

because Tiger left and for years and years we were like, that guy's tiger and that guy's tiger and that guy's tiger and I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. There's no more tiger. We're never going to see anything like Russell Wilson. Kyler Murray's interesting. He's a prototype, but this guy's crazy. I mean, he's just out of his mind unique.

All right, let me go to this. Jimmy Garoppolo's getting a lot of heat this morning. Man, he looked, he looked rattled. That guy look flustered. Okay, we get so spoiled watching Russell Wilson. who's mastered the position, and Drew Breeze has mastered the position in Tom Brady. They've taken all these snaps. They've been college starters for years.

You watch a Brady in the two-minute drill and a Breeze and a Russell Wilson, and yeah, Jimmy Garoppolo is a little flustered. There's a bunch of quarterbacks in this league that are very young and very good, and I like most of them. I like Sam Darnold. I like Carson Wentz. I like Dak. I like Lamar.

I like Jimmy Garapolo. I like Deshaun Watson. I like Patrick Mahomes. But these guys' games swing wildly. because they're learning the position. What did Jimmy Garoppolo have to endure last night? Let's think about it. Oh, he faced Pete Carroll,

arguably the best defensive coach in this league for a decade not named Bill Belichick. For all young quarterbacks, their performances are based on who did they face, Pete Carroll. How's their offensive lines health or match up? I don't know, did you watch the game last night? A five-story building named Davian Clownie

was chasing Garoppolo all over the field. You think that gets into your head a little bit? And oh, by the way, what are your weapons? You saw DAC when Zeke left. Deshawn Watson didn't have a left tackle. Carson Wentz didn't have a deep threat. Patrick Moholms doesn't have. Kareem Hunt, you noticing with the young quarterbacks?

Last night, no George Kittle. Emmanuel Sanders got hurt. It was a bunch of kids most who couldn't catch. I mean, when it comes to young quarterbacks, ask yourself, what defense are they facing? Pete Carroll. How's your offensive line doing? Last night, not great.

Sacked five times. Jadavian Clowny best game as a pro. What's the update on your weapons? Patrick Mahomes was not the same without Kareem Hunt. Jared Goff when Cooper Cup got hurt. Dak without Zeke. Deshawn Watson without a left tackle. Yes, Carson Wentz without a deep threat.

Sean Jackson. These young quarterbacks swing wildly based on those three factors. And Jimmy Garoppolo last night was good enough to get him. He didn't have his Pro Bowl tight end. He didn't have his best veteran receiver. He's facing Janavian Cloudy. He's facing Pete Carroll. And by

the way, Monday night football against Russell Wilson? That's like a playoff game. Kyle Shanahan gets it. Kyle Shanahan, thank God, his coach isn't overreacting like Twitter. He gets Jimmy Garapolo. Jimmy doesn't really change. You know, Jimmy's always the same.

So there's no difference there. I thought he battled. He battled very hard, hung in the pocket for a while. I thought he made some big plays. But I know he made a number of plays he'd like to have back also. Listen, nobody could catch Jimmy Garoppolo's passes last night. His guys are the Seahawks late. He looked a little flustered.

They all do. Because young quarterbacks fluctuate as they're learning the position wildly based on who do they face. How's their offensive line holding up and are their weapons healthy? And last night he had three real challenges. By the way, Jimmy Garoppolo has the same number of career starts as Sam Darnold. And we're holding off on Sam Darnold. He didn't have them start.

He's got three fewer starts than Baker Mayfield. And we're saying, well, let's not rush to Barry Baker Mayfield. Garoppolo started 19 games. He's 16 and 13. three. Jimmy Garoppolo, 19 starts 16 and 3. He's good. We're good here. Yes, he didn't look quite as calm as Russell Wilson. You know, that's sort of the way it is. You know, that's kind of the way it is when you're on the field with Brady and Breeze and Russell Wilson, guys who have mastered the toughest position in sports. Coming up next, you know, we say on this show all

the time, Joy, aggressive wins in sports. Boy, if you go in the last couple of weeks in the NFL, there is a sea change happening. I think it's great for football. I love it. And I saw it again last night. That is coming up. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hardway with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kear Games. And in recognition of mental health awareness month, I'm bringing over a decade of my own experience in the middle health field and conversations with so many incredible guests. I'm talking. Trip Fontaine, Ryan Clark. Sometimes when we're in the pursuit of the thing, we get so wrapped up in the chase that we don't realize that we are in possession of the thing.

And we're still chasing it. And we don't know when we've done enough. Because people scoreboard watch. Life becomes about wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth. Are you a good person because you're afraid. Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Keer Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet

lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you, exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer-beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context,

and ask the questions everybody wants answered. brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game.

This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42. Hey, Rhett. My mama wants you to weigh better. What? Where's she at?

Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode. The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on the only store at the chip. I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Bo. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines.

I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balagan. I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what happens in the back. The biggest decisions. If you're going to look at stats and numbers, he has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals.

The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, wherever you get your podcast. Cold and flu season. Stuffy knows. Go to Vix. Sinx nasal spray works up to 12 hours. Use only as directed.

When I was a little kid, there was like Vicks, and I put my finger in a little jar. It used to come in a jar, and I ate Vix, a bunch of it. That's a story in my family. It's a legendary story. story of me. Did you get sick? I don't remember. The word was it was not a good night for me, but I ate it as a kid. Do not eat Vick Synex nasal spray. My grandfather used to chase us around if we had a sniffle and put Vicks all over us, but we didn't get sick. And look where you are today. Yeah,

it worked out. Joy and I talk about this a lot. We talk about it in the NBA a lot, and I think it's something, one of the things I really like is, I like a lot of the analytics in sports. I like how like sports change. You know, one of my knocks on baseball is it looks the same as it did 100 years ago. I want more stuff. I like new stuff. I like risks. And the NFL, I mean, first of all, I got all these quarterbacks coming in now,

and it's so much fun to watch. But the other thing is, it used to be people didn't make trades in the NFL. Jimmy Johnson was the first guy to go out and say, I'm going to get, you can have Herschel Walker. I want eight players. People didn't do that in the NFL. Now we have trades. Well, now it's crazy. Now you're doing,

now you're seeing stuff you didn't see five years ago. mid-season trades. Aggressive wins in sports. Think about the teams this year that made mid-season moves. They're all paying off. Michael Bennett of the Cowboys. Oh, wait, he's good. Jadavian Clowny last night.

Minka Fitzpatrick of the Steelers. Marcus Peters of the Baltimore. He solved their big dilemma. Jalen Ramsey of the Rams. No question their defense now carries the team. Emmanuel Sanders, wide receiver San Francisco, walked in, two practices in, made an impact. Muhammad Sunu is already after Edelman,

the number two target for New England, and Laramie Tunsell saved Deshaun Watson's bacon, left tackle. These were aggressive mid-season traits. For the record, many of them panned. Laramie Tunsel move, panned. Minkafetchpatrick, panned. I mean, you're going to tell me that Jadavian Clownie wasn't worth that third-round paned.

pick Seattle gave up, aggressive wins. And here's why it's important, is that as good as Pete Carroll is, Pete Carroll has whiffed on a lot of first-round draft picks. That running back penny, they don't want him near the field. I was a couple years ago, running back, first round, the penny kid, San Diego State, they don't want them near the field. They're running back.

It's a seventh-round guy they love. Minka Fitzpatrick got ripped. But when you get these veteran coaches who don't sit and watch college football, but they sit and watch NFL film all day, Belichick has whiffed on a million picks. But how often is Bill Belichick whiffed when you get him a guy already in the league that he's watched and

played against? He doesn't whiff much. Pete Carroll seen Jadabian Clowny. You also get the expertise of a Belichick or a Pete Carroll or a Mike Tomlin who can take Minka Fitzpatrick. They scout him, they watch him in the league, they move him into their system. These draft

picks, I mean, I remember covering Warren Sapp in Tampa. When I worked in Tampa, Sapp was great. He was lost for about 15 games. He was just lost. Now, he became a Hall of Fame level player. But if I can get a clownie, Muhammad Sunu, these guys know

the playbook. They figured out quickly. You'll put him in. Emmanuel Sanders is in San Francisco for an hour. It's like, boom. They got wide receiver, rookie wide receivers they've had for a year now. They still can't catch and get the playbook down. So, I mean, Muhammad Sunu walks into New England and Brady

trusts him. First game. First game he throws to him. Second game, he's a go-to target. They draft a receiver Nikiel Harry from Arizona State. They still don't play him. Brady doesn't trust him. So aggressive wins,

mid-season trades, get a veteran, been in the league. Here's the other thing that Pittsburgh did by adding Minka Fitzpatrick is that, and I think Pete Carroll figured this out, adding Jadavia and Clowny and Josh Gordon. It adds juice to your locker room.

I mean, Seattle's in a dog fight with San Francisco. But when you bring Josh Gordon in, players know Josh can play. Players no Jadavian can play. Those guys fill out the uniform. It adds juice to the locker room. Guys are like, oh, oh, we're all in. When the Steelers added Minka Fitzpatrick, what Mike Tomlin was saying is, I don't care Big Ben's out. We're going to go win this division. We're going to go win this division. By the way, it adds juice. Pittsburgh has played better since Minka arrived, not just because of Minka, but because of the energy and the symbolism of adding a star player. We're not calling the season off. Football's hard, man.

man. Week 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. You can lose guys in locker rooms. Not physically. You lose them emotionally. And I'm looking at all these Laramie Tunsel move got ripped. Minka move got ripped. I mean, Houston's a different team. Seattle's defense last night was the more dominant defense at times. So aggressive wins in sports. Make in season trades. Joy of the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. Does he know, Zach Prescott is still waiting for a long-term contract extension from the Cowboys. He's played well this year despite the team's five and four record. And Stephen Jones insists that Dak's value doesn't fluctuate on a week-to-week basis.

Full body of work, and he's doing a great job. I mean, obviously, he played one of his better games that he's ever played. And, you know, we're never going to talk about the negotiation. Everybody knows what Jerry, myself, the organization thinks about Dak. our goal is to ultimately get this thing done. To Dax's credit, he's pretty much hushed the contract conversation throughout the season. I think if this was anybody else, we would be talking about it every single day. He doesn't let us.

He doesn't let us. And that's been pleasant because obviously, I mean, talking about people's money is a bit obnoxious. It's the worst. But it is part of sports and it matters because what they end up giving DAC or what say they end up giving Patrick Mahomes will affect the future of the franchise because that is what it's all coming. down to in a salary cap league. So this is, the situation is a bit strange, though, to me. Like, if it's coming down to a couple million dollars, do you not just get it done? I think you get it done. I mean, I think Jerry's put his arm around him more than once and said, you're a cowboy for life, we'll get it done. And now you're in the season. You don't want to

talk about it. And again, I think a lot of this credit goes to DAC. That's just not giving us an opportunity. I mean, seriously, I think somebody asked about week two, and he's like, you know, We got a big game coming up. So, again, he's a grown-up. At this point, if you're doubting whether Dax should be paid at this point, there's nothing I can do. I can't, I mean, listen, you all fall in love with Lamar Jackson after 15 games. Dax's been winning this, he's been winning 11 games now for four years.

I don't understand if it's the Cowboys, because he plays for the Cowboys. I don't know if it's Ezekiel Elliott. You know what? There's a lot about Dack that he's a grinder. And we love spectacular. We don't, we don't, by the way, Braille. he's winning Super Bowl. He's a system guy. Aaron Rogers has won. He's amazing. A lot of Dax's strengths are hidden, work ethic, leadership, grinder, head down, toughness. That stuff,

Mahomes is throwing the ball down the field, not looking. But it just, to me, it comes down to, are you winning or are you losing? And after, yeah, I mean, bad quarterbacks go on winning streaks, but after 40. This is not a winning streak. Yeah, it's four years of it. Like, it's like, when does that start to matter whether you're winning games or not? So, Lamar Jackson, obviously, has played better than anyone thought he would this year. And his coach John Harbaugh has definitely noticed, along with the rest of us. And during his big win over the Bengals on Sunday,

Harbaugh told his quarterback, you change the game, man. You know how many little kids in this country are going to be wearing number eight playing quarterback for the next 20 years? And Lamar responded, I can't wait to see it when I get older, but right now I got to get to the Super Bowl.

It's a really nice exchange. Hopefully we can eventually get the video later. But he also says Harbaugh is kind of leaning over and he's like, you know, talking about the team. And he's like, you know, that's why they love you. And Lamar goes, I love you too, coach. It's like this really, like, sweet interaction. But I do think, I do want to give Harbaugh a lot of credit because we don't talk about him a lot.

Ever. Yes, like really ever. And he's in the top five coaches in this league. And no matter what goes on with the Ravens, they're always competitive. They're always a functional organization. By the way, he's Pete Carroll. He's got a Super Bowl. both of them have gone to Foxborough and won.

I mean, it's like, and both are an expert. And he was a special team's guru, Pete, a defensive guy. If you look at Alpha Buy, I think he's got a better winning percentage than Pete. The difference is Pete Carroll, USC, Pete Carroll, USC, Pete Carroll's got, even my wife last night, she's like, boy, he really looks good for his day. Pete's a little bit of a rock star where Harbaugh's the lesser known of the Harbaugh brothers. Yeah, yes, yes. And I think it's a little bit of the Ravens brand, too.

Like the Ravens brand is just always about what. on the field and, you know, Ray Lewis, and it's just like, it's still a very exciting team and, like, a very discussable team, but we don't really ever talk about the coach. And they're in the division with the biggest mess in the league, generally Cleveland, and the second biggest brand of the Cowboys, Pittsburgh. They get lost a little bit in that. Yeah, and I do think what ends up happening with Lamar Jackson will be a big credit to Harbaugh's legacy there.

Oh, absolutely. With all the questions that they had about Lamar Jackson coming into the league and now the way he's playing now and the success that he's having. And really, you can see the step up and development from Lamar Jackson from this year to last year. And that, that, obviously, Lamar gets, like, he put in the work, but they deserve credit for it. Ask yourself this.

We all want, you know, I hear these stories. Lamar, this is terrible that he fell in the first round. You know who else fell in the first round? Aaron Rogers, but he ended up with Green Bay. Right. Big Ben, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson. When you don't go top four, you generally go to a better owner, a better staff. Look at all these legends in the game.

I mean, like Peyton Manning was lucky. He goes to India and he gets a Hall of Fame general manager and he gets Tony Dungey. Right. Okay. Most of these top four guys, you go to bad owners, bad staffs, and three and 13 rosters. Yeah, that's how they got to the top of the draft. Finally, speaking of all of those things you just mentioned, Nick's coach David Fisdale is in the second year of a four-year contract,

but it's looking like he won't be finishing that deal. Well, embarrassing. According to Adrian Wojernowski, the Knicks front office has started laying the groundwork to fire Fisdale. Team president Steve Mills

has reportedly worked to convince owner James Dahl that the current roster is good enough to compete but just isn't being coached well enough. Who said that? The president of the team. Thinks this is good enough to compete against Milwaukee and Boston and Toronto?

We're going to have Michael Rappaport on a little bit later who I'm sure we'll have plenty to say about this. This is a disaster, but it's not David Fitzdale's fault. No, time out. The East is weaker than the West. Yes.

In the West, this is a 27-win team max. They may win 31 in the East. Go look at Boston's roster. You get to about nine guys, and you're like, then there's a guy you're not sure can play. They got two guys that can play. It's nonsense to assume that this is David Fisdale's fault. First of all, you can only win with a talent that you have, and especially in the NBA. I mean, Cleveland is no better example of that.

You're in the NBA finals and then you can't make the playoffs. Like, you can only win with the talents that you have. Doesn't matter how great of a coach you are. And when you're in a dysfunctional organization like the New York Knicks, like let's just say it. Like, we all know what the issue here. It's James Dolan. It doesn't matter who you put into that spot.

It doesn't matter who the coach is. It doesn't matter who the president is or the general manager. This is what you're going to have every single time. By the way. Because this is the environment he's created. The only way to fix New York Knicks would be to just completely start over in every facet. Like, David Fisdale is not the issue here. He's very well respected around the NBA.

Players love him. It's not David Fisdale's fault that he has no control over the roster. By the way, Kevin Durant didn't chose the Knicks, right? And what did he say? The Knicks aren't cool. It wasn't about David Fisdale. Their brand now is just an overrated, diluted, messy brand. It's a shame.

It's a shame. It's a shame. It's a shame. Yeah. I mean, there's nothing else. It's just a shame. Yeah, joy with the news. Well, that's the news.

And thanks for stopping by. The Hurd-Ly News. You know, I was watching last night, as Joy was talking about, and then Stephen Jones is like, listen, we're going to pay DAC. It doesn't fluctuate, you know, young quarterbacks especially. And I still consider Dak is moving out of the young quarterback space, but I would say I'd move him out of it next year. But I still consider Dak.

I mean, when you watched him Sunday, he's an improving player. I don't feel like Brady, Breeze, Philip Rivers. You know, I don't feel they're improving. I think Carson Wentz is improving. Holmes is improving. But, you know, when I watched Jimmy Garoppolo last night, I see a lot of DAC. I think Jimmy Garoppolo and Dak are very, very similar.

First of all, Jimmy G is 16 and 3 through his first, you know, 19 games, and Dak was 13 and 3 as rookie season. So they both start with a bang. Secondly, neither is a first round pick. The other thing is we tend to give credit to others. The Cowboy Line, Zeke, Joey Bosa, Kyle Shanahan. so we don't really give them a ton of credit. Both are mobile.

Dak is more mobile than Jimmy, but Dak's not special mobile. Garoppolo's mobile enough, not quite as Dak, but he can get you out of trouble. The other thing I thought about is each is the face now of a legendary franchise. I mean, in the 80s and 90s,

the Niners were, and then the Cowboys are, and then the Niners and the Cowboys. The other thing is, both have a good arm, neither special. Jimmy's got a good arm. It's not a special. arm. It's not Aaron. It's not Carson Wentz.

Jack's got a nice arm. It's fine. It's closer to Kirk Cousins than Aaron Rogers. Both play with a ton of confidence. Despite all their critics, despite winning, they have a lot of critics in San Francisco and Dallas. All they do is win games. Sixteen and three. If I'd have told you Garofalo is going to go

16 and three, you'd be like, I'll take it. Now everybody's a little nervous. Dak keeps winning the division. 32 million's a lot of money. They have critics despite winning, and they have a ton of not bravado, but there's a real confidence to Jimmy G and Dack, despite their critics. Both have a very interesting pregame ritual.

The dance thing is a little odd for me. But here's the other thing. Both franchises have absurdly high quarterback standards. Montana into Steve Young, Stauback in Detroit, Aikman. So the chances are Dack will never be Akeman and never be Stauback, but he's getting better and he's really good. And Jimmy G's never going to be Joe Montana and he's never going to be Steve Young, but he's getting better and they're both really good.

You can't like Jimmy G and not Dak, and you can't like Dak and not Jimmy G. There's a lot of similarities here. Non-first rounders getting better, winning a ton, have their critics. We won't really put our arms around him. But you know what? Jimmy G last night, on that last drive that got him into overtime, everybody was like, I mean, Twitter was absurd. He looks nervous.

If San Francisco, if that kicker doesn't shank it a very makeable kick, he looked nervous, Jimmy G's the winner today. And by the way, Dak Sunday, if his coach probably says, Dak, you take it not Zeke, Dak wins Sunday. So, you know, they lose big games Sunday night football, Monday night. Monday night football. And all of a sudden, the critics come out. I thought Jimmy G., all things considered, didn't have Kittle, didn't have his top veteran receiver,

Clowny was in his face, Pete Carroll's amazing, Monday night football. You know, that was about as big as game as Jimmy G's ever played. That was a hugely emotional game. A lot of pressure on him. He got him to overtime. Well, the ball was almost intercepted. Kendrick Bourne dropped three balls last night. His own guys couldn't catch.

So I think we're way too tough on these young guys. I think Dak special. I don't think either is Mahom's special. I don't think they're Deshawn Watson unique. But Jimmy G and Dak, you can't like one and not the other. There's just a ton of similarities between the two. Reggie Bush right around the corner plus top of the hour, the herd hierarchy.

What do we do with San Francisco and Seattle this morning? How do you rank them? They both look elite to me. I never thought Seattle was a Super Bowl team until last night. They looked like it to me. Clownie, Josh Gordon added. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd. weekdays in noon Eastern 9 a.m. Pacific on Fox Sports Radio, FS1, and the IHard Radio app.

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

or 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 care gains is we have real conversations about healing growth fatherhood pressure and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind.

Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves,

their locker room stories, their reactions, The stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports Slice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slic Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

What's up, guys, this is Clever Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, A, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Quarterback on office blue 42. A rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clifford Show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. American soccer is about to explode.

The World Cup is coming. Ramos sending on to Ernie Stewart the chip. I'm Tad Ramos. I'm Tom Boke. On our podcast, Inside American Soccer, you'll get the real storylines. I'm not worried about Policic. I'm not worried about Balligan.

I'm not worried about McKinney. My only concern is what. happens in the back. The biggest decisions. You're going to look at stats and numbers. He has no shot at making this World Cup team. And the truth about the U.S. national team. It wouldn't be a huge surprise if our team ends up in the quarterfinals or potentially a great run into the semifinals. The World Cup is almost here. Experience it all with us. Listen, Inside American Soccer with Tom Bogart and Tab Ramos on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcast, wherever you get your podcast.

Don't be the guy in the long, sloppy looking on tuck shirt on tuckett.com. Code her 20% off. Part of the big noon kickoff. Reggie Bush, 11 years in the NFL, number two draft pick by the Saints, former USC star. All right, so I'm from the Pacific Northwest, Reggie. And my sister, I grew up a sports nut. My sister doesn't like sports. So about seven, eight years ago, whenever Russell Wilson came into the league, she starts wearing, she'll watch a beer, she'll watch a game with a beer and I'll have a Russell Wilson mug on it. And I'm like, what's going on in my family? Nobody likes sports in my whole family. And my sister's like texting me last night.

Oh my God, I love Russell. And there is something about certain player. Drew Breeze has this in New Orleans. And Russell has it in Seattle. Yeah. They are the city. Yeah. They are.

Now, by the way, I'm not saying Aaron Rogers isn't popular. Yeah. I'd still argue far felt more Milwaukee. I'm watching Russell last night. I'm like, I don't even know how. and you played with Breeze what is it beyond when you get to a Russell and Drew

because they remind me a little bit of each other not stylistically but the persona leadership I mean when you see Russell what do you see what was Breeze like Drew's he's the ultimate competitor he's the ultimate leader on and off the field you're going to get the same

guy he's not trying to sell you something it's just who he is as a person he's a family man he's a religious he doesn't says all the right things gives back to the community, you know, as much as he possibly can. You know, Russell does that. I see all the, all the Instagram posts where every Tuesday he goes and,

and donates his time with kids, you know, who are fighting illnesses. And they're just good people, you know. And by the way, that matters in a locker room. It matters. B-Sers. Guys sniff out. Yeah, they can sniff it out. B-Sers.

And they're just good people. They're humble. They're hungry. They make the guys around them better, right? You know, I said last night, and I haven't said this, to my wife, you know, because I've been straddling offensive as to if I want my kids to play football, if I want my sons to play football. After watching Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson over these last couple of weeks and after this weekend, I said to my wife confidently,

I said, I want my sons to play quarterback because of what they embody and because of my sons can now turn on the TV and they can see black quarterbacks playing at the highest level, but they can say, oh, he looks like me. You know what I mean? oh, I can do those things because for the longest time, the narrative was running quarterbacks have a shelf life in this league, right? And Russell Wilson, the thing he does so great is he gets down. He doesn't take the big hits. Baseball guy.

He takes off and runs. Baseball guy, right? He has that slide. He gets down. And that's the only thing I kind of worry about with Lamar Jackson is as much as he attacks, right? You know, the spin movie put on in a Cincinnati game was ridiculous. but at some point in time, somebody's going to catch you. By the way, that Pittsburgh defense has got nothing but studs 25 and younger.

You start running around in that secondary. Exactly. You're going to get hurt. Somebody's going to clip you, right? And so that's the only thing I worry about with Lamar Jackson. If he can find a way to just protect himself and just slide, he will play for, I mean, as long as he wants to in his league. Because I think Lamar Jackson is the new wave. I think he's what every quarterback now, every quarterback come out of college now is a dual threat.

Everybody's a dual threat now. See, I disagree on that, but I'll tell you why. I think every quarterback is going to be Kyler Murray. I think we don't watch Arizona play. Colin Murray is a dual threat. Well, but a difference is. Kyler Murray is Russell Wilson.

Baseball player that chose football. Unbelievable arm. Russell Wilson throws the best deep ball in the league. If you've not seen Kyler Murray play, he throws the best spiral, including Patrick Mahomes and League. It is like a cartoon. You can put Kyler Murray and Russell. with a million coaches.

Lamar is so unique. You can't duplicate that. I don't think GMs go, get me Lamar. He's not on the market. But I do think we've got a lot of, I think we got a lot of these football, baseball, shortstop kids,

little short, and they say, I like football more. It's more fun. I'll have to go to the minor leagues for seven years. And I think you're going to see, by the way, I think Tua is a left-handed Kyler. Kyler's a shorter.

So I think we're going to have three guys in the league like Russell Wilson. Yeah. Kyder, Russell, and Tua. Exactly. By April. And by dual threat, I don't mean Lamar Jackson dual threat, right? Like, you're not just going to replicate that.

You can't. You can't replicate that. But dual threat in the sense of Russell Wilson will take off and run and extend plays with his legs. And towards the end of that game against San Fran, he's sprinting for first down, 30 yards down the field. And even in the open field, he's not an easy tackle. Like, he's shifty enough to make one guy miss in open field. Kyle Murray, same way. Lamar Jackson,

obviously. Did you notice this? This is where, like Lamar Jackson, young quarterbacks, Carson Wentz just run. Yeah. Carson Wynch just running.

Yep. Yeah, he's just running. Most of these young guys. I mean, Carson Wentz, I'm going to go pick up yards. Russell Wilson is such a master. He's running last night. And Reggie, he runs to the middle of the field.

So he's thinking, I want to set my kicker up. So he has a straight shot. I got Jacob Myers here. Like I was thinking, This guy, this cat, he's thinking about four plays down the road as he, most of these young guys are like, I don't want to get hit. His football IQ is at the highest level, right? It's just as high as any other quarterback in this league. And again, just to see the masterful job he does week in and week out, it doesn't matter how much they're down by, it doesn't matter what he has to overcome, what the situation is.

he is always going to put his team in positions to win. He's always going to elevate the players around him, which translate not only to the offense. Watch, watch, watch, watch. He wants to get right to the middle of the field. I mean, come on. Yeah, I mean, it's just genius the way he plays the game. Okay, now Jimmy G, everybody's banging on Jimmy G. And my takeaway was didn't have George Kittle.

Yep. Clowny's in his face. Pete Carroll's great defense. I thought Jimmy G was fine. I thought he was fine. Yeah, I thought he was fine. But you're right. They couldn't block, right?

They could not block. They couldn't not block Connie. They couldn't get him protection. But he did enough to win that football game. Got him to OT. He got him to overtime, did enough to win the football game. But I thought it was poor clock management by the 49ers staff towards the end of that overtime when they get the ball back with a minute 50 on the clock.

They give it right back with a minute and 30 on a clock. Like you really only ran 20 seconds off the clock and you gave it back to Russell Wilson and you really didn't think he was going to try it down. and put his team in position and went. Did you not watch the scouting report? Did you not watch the film? Well, I think a lot of times, Reggie, to your point, when you're playing a football game,

you're not thinking just about your quarterback. It's like, I don't want to give the ball back. Remember the old famous Bill Belichick went for it deep in his territory? And he's like, well, I'm giving the ball to Peyton Manning. Exactly. If you're facing somebody else, you don't go for it. But you're constantly down. I don't want to give it back to whoever it is.

I want to go, I want to talk about this because you called it. I did not. You called it. I did not. You called LSU over Bama. Yeah. I thought, first of all, Tua was great. He was really good.

On a hurt leg. On a hurt leg. Yeah. But what did you see? Because I think Bama's done. I think Bama's going to go play in the, you know, the fiesta, the Capital One Bowl. What did you see? Because you confidently said LSU's winning this game.

I saw that weekend and week out, Joe Burrow shows up on the biggest stages. He shows up in the biggest games. He actually plays better in the biggest games. and I saw him elevating also the run game. So Clyde Edwards-Hillair, before this game, I believe they were like, the stats didn't really show that they were like the 10th best rushing team in the SEC. But the last couple games against Florida, the best defense in the SEC at the time, Auburn, one of the best defense of front in probably in college football.

They were starting to run game was starting to catch up with the passing game. And you're starting to see this team take on. on, you know, another level. Like, they were starting to hit another gear. And Alabama had kind of been hiding behind their schedule, right? They're really good. Well, New England against the Ravens. It's like, we don't know who you are.

We don't know who you are until you play a real good team. And they got carved up by Joe Burrow from the time that the whistle was blown to the end of the game. And so I just saw, and then I know Coach O's DNA. I spoke to him before the game. Oh, you did? What do you say? I spoke to him before the game. And we always used to have this saying when we're at SC is that what's the first thing that?

doing the fight. You take your shirt off and you clear the chairs. That was kind of the way that we would motivate our team, right? Because we were young, passionate, energetic. You can do that with 18 and 19 year olds. You can't do that. We're growing up in in the NFL. And so I messaged him before the game. I said, coach, what's the first thing you're doing the fight? And he answered, and he said, we have four fights this way in practice. I said, oh, they're going to win a football game because they're hungry, they're dedicated. On the football field in practice, they're pushing each other and it's not the fight right don't focus on the fight it's we are going to we're going to treat this practice like it's a game and that's the one thing that separated us at usc was i on

practice field you're my teammate but you was my enemy lineback that was peace thing competition wednesday competition tuesday i'm trying to knock your head off i'm trying to make you look dumb in practice and that elevated us i'm sorry that elevated us on on on saturdays sorry Good stuff. Way to go. Big noon kickoff. Michigan, Michigan State this week, Ohio State, Penn State in a couple of weeks. Reggie Bush. If I said today this morning to you, this was our dilemma with the NFL, our herd hierarchies coming up. Best team in the NFL this morning is, that's exactly what we did. What, what, what, what, best team in the NFL this morning. Best team, God, yeah, that's hard. I mean, the Saints lost. Everybody, Saints got pushed around. Yeah, they got pushed around. San Francisco loses at home. Seattle's clearly a better team than three weeks ago because Clownie and Josh Gordon. So that you can't take Seattle a month ago. They're a different team. Yeah. And then the Ravens, obviously, they look great, but they beat the Patriots and at home and they beat Seattle.

So, you know, this whole MVP race we're talking about is, you know, you got to factor in a lot of different things, which I think the old school criteria leads me to believe Russell Wilson is an MVP. Yes. But you also factor in wins and importance of some of those wins. Lamar Jackson beat both those guys. He beat the goat time Brady and he went in Russell Wilson's house and beat him too. So how do you, what do you, what's the criteria? Coming up next, we'll answer it. Herd hierarchy for Reggie Bush.

Levy and Bell next hour too. One 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. 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 a ball. wins and losses. Steve Burns, Dustin Ross, because you find it important to be a good person while you hear on earth, or are you a good person because you're afraid? Because that's two different intentions, bro. Absolutely. And that's

two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast, Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our heart radio app. Search, learn the hard way,

and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsLice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines.

We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 in the TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

What's up guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out of my.

Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rec, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? Miss Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds.

Like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs. I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid.

He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too. Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers

why he got the ball. After you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah, you figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the, iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Oh, here we go on a Tuesday hour to live in LA.

This is The Hurt. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We're on iHeart Radio. We're on Fox Sports Radio. We're on FS 1 15 minutes. Michael Rappaport will be joining us. We've got a Tony Allen, former NBA, great defensive player of the year. Going to talk about the NBA, the league of duos.

Clippers won last night, by the way. Kauai didn't play particularly well. Didn't matter they won. I still think that's the best team in the NBA. And Joy Taylor is joining me. Joy, how are you? I am great. Really enjoyed that game last night.

So did I. So it did create a dilemma, though. And the dilemma is, as a sportscaster, I think Joy and I both feel this. We don't want to overreact to individual wins. But there are wins. I mean, Baltimore dominating New England. You're like, all right, I see the world differently. I don't think New England's terrible, but I look at Baltimore after that game.

And I'm like, oh, boy, that was. that was ugly. So Seattle, San Francisco, Dallas, Minnesota, we had a lot of these big kind of transforming games. So this week's Heard Hierarchy. We thought a lot about it, and here we go. It's an interesting one. Heard hierarchy. Time is now. Let's go. The top 10 NFL teams, according to college. Number 10. Pittsburgh Steelers, let's just say it. They have the best offensive line in football. I don't think it's Dallas. I think it's Pittsburgh. How do you have the best red zone offense in the NFL with Mason Rudolph and backup running backs. Because you just road grade everybody.

Four game winning streak. Only 11 sacks allowed. Again, Mason Rudolph is not mobile. You can't get to Mason Rudolph. 26 takeaways. Their front seven is so dynamic athletically. Between the Niners and the Steelers, there are more 24, 25-year-old guys. This is the best offensive line in football.

It's Mike Tomlin's best coaching. job. And listen, they're the Colts with more dynamic defensive players and offensive players. The Colts have a great old line. We know that. This is the best offensive line in football number 10. Number nine. Houston. Houston has kind of quietly become a great running team. You can't run on them. They're the opposite of Kansas City. They run it and you can't run on them. Third in rush defense, fourth in rush offense. And by the way, Deshaun Watson has been dicey in September. But he's never lost a November game. They're coming off a box. he's healthy. The offensive line is healthier.

Watch out for Houston. Number nine. Number eight. Little bit of fools gold with Green Bay. I'll put him at eight. Do we know anything about Matt LaFleur? I didn't love their situational stuff this weekend. They've been out gained by 300 yards this year. That's with Aaron Rogers and Devonte Adams and Aaron Jones. They've been out gained this year. They're 28th in total defense.

You know, they beat up a little bit on Kirk Cousins. They beat Dack. Aaron tends to play really good in Dallas. But I think there's a little fool's goal here. I think their defense is opportunistic. I do like the fact they have a running game for Aaron, but I don't know enough about Matt LaFleur, and I don't trust this team yet in big games.

Number seven. The Cowboys. Now, I know, oh, but the Cowboys. Listen, teams get better during the course of a season. And DAC is clearly getting better to me as a quarterback. Dallas has the better offensive line than Green Bay. They're number one in total offense. They're number one in third down offense.

I think they have the second best offensive line in the NFL to the Pittsburgh Steelers. DAC, by the way, is on pace. Career highs in completion percentage, passing touchdowns, passing yards. They're a very good team. Are they special? No. But I think they do certain things exceptionally well. and they do more things exceptionally well than Green Bay.

I know Green Bay beat them, but at this point, I trust Jason Garrett I do more than Matt LaFleur, so I'll put Dallas at seven. Number six. Minnesota Vikings, one slot ahead. I think they're very close. Listen, that was their first win against the winning team on the road in two years. Let's not go crazy. And Kirk Cousins completed six passes to wide receivers.

This is about defense, head coach in a running game. Delvin Cook is remarkable. How about that one run when he bounced off a couple of Calves? boy defenders. I mean, just just pinballed it. This is a team that has an identity. I wish their identity was like their quarterback, but it's their coach, their running game and their defense. They just beat Dallas on the road. That's a rarity. They don't do that much. But I think Minnesota's a slot ahead of Dallas at number six. Number five. New England. I think they still need another offensive piece. I think they have good backs. Mohamed Sunu is clearly their number two after

Julian Edelman. They have the most takeaways in the NFL. Some of that is. they played crappy quarterbacks. They have the best head coach and the best clutch quarterback, and they'll probably play a playoff game in Foxborough. But their offensive personnel, I got to be honest with you. I said this last year, and they won the Super Bowl. They just, Gronk ended up being so big for them against Kansas City and so big for them against the Rams,

their last year's offense without Josh Gordon's speed and without Gromk. They need another piece offensively. Number four. Seattle. I think it matters. I think you have to holistically look at Seattle. They didn't have Jadavian Clowny when the season started. They did not have Josh Gordon, who had two big catches last night.

I think they're coming together, and I think Josh is a special player. He was big last night in a couple of big third down, and I think Clowney was absurd. By the way, you know, you think of Seattle, and you think, you know, they have all these disparate parts offensively. They're fifth and total offense, and they faced a real schedule here. They faced San Francisco. They face Baltimore. They faced a real schedule here. Russell Wilson leads the NFL in passing touchdowns, passer rating,

and I think Clowney, Josh Gordon, are really nice pieces. Number three. The Saints got blown out. Don't worry about it. There is a big concern with the Saints. They don't have a vertical passing threat. One of the things I look at is how many 20-plus-yard plays do you have? I mean, you can't go on 13-play drives and win a Super Bowl.

You have to be able to go over the top. They're like 25th in the NFL. They just don't beat you over the top. That's why Teddy Bridgewater was a perfect Drew Breeze prototype. You know, smart, coachable, get the ball out, complete it. They don't turn the ball over. They only have, which is just crazy. They have six turnovers all year.

That's crazy. They have a very good offensive line. They play real defense. They got a pass rush. So they have a lot of elements I like. Quarterback, coach, defense, but they do not get any freebies offensively. I mean, Ted Gens their number two receiver. He's more of a returner than a receiver in his best days.

So that's the concern. Number two. San Francisco. Again, I know Seattle beat him. They didn't have George Kittle. When a young quarterback doesn't have a Pro Bowl tight end or Emmanuel Sanders, that would be like taking Lamar Jackson and saying, all right, you don't get your best tight end and you don't get Mark Ingram. Like young quarterbacks need their best weapon. San Francisco's got a lot of talent wide receiver, but their best veteran receiver really didn't play much. And their world-class tight end didn't play. And I thought it was Garapolo was throwing. the guys that he would prefer not to throw to who mostly couldn't catch last night. It's not an excuse. It's a reality.

You know, let's be honest about him. Red zone defense, passing defense, sacks, you know, one, one, two, two, they're great. Number one. I'm going to go to Baltimore. I thought a lot about this this morning. They dominated New England and they dominated Seattle. I watched both those games. They didn't just win.

They dominated both those teams. They dominate Pete Carolyn Belichick. All right. That's good enough for me. The other thing to remember is they had a really. ugly loss against Cleveland. Okay, since then, teams get better as the season goes on. Since then, they're a top six defense.

Listen, it happens. I mean, it just happens. You have bad Sundays. You're missing the left tackle. You're missing the right guard. You've got to Baltimore, if you take out the Cleveland game, I got too many good wins. By the way, they're 13 and 3 in their last 16 games. They have something that I think is incredibly important, an identity.

And I think Marcus Peters has also solved their big issue. Early in the year, we said the same thing. They need a corner. They went and got one. Baltimore is number one. By the way, let me go off on a little tangent here, if I may. I try not to spend too much time on Twitter. I find it negative.

A lot of losers talking about winners. You know, you rip the pro athlete from a basement. So I'm not really into it. but I do think for my business and Joy's business, I'm not going to speak for Joy, is that I put stuff out there because it's social media and I want my stuff out there like everybody else, even though I think the place can be absurd.

I always laugh at this. NFL's got too many penalties. It is unwatchable. How do you know that? Dope, you're watching it. Yeah, when you send the tweet the NFL's unwatchable because there's too many penalties, you're watching that thing you're calling unwatchable.

The last five football games, I have watched beginning to end. And I mean, didn't miss a play. Chargers, Oakland, 2624, absurd. LSU Bama, 4641, absurd. Jets, Giants, bad teams, incredibly entertaining mess, 3427. Minnesota Cowboys came down to the last minute and last night. That's the last five games I've chosen as a consumer to watch.

For NFL-1 college, couldn't turn the TV off. Yeah, there's too many penalties. I wish they would stop with the penalties. Listen, we got an NBA load management. We got baseball with no more base runners. Hockey doesn't score enough goals for me, although I do find it fun to go to the games. College football has got blowouts every weekend.

Folks, the NFL is great. And all this quarterback play, all these new quarterbacks running around, it's spectacular. I have chosen the quality of athleticism, the quality of quarterbacks, the quality. Do you realize in the NFL this weekend 11 of 13 games.

11 of 13 were one possession. Here's the two that weren't. Lamar Jackson play of the year against Cincinnati. Lamar Jackson was absurd. You had to watch for Lamar. And New Orleans, and we can't figure out how it happened, was destroyed by Atlanta. So the two games that weren't close, you had the play of the year, one of the quarterback performances of the year, and Atlanta crushed New Orleans and nobody can figure out how.

Stop complaining. I mean, yes, there's too many flags. NFL tends to, you know, we've noticed this throughout the NFL. They're a very fluid league. They're always willing to change. And they will, over the course of a season, they'll figure out the flag issue, just like they figured out the catch issue. But the quality of football right now in America, out of this world.

And the boring pocket quarterbacks, fowl, exit stage right, and all the athlete quarterbacks, Donald and Wence and Mahalms and Lamar and Kyler, here they come. year, by the way, we're adding Tua, who may be better than Kyler and Lamar. And then after that, it's Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence. And they may be better than Tua and Kyler and Lamar. So the sports in great hands, college and pro. Michael Rappaport is around the corner. What's new? The New York Knicks are an embarrassment

to mankind. 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. Welcome to my new podcast. Learn the Hardway with me. 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's two different levels of trust. I want you to just really be a good person. Join me, Kear Gaines, is we have real conversations about healing, growth, fatherhood, pressure, and purpose on my new podcast.

Learn the Hardway. Open your free, our Heart Radio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where SportsSlice comes in. I'm Timbo.

Every episode, we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves, their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear. The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, We break it down, give you context, and ask the questions everybody wants answered. SportsSlice brings you closer to the action with stories told by the people who live them.

Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker walks up to me, he goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What?

Time out. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, rep, my mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Clifford show on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? This Isaiah Thomas.

And I'm C.J. Toledano, and our podcast Point Game is about defying the odds. like LeBron heading into the playoffs without Luca and Austin Reed. And finding ways to win no matter what. He's the smartest player to ever play the game. His IQ is at a level that we've never seen before. And he knows without Luca and Austin Reeves, I got to manipulate the game. We get a player's perspective on the challenges of the playoffs.

I think Joker's going to be exhausted this series because when they don't have Rudy in the lineup, he has to really guard guys like Nas Reid. He has to guard Julius Randall. And then he has to give us everything. thing he gives us on the night-to-night basis on offense. And when IT's friends stop by, like Quentin Richardson, we dive into some playoff history too.

Steve Nass would get that thing. That man, hell get the flying. He running up the court, licking his fingers why he got the ball. Like, you go through a training camp with that, Isaiah. You figure it out real quick. Get your ass up and down the court, and you're going to get the ball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This week on Thursday night football, we've got one of the great rivalries in football as the Steelers take on Baker Mayfield and the Browns. It all starts at 730 Eastern, 430 Pacific on Fox NFL Network and streaming on Prime Video. Well, things have not Michael Rappaport, actor, writer, comedian, things haven't gone well for Baker Mayfield and it doesn't bother you one bit. No, it doesn't bother me one bit. A wise man, a sports mind. Oh, you, one said. And I've used this quote. I've always given you the credit for it.

The credit for it. I don't want cool quarterbacks. I don't want my quarterback Millie Rocking. I don't want my quarterback beer chugging. I don't want my quarterback shaving three times during a day before games, after games. I don't want him grooming him. I want a nerd. I want a quiet guy.

I want a less is more. I don't want to know much about my quarterback. Lamar Jackson. doesn't talk. Deshawn Watson. By the way, everybody makes fun of Russell Wilson. By the way, is his brand not a little dorky, a little square? And those three guys.

Tom Brady. And those three guys you just mentioned as far as the way they play, cool street cred, breaking ankles. But when you see them talk, nerds, quiet, low-key. But when you want to break ankles, spin out of the pocket, you know, video games, human video games, those three guys have that. Their games are cool. That's what I'm saying. But look at Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson, Tom Brady. They're not parallel. Peyton Manning, they're not paralyzed by being hip. I tell young broadcasters, I literally speak to young broadcasters. And I always say this, the audience isn't hip. Why do you want to be hip?

Like, you're just separating from the 90% of people that watch me aren't hip. I'm not hip. Oh, you're definitely not hip. I am literally, I wear this to bed. I'm, I'm, I am literally, I wear this to bed. I literally go home and look like an accountant all day. Colin, I will say this. Your audience is probably hipper than you. 99.9% of the population is going to be hipper than you. So I understand it, but just make sure you give the audience, they are hip-per than you.

I'm okay with that. I'm okay being a dork. Yes. That's not a problem. Hey, cotton. I have no problem with what's happened to Baker, Cleveland. You know, you thought you, it's so Cleveland what's happened to Cleveland. They thought they were going to win the Super Bowl.

They got Jarvis Landry. They got Odell Beckham. You have an embarrassment truly of riches. It's an embarrassment of riches. I mean, if you said to yourself, we've been surprised by Baltimore, Arizona and Oakland. Cleveland's been the embarrassment. They've been the embarrassment. The good roster, like you said, there's been a lot of pleasant surprise.

Oakland is a pleasant surprise. Cleveland's the embarrassment. Is Freddie Kitchens going to get fired? end of the year, I'm now being told 75, 80%, yes. So Baker Mayfield has gotten two coaches fired. And he'll be there and he'll man up them. And he'll do an interview and say, I don't follow the pro quo. I'm not like everyone else.

Well, no, you're not. And this is why you're not like all the other quarterbacks we just mentioned. And this is why you're not winning. By the way, my herd hierarchy, before we get to some NBA stuff, I had my herd hierarchy. You didn't like where I had the Patriots number five. Listen, and I know you're doing like some Jedi mind trick that I have to come on and apologize. Because you're a New Yorker.

I'm a New York Giants fan. And you hate the Patriots. Yes. But I've been tamed and and like neutered by the Patriots. Right. Okay. So when you say Lamar Jackson, great, they, you know, that running and this is my fantasy football star. Right.

I love him. Sure. Gets a little colder, gets a little bit more slippery. I love the guy. We could talk about the 49ers. They're not winning anything. The Seahawks, they're a problem. But when it all is set and done right now,

and I'm a New York Giants fan, I'm a guy who we ripped their hearts out, not once. Twice. Two times. Right now, if I had to bet the table, bet the house, the dog, the car, I go with the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. Well, we were saying this yesterday,

outside of the Ravens, I don't even think Kansas City makes life uncomfortable for them. Not anymore. They can't defend the run. You can see Belichick against Kansas City. It's 37 minutes o'clock time of possession. Their road, and this is a lot, their roads easier. By the way, have you noticed this?

Bama wasn't losing games for eight years. Then Florida gets a good coach. George gets good coach. LSU gets Joe Burrow and Ed Orgeron. And now Alabama doesn't look as unbeatable. It's like there is something to be said about New England. They plan the AFC East. Everybody's always got a new quarterback.

Everybody's replacing coaches. They have an easier run. out. I mean, look at Seattle. They have to get through San Francisco and your own division. Colin, we could sit here and make every excuse and reason why. I've invented excuses and reason why the Patriots

have been so good. I'm one of the catalyst of it. Okay, I've patented on excuses why the Patriots continue to be good. I'm done with the excuses. I'm betting on the Patriots winning the Super Bowl. Okay. Okay? I don't want that to happen. But I'm betting on

that. So I don't want like, oh, the AFC the NFC, this coaching, this injury. Who cares at this point? They beat you down, Michael. What? They beat you down. Well, they do. They do beat you down.

They had me under a table. They do. I'll never, I was under a table watching that Super Bowl. What happened? That was horrible. Right. Let's shift to the NBA. Okay.

Now, LeBron, it is a revenge season. He's hashtagging it. Every big win is revenge. What do you make of that? They look good. He looks good. You know what, Colin, up until three years ago when Lanzo Ball came into the NBA and the rookie year, on this show, we wouldn't discuss the NBA. It's November, like the season's got pushed up eight games, nine games, ten games.

This is like, this is a joke. The opening of the NBA would be Christmas. Now, because of Lanzo Ball and we could give him credit and his father credit, they've heightened up the NBA with the offseason and the 360. We've heightened it. but eight and two, two and eight, that's tougher to get out of. Last year, Christmas time, the Clippers, I remember the Clippers had the best record in the West. I still like the Clippers. But they're eight and two.

There's going to be, and I don't wish this on any players. So don't take this out of context. I don't wish this on any player. There's going to be thumbs that are getting broken. Anthony Davis has heard again. There's going to be Anthony Davis. There's going to be on all the teams. There's going to be ankles that get tweaked.

And again, I want every player, including LeBron James, to stay healthy. They're a good team. The Dwight Howard thing has paid off. The Kuzma. He stepped up to Javelle McGee. The Warriors should have never let him go. So you like the revenge thing. They're not winning a championship.

Oh, revenge. It's mens. He can change. He can do what he needs to do to Instagram and the revenge and the hair. We don't know what's going on there. That's the question we don't know. Everybody has a lot of answers. You got Joy here.

She's smart. You just said you're a nerd. I quote you. We don't know what. happening with the man's hair. But I know this. They're a very good team. They're not beating the Clippers.

I have Denver to beat them. And Houston will be a, that could go seven games. So if they think this ain't the East, my friend, don't get it confused. This ain't Cleveland. This ain't the East. This ain't the good old days when you were walking through the Raptors, making fools out of Milwaukee Bucks. That ain't happened.

So you could have all the revenge and hashtags and maybe you try to get another pat. Do you like LeBron as much? People get mad at me when I say this. I'm a LeBron fan. I think in the last two years, he's gotten very LeBron-centric. I mean, again, fame will do that to anybody, though.

Whether you're a star- I think L.A. does it to people. Listen, I'll say L.A. does it. It doesn't. But when you're that famous, you know, fame stunts you. You know, they say, like, a lot of famous people, actors, child stars, Michael Jackson, the Bieber's, the Leonardo DiCaprio's.

When you're that Michael Jackson famous, Eddie Murphy famous, it stunts your growth as a human being because they say like at the age of that you becoming that famous when you become like insulated like that it's stunts your growth the guys I don't have to sit here again

this is like Jedi mind tricks he does a lot of great things he's a great player he's probably going to go down as an individual better player than Kwai Leonard Kuai Leonard will end his career with more rings he's got two rings but LeBron has gotten a little

LeBron centric he's a little into LeBron a little bit right yeah Yeah. I liked him more. He's sick. He's ridiculous. The ego should be big.

You're not, none of that makes for a championship. I liked LeBron. I liked Ohio LeBron better. I like him during his first run with the Cleveland Cavaliers. And then he made that decision. And then it's been downhill ever since. I like him when he was part of that Ohio community. And now he's just another star in a town that elevates stars.

Yeah. Not that I don't like him, but he's a little, I get too much LeBron. He's firing directors. Yeah. You're firing directors on your movie? What's the problem? Somebody told me you're hot on this. What's that?

Okay, so I talked to an NBA scout yesterday, NBA scout, and he said, you're watching last year watching Brooklyn. Yes. And it was chemistry and fun and ball movement. He goes, it was a joy to go scout there. The year before. Yeah. Now they got Kyrie. He's like, that's over.

Everybody's just watching Kyrie. I'm not a huge Kyrie fan. I think he's a little bit of a flat earth crazy person. Every player on that team took a step back, including the coach, who everybody says is a genius, Brad Stevens. The Boston Celtics took a step back. I could sit here in ooh and ah, Brooklyn fans, New York fans. I mean, this guy is about his New York centric of a ball handler.

He takes all the great things from the Rod Strickland's, the God Sham gods, all the Dwayne Pearl Washington's. He does it all. Yeah. He'll make the Instagram highlights every night and the plays of the night. every single night. Karis Levert, Spencer Dinwiddie. In the playoffs, you were like,

these guys are on the verge of becoming really good. No question. They're four and five, okay? Kyrie, are incredible individual talent. He's not the guy. You can't have a guy that dominates the ball that much. See, that's my thing about Kyrie. LeBron doesn't.

No, LeBron's always been very much lubricates the offense. LeBron likes to move it around. So we could sit here and o' and I in the, He might have the greatest handle ever. But to play with it, Jason Tatum, Jalen Brown, they're back to being the perennial all-stars that we thought they might be. Yeah. Spencer Dinwiddie and Karis Lever, they're done.

I always say basketball is one of those sports. Don't underrate. It's a team game. Yeah, don't underrate. We all played high school basketball or at the Y. There is a correlation between YMCA basketball and the NBA. If the most talented guy on the floor, if he's selfish, it's no fun. And by the way, and I'm not even traveling.

Any sport that's a team sport. But in football, the quarterback has to distribute. And in baseball, in basketball, the best player on a floor can ruin the room. And I got to travel 45. Ruin it. And he ruins it for the players around him. The fans, we love it. The Instagram, we love it.

It's incredible to watch the way he finishes the ball handling the spins. It's not good for the team. But they're not winning anything. They're four and five. The Knicks are two and eight. They're not much better than the Knicks. Finally, you are a star. You love Hollywood.

You like to be pampered. I would imagine you love the NBA's load management. I can take a time off. It's almost like being in the world's best actors union. I don't have to show up till noon. I can sleep in. What do you make a load management? I don't like it.

I've pounded my head since I got on the show today. I've complained. The load management, Kauai. who will wind up with more rings than LeBron. He will. Here's the thing. You don't want to play. I would like an explanation.

Okay, fair. Okay, and we're going to push you to talk. Okay. And if you're not going to do it, what's his uncle's name? Uncle Tom, Jimmy, Frank. Yeah. Benis. Dennis.

Yeah. Uncle Dennis. We'll have Uncle Dennis explain why he's not playing. And if you're going to sit out, I think you should not be paid. And if you're going to sit out, the fans should be entitled to get their money back. I came to see Denzel Washington on Broadway. He's not there. I would like my money back.

I'm not watching Joe X perform Shakespeare. I want Denzel. I came to see Kawhi. I'm entitled to get my money back. And you should not pay. You should not be paid to sit on the bench. And why can't we get an explanation? Maybe it'll help some of the other players.

Maybe the fans. Maybe we have load management where we go, well, we're not going to come to a game tonight. I'm too tired. I'm going to sit home and watch. And if there's a money thing with it, and what's your injury? Like, we should have a little bit more.

Well, I do think the NBA find Doc Rivers because they didn't have a good enough explanation. So the NBA is, listen, optically it's bad. The league doesn't like it. Don't you want to play against Janus, Kauai? Well, it's a new world. The athlete now has more say.

But don't you want to play against Yianis? I think I would want it. And I love Kauai, but don't you want that smoke? This guy just won the MVP of the regular season. You won the MVP of the finals. Sit out against Dame Dollar in those guys. No disrespect. Dame Dollars are my guy.

I'm going to be in Portland performing. I love these guys. But you want that smoke with Janice. That's the guy you're going to check. I think what makes Russell Wilson great and memorable is the games like last night. If you sat out and that you would, that's fine. I think what defines athletes are these. And I don't buy the NBA is all about playoffs.

I think part of MJ's greatness is battling. through the Eastern Conference, Celtics, Isaiah. I mean, it's a journey. Isaiah Thomas, they all played. So it's not like you want to be like Mike. Don't get man when we reference those guys. Moses Malone, Larry Bird, they played. Dominique, there was no load management.

So don't be like, none of these guys are like Mike. And LeBron did it too. Now he played the 82 games the year before last or, yeah. And he's a truck. and he's 17 years in. If he wanted to load management at this point, I wouldn't argue with him. He's 17 years in.

Kawai, what's up? Okay, you had the thing, but can we get a explanation from Uncle Dennis from somebody? That's fair enough. Just a little explanation. I think you've stated your case eloquently. Yeah, and I'm glad.

I just want to say that the Knicks didn't get brought up. No, I'm not, you know what? Why do you want to bring me down? They're not worthy of a discussion. They're heard line a minute. They're embarrassment. I'm not going to bring you down. I'm very positive person.

Me too. cool and very optimistic. I wake up singing show tunes. I am happy all the time. Goulet is a downer. Greg can be a buzzkill. You, my friend, and I are bouncing on our shoes. I wake

up singing show tunes also. You do too? Yeah. Yeah, we have that in common. Michael Rapaport. He's an actor. He's a writer. He's a comedian. He's in the Rose City performing soon. Enjoy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So a little bit of news. Paul George is about to make his Clippers debut.

Chris Haynes is reporting that George is set to play Thursday night when LA takes on the Pelicans in New Orleans. Oh, that'd be fun to watch. They will play Houston on Wednesday before they travel to New Orleans. So he's been sidelined, obviously, while we're covering from two offseason shoulder surgeries, but they are getting him back. Thursday is the second game of a back-to-back. And there's no word on Kauai status for that, for either game, obviously, because the back-to-backs are kind of the part of the load management situation.

Yeah, and the Clippers had a win over the Raptors, obviously, Kauai's former team 98-88 at home last night. Kauai at 12 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists. So not a highlight game per se, but still a good win for them in their 7 and 3 this season. So this is big for the Clippers to be able to get Paul George back, get him in the mix. Paul George is obviously a great defender,

so that's just another edition there. I still think the Clippers are the best team. in the league right now. So good news for the Clippers. So the Patriots had a long time to think about their first loss of the season during the buy last week. Despite the leading the AFC with an 8-1 record, Tom Brady thinks New England needs to step it up. Ramp it up. To be 8-1 and have the opportunity in the second half of the year that we do, I think anyone would take that.

So it hasn't all been perfect, but it's been good enough in some areas. And we're going to have to, you know, really ramp it up and play our best as we go forward. hopefully it'll be a great second half of the season. But it's really up to us to earn it, the people that are in the locker room and got to show up to work every day with a great sense of determination, commitment to doing our best for each other for the team

and try to go get a win. And it starts this week in Philly. By the way, it's interesting. So last week, Brady was off. The Eagles were off. DeShon Watson was off. There was a lot of great quarterbacks, and we still had 11 of 13 games, one possession.

Last week ended up being a great weekend of football. We had the best quarterback ever out, the most exciting quarterback arguably out, big brands like Philadelphia out. The ending of the one o'clock window was insane. Crazy. Literally, it could not look away. Well, the Patriots next four opponents all have winning records. They're at the Eagles for five and four. Then they have the Cowboys at home.

Then they're at the Texans and then at the Chiefs, which will be obviously a huge game. I'm really interested in New England. I don't think that Dallas New England. England game, this Philadelphia game. It's kind of your face on the same team, kind of. I think New England, but I said this last year. Just think of last year's offense, which was kind of stagnant. Now no Josh Gordon and now no Gronk.

They don't have enough firepower. But they always seem to find a way. Like they always seem to find that guy on the roster that ends up stepping up big and Tom Brady finds a way to form a relationship with them and then it's, they win. I'm kind of, I mean, I'm with Michael. I gave up on the doomsday stuff with the Patriots after the Atlanta Super Bowl. I just submitted like, okay, I give up. Like, you win.

I'm not going to actively root against you anymore. Like, I just, there's just no point. And this year, I'm with you. It does feel like they're missing that X factor element. No cheap touchdowns. It's over. No vertical threat. No, no, they have no cheap touchdowns for the rest of the year.

So the two games I'm interested in are the Texans and the Chiefs, because to me, those games will tell us if there's anyone close to besides the Ravens and the AFC that can touch the Patriots. Because to me, it feels like it's the Patriots and the Ravens, and they've already played. And you know how it is when you play Belichick twice in one year? You know, you hope you win the later game. Finally, the Giants lost their six straight game on Sunday in a very fun game to watch. But the team knows that the fans are disappointed. Golden Tate even took some time to apologize to Giants. fans and ask them to stick with the team and he used the slogan that you don't

really like very much. First, I'm going to apologize to the Giants pride because I know how important this game is. I know we were expecting to come out and get a big time win against the other New York team. We didn't. I only think I can ask at this point is just be patient and you know try to trust the process. Just know the people inside the building are working. We still believe we can win. We just got to go out there and do it. I don't know if they have the right coach.

And I know GM and coach don't trust them. And if I don't trust your GM and your coach, I'm kind of out. And that's where I feel with the Giants. I'm out. Well, it felt like that they didn't have any direction at the beginning of the season. Because coming into the season after drafting Daniel Jones, where you drafted him, starting with Eli Manning, felt a bit silly. I understand what he's saying, trust the process.

You know, they are in a development year. But as you said, are the pieces there to actually develop Daniel Jones into what he needs to be? And are they actually building as opposed to just treading water? You don't really know. We know you have Sequin Barclay. You know you have your quarterback. Prime example. They went and got Golden Tate.

They had Sterling Shepard. Why'd you pay both? It's the same receiver. Why would you do that? Like, you don't pay a lot of money for the same guy twice in this league. And when they did that, I'm like, okay, I don't trust this front office at all. Sterling Shepard and I like both of them individually. I really like Sterling.

It's the same guy. You can't pay both. The salary cap league. Like, I just don't feel they're... Maybe they just felt like they needed to give Daniel Jones as many offensive weapons as possible. But I don't know if the direction that they're going is trending towards, you know, you want to see, obviously, it's unfair to compare everyone to Lamar Jackson. But you want to see a significant step up year to year. Like an identity?

What's their identity? Yeah. I mean, Seguan Barkley is their identity. Yeah, there you go. with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Herd Line News.

Bad news for the Dallas Cowboys. Really bad news. 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. Welcome to my new podcast, Learn the Hard Way with me, your host, and your favorite therapist, Kier 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. tensions, 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 iHeartRadio app. Search Learn the Hardway and listen now. Last night, a blown call changed a game.

This morning, the internet lost its mind. Highlights are trending, opinions are flying, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened. That's where Sports Slice comes in. I'm Timbo. Every episode, we're cutting through the noise. Breaking down the plays, the controversies, and the stories behind the headlines. We go straight to the source, the athlete themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions, the stuff nobody gets to hear.

The laughs, the drama, the triumphs, the moments that never make the highlight real. From viral moments to historic games, from buzzer beaters to controversial calls, we break it down, give you context and ask the questions everybody wants answered. Sports slice brings you closer to the action. with stories told by the people who live them. Listen to Sports Slice on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Sliced Life 12 and the TikTok podcast network on TikTok. What's up, guys? This is Clifford Taylor the 4th.

And on my podcast, The Cliverts Show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This linebacker, this linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Quarterback on office blue with 42.

Hey, Brett. My mama want you to weigh better. What? Where's she at? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, I'm Deanna Maria Riva, actress, mother, lover, and a Gen X woman walking through life one hot flash and hormonal crying jag at a time. You ladies know what I mean.

I'll bet you a perimenopausal chin here you do. So let's talk about it. Join me on my new podcast, How Hard Can It Be with the Adamania Reba, where I call on my Gen X squads from Ohio to Hollywood as we navigate midlife's most fantastic BS. All of a sudden, I'd had hanginess happening on my own. I was like, what the hell is that?

I was married when I had her, so I didn't even consider how empty that nest was going to be. Mood swings, night sweats, fupas, sex drive. Wait, what sex? dating at 45. How hard can it be getting naked at 50 with the new guy? That one's kind of hard. Well, that's lighting. They say we can't polish a turd, but we're sure going to try. So let's get blunt with laughs, tears, or tears of laughter, and dive into it, unfiltered and unbothered and ask,

How Hard Can It Be? I cannot believe I'm about to say this out loud in public. Listen to How Hard Can It Be with Diana Maria Riva as part of My Cultura Podcast Network available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. holiday season. Eliminate awkward adjustments for men and women. Tommyjohn.com code heard. 20% off your first order. Tommyjohn.com, I wear it. Being well-rounded, I think in the NFL can be kind of overrated. I think we all know coaching matters in the NFL. The other thing I think about is identity matters. I think that's kind of the Baltimore story this year. Baltimore has an identity. What are you? And I'll give you

a great example. Sunday night, Minnesota had a very strong identity. Delvin Cook. screens running, took the game over. Seattle last night had a very strong identity. Russell, this is why we pay you 35 large. Take the game over. It was Russell made all the decisions. Meanwhile, Dallas on Sunday night, play calling.

So I thought about this. So as we go into the playoffs, I thought about the 10 best teams. Let's start in the AFC. I'm going to do all the divisional leaders. That's eight teams. And then two other teams that don't lead the division, Minnesota and Seattle that are very good. The NFC's better.

So what is the Patriots identity? Head coach quarterback. Pretty clear. Raven's identity. Head coach quarterback. Texans identity. Quarterback. Chief's identity.

Head coach quarterback. So who has the weakest identity, the Texans? That's my least favorite division leader. I do think they're trying to develop the running game. and it's getting there, they've got to make sure they get that running game figured out. That's going to be the key to Houston. You better have a legit running game so you don't depend on Deshaun. But the weakest identity in the AFC is the one I think is the first out in the playoffs.

Let's go now to the six teams in the NFC, the divisional leaders and Seattle and Minnesota. What is the 49ers identity? Head coach D-line. Packers, I would say it's Aaron Rogers and the new fact. legitimate running game. That's a real running game now. Saints, head coach, quarterback, cowboys, they don't know what their identity is. You saw their play calling late. They don't know what their identity is. They took the ball out of Dax's hands. He was having his best game as a pro. Seattle, we saw their identity last night. Pete Carroll runs the defense, Russell Wilson.

We saw Minnesota. Defense Delvin Cook, and I would say Mike Zimmer's defensive game plans. The two teams right now of the 10 best teams, Houston, has a chance to find an identity. Deshawn and a top five running game. I think they can get there. Dallas doesn't know what they are. They don't know what they are. Now, in my opinion, what is Dallas? DAC and that old line.

Give DAC time to throw. You know, I've argued this. Amaris is valuable as Zique, in my opinion. Now, I'm in the minority there. Most of you, when the season started, said the identity is Zeke. I've never bought into that. Okay, Dak was losing games when he had Zeke. Dak doesn't lose a ton when he's got the O-line healthy,

Tyron Smith left tackle, and Amari Cooper. So that's, to me, Dallas has the weakest identity of the 10 best teams in the league. Now, because they've got exceptional talent, the best linebacking duo, Zeke, Dac, Amari, to me outside of Pittsburgh, second best offensive line in football, they can overcome some of those. But I think, I mean, let's be honest, the Rams last year got to a Super Bowl. You didn't have to love the Rams, but they had an identity. The minute Gurley got hurt, it was a little muddy.

Cooper Cup got hurt, a little muddy. And by the Super Bowl, New England, Rams didn't know what they were offensively. They didn't really have an identity. So that's what I asked about Dallas this morning. What are they? So you got to put your arms around DAC. Dak is starting. The O-Lyant Healthy, that's your team.

I've said this. I like Zeke. But if you told me today I had duped, who's a good back? Who's not a special back? Sony-Michel. I think Dak could win a bunch of games with a healthy O-line, Dak and Sony-Michel. Nick Chubb, I think.

Dak could win a bunch of games. I don't think Dallas has won in these games without Dak and Tyron Smith and Travis Frederick. I think Dallas could win. I think Dallas could get to the NFC championship without Zeke. As long as you gave me a, you know, a B running back, a Nick Chubbs terrific, Sony Michelle, a couple of young guys, and the guy for Seattle last night that you see. But I don't think Dallas knows what they are.

I don't think they do. I don't think Dallas Cowboy fans know. I think their play calling late in that game told me everything I need to know. And if you go into a playoff and you don't have an identity, because none of you think they got the coaching. We know coaching matters. None of you like Jason Garrett. So now I don't have a coach.

I don't have a hardball. I don't have John Harbaugh. I don't have any read. Don't have Pete Carroll. Don't have Belichick. I don't have Sean Payton. You would acknowledge that. So you better have an unbelievable identity.

That's where Baltimore comes in. I get the coach. Then I get the identity. And I got some misgiving. You know, Lamar gets popped here in the next seven weeks. It's not the same team. But I think it's a real thing, and I think we saw last night a team of a strong offensive identity. Russell wins.

Minnesota Sunday, strong offensive identity, Dalvin Cook wins. Even San Francisco last night without George Kittle. Emmanuel Sanders, offensively, San Francisco didn't quite know what they were. You got Garoppelos throwing the guys he'd rather not throw to. It matters. MDrive for Men.com. The code is heard. percent off. I take a couple supplements every day.

Leaner, stronger, boost testosterone levels. We got a great final hour, hour three and a Tuesday coming up next. One 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. Oh, Discover at Miles card. Automatically match the miles you earn into your first year. Limitations apply. Discover.com slash travel, new card members only. We got a lot of ground to cover. And by the way, Bucky Brooks joining us, Fox, a sports NFL analyst.

He drafted in the NFL. He's a corner. He's a scout, NFL network, and I lean on him for a lot of stuff with your sources in the NFL and how you evaluate talent. I'm going to get to the two of stuff because it's going to be great. Don't go anywhere. But I want to start with this. We all know Russell's great.

He's my guy. So I was saying this earlier. I don't think NFL GMs watch Lamar Jackson and say, get me that. I think they look at Russell Wilson, who you could put him in 28 offenses. Lamar, the coach, stylistically, he's unique. I think we have a Russell Wilson in the league. I think Kyler Murray plays a lot like him,

and by next year we're going to have two, we're going to have three Russells. And I think it's going to spawn generations of baseball slash football guy that doesn't want to go to play minor league baseball. And he wants to go to Oklahoma, he wants to play a year or two, wants to go to the NFL and start.

So I don't think Lamar is easy to duplicate. I think we're seeing more and more. So let's start about this. Tua looks like Russell Wilson to me. Yeah, Tua looks like Russell Wilson in a lot of ways. Tua's personality is also very much like Russell Wilson. It is. And we'll eventually get to the Tua conversation.

I think what you're seeing is this. You're seeing, I would call the result of the past two decades, you've had a lot of coaches at lower levels who have been committed to putting the ball in the hands of the best athlete on every down. And so in the lower levels, youth football, high school football, we've seen the best athlete begin to start playing quarterback because the quarterback position is the most impactful position. So if I put my best athlete, my best player at quarterback,

he can impact the game more than at any other position. So the Lamar Jackson is born from that. He is the best athlete. You give him the ball. You teach him out of throw. You say, hey, go make plays, go run around a little bit, and he impacts the game. In college football, we're seeing more teams embrace

having the athlete at quarterback runner, thrower, dual threat, RPO's impact the game. What we're going to see in the National Football League is we're going to see executives who now see a Lamar Jackson and they can imagine the creativity that it brings to the game, but they hope he can evolve to be a Russell Wilson. Come in a league like Lamar Jackson, end up like Russell Wilson where you can, but you don't.

You can run the ball. You can do all of the zone. read stuff, but you don't have to do it to sustain yourself. You save yourself to the fourth quarter like you see Russell Wilson do. Lamar is so spectacular. We're not paying attention to the kid down at Arizona. With a rookie head coach and a bad O line folks, Kyler Murray's numbers are fairly sensational. He doesn't have a John Harbaugh. He doesn't have a good offensive. It's one of the bottom five O lines in the league. It's kind of a rebuild team. So I think, so let's get to the two of conversation. You were a scout. I think, I think.

there's Russell, I think Kyler looks a lot like Russell, is Tua, kind of the third Russell in the league? Yeah, I think so. And I think this goes all the way back. You have Tren Dillfer on your show, Tren Dilfer and I, and this great staff, we work with Elite 11, the opening. And so I had an opportunity a couple years ago where Tua was on my 7-on-7 team at the event. And what can I tell you, for all the great things that we have seen from Tua physically, throwing the ball, the accuracy, the anticipation, the touch. His accuracy is insane. The poise and the ability to play in the clutch, his best traits are his leadership ability and his ability to get a crew of people to follow behind him.

So when he gets to the spring, and if he decides to come out this year, he will win the room when general managers get around him and they see him interact with other players, and they see him become the Pied Piper. Russell Wilson's best traits are not just the stuff that he does with the ball in his hands. his leadership ability, his dependability, his durability, the fact that he's available each and every week, and he makes plays on the big stage in those key moments, that is what makes Russell Wilson special. That is also what makes Tua special. Yeah, I think it's a really exciting thing. Now, let's go to some quarterbacks.

Let's talk to Jimmy Garoppolo. Now, I like him. I compare him. I think he compares favorably to DAC in that, you know, starts out 16 and 3, 13 and 3. A lot of doubters. Not always a beautiful throw with the football, both mobile enough. Big Brand, Staubeck, Akeman, young. A lot of doubters in the room. Play with a ton of confidence. Win games.

There are times Jimmy G. last night late, though he didn't have his weapons. Dak in big spots, although I thought he was great Sunday. I like Jimmy G. I like Dak. I don't think they're Aaron Rogers, but they kind of feel the same to me, don't they? They're in the same wheelhouse, and that has always been my contention when outsiders have talked about not wanting to pay Dak Prescott $30 million. Jimmy Garapolo is in that neighborhood. I think they're very, very similar in terms of what they deliver on the field.

Jimmy Garapolo, the one thing you can't knock is he's won a ton of games. He's won in different fashions, but he's won a lot of games. I would contend that Jimmy Garapolo is not an elevator, meaning you talked about him playing without his weapons. Well, in that same game, we saw Russell Wilson play with a guy off the wiserable. Waverwire, a practice squad development guy, Josh Gordon, who's off the street, and then D.K. Metcalfe, who is a rookie, and it didn't matter. The difference between the tier one quarterbacks and the tier two,

tier one quarterbacks can take anybody you give them, and they can elevate the squad. Aaron Rogers was great without Devana Adams. They didn't matter. Tier two guys still need to have the weapons around them to be successful. Jimmy Garapolo and Dak Prescott are in that tier. That's a good. Look, which is still a great year.

You can win with that. You still can win with that. It's just that you just can't surround it with anything, expect them to win a number of games. I want to talk about you helped build the Carolina roster, which I love in the Seattle roster years ago. Bucky Brooks joining us. So it's years ago nobody did trades.

And then Jimmy Johnson said, here's a running back. Give me eight players. And it changed the way that people thought. And then, you know, there's trades and stuff, but there were times you traded. There were times you didn't. Then we get some young GMs in the league. You know, Howie Roseman, less need.

Let's roll with. dice. Now we got mid-season trades, and they're all working. I was saying today, Michael Bennett, Clowny, Minka Fitzpatrick, Emmanuel Sanders, Mohammed Sanoo, Laramie Tunzel. I don't remember a time in my life where you went out and gave up first rounders for veterans. Like, this is a new thing, right? Yeah, it is a new thing, but I think what more gems are realizing proven players overpicks, take the known commodities. So much of the conversation when it's comes to the draft is projecting what someone will be down the line. Well, when you're in the National Football League and you get an opportunity to see a guy

play against NFL competition and have success against NFL competition, well, that can translate to success in another program, provided that the scheme works for the player. What we're seeing, guys are saying, you know what, rather than, hey, I'm going to take a pick and it's a third round pick and there's a 30% success rate, give me what I know is working and I can work around that. Why didn't it take so darn long to do this? Because there's the fascination with hoarding draft picks. People are always fascinated by the possibilities of what could be behind door number one.

Well, what we're seeing, Jadavian Clowny, the Jadavian Clowny that played on Monday night looked like the number one overall pick. And to give up a third rounder and two players, that looks like a bargain for the Seattle Seahawks. Minka Fitzpatrick, when that trade was made, everyone was like, oh my God, what are the Pittsburgh Steelers doing? How can you give up a first-round pick? But because they had a vision for the player, Mickey Fitzpatrick was a good player

his rookie season in Miami, but he was doing too much. Pittsburgh took him, put him in the deep middle, let him be a free safety, settled him in to one spot, and he's playing like the defense of the player. With great linebackers around him, go do what you do. It's a little bit of an Ed Reed thing.

Yes, go make plays. And now when you look at this Steelers team, and I know this isn't a Mike Tomlin discussion, but Mike Tomlin now has a defense that is loaded with young star power. Minkin Fitzpatrick, Devin Bush, T.J. White, Bud Dupree is beginning to play. So now this is looking like the still as a vote where the defense carried the way. The offense made enough plays. He is doing more or less.

We talked about it. Addition by subtraction. Got rid of all the stars. Brought in some workman-like players. The team looks like a better overall team. Yeah, they do. And I bailed on them early. I was wrong.

I want to talk about, you know, I was saying earlier that, you know, listen, we know quarterback play matters, we know coaching matters. I'm a big believer. I'm a big believer. I just opened up a hamburger restaurant. I saw it. It's very good, by the way. I see. Look at you. Very, very good. It's the excellent. But I remember when we were talking about, I said, okay, what's the identity of it? Like, I'm a big believer in, what's the identity of the herd? Okay, we don't, I see shows talking politics. And I'm like, that's not our identity. You got to have an identity. And I went through all the division leaders. And the one division leader, I'm like, I'm not sure what their identity is, is Dallas. Yeah. Now, my belief is their identity is DAC in a healthy line.

And then you could give me a B-back. I mean, I think. But Sunday night, Jason Garrett doesn't know what their identity is because he took the ball out of the hottest quarterback he'd ever had in three years. What is Dallas's identity? It's funny that you talk about that. So if anyone is an investor, they know how Warren Buffett talks about investing. brand names. Find the brand names and invest in those.

So you talked about identities. Well, when I close my eyes, I know exactly what the Pittsburgh Steelers play like. I know how the New England Patriots play. I even know what the Green Bay Packers play like. When I look at the Dallas Cowboys, I think I know, but I'm not sure. It used to be about Zeke Elliott, Desk, Deskitt, Dak Prescott as a complimentary player, and then a high effort defense that runs around and makes plays.

Well, now I don't know because they've gotten cute with Killing Moore and do we throw it, do we run it? At the end of the day, your team should be about players over plays. Give the ball to your best players. Don't worry about the plays. Dallas has to figure out who are my best players. Is it Zeke? Is it Dak Prescott?

Is it Amari Cooper? And then they have to build everything from that pecking order down. And so if I'm Jason Garrett and I'm sitting in the meeting, I got to talk to the coaches and I have to empower them at the, end of the day, give the ball to the best players, and we will live and die with our blue chip players making the plays. The Cowboys have to be committed to making it about Zeke, Dak, Amari Cooper, and then a star set of defense.

When they play like that, they win. When they get caught up in the other stuff and trying to be cute, that is when they lose. They got to keep it simple. If they keep it simple, they still can win a ton of games. Yeah, I agree. All right. Bucky Brooks, defensive back scout NFL network. So two is going to go number one, probably to Cincinnati.

Two goes to Cincinnati. Justin Herbert or Joe Burrell, who would you do? Joe Burrow. Okay, Joe Burrell goes two to Miami. I don't know. I'm not going to say that two goes number one to Cincinnati. I'm going to say that you can look at a scenario where they take a Chase Young. If Chase Young comes out.

What? Take a defensive player because we're talking about all of these quarterbacks. Come back and get your guy later. Look, we've seen how this played out. What you mean? If you don't draft 201, you're not getting him later? Well, what's the separation between two of two? Tua, Joe Burrow, and Justin Herbert.

If you don't believe the separation is that great, go and get your better player, who's the best player in the draft in Chase Young, then come back and get the quarterback. If they're all comparable, that's what you do. You have to make sure that the quarterback is clearly that much different than the other players. Who is going to change my life?

He could change your life. Defensive end. Okay. Kaleo Mack, how's that thing working? How is that Mitchell-Tribisky thing working? Because they got the wrong quarterback. Oh, but I'm saying. If they're all the like, and maybe Chicago thought they were all alike,

Mitchell Dubriskey, Deshawn Watson, Pat Mahomes. I'm just saying. The two guys that got the right quarterback are fine. They are. But if you don't take the right one at the top. Cincinnati, if they don't take Tua, they should honestly, Jeff Bezos of Amazon should buy the Bengals, fire everybody and start over.

Because I read that story yesterday. But what if I could give you Chase Young and Cam Newton? No. I've seen Cam Newton and I don't need a defensive end. What? Did you see how the San Francisco 49 is affected the game? Did you see how Debian County affected the game? Okay, let's pretend. Let's do it.

Pretend you're calling me right now. I'll answer. Ring, ring, ring, ring. Ring, ring. Okay, here we go. Yeah. Hey, look, how about we give you? First of all, who is this?

Oh, this is Bucky Brooks with the Carolina Panthers. I have a quarterback for you. I saw you play last week with Ryan Finley. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to offer you up Cam Newton at $19 million, which is a $10 million discount on the Kirk Cousins. Let's make a deal. It's static-y.

I can't hear you. I'm going to have to hang out. Click. I just hung up on you. I'm going to take Tua. You can't. When Tua is available, you take Tua. Oh, my gosh.

That should be, that should be, that is the brand. You take Tua. And call me in the morning. Take Tua and call me in the morning. Bucky Brooks. Good seeing you. Joy of the news. No, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. I'm not going to lie, Bucky. I've got a little bit of anxiety of the idea of that happening. Cam Newton and Chey Schum. I mean, I'm all for Cam Newton to the Bears because I think they have a championship level defense. But, I mean, if you take it, if the Bengals take a defensive end over a quarterback, it's number one. No, off the show.

I have heartburn. If I would take the Bengals logo off anything we have on the show, they would not exist. I'm almost rooting for that to happen just so I want to be, like, live on something when that happens. I'm just rooting for anarchy. Egregiously bad mistake. I don't know. I don't think I can happen. The NBA is making it clear that load management cannot be used as an official injury designation.

Okay. The league sent a memo out to each team clarifying the rules. Jeff Zilgit of USA Today shared parts of the memo on Twitter that read, load management is not an injury or an appropriate description of an injury under the injury reporting procedures. Load management or a similar phrase, such as Redmond Management. turn from an injury is a permissible description only in a connection with a healthy player who misses a game due to rest. That is permissible under the resting policy.

That's very confusing. I don't know what they're talking about. Who's Jeff Zilgett? He is a reporter of USA Today. All right. But he's sharing the memo that the NBA sent out to teens. They're very sensitive to this. They know the optics are not great.

The optics aren't great. Here's the thing. Just don't call it load management. We call it resting. Call it resting. Call it soreness. Yeah. Back soreness.

Thumb soreness. Something that... Words matter. Like if I called in and I said to my bosses, I can't work today, I have a migraine headache. They'd say, okay, if I said I have an ice cream headache, they would say come to work. It's embarrassing.

Words matter. Politics use this tactic all the time. All the time. All the time. It's called spin. Spin. I didn't come up with it. It is very. very expensive to find a good spin person. We don't know who the good spin people are because

they don't want to be known because all they do is come up with ways to package something to either make it look awful and scary or make it look pleasant and enjoyable. That's all they have to do. Find some spin for load management. It's not going anywhere. It's not new. Popovich was fine for this in 2012. He's been doing this forever. But load management is bad, bad name. It just is a bad name. It sounds scary. And I get it. It's awful for fans. I understand.

I am a fan. I get it. It's not great for fans. It's not good for networks. It's not good for advertisers. But it is the reality of you're dealing with human bodies performing at the highest level. And all day long, we talk about regular season performances and how people don't have enough energy in the playoffs. And they can't get a championship and their legacy is ruins.

Everyone's in an impossible position. Just find a new name for it. And let's move on. It's not new. The Rams have been dealing with injuries all season and just took another big hit. Center. Brian Allen is out for the rest of the season. Oh, good. That's great. With an MCL injury. And they're playing the Bears. The second starting offensive linemen to sustain a season ending injury, joining Guard Joe Notboom, who is on the IR.

Yeah, season over. Mick Vey also announced that Wright tackled Rob Havenstein will be out this week against Chicago with a knee injury. Oh, that's great. Yeah, I'll take the Bears plus points. So Gobspen sacked 16 times this season, four times against Pittsburgh this weekend. That's not horrible. It's the 25th in the league. James has the most with 34, so obviously it could be worse. However, it's not so much golf getting sacked as it is.

They're rushing, which is 20th in the league with 96.2 yards. I watched the Jets this weekend. When Lavian Bell averages 1.8 yards to carry, your offensive lines bad. We can all talk about quarterbacks. If you have a star running back averaging one in that, like, like, Sequin Barclay, you know, is a rare player that can get yards when your offensive line's not great. most, Levy and Bell can't run because the Jets O' lines bad. Rams' old lines

bad. Yeah, I mean, and this has been the issue all season. We've been trying to figure out what's up with the Rams, what's up with Todd Gurley. It's clearly the offensive line. They have major injuries. Also, Brandon Cooks is out against Chicago with the concussion. Seasonal. Yes. Finally, Dak Prescott is still waiting for a long-term contract extension from the Cowboys, as we

know, and he's played well this year despite their five and four record. And Stephen Jones insists that Dax's value doesn't fluctuate on a week-to-week basis. This is a full body of work. And he's doing a great job. I mean, obviously, he played one of his better games that he's ever played. And, you know, we're never going to talk about the negotiation.

Everybody knows what Jerry, myself, the organization thinks about DAC. And our goal is to ultimately get this thing done. I've been a DAC fan since he became the Cowboys quarterback. And I truly have never understood the pushback on Dak Prescott. And at this point, it's kind of bordering on silly. I understand if you don't want to pay him a ridiculous contract. I understand it was a salary cap. You got to find ways to put other pieces around him.

I get it. But at one point or another. Yeah, I think Sunday actually, there was a lot of stuff on social media. Sunday was kind of like... One of those turning point games. Yeah, I was like, you know what? We got a little play off. He's pretty good.

I thought he was the best game I'd ever seen him play. I thought Sunday was the best I've ever seen him play. I mean, at the end of the game, if we're all complaining about the play calling... Then why is that? Because it's been taken out of his hands. There you go. You have your quarterback. Right.

Join with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping back. The Hurd Live news. He was a rock star. A defensive rock star. Tony Allen and the NBA joins us next. The Hurd.

One more Hurd? The herd streams 24 hours a day, seven days a week, within the IHeart Radio app. Search Hurd to listen live or on demand whenever you'd like. Played a decade and a half in the NBA. My pleasure. A three-time first-team all defense.

he made it in this league because he could play defense. He was annoying. Kobe said he's the best defensive player that ever guarded him. Absolute pleasure to bring on Tony Allen. Celtics, of course, Memphis still lives there. So let's get into this. You made your way. Eddie Sutton in college at Oklahoma State

said, son, you're going to make the NBA if you play defense. And so you decided I'm going to be a defender as a player. So let's talk about the Kobe stuff because Kobe said you were a pain in the butt. How was Kobe to defend? Well, it was very hard to defend. you look at his game, there's nothing he can't do. He could shoot. You go into the picking road. He's going to pull up. You know, you damn to shoot from three. He's going to shoot the three. And he's relentless going to the hole. So you take a guy like that whose confidence

is sky high and who's very skilled, great footwork. He's hard to guard. I mean, he's a low for anybody. What if he missed, what if you made him miss three straight shots? He still wouldn't get discouraged. Like, he's shooting the first shot. Every shot is like his first shot after one. Really? He never get discouraged. Now, LeBron's a little different, though. Yeah, with LeBron, I think, like, if he missed, like, three or four, you know, you saw it in the Dallas Maverick series.

Series. Well, they went zone. And I think, you know, shooting kind of discouraged him early on his career. I don't know about now. But when I was defending, LeBron, it's like. His confidence level depth. It dipped. And I would have to agree with that.

Now, let's ask about James Hardin. So you saw very early James Hardin. He drives me nuts. He's developed into a great. offensive player. How do you get under his skin? It's kind of hard. You just basically just got to force him to the way he doesn't want to go. And that's right.

You know, and he still gets his numbers. He still gets the call when he goes and try to get foul. But most importantly, just compete. A lot of time with these guys, you just can't get discouraged. You got to live with the game plan. And if they finish with a big night on you, it's what the team wanted.

So me on the other hand, I take it personal. Like I try to do a little bit different than the scout report. You know what I mean? So, like, they might sell me to shade him left. I might just stick him straight up just to see what he going to do. You know what I mean? Yeah. And I always did that throughout my career.

Was there a great NBA player you felt you got under his skin a little? Yeah, but he not really no guy we talk about him. Who? Kevin Martin. Kevin Martin's a good player. Yeah, I kind of harassed him a lot throughout my career. Were you a trash talker? You were physical as hell. I speak in third person.

So if I get a good stop, I say good job, T.A. That's okay. Yeah, it's kind of irritated for the point. So the three best guys, you said hardest to defend, Kobe, Kevin, and James Hardin. Yeah, Kevin, good luck. LeBron's not on that list. And some of it is he loses confidence. I mean, at the time I was playing with him, you know.

I'm playing against him. I thought part of that was me being confident as well, you know, and me competing and being ready for the challenge. And I just saw when I played him, he wasn't just that confident in shooting the shot. Although that was the scout report, but most guys who we think out of prolific guys, they take those shots.

Like, you better not leave me open. I didn't see that in him at the time. That's when he was in Cleveland, though. And then he went to Miami. He went to Miami. I ain't get a load of him then. I was in Memphis about in. Tony Allen's joining us three-time first team all-NBA.

What do you make of a player like Westbrook? Dynamic, not a great shooter. So you face a Westbrook where you can give him some space because he's not going to burn you on threes. Is he a hard guy to defend, an easier got to defend? Harden Westbrook to me may not work. What was Westbrook like? I think Westbrook, he was one of those guys who was just nonstop energy,

one of those guys who was relentless as well. Never saw a shot he didn't like. but one thing that sticks out about him, he's not scared to go to that offensive glass. He's not scared to make a backdoor cut when maybe say like a guy like hard is in motion

and in dribble. I think he do a lot of things, little things that have helped that ball club. You probably don't think that do all work. But I think if he take the initial that I'm going to sit back, I'm going to let you do you hard, and I'm going to attack the glass, getting people involved, and, you know, get

out on the break. I think that would be a good fit for him and he'll blossom. What do you make, you were a guy that took a great deal of pride and effort. What do you make a load management? Load management in my day, you was kind of being the worst. Sure, sure. And now it's kind of helpful for guys and their careers, but I think it hurt the fan also, you know,

just think of my little cousin or someone to come see a Kuwait Leonard. I grew up in a small town and I went to one game a year. It was a two and a half hour drive to get to a game. So, folks, like that for an example. And let's just say it was Bird or Magic or whoever didn't play. You'd probably been hurt. Yeah. It probably killed your moment.

I went to the kingdom watch Larry Bird play. And if Larry Bird didn't play, it would have been a waste of, I mean, I remember as a kid going, because you didn't have all the games on TV. So Larry Bird just saw in the playoffs. And I'm like, oh, Larry Bird's coming to Seattle once a year. And I went and saw him play. Yeah. And that would hurt you if he had not played. Well, let's talk, Kauai Leonard.

I said before. Here's how I judge the best player in the game. I need a bucket. Number one guy in the league right now, Kauai Leonard. I need a stop. Number one guy in the league right now, Kauai. If I need a bucket or a stop. So I think Kauai is the best player today, this moment in the NBA.

Do you? I mean, coming off a run, like he just left with Toronto, I would agree. But, I don't know, it's a lot of basketball left. It's early, you know. I want to see how this team developed throughout the year. They haven't hit no adversity yet, you know. I'm not a big fan of Zubok, neither. The big guy.

I really think they need to, you know, improve in that area. But defensively, you're right. If we have to get a stop, we're going through Kauai. We have to get a bucket. We're going through Kauai. He's got a little, you know, he's a cross between Kobe length and Michael, hand size. You didn't guard, Michael. How would you stop Kauai?

to me, Kauai plays a lot like Mike in the sense that he backs the ball up. So basically you've got to be ready to get in that weight room just to defend that strength. And his IQ as far as being a guard and a power for. You know he played power forward in college. I think he kind of got the edge. And he mixes it up. So you got to be ready to be in the wayroom with a guy like him. So when was your first year in the NBA?

2004. So you didn't play, Michael. You got Kobe, though, in his prime. I got Kobe in his prime. He gave me 42 points one game. Really? Six foul and eight minutes. What timeout?

Come again. You got six fouls and eight minutes? In eight minutes against Kobe. How'd you sleep that night? I didn't sleep. I didn't sleep. I was so embarrassing. I think that game right there made me really start paying attention to film.

I started watching film more and more after that. Because I was like, yo, how did he fail me out? By the way, did he say anything to you? Did he ever show you that he respected you? Kobe? No, but he definitely disrespected me that day because when I found out, he waved him. He waved at you.

Yeah, I remember that vividly. Was he a trash talker? Yeah, he'll let you know if you got a good blog. He'll say good shot, a good block. He talked to you. Kobe's a talker. Well, you were a talker? No, I couldn't.

I ain't had no time to talk. Because my room for error was short. It's interesting. You know, we always think of there's pressure on the shooter, but you'd go into a series. The pressure was on you. Exactly. I mean, did you sense that pressure?

Yeah, I can recall series where coaches would say, you know, well, you got this guy, Tony, it's on you, to ultimately bring us home defensively, and I'll be sitting somewhere on my seat like, whoa. But it's a challenge. I'm up for it. I always embraced it.

Never shied away from it. Who is the best coach ahead? Hmm. That's a good question. I have to say, Doc Rivers. Why? I don't know. He pretty much let me know what I was going to need to do to stay in the league. You know, I was playing right alongside Ray Island and Paul Piers.

And, you know, sometimes I would shoot shots that were illy vast. And what did he say? You tell me, yo, like, if you want to stay on this court and let alone be in his league, you need to swing, swing, and go get you a rebound, put back, or get it in transition. And it didn't bother you when he said that. No. He was honest. He was blatantly honest.

Yeah, I'm a huge Doc Rivers fan. Yeah, I think Doc Rivers treat you like. like a grown-up. I think he's honest. Not all coaches do, by the way. No, no, all coaches do. Do you ever get in a good fight in the NBA? No, nobody really ever attempted to fight me. I don't know.

You know, you were tough. I always thought you were a tough guy. I'm a nice guy, man. You were kind of intimidating, though. It probably when I grow my hell. Other than that, I'm a nice guy, man. 14 years. He still lives in Memphis. Absolute pleasure. Love to have you on the show again. One of the great defensive players

at a guy really that took an incredible Bruce Bowen's another one, took incredible pride in his defense. Tony Allen, great meeting you. Speak for yourself coming up next. Last night, a blown call changed a game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where sports slice comes in. I'm Timbo, and every episode we're cutting through the noise, breaking down the biggest moments in sports and giving you the real story behind the headline. and we're going straight to the source, the athletes themselves. Their locker room stories, their reactions in the moment, and the stuff nobody gets to hear. Listen to SportsSlice on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys? This is Clivert Taylor the 4th. And on my podcast, The Cliverts show, I'm bringing you conversations about all kinds of stuff. Like being an internet famous referee. We're in the middle of a game. This lineback... They know these kids.

This linebacker walks up to me. He goes, hey, ref, my mom wants you to wave at her. What? Time out. Look. Quarterback on office blue of 42. Hey, ref, my mama want you to wave at her. What?

Hey, Ms. Parker. Listen to the Cliverts show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, fam? It's Isaiah Thomas. And I'm C.J. Toledano. It's our favorite time of the year on our podcast, Pointe, game, the playoffs. We're digging into the biggest surprises of the season.

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