The Herd with Colin Cowherd - Antonio Brown, James Harden, Aaron Rodgers and the NFL Coaching Carousel

Episode Date: January 1, 2019

Colin tells Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown what his New Year's resolution should be. Colin explains why high usage players like James Harden fade when it is most important. Colin doesn't think that the Cleveland Browns head coaching job is better than the Denver Broncos opening. And Colin says that Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is more like Ben Roethlisberger than Tom Brady. Guests include; Doug Gottlieb, Greg Jennings and Mark Schlereth. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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heard. Fox Sports Radio. Here we go. It's a Tuesday. We are packed breaking stories. This is the herd. Wherever you may be and however you may be listening. We are live in Los Angeles. IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio and FS1.

Thank you so much for joining us today. You've got a lot of choices. In about six hours, the Rose Bowl, or whatevs. We appreciate that. We've got breaking news throughout the course of the day with some coaching stuff. I'm working the phone. Joy Taylor is joining me. How are you, Joy? Good morning. Happy New Year.

Happy New Year to you. I went to bed at 1205 Eastern or 905 Pacific. We made it to like 1140 and we're like, you know what? Party girl, folks. Party girl. I'm going to throw a piece of paper in a second at Joy. I'm going to get to that and I'll show you why because here is how I'm starting my show today. New Year's resolution. Here is the number one. new year's resolution in sports going forward that you and me and joy we're accountable for our mistakes. Antonio Brown threw a football at Big Ben.

It was his third tantrum. Can you imagine, and that's why he didn't play this week because he could have played, he skipped practice, he skipped meetings, he had a tantrum. He threw a football at Big Ben. If I did this with Joy after a disagreement, instead of talking about, I went, and I threw a paper at Joy. You know what you'd all say at home? Colin needs medication.

Colin needs to grow up. This is why Antonio Brown didn't play. He had his third tantrum. New Year's resolution, Antonio. It's on you, pal. It's not Mike Tomlin's fault. It's not Big Ben's fault. It's not the Rooney family's fault.

It's not the GM's fault. It's not the NFL. It's not Roger Goodell's fault. I would ground my 12-year-old son if he threw an object at my 18-year-old daughter. I would ground him. Antonio Brown is a man. He's a 30-year-old man. New Year's resolution.

Own your mistakes. I know. That is zany. You want to blame Instagram. People are mean to you. Facebook, Twitter. Want to blame the White House. Want to blame Hollywood.

Want to blame this organization. No, no, no, no, no. you're a 30-year-old man, you threw a football at a teammate, third tantrum, could have played physically, weren't willing to. By the way, Mike Tomlin, and I've been critical of him, Mike Tomlin has to be concerned about 70 players, 18 coaches, he's got a general manager to answer to. Mike Tomlin has media responsibilities and sometimes charity events. And he's got to worry about a 30-year-old man throwing footballs and pouting. Now this is going to be a very tough resolution for most of the American media because the media panders to athletes.

They always give them an out. Well, it's the culture. It's this. It's that. It's, you know, this opportunity. You can't blame the basketball player, the football player, the baseball player. It's going to be very hard. But it won't be hard for me because I had the kind of parents that held me responsible.

And if I have to be a sports parent today, this is on Antonio Brown. And here's the other problem is that football, you ever heard the saying? Of course, Joy has. She grew up in a football family. Next man up. That didn't come from baseball or basketball. Next man up is a football term. And what it means is we've got 55 guys.

Her brother of the Hall of Famer Jason Taylor's hurt. You got to put somebody in. Somebody's got to make a tackle. Got to have 11 guys. Next man up is a football term. And the reason NBA stars are coddled and treated the way they are because they're more valuable. They don't have a saying, next man up. There is no next LeBron up.

There is no next Kevin Durant up. There is no next James Harden up. But in football outside of a couple quarterbacks, next man up. We're all big guys. Go tackle somebody. Go block somebody. But the Steelers have a very basketball culture. It's very star-driven.

It's very dependent on stars. And that works in the NBA because you can't replace Kevin Durant or LeBron or LeBron or Steph Curry. But this is a cautionary tale. Alabama and the New England Patriots are next man-up football programs and their dynasties. Between Alabama and New England, they are not beholden to the star player. They're not. Between the two of them, it's a 25-year college and pro football dynasty.

the system is bigger than the player, and it's always been bigger than the player in football. Even if the player is Brett Favre, we got a kid named Aaron Rogers. He's ready to go. Football is about the roster, not about the individual player. And Pittsburgh has become increasingly reliant

on a star running back, or a star quarterback, or a star-wide receiver. New England is not. This story is about personal responsibility to a young man named Antonio Brown who is 30 years old. It is completely on him, the inability to disagree with somebody without throwing stuff at them. It's on him. All right, I want to shift gears to this.

Speaking of NBA, one of the things I try not to do on this show, and we, Joy and I try not to do in the show, we all make mistakes. you never want to make the same mistakes over and over and over. I tell my kids that all the time. You're not perfect. You're going to make some mistakes. You're going to spill stuff. You're going to do dumb stuff. You can get bad.

But try not to make the same mistakes over and over and over and over and over and over. Okay, the media is falling forward again. So James Hardin of the Rockets is on fire. James Hardin had 43 last night. Another triple double last night. James Hardin's going crazy. It's December. Oh, my God.

Look at this. It's unbelievable. Folks, don't, don't, for it. There's something in basketball called a usage rate. James Hardin has the highest usage rate in the NBA by a mile. That means he has

the ball in his hands constantly. So therefore his stats are through the roof, including all of his stats, including turnovers, where he had nine last night. And by the way, we have seen point guards with high usage rates. Westbrook had one.

Hardin has it. John Wall has it. And those guards that drive to the basket in October and November and December and January and February and March. And James Hardin drives to the baskets and gets hammered by bigger athletes and gets knocked to the ground. And he's a smaller guy compared to a 6-8-240 guy. And what happens? They wear down. Are we going to be fooled by this again? Go look at your December point leaders in the last several years.

Westbrook Harden, Harden, Westbrook, Harden, Westbrook, Westbrook, you've seen Westbrook. He's out of gas by the first round. Do you remember what happened last year against Golden State? James Hardin disappeared. He had one game. He was 0 for 11 on threes throughout the course of the series against the Golden State Warriors.

Do you know what he shot three-pointers? 24%. One year ago, why? Why would James Harden ever shoot 0 for 11 on threes or 24% on threes. How is that possible? Did he forget how to shoot? Did his vision go bad?

No. His legs were shot. He was a shot fighter. Westbrook against Utah, a shot fighter. We've seen James Harden. We've seen Westbrook. We've seen John Wall. We've seen Derek Rose.

High usage rate guards have the ball in their hand constantly. scoring leaders in December and January and the media goes crazy and oh my God but the NBA has always been about late May and June. You know how in the NFL we talk about quarterbacks is that running quarterback sustainable?

I mean we know Lamar Jackson's talented but is it sustainable for 10 years that a 208 pound guy is running around getting hit and it generally is not sustainable It can win shortly. I'm not sure if Lamar Jackson is sustainable for a decade until he starts throwing more and running less. The same phenomena is in basketball.

Harden, Westbrook, Wall, this massive usage rate. Get you massive numbers in December and January. And the little guys are worn down by June. You want to know what's sustainable? Because everybody's freaking out today about James Hardin's last 10 or 11. games. He's average in 35. It's the most amazing thing. I've seen this story on and on. LeBron James last 11 finals games. This is at the end of the year. LeBron James last 11 games in the finals. This is what you call sustainable. 34 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and his field goal

percentage goes up. You ever notice that LeBron's not the story of the league in December and January? Have you noticed this year LeBron's playing less and has the ball less? Have you noticed that? Because LeBron is sustainable. He's not trying to win December.

He's not trying to win January. In fact, January has been LeBron's worst month in his career. Oh, was January. We're falling for it again. Here's your December point leaders the last five years. Two guys

and it's ended the exact same way. They are out of gas by May. And when you talk about the greatest players of all time and you talk about Michael Jordan and I say six for six, is that about December? Nah, bra, it's about June. What James is doing is amazing. Seen it before.

We'll see it again. High usage rate equals remarkable. December, January stats. And come May and June, the Warriors will be in the finals, and James Harden and Westbrook and the usage leaders will not. All right, good stuff today. The USA Today, we've got eight different job openings in the NFL. I was on my phone yesterday.

I'm just going to throw this out there. I'm just going to throw a name out there that's not getting talked about. I'm going to do that around the corner. There is a coach out there that has success that's really good. He's a very good coach. People think he's not interested. I'm told he's interested. That's coming up next.

He could solve your football problems in the NFL. In L.A. with Joy, it's the herd. Welcome back. Good to have you in. By the way, I was talking to a source last night, updating it this morning. It's an offensive league. That doesn't mean you have to hire an offensive coach. That's not what it means.

But a name that's not getting talked about, and I'm told he's more interested than he's letting out. It's Bruce Ariens. He has said he'd be interested in Cleveland. I'm told he would be interested in two other jobs. One specifically, Tampa Bay. So there are more candidates out there. Some of them are putting their names out there.

Some of them are taking their names out for political reasons. I'm told Bruce Ariens, who's a very good coach, offensive guy. Boy, I'll tell you, he could do a lot with one of these young quarterbacks. He's more interested than he's saying. But USA Today had a list this morning of the best, of the eight job openings in the NFL, they ranked him. And they put Green Bay 1, Cleveland, 2, Jets, Denver, Tampa, Miami, Arizona, Cincinnati. I will say this about Cleveland. When was the last time head coach of the Cleveland Browns was better than the head coach of the Denver Broncos?

When they're a quarterback now. Okay. Well, I'm just going to throw this out there. This is an organization that couldn't see Bill Belichick was good. They had Nick Saban, too. He was in the organization, let him go. Belichick let him go. I'm not in the habit of defending the Cleveland Brown's organization.

So I want to say this. I'm going to speak for men here. Men handle failure mostly the same. It pisses us off. We put our head down. We work harder. That's how we handle failure. But men handle success differently.

Some guys are going to buy a Corvette. Jet skis, go spend all my money, he's got last forever. Men who do not men, businesses, firms, teams that do not have a history of winning don't handle little bits of success very well. It's called the lottery winner syndrome. Loser becomes winner, 50% go broke, don't know what to do. The Cleveland Browns, John Dorsey's a general manager. he built that Kansas City team.

Why to get fired? Ego. Big Ego. Baker Mayfield, good quarterback, issue. Even Greg Williams admits you don't tell Baker what to do. Ego. Jimmy Haslam owner has ruined Tennessee football, University of Tennessee football, the Browns. Ego.

A lot of egos here. By the way, who they bring in? Todd Haley. Ego. Hugh Jackson, ego. A lot of egos in Cleveland. In the state of Ohio, Ohio. State football wins a Rose Bowl,

they're not going to party all night. It's Ohio State football. They win all the time. They're winners. If they win the Rose Bowl five hours from now, six hours from now, Ohio State's not going to party all night. Ohio State's going to go, we win the Rose Bowl. That's what we do. And they will literally get on a plane that night and go recruit the next great players.

They will not party. There'll be no champagne. Ohio State's winners. Winners handle success differently. Baltimore's in the playoffs. so what, again, who cares? They always are. Alabama in the final, so what, who cares, always are? New England in the playoffs, so what, who cares, always are?

Cleveland finished in third place. Third place. Beat one team that's in the playoffs, Baltimore, with Flacco, had a last-place schedule. And they're celebrating like it's 1999. Losers give them a little bit of success. They don't know how to handle it. Jacksonville, losers,

little success implodes. Minnesota Vikings don't a lot of Super Bowl trophies up there in Minnesota. Little success last year. Atlanta Falcons, little success of... This is the way it works with guys

who have never been successful teams, businesses, firms, coaches, players. Cleveland got an inch of success. And I mean an inch. They finished third place in the division. I don't know if I would call it success. I would call it an inch of improvement.

But they're not treating it like that. If you even... What do you say to people when they get successful? Like, act like you've been there before. They haven't been there before. They don't know how to act. By the way, now this Cleveland job, it used to be there were no expectations. But now if you go in, well, you've got Baker Mayfield.

Look at our team. It's unbelievable. No, it finished in third place. Doesn't feel like it, though, huh? That's because Cleveland is selling you. Look at how... That's what people with egos who haven't been successful, who get a little bit of success, you tell me in your lifetime when Cleveland's been a better job than the Denver Broncos.

Let's start with never and work our way from there. Denver just had a bizarrely average seat. What was Denver's record this year? I don't have it in front of me. What was Denver's record? Six and ten. That is seen as an utter disaster in Denver. What was Cleveland's record?

What did they win? seven games and you'd think they won the Super Bowl. People, teams, quarterbacks, firms do not handle success the same way. The lottery winner syndrome. Never had it. Now have a little of it. Maybe a lot of it. implode. I'm not buying.

Cleveland for the next 10 years is a great job significantly better than the Denver Bronco job. Do not believe that. And I don't care this morning who the quarterback is. I don't give me that. I don't care. Joy Taylor with the news. No, no, no, no, no.

Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. It's been such an odd NFL season, but I think the most peculiar part for me has been all of the support that I've levied for Cleveland and the Cleveland Browns all season from the very beginning. And now I find myself defending them again. It's like remarkable. And I was rooting for them. And your brother's a whole of family. You know the dysfunction there.

I mean, yeah, I'm from Pittsburgh. That's what it is. the Browns aren't even considered a real organization. You know what this reminds me of? Remember when the Clippers, the Clippers had an inch of success with Lob City. And you would have thought, and the Lakers are across town, and the Lakers are like, you want a playoff series? Well, you know what it is with Cleveland?

I feel like for the first time outside of the quarterback, people really feel like they have talent. Well, so is Jacksonville. But it feels different than Jacksonville. Like, I never bought into Jacksonville because I didn't have a quarterback. I've never bought into Blake Bortles. Maybe I don't buy into Cleveland. Cleveland. Well, we know how you feel about Baker. All right. So the playoff field is set now, and the updated Super Bowl odds have been released. And the Saints lead the way as the favorites, followed by the Chiefs, Rams and the Patriots. We've got the Bears in there with 9-to-1 odds as well. That seems about right to me. Yeah. I think they have the Rams overvalued.

You sold all of your ram stock. I didn't sell all of it. I just I sold. I sold. I sold a lot of my ram stock. I still kept a little in my portfolio. I bought more. Even after the Chargers lost to the Ravens, everybody bailed on the Chargers, and I'm like, time out. Fundamentally, nothing changed for the Chargers. There's still a really good team. The Chargers I contend are still today better than the Rams.

I really believe, just because they lost to a really good Baltimore team by a field goal, like I have to sell all my Charger stock. No, no, you don't think you should sell any of your Chargers stock. I just personally, I don't know what it is with the Chargers. I just can't trust them. I get it. No, history says you shouldn't trust it.

know. And I just, I can't do that. But I do like the Saints. The Wild Card Schedule this weekend is Indianapolis in Houston, Seattle and Dallas. And then on Sunday, it's the Chargers in Baltimore and Philadelphia in Chicago. And it's going to be an interesting weekend for sure. But I do like the Saints being favored. I mean, I feel like towards the end of the season, we kind of came down off of the Saints buzz. And it feels like the Chiefs kind of finished with more of the momentum. Yeah. But I don't know. I don't know. Drew Brees is just been playing out of his mind this year. So there's a lot of chapters in the Steelers dysfunction book this year.

And the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported that Antonio Brown basically skipped practice, which prompted the team to fabricate an injury report to cover for his absence, as we know. And then he showed up Sunday with the goal playing and he didn't. And obviously that suggests that they are at the point of no return with Antonio Brown, which is insane because he's wildly considered the best receiver. And receivers have never been more valuable than today. Right. he's got a contract, obviously, that makes things very complicated.

And there's really not too much the Steelers can do based on that contract without taking a massive cap hit. So the Steelers would have to carry $21 million in dead money if they cut or trade Antonio Brown. They could release him in March with a post-June first designation, which would result in $7 million, counting against the 2019 cap hit and $14 million counting against the 2020 hit. So they're really in a whole. horrible situation financially with Antonio Brown because of his contract. So I don't know what they can do. Well, I think you

have to be grown-ups and you have to sit down and 30-year-old Antonio Brown has to be a man, not a child, and say, I was petulant, I was immature, I apologize for throwing stuff, objects at other adults, and I'm sorry for putting myself above the team. This is about personal responsibility.

I'm tired everybody. Listen, I've been critical of Mike Tomlin. This is not on Mike Tomlin. And by the way, Big Ben is a lot of drama. 90% of the situation is Antonio Brown's loss. But I can't let Mike Tomlin off the hook in this situation. You are the leader. Yes.

You are the coach. Yes. You have a ton of wiggle room with that organization. The organization backs you and trusts you. It's consistent. It's not a dysfunctional organization at the top. You have to create an environment where this is not acceptable behavior, where you have a fear as a player of doing something.

It's not only going to damage your reputation. the team's reputation. Like, there's a pride thing here that I feel like is lacking with the Steelers. You're a Pittsburgh Steeler. You're an elite player for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That should matter to you because this is an embarrassment. No, I mean, you're not in the playoffs. What did you do?

You had an amazing season and you're sitting at home. So what did it matter? What did you accomplish? Nothing. Yeah. Yeah. We'll talk more about this. It's a good, it's personal for you because you're from Pittsburgh.

I mean, it just bothers me. Like, it's a colossal disappointment. Finally, you talked a little bit about this a few minutes. minutes ago, James Harden. So Chris Paul is injured and Hardens put the team on his back as of late and he is on a historic pace. He finished 2018 in style 43 points, 10 rebounds, 13 assists for the last night's win over the Grizzlies. That made him the first NBA player to notch at least 35 points in five assists in eight straight games. Oh my God, numbers. Which was a mark he shared with Oscar Robertson. But the most remarkable stat from last night is

that he scored 43 points on eight made field goals. How many turnovers? Which makes him the first player in NBA history to score over 40 on eight or fewer makes. And it's the eighth time in his career, he's done that while he scored 40 on more, 40 or more on 10 or fewer field goals. That's the most numbers you've ever said in 30 seconds. Because it's so many numbers. He might go down as the greatest offensive player in NBA history. And I don't even put that much stock in James Hardin in the postseason. But the numbers that he's putting up are incredible.

You can't deny that. I don't like numbers. I was bad at math. I'm bad at math too. I don't like numbers. You just went numbers on me. You should have literally grabbed a phone book and started reading numbers. I'm like, Joy, you're an emotional person.

You are, you emote. I do emote. And you just went numbers on me. Because here's the thing about James Hardin. Normally, I emote about James Harding because I don't trust him in the postseason either. Thank you. However, I'm at a conflict because you always bring it back to LeBron James. and I feel like everybody can't be LeBron James.

That's true. So I feel like we hold everyone to that standard. That's not fair. You know, that reminds me of my New Year's resolution in reality, which is I need to be nicer to LeBron. Yeah, I saw you tweeted that. I've been so critical of it. I disagree with you there.

I think you're very balanced. Okay, Joy with the News. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The Heard Line News. Let's solve this because he was a college basketball star, my friend, the Dugger, Fox Sports Radio. Come on, get out here.

I've got to talk about this whole James Hardin thing. All right, here we go. Now, you and I disagree on a lot of stuff, but we always kind of respect each other's opinions. I believe in man-a-analytics, but I don't turn my head to analytics. They matter. So I'm not one of these Charles Barkley where it's all about analytics and no analytics. I'm kind of 70-30 analytics, but here's what I know. Usage rate.

Yes. I thought I was going to have to bring this up. His usage rate is so high. He has the ball constantly. Constantly. So his numbers are all amazing. Yes. I don't think in June, I've seen Westbrook and Hardin.

Last year, Doug, James Hardin went 0 for 11 on threes. It's not because his vision was bad. His legs were shot. And there's actually a reason why there's two reasons he doesn't play defense. One is because he doesn't play defense. And he hasn't had a coach, you know, they did play better defense. defense in the playoffs, but a coach who truly held him accountable to defending better. Yeah.

But additionally, it takes a bunch of your energy away. Sure. Right? Like, that's the part about LeBron that is amazing is he's taking a lot more plays off now. Yeah. Before he got hurt defensively. But is that LeBron could have such a high usage rate and defend at a reasonable level at the other end.

Kauai Leonard's probably the best at it in the league. Correct. And that hurts his, that hurts his ability at times to score. That's why a lot of times he plays without the basketball. But I think when you get in a playoff basketball, he can't get in 27 free throws. They ain't happening. And he's going to have to defend a little bit better.

All that takes away from the juice you have in your body. And that's going to hurt. So it's like a different sport in the playoffs. But to Joy's point, which is a good one, which is he might go down as statistically the best offense. But all of these guys, this is no different than the NFL, where we have, you know, 12, 13, 4,000-yard pass. There's more plays.

Look, college football. Why are they setting so many records? Well, they run more plays. There's 100 plays in a college football game for teams that they never had before. More plays, more passes. And oh, yeah, by the way, now we count bowl games and, you know, as well as conference championship games. More games, it's going to make stats on steroids.

So to get back to Hardin, I think it's sustainable for the regular season, but the game is officiated differently and he has to play differently. and that's why I think it's ultimately doomed to fail. We were talking about this is that as a former college basketball player, and somebody asked me the other day, they said, was Doug a good player? And I said when Doug left college basketball, I remember watching you,

I said he was the number seven assist guy in the history of the sport. Doug was a great college basketball player. And at the time, a great program, Oklahoma State. And I remember watching you in college. You were a tremendous, you were really an old school point guard, dish, deal, run the floor. It was Rondo. Yeah, yeah, you were. You play defense.

Couldn't shoot. It was Rondo. Yeah. Couldn't shoot. I mean, I couldn't make it. I could shoot, but it wouldn't go in. It didn't go in. But it's interesting about this because there is, you know, when you talk about the NFL, the NFL's always been about the roster.

The NBA is about the star and the player. It feels like the Steelers have become incredibly beholden to the star, whereas Alabama 10-year dynasty, New England, 18-year dynasty, are beholden to the system. This is the downside to the star. The upside is drama, fun, exciting, fantasy points. The downside is they're trapped with Antonio Brown. They got trapped with Lavin Bell.

Pittsburgh's kind of taken the NBA model, which is we're going to build around about five guys who are absurd. But the last year, Bell, Brown, and even Ben sometimes, you're trapped. Yes, let's not undersell the fact that Ben has all kinds of off-the-field issues in his past. Yes. And on the field, he's not always easy. He couldn't get along with Todd Haley. And now he gets his boys' offensive coordinator, and they never run the football anymore, even though Pittsburgh's always run the football.

Like, yes. I also think it's who Pittsburgh always used to be in terms of how they dealt with contracts. They always used to, they tried to be like New England for years on the defensive side of the football. and Antonio Brown is one of the first guys that they've ever paid at the top level at his position. Right. But this also goes into the O'Dell Beckham Jr., right? Like here you have huge name, huge ego, huge talent, wide receivers who both get these big contracts and both are kind of turds, even though they're both super, super talented.

Yeah. I think football to me has always been, you know, next man up is not a basketball term because there is no next. X Kevin Durant. As great as Jason Taylor was, if Jason got hurt for the dolphins, you have four other defensive ends on the roster. They're not Jason, but somebody's going to have to put pressure on. Football players are largely at least semi-replaceable. There is no other Kaleo-Mack.

Right. But the Kaleo-Mack thing is, I'm glad you brought that up. That was immediately what I was, which is all that John Gruden sang. John Gruden didn't say Kaleel-Mack stunk. Like, no, they actually traded for two first-round picks. Nobody gets traded for two first-round picks. He was saying our team sucks and we have Khalil Mack. So it really doesn't matter.

Why are we going to overpay Khalil Mack and give him this huge contract, which hurts our ability to rebuild a team when even with Khalil Mack? We're terrible. We're not a good football team, right? Not a good defense. No. They weren't a good defense when they went to the playoffs a couple years ago with Khalil Mack. Yeah.

So now we're going to pay Khalil Mack? It's too, it's impossible to compare basketball and football. There's too many positions you have to fill on a football team. Unless it's the quarterback, I mean, look at the difference of LeBron James makes leaving Cleveland to the Lakers. Like, one player can change the course of the history of your organization. It's not the same way in the NFL. I would make the argument.

If I ran an NBA team, I would always side on paying the star. If I ran a football team with almost no exceptions, I would always side on grind him in contract negotiations or let him go. There are, I mean, you know, Aaron Rogers is one of the. few and Drew Breeze. But I was saying this yesterday. There's only four players, in my opinion. You could disagree with this. I think there's only four quarterbacks in the league.

Aaron's no longer one of them because he's 35 now and more brittle and kind of hard to coach. Four quarterbacks in the league, you can give average talent to and they can carry it. I call my bore four. They're all boring. Brady, Breeze, Russell Wilson, Luck. They're caring. Breeze went like five years without making the playoffs. They're seven and nine because he had no defense.

Well, I mean, he's got now a really good possession receiver. But they also have a really good defense. They have a really good, they built a really good team around him. Who in the NFL, I guess this is my point with the Steelers. Let's come back to the Steelers. What would you do with Antonio Brown? What do you do now? Well, if you trade him before June 1st, it's like $20 million in dead cap money.

It kills you. So you can't trade him before the draft. Right. So you can't like, oh, we're going to trade him for a first round pick. I kind of think you got to get him in the room. And you got to send out. This is where Tomlin has to make his money. I just work with T.J. Hushmanzado.

We just guest-hosted the Dan Patrick show on Fox Sports Radio. And he's like, look, Antonio Brown grew up in Miami idolizing Chad Johnson. I'm telling you, this is just like when I play with Chad Johnson. And he's like, you know, the only way you're going to do it is tough love. He's like, now look, Ben Rothberger is not the easiest guy to deal with. So this is where Mike, but we've never thought that Mike Tomlin is an X&O guy, right? He's not. No, he's an emotion.

a Pete Carroll kind of emot. Okay. So if Mike Tomlin is as good as everybody believes him to be, I think you think a little bit less of him than most people in the NFL do, at getting guys all together and figured out a way to work, he has to make a way. Because you can't, even if you were to wait until after June 1st and trade Antonio Brown, whatever you're getting back in return, it takes too long to get him up to speed to what Big Ben wants to do.

The team, by the way, seems to be supporting not supporting Antonio, round. Juju Smith-Schuster is their MVP, right? Right. They also, they also, I think most of the guys in that locker room, or at least the outspoken ones in that locker room on the offensive side of the ball are all about the team and not about Antonio and not about Levion. And maybe that runs in conflict with what the defensive guys. They get a mess there because they should be playing right now and they're not.

And the guy who's got to fix it, this is where you're Mike Tomlin. If you're not an X&O guy, it's not an emotion guy. You're a, hey, can I get everybody to work together to pull in the same direction? If not, somebody's got to go, and you've got to figure out a way to move on from Antonio Brown because you're not going to find another quarterback in short order. By the way, it's a wild card weekend in the NFL. Stick around. I'm going to take a break.

It's a wild card weekend. Doug and I'll kind of go back and forth. It is a new year today. Happy New Year, by the way. Happy New Year to you, my friend Doug Gottlieb to Dougger. Thank you so much for joining us today. I'm going to watch the Rose Bowl, too, in five hours. The rest of the bowl games I don't give a rip about.

Doug, that herd hierarchy, New Year's resolution, seven of them in sports all coming up. It's the herd. Great to have you in. Talking a lot of Pittsburgh Steelers today, the mess there. Mike Tomlin is a little bit of the ice cream for breakfast parent. You know, it's funny about this. Doug Gottlieb's a dad. I'm a dad.

We're parents. And the funny thing about Pittsburgh is that it has always been easier to be the hard dad and lighten up. Belichick was the strict parent. Now Belichick over time. You got Meek Mill in the locker room. He's supportive of a player. He went very soft on Brady this year. Tom Coughlin, tough dad.

And then the Mara family said, hey, you're turning purple on the sidelines, lighten up. And then the stray hands were like, he's my dad. I love him. Very hard to be ice cream for breakfast parent. And then come in and go, hey, go to bed at nine. Because all the kids are like, Dad's a softie. He'll never. Tomlin.

came into this league. He had pool tables and ping pong tables and shuffleboard all in the locker room. He took them out. And now he's trying, now he's in a situation, Doug, where Tomlin's got to be the tough dad and be the disciplinarian. And I don't think the players buy it. It's really, it's really, really hard to do that. By the way, I think if you ask most players and probably have you ask Joy's brother, most guys want to be coached. Most guys want discipline. They do. Kids, in fact, want discipline, right? They don't want unreasonable discipline or abuse, but they do want, they want discipline

in their lives. You function better that way. Of course we all do. I'll just tell you my children, like, we have been, we sleep Nazis, right? Like we, our kids go to sleep and they're like, hey, other kids get to, like, that's fine, but you're not as nice a kid. You don't

perform as well in school. When you go to bed at 11. When you go to, you're a complete mess. Why? Because we wired you, because we wanted to have a life. We wired you to go to bed early. Thank you. You know, so you're in bed, you're reading a book, and we actually tuck you in every night to make sure. Whereas other people's parents, they let their kids go up. My kids right now just went to bed at my house.

My kids go to bed in the morning. That's how little. All right, so let's shift to this. Let's go to the playoffs. Yes. So you know how it works, Doug. If you and I suggest there's going to be an upset, fans go crazy. But there's going to be one to two upsets this weekend.

Okay, the Texans are favored. Let's look at the wild card. Saturday early games. Texans are favored. I like the Colts. What say you? I like the Colts. We saw this game in Houston just a couple weeks ago. I mean, frankly, and look, it was way too premature. These teams weren't totally formed yet. But if the Colts take a tie early on at home against the Texans, this game's an indie. This game's an indie.

And like, look, wake me up when you believe in the Texans in the playoffs. Thank you. I love what Chris Bauer has done to the defense. It's underrated. I love the fact that Marlon Mac gives them a legit running game. No kidding. And they have a tight end to throw, too. I like Indy in this matchup, mostly because I saw this exact same game like three weeks ago. And I would argue Indy's a little better than that, and Houston's a little worse than three weeks ago.

I think both teams have gone in opposite directions slightly. And he doesn't have the same range as he used to, but Adam Ventieri indoors in the playoffs, I think I know what I'm going to get as far as field go kick. All right. Fox, the late game Saturday, Seattle. I get Pete Carolyn Russell Wilson, so I get an edge at coach. I get an edge at quarterback. Agreed. And a very good running game.

Who do you like? I like the Cowboys. So do I. I like the Cowboys have been, it's a weird year for Dallas. Dallas, since they built the Jerry's World, they used to be bad at home. Now they're really good at home. Now they're very good at home. I think they, I think for a long time, Jason Garrett knew his roster.

You go back to when they lost to Houston and he was, he was too conservative in overtime. He was too conservative because he was playing. towards his defense. He knows he has a really good defense. Remember, they're going to get Zach Martin back. Tiron Smith didn't play last week, getting him back. Obviously, Zieg's going to get. They had the best of both worlds. They played hard, won a game, and they did so while resting some of their injured players. So they have the positive momentum. I think Seattle, not reloading, not rebuilding is a great story, but they haven't been good away from home. They're a better story than a team. Yes. And as much as it feels like, and it

may very well, it feels like every Seattle game comes down to Russell Wilson. running around trying to make a play in the fourth quarter. Good luck here. I think this one comes up short because I do believe in that Dallas defense. Minute and a half on each game. I think the Chargers go to Baltimore. Now, we were at that game. Yes.

I think it's hard. Baltimore kicked their ass. They did. Yes. But I think it's very hard with that limited Baltimore offense to fool the Chargers twice in a month. Correct. I like the Chargers here.

I do too. Remember, that was without Austin Echler, who was their Swiss Army knife back. He's great player. And they get Hunter Henry back. Whereas as much as Eni, Antonio Gates was open some. Hunter Henry is a pro-ball caliber guy who hasn't played tied-in. Hasn't played all year because of an ACL injury. He's going to be back for this game.

And I think if you watch that game, they figured out Baltimore's offense. Obviously, Mark Andrews got open deep. One great throw from Lamar, but for the most part, the second half, Baltimore had no offense. Baltimore has to get off to a hot start. I don't think they do it against the Chargers. Chargers win the road. This is where I think we'll have a disagreement. So we're 3-0. I'm going to take Philly to upset Chicago. I think Philadelphia, this is the best defensive line talent in the league. All these guys have been through these playoff wars. These are veteran players.

Whatever it is, Nick Foles is darn good with this staff. Chicago, young quarterback, bright lights, late game Sunday. Doug, I think they're going to be tight. I think Chicago is going to be tight. It's really interesting because you're like, well, wait, they both know each other. Remember, Doug Peterson was in Kansas City before he was in Philadelphia. And, of course, Matt Nagy was in Kansas City before he was in Chicago. So kind of the quirkiness of the offense may go away.

But Chicago's defense is so good, man, and so good at home. And look what they did to Aaron Rogers. I mean, they made Kirk Cousins look like an $8.40 quarterback, not an $84 million quarterback. I like Chicago. I like the Bears playing at home. I love the Nick Foll's story, but Nick Foles is like Ryan Fitzpatrick. For two or three weeks, great. But then ultimately people figure it out.

Yeah. So you and I agree. will take the Colts over the Texans, the Cowboys over the Seahawks, the Chargers over the Ravens. Listen, Chicago is a five and a half, six-point favorite. So most of America is, I would have bet, in Vegas right now, it would be 75, 80% bears. I got to tell you, though, this Philadelphia team is so,

I just, I tell everybody, Fletcher Cox is Aaron Donald out east. Yes. And then Michael Bennett, Seattle gave him away, still an elite pass rusher. I'm forgetting one of their other defensive front guys. they have a bad secondary. I don't think Chicago will exploit it.

But I think you got to give the NFL credit. They're smart. They put this game Sunday night for a reason. Do you know what Chicago is going to look like Sunday night? That's one of the great cities in the country for football. Like I think we forget sometimes. Golden State was a great NBA city for 30 years. The teams were bad.

No, no. Chicago and D.C., you know, those are Bears and Redskins towns. Those are crazy cities for football. I think it's going to be so much fun to watch. But also, the other point is we talk about football changing because of the weather, right? Football changes because of the weather. Obviously, Nick Foles played in some weather going back to last year, but with all the domes across the country, this one, that will feel and look like old school classic football, and you have two incredible defensive fronts. I just, I have a greater belief in Chicago in what they're

doing in Chicago at playing at home. All right, Doug Gottlie, he'll be on speak for yourself later. He was on, he's doing the whole day thing today working. Great. See anybody? The Dugger, We're back Heard hierarchy, our final one of the year. Top 10 teams in the NFL next. 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. Ah, here we go. Hour 2. This is The Heard, wherever you may be. And however, you may be listening. We're live in Los Angeles on IHeart Radio, Fox Sports Radio, and FS1. Greg Jennings knows all about the Minnesota Vikings.

He lives there. Former Packer, he knows them too. He'll join us in about 25, 30 minutes from now. Joy Taylor is joining me. I want to thank Doug Gottlieb for stopping by. Mark Schlerath, final hour. Joy, how are you? Great.

We are great today. Happy New Year. Happy New Year to everybody. Eight NFL head coaching openings. I'm going to talk about Jim and John Harbaugh. Before the end of the hour, I'm getting texts as we speak. So we do appreciate you stopping by. So this is for the final time this year.

we do during the football season about 20 weeks. We do it right before the season starts, then we do it through the season, and then we do it as the season ends. We rank the top 10 NFL teams, and my feelings, though, has been the final four are the teams that should be favored to win the Super Bowl. And I spend more time on this than I really should.

I give it a great deal of thought. We look through all the stats and graphs and data and analytics, and here we go, our herd hierarchy. Heard hierarchy. Time is now, let's go. NFL teams, according to college. Number 10. Listen, the Dallas Cowboys are 7 and 2 since Amari Cooper arrived.

That is, that's good for all receivers in the NFL. That's going to make a lot of wide receivers money. He has made a real impact, and this team is very good at home. The Cowboys have a way to play. In fact, they're 8 and 0 when Dak Prescott has a passer rating over 100. He usually has that when they play lesser defenses at home and have a run. running game. I think they have a low ceiling offensively and there's a certain way they have to play. I think their defense is good. I don't think it's nearly as hot as Baltimore's or as good as

Chicago's or as scary up front as the Eagles. That's why I put the Cowboys at 10. Number nine. Indianapolis. How can I put them ahead of the Cowboys? Because since week seven, they have the number one scoring defense in the NFL. And since week seven, they have the number one scoring point differential in the NFL. What's so special about week seven? That's when NFL people believe Andrew Luck was finally completely healthy. Remember early in the year,

when they had to bring on his backup, Jacoby Brissette to throw a Hail Mary pass? People think week six and seven, Andrew Luck, was completely healthy. They have won nine of ten since then. The Colts at number nine. Number eight. Listen, Philadelphia,

I don't want any part of Philadelphia. Whatever it is with Nick Foles, no longer Fools Gold, Foles Gold, it works. He spreads the ball around better than Carson Wentz. And I got news for you. This is an experienced team that's been through these playoff wars. And between Fletcher Cox and Michael Bennett, they led the NFL in quarterback hits. So Trabisky's going to run around and they're going to get shots at him for three and a half hours. Philadelphia is a real team.

I, three weeks ago, Joy was here. When everybody in the NFC was battling for that final spot, I said, I'm taking Philadelphia. Their players are too good. Now they got a little over their skis. Got to write a book. Going to have multiple parades. A little dysfunction. This defensive front is the best in the league.

And I think they can go to Chicago and win. Number seven. You know, I sold most of my stock on the Rams about two months ago, but I didn't sell all of it. They are now rested. Todd Gurley has not played in two weeks and now gets a buy week. So Todd Gurley has not taken a shot in almost a month. And he really engineers this offense. What scares me about this team is that right golf has 11 turnovers since week 11.

That's the most in the NFL. He looks tired. I think they've relied too heavily on him. I think sometimes it is a glamour play calling offense. Sean McVeigh is young and impatient and likes the big over-the-top play. I think this team's at its best when it's running the football. But I think they forgot about that. And so I haven't sold all my stock.

I don't see them in the Super Bowl. But I do think Todd Gurley, no hits in almost a month, that helps. Keep your eye on them. They could reboot a little and be very dangerous. Number six. Baltimore. Now, I don't think this offense is 10 years. sustainable. Lamar Jackson's a thin kid running around taking shots. Now, he's better than Tebow,

but the Tebow thing lasted about six games. I think this could last three or four seasons, maybe. But it's the hottest defense in the league. Seven of the last eight teams they've played, they've held under 25 points, including the Chargers. They're the best running game in football, and frankly, they're hard to defend. Nobody runs an offense like this. What team in the NFL says, okay, we're having practice this week. You pretend your Lamar Jackson. You can sort of pretend your Philip Rivers. You can pretend your Tom Brady.

Nobody in the NFL runs this offense. I think they're incredibly difficult to defend in this little bubble. I don't know if it's sustainable. I have Baltimore at 6, though. Number five. I think Chicago is more sustainable, and this isn't the hottest defense. This is the best overall defense. They're at home, built for cold weather.

I think they have the coach of the year in Matt Nagy. I do think when you have a defense that leads the NFL like the Bears did in scoring defense, rushing defense, takeaways, yards per play, defensive touchdowns, this is hands down the best defense. Baltimore's is hot. This is better. Philadelphia is good up front. This is better. I think it's a low ceiling offense.

They have to win a certain way. They're 12 and 0 if they hold you to 24 or less. They are not built for a shootout. And if Nick Foles gets hot and it's a shootout, and you told me today the score is 3228, I'm taking Philadelphia, and I think Philly's going to score some points on this team. Number four. These are my final four teams.

They should be favored for the Super Bowl, New England. Only NFL team, though, and ain't no at home. Best coach in football. Completely healthy. By the way, this is the underrated part. Every Patriots team that gets to a Super Bowl, they have one thing in common. it becomes a top 10 defense.

Seven of their last nine opponents, including three straight. They've held below 20 points. Quietly as we've paid attention to Gronk's demise and Brady, this defense, this could be the best secondary in the NFL. It is an exceptional secondary. They are getting a situational pass rush. They've got to buy, they play at home.

And there's a lot of teams in the AFC. I like. Not many I like going to Foxborough in mid-January. Patriots 4. Number three. I think the Chargers remain the best roster in the NFL. Why am I supposed to not like them now because they lost a close game to Baltimore facing Lamar Jackson and offense that it's hard to prepare for? Like I suddenly don't like them. They didn't have their number two back. They didn't have their number one wide receiver. The Chargers are loaded. This team's weakness, they're not great at guard. Why am I supposed to sell all my stock? Philip Rivers had a Pro Bowl year.

They have the deepest core of running backs in the league, the deepest core of wide receivers in this league. As long as they don't go to Baltimore and there's a snow drift, I think they're going to go there and win. Don't sell this team's stock just because they lost a close game to Baltimore. Well, I mean, you still love Baker-Mainfield. He lost a close game to Baltimore. I mean, come on. This is a loaded roster. Number two.

Kansas City Chiefs. Now, they're 0-1-6 in-home playoff game since the mid-90s. But I don't care. None of the players on this team, Patrick Mahomes wasn't there. Okay, they have a really good offense. But I'll say this about Kansas City. Their past defense is terrible. But they are tied for the NFL lead in sacks.

Colin, what does that mean? They are built. They need to play with a lead. Because if they lead, they will get after your quarterback. Okay? I don't know if I trust a play. playoff Patrick Holmes to come from behind. Their defense is totally flawed.

We know their offense is good, but their defense does, is tied for the NFL lead in sacks. That is a very important thing to note. It's why I put them number two. If they lead late in games and their defensive front knows the opponent's passing, they will get after you. So their defense is not great. They give up a lot of chunk plays.

but it is a defense that is built to have. This is what Peyton Manning Bill Pullian's cults had. They weren't a great defense, but Peyton played with leads. And when they did, they had Dwight Frini coming off the edge. This defensive front for Kansas City, with a lead late, you got to throw. They will get after you. I got them at two. Number one.

Saints. Listen, they averaged 31 and a half points. But I think there's so much I like about them. I like their coach. I like their quarterback. I like their defense. Here's what I really like. They're going to play at home the whole playoffs.

Now, Kansas City is the number one seed in the AFC, but I don't think their home field is nearly as good as the Saints. With the Saints, I'm getting the most good stuff. I'm getting a great coach. I get a great run defense. I get an unbelievable home field advantage. I get a great running game. I just don't see this team as having any real hole.

I don't love their back-end defense, but it's gotten better in the last. last month and a half. I think the Saints are the best team in the NFL and should win this year's Super Bowl, which I'd be okay with. For the record, you know, there was this thing. When we started the year, there was this conversation about Brady was the greatest quarterback, but many of you, half of you, half of you, said, that's Aaron Rogers.

Now, Joy was here for many of those days. I pushed back on that. I said, no, no, no, no, time out. Forget just the Super Bowls. They're not the same person. One is very coachable. One's hard to coach. One suppresses ego.

One is more about ego. One is passive-aggressive, Aaron. The other one, Tom Brady will confront you right on the sidelines. Tom Brady and Aaron Rogers are opposites. One has a world-class arm. One has a fine arm. One scramble around. One guy does not scramble ever.

But here's what's interesting. Who I believe Aaron Rogers is, is Big Ben. And their seasons and their careers are turning out the same way. If you go look at their career numbers, it is shocking. Packers, Steelers, iconic brand. Their completion percentage. Yards per game. They both have seven, 10-win seasons.

Just about the same number of Pro Bowls. Both have a Super Bowl. Ben's got an extra one. But what's funny about this is they're both right now today in the same place miss the playoffs, past their prime, a lot of high maintenance,

a lot of passive aggressive, one's playing in the shadow of Terry Bradshaw, one's playing in the shadow of Brett Fav. We really wanted, maybe because we resent Tom Brady's supermodal wife, we hate the dynasty. We really wanted to make Aaron the goat. He's a packer.

We love him. Funny commercials. Isn't it interesting that this morning today, Aaron's become Ben, Ben's become Aaron. Not nearly their peak. A lot of drama. One guy Aaron got rid. Got rid of his guy. Ben, it appears, wants to get rid of his coach, but they're not going to do it.

Is that we wanted so desperately. We wanted so much. Maybe it's Aaron's more likable, doesn't have a supermodel of wife. We don't like dynasties in football. We love the Packers. They're the Midwest team. We wanted so badly to make Aaron Tom. They have nothing in common.

Aaron and Ben have become one another. Both have old school head coaches. Both miss the playoffs. Both, by the way, are in a division where a young quarterback with the defense, Lamar Jackson and Mitch Trubisky, now appeared to be the best rosters and teams in the division. Both with drama, both passive-aggressive, both constantly commenting in the press.

Both, I would argue, very hard to coach. You know who's not hard to coach? Russell Wilson, Deshawn Watson, Andrew Luck, Lamar Jackson, DAC, Tom Brady. We enter this season, and you just, everybody wanted to make Aaron the goat. Nah, he's Big Ben. statistically, personality, passive aggressive, high maintenance, underachieving, and in both instances,

playing in the shadow of a legend, and in both instances, I think, way past their prime. I do. We've seen the best of Ben. We've seen the best of Aaron. Greg Jennings is around the corner. Coming up next, why? Why? John Harbaugh's name keeps surfacing.

for jobs and why Jim Harbaugh is not overpaid. Plus Greg Jennings. Next in the herd. Saturday, it's a huge showdown in Dallas as Russell Wilson and the Seahawks take on Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys in the NFC Wildcard game. It all starts at 7.30 Eastern, 430 Pacific, Saturday on Fox and the Fox Sports app. Seven sports New Year's resolutions next hour. Mark Schlerwith next hour, Greg Jennings in five minutes.

So I want to talk about the Harbaugh family for a second. Jim Harbaugh and John Harbaugh. And it starts with this. Lincoln Riley is the hot coach this year. And the story came out this morning. Lincoln Riley doesn't want a coach in the NFL. Tweet. Lincoln Riley, contract extension, Oklahoma.

So now we have eight NFL openings and exactly two coaches that if they got one of those openings, all fan bases would be excited. Mike McCarthy, and Jim Harbaugh. If Jim Harbaugh got any of these eight jobs, Packers, Jets, Dolphins, Cardinals, Bucks, Browns, Broncos, Bengals, that fan base, ticket sales would increase.

But all I hear about Jim Harbaugh, oh my God, that guy's overrated. He's winning nine and a half a year at Michigan. By the way, he rebuilt it for the first three years. Legendary Bo Schembeckler in the 70s, won 9.2 a year, fewer games. And it should be noted that's in an era when there was far less competition

and Michigan was one of about eight programs that had any money. Now everybody's got money, especially the Southern football powers. Jim's winning more games on average in a tougher environment. Scholarship limitations. Bo didn't face that.

9.5 to 9.2. And he is also, along with Mike McCarthy, in fact, even more so than Mike McCarthy, the only coach, its basic economic, supply and demand, that if he got one of the eight coaching jobs, any of the eight, Ticket sales would increase.

If you think Jim Harbaugh got a job at Cleveland tomorrow, you don't think Brown fans would go nuts. They went nuts for finishing in third place this year. Cleveland fans went nuts for finishing in third. You don't think Harbaugh with Baker? That town would go crazy. Folks, do you know how economics work? Supply and demand?

Jim makes $7 million a year. Nick Saban makes close to 10. That's about right. Nick wins about three more games a year. A million a win. He's paid based on leverage. There are no great candidates. Jim Harbaugh is one, if not the only candidate, college or pro, that is a reasonable candidate

that if he got the job, ticket sales would explode. That's how the game works. You are worth what your leverage is. Lincoln Riley has taken himself out of the jobs. Who's available? Who would get people excited? You don't think Jet fans would like Harbaugh? You don't think Packer fans would like him.

You don't think Brown fans would like him. This is how economics work. He's making $7 million at Michigan. For his leverage, that is exactly what he should make. He shouldn't make 10. That's what Saban makes. Let me talk about John Harbaugh for a second. John Harbaugh's name is everywhere.

How's that possible? If I told you there was a coach who had a quarterback who started in week 11, went six and one and now he was going to host a playoff game you'd think john harbaugh he never want to leave that job why is john harbaugh's name everywhere because john harbaugh is allowing his name to be everywhere if john harbaugh thought this lamar jackson thing was 10 years sustainable he would call his agent and say take my name out of these jobs the reason john harbaugh's name is out there is because John Harbaugh privately has seen this sort of offense work briefly with his brother Jim. Jim got Colin Kampernick, ran around, beat the Packers, beat Aaron Rogers, got to a Super Bowl,

and then never developed as a pocket quarterback because it wasn't his thing, wasn't his game, and Jim Harbaugh got fired. John Harbaugh's brother has lived the life he's living. So when you see John Harbaugh's name up, and it's up this morning for six jobs, is because what he's selling and what they're selling in Baltimore to the public is we are all in. The reality is they're saying

can we win like this for seven years? I don't know if we can win like this. Lamar might get hurt. So my little Harbaugh update, Jim is exactly paid based on leverage, based on the fact that if USC was looking for a coach today, the fans would ask for Harbaugh. The fans would want Harbaugh.

The Packers want it. The Browns want. him. The Jets want him. You're paid what your leverage is. Harbaugh is singularly uniquely leveraged in college football right now. He can get the best college jobs. He can get the best pro jobs. He's paid exactly what he should pay for his leverage. And John Harbaugh's name is out there because deep down, he has questions about sustainability because he saw what his brother went through with a highly talented running quarterback who never quite developed into the kind of quarterback you could trust to throw 35 times a game.

Joy with the news. No, no, no, no, no. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. So, if you ask anyone from Cleveland or really anyone who has a television and watches football, they'd probably be a little skeptical about Hugh Jackson getting an NFL head coaching job in the near future. Yeah. He went 3, 36, and 1 in the three years with the Browns.

Yeah. And then the Browns went five and three with the same team that he had after he was fired. Yes. He also has the second worst winning percentage in NFL history with coaches with at least 40 games. But Marvin Lewis, who was recently fired from Cincinnati, thinks you could make his coaching return as early as next season. Here's why. It's more than qualified. I think he's been in a couple of difficult situations.

And, you know, and that's tough. And it hasn't broke his way. But I think he's an excellent football coach. He's a great motivator. And, you know, he's detailed. And so I think he, you know, he deserves an opportunity, if not here's somewhere else. Okay, this is what I've been told today.

This is what I've been told by somebody I trust. The Bengals want to hire Hugh Jackson, but the owner is concerned about the feedback from fans in the media. As he should be. But what I am told by somebody I trust, but Cincinnati Bengals want to hire Hugh Jackson. They just don't like the pushback they're going to get. Look, it doesn't matter to me, really,

who the Cincinnati Bengals hire as their head coach. Because they ain't beating Baker-Mayfield anyway. They're not being Baker-Macon. No, I mean, look, I like Marvin Lewis. I get moving on from Marvin Lewis. He had more than enough time to, you know, do what he needed to do there. 3-36-1 is not great. a very bad coaching record. That's not great. Now, I get it. Cleveland's been very dysfunctional.

And according to Hugh Jackson, he was overruled on picking some pretty talented players at a quarterback position, which they've had, I don't know, 60 in the last 10 years. Isn't this the interesting story, though? So if Hugh Jackson gets this job, who just taunted Hugh Jackson? Oh, a team he plays twice a year. I'm going to tell you, Baker Mayfield, be very very very careful who you taunt in this league. No. Because Hugh Jackson's going to get that job. And for four years.

And he's going to tell his defensive players, you hit a little late. It happens. I mean, look, I don't. Well, it is the Bengals. So that's kind of, that's, that's been their reputation.

Look, I don't know. I don't, I think Hugh Jackson's a nice guy. Yeah. I just don't, I don't get it. I mean, there's, that's, that's bad. I don't think he shouldn't get another job. I'm just saying maybe that's not the best position for him. That's all I'm saying.

Speaking of kind of interesting situations, John Elway is now on the hunt for his fourth head coach of his eight-year tenure. They fired Van Joseph yesterday after the team completed a six-and-ten season. They are now 20 and 28 since Super Bowl 50. And they haven't finished better than third in the AFC West since then. And that's their first set of back-to-back losing seasons since 71, 70 years. This is a great organization. This is the Steelers with the Mountain Range.

This is a great organization. Chris Harris thinks a change is long overdue. We just haven't evolved here. I think after the Super Bowl, we kind of just kind of got stagnant. We haven't involved, so we've got to figure out how we can evolve on offense, defense, special teams, everything. Get better as players. But we have to evolve with the times of the NFL. We're behind right now.

I kind of like that. That's pretty smart. Here's the thing, though. They haven't evolved. They've been a little stagnant. Who is making the decisions? Isn't it Elway? I know it's hard to fire a legend, though.

I mean, listen, for years and years, the Denver Broncos chased the Elway ghost. Now John Elway's chasing his own ghost. He's trying to find the next John Elway. It's an interesting situation because, yeah, you can't move on from John Elway. That's the decision you made. That's it. Could you fire Peyton Manning if he was ever the Colts GM? You can't do it.

You can't do it. But look at some of the decisions that have been made there. And he's smart. He's a Stanford guy. He's just, how about this? it's hard to find the right coach. It's hard. Joy, there's eight openings.

It can't always be the coach's fault. I'm not your, that's a good point. And not when you give him Case Keenham, Paxon, Lynch, Trevor Simeon and Brock Oswald. Oh, that hurts. Oh, that's painful. I mean, let's keep it real. This is what's happening. These are facts.

And what did they want to say yesterday? When you build your team, you got to at first win your division. Who's in their division? I know. Homes. Derek Carr. Philip Rivers. I mean, good luck.

I know. They have the fourth best quarterback in the division. They got to get this quarterback. Where does it even start? Like, are they in a rebuild now? Kind of. Well, they have two good pass rushers. That's not bad.

That's their thing now. They got two great, Bradley Chubbs, great. It's one of those situations where everyone's kind of afraid to say the thing that's really actually happening there. I mean, I feel like I just said it. No, but I really believe the key in this whole thing is if they could play with leads with those pass rushers, they'd be good. They've got to get the quarterback figured out. So I'll just say this.

Do not be shocked if the Denver Broncos don't sell the farm to move to number one and get Ohio State's quarterback who plays in three and a half hours from now. Dwayne Haskins? Yep. I think he's going to be the number one pick. If he's great in the Rolls Bowl today, that kid

in his last three games had 17 touchdowns throwing, running no interceptions. If he carves up Washington today. I don't want to hear that Dwayne Haskins is the 19th picking the draft. My butt. He's going number one if he tears up Washington in three hours. No, just became a very important game.

And Denver's going to go after him. So finally, the big story today is Antonio Brown. The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported that he basically skipped out on practice, prompting the team to fabricate an injury, to report as a cover for his absence. And he showed up on Sunday planning on playing, got shut down. and now it seems like they're at a point where they have to make a decision on whether to trade him or not. And this morning, an update on this, Ben Rathusberger said that he finds a reaction to the story baffling and he downplayed his confrontation with Antonio Brown.

The issue is they are kind of stuck with him because if they move on, they're going to take a massive cap hit. They'd have to carry $21 million in dead money if they cut or trade him. They could release him in March with a post-June 1 designation that would be $7 million against the cap. year and 14 million against the cap next year, but it's still, it's still colossal. Why you just sit down as grownups and figure this crap out? Well, let's not get rid of Antonio Brown. Let's demand that a 30-year-old grown-up, you sit down and go, okay, let's yell at me. I'll be a therapist.

Yell at me, scream at me. Let's clear the table. I'm not getting rid of Antonio Brown. I mean, I really don't even think that you can. A, you shouldn't be, it's ridiculous. You're going to lock yourself up for years at a position that you, that has become desperately important. This is what you get with why.

receivers. Cuckoo! Egos. I don't know. I mean, Antonio Brown has a reputation for being a very hard worker. Yes. But, so that's never been in question. I think it's, I think there's a lot of things in play. There's a lot of egos in play. There's an environment in Pittsburgh where it's gotten out of control. I don't know what you do. This is a perfect segue to our guest. Joy

with the news. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping by. The herd line news. To understand the ego of a receiver, we need to bring on a wide receiver. We need to bring on a wide Greg Jennings joining us on the show today. So let's go. Let's go psychology here. You were an overachiever.

You didn't get Ohio State. You didn't go to Michigan. You went to Western Michigan University. So you would think Antonio Brown. Antonio Brown didn't go to USC. Antonio Brown didn't go to Texas. So we have a history in the NFL. When a quarterback gets overlooked a little,

they come in with a chip and they overachieve. Yes. That's the rule with quarterback. almost Peyton Manning's the only quarterback last 20 years who came in as the best high school or the best college guy and overachieved in the NFL. Generally, that chip on the shoulder, it's a hard sport. So you were the classic, you were very good, but you had a little chip. Big dogs didn't give you a scholarship. You end up being a great player.

It should be that way with Antonio Brown because I don't even know. Where do you go to school? Central Michigan. Central Michigan. And I thought he was that guy. Is it the money? Because this is his third tantrum. Tell me what's going on with him.

Well, when you listen to former teammates who play with them and their reports on stories that has transpired, you give him money, he's going to change. Ryan Clark, good friend. He said that over on ESPN. He did? He did. He said, if you give Antonio money?

He did. Before he got his big deal when they were going to pay Mike Wallace, and they said they weren't going to pay Mike Wallace. They let Mike Wallace walk. And they knew he knew Antonio Brown was up. He knew that they were going to pay him. he said, you give this kid money, he's going to be a problem. Wow.

He said that very same day, they get into a spat. He gets into it with Dick LeBow. And Ryan Clark now, he's very sharp, great player for the Steelers for a long time, understood what they were getting into. And as players, this is your number one fear. When you can identify one of your teammates who you know as grand. great of a talent as they may be, man, if we give them. So you know it too?

Oh, yeah, you know. As a teammate. You know 100%. What is it? It's that guy who constantly is kind of on himself, feels himself. I'll give you a great example. Let's do this. So when I came into the league, there was a guy by the name of Brandon Marshall who's still out there.

He was a fifth round draft pick, I believe, came in at the same year. We're at the rookie symposium. He comes out on the resort campus, and he has on tights, no shirts, sunglasses. We're like, what is this dude doing? That's who he was out the gate. And then later in his career, as his career developed, he made plays in Denver, Chicago, Miami, splashes in different areas. But then he started to mature.

He started to quiet. He started to understand that, wait a minute, this isn't going to be. transferable into my next career. So let me fall back. Let me mature. Let me come of age, basically. Antonio Brown has done the absolute opposite. He came in, quiet guy.

Still's pretty quiet, but work ethic, unmatched, just head to the plow, hand to the plow, going to do whatever you ask him to do. But the moment you say here, here's the keys to the car, he doesn't want anybody else in the car because he wants to play his own music. He doesn't want anybody to have any input. So to Joy's point, or I'm sorry, not to Joyce,

but to your point of let's sit down and let's have this power, it's not going to work. He doesn't want what everybody else wants. Mike Tomlin wants Super Bowls. Ben Rothersberger wants Super Bowls. Antonio Brown wants everything for him. Business is booming. as long as it's booming for me.

So he's one of those guys. He's one of those guys. And it's tough because you look like when he got into the National Football League a special teamer, he's always had to work to get to where he was. Yeah, if he was a quarterback, he's the classic what you

want. Yes. And then to just see him implode like this, it's really disappointing. I just think the Steelers are going to have to part ways. Listen, he showed up to training camp on a helicopter. You know, there's an old saying, was it Maya Angelou said this, that like people will tell you who they are, believe them. If guys are showing up to practicing a helicopter, that's a pretty good indication that they're going to be about stuff and show you what they are.

Yes, it's a show me. It's this persona that I have to uphold. Why is it always wide receivers? It's not always wide receivers. It's a lot of wide receivers. It is. It's a lot of ego. I can't.

Honestly, I can't answer that. I have a theory on it. My theory on wide receivers, you break the huddle first. It is the most basketball-driven position in football. You don't need a blocker. You don't need a handoff. Hey, I'll beat my guy in the perimeter. Throw it up.

It is an isolation. It is a me position. It is a, hey, you guys are in the system. Hell, I just break the huddle. I'm going to go down the sideline. It's the only time in football. where you say, hey, we're going to throw it up and make a play. Football is very choreographed, very efficient, very driven, on a chalkboard.

Aaron Rogers is like, dude, I'm going to throw it up, you've got to make a play. It's an NBA position. NBA empowers the athlete. So these athletes, you guys all come in, your stars out of college. It's also the main highlight position. Yeah, I would agree more with that. If there's a long pass, if there's a Hail Mary, you're going to show the quarterback throwing it. Like, oh, it's a great throw, but you're going to show the catch.

You're very rare. You have, you're no. maintenance. No. You're a no ego guy. And Colin, this was why. And I think if more players were like this, we wouldn't have this issue. The more you garner attention, the more everybody is going to pay attention to every little detail that you do that is not correct.

And so for me, I didn't want to show my quarterback up. I didn't want to show him that, dude, you missed a throw. I'm yelling at you. I'm having all these emotions. facial expressions. I didn't want that because the moment I drop a ball and I learned this from Donald Driver in an interview he did post-game.

Reporter came up to him. It's like, Donald, what happened? He had dropped a couple balls. He was like, that's not my first drop of my career. And if I continue to play, it won't be my last drop. Period. And when he said that, I immediately took that. Like, you know what?

That's 100% correct. He killed the story. He killed the story, but he understood that I'm going to make mistakes just like everybody else in here is going to make mistakes. It's how I bounce back from that mistake. It's how I show resolving that. And for me as a Y receiver, I never wanted to put the spotlight on me

any more than I knew that it already was going to be. But you are rare. Yeah. You know who was very good at that? Andre Johnson. Oh, come on. Andre Johnson. By the way, it's funny.

I've always said this before. I'm very reluctant to give receivers money. But all the receivers I would give money to, Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Johnson, Julio Jones. I don't get the ego. Yeah. I've always been like Antonio Brown, O'Dell Beckham, Ocho, T.O. It's not about their talent.

Is when you pay somebody a fortune, it doesn't matter if it's a lawyer, a doctor, an athlete, a writer. You're paying the personality, not just the position. Agreed. You've got to be very careful on who you back up the Brinks truck to. I would have paid you a fortune. Would you still pay me a fortune? Now you're slow and hold. I wouldn't give you a nickel.

I would give you a nickel now. All right, stick around. Greg Jennings. We're talking about the playoffs coming up. All right, here's a breaking story. According to Jason Locke and Fora, he's an NFL reporter. Antonio Brown has requested a trade from the Steelers. Very unlikely Rooney would capitulate.

Antonio Brown here, according to the reporter, has issues with Mike Tomlin and Ben Rathlisberger and feels like a coach. coach is too aligned with the quarterback. So basically Antonio Brown's saying Big Ben and Mike Tomlin are too close. I'm on the outside. I don't like this. Greg Jennings, what do you make of it?

This is mind-blowing to me. A receiver who, we look at his numbers. He's number one in almost every category. Receptions, yards. You get as many opportunities and targets as anyone in the National football league. And I could argue Big Ben is

the best deep ball thrower in the league. And it's, you complain. Early in the season, they were losing. Or I'm sorry, they were winning. They started winning after the Brown's tie. Yeah. They started winning a couple games. Antonio Brown wasn't getting the opportunities and the targets. That's right. Complaining. Yep. Throwing fits.

They start winning or they start losing later in the season. He's getting all his numbers. We never hear nothing. from Antonio Brown. Why? Because he's not on the same page as what they're on. His mindset is about him. Yes. And I hate to say it because I love what I see when he's out there on the football field. The production, it speaks for itself. What he's able to do from a job performance standpoint, nobody does it better. But who you are means a lot more and has more and greater impact than what you can provide. me on the football field. When I look at my guys and I say, hey, I need you

to not only be great, but I need you to show these other guys how to be great both on and off the field. Do you think of Antonio Brown? Absolutely not. Asking for a trade when everything that you could possibly want, you have?

Time out. They've got a great deep ball throwing quarterback. They've got a permissive, almost enabling coach who allows you to have personality. I don't get it. You may have as good an organization as the league provides. I mean, if you're a wide receiver and I said, where would you want to play? Wouldn't Pittsburgh be top three?

I don't understand it. I don't get it. You saw all these cryptic tweets about with the 49ers and all the, like, if you think this is the misconception. This is in life. Everyone always thinks the grass is greener. No kidding. It's not always, it may look greener because from where you're standing, the sun is shining a little different. But once you get over there, you have a different view of that grass and now it looks, doesn't look as good as what it was.

You played in Green Bay. You went to Miami. Hmm. What was Miami like, Greg? Dysfunctional. A mess. A mess. Green Bay was what?

A family. Yes. Of course. I went skiing with my son this weekend and we were skiing in Utah and I stopped my son. And you're a dad. And I said, hey, in the world right now, this is the most beautiful place. There were just mountains everywhere with snow. And I said, I just want you to think about this.

You're 12. We are in the most beautiful place, arguably in the world, at the top of a mountain in America. A great country. You may have a kooky president, but it's a great country. This is a great spot. And I just told my son, appreciate life. Look at these mountains. This is incredible.

and he's like, yeah, yeah, whatever. He's 12-year-old. So it's funny, you have lived the ultimate life of, you went to this rock-solid foundation, great coach, great quarterback. You went to Miami and you're like, what in God's name is that? By the way, Mike Wallace did this too.

Yes. Mike went from Pittsburgh to Miami. I never heard from him. Where is he? Where did Mike Wallace go? Yeah, it changes. And it's not so much about just the quarterbacks and it's the culture

and not every organization has the culture and the DNA as a Pittsburgh Steeler, as a Green Bay Packers, as a New England Patriots, as a Dallas it's these franchises that you have the opportunity to play with and play for

you can't replace them. They stick with you for the remainder of your life. If you, Greg Jennings, would not have been a packer, you wouldn't be a broadcaster. If you'd have played for the Jags, we'd like, yeah, yeah, he played at one of those directional schools. Anyway, that's not that you're not talented. But the fact that you were on my television during playoff games,

that's how I figured out, who's Greg Jennings? Right. I wouldn't know who Donald Driver was if he played with Blake Borels. We get to watch Antonio Brown every single week with one of the, with a Hall of Fame quarterback. First ballot we'll see. Look at his highlight. Like, he, he complains, he gets the ball.

Then it's, I'm fine. Whether we win or lose, it really doesn't matter to me. I can see that when I see him on the sideline in the coat that he desired to wear versus probably having a team issue. He probably had the team issue gear underneath, but like, no, I want to wear what I want to wear. He separates himself from everyone else. And I've never been one to come and attack someone's character.

but I just do not like what I see out of Antonio Brown. And I don't think this trade is crazy. It's crazy for him to be requesting it. But I think the Pittsburgh Steelers, let them have it. Honor it. Because you cannot win. You cannot win in this league when you have divisive players like that. By the way, I wasn't trying to criticize you.

I'd still like you. No, I know that. But being a Packer was good for you. No, 100%. I agree. Yeah. I didn't get... Yeah, I just, you know,

we wanted us to be cool, real. Happy New Year. Happy New Year to YouTube. Be sure to catch live editions of the herd weekdays in noon Eastern, 9 a.m. Pacific. Ah, here we go. Our number three live in Los Angeles. It's the herd wherever you may be,

however you may be listening. I Heart Radio, Fox Sports Radio on FS1, Joy Taylor from Pittsburgh, all sorts of drop. With the Steelers today from Pittsburgh, Joy Taylor, how are you? We're doing great. Happy New Year, everyone. Happy New Year to you. About four hours from now, I'm going to watch a bowl game.

You have a dentist appointment after the show today? I'm looking ridiculous day to have a dentist appointment. That is a ridiculous day to have a dentist appointment. But you can't cancel a dentist appointment in America because you can never get back in. What? I always cancel dentist appointments. You do? Yes.

Who likes going to the dentist? Not me. especially not today. Not today. So I want to read, we got some breaking news, Jason Lock and Forra. I'm going to read the tweet, Antonio Brown requested a trade. It says here, not a demand, but he has asked to be dealt. Very unlikely the Rooney family would capitulate.

Antonio's got issues with Mike Tomlin and Big Ben. Feels like the coach is too aligned with a quarterback. So let me start with this story. Here is the number one New Year's resolution in sports going forward. that you and me and joy, we're accountable for our mistakes. Antonio Brown threw a football at Big Ben. It was his third tantrum. Can you imagine, and that's why he didn't play this week,

because he could have played, he skipped practice, he skipped meetings, he had a tantrum. He threw a football at Big Ben. If I did this with Joy after a disagreement, instead of talking, I went, and I threw a paper at Joy. You know what you'd all say at home? Colin needs medication.

Colin needs to grow up. This is why Antonio Brown didn't play. He had his third tantrum. New Year's resolution, Antonio. It's on you, pal. It's not Mike Tomlin's fault. It's not Big Ben's fault. It's not the Rooney family's fault.

It's not the GM's fault. It's not the NFL. It's not Roger Goodell's fault. I would go. ground my 12-year-old son if he threw an object at my 18-year-old daughter. I would ground him. Antonio Brown is a man. He's a 30-year-old man.

New Year's resolution. Own your mistakes. I know that is zany. You want to blame Instagram. People are mean to you. Facebook, Twitter. Want to blame the White House. Want to blame Hollywood.

Want to blame this organization. No, no, no, no. No, no, no. You're a 30-year-old man. You threw a football at a teammate. Third tantrum. Could have played physically, weren't willing to. By the way, Mike Tomlin, and I've been critical of him,

Mike Tomlin has to be concerned about 70 players, 18 coaches. He's got a general manager to answer to. Mike Tomlin has media responsibilities and sometimes charity events. And he's got to worry about a 30-year-old man throwing footballs and pouting. Here's the other problem. is that football, you ever heard the saying, of course Joy has, she grew up in a football family, next man up. That didn't come from baseball or basketball.

Next man up is a football term. And the reason NBA stars are coddled and treated the way they are because they're more valuable. They don't have a saying next man up. There is no next LeBron up. There is no next Kevin Durant up. There is no next James Harden up. But in football outside of a couple quarterbacks,

next man up. We're all big guys. go tackle somebody, go block somebody. But the Steelers have a very basketball culture. It's very star-driven. It's very dependent on stars. And that works in the NBA

because you can't replace Kevin Durant or LeBron or Steph Curry. But this is a cautionary tale. Alabama and the New England Patriots are next man-up football programs and their dynasties. Between Alabama and New England, they are not beholden to the star player.

They're not. Between the two of them, it's a 25-year college and pro-football dynasty. The system is bigger than the player, and it's always been bigger than the player in football. This story is about personal responsibility to a young man named Antonio Brown, who is 30 years old. It is completely on him, the inability to disagree with somebody without. throwing stuff at them. It's on him. All right, I want to shift gears to this.

Speaking of NBA, one of the things I try not to do on this show, and we, Joy and I try not to do in the show, we all make mistakes. You never want to make the same mistakes over and over and over. I tell my kids that all the time. You're not perfect. You're going to make some mistakes.

You're going to spill stuff. I'm going to do dumb stuff. You can get bad. But try not to make the same mistakes over and over and over and over and over. Okay, the media is falling forward again. So James Hardin of the Rockets is on fire. James Hardin at 43 last night. Another triple double last night.

James Hardin's going crazy. It's December. Oh, my God. Look at this. It's unbelievable. Folks, don't fall for it. There's something in basketball called a usage rate. James Hardin has the highest usage rate in the NBA by a mile.

That means he has the ball in his hands constantly. So therefore, his stats are third. through the roof, including all of his stats, including turnovers, where he had nine last night. And by the way, we have seen point guards with high usage rates. Westbrook had one. Hardin has it. John Wall has it. And those guards that drive to the basket in October and November and December and January and February and March, and James Hardin drives to the baskets and gets hammered by bigger athletes and gets knocked to the ground. And he's a small guy compared to a 6-8-2-40 guy.

And what happens? They wear down. Are we going to be fooled by this again? Go look at your December point leaders in the last several years. Westbrook Harden, Harden, Westbrook, Hardin, Westbrook, Hardin.

You've seen Westbrook. He's out of gas by the first round. Do you remember what happened last year against Golden State? James Hardin disappeared. He had one game. He was 0 for a last year. 11 on threes throughout the course of the series against the Golden State Warriors,

do you know what he shot three-pointers? 24%. One year ago, why? Why would James Harden ever shoot 0 for 11 on threes or 24% on threes? How is that possible? Did he forget how to shoot? Did his vision go bad? No.

His legs were shot. He was a shot fighter. Westbrook against Utah, a shot fighter. We've seen James Harden. We've seen Westbrook. We've seen John Wall. We've seen Derek Rose. High usage rate guards have the ball in their hand constantly.

Scoring leaders in December and January and the media goes crazy. And oh my God. But the NBA has always been about late May and June. You want to know what's sustainable? Because everybody's freaking out today about James. Hardens last 10 or 11 games. He's average in 35. It's the most amazing thing.

I've seen this story on and on. LeBron James last 11 finals games. This is at the end of the year. LeBron James last 11 games in the finals. This is what you call sustainable. 34 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists, and his field goal percentage goes up. you ever notice that LeBron's not the story of the league in December and January? Have you noticed this year LeBron's playing less and has the ball less?

Have you noticed that? Because LeBron is sustainable. He's not trying to win December. He's not trying to win January. In fact, January has been LeBron's worst month in his career. Oh, was January. We're falling for it again. And when you talk about the greatest players of all time,

you talk about Michael Jordan and I say six for six, is that about December? Nah, bra. It's about June. What James is doing is amazing. Seen it before. We'll see it again. High usage rate equals remarkable December, January stats. And come May and June, the Warriors will be in the finals.

And James Harden and Westbrook and the usage leaders will not. We've got eight NFL openings. We'll give you the very latest on names that are popping up around the league. Again, the breaking news today, Antonio Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers, has demanded a trade. They say demands a little strong, but he believes Tomlin and Big Ben are too closely aligned. There are lots of teams that could use his talent. The Jets, for one, are looking for a number one wide receiver. You know, the Jets are looking for a number one wide receiver and a number one back.

If they got Antonio Brown and Lavian Bell, Sam Darnold, it would be, you'd talk about a crazy locker room. Can you imagine? Yeah, but they're both great players, but both Steelers kind of self-employed, and Antonio Brown wants to play elsewhere. I think it is a massive, massive mistake, leaving Big Ben, that O-line, the Rooney family, that roster, big, big mistake by Antonio Brown if the stories hold true.

Mark Schlerth around the corner and our seven sports New Year's resolutions. It's the hurt. Three Super Bowls, two-time Pro Bowl or Redskins, Broncos. Night has a big radio show in Denver. It gets massive rating. Shlareth and Evans in the morning. Gets a big fat number. Huge number.

Gigantic number. Your Broncos got all sorts of issues. Okay, let's go to this breaking news where Antonio Brown, apparently Wednesday, got into a fight with Big Ben. Big Ben's denying it. Of course, he's denying it. And he said, I'm out of here. I'm done.

He could have played. He did not play this weekend. Very petulant. You know, it's interesting. You know, I said a New Year's resolution this year is we have to, it's not the president's fault. It's not your mom's fault. It's not your dad's fault.

It's not your coach's fault. Right. So I'm going to blame Antonio Brown. Could I make the argument, though, that Mike Tomlin came into this organization with pool tables and ping pong tables and the table? the locker room, the enabling parent, has tried to get a little tougher, but the culture was set in stone. This is a player-friendly, star-friendly organization, and Tomlin's lost a little control of his stars. You know, I think that Tomlin never set the control that he needed to set from day one.

He's enabled Antonio Brown. He's got a mantra within that locker room, and I've had players tell me this before. Steelers. Yeah, Steelers. Tell me this before. He'll say, I'll put up with it until I can replace you. Well, you can't replace Antonio Brown. Like, he's the best in the business. The guy is an absolute freak show, right? So how are you going to, if that's the mantra, that's the organizational, you know. Well, that's funny.

That's funny that you say that. So you've had Steeler players say that Tomlin's mantra is, I'll allow it until I can replace you. So what you're telling me as an employee is, I want to become irreplaceable. How do I become irreplaceable? Stats. Right. Numbers.

That's almost like you're begging players to want to be ISO stars, to want to be stars. Like I have no doubt in my mind that Antonio Brown is perfectly satisfied with losing as long as he has numbers. If I have 10 catches for 165 yards, I'm as happy as a clam even if we lose. Did you ever play with a guy like that? No, you know, I don't, I can't recall ever playing with anybody. that didn't care about winning. Like, ultimately, the receivers that I played with in Denver, for crying out loud, like Rod Smith, like, I'll never forget Rod Smith.

This is one of the great stories ever. We're playing Oakland. And we're down in Oakland. And I think it was Mike Anderson had about 150 yards rushing. And I don't even know what Rod Smith's numbers were. I don't even, it doesn't matter. but we break one to the left side. We ran 19 handoff.

And he was the, you know, he was the ex-receiver on the weak side. So he's on the right side. And I'll never forget it was one of those that be break, break a, you know, break a couple tackles and da-da-da-da-da. And down the sideline for 30 yards or whatever. He comes looping around. And do you remember the nose tackle Grady Jackson? Yes.

So Grady Jackson's in chase, you know, 10 yards behind the player or whatever. And he's chasing, run, running. And Rod Smith loops around and absolutely Cole Cox him. Just at snob. A wide receiver to a DT. Yeah. Just not. I mean,

just snot rock. It's kind of what you hit and your head snaps so fast that snot shoots out of both your nostrils. Like that happens. I mean, would you get hit like that? It happens. So we get done watching film on Monday and walk in the locker room. And Rod Smith is,

did you see it? Did you see it? Like, see what? Do you see me knock out, Grady Jackson? Like, it was, he probably had two touchdowns. you know, 100 yards receiving one. He couldn't care less about the stats

that he put up. He knocked a nose tackle out. I mean, you know, head over, feet over head, first thing he hits to the back of his helmet and that's all he cared about. It was like, it was like, did you guys see it? He was like a kid that wanted,

that wanted, you know. That's generally been the mantra of football players. You know, Joy said this earlier. Next man up is not an NBA term. It's a football term. you need a room. I mean, by the way, I can be a quarterback. There's a reason quarterbacks by offensive linemen gifts and watches and stuff like that because I'm ineffective if you don't block.

I need, like LeBron doesn't need a lot. Ball, me, basket get out of the way. And that's not blaming LeBron. That's the sport of basketball from AAU on. Football is, it's a brotherhood. So, but here's the thing that interests me about this. At what point did receivers, that some receivers, not all, but some, become so self-absorbed that

like it's a dependent position every position in the NFL is dependent but no more than the wide receiver position where if 10 guys aren't doing their job you don't even sniff a ball why he wants a trade would you ever the two quarterbacks on this league that throw great deep balls Russell Wilson Big Ben

I mean this Tyler Lockett for the Seahawks I swear he's not that good but he is with Russell Wilson like if you have Russell Wilson or Big Ben and you're a deep threat receiver, you never lead that organization. To me, those are the deep ball throwers in the NFL. But ultimately, you know, I look at the organization. If you don't hold him accountable and they never have,

and he's been, this is not the first time he's missed meetings or mispractices or been late to things. I mean, this is standard operating procedure for the guy. So if you're never going to hold him accountable, at what point are you ever going to fix your organization? So you have to, at some point, you have to have an adult. right? And you have to say, we don't, this is not how we operate. And the only thing you can do for players, you can't find them money. It's monopoly money for crying out loud, right? You have to take

away recess and you say, you're just not going to play. And you're letting your teammates down. And until he comes to the realization that it takes all 11 guys going to the same direction for him to have success, then, you know, it's going to be much the same as it's always been. By the way, so the Ravens play the Chargers. I like the Chargers in this game because I think that the Lamar Jackson offense, while it can work short-term, I don't think it's an eight-year offense where you have to sort of play with the lead, have a great defense, low-scoring games. They almost lost to Baker-Mayfield in Cleveland, and Baker had three picks.

So they had the better defense. They were at home. Baker threw three picks, and Cleveland almost won. John Harbaugh's name is all over the place. for jobs. Right. And my belief is, because publicly he's saying he loves this team, privately, John Harbaugh, doesn't think this is sustainable.

Am I nuts? Well, I don't think you're nuts. Now, when they play... You did the game this week. Well, I did one of their games a couple weeks ago, right? And I predicted that they would go into L.A. and beat the Chargers two weeks ago. Like, watching them on film, Colin.

Now, I've been involved in this league for 30 years. years, 12 as a player, 18 is an analyst. I block for a 2,000-yard rusher. I have never seen the gaping holes that I have seen. Marty Mourtingwig has taken an offense. And, you know, it's funny, the start of the running game, it was always 10 on 11, right? The quarterback hands are the running back, and the running back, you know, takes it in there. So it's 10 on 11.

And then all of a sudden, we had some wildcat and some other things go on. So now it was 11 on 11 football. when you watch the Ravens, it's like 13 on 11. They'll option two guys on the line of scrimmage, and they're both standing there, can't even touch a running back or the quarterback, and they get guys to the second level. I mean, it's like I have, I've been watching studying their tape

and rewining it going, oh, my God, I've never seen a bigger hole. Wait, that hole that was just the biggest hole I ever saw, the next hole was even bigger. Short-term, yes. Now, Lamar Jackson, I mean, Lamar Jackson struggles throwing the football. Yeah. And, you know, there'll be somebody who will say, well, what about that overrout to, you know, to his tied end? Mark Andrews.

Yeah, Mark Andrews that went for a touchdown, you know, what do you mean you can't throw? Well, I can show you 12 throws that were either eight yards over his head or the ankles of that same overrout. So don't, you know, I don't want to hear the one throw that he made. Yeah. He's not a consistent throw or the football. Right. And I don't know that he ever will be. Yeah.

So I don't believe that it's sustainable. I don't believe that you can do that long term, carry the ball like that. He's already been in concussion protocol. He did roll his ankle one game. So I don't believe it's long-term sustainable, but short-term. Yeah. And you know what? Harbaugh doesn't know either.

I mean, I have the conversation with him because is it sustainable? I don't know. You know, I mean, probably not. That style is probably not long-term sustainable. But right now, the kid has got great football acumen, and he's a phenomenal athlete. And the way they're running this offense, right now from a defense, perspective, man. There is nobody that's even been able to slow it down in the running game.

Listen, I was told this years ago that NFL coaches are significantly better than college coaches. But, and they coach play to play series to series half, whereas in college football, if you have a problem in week three, it may be till week eight until you configure it. In the NFL, you'll come at halftime and Pete Carroll will solve a problem. But when you introduce something that's unique to the league, like the wide. It takes an off-season for the league to catch up to it. Baltimore is so unique offensively.

It may take an off-season. Oh, I am 100% in agreement with you. It's going to take the off-season. But they will start to figure out. You know what this is like? This is like, let's call it an SEC team, right? It's like an SEC team where all of a sudden you play one of the academies. Tennessee played Air Force years ago.

Couldn't figure it out. Well, this year, wasn't it, Oklahoma? Played Army. Played Army. And it was like 21, 21. They won 28, 21 or something like that. So it's like one of these elite college teams all of a sudden you have to play an academy. And you don't know how.

You got a week to prepare for it. It's too much as Simon football. It's hard. Oh, my goodness. And it, you know, it cheats your eyes. Your eyes can't be disciplined. I mean, there's guys telling you what it is unique. And you couple that with the fact that the Baltimore Ravens are one of the most complex

defenses that you will, they are so good at all three levels and they are the best, most of the time you're watching, you're watching tape and you're like, well, that's where disguise gets you burnt. You disguise on defense and the next thing you know, you're out of position. They are the most tied together. They'll disguise, but they'll get into, you know, they'll get into what they're getting into late. They do a phenomenal job. They're a really good football team.

Happy New Year. We're going to have our seven sports New Year's resolutions. Do you do resolutions every year? Yeah, I'm going to be meaner than I was last year. It's always the same resolution. I'm meaner than I was last year's resolution. I don't believe in New Year's resolution. Really?

Yeah, I don't believe in starting diets on Mondays and New Year's resolutions. Really? I think I try to make one big personal change. That's what I do. But not a resolution. Like I'm not going to eat less sugar or something. Wow. I stopped two years ago.

I'm like, no more biting your nails ever. Oh. Well, I would just nibble sometimes anxiety. I stopped doing that. You did? Did you have to put like hot sauce out of my head? No, I just found myself pick not really. chewing, but picking them? And I said, enough, grog.

Now my wife complains that my nails are too long. She's like, cut those things. They have nail cutters. Yeah, they have a fingernail clippers. You can get them at the grocery store. So, anyway. So I have a new one this year, and I can tell you guys, I can't tell you on the air, but off the air. You can really? Yeah, it's one of those. But I'm making a personal change. I'm going to try not to be so fat.

That's going to take discipline. All right, Mark Schlerth, good seeing you. All right. Joy Tannen with a news. Turn on the news. This is the herd line news. We're trying to compose myself from that. I can't do fingernails. I picked him.

I didn't shoot as much as I would do this all day. I just kind of like pick them and rip them up. We just go get a manicure. Come on. Do I look like a manicure guy? It's all alpha right here. It's all gun show right here. Don't think it's a wrong way.

Not exactly a petty manny guy. Yes, you do. I don't do pedicure manicures. You know what I do? I go home and lift weights. I go lift weights. Clean the garage. Got a man right here.

We've talked a lot about Antonio Brown this morning, and he was reportedly involved in altercation with Big Ben last week, skip practices and meetings leading up to the game. Adam Schaefter reported that Antonio ignored messages from many of his teammates, staffers, and even the owner, Art Rooney the 2nd, after the incident, but still showed up expecting to play on Sunday. He watched the first half in street close and then left the stadium at halftime. So, former Steelers safety, Ryan Clark,

told ESPN last night that while Brown might be one of the best players in the NFL, the team can't afford to keep him on the roster because of chemistry issues. Wow. Quick story. Antonio's going into his third year. You hear that Mike Wallace has turned down his deal. And I knew already that they were going to offer Antonio. And he's walking past and I turned to the strength coach. And I say, when you give him money, you're going to create a monster.

That day in practice, Antonio and I almost get into a fight because he's saying things to Coach Leboe. He's screaming at Coach Leboe. screaming at us defensively, don't touch me. I'm the franchise, this and that, because he already had that mindset, and now with success, with money, these things come. But when it comes to just being a good teammate, when it comes to just being supportive,

to understanding that you're trying to achieve one goal, that doesn't matter to him. Yeah, I mean, that video right there is brutal. That is brutal. Well, when matched with this story, sure, in the moment, you could argue that, you know, he's just fiery and just cares about winning,

but yes, Ryan, I'm not doubting the validity of Ryan's story at all. I mean, it matches everything else that's happening with Antonio Brown right now. What else say about the Steelers is this. This season was colossally disappointing. The window is closing, if not, is already closed. Because they don't have Levy on Bell anymore. They may not have Antonio Brown anymore.

Ben Robertsberger is aging. They've had several back-to-back disappointing seasons, at least the way that they ended. This one being the most since they've missed the playoffs. The thing with Antonio Brown is everybody isn't motivated by the same things. He's motivated by money and me. It might be disappointing. It might destroy your franchise. But you can't change what people are motivated by.

Some people just care about different things. It may sound crazy because you play a game wanting to win. But for certain people, winning isn't necessarily the team. Winning isn't necessarily getting the W. Winning it may be your own personal statistics. That's what motivates you. Yeah. You can't rewire something.

somebody. No, I agree you can't. People, people, you know, it's like Tom Brady's DNA since he was in high school, very coachable. Big Ben's DNA since he was in high school, going to kind of do it his own way. And that's who they are. And listen, in certain situations, that is the best kind of way to be. Long term, if you're running your life and you're supporting yourself and in certain businesses, the absolute best way to be. In a team sport, like football, it's not going to, it's not going to work. It's not going to work. Look at the 10, if I had to name the 10, if I name the 10, 10 biggest divas in the NFL history, and Antonio's now become one. Very few Super Bowls.

I have no problem with you being a diva. I have no problem with you being flashy. I have no problem with dances and celebrations. As long as at the end of it, it's all about the team winning. And it just doesn't work. It's not sustainable. And at the end of your career, you won't be looked back on as one of the greatest, because if you don't have rings, no one really cares.

You were just a great individual player. So next, according to reports, Super Bowl winning coach Mike McCarthy, is expected to interview for the Jets head coaching job. This would be the first known interview for McCarthy. Stability. It was fired last month in his 13th season with the Packers. Stability. Obviously, the Jets are trying to find someone to develop Sam Darnold.

And the Jets CEO, Christopher Johnson, said yesterday that previous head coaching experience was not a prerequisite, but would not hurt. However, the Jets have hired first-time head coaches with their last five head coaching hires. Let's get. By the way, everybody tells me, Oh, Mike McCarthy runs a simplistic offense. You know how many division titles he won? By the way, you know who else they say runs a simplistic offense? Jason Garrett of the Cowboys, who just won his division again?

Who cares if he runs a simplistic offense? Do they win? Do you win 11 games a year? Right. He does. Hire Mike McCarthy. That's kind of what's going on with Nick Foles. He just runs.

Listen, I am so tired of hearing how Jason Garrett and Mike McCarthy are two simple. offensively. Between the two of them, they've got 10 division titles in the last six years. I think it's just something and people say sound smart. It's simple. Yeah, I need a sophisticated offense. They also said they would not hire a coach who's interested in total control of the football side of the organization,

which I don't know why you would want full control of the football side of the organization. Now, I get it. You want to be able to draft your own players. You don't want to get overruled. And, you know, the stats guy comes in and says you got to draft this guy because of whatever. obviously you want to have some sort of symmetry between the front office and the head coach. That to me is more important than running that side of it. It's got to be a working system,

not dysfunction. You can't do everything. The Jets GM is not long for the organization unless he nails this draft. So in the end, if I'm the Jets, the only reason I wouldn't love this job if I'm Mike McCarthy is because this GM could get fired. And if, let's say I come in and I win nine games. And this GM gets run out.

GMs generally like to hire their own coaches. So if I'm Mike McCarthy for the Jets job, here's what I want. I want a five-year deal. And I want it to be expensive. And if you cut me, it's guaranteed money. Or you have to bring a new GM in. Well, they're going to, I don't think this GM's going to last. I think that people look at the way they build organizations wrong.

You always say it starts at the top. Yeah. I really think that the organization, the ownership, the GM, the coaches, that's the bottom of your organization. That's your base. And then you build from there. Don't look at it as the top because that's what keeps getting interchange. You don't want five different coaches in seven

years. There's no stability. That's the just look at what is what generates success, consistency. Ask yourself this. The New York Giants and the New York Jets. Now think about this, Joy, have had a coaching change. One or both of them had a coaching change, I believe, in four of the last

five years. Like New York football is a mess. And it's not always the coaches. It's not. Hire McCarthy, five-year deal, and just go. And also, you need some talent. They can't get out on the field. Finally, James Hardin, Chris Paul's injured, and he's putting up some crazy numbers, including last night. He posted 43, 10, and 13. Last night's won over the Grizzlies. It's four straight game with 40 plus points.

He's good in December. All wins, by the way. They won 10 of their last 11. Five straight. Yeah. I think he's back in the MVP conversation. You know, I hope so. Just motivate LeBron. God, if I have to hear... I actually think that LeBron will win the MVP this year.

I know everyone is talking about Yannis. They have the best record in the league. Now, I'd like, if Yonis wins, that I'd be okay. He's a good kid. I'd be okay with Yonnes winning it as well. That'd be cool. I just think that it's time for LeBron to win. And by the way, is it Milwaukee?

I could be wrong here. I haven't checked the standings this morning. Isn't Milwaukee in first place in the East? Yes. Oh, okay. They're the best record. If Yonis wins the MVP, I'm totally okay with that. That's a pretty good choice.

I watched the Celtics last night. They looked like doo-doo. They looked terrible last night. I watched the Celtics for an hour. I can't get an hour of my life back. They were terrible. The only thing working against Janus is that he plays for the bucks. What's not wrong with Milwaukee?

Nothing wrong with Milwaukee. It's just not flashy. And when you're talking about the MVP conversation towards the end of the year, that's how it goes. It's a little bit political. Joy Taylor with the news. Good stuff. Well, that's the news. And thanks for stopping back.

The herd line news. I would like that. You know what I'd like to see? in the All-Star and the MVP? I'm going to look right at the camera. Hey, NBA writers, why don't we choose somebody besides a

high-usage point guard that gets eight turnovers a night? Why don't we give the MVP to a big man who plays defense like Janice or LeBron or Kauai Leonard? God, I am so over giving these point guards to the MVP. In an hour later, they break down

and they die in the playoffs. So NBA riders, use your power Give somebody over 6'4 the MVP for a change. Janice is also a great defender, too. So he's not just playing one side of the ball. By the way, his usage rate. Well, giving the MVP to the guy that's got the ball in his hands with eight turnovers and flashy. I am no longer – look at my shirt today.

Is it look flashy? This shirt's going to be around for 20 years. It's kind of a flashy color. It's a 20-year shirt. No flash. She's got buttons and sequins. That's flashy. One of these might come off at some point.

All right. I've got several big New Year's resolutions, seven, and they may be different from what you're expecting. Best for last to wrap our show up next. Welcome back. It is great to have you in today. So my staff, we thought today, January 1st, Joy, we would do New Year's resolutions, but sports resolutions. And the staff said, Colin, why don't you give us your New Year's resolutions? And I thought, I don't really have to change very much.

things are really smoking right now. But a lot of you need new things. And a lot of sports needs new things. So I thought I would introduce in our best for last today. Seven sports, your New Year's resolutions. So these are the seven things that you need to change as a sports fan or sports needs to change. Do we have New Year's resolution music that's light and soft and loving? Probably not.

All right. Here is the number one. I've got seven of them and a bonus resolution. Here is my number one New Year's resolution. Blame the person for his behavior, not the organization. Antonio Brown is 30. I don't want to hear that it's Big Ben's fault, the Rooney's fault, the president's fault, the parents' fault, the culture's fault. It's Antonio Brown's fault.

Look at his behavior on the sideline. Let's blame the person in sports. Let's not pander to athletes. These are grown men 30 years old. a college. He's got an adult life, makes adult decisions, blame the person for their

actions. My second New Year's resolution, can we stop falling for the dramatic, quotable quarterbacks? The fashionable ones like Cam, the quotable ones like Aaron, Baker, and Big Ben, they didn't make the playoffs. O for four. You know who did

make the playoffs? Boring guys. Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Andrew Luckin his neck beard and Drew Breeze. Stop falling for the quotes and the fashion and the hip and the lit and the cool. It's such good content though, Colin. That's going to be a difficult one. The bore four. The less they talk, the more they win.

I've never heard Deshawn Watson say a thing. He's in the playoffs. Baker Mayfield's not. My third New Year's resolution, stop telling me this season's NFL quarterback stats matter. folks, rule changes. This year was the greatest year for quarterbacks, period. Rookies, veterans, average guy.

Kirk Cousins has better stats than Joe Montana this year. Completion percentage, total passing touchdowns, passer ratings, highest ever in the history of football. Stop saying, well, Baker threw for more than Peyton Manning. Baker Mayfield's not Peyton Manning. I don't care what Sam Darnold, Josh Allen, stop it. These stats don't mean anything. There's 12, 15 more plays a game.

The rules are anti-defense. Now did resolution in sports, your resolution number four, urge your local NFL team to hire an Andy Reid assistant. His assistants currently have 18 playoff appearances. The coach of the year Matt Nagy worked under him. Doug Peterson won a Super Bowl worked under him. John Harbaugh, multiple job offers. has got the Ravens in the playoffs worked under.

Pat Shermer. Now, even the guys like Todd Bowles that didn't work are highly respected on one side of the football. New Year's resolution in sports, hire an Andy Reid assistant. Here's another one. Urge your local NFL team not to hire a Bill Belichick assistant. They're the pits.

Only five playoff appearances, three by Bill O'Brien. Now, I've always had a reason for this. Andy Reid's personality is very giving and communal. Belichick is a genius and geniuses are not good mentors. They're just geniuses. So when you work with a genius, they don't share their genius. They are what they are. Andy's more giving, Bill a little less, his assistants.

Even Nick Saban didn't work in the NFL. Here's another New Year's resolution. Forget an 18 college football playoff. Make it a two-team playoff. Why do I need to see anybody other than Clemson, Alabama? I've seen this thing for four years. They're not just better than everybody. You know what Clemson did to Ohio State the last time they faced?

31-0. What happened to Clemson, Notre Dame? 31-3. Alabama's beating team. Alabama let Oklahoma at Oklahoma, 28-0, 5 minutes into the game. You keep telling me we need eight teams in the playoffs. I mean, the hope is that eventually it'll even out, right? Eventually as in what?

I don't know. A meteor hits the earth? maybe in the next like 30 years. I mean, Davos-Sweeney's young. Sabin just signed an extension for a lot of years. Everybody wants to expand the playoff to which I would say, so now Alabama won't just crush one team but three. And finally, stop falling for December NBA scoring leaders with high usage rates.

Folks, there's more possessions than ever. Centers now are rarely on the floor. It's a guard league. The last five stars, of December in the NBA, Westbrook twice, hardened three times. And they're always, all five times, gassed by April, May, and June. Don't fall for great December's. When you have the ball in your hand, your numbers are going to go up, and guards drive

to the basket, they get fouled, they go to the line, and it beats their bodies down, and hardened last year was done by the, well, Western Conference Finals. He shot 24% on threes. Open threes. O for 11 and one game. Now my bonus resolution. Except that LeBron James is not only the single greatest player in the NBA,

but a transformative figure who has blazed his own trail, taken risk. Other superstars have not taken, therefore deserves to be admired, not attacked by fools who don't appreciate greatness. That's a bonus resolution. I feel like that one has a little more personal touch to it. Yeah. A little more opinion.

Yeah, that's not really a resolution. It's kind of off the grid there a little bit. Oh, by the way, two hours from now, a little over two hours, two and a half hours. The bowl game I really want to watch, the Rose Bowl be on, not on this network, another network. You can figure that out. Everybody's been telling me this draft is all about defense. This NFL draft is not about quarterbacks. I want you to watch something today in two hours, over two hours, two and a half hours on another channel.

I like Fox, but this will be just check something out. today briefly on another channel. I am going to make a prediction. Dwayne Haskins is the quarterback of Ohio State. And for some reason, which I can't figure out, in an era that's never been better for college quarterbacks

to come to the NFL and tear it up, this kid had 47 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He's 6.3. 225, a pocket passer, mobile, 70% completion rate in college. And you're telling me he's not going to go number one in the draft. I'm here to tell you today. I watch this kid play eight times this year.

Okay, go look at his stats. Baker Mayfield was 5-11, a two-time walk-on and went number one, and has done very well as rookie year. You're telling me this kid, Dwayne Haskins, is not going to be the number one pick in the draft. This morning, I went and looked and named teams that need a franchise quarterback.

Jacksonville, Giants. Denver does, may not admit it, but they do. Miami, Washington, Cincinnati, Tampa. And I would argue, if I ran Tennessee, I'm moving on from Marcus Marietta or giving him a one-year deal. So that's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. That's eight teams that could draft a quarterback.

Look at Duane Haskin's size, high school superstar, college star, look at his stats, look at what's happening in the NFL, and you're telling me, I read this morning mock drafts. You have him going 18th, 19th, 23rd, 25th. Are you out of your mind? He's going number one.

If he comes out today against Washington and they're really good defensively, so so offensively, great defensively, and he tears him up. By tomorrow morning in America, we're going to be saying Dwayne Haskins, it's my prediction, is the number one pick in the draft. Everybody has him as a deep first round pick. People are crazy. Are you watching the NFL? have you watched this kid play? I don't understand it. Joel Clat was on my show not long ago.

He agrees with me. I would argue he should leave school. I always think it's good to get more reps. If you start with that premise, that's fine. But when you're in the top 10 or slated to be in the top 10, I think that you've got to come out because you don't have that lottery ticket every single year, and there's only so long that you can play for free. Duane's a really talented guy who's thrown for a ton of yards, and I don't think he's going to be able to replicate this season next year. I'm not going to be shocked at all. And I know this is hyperbole. I'm not going to be shocked at all if he's the number one selection.

I don't think that's hyperbole. I am absolutely shocked. We just had, Joy, five quarterbacks taken in the first round. They've all surpassed expectations. All of them. You just said it in your resolutions. The numbers for quarterbacks is your historic. And I got a kid here who's in his last like three games.

He had 17 touchdowns, no interceptions, passing or running. Like, what am I missing? We just took a 5-11 guy who does nonsense, who was a two-time walk-on on a coach Lincoln Riley who makes all of his quarterback. When's the last time an Ohio State quarterback had 47 touchdowns and eight picks? Are we out of our mind? So watch the Rose Bowl, and I'm going to make a prediction. Ohio State's going to win. This kid's going to play pretty well.

And tomorrow morning, Sports Talk Radio shows, you're going to be going, that guy should be the number one pick. Eight teams need a quarterback. So that's my, I did resolutions, and I gave you a prediction. And I'm done. We're done. Yes. We are done, done, done. We'll keep you updated on the Antonio Brown situation. Apparently he doesn't like Pittsburgh right now.

He's out of his mind. There are very few places in the NFL better than playing for the Steelers. All right, we'll see you tomorrow. 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. Last night, a blown call changed the game. This morning, the internet lost its mind, and nobody's telling you exactly what happened.

That's where SportsSlice 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 SportsSlic on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And for more, follow Timbo Slical Life 12 in the 2. TikTok podcast network on TikTok.

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

We do some retirement homes. Those people are starving for banter. Listen to humor me with Robert Smigel and Friends on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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, 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, 42. A rep.

My mama want you to wave at her. What? Hey, Miss Parker. Listen to the Clippers show on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 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 hungry. You just understood. That's how personal it got. Wow. Then after that game seven, Marquis' keep coming to you. He's like, you know I love you, dog.

You know, it's all love. This was just playoffs. This was just basketball. So listen to Point Game on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.